Have a scary Halloween
Becareful what you open tonight...
posted by TheWino @ 4:25 PM
0 comments
Bottom Of The Barrel
Friday, October 31, 2008
Don't forget to vote next week, regardless of who is your man!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I honestly expect a bit more from a company with that much income to burn, market share ownership and two of the coolest concepts being used together - video games and music.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Look fantastic in a suit
Look fantastic in casual ware
Look fantastic in anything
Sound Good
Smell Good
Kiss Good
Strut around with supreme confidence
Be uncannily successful at your job
Blow people away every time you say anything
Take six hour lunches
Disappear for weeks at a time
Lie to everyone about everything
Drink and smoke constantly
Basically, Be Don Drapper
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
8 Years later and this is still a funny bit.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Having thumbed through the book, here are some of my favorite codes:
Article 1: Bro's before ho's.
Article 4: A Bro never divulges the existence of the Bro Code to a woman.
Article 16: A Bro should be able, at any time, to recite the following reigning champions: Super Bowl, World Series and Playmate of the Year.
Article 20: A Bro respects his Bros in the military because they've selflessly chosen to defend the nation but more to the point, because they can kick his ass six ways to Sunday.
Article Article 24: When wearing a baseball cap, a Bro may position the brim at either 12 or 6 o'clock. All other angles are reserved for rappers and the handicapped.
Article 26: Unless he has children, a Bro shall never wear his cell phone on a belt clip.
Article 30: A Bro doesn't comparison shop.
Article 38: Even in a fight to the death, a Bro never punches another Bro in the groin.
Article 41 A Bro never cries [except when watching Field of Dreams, ET or a sports legend retire].
Article 52: A Bro is not required to remember another Bro's birthday, though a phone call every now and again probably wouldn't kill him.
Article 72: A Bro never spell-checks.
Article 84: A Bro shall stop whatever he is doing and watch Die Hard if it is on TV [Ditto for The Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun, The Big Lebowski, and the first half of Full Metal Jacket].
Article 91: If a group of Bro's suspect that their Bro is trying to give himself a nickname, they shall rally to call him by an adjacent yet more demeaning nickname.
Article 93: Bro's don't speak French to each other.
Article 107: A Bro never leaves another Bro hanging.
Article 118: When a Bro is with his Bros, he is not a vegetarian.
Article 122: A Bro is always psyched. Always.
Article 129: If a Bro lends another Bro a DVD, video game, or a piece of lawn equipment, he shall not expect to ever get it back, unless his Bro happens to die and bequeath it back to him.
And last, but certainly not least:
Amendment VIII: A Bro may toss the Bro Code out the window if Scandinavian twins are involved in an capacity.
The Bro Code would make an excellent stocking stuffer this holiday season for the Bro in your life.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Come to think of it, I bet their newer fashion Tees are more popular than their throwback models so perhaps funnytees.com is even a better name.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
"It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation, [it] just up and vanished. And I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money... but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. And promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."
So Hoawrd was promised something, not in writing, with regards to possible sequels? I'm sure Marvel didn't simply back out of an existing contract with the actor because if that were the case, we would be reading about a lawsuit for breach of contract.
Mean while Marvel Studios have had no public comment on the issue, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to sources who stated that negotiations with the actor "fell through over financial differences". This sounds more logical that the studio is not going to be held hostage by a less-than-top-billed actor for a sequel, especailly when that studio just started producing their own films this year.
Sadly the actor will no longer be part of the Avengers movie world because he [and his agent] were unable to come to terms with the studio over his salery, which is would have been more money than most people would see in their lifetime.
Update: In a related story, here is the concept art for the War Machine - the suit Howard's character is rumored to be doning in the next Iron Man film:
Pretty sweet, I hope it fits Mr. Cheadle.
Monday, October 20, 2008
My thoughts and prays go out to the Meyer family as well as the entire King Phillip student body.
Looking more locally, Massachusetts has been a historically a democratic state. Here are the election results of the past 10 Massachusetts federal elections:
2004: Kerry (D)
2000: Gore (D)
1996: Clinton (D)
1992: Clinton (D)
1988: Michael Dukakis (D)
1984: Ronald Reagan (R)
1980: Ronald Reagan (R)
1976: Jimmy Carter (D)
1972: George McGovern (D)
1968: Hubert Humphrey (D)
Reagan, a republican, won Massachusetts both times he ran but he was one of the most popular president ever winning 44 out of 51 states in 84 and 49 of 51 in 88. McGovern only carried two states in his bid to be president in 72 - Massachusetts and Washington DC. Are we ultra smart or ultra stubborn? Looking back even further, the great state of Massachusetts voted for only one other republican candidate since 1924 and that was Dwight D. Eisenhower in 52 and 56, another wildly popular candidate.
