Thank you for waking up weekday mornings with me. It means a lot to know that you're there with me. I'll do my best to keep you informed and entertained while you go through your morning routine.

To make a request, comment on the topic of the day, call in a birthday or anniversary, or to win a contest, here's the number you need: 770-834-KISS that's 770-834-5477. Shoot me an e-mail by clicking here!

Well, it finally happened. I finally got talked into a new look. Since I've been having no luck at all in the romance department, I consulted with the ladies at Great Clips about a new "image" for me.

They put their heads together, and decided that this was the best thing for me - the faux-hawk. I gotta admit, it's a radical departure from my usual hairstyle. So far, it's real easy to style. In fact, my hair usually looks like this when I wake up in the morning. So it saves me time too.

So far the biggest drawback is trying to wear headphones with it. They flatten the top out, not to mention getting that hair paste into them. (You've never lived until you've had to sit around with a q-tip, digging out hair paste from a set of headphones!)

So, what do you think? Let me hear from you. Does it help or hurt me in the dating department?

This story made me feel SO sad... This bird has a disease that has made it lose almost all it's feathers. It was given 6 months to live - but that was 12 years ago! Click on the link to see this story and watch the video from The Miami Herald.

Cool Website:
The Miami Herald story on Oscar

A Review of “Iron Man”
Josh M. Sewell

Most people knew “Iron Man” was going to open big, but I don’t think anyone predicted it would be this huge. Since it opened last Thursday night, the comic book flick has taken in over $200 million worldwide. It’s no wonder that Marvel Studios had “Iron Man 2” penciled in for April 30, 2010 by Monday morning.

I think people were caught off guard because Iron Man is typically considered a second-tier superhero in the world of Marvel Comics. Characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men are household names, even to those who don’t read comics, but heroes like Iron Man develop more of a cult following.

My wife is a great example: she loves the “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” flicks, but she couldn’t figure out why I was so psyched about “Iron Man.” When I asked her to go see it with me, I believe her exact words were, “Why? What the heck is that?” Once we saw it, she knew what it was: an awesome way to kick off the summer movie season.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who has achieved his success by building military hardware. While in Afghanistan demonstrating their effectiveness, he is kidnapped by terrorists. They force him to build a giant missile they can use against their enemies, but instead, he turns the materials into a suit that helps him escape captivity.

Once he gets back home, Stark is forced to realize he has built his life on destruction. At a press conference, he announces that Stark Industries is finished making weapons. This comes as a shock to his best friend, military man Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), and to his mentor, Obadiah Stane (a cue-balled Jeff Bridges).

However, he’s eventually forced out of his own company and has to watch as they begin providing arsenals under the table to some less-than-savory characters. Rather than sit back and do nothing, he makes a few upgrades to his suit and becomes a one-man army dedicated to wiping out the weaponry he helped design. The only people who know about his new side-job are Rhodes and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark’s indispensable executive assistant who knows more about his life than he does.

I know that sounds like a very brief synopsis, and there’s a reason for that. I’m trying not to give away some of the secrets the movie holds. Besides, as far as comic book movies go, the first one’s always slightly dry because they have to get the origin story out of the way. That’s why “Spider-Man 2” was better than “Spider-Man,” and that’s why I’ve got a feeling that “The Dark Knight” is going to blow “Batman Begins” out of the water.

Besides, there’s only one reason you need to see “Iron Man,” and that’s Robert Downey Jr. The guy is simply unbelievable; it’s like Tony Stark is based on him, even though the character first appeared in comics two years before Downey was born. He makes every scene feel effortless, like he’s coming up with dialogue on the spot rather than reading from a script.

Usually superhero flicks drag whenever the main character’s not in the suit. That’s not the case here. Downey’s dry humor and commitment to the role make every second of the movie crackle. It reminded me why I loved him so much in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (if you haven’t seen it, catch it on cable, rent it, or add it to your queue right now).

Downey’s personality seems to be contagious too — Bridges and Howard are better than they’ve been in a while and Paltrow turns in some of the best work of her career. As Pepper Potts, she’s beautiful, spunky and fun.

Jon Favreau has directed a film he can be proud of. It’s already being hailed as one of the best comic book movies ever, and he’s really upped his game since helming “Zathura” and “Elf.” He needs to work on the action sequences a little bit more, but I’m sure he’s got plenty of time to get that down for the sequel.

“Iron Man” is easily one of the best movies of the year so far. The bar for summer blockbusters has been set pretty high; let’s hope some of the other flicks can meet the standard.

“Iron Man” is rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.

