Bottom Of The Barrel

Hammer Time, Part 2

2009-06-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

In order to promote their new show, Hammertime, A&E tv arranged for an impromptu Hammer Pants Dance break out in LIVE! On Sunset located at 8801 Sunset Boulevard West Hollywood:

Stop, It's Hammertime!

Hammer Time!

2009-06-08T07:34:00.001-04:00

I have no idea what these two are talking about, but I assuming it goes something like this:

Camera Man: Hey Hammer Guy, can you balance a hammer on your nose?

Hammer Guy: Of Course!

CM: Ok but can you juggle 3 of them?

HG: Child's Play!

CM: Yeah but I bet you can't hammer in a nail while juggling...

HG: You bet your sweet ass I can.

CM: Holy Shit, that was awesome!

HG: I know!

It is true!

2009-06-05T09:03:00.000-04:00

The Goods Redband Trailer - August 14th, 2009

2009-06-04T09:38:00.001-04:00

Don Ready is ready to Sell Hard!

A house a couple can really agree on

2009-06-02T08:58:00.003-04:00

The only thing you have to know about the modling is that I will rip it off with my finger nails and cram it down your throat if we do not buy and then life in this house for the rest of our AWESOME lives!

Doesn't this look like a fun summer movie?

2009-06-01T08:30:00.004-04:00

Yeah it might be a little light on the story side but the action is going to be all-go no-quit bombastic summer movie fun!

Good bye [for now] Jay

2009-05-30T17:08:00.001-04:00

How NOT to break and enter

2009-05-25T08:35:00.000-04:00

V is coming back this fall

2009-05-22T08:18:00.003-04:00

Back in 1983, Kenneth Johnson wrote and directed a miniseries called V about "The Visitors" who come to earth in an attempt to gain control of our planet. This spurned another miniseries called The Final Battle. Well now ABC is rebooting the show with a appropriately named fall show called V.

The new series stars Elizabeth Mitchell of Lost, Scott Wolf of Party Of Five, Morris Chestnut of Boyz n the Hood, and Lourdes Benedicto of The Nine. For two more clips from the show, check them out here.

AI: Kris Is The Winner

2009-05-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

After 12 weeks and nearly 100 million votes, Kris Allen is your new American Idol. I think Kris himself was the most shocked by the announcement and I bet deep down inside he feels bad for Adam who was by far the judges favorite but not Americas. The finale was long and drawn out but did contain some great moments:

David Cook played his new single Permanent, with iTunes proceeds going to the Accelerate Brain Trust Cure in honor of his brother Adam.
Anoop Desai Alexis Grace [and the rest of the top 13] performed I'm Yours with Jason Mraz.
Kris Allen and Keith Urban sang Ubran's newest single Kiss a Girl. This would be a nice guest on Allen's debut album.
Katrina "bikini girl" Darrell was given the Best Attitude award and during her less-than-average performance of Vision of Love, Kara DioGuardi popped out, showed off her vocal skils and even dropped her own bikini look off. She is really the whole package!
Adam Lambert went all gothic in a Beth/Detroit Rock City/Rock and Roll All Nite medley with the one and only KISS.
Carlos Santana went old school with Matt Giraud on Black Magic Woman and then he was Smooth with the rest of the top 13.
Lastley, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert dropped We Are the Champions with surprise guests Queen which was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

All-in-all, it was a great season where we had less of the bad singers, more of the good performers and a dark-horse mild mannered singer who is now your American Idol!

Idol, Morning After The Final Showdown

2009-05-19T20:49:00.005-04:00

The final showdown gives each contestant 3 chances to blow us away, so let's see how they do:

Contestant's Favorite From The Season:

Adam Lambert - Mad World

Great control and nice tone. Pretty much the same as last time. Good start to the night.

Kris Allen - Ain't No Sunshine

Solid vocals with a different arrangement than the last time he did this song. Loved the piano. Tie game.

American Idol creator Simon Fuller's choice:

Adam Lambert - A Change Is Gonna Come

Good not great. Forgettable in the first half and Adamish in the end.

Kris Allen - What's Going On

Totally Kris. Solid performance. It's going to be close.

Winner's Single, co-written by Kara DioGuardi:

Adam Lambert and Kris Allen - No Boundaries

First off I thought this song didn't sound very good. The words seemed nice enough but the music was terrible. For Adam's rendition, I thought it was pretty good. He kept his screeching in a minimum and I think it did him well to be less over-the-top of the song that could be his first single. As a counter, Kris was good but struggled at the big points of the song. I liked that is was rearranged for his style but in the end I am underwhemled by both guys on what will be one of their first single.

Should Win: Kris
Needs To Win: Adam
Will Win: Kris

I think the Danny G. fans are more likely to back acoustic Kris and louder-than-loud Adam. I think this is going to be very, very close and clearly we need to adjust our DVR's in order to capture the entire show.

This Is [SNL] Jeopardy

2009-05-19T06:51:00.004-04:00

I would have liked to seen the answers for the following categories:

Sounds That Kitties Make
Twinkle, Twinkle Little ______
States That End In "Hampshire"
What Color Is Green
Current Black Presidents

They seem like they would each have only one answer but I bet the contestants could have come up with interesting answers.

I love that SNL has had guests dropping in skits like this one which features Tom Hanks and Norm MacDonald. It's not Catch The Semen!

Who is the red spy?

2009-05-18T07:28:00.001-04:00

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

2009-05-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

First watch the trailer:

The plot of this film, and I kind you not, is about a submarine that is caught between two battling prehistoric monsters that have been awakened from a frozen state. One is a Megalodon: a gigantic, shark-like creature; the other a giant octopus similar to the Kraken. The submarine's crew races against time to survive and capture the two monsters before they can damage the coast.

Is it any wonder that this film is going straight to video? I guess they are hoping for some of the buzz that Snakes On A Plane got with the ridiculously straightforward name. I think I can hold off adding this to the netflix queue until I have seen ever other movie ever made.

Just how did Matthew Fox hurt his arm?

2009-05-15T09:33:00.001-04:00

Ok, that makes sense...

Old [School] New Star Trek Trailer

2009-05-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

AI: Mano-A-Mano

2009-05-14T08:01:00.004-04:00

Well my boy Danny finishes 3rd in season 8. In the past 7 years, that has not been a very good place to finish [see the careers of Nikki McKibbin, Kimberley Locke, Jasmine Trias, or Vonzell Solomon] but in the last couple years we have seen much more music out of the top 10 [Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, or Kellie Pickler as examples] so I think this is not the last we have seen of good old Danny Boy. I look forward to hearing what he can come up with once he is away for the Idol machine and has a studio to work with.

Now as for the finals - for the second season in a row, it will be an all male final pitting Adam's over-the-top vocals vs Kris down-to-earth musicality. As far as future artists goes, I think this season has gotten it right. Both these guys will find themselves recording an album which will ironically be dropping sometime around the start of season 9. In some respects I believe Adam needs to win it more than Kris but I'm sure Kris would take the title. Sure Adam has been the judges favorite all year but what if Kris ends up with all of Danny's votes? He could just slide into the winners circle from nearly nowhere. It is going to be interesting next week. Wino Out!

Idol, Morning After Everybody's Pick Week

2009-05-13T07:39:00.000-04:00

On AI's 300 episode, we get the judges and contestants choice. I usually really like what the judges select so let's see if they can pick something great this week.

Danny Gokey - Dance Little Sister

Paula picked a song I don't think I ever heard before but I have to say I thought it was a solid vocals. Liked how he worked it with the sax guy. More of the same from Danny and definitely a good start to the night.

Kris Allen - Apologize

Randy and Kara went with something a bit more popular than Paula and while his rendition is a straight cover, I liked seeing him at the piano. Kris is musician left and this song was definitely his type of music.

Adam Lambert - One

Simon selected the biggest hit so far and it seems like he may have given some arrangement suggestions. Started off great but he lost me when he went all Mary J. on the song. Seems like he has been already anointed.

Round 1: Kris was my favorite but Adam was clearly the judges pick.

Danny Gokey - You Are So Beautiful

I liked the choice of a Cocker tune and enjoyed the arrangement but didn't love it. Started off a bit shaky but he worked it out in the back half of the song. This might have just punched his ticket to the finals.

Kris Allen - Heartless

Talk about making it your own! Kris totally Allenized this Kayne West hip-hop track into an acoustic pop song in the style of song he will be recording in the next few months. So far, the coolest song of the night.

Adam Lambert - Cryin'

Adam is for sure the only guy [this season] who has the range to really cover Aerosmith. He can definitely sing but again I not a fan of his high note vocal style. Obviously, the judges believe the finals are going to be Adam and one the other two guys.

Round 2: The show is tightening up. Kris was by far my favorite in this round.

After 10 weeks, we have 3 guys who all could end up in the finals or go home as the 3rd best of season 8. Having Adam is the bottom 2 last week really proves it is anybody's game.

Should Go Home: Danny
Will Go Home: Kris

The power of the citizen technologist

2009-05-11T10:11:00.003-04:00

Imagine a world where every citizen feels empowered and part of their neighborhood. Imagine if everyone trusted and felt taken care of by their local government. That is the idea behind SeeClickFix, who is leveraging the power of the internet to bring citizen and hard-working local authorities and service people closer together.

Here is an example of their service hard at work. Ass you can see many people have reported pothole problems in and around Boston. If you zoom out of the google map you can see the reports go clear across the entire country.

SeeClickFix encourages residents to become citizens by participating in taking care of and improving their neighborhoods. We allow anyone to:

See - see a non-emergency issue in your neighborhood
Click - open a ticket describing the issue and what can be done to resolve it
Fix - publicly report the issue to everyone for resolution

They also believe in the power of technology to promote:

Transparency - governments and most organizations work best when they conduct their business in plain view. We'll do our best to do the same.
Collaboration - Four brains are better than one. And millions of brains are better than three. Our goal is to give everyone else the tools to accomplish what we never could ourselves. Open source software and wikis are good models for us.
Scale - We could have created a site that focused on our home town. Using the internet and all the tools others have created, we want to reach as many people as possible around the globe. Massive scale, please.
Efficiency - Although paper has its place, there is a lot more room for the web and the mobile phone. Rather than re-invent the wheel, our site is built on open source software and Google maps.

So go out into your neighborhood and if you See a problem, get back online and Click the map and help your local government Fix our issues.