So in the coming election, Obama will win the state of Massachusetts and receive our 12 electoral votes, regardless if I vote for him or McCain [or Baldwin, Barr, McKinney or Nader]. So in that respect my vote doesn't really count. Let's not even think about cities and towns that only count absentee ballots if the difference in the voting results is less than the total number of absentee votes cast.
While the electoral college vote has normally followed the popular vote there have been 3 occasions, 1876, 1888, and 2000, where the candidate who won the nationwide popular vote did not become President. Sure in the late 1800's it made sense to have this kind of electoral system but in the 21st century? With all of our modern technology?
I recommend that not only do we eliminate the electoral college system and simply count all of the votes in a true populous manner but we should also have a results show to announce the winner. Dancing With the Stars and American Idol get great ratings on result night so why shouldn't the Presidential Election? I would plan it for a week after the election, in prime time, so that families can watch our democratic process in action. I would even have the network's bid on it and sell advertising. All that money could go right back into the Federal system to help pay for social security or off set income tax.
So for 2012, I say Go Popular or Go Home!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
"Fox will accommodate Senator Obama’s desire to communicate with voters in this long-form format," network spokesman Lou D’Ermilio said in a statement. "We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for Fox to carry his program on October 29. If requested, the network would be willing to make similar time available to Senator McCain’s campaign."
Well it's good to see that MLB and Fox are so accomidating to the political process. I wonder how much money it took to get both groups to agree to the time change? I guess it doesn't matter how late the games run, as long as everyone is making some cash in the process [and eight less minutes of sleep won't hurt all those viewers right?].
On a side note, the World Series has not gone to a sixth game since 2003 so it may be a moot point anyway.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
So if you want to be Barak "Change, Change, Change" Obama, John "I have more friends than Tom on MySpace" McCain, Joe "Don't look at my hair plugs" Biden or Sarah "I can see Russia from my house" Palin, they are all available for your use. Please wear [and vote] responsibly.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Back in 1999, Limp Bizkit hit us with a song called Break Stuff which contained some very straightforward and less than profound lyrics:
Its just one of those days
When you don't wanna wake up
Everything is fucked
Everybody sux
Although in retrospect, Wall Street has probably felt just this way for the past few weeks. Anyway, if you were in that mood and wanted to just go out and break some stuff as a stress relief, then Sarah's Smash Shack is just what the doctor ordered. They have Break Rooms where you and up to 3 friends can get together an tear it up. The rooms also include a MP3 port, so bring along some angry white guy music. The Menu includes items like:
Smash Shack House - 15 plates for $45
The TV Dinner - 2 dinner trays for $15
The Six Shooter - 6 glasses for $10
The Sashimi - 3 small plates for $10
Next time I am in San Diego [which was discovered by the German's in 1904], I must stop in to Sarah's and Smash some plates to Limp Bizkit's Break Stuff. It just sounds like fun for the whole family [note must be 18 years old to play].
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Now, get up off your seats,
Everybody scream,
Man I really love this team
Steele claims that Jon Bon Jovi had to have heard his song while campaigning in Boston for John Kerry in 2004. Ok. While on the other hand, Bon Jovi's song has this line:
That's why I, love this town
Named in the 400 billion dollar lawsuit are Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Time Warner Corporation. Other defendants include Jon Bongiovi, Richard Sambora, William Falcone, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Fox Television Networks, Major League Baseball & MLB Productions, A&E/AETV, Bon Jovi, AEG Live, Mark Shimmel Music, Vector Management, Island Records & Island Def Jam Records, Aggressive Music & Sony ATV Tunes, Bon Jovi Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Universal Polygram, Pretty Blue Songs, and The Bigger Picture Cinema Co, as well as the owners of every ballpark that the ad at issue was played in, and all of Time Warner's Networks that played the ad in more than 74 countries around the world promoting defendants MLB and Bon Jovi. I guess when your going swing for the fences, you should really swing for the fences.
Back in august, Steele has "restated" his issue and now it is not a stolen lyric but rather that MLB and TBS stolen the idea of his song and used his lyrics to create this promotion:
I can see some of his logic but I'm not sure I can make the leap from his song and his reported shopping of it to the Red Sox and MLB to Bon Jovi recording a song that happens to get used for playoff baseball. I suppose, like most larege scare lawsuits, scatter the blame around enough and some of the companies will pay him, I mean settle this matter out of court.
I wonder if the IRS is going to join into the on going state investigation into the comapny and these men? I wonder if DiMasi will get caught up in all of this? I guess our current troubled economic times does not include large software companies who have the money to pave the way to state contracts. Wonder what they could have done with that 1.8 million instead of buying off people in Boston for contract? Perhaps it was a good investment, now if the state could only keep it's hands out of the cookie jar and do business straight, we all might just be a better state for it.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
JMan, were you recently in New York City?
