February 26, 2009
February 21, 2009
"VH-1 Presents: Sober House"
still no no drinking or drugging allowed in the home.
February 16, 2009
"The Fence-Hoppers Guide to the 2009 Chicago Auto Show"
- The cars we'll never, ever see on the road - The industry calls these vehicles "concept cars". It's some developers crazy "middle-of-the-night" dream where he or she thinks up an idea and scribbles or sketchhes it on a notepad to get back to in the morning. They'll bring the idea up at the next meeting and a small percentage will pass through to the next step while the others will be scrapped. The ones that make it from paper to computer to a slab of clay are then held up in a long waiting line that may take a decade made up of time, money, testing, analysis,model making, and maybe a prototype in full scale. A few million bucks later, a place like GM produces about half a dozen actual cars that end up on display at places like these shows. They will never be mass produced or see the street however, this is the biggest draw of every years show since the beginning. Considering the money wasted on goofy ideas, we are told that automakers use these to pick out odds and ends of the car that will one day be useful or should I say, "practical". With some of the outlandish ideas from the 1950's, we'd be commuting back and forth to the moon to go to work in our "rocket car" in 2009. Take the examples in the photos here from a few different decades and then tell me if any of this technology is common on a car today...By the way, the last time anyone went to the moon was 1971. If NASA can't afford to go there, how are we supposed to go? Sure, some people will argue that inventions like the "air bag" were part of a concept car idea in 1960 that we take for granted today. Truth is, are we ever going to need 12 video cameras on a car instead of windows and mirrors? Well, at least that makes more sense to me than suggesting we need a DVD player and XBox for each passenger in the car!
- The Electric Car - Years to develop and actually mass produced by GM, they tried to force people to buy the ugly looking things but nobody took the bait. In one of the original government bailouts to help automakers, all the cars were part of a package where the government bought them back, ate the loss, and had them melted down. Now that we worry about the future of oil once again, they revamped the idea into what they call a "hybrid" that works on both gas and electric. The big selling point for a vehicle like this besides being eco-friendly is, you can travel a whopping 40 miles before you run out of juice and have to switch over to gas. They say that we'll soon see the cars come with cords that plug into any household outlet. Who will sit around and wait all night for the battery to charge before you can continue on your way? I don't know about you, but my surge protector already "overfloweth" with plugs from the computer, TV, VCR, DVD, Cable Box, Stereo, etc.... the last thing I need to do is plug in the car!
- The Amphicar and The Pontiac Aztec- Two more cars that made it however, ended up D.O.A. The first one was a car that could also float and run as a boat. A good idea that didn't sell. This is an idea however, that should be thought over again primarily for the idiots who travel after a flash flood, see a puddle of water in the road, and conclude they can drive through it. Before being swept away by the currents, you could easily boat back to safety or at least be able to fish from the driver's seat while waiting for help to arrive. Meanwhile, remember the Pontiac Aztec? Considered one of the biggest flops that GM ever produced, it was considered "too ugly" for the road when it debuted in the 90's. While that idea flopped, almost the same exact body style was brought back to life in the form of the Toyota Prius ironically, their best selling model ever with a waiting list for buyers.
Maybe everyone involved in deciding the status of the auto industry the next time they come to Washington for help should remind them of all the money that was flushed down the toilet the last 100 years. Maybe they also need to realize that no matter how much places like Ford and GM "sweetin the deal" while approaching you to purchase a new car, a gasoline powered $17,000 vehicle is a lot more within people's means than a $45,000 hybrid. Save your money this time around by eating the hot dog and chips at home and hop the fence if you just "have to go". You will only miss one great idea that will be reality very soon...
The Illinois Barack Obama license plate. The special vanity plates will cost $30 and be valid for 90 days and can then be renewed. This is the latest attempt to help the struggling economic mess in Illinois. I'm not a fortune teller however I will say the odds of this license plate actually staying on anyone's car for 90 minutes would be a stretch, let alone 90 days! Do yourself a favor and nix the plate just because of what you'll have to go through to report it stolen. If you want to let someone take a $30 collector's item from the car, leave a blank check on the passenger seat of the car while parked at the mall with the door unlocked!
