Wacky News Stories

Great weather followed by bad weather followed by great weather ... can't understand why so many people are sick.

1. On Utah's four-day workweek saving taxpayers millions.
"Finally, a reason to live in Utah!"
http://fe19.story.media.ac4.yahoo.com/news/story/maple/en-US/ap/20091022/ap_on_bi_ge/ut_four_day_workweek

2. On a survey that reveals that old people don't think young people don't know right from wrong.
"In other news, most people think there will be a tomorrow."
http://fe6.story.media.ac4.yahoo.com/news/story/maple/en-US/pew/20091021/ts_pew/79doubtyoungpeopleknowrightfromwrong

3. On a store owner who is wiring up an electric current on the pavement outside his music shop in order to prevent people from urinating in front of his store:
"That will literally scare the piss out of them!"
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2009/10/23/trader-will-shock-drunks-who-use-shop-front-as-an-outdoor-toilet-86908-21768574/

4. On Dallas police ticketing 39 drivers in 3 years for not speaking English:
"Really? In Texas? Next thing you'll tell me is the Easter Bunny isn't real."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-citations_23met.ART.State.Edition2.4bac015.html

5. On a supermarket clerk who urinated on herself at the checkout counter after her supervisor refused to let her take a bathroom break:
"Wait, don't they have Depend adult diapers at the supermarket?"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/23/BA6U1A9D8H.DTL

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! I chose the following prompt: Describe a favorite Halloween costume or moment you wish you had on video.

I would have to say that my favorite Halloween costume was one I did relatively recently ... OK, not too recently, about 8 years ago (I think) - I dressed as none other than the Nature Boy, Ric Flair! My wife (at the time, girlfriend) and I spent months and months developing the complex black robe, with all of the sequins, feathers, etc. I had to find the perfect wig, the perfect 1970's/80's sunglasses, and other accessories ... it was a lot of hard work, but man, was it fun work.

And I had the whole character down - the famous strut ... the fantastic catch phrases (To be the man, ya gotta beat the man!) ... all of the mannerisms!. The costume was a huge success - I was amazed at how many people knew who Ric Flair was.

I can't post a pic of the costume up, because I'm ... at work ... but, I promise I'll post one eventually.

Fast Food Corner

I've been seeing a lot of commercials about the new Taco Bell Black Taco ... I'm really starting to wonder about the folks at Taco Bell. Why the Black Taco? Was there a demand for this? Seriously, will this taste any different than regular tacos (I guess I would probably need to try one to find out)?

The commercial, much like any other Taco Bell commercial, is more annoying than anything, and turns me off. I have no desire to try this taco, thanks to the main-character schmuck featured in said commercial. And, adding the "Jack Sauce" to the taco, just makes it seem as more of an attempt at adding "sex" to the commercial ... and fails miserably.

The latest Taco Bell commercials actually make me long for the Taco Bell Chihuahua ... which is really saying something.

Still, I feel like I owe it to my reader(s) to try the black taco (hey-yo) and provide my own review ... stay tuned!




The annoying commerical.

Song of the Week

Guns and Roses is a band that probably should've lasted longer and been more "legendary" than they ended up being. Most of the blame goes to Axl Rose and his Hitler-like paranoia. Some of the blame can probably be shared with the excessive drug-use of the band. But still, in the short amount of time that the original band produced were together, they produced some fantastic songs.

Since I'm a Stones fan, I'm partial to their remake of Sympathy for the Devil. Sure, their version is not as good as the Stones version, but they put together a great effort. Slash's guitar-work in this performance fits well, and even though Axl's voice at times gets close to being annoying, it still works. The intricate drum-work is noteworthy as well.

Maybe someday this band will reunite ... probably not. Unfortunately, they wasted far too much time bickering, drinking, and doing drugs.



Not the video - but you can at least listen to the song ... you're welcome.

Dope or Nope ...

Reality TV shows ... Our television airwaves are epidemically infected by them. I can't stand them for the most part, although I have watched Top Chef before. I predicted that this trend would die a few years ago, but sadly, it seems like it continues to pick up steam. I have no answers why - I mean, I know the production of these shows is cheaper than an actual sitcom or drama, and the networks adore this.

And, for some reasons TV viewers can't get enough. I'd love to criticize, but I end up pretty much watching sports and pro wrestling ... so, what I'm basically saying is that I really have no room to talk.

So, where do you guys fall on this - dope or nope?

80's Corner

There seemed to be no bigger story in tv entertainment news than the "Who Shot J.R." episode of Dallas. I wasn't even a fan of Dallas, and I remember watching it. Larry Hagman was the actor who played J.R. ... heck, he even parlayed that role into BVD underwear commercials ... sure, it was a bit disturbing, but still.

Being a Philadelphia, I probably never should've watched the show Dallas ... and for the most part, I didn't. But, the show itself was a night-time soap opera, much like Dynasty at the time, and probably not all that different to Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 (although, I think those soap operas were targeted to a younger generation).

I can't truly remember, but I think this show was on Friday night, along with shows like Love Boat and Fantasy Island ... truly a TGIF (if that was in fact the case).



Luckily, this BVD commercial didn't show Hagman in his skivvies.

Wacky News Stories

Winter seems to be coming early to the north-east ... seems we've skipped autumn altogether!