Dada.net is now offering DRM-free MP3's from both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment's catalogs. The songs can be downloaded to any mobile phone, iPod or digital music player and over-the-air MP3 downloads to mobile devices will be available in the next few weeks. Currently their total catalog is no match for iTunes, their pricing just might be. Dada is approaching pricing from the subscription model, as in $10 a month. That monthly fee will give you access to a maximum of 15 tracks that you can download throughout the month. On a per song basis, that is only 66 cents, instead of the traditional 99 cents that you would pay at the industry giant iTunes. Or you could think of it as paying the same as you do at iTunes, but for every 10 songs purchased, you get 5 free. And since Dada is half owned by Sony Music Entertainment, in a sense they are paying themselves as much as 33 cents per song instead of 9 cents they currently get from Apple. If the music industry can find ways to work together like this, they could regain control over their industry instead being at the mercy of Apple, as they currently are.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Question: Do you think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better?
Obama: No, I am confident about the American economy. But we are going to have to have some leadership from Washington that not only sets out much better regulations for the financial system. The problem is we still have a archaic, 20th-century regulatory system for 21st-century financial markets. We're going to have to coordinate with other countries to make sure that whatever actions we take work.
McCain: I think it depends on what we do. I think if we act effectively, if we stabilize the housing market -- which I believe we can, if we go out and buy up these bad loans, so that people can have a new mortgage at the new value of their home -- I think if we get rid of the cronyism and special interest influence in Washington so we can act more effectively.
Bottom Line: Obama has a definitive answer to the question while McCain uses the MBA mentality, it depends.
Question: The three -- health care, energy, and entitlement reform: Social Security and Medicare. In what order would you put them in terms of priorities?
McCain: I think you can work on all three at once, Tom. I think it's very important that reform our entitlement programs. My friends, we are not going to be able to provide the same benefit for present-day workers that we are going -- that present-day retirees have today.
Obama: We're going to have to prioritize, just like a family has to prioritize. Now, I've listed the things that I think have to be at the top of the list. Energy we have to deal with today, because you're paying $3.80 here in Nashville for gasoline, and it could go up.
Bottom Line: At least we know which Obama thinks is the most critical thing to do first.
Question: Would you give Congress a date certain to reform Social Security and Medicare within two years after you take office? Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis.
Obama: Well, Tom, we're going to have to take on entitlements and I think we've got to do it quickly. We're going to have a lot of work to do, so I can't guarantee that we're going to do it in the next two years, but I'd like to do in the my first term as president. But I think it's important to understand, we're not going to solve Social Security and Medicare unless we understand the rest of our tax policies. And you know, Sen. McCain, I think the "Straight Talk Express" lost a wheel on that one.
McCain: Social Security is not that tough. We know what the problems are, my friends, and we know what the fixes are. We've got to sit down together across the table. It's been done before. I saw it done with our -- our wonderful Ronald Reagan, a conservative from California, and the liberal Democrat Tip O'Neill from Massachusetts. That's what we need more of, and that's what I've done in Washington.
Bottom Line: Social Security is an easy fix, then why isn't it fixed yet? Bipartisan is not the only thing needed to deal with this issue.
Question: Do you think that Russia under Vladimir Putin is an evil empire?
Obama: I think they've engaged in an evil behavior and I think that it is important that we understand they're not the old Soviet Union but they still have nationalist impulses that I think are very dangerous.
McCain: Maybe. Depends on how we respond to Russia and it depends on a lot of things. If I say yes, then that means that we're reigniting the old Cold War. If I say no, it ignores their behavior.
Bottom Line: Maybe? I don't think that is an answer our president can give the public if asked such a direct question.
Question: What don't you know and how will you learn it?
Obama: My wife, Michelle, is there and she could give you a much longer list than I do. And most of the time, I learn it by asking her. But, look, the nature of the challenges that we're going to face are immense and one of the things that we know about the presidency is that it's never the challenges that you expect. It's the challenges that you don't that end up consuming most of your time. But here's what I do know...
McCain: And I think what I don't know is what all of us don't know, and that's what's going to happen both here at home and abroad. The challenges that we face are unprecedented. Americans are hurting tonight in a way they have not in our generation. There are challenges around the world that are new and different and there will be different -- we will be talking about countries sometime in the future that we hardly know where they are on the map, some Americans. So what I don't know is what the unexpected will be.
Bottom Line: Sure the future is unknown, that's a given, but at least Obama made his answer more human and humorous using his wife as the set-up.
Here's what I don't know, how could McCain - who is undoubtedly a war hero and a long time US congressman, be so unprepared, so stiff and appear so lifeless during his favored town hall format? Based on last night, I would say congratulations Mr. Obama, you sir will be our next president.
[Unless McCain and Palin do something drastic in the next 28 days that is.]
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Date Net Loss
9/29/2008 777.68
9/17/2001 684.81
4/14/2001 617.77
10/27/1997 554.26
8/31/1998 512.62
10/7/2008 508.39
10/19/1987 508.00
9/15/2008 504.48
9/17/2008 449.36
Looking at the past 16 days for the average, it doesn't look good:
Note the green line indicates the failed first vote on the bailout while the green line shows when it was finally approved.