February 14, 2009
"Cupid's poor eyesight rekindles a Valentine's Heart On for an Ex"
February 13, 2009
"The future of the peanut is still in a jam"
February 11, 2009
"Bob, Jason, and Brett: The happy trio"
- "Yes we can! -Just as soon as I finish my cup of coffee and sweet roll" In other words, whatever you do, don't ever rush a union worker! Legendary computer generated construction worker, "Bob the Builder" swung through Chicago this week to promote his stage show for the whippersnappers. As soon as Bob got off the plane at O'Hare Airport, the poor "Son of a Bitch" that was stuck wearing the hot costume began an afternoon tour of a "meet and greet" session with fellow construction workers. As the men in flannel shirts, hard hats, and black lunch pails stopped to pose for a picture with the PBS icon, it quickly became obvious that Bob is indeed a "team player" when it comes to enjoying all the perks of being a union member. Before picking up a hammer to lend a hand, the first order of business was locating the nearest Dunkin Donuts. Bob used his better judgement when being confronted by local television reporters about his Dad who by the way, was one of the original ironworkers responsible for the shoddy workmanship in constructing the World Trade Center in the late 1960's. Never trust an anvil with the words, "Acme" on the side. Bob's stageshow may be the baragin of the week for the kids, but parents may choose to stick with "The Blue Man Group" instead.
- "Deja Vu all over again and still an unlucky number - Hollywood has gotten lazy lately when it comes to making movies. If you have a lame script, a pile of cash and just another "Tom, Dick or Harry", you can do virtually anything. Let's be honest here...how many people have spent nearly the last 30 years longing for an update to the original "Friday the 13th"? I guess the one person in particular to lose sleep over this was the one and only Rob Zombie, the rocker that resembles Satan's long lost brother. Rob pulled all his fortunes together a few years back to buy the rights to almost every cheezy horror flick ever made in hopes to add a "21st Century twist" to these old "classics". Remakes of old favorites don't always work ou too well. Take Rob's creative liberty displayed in the remake of , "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" from a few years back! I hate to clump these together however, no matter if it's a cheap scary movie or a big budget masterpiece like "Star Wars", a remake only does one thing: dissapoint. Looking back on the cheap special effects and frightning scenarios of those wacky teens staying at "Camp Crystal Lake", it's obvious that the special effects and makeup were included nothing more than Karo syrup and red food coloring on someone's Kroger list. The original is so corny that it should never be duplicated. This may be the next generation of horror to follow "Psycho" however, after the 25th and 26th sequels where Jason meets Freddy Krueger and The Predator, It's time for Rob Zombie to put this tale to rest. Watch as this flick appears on Netflix just before Easter!
- "Will he or won't he?" One thing about Bret Favre is that when it comes to being undecided, he's always constant. Now, please do us all a favor and go away this time for good. Favre still resembles that bad penny that keeps turning up in your pocket despite all attempts to pass it off on some unsuspecting sucker. Everytime this guy suggests the possibility of retiring, John Madden comes along and lays on his schmooze about what a loss the sport of football would be without him. Madden's passion for Favre is as creepy as a dirty priest stalking an alter boy. We know that Favre's final stop will be in the Football Hall of Fame and yadda, yadda, yadda. The game will go on long after Favre is. Favre is turning this past season with New York into a publicity stunt and he's bitter over the fact that he couldn't push the Jets into a Super Bowl. Do we need to go through this again? Bret returns home to Wisconsin to drive the John Deere around the property a few times and due to boredom, goes on a wild goose chase for a new job? Someone tell Lovie Smith not to get any crazy ideas. The Cubs and Sox are already the final resting spots for retirees. Please Bret, we're not jackasses so, if you want to quit, let's just do it!
