LobsterLvr

25 years ago my kids were in grammar school, I had a different wife, I had brown hair, heck, I had hair (!), and fortunately I had a Dell personal computer. I can still remember pressing the power button, watching the screen boot-up, and visiting EC.com for the very first time. I still get the same feelings coming to the site...excitement, hopefulness, wonder, kinship, and appreciation. Thanks for 25 great ones, Bernie! Dave

This thread is going around in FB. I felt the need to contribute....

I can still remember trying to figure out how to connect to the World Wide Web from AOL. And when I did, wow, I actually FELT it! (Something we take for granted today.). And that feeling continues every time I stop by EC.com. Thanks, Bernie, for 25 years of making us all feel at home...yet so connected!

Eric's version of Paper Back Writer

Hi Fellow EC fans, As many of you know, my day job is being an advertising creative director and copywriter. What you may not know is that, for the last few years, my night job has been writing stories for potential children’s picture books. Well…one of those stories, CROSSWALK WALLY, has just been published! It’s the story of a crosswalk sign silhouette that gets separated from his bright yellow sign and uses the guidance of other street signs to safely find the way back to his post. This week I’m officially kicking off my efforts to promote CROSSWALK WALLY and I can’t think of a better place to begin than with all of you. The book is written for kids 4 to 8 years old, so if any of you have kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews that age, please check it out. It’s currently available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crosswalk-Wally-Dave-Shea/dp/1736753304 In support of the book I also created a pedestrian safety website that’s full of sidewalk, crosswalk, and bicycle safety tips, along with links to dozens of national and regional safety councils. (Bernie probably could have created a much better site, but I was on a pretty tight budget!) https://www.crosswalkwally.com/ I also now have an author site: https://www.davesheawrites.com/ The fact that we have Eric, the Raspberries, this site, and this community in common, tells me you might like CROSSWALK WALLY as well. Thanks for indulging me, and remember to always cross carefully! Dave (LobsterLvr) Shea

nicely done.

I'm still here. I drop by about once a week. Hopefully that's enough to be considered an active member of the "EC CT Posse". 🙂. Life, family, work, and my side-hustle writing and self-publishing children's books (www.davesheawrites.com) keep me pretty darn busy. While I don't have any new, thought-provoking EC stories to tell, the way Bernie and I connected is kinda interesting. For those who don't know, Bernie and I both work in advertising. We are both "creatives". He's an art director. I'm a copywriter. At advertising agencies, art directors and copywriters are teamed up to come up with ideas for clients. (Yes, just like in MadMen.) He and I never worked at the same agency. While he was cranking out milk mustache ads, I was busy churning out commercials for a bunch of General Mills cereals (the ones that rot your teeth). Back in the mid/late 90's, AOL showed up, and with it came "chat rooms". One day a "Raspberries" chat room showed up. I was shocked. I thought I was the only person who had a thing for that band. I joined the chat room under the name LOBSTERLVR (back then a screen name had to be 10 or less characters, so LOBSTERLOVER was not an option). Every night, once my kids fell asleep, I'd get on my blue iMac, log into AOL, and post questions and opinions about the band with people who shared the same passion for the band as I did. One of those folks kept posting words, phrases, and references that only "advertising people" use. So one day I typed in "You sound like you're in advertising", to which he responded "I am!". Once we established our professional connection, we discovered we lived only 7 miles apart (in central NJ). Small world, right? While Bernie and I have yet to actually work together, we do have something else in common: we're both still working in advertising! No small feat for anyone over 50. A miracle for anyone over 60!! This business thrives on young blood. Our blood has more benicar and lipitor, than red blood cells! And yet, here we are. These days we're working where the money is: pharma. Yup...we're the guys who create those ads that have people doing yoga, hugging their grandchildren and taking in deep breaths on mountaintops. I'm doing it full time. If I know Bernie, he's cranking out some incredible non-pharma work, as well. And that's how my connection to this community began...and it's all thanks to Bernie and his creation of the Raspberries Chat Room some 25 years ago. Dave (aka: Lobsterlvr)

no argument here!

Not sure if this was posted before, but this ran in England back in the spring and summer:

There have been hundreds of great female singers in our time. Over the last 20 years, these two rise to the top for me. Canada's Jann Arden. Her only US hit was "Insensitive" in '94, but north of the border, she's an icon! And NJ's Nicole Atkins. No big hits, but what a voice!! - Dave

One of my more recent hidden gems, from Paul and The Firemen (Electric Arguments CD). Gotta love those bells!!

I'm one of the lucky ones: 1. Raspberries V2.0, December, 1974 Commodore Ballroom, Lowell, Mass 2. Dirty Dancing Tour, PNC Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ 3. Ringo's All Starr Band, 2000, New Brunswick, NJ 4. Raspberries Reunited: Cleveland's HOB, NYC's BBKings (2x), and NYC's Highline Ballroom Dave

Thanks for the Westport shout-out...and for writing me into the story. BTW, if Eric and Wally had tried the next house the storyline would have been much different....

I only need 3347 more posts to achieve my next level!

I only need 3348 more posts to achieve my next level!

I only need 3349 more posts to achieve my next level!

Top 5: 1. I'm Scared (such a wonderful song, in every way) 2. You Saved My Soul 3. I Will Play A Rhapsody 4. Stand Tall 5. Break It To Them Gently.

put me down for next year's contribution. :-)

Craig's right.

Welcome to your Brand New Year, Eric! Stay well and enjoy! Dave

Regarding Keith Barbour's version of "Everything": I've always loved it...until today. Now, all I hear is Adam Sandler singing the song!!

Sure would be interesting to hear what Eric thinks of his beloved Cleveland Indians' name change? It gets a raspberry from me. Dave

that's the word I was looking for!

I'm not sure if I'm sure if I love or hate this. https://sowndhaus.audio/track/19803/hungry-eyes-in-the-sky-dj-a-bbic-2021-valentines-mashup Dave

In the winter 1978 I worked as a weekend overnight announcer at "FM 93 WNTQ" in Syracuse. It was a 'beautiful music' station. The station sat at the end of a dead end road in a frozen snow-covered marshy field on the outskirts of town. I remember Ray Conniff's ABM popping up on the playlist and, if you had happened to drive down that dead end road at 3AM that sub-zero Syracuse night, and looked in the window of the broadcast booth, you probably would have caught me singing along while conducting the world's largest make-believe orchestra...all by myself