Mothers Day

2009-05-10T19:30:00.000-04:00

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"

DITB Mother's Day Follw-up

2009-05-10T10:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Wars VS Trek

2009-05-08T17:06:00.001-04:00

Boo-yah!

AI: And then there were only men left

2009-05-07T13:39:00.002-04:00

Last night was the departure of Allison Iraheta who went from 17 year old LA unknown to the best female singer in the 8th season. I expect Allison to move forward as a recording artist and could even see her more as part of a band instead of just being herself out there. I also think a few more years of seasoning would do her a world of good. Unfortunately, I don't think coming in 4th place on the top rated show on TV will give her time to grow up and mature a little more.

Next week we will get the Judge's choice / Contestant's choice week. This gives the idols one more shot to show us who they think they are and it gives the judges a chance to select what they think the idols are. I particularly like when the judges, who do have good musical knowledge, get to select a song because it usually doesn't lead to a bad song choice. I now choose to listen to some All-American Rejects. Wino Out.

Idol, The Morning Aftter We Rocked

2009-05-06T09:16:00.001-04:00

Rock & Roll Week! Maybe we might hear Rock And Roll or Rock You Like A Hurricane or Rock And Roll Band or Rock And Roll All Nite. Well probably not but we should hear some rock classics. Note sure if the duet's will be good or not but they should definitely be interesting.

Adam Lambert - Whole Lotta Love

Certainly the only one left that could attempt a true Zeppelin cover. I have not been an Adam fan this year but this was a rockin' performance. Still felt his vocal was too high pitched but overall it was really good. I don't think he be returning to the bottom 3 this week.

Allison Iraheta - Cry Baby

Flawless vocals but I think she be a little unforgettable this week. At this point I think the show becomes more than just vocal talent and it becomes a show about an artist. I'm not overly familiar with the song but it did sound very Joplinish. Here is where Allison is left behind.

Duet 1: Kris & Danny - Renegade

Awesome song choice! Started very strong, the total harmonies were solid and an interesting twist. I agree with Simon, I preferred Danny over Kris on this track.

Kris Allen - Come Together

Wouldn't have been the Beatles song I would have chosen for Kris but this was pretty good. The vocals were good, even if it was a bit to high pitched, and the guitar work sounded solid. Even if this is the end for Kris, I don't think he'll ever forget jammin' with Slash.

Danny Gokey - Dream On

Started a little rough but got much better as the vocal volume got louder. I'm not so sure the really high note at the end was a good idea. I think this is why they don't have an Aerosmith week. I think Danny will get through even if this week didn't quite work for him.

Editors Note: No offense Ms. DioGuardi, but Dream On was released in 1973 while Cryin' and Crazy were released in 1993 - 20 years later. Dream On is early Aerosmith! I know your a big wig in the biz but please bring a little more music knowledge to the show, please.

Duet 1: Allison & Adam - Slow Ride

Interesting song choice but these two sounded better then Kris and Danny. Maybe Adam will ask Allison to guest vocal on his debut album. This last performance may have just saved Allison for another week.

Bound For The Finals: Adam
Bottom Three: Allison, Kris and Danny
Should Go Home: Allison
Will Go Home: Kris

Beer and guns never mix

2009-05-05T18:02:00.001-04:00

If this guy asks to play beer pong, say no. If he argues with you about the score say you win and run away.

Joseph B. Jimenez, 24, was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly fatally shooting his opponent, Scott Riley, 25, following a game of beer pong at a Bridgeport home Friday night.

Who the hell brings a gun to a beer pong game anyway?

Another wasted life and more waste for our penal system! Seriously, what is wrong with people?

H1N1 (Swine) Influenza

2009-05-05T15:04:00.003-04:00

With today's report of 28 more confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza, I thought it was time to investigate this worrisome situation. First off, what is Swine Flu anyway? It is a combination of Avian [bird], Human and Swine Influenza all mongrelized genetic mix found in the current Mexican swine flu strain. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus. Ok, but it's just the Flu right? Well yes and no. It is influenza however transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is not common and properly cooked pork poses no risk of infection. When transmitted, the virus does not always cause human influenza and often the only sign of infection is the presence of antibodies in the blood, detectable only by laboratory tests. Therefore flu-like symptoms are being taken very seriously by the US Government and the CDC. So this is out-of-the-ordinary, but is it really dangerous? It doesn't appear to be a killer virus but we should error on the side of caution when you look back at our own history with this kind of flu:

1918: Estimated 70 to 100 million dies from Spanish Flu [H1N1]
1976: 5 soldiers at Fort Dix become infected, 1 man dies
1988: Hundreds infected in Wisconsin, 1 woman dies
2007: Outbreak in the Philippines where 1 out of 10 infected die

Based on this history lesson, we should take this outbreak seriously. So how can you protect yourself? Health officials recommend taking several precautions to avoid getting swine flu. First, they recommend frequent hand washing and trying to stay in good general health. They recommend getting plenty of sleep, staying physically active, managing stress, drinking fluids, and eating healthy foods. They also advise people to avoid touching surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Also, avoid close contact with people who are sick. This sounds like good sound advice! But wait, couldn't we all just take some pill and be ok? According to the CDC, laboratory testing on these swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses so far indicate that they are susceptible (sensitive) to Oseltamivir - brand name Tamiflu® is approved to both treat and prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people one year of age and older. Roche Holding AG said it's current stockpile is 5 million pills includes the 2 million treatment courses held by the WHO and the 3 million treatment courses held by Roche as part of their rapid response stockpile. If a treatment is 10 pills, that stockpile would only cover 500,000 people which is a bit shy of 337 or so million people living in North America.

So know you know why this current epidemic [which could turn into a pandemic] is so important. Stay healthy!

"Rap Chop" featuring Vince

2009-05-04T08:02:00.001-04:00

1 Take, 1 Song, Many Performers

2009-05-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

This video was filmed in one take, with audio being recorded simultaneously with the film. The video features Nyle (www.nyleraps.com) and is produced by Last Pictures (www.last-pictures.com) and 194 Recordings (www.myspace.com/194recordings)

AI: The Final Four

2009-04-30T09:29:00.004-04:00

Matt had a good run and even got a couple extra weeks of screen time via this years new save option. He did well for his talent but as the show starts it's beginning-of-the-end it was time to take the 4 best vocalist and performers and put them center stage. Next week we get Slash mentoring Kris, Allison, Danny and Adam. Wonder if we will see any Guns N' Roses or Velvet Revolver covers next week? Probably not but at least this gives the idols a chance to either go old school remake like Blue Öyster Cult's (Don't) Fear The Reaper {because you can always use more cow bell] or cover something really current like Seether's Careless Whisper [yes a cover of that Careless Whisper]. In the immortal words of Mother Burgundy, Carry On Son, Carry On!

Wino out!

Idol, The Morning After The Rat Pack

2009-04-29T09:22:00.002-04:00

Another week, another genre which I could really do without. The Rat Pack is generally considered to be Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early-1960s. Honestly, this should be Matt's week simply because of his singing/piano stylings. Hopefully someone will bring something new to this terribly old music.

Kris Allen - The Way You Look Tonight

Definitely nice vocals but not even close to his best performance to date. I agree that this shows how good his technical skills are however I would have liked to have heard a Kris-ized version. Maybe that is what "wet" means, not sure I always understand what Simon is getting at.

Allison Iraheta - Someone To Watch Over Me

I really liked how controlled her voice was on this song [and I didn't even mind the totally 60's arrangement]. It is refreshing to hear Allison bring something a little different than the smokey/rockish voice she has brought to the last few weeks. PS: The answer is YES, you can win [even if you can't].

Matt Giraud - My Funny Valentine

Not sure if I like this song choice, especially since it comes across so depressing. Maybe it was lowering of the key [or what ever] that made it come across this way. It have been technically solid but thus far my least favorite and I felt actually bored during his performance. Sorry Matt, your no Nat King Cole.

Danny Gokey - Come Rain Or Come Shine

Really liked the jazz feel and energy Danny put into this song. His voice has that something different [which I really like] and he is so consistent week in and week out. This performance is the kind of thing we have been missing from Danny for the past couple of weeks. Welcome back Danny.

Adam Lambert - Feeling Good

For some reason this performance felt too much like Broadway for our next American Idol. Ok that was some last note but [again] just not blown away by his vocals and still have a hard time figuring out what kind of album he would make. All that doesn't seem to matter, just listen to the crowd. Mooooooooooooooooo.

Least Favorite Theme: Rat Pack Week
Bound For The Finals: Danny and Adam
Should Go Home: Matt
Will Go Home: Matt

It will be an ironic twist for Matt to be eliminated on the week that should be he bread-and-butter week.

Save Chuck, Go To Subway

2009-04-28T15:52:00.005-04:00

Last night, Chuck came to a season [and maybe a series] conclusion. For those saw Chuck vs The Ring, I have only one question - Why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian ruin your wedding? Classic. As many people know, Chuck is on the bubble for next season and fans are not taking it quietly. A grassroots movement is underway to buy subway to signal NBC that the fans care about this clever show. Chuck himself gets in on the action:

As for me, I'm a big fan and hope to see Chuck again...

1 Man, 1 Snuggie, 1 World

2009-04-27T09:04:00.002-04:00

Summer movies I can't wait to see on DVD

2009-04-24T09:33:00.002-04:00

Over the summer, many films get released but I'd rather wait for the DVD release because at the end of the day I just can't see them all in the theater. Here are the best of the rest for this summer:

April

Fast and Furious (3rd)

May

Next Day Air (8th)

June

The Hangover (5th)
Away We Go (5th)
Year One (19th)

July

Public Enemies (1st)
(500) Days Of Summer (17th)
Bruno (10th)
Funny People (31st)

August

Julie & Julia (7th)
Inglourious Basterd (21st)

Can I add these to Netflix already?

Summer movies I plan to see in the theater

2009-04-23T09:07:00.004-04:00

It seems like the summer movie season is starting earlier and earlier each year with this summer "season" dropping a few movies in April that you would normally find in theater in late May or June. Having said that, here is a list of the films I am excited to see in the theater this summer:

May

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (1st)
Star Trek (8th)
Angels And Demons (15th)
Terminator Salvation (21st)

June

Land Of The Lost (5th)
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (26th)

August

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (7th)

AI: Two for the road

2009-04-23T08:59:00.002-04:00

Last night we got our promised 2-for-1 special - Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai both went sent to the big disco ball in the sky. Should go home, will go home? Yeah it was time for them. With 5 weeks left, it looks like we are heading toward a all male final. Allison has been hanging around the bottom 3 for a while and Matt has hung on only by the magic of Simon's save last week. So the only question is will it be Adam and Danny or Adam and Kris? I'm pulling for Kris at this point because he is really the only one I can see making an album that I would buy.