February 09, 2009
"Why Dwayne Johnson needs to keep The WWE on speed dial" Final thoughts on "2009 Grammy's"
The Rock says, "Thank god I left my phone on 'vibrate mode' considering "Walking Tall 2" hasn't been discussed yet". As soon as the lame award show began last night, I knew I was in trouble. I knew going into this event that the group, "Coldplay" was supposed to be served papers by Joe Satriani's legal team because of the alleged theft of a similar riff that Joe Satriani recorded years ago. One thing I wasn't aware of was the havoc caused by R &B singer, Chris Brown. This guy is in deep "doo-doo" for supposedly assaulting a female friend. At the last minute, Brown's attorneys advised that he not go on
- Robert Plant and Allison Krauss - Robert is showing a lot of "wear and tear" after all these years and looks a mess! All things considered, the CD by Plant and Krauss isn't all that bad. In fact, the rumors of the "on again, off again
" reunion and album as Led Zeppelin probably wouldn't be as good as this. - Jennifer Hudson - OK, her being there AND performing was kind of clever on someone's behalf. Just a week ago, Hudson was being chastized for lip-synching at The Super Bowl. All of a sudden, that was all forgotten when she took to th
e stage last night. I'll give "Props" to Jennifer's singing. Anyone who makes it past Simon Cowell deserves some kind of kudos. Hudson was at an immediate advantage going into this due to the "Sympathy" factor of her family being killed. What else is a critic supposed to say about an emotional performance like that? They left that one alone and instead, focused on one of her outfits which did resemble the bib you get while dinin
g at Red Lobster. - U2 - I hate to say bad things about Bono. My "Catholic Guilt" prevents me from saying too much considering his friendship with world leaders and The Pope. I haven't heard any advance tracks off their upcoming March release yet other than the first single which they performed. I hope there's a little more substance on the remainder of the CD because the first single sounds like these guys infringed on their own Copyright by re-recording "Vertigo" with new lyrics. Perhaps a little hard to distinguish in a live performance however, q
uite obvious if you hear it on the radio.
Ironically, A-Rod and his steroid use would overshadow the whole show dedicated to m usic. Steroids and MLB? Get outta here... this stuff is still going on? When you get linked to Madonna like he is, you need steroids just to keep up!
February 08, 2009
"Pimpin' a Grammy is easy for Uncle Wally"
February 07, 2009
"Democracy fails to be nominated!"
There's no worse luck than a "broken Axl" if you're speaking about your car or the lead singer of "Guns N' Roses". In this case, Axl Rose has a beef with the folks on the panel of picking nominees for the 2009 Grammy Awards... the latest album got snubbed and Axl won't be going home with any "Grammy" this year! I don't care what anyone says about the Thanksgiving Day release of "Chinese Democracy". It's an experimental piece of work that can be described as outtakes from an album never released 20 years ago. While it isn't a train wreck, it wasn't worth the hoopla either. Originally, nearly 25 tracks were in the works ubtil someone "swiped" the master tapes and uploaded the songs on the Internet. The years and years that passed along the way left the whole project in limbo before it finally came to fruition last year. In the end, the "GNR" lineup would change several times and the album tracks were reduced to a dozen. Lead guitarist, Slash left the band in 1991 and is obviously missing from any song credits on the latest release. Unfortunately for Axl Rose, his biggest accomplishment would be the status of yet another disgruntled member by the name of Steven Adler. We'll get to him in a minute...
"Chinese Democracy" and it's delays and controversey were not by mistake. It was a PR stunt gone bad. Axl wanted to show the world he was with the times and understood the ins and outs of the Internet. The guy that "stole the tapes" and "held them hostage" before releasing them on the Internet is more than likely a good pal of Axl who was doing what he was asked to do. After the smoke cleared and the "fun" of searching out the tracks in cyberspace ended, there was virtually no reason for anyone to shell out the cash and actually purchase the album. That's why Axl's pissed! The fact that he and Slash never worked out their problems long enough to make the current release also bothers him. Just this week, Axl was quoted as calling Slash "The weak link" and stated that the two will never speak or work together again in this lifetime. Really, I could care less. As far as I'm concerned, '87's "Appetite For Destruction" holds it's spot as a breakthrough record and ends there despite other tragedies like former drummer, Steven Adler.