Grade: A-

Hear Josh's reviews every Friday at 8:40 with Jack in the Morning on Kiss 102.7.

This is our May pet of the month from the Haralson County Animal Shelter. Mike Pope, the Director of the shelter brought this adorable puppy by the studio.



If you are interested in adopting this little fellow, or any animal, call the shelter at the number below - or click on the link to their web site.

Listen to Jack in the Morning the first Monday of every month for the next pet of the month!

If you are interested in adopting a pet from the shelter, contact the Haralson County Animal Shelter at 770-646-6622. Visit their website - link below.

Pet of the Month is brought to you by Pet Supplies "Plus," now open in the Carrollton Crossroads Shopping Center. Take your pet shopping with you at Pet Supplies "Plus," where they have over 10,000 items in stock everyday.

Stop by and register your pet in their Pet Birthday Club. It's free, and your animal will get a birthday card in the mail with a coupon good for $5.00 off any purchase of $25 or more (excluding litter). Plus, your pet's photo could be chosen to appear on the Pet Supplies Plus website at: www.petsuppliesplus.com.

Say hello to Mark Martin and the staff as you shop for everything your pet needs.

Cool Website:
Haralson County Animal Shelter

Ella, our April Pet of the Month still needs a home. She's SO nice, and would be prefect if you have kids or just to keep you company. Contact the Haralson County Animal Shelter and find out how easy it is to make Ella a part of your family.

A Review of “Baby Mama”
Josh M. Sewell

So far, 2008 has been a decent year for comedies. At least for me, it has. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed movies like “Definitely, Maybe,” “Leatherheads,” “Smart People” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” even though other critics were less than kind to some of them. “Baby Mama,” last week’s box office winner, is another funny flick we can add to the ever-increasing stack.

Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) plays Kate Holbrook a 30-something executive with a rapidly ticking biological clock. She has devoted most of her adult life to the health food conglomerate she works for, but now she wants a baby. With no guy in the picture to provide one, she tries adoption. That doesn’t pan out. She looks into artificial insemination, but the doctor tells her she has a one in a million chance of conceiving.

With no other options left, Kate turns to a company specializing in surrogacy, in which they find a woman willing to carry someone else’s child for a hefty fee. The super-fertile head of the company (Sigourney Weaver) pairs Kate with Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”), a crazy, lower class woman who’s only in it for the money.

When she gets word that Angie is pregnant, Kate jumps into motherhood head first by reading tons of childcare books, baby-proofing the apartment seven months early, etc. Things become more twisted when Angie shows up at Kate’s apartment in the middle of the night. She and her idiot boyfriend (Dax Shepard, “Idiocracy”) split up, and she needs a place to crash.

Kate’s life turns into a female version of “The Odd Couple.” She’s straight-laced and neat, Angie is an outrageous slob. As expected, things are rocky at first. However, as the two get to know each other, they each begin to adopt the better parts of the other one’s personality. Kate learns how to loosen up; Angie realizes her self-worth and matures a little bit.

Plus there’s the little fact that they have to get along so they can figure out how to bring a baby into the world. Should be a piece of cake.

Despite being written by a man — Michael McCullers, who also directed — “Baby Mama” works as the female version of last summer’s “Knocked Up,” possibly because Fey did an uncredited polish on the script. Surprisingly, the film’s trailer doesn’t give away all the funny lines. I was afraid that was going to be the case, so I was happy to be proved wrong.

I’m thinking Fey and Poehler are going to end up being responsible for some of the year’s most-repeated dialogue. The sheer number of quotable lines in the movie is up there with stuff like “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Anchorman.”

Both ladies turn in respectable performances, admirably walking the fine line between realism and caricature. The supporting cast is Apatow-like in its greatness: folks like Shepard, Greg Kinnear, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney and Steve Martin pop up here and there, all of them getting a number of laughs.

Martin’s character is especially worth mentioning. As Kate’s whacked out New Age boss, he reminded me of the Steve Martin I used to love; the one who didn’t waste his time on paycheck movies like “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “The Pink Panther.” Maybe his work here will cause him to go back to his roots.

McCullers, also partly responsible for the “Austin Powers” trilogy, doesn’t hit a home run in his directorial debut, but he manages a decent double. A lot of first-time directors would kill for that.

“Baby Mama” is perfect for those looking for a good comedy without the raunchiness of something R-rated. It’s also the last relatively calm theater experience you’ll have for a while, since the summer movie season kicks off next week with the massively-hyped “Iron Man.”

“Baby Mama” is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference.

Grade: B

Hear Josh's reviews every Friday at 8:40 with Jack in the Morning on Kiss 102.7.