Next week the contestants get to put their own spin on Rat Pack Standards not just once, but twice. This is another week that I am less-than-enthused about but maybe the Idols can make these old songs feel current as they did this week with disco.

The record shows, I took the blows - And did it my way!

Wino Out!

Idol, The Morning Goes All Bell Bottoms

2009-04-22T08:31:00.000-04:00

I'm not a fan of disco, so I'm afraid I'm really not going to like much tonight. As the show begins, it appears AI is making an effort to be quick and not run over so I too will keep my comments short.

Lil Rounds - I'm Every Woman

Still not sure what she is. Still has a huge voice, now if we can just find her voice.

Kris Allen - She Works Hard for the Money

That is how you make it your own! I could listen to this kind of disco all day long.

Danny Gokey - September

I really like Danny's talent and vocals but I haven't been blown away in a few weeks.

Allison Iraheta - Hot Stuff

Donna Summer may have won a rock Grammy, but Allison has made it a Hot song again.

Adam Lambert - If I Can't Have You

Cool arrangement and nice soft vocals however I just didn't dig the real high notes.

Matt Giraud - Stayin' Alive

I am glad they saved him last week because that was really cool and felt very current.

Anoop Desai - Dim All The Lights

Yeah he can sing but just not this song on this night. I was just bored, pink and all.

My Favorites: Kris, Allison, Matt
Projected Finalist: Kris and Adam
Should Go Home: Lil and Anoop
Will Go Home: Lil and Allison

Idol and Fringe

2009-04-21T19:02:00.000-04:00

I am a fan of both American Idol and Fringe, which air back-to-back on Fox. These two shows couldn't be more different but they each provide entertainment in there own way. American Idol has been running long [very long in one case] which has had three interesting side effects for my DVR:

1. It has been cutting AI short based on the scheduled end time in the comcast guide.

AND

2. The Fringe recording is starting "on-time" and picking up the end of Idol.

AND

3. Fringe is being cut off because it too is ending at it's designated time, even if the local news can wait 5 minutes.

Ultimately, the long running Idol broadcasts are in effect are cutting my Fringe recordings. Hopefully Idol on Fox can get their s*&t together tonight and finish on-time.

133th Boston Marathon

2009-04-20T19:38:00.000-04:00

1 year ago I was a participant and this year I had the privileged to cheer on the runners from the finish line side of the Mass Ave underpass. It was great to watch history with Ernst Van Dyk's 8th win, to witness the three way battle between Salina Kosgei, Dire Tune and Kara Goucher and to see Deriba Merga power his way to the finish. As with any major spectator event, there is always some interesting marketing ploy and this year did not disappoint, see picture below:

It was really great to walk out from a Comm Ave apartment. watch the runners go on by and then return to the stoop to grill up some delicious food. I am now looking forward to next year's marathon experience.

Purgatory Chasm State Reservation

2009-04-17T16:13:00.003-04:00

Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, MA is a unique natural landmark that is believed to have its origin in the sudden release of dammed-up glacial melt water near the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 14,000 years ago. Along with the chasm, the part also boasts several miles of marked wooded hiking paths, a playground and more then enough picnic benches. If you are looking for a couple of hours of solid nature time, Purgatory Chasm is an excellent choice - especially on the first 70+ degree day in the spring. [It would also make for a picturesque fall hike]. Now get out there and enjoy the beautiful weekend.

AI: Goodbye and Hello Again

2009-04-16T09:31:00.002-04:00

As expected, Matt was eliminated last night and also as predicted the judges saved him for another week. I'm not going to say Simon and company didn't want to save Matt for his own ability but I think this was more just a matter of timing [I mean Simon even came right out and said Matt can't win this season]. If they didn't save Matt last night, they would have been given just one more week to use this new ability and would they save Lil if she was next to go? I think not. So for one more week we have a top 7 and up next is the dreaded disco week. This is one the weeks I wish they would do away with. Sure it gives the idols a chance to take something old and make it new again but do I have sit through another week of snoring songs? I would rather Idol do theme weeks like Songs in the Hot 100 this week or Hair Bands of the 80's but instead I will have to just suffer in silence listening to the best and worst of the disco era. Good luck to Matt and Lil.

Lindsay # 612679

2009-04-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

Highlights:

Keeps 90% of gossip websites in business
Alcoholic and threat to hotel security everywhere
Net worth of $400 [& 20,000 Marlboro Miles]
Loves car chases on the PCH
Crazy redhead
Alone on the cover of US Weekly

What a catch!

Idol, The Morning After The Movies

2009-04-15T06:59:00.000-04:00

Idol at the movies gives the contestants a chance to sing songs from films and with Quentin Tarantino as the mentor but it's bound to be frantic at times. I have to say I was not overly thrilled with the mentor choice but it seems like he gave the idols a bit more actual direction then other musical types, which is very cool.

Allison Iraheta - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

Started off a bit choppy and got better as the song went on. Unfortunately, I feel like this was just a good copy of the original. I would have liked to hear her do something not so orchestra based.

Anoop Desai - (Everything I Do) I Do It for You

I think Anoop is really starting to take this seriously. In this case, I liked he didn't do much to the music and what was his take was his slightly drawn out vocals. Another week with good execution of his own melody.

Adam Lambert - Born to Be Wild

I liked most of his vocals, save the really high screaming parts. Cool arrangement where the band looked like they were really having fun. He again puts on the performance that the crowd loved [and some will hate].

Matt Giraud - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Good vocals but not great. Lost it a bit in the middle but the piano work sounded [and looked] great. Maybe just not a great song choice for the funk soul brother. Matt could really be in trouble this week.

Danny Gokey - Endless Love

Grabbed, Wowed, and Slayed. Really liked his vocals on a very pretty song which did get better as it want along. I too would have liked to see a little more unique arrangement but a straight cover was still really good.

Kris Allen - Falling Slowly

The only song I didn't know, which might be unfair in comparison. Kris's vocals were spot on to the music and he sang it so softly. I was a bit bored but his tone made it totally listenable.

Lil Rounds - The Rose

For a girl with huge, powerful voice Lil showed great restraint holding back her power in both the beginning and the end. I thought her soulful twists were good but could have been great with maybe a different song selection.

Cream Of The Crop: Anoop, Adam, and Danny
Bottom Of The Barrel: Matt and Lil
Should Go Home: Lil
Will Go Home: Matt

Will He/She Be Saved: We are getting close to where they can no longer save anyone so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the week they decide to save someone like Matt.

Lacey Schwimmer Kicks Steve-O Out

2009-04-14T23:48:00.002-04:00

Steve-O get kicked of DWTS tonight and then later gets kicked, umm well just watch:

I wonder what Jorge [Hurley on Lost] Garcia was thinking as he watched this whole thing unfold in front of his eyes?

Rebuilding The System

2009-04-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

After 6 years of using [and abusing] my pc, it was finally time to reinstall the operating system. Moving of all of my data from the on-board hard drive to the USB hard drive took most of the morning, mostly because I have been lazy over the years with my locally stored data. But what a time saver having a 250 GB portable drive makes. No cd back ups at all. Next came the drive format which I think is key in a reinstall to get you back to nothingness. Then I turned to my XP reinstall disk and watched that work for the next 30 minutes. And then the real work begins. Drivers, my wireless card, Firefox, anti-virus, Plug-Ins, Office. You just don't realize how much software you have installed over the years because it is all just there for you. I stopped last night with a long list of items to install today like WinAMP, Sonic Recorder, and Photoshop. Now if I can just figure out why I have no sound, I'd be in business.

AI: Farewell Scott, you did pretty well

2009-04-09T15:38:00.002-04:00

Scott MacIntyre didn't win Idol but the visually-impaired singer, songwriter, and pianist won our hearts. It may seem that he has accomplished so much in the past 6 weeks but when you hear he has already self recorded and released 5 albums and has a bachelors degree from Arizona State University, a masters degree from University of London and has been accepted to both Oxford and Cambridge University for further graduate-level education maybe Idol is just the icing on the cake instead of the only thing he has going for him. In any case, good job and good luck [not that I think he needs it].

Next week should be interesting because for one thing it is being listed as Idol at the Movies which I assume is referring to songs from popular films. This should give the Idols another opportunity to a very wide range of songs. But the other thing that should be entertaining at the least is their mentor - Quentin Tarantino. Yeah that Quentin Tarantino [of Pulp Fiction fame]. I know he works really hard on the music for his films but I'm not sure how much vocal or arrangement advice he can provide. It should be Mother F*&^%ing interesting...

Idol, The Morning After The Born On Date

2009-04-08T09:45:00.003-04:00

Born on date week again gives the contestants a big range of songs and styles to choose from. But can they select songs that fit their voice? Hmmmm 1971 it would have to be Joy To The World by Three Dog Night just because it was the #1 song of the year but I digress.

Danny Gokey - Stand By Me

This is by far my least favorite Gokey performance this year. It wasn't until about 2/3rds the way through the song that I didn't fell like I was watching a B performer on a cruise ship. The arrangement was horrible and only got tolerable at the end where I think Danny's style finally arrived.

Kris Allen - All She Wants to Do Is Dance

Solid performance on a song which I thought was a bad song choice. Kris did really put his mark on this classic 80's track. I have to agree with Randy the horns were a bit much but [again] I think this song tells us what Kris will and won't be.

Lil Rounds - What's Love Got to Do with It

Editors note: Called it! This week again Lil shows that she can sing but only as a copycat without much originality. Is she gonna be a Celin clone? Tina clone? Or a Whitney Clone? Not sure at this point and she'll begin to loose people if she continues down this path. Does she not see the other contestants "making it there own"?

Anoop Desai - True Colors

Could Anoop be emerging as a contender? Great rework of a very popular song and I really love when there is a gender switch which makes the song really feel new. This is much more like what I think Anoop would be like as an artist. Singing songs like this could take him further than the Usher like tracks which don't work.

Scott MacIntyre - The Search Is Over

I think the search is over for this weeks eliminated contestant. No only was it unoriginal the vocals sounded worse then things I have heard at the local bar on karaoke night. Sure I'm impressed he can play piano and guitar but I think his run has come to an end. PS If this is your punk side coming out,put it back.