1. On a bus driver who was suspended for wearing a pink tie for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
"Good thing he wasn't showing his support for equal rights."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9BBPL3O0&show_article=1&catnum=9

2. On a 30-year-old woman being arrested for misdemeanor child neglect Thursday night after police found her 9-year-old daughter sleeping in a vehicle while she was inside a bar drinking:
"But, officer, I asked her if she wanted a drink, and she said no!"
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091017/APC0101/910170494/1003/APC01/Police--Greenville-mom-let-girl-sleep-in-tavern-lot

3. On a flight being diverted and grounded after somebody stole beer on the flight:
"Thank god it wasn't the coffee!"
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Plane_grounded_by_beer_thief&in_article_id=753700&in_page_id=2

4. On an 83-year-old Texas man allegedly opening fire on his son for refusing to stop drumming:
"Why am I not surprised that this happened in the country of Texas?"
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/offbeat/sns-ap-us-odd-drumbeat-dispute,0,2360964.story?track=rss

5. On a Halloween costume being sold at Target.com featuring the mask of an alien with a green card and an orange jumpsuit with "illegal alien" written across the front.
"Um ... this may be the greatest ... costume ... evah!"
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/Illegal_Alien_Costume_Controversy_20091016

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! There were more prompts about motherhood, which, of course, I don't qualify for. So I chose this prompt - Create a list of playground dos and don'ts.

When I was young (no, it wasn't before electricity, silly!), my elementary school had a playground that was all concrete - not a big deal, I guess. At the time, this playground included swings and monkey bars. At the time, this still wasn't a big deal - kids got hurt ... so what? I drove by my elementary school a few weeks ago and noticed the playground not having anything on it - no monkey bars, no swings, no basketball courts ... nothing. Can this really be considered a playground? Probably a good candidate for "Dope or Nope!"

I'm going to do the dos and don'ts from a young "Los" perspective:

Dos
1. Do learn how to swing left-handed - this helps at Glenolden school, as the building in "right field" is much closer than the fence in left field.
2. Do bring a baseball glove with you to the playground - it is MUCH easier to catch a tennis ball with the glove.
3. Do volunteer to push the girls when they are on the swings ... it'll pay dividends years in the future.
4. Do become friends with the kid who brought the football to school - he makes the teams, and if you're lucky, you'll be on his team (a.k.a. - the winning team).
5. Do eat your lunch quickly - this will afford more time on the playground at recess.

Dont's
1. Don't pick up and chew gum that's on the ground at a playground ... just don't.
2. Don't pick up that thing that looks like a balloon filled with creme - it's not.
3. Don't call the teacher a homo on the playground at recess - you could be held out of Field-Day.
4. Don't jump off of the swing at it's highest point - concrete hurts.
5. Don't slide down the sliding board backwards - good chance of cracking your head on said concrete.

Song of the Week

Just the other day, I made a CD "mix tape." I made a few copies - for my wife, and my close friends. I enjoy sharing new music that I've "discovered" with said friends - I feel like sometimes I can be a music "pioneer" in that way ... if that makes any sense. And, quite a few of the songs on this disc are from my Songs of the Week blog "column."

I had about 12 songs that I liked, and needed to find about 6 or 7 more to fill out the cd. I chose to look on I-Tunes - sometimes I get good suggestions from the service. I-Tunes suggested that I may like a group by the name of "The Black Kids." Yes - an interesting name for a band, considering only the lead singer is black, and they sing alt-rock. Now, I've heard some songs from them on my Slacker, but didn't really pay much attention to them ... until now.

The song I chose to put on my mix cd is titled, "I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you," a long song title for sure, but an intriguing one nevertheless. The song starts with a rough-electric guitar riff, followed by Killers inspired synth, and drum beat not all that dissimilar from "Sympathy for the Devil."

Many choruses accentuate this diddy, and I could totally see this type of song being highly requested at bars (the choruses serve as great sing-along material). The lyrics will probably hit home with some - basically, the lead singer doesn't want to show his friend how to dance with the friend's girlfriend, because he's in love with her ... sounds like a premise for about a dozen movies.

Wikipedia provides a background of the band - I was shocked to find that this band actually comes from the United States. The singer sounds quite a bit like the lead singer of the Cure. Sadly, the band is very popular in the UK, but not in the US market, where bands like Linkoln Park and Papa Roach still clog the airwaves.

Unfortunately, I can't embed the video, but, click here to see it!

Dope or Nope ...

I think this fad is dying out, but a few years ago, many of the "ritzier" members of society were raving over pet roosters. I'm serious - rich people were purchasing, raising, and showing designer cocks. I think there are designer rooster competitions as well - and know, it's not cock-fighting, but more like those Westminster Dog Show events, only for roosters.

When we were in the Outer Banks a couple of years ago, we walked by a mansion, and they had some of these designer roosters fenced in. I couldn't believe my eyes ... or my brain. I mean, am I totally losing my mind on this one? Designer roosters? Really?

What are your thoughts?

Other Cruise Pics

I HIGHLY recommend cruising with Royal Caribbean - The ships have so many great activities, and the staff is so friendly. Here are some other random pics from the trip back to NYC:



One of the fun, drinks the cruise served during their Midnight Buffet.



Here is a pic of me right before I rock-climb on the ship ... it was a little scary, but I did it ... I'M A MAN!!!



Fantastic ice-dancing show on the ship ... that's right, they have an ice-skating rink!



Our waiters doing a good-bye performance for us.



Goodbye Parade on the Promenade.



The fellas hamming it up for one of those "special" pics.

Fast Food Corner

The 1950's restaurant/diner scene has been seeing a renaissance for the past 20+ years. Supersaturated with neon lights, possibly a pink Cadillac in the parking lot ... lots of fountain drinks with 100's of flavors ... you've seen them, I'm sure.

In Delaware County, we've been blessed to have Nifty Fifties since the 1980's. It is a diner that has all of the above mentioned 1950's "flair," plus 1950's jukebox music which accentuates the atmosphere. