Probably somewhere around 1994 I spent a week aboard the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER aircraft carrier filming a PBS special. My WWII Navy Pilot Dad was extremely impressed with the fact that I tail-hooked onto the ship. Here's why I'm writing: During that week, a sailor presented me with a Bosun's Whistle he'd hung on a hand-macramed loop, with "Martha Quinn" engraved on the side. 

Dear Sailor Whoever You Are,

I want you to know that, all these years later, I still treasure that whistle. Whenever I look at it I think of all the fantastic men and women aboard the magnificent IKE. 

I hope 2008 finds you safe, well, and happy.  

Best Wishes,  Martha

Aw come on. Seriously Rudy? As Time Magazine said, "Who would have thought the man who declared war on New York's criminals, squeegee men, street vendors, taxi drivers, graffiti artists, jaywalkers and even purveyors of "incivility" — in other words, New Yorkers — was going to shy away from a fight?"

I'll have to re-think my Repulican endorsement. Hmmmm...God I don't know. I had a whole rap about Rudy, I got nothing on these other guys. Here's what I know: Romney-Mormon. McCain:POW. Huckabee: Preacher of some sort? Yeah. I'm not up on these candidates. 

Why, you may ask, are you giving endorsements for both Repulican and Democrats anyway? I'm a registered voter, but I checked the box, "Not affiliated with any Party." I don't like teams within America, this us 'n them thing. I'm done with that.

My comment about the Democrats today is...Boy the Kennedys must hate Bill Clinton. But I guess my Hillary endorsement stays the same. I mean, Obama could be the next Jack Kennedy, he's invigorating and charismatic, but does he have enough experience? I have a feeling the Clintons have more high-ranking phone numbers, both American and International, than Obama has in his Rolodex. I don't know...on the other hand maybe I'm sick of the Clintons and would be extremely curious to see what Obama could pull off. And I personally don't pay attention to debates because what they say now and what happens after the election are two different things. Right now everybody's promising longer recess and popsicles with lunch every day.

Feel free to e me your thoughts, I'm always up for some enlightenment.

xoxoxoxo, Martha

During this week's Martha Quinn Presents Gods...I said that NEXT WEEK (meaning weekend of February 2nd) would be LISTENER'S CHOICE WEEK. I'm going to push back LISTENER'S CHOICE to the weekend of February 9th, because I think I'll need a little more time to pull it together. So SEND IN THE 80'S SONGS YOU WANT TO HEAR and WHY and I'll play them all the weekend of February 9th. If I receive more than a show's worth, I'll play more the following week.

To recap: LISTENER'S CHOICE coming the weekend of FEBRUARY 9th. Send in your favorite (and why) 80's songs!

Throw in some 80's jokes and we will have us a show! xoxoxo, Martha

Listen 80's fans, we've got to come up with some good jokes about our era. A Google search "80's jokes" brought up mostly the "You're a Child of The 80's" bits, and precious few actual jokes. Here are the best clean ones I could find:

Q: Where did the cantaloupe take his vacation? 
A: John Cougar's Melon Camp

Q: What do you call Dolly Parton doing the backstroke? 
A: Islands in the Stream

Q: How did Billy Squier die? 
A: Stroke! Stroke!

So I was compelled to write my own. 

Q: What are the safest pants to wear on an airplane? A: Parachute Pants

Anybody got one?  xoxoxoxo, M

I made it back safely to Malibu and I'm planning my next few shows. I want to do a "Listeners Choice" show where I play songs that you want to hear. Send em in! And also please include a sentence or two about why you chose that particular track so I don't have to write the segment. I mean, so I can give your thoughts air time. 

I'd love to do it the weekend of February 2nd so start thinking about what your favorite 80's song is and why. I'm looking forward to it, it'll be fun! xoxoxo, Martha 

I'm in New York for my mother's 80'th birthday party. I hope I grow old like she has. She was playing a complicated Franz Liszt piano piece for my brother and me, I was yelling out, "Get the video camera! We've got to put this on YouTube!" 

The trip here was fine, uneventful. Which is good because it started out with me on the phone with my brother saying, "I'm so scared of a crash, I'm terrified I'll never see my children again, I want to run screaming out of the airport." You know what he said? That he never feels that way. Those types of catastrophe thoughts never cross his mind. I was blown away. I didn't even know it was possible not to think that way. "You must have a whopping lot of seratonin," is what I said to that. 