Allison Iraheta - I Can't Make You Love Me

This goes to show that sometimes, a simple cover works when you can really sing and the song only needs your own tiny little inflections to own it. It was nice to see Allison holding back her powerful voice and showing she can be soft and tender when the song calls for it. So far the best of the night.

Matt Giraud - Part-Time Lover

Fantastic song choice and I thought the funk based arrangement matches who Matt is as an artist. Not the strongest vocalist but his style and straight is this kind of song. I think performance got Matt back on track into the top 5. Note to Paula, O is technically not a word.

Necessary Rant: Damn you American Idol for running long. My DVR did not capture any thing after Matt's performance so no childhood stories nor any of Adam's performance. Why are they having such a problem with time management this year? It is beginning to piss me off and I don't think any TV show can do things to alienate their already shrinking audience. Heck they might even want to embrace the technology, it's not going away and only becoming more popular. Ok, I feel better now, sort of. Here is a posting of his performance for those who also missed it last night.

Adam Lambert -

Adam continues to surprise me in the with his vocals and unique stylings. The song was haunting, in a good way, and I was very glad to hear him keep the vocals in check and not go all squealer at the end. He has become the clear on favorite to win.

Cream Of The Crop: Allison and Adam
Bottom Of The Barrel: Lil and Scott
Should Go Home: Scott
Will Go Home: Scott

Will He/She Be Saved: I can't see the judges wanting to keep Scott around another week but if someone like Anoop or Kris ends up out tonight don't be surprised if they use their new AI given power to save.

Survivor Guilt

2009-04-07T10:41:00.001-04:00

I'm sure it didn't really go down like that...

The Job Market

2009-04-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

Love the Mexican music!

Last day down

2009-04-02T13:34:00.004-04:00

On May 31st in 2006, I posted here about finishing my first day of employment with Kubotek USA so it is only fitting that I note the end of my employment. Today I was let go because of downsizing and reconfiguration of the business. It is sad to be asked to leave on very short notice for a job you enjoy and from people that you have worked with over the past 2.5+ years without much of an opportunity to say thank you and goodbye. But I do understand the needs of the business and something had to be done to get the sales and cash flow back on track, it's just too bad I had to be sacrificed in the process along with 3 co-workers. Typically a 4 person layoff doesn't sound too bad but if you think of it as 10% of the work force, it tends to give you pause.

Anyway, for those I didn't get the chance to personally see before my departure, let me say it now - Thank you for working with me and good luck with all of your future endeavors. My next job is too look for a job. Anyone hiring a Customer Service/Technical Support Manager here in Massachusetts?

AI: 9th place for Megan

2009-04-02T09:47:00.002-04:00

In a not-so-surprising move, the judges would not even consider discussing if Megan should be saved or not. She had a good run and I think with some coaching, lessons, management, writers, and producers she could maybe make a run at a record contract. Or at least, take her American Idol experience and create a left arm tattoo telling outlining her entire AI journey from Salt Lake City, Utah through the upcoming summer tour.

As for next week, we are going to be entertained by the Year They Were Born song choices for our Idol contestants. Below are my suggestions for their song selections [taken from the #'1 of their birth year]:

Kris Allen (1985) - Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears
Anoop Desai (1986) - Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer
Matt Giraud (1985) - One More Night by Phil Collins
Danny Gokey (1980) - Sailing by Christopher Cross
Allison Iraheta (1992) - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me by Elton John
Adam Lambert (1982) - I Love Rock 'n Roll by Joan Jett
Scott MacIntyre (1985) - Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon
Lil Rounds (1984) - What's Love Got to Do with It by Tina Turner

Till next week, Wino Out!

Idol, The Morning After Digital Week

2009-04-01T08:36:00.000-04:00

First I wanted to ask, what's with the announcer for the judges? Kind of cool and definitely different but that change seemed to come out of nowhere. Anyway, this week the Idols get to choose #1 Downloads so we should get songs that are very current and very popular - at least popular to those how download music from the web.

Anoop Desai - Caught Up

Anoop certainly came out with a tone of confidence even if his vocal skills doesn't quite match his attitude. Overall a straightforward and very karaoke-esque like cover. I think my problem is every time I see Anoop, I am expecting Harold to pop out on stage.

Megan Joy - Turn Your Lights Down

And the karaoke continues. I actually felt bored watching Megan try to put her style on a Bob Marley song. I couldn't agree more with Kara that this song was bad a choice but even more it might be the worse choice of the season for any contestant.

Danny Gokey - What Hurts the Most

Even though the arrangement was really a straight cover, Danny covered it very well. Good control and solid vocals on a terrific song. Certainly the best of the night so far [and by a mile] but of course so that tonight that's not saying much right now.

Allison Iraheta - Don't Speak

For a girl who can totally rock, I'm not sure I like this song selection. I felt she ran some of the lyrics together in the front end of the song but straightened out a bit by the end. I agree with Paula that I liked her playing the axe but I wish she played it for the whole song.

Scott MacIntyre - Just the Way You Are

Brilliant song choice unfortunately the vocals were not quite as good. The best part of the song was the very good piano work. I guess he was legato [which I had to look up in the dictionary] so good for him for being "smooth and connected; without breaks between the successive tones."

Matt Giraud - You Found Me

Not sure if it was the sound system in the auditorium, but the beginning sounded awful. Unfortunately, it didn't get much better throughout the song. It's really sad [for me] because I thought he would go far but I'm not sure this helped his cause.

Lil Rounds - I Surrender

I don't know this song but I was underwhelmed by Lil this week. She has a huge voice that I don't think it filled this song very well. I guess this is just another bad song choice. Have we had any really good song choices?

Adam Lambert - Play That Funky Music

Cool [and funky] arrangement and I have to admit Adam is really an original - love him or hate him. I liked the first half of the song but the really high pitched sections I could have done without. PS Adam, great shout out to the band. That should help you down the line with more arrangements.

Kris Allen - Ain't No Sunshine

No Randy, this was the best performance of the night. Unbelievable arrangement. Controlled and nearly flawless vocals. And even had a touch of crowd participation on a song that would typically not be that engaging. Kris really did make something old new again.

Cream Of The Crop: Danny, Adam, Kris
Muddling In The Middle: Allison, Lil
Bottom Of The Barrel: Anoop, Megan, Scott, Matt
Should Go Home: Matt
Will Go Home: Megan

Will He/She Be Saved: I don't think Megan [or Scott or even Matt at his point] would be saved by the judges.

My top guitar solo's (Part 2)

2009-03-31T08:50:00.001-04:00

Best Seattle Sound Solo

The Seattle sound brought us many new bands, but none as colorful as the Stone Temple Pilots. On their 3rd studio album came a very short and lyrically confusing song called Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart. To this day I'm still not sure what this song is all about but when you hit the solo your brain won't care what the song is about anymore. Honorable mention has be given to Pearl Jam's Alive which might be the classic grunge era song.

Best Return Of Rock Solo

Post grunge, we got back into more traditional rock music and no band was bigger [and badder] than Gun N' Roses. Slash has lay down some memorable riffs over the years but none are as good and commercial as Sweet Child O' Mine. From the opening riff though the melodic solo, this song is all rock, all guns, all the time.

Best From The Guys Who Started It All

When The Beatles came to America in 1964, it was obvious the music had changed forever. They began what turned out to be an unprecedented and perhaps never to be reproduced attack on the ears and minds of the worlds youth. Of all of their songs, Let It Be may not be the one you think of with regards to solos but the subtle solo Harrison adds to McCartney's piano creates an all time classic.

Best Heavy Metal Solo

While heavy metal is usually not my personal taste, Metallica's One as always been a favorite track of mine. Starts slow and soft and over the next 7 minutes it builds to a driving metal riff and solo that will get your blood pumping and your heart racing.

Best Solo That Crossed Into The Street

Aerosmith has had their ups and downs but with their re-release of Walk This Way featuring Run DMC, they got them selves back into the public ear. Not only did this track get the bad boys from Boston back on track, it also helped hip hop find an audience and is the song many have credited with bringing hip hop from the street and getting it on MTV. There is no doubt if this track had never happened, many of urban artist that followed RUN DMC would never had made it.

Best Only-Solo Solo

For all of the classic songs Queen created over the 14 albums they released while Freddie was with us, the bridge between We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions not only fills the "empty" space between the tracks but totally rocks the basic foot stomp and hand clap music. By the way, these two songs are the classic 1-and-1 rock songs and were made to be played together, never apart.

Best Solo That Is Barely There

The Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing is one of my favorite songs because it is so gentle in tone and tempo but oh so complex in riff and beats. When you get to the long solo, you are treated to one of those solo's that feels like the rest of the song was created to fill around. Note: I know the video doesn't include the full end-of-song solo, so go out and get a copy to enjoy the entire sweet solo.

Best Solo To End A Song

No one rocks the ending of a song like Prince does at the end of Let's Go Crazy. The song itself is a great uptempo pop song but the guitar work it simply outstanding. The mid song solo is tight and the crazy guitar work to bring the song to a close is the kind of sound I wish more artist went for because it wraps up the poppin' song so perfectly [as well as this post].

My top guitar solo's (Part 1)

2009-03-30T08:49:00.011-04:00

The basic building blocks of a classic rock song includes a first set of lyrics followed by a chorus. Next comes a second lyric set with the expected chorus a second time around. Then comes the bridge from the middle to the end of the song via the infamous guitar solo. Here are come of my favorite guitar shredding solos:

All-Time Favorite Solo

Jimmy Page is considered by some, me included, to be one of the best guitarist ever to lay down a riff and Heartbreaker is the quintessential guitar driven Zeppelin track. The mid song solo breaks the song to a dead stop and while it - and in this case it is a true solo - starts slow and builds to a full band jam leading right back to the back end of the song. Classic.

Best Old School Solo

When the Kinks released You Really Got Me in 1964, it became an instant classic and has been called by some to be the blueprint for rock music that came after it's release. It is the first hit song built around the power cords and features a raspy solo, based on the song Louie Louie, which launched the band. Ironically, the same song helped launch Van Halen some 14 years later.

Best Non-Vocal "solo"

Technically Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover is all solo since there are no lyrics but this track is simply 4+ minutes of Johnson weaving a simple riff with solo breaks. A close second is Eruption by Van Halen which drop into You Really Got Me Now see Best Old School Solo above. I also have to mention Joe Satriani's Surfing with the Alien because he all music songs are driving and really get your pulse going.