Adler was part of the original lineup and mixed well with the band, especially when the concerts were over. The "GNR" party bus rolled on for a while until Adler took the partying a bit too seriously. The bands reputation for being three hours late to take the stage was a result of Adler. Even though they were set
to "self-destruct", they all agreed Adler had to go. Instead of getting better, Adler finds himself on the current season of VH1's "Sober House" and he himself, is a ticking time bomb lost in a world of dope. The irony here is that a guy as screwed up as him, turns out to be the biggest draw on a reality show about addiction. I'm not sure if people wish him success or failure however
, anyone who says they're taking sobriety seriously but yet, enters a home with pant pockets full of syringes isn't really trying too hard. I wouldn't expect to see any one of these three characters together anytime soon. There's a better chance to see John Lennon and George
Harrison rise from the ashes with Ringo and Paul. Let's face it... the "GNR" tragedy was years in the making. No "Grammy" for these guys...!
"Google stirs up even more trouble!"
Getting "Bamboozled" by "Google" again! OR "If you want my identity THAT bad, let me give you my Social Security number along with lots of luck!"
I've written about this in the past and got a few chuckles along the way however, it happened to me again today while I was out and about. Google began as a half way decent search engine on the Internet years ago and that was that...fine by me. In fact, I still use it today for it's original intended purpose as well as the main conduit to present this blog (So, you see I must be careful what I say here as my text is being monitored!). Google has taken the prophecies that George Orwell wrote about and have turned them into reality. Sure, in the beginning it was fun to take advantage of all of Google's little extra perks like their famous program, Google Earth. Here, you can plug in your neighbor's address and zoom up to peek into the picture window. While you're at it, you can get all the information you could ever imagine such as names, phone numbers, and property values. Google did all this with plenty of leg work over a few years. They actually sent college kids out in white vans to take digital photos of everything (Notice how some of the addresses you enter show the hood of the van in the photo?). An invasion of privacy? Sure. You can be like the old lady next door and know everyone on the block's business. This week, Google added yet another feature. This one is for Wi-Fi and cell phones and it all comes down to tracking down "where in the world" you are! I suspect that Waldo and his shenannigans are now out of places to hide.
This latest attempt to pry further into our lives may be a good thing for the parents with the 15 year old daughter who is currently rebelling, putting up half-naked photos of herself on MySpace and planning on stealing Mommy's MasterCard for plane tickets to another country to meet some old pervert pretending to be 15 too. As far as I'm concerned, despite the positives such as this, Google has now crossed the line into that "gray" area and meanwhile, they still can't get the easy stuff sorted together, which brings me to earlier today...
A teenager overheard me mention my name while at the doctor's office and asked me if I'm friends with Shawn White. "I don't know the guy" I said, and continued on. A few moments later it hit me that this kid was talking about the Shawn White that happens to be a professional snowboarder, has his own video game, and looks like "Carrot Top" the comedian. This wasn't the first time I've been "connected" to the guy. Matter of fact, if you Google my name you'll discover I was in the "X-Games" and have a long history in this extreme sport. Truth be told, the closest I get to snow is with the Toro snowblower. If I slip on the ice and break a bone, it's by accident and not for "the fun of it". So much for unique name! Actually, if you type in my name on Google, you'll see me connected with many types of things such as Car Salesman, Mobile Phone President, brother of "Quinn" who plays in the NFL. I've either got the same name as these people or are somehow linked to them by accident. Perhaps they are some relation way down the line?! Maybe I'll never know. The same goes for the name of this blog...type it in and this gets connected to a "hole in the wall" bar in Boston. I've never been there but yet, share the name with them. The S.O.B.'s wouldn't even send me a shirt from the place for my mentioning them! All I can say is, if you're like me and have lots of bills and misery while fearful of picking up a ringing telephone,
- Thank the Lord above for Caller ID.
- Realize that your name that may contain every letter in the alphabet may not be that "unique"
- Write Google a "thank you" note if they confused you with someone with the same name who has a bigger bank account than you. Google may mix you up with someone else but, that someone else may end up stuck with your bills.
