"Happy Birthday Arianna"

Today's post is fully dedicated to my daughter, Arianna. We enjoyed her special day!

Happy Birthday #3 Peanut!

Love always, Daddy

"Oprah Snags Her Mystery Man!"

"Mr. Man" chatted with Oprah, "Mr. Man's" coat was featured on Style Network, and I got the next best thing, a bit of Oprah's snot stain who managed to speak with me briefly today about moving from a quiet life to an "S List" Celebrity. Like Madonna and Cher, "Stanley" prefers to be known simply by his first name.

The Squealing Pig: How do you feel about being tossed into the spotlight?
Stanley: It's a bit of a shock really. I've been hanging around in Oprah's nasal passages for a while now. I was always hoping to make a big splash when I came out...I guess I did
TSP: Who was the guy in front of Oprah and what's your relationship with him?
Stan: Relationship??? You do realize I'm just a snot (laughs)! Seriously, I don't know the man. I was peeking through Oprah's nostril all evening and it seemed like the right moment to make myself known.
TSP: How was the coat?
Stan: Very comfortable. Soft and warm. After hanging out there an entire night, I came to the conclusion that it was about a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester.
TSP: How was the big rally on election night?
Stan: Historic! Obama is such a great speaker and he's gonna be a good President.
TSP: Have you had a chance to meet him?
Stan: Gosh no! A large amount of family were able to see him up close at previous events. Unfortunately, they were wiped out before I came along. It was a bacterial germocide. Most of my family were targets from an over the counter cold medicine. They did leave behind clues though. Unfortunately, I can't go back home ever again.
TSP: Any future plans?
Stan: I don't know. I'm going through an identity crisis and searching for my roots. Ever since Oprah began her TV show years ago, my family has been picked off one by one. I'm working out an agreement with Kleenex and will be doing a Kleenex signing all next week in Chicago area bathrooms.
TSP: Thanks Stan, and God Bless You!
Stan: Oh... I get it. Funny!

"An annual Thanksgiving tradition"

The results are already coming in... It's been a tradition for nearly five years! I come up with a stupid question, comment, or suggestion...send it out, and see what kind of answers I get from Food Network, Jones Soda and other television chefs. Letters and responses will be posted soon!

"The Quick Wrap of a BIG night in Chicago!"

Well folks, after nearly two years of being whacked over the head with promises and hope for a better future, it all came to a conclusion last night in Chicago with the election of Sen. Obama as our next President. With only a few days left to go before Monday's ad campaign for 2012 begins. Here's some observations from last night's coverage of the historical event on ABC News. Congrats to both gentlemen on a good race. To say things weren't interesting would be an understatement!

• The "Pros and Cons" of appearing on Saturday Night Live - Since the very beginning, NBC's classic SNL has been the perfect conduit for making fun of the knuckleheads in Washington, DC. That's where Al Franken comes in. He was writing sketches for SNL when Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Bill Murray were the main attraction. Al made a mistake when he distanced himself from co-writer Tom Davis and left the show to focus on political humor. He did OK for a while until he took it one step further and actually got serious about it. Serious enough to form a talk radio network with a staff of comedians that have issues... and then when that went belly up. Franken decided to run for Senate in Minnesota. Although voting went on as planned without trouble, Franklen is bitter that he lost and is demanding a recount because doggone it, "He's good enough, smart enough, and people like him" Note that Mr. Al was the first to point out voting mishaps. There's a;ways one in the bunch! On the other hand, Mc Cain graciously accepted his loss, took it like a man, and is proud to have made his several appearances on the show this year. So, impressed was Lorne Michaels with Mc Cain's dry humor, they will be adding him as co-anchor to Seth Meyers on "Weekend Update". Sarah Palin has a week off before heading to New York for the taping of "Victoria's Secret Christmas". No word on how she'll participate...all you can do is hope!
• Was Oprah way too happy to be in Grant Park or was she drunk? There's only been a small number of people that happened to hear Oprah say some silly things in between all of the crying she was doing. Even though Kleenex had nothing to do with it, she alone helped raise the stock in Proctor and Gamble! Matter of fact, they're still mopping up the mess! An emotionally wrecked Oprah spoke to ABC and talked about how important the day was to her. "Everyone in the world put their differences aside and we all joined together to see this dream through. The last time I saw such unity was on 9/11!" She's half right except the ticker tape on that day was being blown out the windows of the buildings by fire, not being tossed up into the air like it were a parade for the Chicago Cubs finally winning a World Series. A poor choice of words Oprah! Ms. Winfrey told the media that she had to kick it into high gear to get to the polls before closing time due to her charity work at a drug and alcohol rehab center just the other side of the street. "The drunks, drug addicts, and myself...we all realized our vote was important. I took all of them with me to the polls!" Thankfully, when it was all over and the final numbers came in making it clear Obama won, there was a large enough gap between the two candidates that I was able to sleep knowing that Obama didn't win just because of a few drunks and drug addicts!
• Now they tell us! Some of the big names in show business were present in Chicago for the rally. The big shocker was Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and family were wandering around Grant Park the whole evening. This wasn't mentioned by anyone until Wednesday morning. It seems as though they were "incognito" for starters however, those that were in the know failed to mention this to anyone due to fear that all the cameras and satellite trucks would make a 90 degree turn AWAY from Obama and steal his thunder. Oh, give me a break already! One guy who was eager to greet reporters was Director Spike Lee who later confessed he was out for a walk in the park when he stumbled across the big event. His real reason for being here was not to cheer for Obama but rather, someone gave him seats for center court at The Bulls game. Whew!