Best Guest Solo For A Non-Rocker

In his meteoric rise to fame during the Thriller days, Michael Jackson was producing hits all over the place in nearly every genre available at the time. The rockingest track he created back in the day was Beat It which featured a searing solo provided by none other then Eddie Van Halen.

Best Acoustic Solo

Days Of The New was one those bands that emerged from the mid-90's alt rock scene. Although they had limited success, their generally acoustic sound made them different then the rest of the artist around back then. Touch, Peel And Stand is by far their biggest hit and it features a delicious acoustic driven solo that makes me wish I could play the guitar.

Favorite Solo On A New Santana Song

I love what Santana has done over his past few albums finding ways to reach a new audience while staying true to his Latin roots. My favorite pairs have been with Chad Kroeger and on Into The Night, Santana shreds so much it sounds like his guitar just actually melt. A close second is Why Don't You & I, which is lyrically superior and nearly as solotastic.

Best Solo From That Song

You know those songs, the ones you know but don't know their name. Crossroads is one of those songs which features Eric Clapton ripping up his guitar for what seems forever. Nicknamed The Slow Hand, you can see why Clapton has always been looked up in the guitar world.

Best Reverse Solo

When you listen to the song Loser by 3 Doors Down, it it begins with this enticing and simple riff that runs the length of the song and really draws you into the lyrics. But about 2 minutes and 30 seconds later 3DD drops into an all out rock solo that completely blows the vibe and tempo wide open. Only to return to the softer melody with an additional toned down solo. The change of pace is just awesome.

Coming tomorrow, part 2...

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-27T16:33:00.000-04:00

I'm just one blogger!

AI: The 10th wasn't saved

2009-03-27T08:54:00.003-04:00

I think it was a great run for Micaela, where he made the most out of what he's got. I did find it odd last night watching that when Michael was "singing for his life", the judges didn't appear to be discussing if he should be saved or not. Which then lead to an awkward scene at the end of the show where Simon basically made the decision for everyone. In the end they would never use their one and only one chance to save someone on Michael it since Simon already had his mind made up about that I guess a team discussion was not really necessary. I just wish, for Michael's sake, they took that a little more serious. I am assuming they have already selected a couple of contestants that they feel should make it to the final 5 and will use this new power if and when one of those pre-selected people get voted off before then. Until next week, Wino out.

Idol, The Morning After Motown Week

2009-03-26T08:32:00.000-04:00

Top 10 + Motown = Potentially Great Week. Motown music gives the contestants a opportunity to take something old [and classic] and make it new again.

Matt Giraud - Let's Get It On

Soft piano driven start leading to a full band finish was a nice arrangement. I really liked how he stepped from behind the piano and he gave a crowd-pleasing performance.

Kris Allen - How Sweet It Is

Hmmm, interesting. Felt like a very safe song for Kris this week. I actually thought the arrangement was a basic copy of how JT might play it with a large backing band instead of oh-so-very-Kris like that the judges kept saying.

Scott MacIntyre - You Can't Hurry Love

Something about his performance made me think he was completely uncomfortable with this song choice. It maybe the song range was too big for his own skill and style. Honky Tonk is a great description Simon.

Megan Joy - For Once In My Life

I think Smokey was right and Megan's stle is all about Jazz and Cabaret and that just didn't fit this song. I also thought the key she chose may have been too low for this song.

Anoop Desai - Ooo Baby Baby

While his vocals were good, my problem with Anoop Dog is that over the past 5 weeks I still have no clue what he is all about. Front man? Singer Songwriter? Rocker? Rap Star? I'm just not sure what he would record.

Mid Point Commentary - So far Smokey appears to have told each performer to just do what they did for him and I would say he's about 1 for 5 with that advice. Dear AI, please show us these mentors actually mentor the contestants.

Michael Sarver - Ain't Too Proud to Beg

For me, this was his best performance so far - which might not be saying too much. A good copy of the original in arrangement, vocals and performance. It could have better if he tried to make it more of his own.

Lil Rounds - (Love is Like a) Heatwave

Yeah she has a hell of a voice but I actually felt like it was too big for this song, if that's possible. Maybe she ust needs to learn how to pull bakc that huge voice to better fit the song instead of just over powering it. On the plus side, I think her stylist put her in the perfect outfit for her bootie, I mean body.

Adam Lambert - Tracks Of My Tears

Wow, that's what Adam really looks like. I have not been his biggest fan but I have to say this was good. The stripped down arrangement was brilliant and I actually liked his control and even vocals which is quite a change from his past screechy performances. PS Kara, that was 8 words.

Danny Gokey - Get Ready

Still ove his voice and his vocals here were as expected - solid. Interestingly, I felt this was my least favorite of his so far because it felt like a straight-on cover where in the past he has delivered on some unexpected songs.

Allison Iraheta - Papa Was a Rollin' Stone

In the beginning I thought she had made a bad song choice but once she got the first chorus and beyond I thought it was really great. I am still wondering if she as the range to fit into all of the different styles in the coming weeks. And yes Paula, the "Pencil Thin Mustache" is funny - really funny.

Cream Of The Crop: Matt, Adam, Danny, Alison
Muddling In The Middle: Kris, Anoop, Lil
Bottom Of The Barrel: Scott, Megan, Michael
Should Go Home: Scott
Will Go Home: Michael

Is 120k low enough for us?

2009-03-25T13:51:00.004-04:00

In an effort to reduce the backlash she has gotten over her new job with the state, Marian Walsh has said she has requested a 31.4% pay cut. This would reduce her ridiculous salary from 175k to a mere 120k per year. This may help reduce the public friction we have seen and heard about government spending but I expect many people will still be less-than-satisfied that the Governor still finds it necessary to fill a position that has remained empty for more than a decade while he continues to ask residents to pay higher taxes and tolls around the state. Although it seems that the public pressure is not lost on our Governor who has recently stated he was going to look into the inflated salaries and perks at the Bay State’s 52 quasi-independent agencies. Additionally he said he was wrong to label the Walsh controversy and a series of other excesses amid hard economic times as "trivial." "Uncle, uncle," Patrick said. "I wish I never uttered that." I would imagine other executive director's like Benson Caswell [HEFA] and Robert Culver [MassDevelopment], who currently earn 225k and 280k respectively, are soon to come under the same salary scrutiny as Mrs. Walsh has. Perhaps this issue and recent reports shown on the local news will really force the Governor to really look hard at the budget before he simply says the state is done all they can and must ask the citizens to give more and more money to them.

Thank You Curt

2009-03-24T10:47:00.004-04:00

Thank you for saying yes to Theo back in 2003
Thank you for having an opinion and speaking your mind
Thank you for embracing the new media
Thank you for 53 regular season wins
Thank you for transitioning from games to gaming
Thank you for continuing to look for a cure
Thank you for the bloody sock
Thank you for a 6 and 1 post season record
Thank you for breaking a 86 year old curse
Thank you for 2 championships
Thank you for being you

The Rapping Flight Attendant

2009-03-23T17:45:00.002-04:00

I ironically saw this clip on CNN as we waited for our flight 2 Sunday's ago heading dwon to South Carolina:

Note: He's right, we did not get this kind of welcome on Delta or US Airways...

AI: Several Days Later

2009-03-22T16:13:00.003-04:00

Ok I got a chance to skim through this weeks Idol and luckily for me I got to skim country week, which is one of my least favorites.

Kris Allen - Make You Feel My Love - Looked good, sounded fine, will stay around.

Anoop Desai - Always on My Mind - I guess this is the Anoop they put through.

Matt Giraud - So Small - Still loving his performance and style.

Danny Gokey - Jesus, Take the Wheel - Only song I watched the whole performance.

Allison Iraheta - Blame It on Your Heart - So far, my least favorite Allison song.

Megan Joy - Walkin' After Midnight - At least she stood still. Now if she can perk up some.

Adam Lambert - Ring of Fire - Still confused on all of this Adam-mania.

Scott MacIntyre - Wild Angels - Novelty is wearing off.

Lil Rounds - Independence Day - I disagree with the judges and thought this was really good.

Michael Sarver - Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up) - I think this could be the end of the line.

Alexis Grace - Jolene - A bit up and down, but I liked it anyways.

Cream Of The Crop: Danny, Matt and Lil
Bottom Of The Barrel: Michael, Scott and Megan
Should Go Home: Michael
Will Go Home: Michael

Update: Just found out that Alexis is no longer with us. Oh well. Hope Paula is right [even though I think she is wrong] and something good happens for Alexis.

A new business model

2009-03-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

While roaming around Myrtle beach this week, we stumbled onto a new development called The Market Common. The property is on what once was an air force base situated next to the Myrtle Beach Airport. The idea behind the Common is it be the new Myrtle Beach. Away from the long strip of hotels that line the ocean side along business route 17. The old MB is nothing but hotels, eateries and family amusement parks. The old downtown has no real beach feel since it can be seen from the road and with all those hotels feels very unfriendly and unwelcoming. In contrast, the Common is being developed as a residential community built around shopping, restaurants and on-site events. The site has been open for almost a year and are basically in phase one of development. Most for the retail space is open for business and in the coming months they hope it will be running at full capacity. The housing has all been built around a townhouse style of structures with 2 and 3 floor traditional townhouses and some non-traditional carriage-house townhouses. One of the unique features of the near retail town homes is what they call live and work structures which include 2 floors of living above the first floor retail space which the owner can use for there own business or rent to someone else. It is interesting to imagine what one would do if you had retail space on the first floor of your home. In the coming years they have planned additional housing including some free standing detached housing which could be tempting. If the housing continues to be built and purchased, this could be a very interesting area to watch in Myrtle Beach.

ITMA: The Short, short version

2009-03-18T16:11:00.000-04:00

While on vacation I only caught the last 2 performances and the quick recap at the end pf the show. Based on that alone, I am predicting that the oil rig guy [seriously I don't even know his name yet] will be going home this week since to my dismay Anoop seems to have his way this week. I will post a full review once I have watched the full performances this Sunday.

Watchmen: Movie and Book

2009-03-17T10:40:00.002-04:00

I had read the graphic novel before seeing the movie so I had a good idea how dark, troubled and violent the story of these superheroes was going to be. Zack Synder did a really good job staying true to the novel even capturing some of the panes as they were drawn back in the 80's. The casting was great and even the big blue wang of Dr. Manhattan seemed to fit right in with the rest of the group. I would suggest reading the novel first because there are a few elements of the story which will be easy to understand with the proper background. All-in-all it was a solid start to the spring/summer movie going season, even if spring has yet to really spring here in the northeast.

