The day was all about getting from Santa Fe to Las Vegas. We got later a start than we wanted from The Inn of the Turquoise Bear. A unique bed and breakfast in the spirit of The Bob Newhart Show… “I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl.” It was expensive and charming with cats, dogs, and guests roaming about the property and every corner was like discovering a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. Put it on your list when in Santa Fe.

Off Tim and John went after filling up the Beetle TDI for the dive west. New Mexico got progressively more beautiful as the trip unfolded. First stop was The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. (Yes, it is not just a 10,000 Maniacs song.) Pictures do not do justice to the vast land and vistas, but we tried. Check out the pics on Facebook under our community page, Focus Group Radio.

On to Holbrook Arizona and the Wigwam Hotel. Tucked between a gravel pit and active railroad track are the concrete teepees of the Wigwam Motel along Historic Route 66. As luck would have it, we ran into the Great, Great Grandfather of our current Beetle and we were able to get some family snapshots. We tried to eat healthy for lunch and stopped at a Subway in Winslow. Other than a man standing in the corner, the Subway person was wiping up left over lettuce and olives from the counter and throwing the goods back into the bins. We left and headed to McDonalds were we had chicken salads. Not bad, but there is no reason to ever go there for a salad—in Tim’s mind at least. Our Beetle TDI was now averaging about 42 mpgs. We were delighted to be getting the best mileage ratings of the trip, and figured it was the 72 degrees versus the triple digits of the previous days that accounted for the better fuel economy.

During a fuel and nature break, Tim spotted magnets of the states. John suggested they each get a set of the states they traveled through the last 5days. 16 states in all, which was too bad as Tim’s lucky number is 17. Tim and John are still puzzling about what happened next. The trip had been flawless. Never a wrong turn or mishap. It was only 100 miles to the Luxor in Vegas and the journey would be complete. Not sure how it happened, but we missed a turn and ended up in California. Tim and John could not believe their eyes. John took his foot off the accelerator, daring the VW to not cross into California. Tim just looked at John and said, “We don’t have that magnet.” So we were off track by almost two hours, but added a state, which now made 17—Tim’s lucky number and not a bad way to start our weekend in Vegas! Our Producer Katie and John’s partner Bob greeted us as we arrived at the Luxor. Our rooms are great, and we are enjoying a much-needed respite for the weekend. We are broadcasting from the Temptation Sundays Pool Party so come see us…and may luck and success follow you like it guided Tim and John across this great land called America.

Tim, John and the VW Beetle TDI departed OKC and the very nice Colcord Hotel--complete with Bulgari amenities. The Colcord takes the prize for “best water pressure” in the shower. The roads were long, the temp was hot, and the sky vast. Our Beetle was serving us well with a cool cabin and 37 mpg. We rolled into the Texas panhandle and stopped in McLean…home of The Devil’s Rope Museum, to tour the largest collection of barbed wire along with Route 66 memorabilia. Entering the dark museum we were greeted by Alta, the Asst. manager of the property. We signed the guest book on the same page of recent visitors from Kuala Lumpur, The Philippines, Paris, and New Hampshire. John questioned Alta about the guest entries and they became fast friends. Tim went to the restroom and admired the various types of wallpaper in a truck theme.

Once Tim and John reunited, Alta turned the lights on in the museum. Some of the highlights were the 48 star U.S. Flag, a whole room dedicated to how barbed wire “tamed the west,” and a showcase of Route 66 bric-a-brac. Head over to the Focus Group Radio Facebook page to see all the pics. At the museum we were sent on our way and told not to miss the original Philips 66 filling station, the worlds largest cross in the western hemisphere, and the “Leaning Water tower of Briiten named after the leaning tower of pizza which was in Britain.” We did not make this up.

Driving through Texas was what we expected. The landscape was foreign to us and neither thought they could survive in this vast land. Continuing the journey into New Mexico we finally got into cooler weather and Wile E. Coyote terrain. Headed on into a rain storm and The Beetle got a much needed de-bugging right before Santa Fe. Late afternoon and 532 miles since OKC we arrived at our listeners recommendation…The Inn of The Turquoise Bear, also known as The Witter Brynner House. After a quick shower Tim and John shared a glass of wine with a cadre of guests and the Inn Keepers Robert and Ralph. After a few stories, highlighted again by the Meramec Caverns, Tim and John headed to Guadalupe’s for dinner and rewind for the final Friday push to The Luxor Las Vegas. We have met wonderful people along the route and cannot believe it is Friday. The Beetle TDI is fueled and ready for our next leg of the journey. Photos and more at the Facebook page, Focus Group Radio.