So when is the 700 Billion Dollar Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 going to take effect and stabalize the markets? I hope it's soon before my 401k is completely depleated and I have to start all over again.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Since when did bowling include a defence? Is this some new type of bowling where the pins can move, block or fight back against the ball? If the fans are not bright enough to understand basic concepts in sports, it should be banned from public broadcast.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Actually, get out there and ROCK THE VOTE!
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
What I see is a company who has gone from selling 968 to 6,370 songs per day. Even if their profit margin has always been 1 penny, they have 6.5 time more purchases everyday to profit from. Additionally, Apple has an 85 percent market share in online music and, in April, passed Wal-Mart as the No. 1 music retailer in the U.S.
On the other hand, perhaps Apple should close iTunes and allow someone else to enter the market and take over their 2 million songs sold per year market and see if they can make it profitable, using bit torrent as their platform for example. Distributing computing could yet find it's place. Does ELTunes [Ed and Lisa's Tunes] have a ring to it? I think it does...
Clever combintation of the holiday and current events
Don't forget to vote next week, regardless of who is your man!
Labels: Holiday, Politics, Video
posted by TheWino @ 8:37 AM
0 comments
Is this the best they can come up with?
Guitar Hero, a game franchise that back in January marked an industry record, surpassing $1 billion in North American retail sales, used the Risky Business parody last year with David Cook and David Archuleta for the American Idol finale. This was a clever advertisement however there new GH4 commercial featuring Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk and Alex Rodriguez is just lazy. Take a look:I honestly expect a bit more from a company with that much income to burn, market share ownership and two of the coolest concepts being used together - video games and music.
Labels: Video
posted by TheWino @ 9:02 AM
2 comments
Don Draper's Guide To Picking Up Women
Look fantastic in a suit
Look fantastic in casual ware
Look fantastic in anything
Sound Good
Smell Good
Kiss Good
Strut around with supreme confidence
Be uncannily successful at your job
Blow people away every time you say anything
Take six hour lunches
Disappear for weeks at a time
Lie to everyone about everything
Drink and smoke constantly
Basically, Be Don Drapper
posted by TheWino @ 8:57 AM
2 comments
Wassup 2008
8 Years later and this is still a funny bit.
Labels: Funny, Politics, Video
posted by TheWino @ 4:02 PM
0 comments
Blogging is hard
School has kept me very busy this semster and work has had more activity then ever which is making keeping my blog going on a daily basis a real challenge. I have enjoyed writing on various subjects and have really enjoyed the reader feedback. In a effort to continue my blog and have the time for the other things in my life, I am going to start posting video's each day that I find interesting. These posts may contain some of my thoughts or just a video itself. I am hoping this new Vlog style will be entertaining, educational and always fun for the whole family. Stay tuneds....Labels: Blog
posted by TheWino @ 9:57 AM
1 comments
The Bro Code
As first mentioned in the episode The Goat, The Bro Code by Barney Stinson was release back on October 14th. Here is a clip regarding it's origin:Having thumbed through the book, here are some of my favorite codes:
Article 1: Bro's before ho's.
Article 4: A Bro never divulges the existence of the Bro Code to a woman.
Article 16: A Bro should be able, at any time, to recite the following reigning champions: Super Bowl, World Series and Playmate of the Year.
Article 20: A Bro respects his Bros in the military because they've selflessly chosen to defend the nation but more to the point, because they can kick his ass six ways to Sunday.
Article Article 24: When wearing a baseball cap, a Bro may position the brim at either 12 or 6 o'clock. All other angles are reserved for rappers and the handicapped.
Article 26: Unless he has children, a Bro shall never wear his cell phone on a belt clip.
Article 30: A Bro doesn't comparison shop.
Article 38: Even in a fight to the death, a Bro never punches another Bro in the groin.
Article 41 A Bro never cries [except when watching Field of Dreams, ET or a sports legend retire].
Article 52: A Bro is not required to remember another Bro's birthday, though a phone call every now and again probably wouldn't kill him.
Article 72: A Bro never spell-checks.
Article 84: A Bro shall stop whatever he is doing and watch Die Hard if it is on TV [Ditto for The Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun, The Big Lebowski, and the first half of Full Metal Jacket].
Article 91: If a group of Bro's suspect that their Bro is trying to give himself a nickname, they shall rally to call him by an adjacent yet more demeaning nickname.
Article 93: Bro's don't speak French to each other.
Article 107: A Bro never leaves another Bro hanging.
Article 118: When a Bro is with his Bros, he is not a vegetarian.
Article 122: A Bro is always psyched. Always.
Article 129: If a Bro lends another Bro a DVD, video game, or a piece of lawn equipment, he shall not expect to ever get it back, unless his Bro happens to die and bequeath it back to him.