Sort of blogging at 37,000 feet

2009-03-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

Delta boosts wi-fi availability of some of their domestic flights. What they don't tell you is that in-flight internet is provided by a company called Gogo. To use Gogo's network, you can purchase a Gogo Pass for $9.99. This pass gives you internet access during the duration of the flight it was purchased on. Sure a cost is expected in a world where everyone, especially airlines, are trying to find ways to cut cost and/or increase revenue but limiting the connection to the flight your on might not sit well with someone who has a connection like I do today - Boston to Atlanta and then onto Myrtle Beach. The other little detail about their service may users may not be aware is their network shaping. The term this preservation of equitable passenger experience. What this means is they prioritize network traffic to control the amount of data that is flowing from their mobile internet router to individual laptops and other internet ready mobile devices. These items are listed content such as file sharing, gaming requiring high bandwidth, or streaming audio and video. These items are "given a lower priority and at times may not work consistently or at all." So if you think your going to watch 6 episodes of Lost in HD streaming from abc.com on your way from New York to LA you might be surprised to find that it may not be possible at all. So be careful when buying your Gogo internet services on your next flight.

As for me, I wrote this post in the air using notepad and simply posted it when we were back on the ground. Now I am off to watch a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory that I preloaded on my laptop.

Assistant executive director of what?

2009-03-13T13:26:00.002-04:00

The Employer: Health and Educational Facilities Authority
The New Staff Member: Marian Walsh, a Democratic state senator from West Roxbury
The Job Title: Assistant Executive Director
The salary: $175,000
The Job Description: Health authority spokesman Liam Sullivan said Walsh will help the quasi-independent agency boost its “government relations expertise.”

Come again? The state is going to pay Mrs. Walsh 175 grand to help build government relations??? So much for Governor Patrick's fiscal responsibility in the midst or a recession. I guess all this new proposed candy tax, gas tax and toll hikes have to spent somewhere why not on a position that has remained vacant for the past 12 years. Clearly what state has been missing is someone to be over paid to find ways to help state agency work with our agencies. Of course here in the private sector we just call that plain old team work and can't afford to pay someone to cheer us all on.

AI: 2 Down, 10 to go

2009-03-12T09:01:00.002-04:00

Last night we saw the "end of the road" for Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nuñez. Not that I thought she could win, but I thought it was a premature exit for Jasmine. As for Jorge, well as predicted he is done. On the edge of elimination but still in are Megan Joy and Anoop Desai who could have just as easily been eliminated and won't last long if they give the same level of performance next week.

The "big twist" is giving the judges a one-time ability to save a single contestant who has been eliminated therefore giving this person a chance to come back and perform one more time the next week. Seacrest pointed to past contestants like Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry as examples of contestants that might have been saved if the judges had the right to back then. Of course in both of those cases they have done pretty well without winning so I'm not sure this change will really change anything but I guess you have to keep it fresh.

Wino, Out.

Idol, The Morning After Michael Jackson Week

2009-03-11T07:00:00.007-04:00

To start season 8, Idol gives our top 13 the Michael Jackson catalog to work from. Since that includes tracks from the Jackson 5 through Thriller/Bad and into his current stuff no one knows so it should be interesting what the contestants pick to cover. So here we go...

Lil Rounds - The Way You Make Me Feel

Really good start to the season 8 with a solid performance. I look forward to see her sing something a bit more her own style. PS Glam Squad, I hate what she is wearing too.

Scott MacIntyre - Keep the Faith

Behind the Piano is exactly where Scott belongs. This isn't a song I am familiar with and beyond a few flat spots I thought it was good. Keep the faith brother.

Danny Gokey - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

PAT - Pretty Awesome Track! Slick beginning, rockin' mid section and awesome crowd participation in the end. Ok so he can't dance so what. I just hope he hasn't peaked too early.

Michael Sarver - You Are Not Alone

Another song I don't know very well but I think this was a pretty good effort. As a likable family guy, I think Michael should hang around for a while.

Jasmine Murray - I'll Be There

For a song written in 1970, Jasmine made her version sound very current. With her good looks and soulful voice, Jasmine is someone who is bound for big things.

Kris Allen - Remember The Time

I like the song choice and thought Kris was pretty good. With his quick guitar strumming I would have loved to hear this song with a more Latin feel [or Santana-ized] would have made it even better.

Allison Iraheta - Give In To Me

There's no doubt Allison can sing but I'm not sure this song really did it for me. Maybe it just another song that is on the less popular side of the MJ collection. Unlike Paula, I liked the righter red hair then tonight's maroon color.

Anoop Desai - Beat It

I begrudgingly have to say Anoop Dog did better than I expected on this song. Decent vocals and I think he hugely benefits from a crowd pleasing [and super uptempo] song.

Jorge Nuñez - Never Can Say Goodbye

Zzzzzzz, oh sorry I think I nodded off during his performance. Maybe Latin-American Idol would work better for Jorge. Opps don't mention Bad when you are waiting to hear from Simon.

Megan Joy - Rockin' Robin

Not sure this song can be made sound current but I think Megan did about as much as one can do with this very dated track. Please, please can someone tell her to stop with the distracting hip shaking dancing she is now doing with each performance. Thanks.

Adam Lambert - Black Or White

No sure this is the song for Adam and his unique singing style. I felt his timing was off for most of the song and the mid section just made me feel angry. No matter what the judges say, I thought it was a big rough all around.

Matt Giraud - Human Nature

For me, this is Matt's best performance so far and it really showed what kind of artist he would be. Another guy who really belongs behind the piano and is another guy who should be around for a while.

Alexis Grace - Dirty Diana

I thought it was an odd song choice but I think it worked. Not sure this tells us what kind of artist she will be but I think she should be here for a few more weeks so we can find out.

Cream Of The Crop: Danny, Jasmine and Matt
Bottom Of The Barrel: Anoop, Jorge and Adam
Should Go Home: Jorge
Will Go Home: Jorge

UPDATE: If two go home tonight, I hope Anoop and Jorge share a plane ride back to once they came...

Future of fast food?

2009-03-10T09:13:00.002-04:00

Burger Kings very first Whopper Bar opened in Universal CityWalk in Orlando today. They have plans for 6 more this year in places like Munich, Los Angeles, New York and Singapore. They predict they could eventually open as many as 500 of these kind of locations around the globe in everywhere from stadiums to cruise ships. Would you rather have it your way at their bar instead of their typical restaurant?

The park war continues

2009-03-09T14:15:00.001-04:00

Amir and Streeter are two guys who work for CollegeHumor.com and the two of them have had a prank war going on for a while now. The pranks have becoming more elaborate and last year Amir pranked Streeter with the old fake marriage proposal on the JumboTron at a Yankee Game. Well a year and half later Streeter strikes back with the fake 500K half court shot. Amir's reaction to "winning" is great but the reaction to not winning is priceless.

I can't wait to see what come next in this entertaining prank war.

Nickelback - the birthday show

2009-03-06T11:23:00.003-05:00

Last night we went to see Nickelback on heir Dark Horse tour at the DCU center in Worcester. The stage was set with the traditional rectangle-at-the-end-of-the-arena setup with a mini stage in the middle of the floor. The small outer circular stage was connected to the main stage via a narrow walkway. Having floor seats [which was general admission/standing room only] just to the right of the outer stage. First up was Saving Able which was good but admittedly was the band on the bill where I had the least knowledge of their music. Next was Seether who have a handful of songs I really liked and they sounded good but I was left a little bored watching their set.

Then came the main attraction - Nickelback. I had seen them 3 times before this show and in some ways I was dreading the number of tracks they were going to play off the new album not because Dark Horse is a bad record I am just more familiar with their past 3 releases. To my delight they only played 4 new songs including Something In Your Mouth, Burn It To The Ground, and Gotta Be Somebody. About half way through the show, the band decided to make their was out the outer stage area just a couple feet from where we were standing. As they neared the center stage area a small drum kit flipped out from under the stage and the boys played a couple tracks including This Afternoon.

All-in-all it was a great show and a pretty awesome way to start my 39th year here on earth.

38 years go by pretty fast

2009-03-05T07:21:00.004-05:00

38 Years
456 Months
13,880 Days
331,120 Hours
19,987,200 Minutes
1,199,232,000 Seconds

Has it really been that long already?

Signs - A new age silent movie

2009-03-04T15:50:00.000-05:00

For a film with no dialog, it really has something to say...

What not to do at McDonalds

2009-03-04T10:28:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, 27 year old Fort Pierce resident Latreasa L. Goodman entered her local McDonald's and ordered and paid for [apparently] the only item she likes there - a 10 piece Chicken McNuggets and small french fry. In processing her order in the kitchen, it was discovered they were out and the cashier/manager asked Ms. Goodman what she would like as a replacement because "all sales are final". Ms. Goodman decided to ask her local police department to intervene in this very serious situation:

After the 3rd 911 call, the police did finally arrive and cite Ms. Goodman with a misdemeanor citation for misusing the 911 system. In response to the citation Ms. Goodman stated "This is an emergency, If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one. This is an emergency."

Ok now for a dose of reality - "All Sales Are Final"? Really? Just give the women her money back and move on. On the other side, calling 911 because they won't give you McNuggets? Really? Just eat something else. I think we all want our local police out doing something a little more important than settling trivial disputes between a store manager who doesn't know what the word customer in customer service means and a woman who doesn't know they are called McNuggets not just nuggets. These two should probably just be put into a UFC octagon ring and the last one standing gets to keep the 5 or so bucks in question here.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Pump

2009-03-03T15:37:00.008-05:00

Here are the following steps needed to install a sump pump:

Step 1: Drill into the foundation:

Step 2: Drill some more [and more and more]:

Step 3: Spend 5 minutes trying to bust it open with a sledgehammer:

Step 4: Upon exhaustion from step 3, go rent a jackhammer:

Step 5: Dig, Dig, Dig and Dig some more:

Step 6: Install:

Yeah that was fun. I had back pain to prove it! If you need any help installing yours, please feel free to call a professional because that is a once in a lifetime for me.