Day 3 continues with our now trusted friend, the silver 6-speed diesel turbo VW Beetle TDI. The temperature from St. Louis to Oklahoma City never varied much below 102 degrees. With the air pumping and car loaded with provisions we still managed to get a little over 39 mpg. Our first stop after a very restful night at The Moonrise in Missouri was the impossible to miss Meramec Caverns. Yes, there were more than two dozen billboards plastered along I-64/route 66. We planned to go anyway so the hype was a much appreciated affirmation. Pictures do not do the inside justice. It is a not a national park, but a “show cave.” Worth the 20 bucks alone if you get our “John Candy” like guide complete with ill fitting tie and pail of fountain soda. It was a memorable July 4th as the tour climax included a Kate Smith rendition of God Bless America in the cave cathedral replete with a homespun light show manually conducted by our guide. The loud clacking of the fuse box type ancient light switches were the perfect compliment to the spectacle. The only thing funnier about the tour was the fact that we met a couple on their 3rd visit.

We were soon back in the V-Dub and headed to Route 66 and all points West. Leaving Missouri after about four hours we rolled into Baxter Springs Kansas. All we can say is a twister may have just gone through as it was desolate. We had a piece of Sasquatch jerky and headed to Oklahoma. We were getting tired. Tim wanted to put in his Mandarin Chinese Living Language CD to continue his and John’s lesson…ni how ma…but they opted for some road tunes in order to not be hypnotized by the endless straight highway.

Finally at 6:30 Central Tim and John arrived at the Colcord Hotel in OKC. After a freshen up…a walk to the Oklahoma City National Memorial was necessary. Very well done and a great tribute to those lost on that horrific day.

We asked a local where we could get the best burger in town. Not sure we got it, but we ate fried green beans and burgers at the S & B Burger Joint. Star Wars was playing in the restaurant so John was happy. John wanted a chicken sandwich, but opted for the burger after Tim’s scowl. Desert was a salted caramel bacon homemade pie called a Hot Mess. Our server at the S & B bid us a farewell with, “Have fun tomorrow driving through nothing!” Tomorrow The Beetle TDI takes us to Santa Fe, New Mexico. God Bless America and Happy 236th. Photos and more at the Facebook page, Focus Group Radio.

After not a lot of sleep at The Lafayette, Tim and John decided to grab a real breakfast at the Busy Bee in the Harmar area of Marietta. It was a great down home breaky…although we were the youngest in there by decades. Tim and John enjoyed a scene right out of central casting. One of the regulars, Rusty, asked Joe if he had seen the headline about Anderson Cooper being gay. Joe replied, “Who?” Rusty says, “The news guy on CNN.” Joe replies, “Oh him. Who didn’t know that?”

Off to wild and wonderful West Virginia and some very nice road--thank you, Senator Byrd. Into Kentucky with some unremarkable roads and landscape. Seems that horse country somehow missed I-64. We did stop for lunch at what Tim thought was Crate & Barrel, aka Cracker Barrel. Tim got the meatloaf special, John got the salad…a surprise choice.

The car handled well and we averaged close to 39 mpg for the 9 plus hour trek to St.Louis. First stop the arch. Glad we did it, but we were hot and tired. It’s a racket, but a 50 Year old engineering marvel and something to see in person. After going to the top in an MRI/2001 type pod, we headed to our hotel, The Moonrise. Think Kimpton meets Schrager. Very hip and cool. Lindsey prepared a month aged rye manhattan with brandied cherries. Hmm. Jason, the commander (front desk clerk), at the Moonrise recommended Pi for deep dish pizza. Our waiter David was a movie buff, and John chatted with him about films.  Of course “American Beauty” came up. Tim hated it, John loved it, and David was nonplussed. Ain’t that America?

Tomorrow it is off to Oklahoma City in the Beetle TDI, but first we tour the underground Meramec Caverns as we start the Route 66 part of our journey. Photos and more at the Facebook page, Focus Group Radio.

Day one of The Focus Group Cross Country Adventure did not disappoint. Amtrak delayed the Philadelphia start, but our Beetle TDI manual six speed turbo diesel made up for the schedule lapse. Starting at iconic Boathouse Row in Philly, Tim and John cruised to the Steel City—John’s place of birth. We did make a quick stop on the PA Turnpike where the food choices were limited, a Farmer’s Market sat empty, John found a salad, Tim had a Whopper and both got the dry heaves from a fellow diner. The Beetle TDI averaged close to 40 mpg. Considering all the hills and city driving we were delighted. We pulled into Pittsburgh at 3:30pm and the first stop was Edward Marc Chocolatier. Our friend Norm met us and we had a lot of laughs. Soon Christian, Mark, and Albert from Edward Marc hosted us in the store for sampling of the best chocolate on the planet. But not just chocolates. They also have The Milkshake Factory. We cannot do it justice. Tim and John agreed for a change that they could not pick just one. The Bacon Milkshake with REAL bacon was a favorite for Tim, John, and Norm—a great brunch alternative. We obviously got off schedule, but we’re so delighted to see our friends in Pittsburgh.

You can order the chocolates online or get them at Saks. Do it. Tim and John headed up Mt. Washington to ride the incline. John had fond memories of riding as a kid with his granddad. We loved the nostalgia and great views of the city.

Next stop Marietta, Ohio. Tim and John checked in to the Hotel Lafayette where the past is still present. John remarked that he would not want it any other way. Tim went to college in Marietta and John sometimes feels like he did. Both walked the campus and John remarked about its small town wonderful feel with the brick streets and pleasant folk. John also remarked that he now understands why Tim comes back each year for Homecoming. After a walk through town we ended up at The Adventure Galley. We met Bryan and Justin who convinced us to have the unappetizing sounding bratwurst soup. It was delicious. After dinner, a Blue Moon and a treat we bought from Edward Marc, our first day is complete.

Tomorrow the Beetle TDI, Tim, and John head to St. Louis via West Virginia, Kentucky, and all points west. Tim remarked that John did great with the manual six-speed. Photos and more at the Facebook page, Focus Group Radio.

When you use compassionate communication in your conversations, something quite surprising occurs: both your brain and the brain of the person you’re talking to begin to align themselves with each other. This special bond is a phenomenon referred to as “neural resonance,” and in this enhanced state of mutual attunement, two people can accomplish remarkable things together. Why? Because it eliminates the natural defensiveness that normally exists when people casually converse. Full Article »

Family Matters  We’ve got two very different but highly enjoyable books about the nature of family hitting shelves this June. First up, it’s Dan Bucatinsky, who is perhaps most famous for producing the gone-before-its-time television gem “The Comeback” starring Lisa Kudrow. When he wasn’t busy making award-worthy comedy, Bucatinsky was building a family with his partner Don, and he turns his experiences of becoming a Dad into laugh-out-loud memoir in Does this Baby Make Me Look Straight? Meanwhile, later in the month, meet June, the adolescent girl at the center of Carol Rifka Brunt’s amazing debut novel Tell the Wolves I’m Home. June’s beloved Uncle Finn is her best friend, but he’s dying of AIDS. When he goes, he leaves behind a secret life she’s compelled to explore. This thrilling story about the power of secrets, art and the extraordinary lengths to which a family will go to protect each other rivals “To Kill a Mockingbird” for my favorite young female heroine.

Le Julie Hot  In this world where home video retailers tend to stock nothing but the newest of releases, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group is swinging open their huge film vault and giving viewers access to either made-to-order DVDs or video-on-demand digital copies of the classics for which you’ve been hunting. The program premiered with titles from the “Golden Age of Hollywood,” featuring the hits of stars like Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, but they’ve expanded into other periods and genres, and now they’re bringing two more recent classics back. In honor of its 30th Anniversary Victor/Victoria returns in all its roaring 1920s glory—with commentary by star Julie Andrews and director Blake Edwards. They’re also releasing another Edwards/Andrews gem from the same period—the dark Hollywood satire in which Julie Andrews famously “showed her boobies”—S.O.B. For more info on how you can get your hands on Julie’s assets—and hundreds of other hard-to-find titles—visit warnerarchive.com.

A Flock of Seagulls—literally—selling Cape Cod Potato Chips. I guess no matter how old you are, the music of your youth will eventually be used in advertising. It is a fun spot.

1. Go exploring. Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.

2. Share what you discover. And be generous when you do. Not everybody went exploring with you. Let them live vicariously through your adventures. Full Article »

Help Your Shelf  Looking for a book that might make you feel better about life? We’ve got four: First, we’re remembering a wild era of gay history with Running in Bed, the beautiful debut novel by Jeffrey Sharlach, about a man who comes to New York in the late 1970s to figure out how to be part of the gay community just in time for it to be devastated by the AIDS Crisis. (Focus Group fans in the NYC area can see Paul Hagen interview Jeffrey about the book live at Barnes & Noble, May 17th, at 7pm). Next, we’re getting inspired by a fascinating collection of letters that queer writers penned to their younger selves called The Letter Q — a sort of autobiographical twist on the “It Gets Better Campaign.” Then, we went audiobook for Rachel Maddow’s Drift and are finding it to be a wildly informative history of how the Presidency gradually stole the power to make war from Congress. And we’re even giving “self-help” a try, courtesy of Yogi and animal enthusiast Edward Vilga, courtesy of his book Upward Dog, which prescribes better living by being more like the pets that we love.

The word “etiquette” gets a bad rap. For one thing, it sounds stodgy and pretentious. And rules that are socially or morally prescribed seem intrusive to our sense of individuality and freedom.

But the concept of etiquette is still essential, especially now—and particularly in business. New communication platforms, like Facebook and Linked In, have blurred the lines of appropriateness and we’re all left wondering how to navigate unchartered social territory. Full Article »

How do you think most workers would respond if you asked them, “Do you feel more productive now than you did several years ago?” I doubt that the answer would be a resounding yes. In fact, even as workplace technology and processes steadily improve, many professionals feel less productive than ever.

It may seem a paradox, but these very tools are undermining our ability to get work done. They are causing us to become paralyzed by the dizzying number of options that they spawn. Full Article »

Friends, Romans, Countrymen  Australian photographer Paul Freeman made a name for himself photographing the Aussie hunks of Bondi Beach and butch boys of the Outback. However, in his latest book, Freeman is serving his men with a twist. Inspired by the anachronism of sensuous sculptures that celebrate the body dotting modern European cities (practically unseen by their bustling citizens), Freeman places models in neo-classical poses and attire in modern settings in his new book Heroics.

Won’t the Real Ben Cohen, Please Stand Up?  Pro-athletes often retire from playing  pro-sports to embrace exciting opportunities in coaching or reality television, but not Ben Cohen. He left a great run as one of the world’s most celebrated rugby players to concentrate on building the Ben Cohen StandUp foundation, an organization devoted to addressing the epidemic of childhood bullying—especially among gay kids. Read more about how Cohen decided to make this unique commitment in Paul Hagen’s profile of him, and learn how you can support his efforts with the StandUp Foundation.

Girls Just Wanna…  Remember the good old days, when you could visit your four favorite gal pals ever Sunday night on HBO? Well, the network has a fab new NYC foursome to introduce to you, but this time—instead of pulled-together Manhattanites, they’re Williamsburg Hipsters, and they’re falling apart. Series creator/writer/director/miracle Lena Dunham stars as Hannah, a girl with an unpaid internship who’s about to get financially cut off by her parents. Meanwhile, Hannah’s best friend Marnie is busy actively sabotaging her own long term relationship and their friends—free-spirited world traveler Jessa and Sex-and-the-City obsessed virgin Shoshanna—are also stalled: the former too cool and the latter too anxious for their own good. Get more info about Girls at HBO.com and tune into the premiere April 15 at 10:30pm on HBO.

At the end of most job interviews, you’re asked a seemingly innocuous, open-ended question: “Do you have any questions for me?” That may seem straightforward enough, but in fact there are many ways to go astray. One obvious mistake is not asking anything at all, which shows that you haven’t given any serious thought to the possibility of employment at this particular organization. Full Article »

First impressions still count when it comes to nailing the interview for that new position, but there are several other things you need to think about as you settle into the hot seat. It only takes a few minutes for a prospective employer to size you up and decide whether you’ll be a good fit for the position. A single quip, remark, or even a facial expression could send the wrong message and knock you out of line for the job. Polishing your interviewing skills can help you communicate better and ensure the interview is smooth sailing. Full Article »

Come On! Rogue!  On Sunday March 10, HBO is bringing back Sarah Palin in a big way. And if you thought that Tina Fey had the definitive Palin impression locked up, hold on to your lipstick, Soccer Moms. Julianne Moore’s Sarah Palin is eerily accurate (might Moore be our next Meryl Streep?), and she’s supported by a fantastic cast (including Ed Harris as John McCain and Woody Harrelson as a top campaign aid). Game Change is roller-coaster-ride exciting, laugh-out-loud funny and as entertaining to watch as the political superstar at its center.