And last, but certainly not least:
Amendment VIII: A Bro may toss the Bro Code out the window if Scandinavian twins are involved in an capacity.
The Bro Code would make an excellent stocking stuffer this holiday season for the Bro in your life.
Labels: Book Review
posted by TheWino @ 10:29 AM
3 comments
Don't mess with the 80's
For a while now, 80s Tees [dot com] has had a full page ad in Entertainment Weekly and I had never really given it a second look because A. I am familiar with the web site and B. I'm not currently in the need of a Smurfett, Bayside Tigers or Cobra Kai t-shirt. Today I took a good look at their ad and sure they have things like Lite-Brite, Barbie, Top Gun, and GI Joe it also contains shirts like Dunder Mifflin and Little Miss Sunshine. I had to go over to their site and poke around and I found many items in their Non 80s Movies, Non 80s Cartoons and Non 80s TV Shows sections. Items like Average Joes, Sylar and More Cowbell. I think they should rename their site to 80sAndNon80'sTess.com - it would be more accurate.Come to think of it, I bet their newer fashion Tees are more popular than their throwback models so perhaps funnytees.com is even a better name.
Labels: 80's
posted by TheWino @ 9:47 AM
0 comments
New Rhodey For IM2
Last week it was announced the Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard in the role of James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Iron Man 2. This announcement apparently came as news to Howard who spoke about the casting change while interviewing with NPR to promote his first album, Shine Through It. Howard said:"It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation, [it] just up and vanished. And I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money... but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. And promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."
So Hoawrd was promised something, not in writing, with regards to possible sequels? I'm sure Marvel didn't simply back out of an existing contract with the actor because if that were the case, we would be reading about a lawsuit for breach of contract.
Mean while Marvel Studios have had no public comment on the issue, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to sources who stated that negotiations with the actor "fell through over financial differences". This sounds more logical that the studio is not going to be held hostage by a less-than-top-billed actor for a sequel, especailly when that studio just started producing their own films this year.
Sadly the actor will no longer be part of the Avengers movie world because he [and his agent] were unable to come to terms with the studio over his salery, which is would have been more money than most people would see in their lifetime.
Update: In a related story, here is the concept art for the War Machine - the suit Howard's character is rumored to be doning in the next Iron Man film:
Pretty sweet, I hope it fits Mr. Cheadle.
Labels: Really? Money
posted by TheWino @ 10:51 AM
0 comments
Tragedy of errors
Around 11 p.m. last Friday night, 17-year-old Taylor Meyer was last seen by her friends at a party near the site of the defunct Norfolk airport. Classmates said they had seen her at the King Philip Regional Regional School homecoming football game and afterward at the party in the woods, featuring many students and unknown amounts of alcohol. Today her body was found today roughly 100 yards from the site of the teen gathering. It is a sad day when a life is cut so short, for so such silly reasons. Meyer was a senior at King Philip and planned to attend college next year to study business. If she had not lied to her parents regarding her whereabouts, if underage drinking was being better controlled by parents of high school students, if they used a designated driver, if the person who drove her there made sure she got home, or if our youth were not in such a rush to grow up maybe she would still be here today. Only if.My thoughts and prays go out to the Meyer family as well as the entire King Phillip student body.
Labels: Death
posted by TheWino @ 4:15 PM
0 comments
Why we need to eliminate the electoral college
The US electoral college consists of 538 elected representatives who formally select the President and Vice President based on state by state popular vote. The election method is an example of an indirect election which have been used all over the world in countries with complex regional geography, however the United States in the last one to employ such election methods.Looking more locally, Massachusetts has been a historically a democratic state. Here are the election results of the past 10 Massachusetts federal elections:
2004: Kerry (D)
2000: Gore (D)
1996: Clinton (D)
1992: Clinton (D)
1988: Michael Dukakis (D)
1984: Ronald Reagan (R)
1980: Ronald Reagan (R)
1976: Jimmy Carter (D)
1972: George McGovern (D)
1968: Hubert Humphrey (D)
Reagan, a republican, won Massachusetts both times he ran but he was one of the most popular president ever winning 44 out of 51 states in 84 and 49 of 51 in 88. McGovern only carried two states in his bid to be president in 72 - Massachusetts and Washington DC. Are we ultra smart or ultra stubborn? Looking back even further, the great state of Massachusetts voted for only one other republican candidate since 1924 and that was Dwight D. Eisenhower in 52 and 56, another wildly popular candidate.
So in the coming election, Obama will win the state of Massachusetts and receive our 12 electoral votes, regardless if I vote for him or McCain [or Baldwin, Barr, McKinney or Nader]. So in that respect my vote doesn't really count. Let's not even think about cities and towns that only count absentee ballots if the difference in the voting results is less than the total number of absentee votes cast.