February 04, 2009
"Blago on tour", "Smoke your breakfast", and "Denny's strikes out"
"Dora the Explorer" called and wants her hair back! Now that Rod Blagojevich has gone from Illinois Governor to "Citizen Blago", he hasn't slept a wink due to his comedy act that has recently hit the road. It's an act so pathetic that it actually makes you believe that Dane Cook is funnier than the late, George Carlin. I'd even go so far as to say that I long for the possibility of a Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Whoopi reunion! I haven't forgotten about his resume however, a security glitch on "Monster.com" has hindered my access. Be it as it may, Blago has gone from taking his quick witted "out of context" remarks from the studios of Nightline and Geraldo to the late night "yuck yuck" fests of talk shows. Politics to comedy can be a smooth transition if you do it correctly like say, "The Daily Show" however, this isn't Jon Stewart. Regardless of the fact that within a matter of a few weeks he's taken the joy out of Obama's Illinois pride and tainted it yet again, I still see a guest spot on "SNL" for him in person, before May with "Chingy" as the musical guest. In the meantime, he's a good person to take along to a ballgame or concert as a ticket scalper. He can turn a profit on your $50 seats...to be continued....- Try not to "be like Mike". Pee in the pool! There's still a lot of fuss over Michael Phelps photo fiasco with the dope. It seems this is a topic that gets everyone all riled up and taking sides. It's not like this guy was snapped by TMZ shooting up heroin or something but, at the same time I find his defense as this being a "one time thing" a little humorous as well. The fact is, the guy won 7 medals and that's nothing to sneeze at. So I say, apologize and let it rest. Sounds simple but, Phelps feels the need to, pardon the pun, re-hash the event and dig the hole deeper and deeper. The smart thing to do would be to keep quiet. This only spotlights some errors in his judgement that may or may not have been the result of some "good pot". First of all, in an age where cellphone cameras are everywhere, think about your actions a little bit. Don't smoke a bong six feet long... consider using rolling paper. Don't ever say you did it once and didn't like it because a picture is worth a thousand words. Also, don't offer to speak to school kids at big events because of this as a way to show you're on the right track. Such a thing makes you look more guilty and unhuman. Considering all the endorsement deals, contracts and aspirations to compete in future Olympic events, the next time this were to happen, drink lots of water and flush it out of your system before you get caught. He'ss got the perfect setting here with being able to constantly pee in the pool without drawing more attention to his frequent bathroom visits. Everyone has done it at one time or another because of not wanting to get chilled when exiting the water. Why do you suppose Las Vegas casonos have bars in the swimming pool? The guys sitting there all day drinking beer without getting up once is the only proof you need. The only irony here is that his story is making a mountain out of a mole hill when the same thing happens time and again, day after day, in every other sport and nobody blinks an eye. A sad commentary on society.
- "Does anyone remember breakfast at Denny's?" The restaurant chain Denny's had one of the most successful commercials during Super Bowl Sunday. If you were lucky enough to catch it, their commercial touted a free breakfast for everyone the Tuesday after the game. I guess they thought that either most people wouldn't remember it by Tuesday or everyone would be at work at that time and not take advantage. With the economy in as bad shape as it is, it ended up being that there's either a lot of unemployed folks that are hungry, or everyone called in sick. Denny's has kicked out some pretty good eats over the years, or so they say. Sure, I've been there however, never in the daylight and never sober. I haven't been in one for years anyway because I really don't know what I'd expect going in late morning or early afternoon. It's either disgusting food or deserves "5 stars". I hate to find out. Typically, Denny's does it's best business from two types of folks...these are either hungry people motoring cross country on vacation, or the drunks that come in clusters after midnight. Denny's knows this because they started the idea of putting pictures next to everything on the menu. You're either too tired to read or too drunk. You can simply point out what you want to the waitress without saying a peep. There's nothing like a big breakfast filled with Bisquick, cholesterol, and pork fat topped off with bad coffee to put some spring back into your step! Anyway, the old HBO show called "Taxi Cab Confessions" gave me an idea for a spinoff called "Denny's Dining Booth". Let's face it, have you ever tuned in to the things going on around there? Just like in the taxi, people sit and start dishing up the dirt while being taped on hidden camera. You'll see them all come out of the woodwork here in the form of gays, transvestites, prostitutes, winos and weirdos. They can try their hand at creative advertising gimmicks and using a couple of "Wise Guys", cowboys, or Burt Reynolds as a pitchman but truth be told, a hidden camera works better. They bit off a little more than they could chew with the free breakfast spot that resulted in lines outside two blocks long so this show idea is perfect to help balance their books. Afterall, Denny's isn't just for breakfast anymore... it's the "Craig's List"version of IHOP and that's truth in advertising with a wink and a smile!