Tisk, Tisk NBC

2009-03-02T14:24:00.002-05:00

Dane Patterson, who lost 100 pounds in just eight weeks, was eliminated from The Biggest Loser last week. To close the show, they show a Where Are They Now segment and in this clip Dane is apparently now an above average marathoner. They showed him crossing the finish line to the January 31st Desert Classic Marathon in Phoenix in a time of 3 hours and 53 minutes. That's pretty damn good for a guy who is still larger than most people.

The truth is his "finishing" time was 5 hours 53 minutes and in order to complete the race in the maximum allowed time of 6 hours, he got a ride for 3 miles [17 to 20] so that he could be an official finisher. As a two-time marathoner, I feel sad that Dane didn't have the self-worth to just walk out the remaining miles and be satisfied with completing an incredibly difficult distance. As for NBC, this is not the kind of press the 4th place network needs. They blame an over zealous field producer for the misrepresentation but I think the blame should be spread around equally and this may signal a dramatic shift in viewing habits for those who seek inspiration in the Biggest Losers, which is very sad.

PS: Whoever provided the film that showed him coming in just under 4 hours [apparently the bulbs in the clock were not "working properly"] should feel the most shame because it had to have been doctored a little for this many people to not see the real time on first viewing.

Why we love and hate Walmart

2009-02-26T19:03:00.004-05:00

Having gone for a run today at lunch [on a side note, thank you god for the first semi warm lunchtime] After the run I decided that I no longer wanted to put my cell phone through the ups and downs of yogging [because its a soft j]. Having such great luck with my last player, I decided to go with SanDisk Sansa again, this time it is the Clip model. I have thought a 2GB player, which is twice the size of my current player, ought to be big enough for my exercise, yard work and travel needs.

So down to my local Walmart I go to pick one up. When looking through their display the only model they have is a pink 2 GB for $44.88. Pink is not quite my color of choice so I tried to get some help from the two workers at the technology counter but neither of them seemed interested in helping but they both seemed quite interested in sending text messages. Once I did get his attention I asked if they had any other colors than pink and after he searched the locked cases I was informed pink is all that they had but even those were sold out. I guess low cost comes with low levels of service, but that's ok - it is what it is. For some reason I thought I would take a look for myself and what did I find but a black 8GB player - for $49.99! List price of this model is $99.99 and`out on the web, this model lists for $79.99. Interestingly enough, this model is not currently listed on their website so I guess I was lucky to get one while they last.

So with a little effort and persistence, I was able to get a new mp3 player for basically half of the list price and again see that Walmart is by the far the price leader, even if I hate going there and dealing with the people and their stores.

Move over Stevie, Spike is here

2009-02-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

While I was an undergrad student at Northeastern University, I have been known to frequent a pizza place called Little Stevie's located at 1114 Boylston Street. This restaurant opened in 1968 and for a post 21 year old college student it didn't get any better than this place - Open Till 3, Huge Slices of Pizza [think a 1/4 of a typical pie] and it was really cheap at $1.25 per slice. I can't tell you how many late nights I would end up there picking up my post-barfest/pre-bedtime slice. I have only been to Stevie's during the daytime once and I found out on that trip the pizza actually wasn't that good and to this day I haven't been back.

Well don't despair, the neighborhood has another option. Spike's Junkyard Dogs located at 1076 Boylston Street is a newer establishment that looks to take a bite out of Stevie's late night business. I wandered into Spike's Saturday night around 1 am for some food to feed that inner hunger that you know you should ignore but the idea of something fried and salty is just too enticing. Can't tell you how good a chili dog and french fries are at that hour of the morning. The place was packed with co-eds whom all seemed to have recently left a local watering hole which is about what you would expect at the hour of the morning in Boston.

So if your in the city and looking for something quick [and pretty tasty] I say check 'em out. And if you think you can consume 6 or more in one sitting, you can get your face up on the wall of fame. Yum.

Toll or Tax?

2009-02-24T13:51:00.003-05:00

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has approved a plan to increase tolls from Route 128 into Boston's tunnels. That plan can be dropped if the Legislature approves a transportation reform package that includes a 19-cent increase in the state's gas tax.

Since I do not take the Mass Pike on a regular basis, I would favor a toll hike over a gas tax which effects every driver in the state [and may force border dwellers to go over state lines for yet another product]. I am sure anyone who lives west of Framingham would agree and frankly why should residents of Pittsfield, Holyoke, or Charlton have to pay for Big Dig expenses which they typically would not benefit from? They shouldn't and I hope if these are our only two choices, the state does the right thing as raise the tolls - not that I am in favor of tolls in the first place.

Fix Your Face, Fool

2009-02-23T15:13:00.005-05:00

Travis Barker, percussionist for Blink-182, and Dj AM, turnablist for Crazy Town, have worked up a new brand of music mashup featuring the underpinning of AM's dj skills with Barkers over riding drumming. It creates an interesting sound and might be the next wave of musical manipulation. Here is the first track from their album Fix Your Face:

This track samples from Bill Conti, Run DMC, West Street Mob, Johnny Cash and Eve so as you can see, TRV$/DJ-AM work with an eclectic mix of base songs and artists. The mixtape consists of 15 unnamed tracks and can be downloaded here. Off to fix my face on some Fix Your Face.

Iron Man Suit - All Geeked Out

2009-02-20T11:16:00.002-05:00

Here is fun flash presentation created by the wizards at Industrial Light & Magic. "This one was special for us all the way through," says ILM's Bruce Holcomb, the model supervisor on the film. "There's a lot of love for 'Iron Man' and what was accomplished ... and what will be accomplished." "Iron Man 2" is due in theaters in 2010.

FOR A LARGER VIEW CLICK HERE!!!

Attorney General plays race card already

2009-02-19T09:04:00.010-05:00

In a speech to Justice Department employees yesterday marking Black History Month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. - the nation’s first black attorney general - commented that the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives. He also stated that we are "essentially a nation of cowards” with respect to opening discussing the racial issues of our country.

Let's look at a typical Americana's private - which by the way is private and their own damn business but let's forget that for the moment - and see why we "self-segregate" as our new Attorney General indicates we do. First, during our free time many people spend it with their families - wife, children, brothers, sisters, parents, aunts and uncles. For the vast majority of people here that means spending it with people of your own color, ethnic background and religious beliefs. Next when you consider your extended network of friends, these people are most likely folks you have something in common with - where you grew up, what do you for a living, where you go tot church or maybe where you live. All of these things tend to be something related to your own life and therefore these people are mostly like you in many ways. Lastly, where you choose to live, work and play is also a lot about you and not about others. This means where ever you go - for what ever reasons - probably will draw more people like you.

Based on these reasons, wouldn't it be fairer to say Americana's tend to flock together by nature rather than an underlying need to continue the racial issues of past generations? I don't believe comments like those made by our new Attorney General will break down the invisible walls of nature but rather continue to support the idea that many people here continue to hold racism tight and by holding onto that belief only continues it negative impact on our society.

Snow days vs Religion

2009-02-19T09:04:00.005-05:00

Lawrence School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy recommended Good Friday, which falls on April 10, as a date for making up one of five days lost because of bad winter weather this school year. "A lot of students go to school that day," Laboy said. "I hope we don't appear to be sacrilegious in that way, but we don't have a lot of days."

In response, school committee member James Vittorioso said "I may not be the greatest Catholic, but I do go to church. I think it's a disgrace." Mr. Vittorioso continued his crusade last night on WBZ's radio program Nightside with Dan Rea. He argued that they should not open on Good Friday because many parents have already vacation plans so opening on this day would not work. He also said opening on a Saturday or running into July will also lead to low attendance - again because of parents keeping their children home for mostly vacation reasons.

I guess school is all about vacation and no longer about education or the future of the next generation. So much for that. He additionally commented that the founding fathers clearly wanted separation of church and state. Unfortunately for Mr. Vittorioso, separation of church and state would actually mean they should have class on a religious holiday instead having the day off. It may all be a moot point since Teachers' union president Frank McLaughlin called classes on Good Friday a contract violation and pledged to file a grievance if Laboy follows through.

Good luck to the school district and hope the students enjoy classes this July!

Would you play dead?

2009-02-17T10:29:00.000-05:00

Or would you defend, avoid or fight back? Oh those crazy Japanese.

Happy Presidents Day Survey

2009-02-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

C-SPAN's has released it's second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. The survey is an index that takes the views of 65 presidential historians and ranks the 42 former presidents according to 10 "attributes of leadership." The public affairs cable news network first produced a Presidents Day ranking of presidents in 2000. So this is its initial look at where former president George W. Bush ranks who comes in at No. 36.

The top 5 are:

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Harry S. Truman

The bottom 5 are:

38. Warren G. Harding
39. William Henry Harrison
40. Franklin D. Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan

There has not been much change from the 2000 rankings with a couple of notable exceptions:

Bill Clinton moved up from 21 to 15
Ulysses S. Grant moved up from 33 to 23
Rutherford B. Hayes moved down from 26 to 33

It will be interesting to see if the next list moves our lat President up or down after we have a few years to reflect on the last 8 years as well as how our current president will rank just after he has left office.

What The F#%k Blanket

2009-02-13T13:34:00.001-05:00

So whether you are reading the obituaries or Viewing scrambled porn or clogging your arteries or telling a racist joke, you will look like a tool!

And you thought she was crazy before

2009-02-12T15:26:00.002-05:00

If you thought Nadya Suleman was a little off for adding to her first six IV based children with 8 more, you will find this just over the top. The Killeen Furtney Group, Ms. Suleman's publicist, has developed a website [domain was registered this past Monday and the url will not be linked here so you'll have to google it for yourself if you really, really want to visit the website] for the "family". It features pictures of the octuplets, courtesy of NBC, but interestingly enough pictures of her other 6 children are missing. Guess this is not a family website but more of a part-of-the-family website. Her new site currently exactly two features: Comments and Donations. Ok comments are fine. of course there are easier ways to have the public at large [the vast majority are complete strangers] to contact you. Publish your email address, join facebook, start a blog, ect. Now the other feature is a paypal account that accepts donations which you can charge to your Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card. Ironically, somewhere in her team there has been mention of her site becoming a 501c corporation so it can act as a non-profit charitable organization. Of course unless their new "charitable organization" focuses on the ongoing support of unemployed mothers of octuplets, they might have some trouble with the IRS.