While the electoral college vote has normally followed the popular vote there have been 3 occasions, 1876, 1888, and 2000, where the candidate who won the nationwide popular vote did not become President. Sure in the late 1800's it made sense to have this kind of electoral system but in the 21st century? With all of our modern technology?
I recommend that not only do we eliminate the electoral college system and simply count all of the votes in a true populous manner but we should also have a results show to announce the winner. Dancing With the Stars and American Idol get great ratings on result night so why shouldn't the Presidential Election? I would plan it for a week after the election, in prime time, so that families can watch our democratic process in action. I would even have the network's bid on it and sell advertising. All that money could go right back into the Federal system to help pay for social security or off set income tax.
So for 2012, I say Go Popular or Go Home!
Labels: Politics
posted by TheWino @ 7:27 AM
0 comments
MLB pushback for Obama
Major League Baseball has agreed to push back the start time of a potential World Series Game 6 by eight minutes to allow Democrat Barack Obama to purchase a half-hour of air time on the Fox network. The Obama presidential campaign said back on October 9th that it had bought the 8-8:30 p.m slot on CBS and NBC."Fox will accommodate Senator Obama’s desire to communicate with voters in this long-form format," network spokesman Lou D’Ermilio said in a statement. "We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for Fox to carry his program on October 29. If requested, the network would be willing to make similar time available to Senator McCain’s campaign."
Well it's good to see that MLB and Fox are so accomidating to the political process. I wonder how much money it took to get both groups to agree to the time change? I guess it doesn't matter how late the games run, as long as everyone is making some cash in the process [and eight less minutes of sleep won't hurt all those viewers right?].
On a side note, the World Series has not gone to a sixth game since 2003 so it may be a moot point anyway.
posted by TheWino @ 10:55 AM
0 comments
Be presidential this halloween
Be the first on your block [or in your office] to have your very own 2008 Election Day mask. Well thanks to the Chicago Tribune's Rick Tuma, you can now have your very own, right from your color printer.So if you want to be Barak "Change, Change, Change" Obama, John "I have more friends than Tom on MySpace" McCain, Joe "Don't look at my hair plugs" Biden or Sarah "I can see Russia from my house" Palin, they are all available for your use. Please wear [and vote] responsibly.
posted by TheWino @ 10:09 AM
0 comments
I bet Wall Street could use a location like this right about now
Back in 1999, Limp Bizkit hit us with a song called Break Stuff which contained some very straightforward and less than profound lyrics:Its just one of those days
When you don't wanna wake up
Everything is fucked
Everybody sux
Although in retrospect, Wall Street has probably felt just this way for the past few weeks. Anyway, if you were in that mood and wanted to just go out and break some stuff as a stress relief, then Sarah's Smash Shack is just what the doctor ordered. They have Break Rooms where you and up to 3 friends can get together an tear it up. The rooms also include a MP3 port, so bring along some angry white guy music. The Menu includes items like:
Smash Shack House - 15 plates for $45
The TV Dinner - 2 dinner trays for $15
The Six Shooter - 6 glasses for $10
The Sashimi - 3 small plates for $10
Next time I am in San Diego [which was discovered by the German's in 1904], I must stop in to Sarah's and Smash some plates to Limp Bizkit's Break Stuff. It just sounds like fun for the whole family [note must be 18 years old to play].
Labels: Business
posted by TheWino @ 8:38 AM
0 comments
I love this 400 billion dollar lawsuit
Chelsea City Council front man Bart Steele is suing because he claims Bon Jovi's song I Love This Town infringes on his copy written song (Man I Really) Love This Team. Steele's song, which is an ode to the Boston Red Sox written in 2004, contains the flowing lyrics:Now, get up off your seats,
Everybody scream,
Man I really love this team
Steele claims that Jon Bon Jovi had to have heard his song while campaigning in Boston for John Kerry in 2004. Ok. While on the other hand, Bon Jovi's song has this line:
That's why I, love this town
Named in the 400 billion dollar lawsuit are Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Time Warner Corporation. Other defendants include Jon Bongiovi, Richard Sambora, William Falcone, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Fox Television Networks, Major League Baseball & MLB Productions, A&E/AETV, Bon Jovi, AEG Live, Mark Shimmel Music, Vector Management, Island Records & Island Def Jam Records, Aggressive Music & Sony ATV Tunes, Bon Jovi Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Universal Polygram, Pretty Blue Songs, and The Bigger Picture Cinema Co, as well as the owners of every ballpark that the ad at issue was played in, and all of Time Warner's Networks that played the ad in more than 74 countries around the world promoting defendants MLB and Bon Jovi. I guess when your going swing for the fences, you should really swing for the fences.