I'm starting to get over the fact that I made an outlandish September 11th analogy at a meeting recently. I wish I'd said, "Yes! It's definitely about editing together pieces to tell the audience who the contestants are. And with this Behind The Music crew, they could put together a piece about a tree that'll have you sobbing when the city comes around to trim it's branches away from the stop sign!"  

I wish I'd said, "Ask anyone who's ever worked for their father, and they'll tell you it's a double-edged sword. Some people will say, "He's the perfect guy for the job, he grew up around shoes." while others will say, "He just got the job 'cause he's the old man's kid. He doesn't know a tongue from a sole."  But quality tends to reveal itself and if you're good you can rise above adversity. Like the Kotter Curse. If you're good you rise above it and you're John Travolta. If you're not you're...forever Horseshack.

But I suppose the real challenge is not to start any sentence with "I wish I said." Goddamn. I wish I didn't write all that stuff! Ha ha ha! :)      xoxoxoxo, Martha

p.s. Because of the aforementioned birthday party there's no new show this week. I don't know which Sirius pulled from the archives so one of the songlists will be wrong. I'll catch up next week! -M 

Jordan and I are preparing our 100th MARTHA QUINN PRESENTS GODS OF THE BIG 80'S. I'm going to countdown my Top Ten Favorite Songs of the 80's. If you have an absolute fave you want me to play, send it in to me!  xoxoxoxoxo, Martha

So Obama and Huckabee won in Iowa, is that what happened? I'm so pitifully unaware of the candidates 'cause I've been way too pre-occupied with the Britney Spears craziness. Isn't that reprehensible? My excuse is I have to do "research" for my show. Get material. I guess I could come up with bits from the actual news, but then I'd be John Stewart, and hey, he's a friend of mine (ok ok I met him once) and I don't want to steal his thunder. Ain't I a sweetheart? 

(by the way, as I'm writing this my 6-year-old, Ryder, is hanging over my chair telling me how much he wants to play Nintendo. In between getting these words down I can be heard saying, "No way. Go draw a pirate ship or play with the dogs. I know your sister's playing, 'cause she didn't get any time yesterday and you played for hours."  Update: now he's sobbing on the couch, "why did you say that in a rough manner?" Oh god. Now he's telling me, "that's why I love Daddy, 'cause you be mean to me and he doesn't." Now I'm telling him to go jump on the trampoline 200 times.) 

But anyway...from my Island of Ignorance I will now deliver...my bi-partisan endorsements for the 2008 Presidential Race!  

The Republican candidate I'd vote for is: RUDY GIULLIANI. I'm a New Yorker. I saw how he single-handedly transformed New York from gray and depressed to sparkling and optimistic.  He was like a farmer determined to plant his fields even after his ox dropped dead from exhaustion. He strapped on the yoke and dragged the plow through the dirt himself. Plus he seems to be pretty crystal clear on the War on Terror. Nobody knows the reality of a terrorist attack like he does. The healing properties of time may have lulled some of the other candidates into a numb disbelief in regards to terrorism. Like most of America, the other guys probably watched 911 on TV. But Rudy was there. He saw the dead bodies, the decimated towers of America obliterated to smoldering rubbles. What about the Americans who were hurling themselves out the windows, choosing to plunge 100 stories or more, because that seemed a better alternative to the building's inferno. No other candidate has that reality burned into their consciousness. Besides, I find his New York accent refreshing. It'd be fun to have a President who sounds like one of the Sopranos!

The Democratic candidate I'd vote for is...HILLARY CLINTON. Nothing against Obama, I'm sure he's the greatest guy in the world and would do a fab job. It's just that with Hillary we get Bill, and that's like getting two Presidents for the price of one, isn't it? I'm sure Bill has thought a lot about his tenure in the Oval Office, what worked and what didn't, and he'd be a pretty wise guy (no pun intended) to have lurking about. Didn't he, accidentally-on-purpose, let Osama Bin Laden slip through his fingers once? I'm sure he wouldn't let that happen again. I like it. A female President with a former President thrown in for free. She may be annoying, but it seems like that'd be pretty good for America. Besides, I want her to peruse every modeling agent's client books when she's picking out her interns. She deserves to have Chippendale dancers delivering her messages from Congress. And Bill can't say a word!!!

xoxoxoxoxo, Martha