Maybe this is an after effect of not being able to sell her story for $2 million. she has had two interviews and to date NBC claims they have not paid her anything for them. And her attempt to find a TV gig as a mothering expert is down right laughable. Would anyone seriously take this woman's advice on parenting? In her other interview with MSNBC, the unemployed octomom firmly denying being on any form of Government assistance but the LA Times reported that she gets $490 a month in food stamps and another $600 in disability payments for three of her older children who suffer from ADHD, a speech impediment and autism. Also, the hospital where the octuplets are expected to spend seven to 12 weeks has requested reimbursement from Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, for care of the premature babies [cost has not been disclosed]. On top of that, she also has $50,000 in student loans and credit card debit to deal with along with her expansive family and not so busy media itinerary. I guess she at least had time for some light cosmetic surgery recently, so things can't be all bad.

Funniest Superbowl Ad You Didn't See

2009-02-12T09:28:00.002-05:00

Bathroom Remodel

2009-02-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

It took a bit longer than expected, but it is now complete. Here are a couple of before pictures:

Yeah it was blue. No it was very blue. I guess that was the look back in the early 70's. After 6 weeks, we have converted it into a bead board based room with a vintage looking vanity and mirror set:

It is really nice and kudos to my wife for the vision, encouragement and hard work in finishing this project.

A-Roid? Really?

2009-02-10T14:34:00.004-05:00

Here is an interview with Alex Rodriguez from December 2007:

KC: "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?"

AR: "No."

KC: "Have you ever been tempted to use any of those things?"

AR: "No."

KC: "You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball,'" Couric asked.

AR: "I've never felt over matched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no."

Pretty good straightforward questions with simple answers, unfortunately they were not so honest. Once word leaked that A Rod failed a drug test during baseball's pre-testing days, he immediately say down with Peter Gammons to give you the real truth:

PG: "Alex, this weekend Sports Illustrated reported that in 2003 you tested positive for testosterone, an anabolic steroid known as Primobolan. What is the truth?"

AR: "When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day.

Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. And I did take a banned substance. You know, for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful.

... The culture back then, and Major League Baseball overall, was very -- I just feel that, you know, I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for that time. I'm sorry to my fans. I'm sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about a substance of any kind, and since then, I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that."

So now the story is he did use but only because everyone else was and because he had to prove his worth, as in his huge new Texas sized contract. One question still lingers that is Sports Illustrated hadn't broken the story, would he been man enough to come out and say he did it and hasn't need to in the past 5 years? Yeah I don't think so either.

DWTS Season 8 Stars

2009-02-09T08:23:00.001-05:00

Lead Singer in The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle

Actor and Comedian David Alan Grier

Singer-Songwriter Jewel

2008 Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson

Grammy Award Winning Rapper Lil' Kim

Sex and the City Actor Gilles Marini

Rodeo Athlete Ty Murray

Jackass and Wildboyz Performer Steve-O

Access Hollywood Co-Anchor Nancy O'Dell

Film and TV Actress Denise Richards

Retired NFL Linebacker Lawrence Taylor

Country Singer Chuck Wicks

Apple Co-Founder and Philanthropist Steve Wozniak

What should be interesting is Ty Murray and his wife Jewel both competing, Chuck Wicks dancing with his girl friend Jullian Hough, can bad boy and girl Steve-O and Lil' Kim live up to the family friendly program and will Steve Wozniak make it past the first day. Starting on March 9th, we will see...

That's a big list

2009-02-06T07:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the list of apparent customers of Bernard Madoff was filed in federal bankruptcy court who were caught up in what is believed to be a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors rather than from profit. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,who became notorious for using the technique after emigrating from Italy to the United States in 1903. Ponzi did not invent the scheme, but his operation took in so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States.

The list of Mr. Madoff's "customers" includes more than 13,600 names and hits some pretty wealthy people where it hurts. The list includes names like actor John Malkovich, talk-show host Larry King, New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, former baseball star Sandy Koufax, Steven Spielberg's Wunderkind Foundation, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon, John Denver Concerts Inc. Charities, art collector Norman Braman and Berkshire Hathaway money manager David Gottesman. Others have come forward who are not on the list include Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick and Zsa Zsa Gabor. All told, it has been estimated he milked over $50 billion from some of countries richest people and that is money they may never see again.

Needless to say, I think Mr. Madoff will be spending a large amount of time paying for his crimes.

Christian Bale vs Bill O'Reilly

2009-02-05T19:29:00.003-05:00

It was only a matter of time before someone dropped Bale's Terminator set rant over the top of the now famous Bill O'Reilly rant which hit the net last May.

Are you professional, or what?

2009-02-04T10:25:00.003-05:00

Would you like to let loose on a co-worker? I think the next time I drop this many insults on someone I work with, I'm going to just claim I am a method worker and that being interrupted breaks my concentration and that I will no longer work unless they are fired. Yeah that will work. Not.

HIMYM extends the show, again

2009-02-04T09:18:00.003-05:00

For fans of How I Met Your Mother, last night's episode made reference of two never before mentioned things: Barney's Video Resume and Ted's college alter-ego radio personality the mysterious Doctor X.

Barney's Video Resume

This actually might be the wave of the future given we are becoming a full-on YouTube generation. You can watch the full length video online. Note the awesome resolution video is 14 megs while the not as awesome resolution version is 21 megs but a smaller video in visual size.

I love that his site is sponsored by the mythical Golith National Bank. I wonder if their a business model here for personal video resumes hosted online with corporate sponsorship???

Doctor X

Ted is somewhat of a douche in college and his on-air personality is even worse.

"Fluent in six languages (seven if you count the language of sign), Dr. X divides his time between the United States and India, where he has attained the rank of Tantric master, known for both his discipline (8+ hours) and knowledge (74 positions)."

Yup he sounds like a douche.

The Super Bowl Ads

2009-02-02T10:01:00.003-05:00

The Super Bowl is by the far the most expensive time to air a commercial on television [estimated at $3 million per 30 seconds] and therefore is typically a place where advertisers put forth their best creative effort. From the funny to visually stunning, this gives us football fans something else to look forward to during the big game. This year felt like one of the more bland years in Super Bowl advertising. Here are a few worth comment:

LMAO

Doritos Crystal Ball

Pepsuber

In-Sight-Full

The Coke Heist

Bud Light Lime Is Summertime

Train wreck

Gold4Cash, Heeeer's Money

As for the worst, I have to say the GoDaddy spots were my least favorite and watching them in their entirety online, even though I went to their website which was the main idea of the ads, didn't make them any better.

Today at lunch I am going to eat some Doritos with a Coke and a Pepsi and today I'm going to sell some gold online drinking a Bud Light Lime in hopes that next year will be a better day for super advertising.

And then the fight started...

2009-01-30T14:13:00.004-05:00

My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."

And then the fight started...

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After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, "Unbutton your shirt." So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, "That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me." And she processed my Social Security application. When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, "You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too."

And then the fight started...

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Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day. I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, "The weather out there is terrible." My loving wife of 10 years replied, "Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?"

And that's how the fight started...

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My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked, "Do you know her?" "Yes," I sighed, "she's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many & years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since." "My God!" says my wife, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?"

And then the fight started...

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I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn't believe it.... He was a DWARF!!! He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, "I AM NOT HAPPY!!!" So, I looked down at him and said, "Well, then which one are you?"

And then the fight started...

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I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.. "I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?" "Nah, she can order for herself."

And then the fight started...

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A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, "I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment." The husband replies, "Your eyesight's darn near perfect."

And then the fight started...

Patrick's Unsavory Plan

2009-01-29T09:13:00.005-05:00

Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday that in producing his emergency measures to balance this year's budget and in his budget proposal for the next fiscal year, the governor wants to generate $587 million in new taxes, fees, and other revenue. Under his plan, the state could raise approximately $150 million by eliminating an exemption on the state's 5 percent sales tax on alcohol, candy, soft drinks, and juice drinks [drinks that are less than 50% natural].

Based on the list of items he is suggesting we tax, it sounds a lot like a fat tax or maybe a glutton tax. In other words, these items he is suggesting we tax are all items one might consider nonessential. So by that logic we don't we begin to tax frozen pizza, navel oranges, english muffins, instant potatoes, or sliced bacon [all of which are on sale this week at your local Hannaford grocery store]? The reason is we currently do not tax food in this state regardless of it's health benefits or social status because it has been set forth as an essential need and therefore not taxable.

The ironic part of the Governor's plan is this new tax revenue is not going to be used to help cities and towns but rather it is going to be placed in a special health fund. So much for resolving the deficit and it looks like you better stock up on your alcohol, candy, soft drinks, and juice drinks before the tax man adds another 5% to your grocery bill.

Banned Super Bowl Ad

2009-01-28T16:20:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure why the folks behind Super Bowl XLIII would want to reject advertising from an organization such as PETA. I mean this is a group which sole purpose to create greater awareness of how animals are treated around the world. Let's take a look:

Oh never mind. I guess CBS is still be overly caution since Super Bowl XXXVIII's whole nipple gate scandal.

Champion Hoodie Remix

2009-01-27T14:41:00.001-05:00

Ever want to design your own clothing? Do you like hoodies? If you answered yes to either [or both] of these questions, you much check out Champion's Hoodie Remix Challenge website. With their online design tool, you can create your own design with colors and patterns for 11 different elements of the hoodie including the front panels, arms, pocket, hood and back. You can even pick the color for the strings, trim and zipper. Here is what my first design looks like:

The winning design, which will be selected on May29th, will go into a limited production. The contest ends on March31st, so get your thinking cap on, sharpen your design skills and whip up your very own hoodie.

Mac grows up and catches a cold

2009-01-27T08:05:00.000-05:00

For years, the Mac community has been saying they as basically immune to viruses which would lead most to believe that the operating system is far suprior to windows and that is why viruses are so rare on the platform. They also based this former ad on that premice:

The truth of the matter is more likely that the Mac OS is used on a small percentage of desktops around the world so those who are into malicious software simply have been focusing on the major player. Well Mac has been contiually gaining markshare and with that comes their very own virus - the iServices.A Trojan horse is disguised as a bootleg copy of the new iWork 09. Once installed, the malware takes administrator access and connects to remote servers over the Internet, where it can be given additional instructions as the author commands, from installing additional malware to stealing information off the Mac in question. The malware creator can also take complete remote control of any compromised machine. Security firm Intego said that just 20,000 machines had been infected as of January 21 but that the risk of ongoing infection was "serious, and users may face extremely serious consequences" if they are stricken with the malware.

I guess that advertisement is no longer applicible. I'm a Mac and I'm a PC and we both get viruses now....