Back in august, Steele has "restated" his issue and now it is not a stolen lyric but rather that MLB and TBS stolen the idea of his song and used his lyrics to create this promotion:
I can see some of his logic but I'm not sure I can make the leap from his song and his reported shopping of it to the Red Sox and MLB to Bon Jovi recording a song that happens to get used for playoff baseball. I suppose, like most larege scare lawsuits, scatter the blame around enough and some of the companies will pay him, I mean settle this matter out of court.
posted by TheWino @ 3:08 PM
0 comments
I need a friend like this
Cognos ULC, and its sales agent, Joseph Lally gave more than $1.8 million in previously undisclosed payments to three promient Boston businessmen. These men, longtime legal associate [and office mate] Steven J. Topazio, accountant and former campaign treasurer Richard D. Vitale and DiMasi confidant Richard W. McDonough, all are close freinds and business assocaites of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. They each received monies classified as lobbying fees were never reported to the Massachusetts secretary of state's office, which requires these be publicly disclosed. Interestingly enough, these payments coincided with the award of multimillion-dollar contracts from the state. OUt of all of the payments, the biggest single payday for Vitale and McDonough was Aug. 31, 2007, the same day the state wired $13 million to Cognos for a statewide technology contract, the largest in the company's history.I wonder if the IRS is going to join into the on going state investigation into the comapny and these men? I wonder if DiMasi will get caught up in all of this? I guess our current troubled economic times does not include large software companies who have the money to pave the way to state contracts. Wonder what they could have done with that 1.8 million instead of buying off people in Boston for contract? Perhaps it was a good investment, now if the state could only keep it's hands out of the cookie jar and do business straight, we all might just be a better state for it.
Labels: Going out of business
posted by TheWino @ 10:52 AM
0 comments
Two guys and one reporter
JMan, were you recently in New York City?
posted by TheWino @ 6:46 PM
1 comments
Is Dada the new iTunes?
Dada.net is now offering DRM-free MP3's from both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment's catalogs. The songs can be downloaded to any mobile phone, iPod or digital music player and over-the-air MP3 downloads to mobile devices will be available in the next few weeks. Currently their total catalog is no match for iTunes, their pricing just might be. Dada is approaching pricing from the subscription model, as in $10 a month. That monthly fee will give you access to a maximum of 15 tracks that you can download throughout the month. On a per song basis, that is only 66 cents, instead of the traditional 99 cents that you would pay at the industry giant iTunes. Or you could think of it as paying the same as you do at iTunes, but for every 10 songs purchased, you get 5 free. And since Dada is half owned by Sony Music Entertainment, in a sense they are paying themselves as much as 33 cents per song instead of 9 cents they currently get from Apple. If the music industry can find ways to work together like this, they could regain control over their industry instead being at the mercy of Apple, as they currently are.
posted by TheWino @ 10:21 AM
0 comments
If the election was today, Obama would be your president-elect
Last night we heard some details of the nominees plans, listened to a good deal of finger pointing, had to sift through the rhetoric and watch as McCain and Obama "debated" each other on a number of issues. Four things jumped out at me last night: Obama is a way better public speaker than McCain, the republicans can not shake President Bush's recent poor approval, continuing to say the word change apparently gets people excited even if they have no idea what changes are needed or possible and McCain thinks we are all his friends. Here are five parts of the debate that really highlight either how good Obama was or how bad McCain was - I'm still not sure:Question: Do you think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better?
Obama: No, I am confident about the American economy. But we are going to have to have some leadership from Washington that not only sets out much better regulations for the financial system. The problem is we still have a archaic, 20th-century regulatory system for 21st-century financial markets. We're going to have to coordinate with other countries to make sure that whatever actions we take work.
McCain: I think it depends on what we do. I think if we act effectively, if we stabilize the housing market -- which I believe we can, if we go out and buy up these bad loans, so that people can have a new mortgage at the new value of their home -- I think if we get rid of the cronyism and special interest influence in Washington so we can act more effectively.
Bottom Line: Obama has a definitive answer to the question while McCain uses the MBA mentality, it depends.
Question: The three -- health care, energy, and entitlement reform: Social Security and Medicare. In what order would you put them in terms of priorities?
McCain: I think you can work on all three at once, Tom. I think it's very important that reform our entitlement programs. My friends, we are not going to be able to provide the same benefit for present-day workers that we are going -- that present-day retirees have today.
Obama: We're going to have to prioritize, just like a family has to prioritize. Now, I've listed the things that I think have to be at the top of the list. Energy we have to deal with today, because you're paying $3.80 here in Nashville for gasoline, and it could go up.
Bottom Line: At least we know which Obama thinks is the most critical thing to do first.
Question: Would you give Congress a date certain to reform Social Security and Medicare within two years after you take office? Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis.
Obama: Well, Tom, we're going to have to take on entitlements and I think we've got to do it quickly. We're going to have a lot of work to do, so I can't guarantee that we're going to do it in the next two years, but I'd like to do in the my first term as president. But I think it's important to understand, we're not going to solve Social Security and Medicare unless we understand the rest of our tax policies. And you know, Sen. McCain, I think the "Straight Talk Express" lost a wheel on that one.
McCain: Social Security is not that tough. We know what the problems are, my friends, and we know what the fixes are. We've got to sit down together across the table. It's been done before. I saw it done with our -- our wonderful Ronald Reagan, a conservative from California, and the liberal Democrat Tip O'Neill from Massachusetts. That's what we need more of, and that's what I've done in Washington.
Bottom Line: Social Security is an easy fix, then why isn't it fixed yet? Bipartisan is not the only thing needed to deal with this issue.
Question: Do you think that Russia under Vladimir Putin is an evil empire?
Obama: I think they've engaged in an evil behavior and I think that it is important that we understand they're not the old Soviet Union but they still have nationalist impulses that I think are very dangerous.
McCain: Maybe. Depends on how we respond to Russia and it depends on a lot of things. If I say yes, then that means that we're reigniting the old Cold War. If I say no, it ignores their behavior.
Bottom Line: Maybe? I don't think that is an answer our president can give the public if asked such a direct question.
Question: What don't you know and how will you learn it?
Obama: My wife, Michelle, is there and she could give you a much longer list than I do. And most of the time, I learn it by asking her. But, look, the nature of the challenges that we're going to face are immense and one of the things that we know about the presidency is that it's never the challenges that you expect. It's the challenges that you don't that end up consuming most of your time. But here's what I do know...
McCain: And I think what I don't know is what all of us don't know, and that's what's going to happen both here at home and abroad. The challenges that we face are unprecedented. Americans are hurting tonight in a way they have not in our generation. There are challenges around the world that are new and different and there will be different -- we will be talking about countries sometime in the future that we hardly know where they are on the map, some Americans. So what I don't know is what the unexpected will be.
Bottom Line: Sure the future is unknown, that's a given, but at least Obama made his answer more human and humorous using his wife as the set-up.
Here's what I don't know, how could McCain - who is undoubtedly a war hero and a long time US congressman, be so unprepared, so stiff and appear so lifeless during his favored town hall format? Based on last night, I would say congratulations Mr. Obama, you sir will be our next president.
[Unless McCain and Palin do something drastic in the next 28 days that is.]
Labels: Politics
posted by TheWino @ 2:02 PM
2 comments
Dow drops again
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down today, 508.39 points, marking the 6th largest single day loss in the history of the stock market. This joins the other huge losses [3 days with a total of 1,731.52] we have seen in the past month. Here is a list of the top 10 days, or more accurately, the bottom 10 days of trading in the stock market's history:Date Net Loss
9/29/2008 777.68
9/17/2001 684.81
4/14/2001 617.77
10/27/1997 554.26
8/31/1998 512.62
10/7/2008 508.39
10/19/1987 508.00
9/15/2008 504.48
9/17/2008 449.36
Looking at the past 16 days for the average, it doesn't look good:
Note the green line indicates the failed first vote on the bailout while the green line shows when it was finally approved.
So when is the 700 Billion Dollar Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 going to take effect and stabalize the markets? I hope it's soon before my 401k is completely depleated and I have to start all over again.
Labels: Finance
posted by TheWino @ 6:01 PM
2 comments
Why bowling should be banned from tv
Since when did bowling include a defence? Is this some new type of bowling where the pins can move, block or fight back against the ball? If the fans are not bright enough to understand basic concepts in sports, it should be banned from public broadcast.
Labels: Sports
posted by TheWino @ 9:30 AM
0 comments
Do not vote!
Actually, get out there and ROCK THE VOTE!
Labels: Police
posted by TheWino @ 8:47 AM
1 comments
iTunes, closing it's doors?
The Copyright Royalty Board is due to rule on a proposal by the National Music Publishers' Association to increase the royalty for a song download from nine cents a track to 15 cents. In a preemptive strike, Apple has already announced that there was no way that any of their [new] pricing structures would make money, and that if iTunes did not make money then the site would be shut down. Now I will grant that 66 percent hike in fees is a stiff one [that's what she said] however I find it hard to believe that giving up an extra 6 cents per song would sink Apple's biggest revenue center. Here is a graph showing the length of time it has taken iTunes to go from 0 to 5 billion songs sold:What I see is a company who has gone from selling 968 to 6,370 songs per day. Even if their profit margin has always been 1 penny, they have 6.5 time more purchases everyday to profit from. Additionally, Apple has an 85 percent market share in online music and, in April, passed Wal-Mart as the No. 1 music retailer in the U.S.
On the other hand, perhaps Apple should close iTunes and allow someone else to enter the market and take over their 2 million songs sold per year market and see if they can make it profitable, using bit torrent as their platform for example. Distributing computing could yet find it's place. Does ELTunes [Ed and Lisa's Tunes] have a ring to it? I think it does...
Labels: Music
posted by TheWino @ 7:18 AM
1 comments
TheWino's personal thoughts about wine, women and song.. oh yeah and life too.
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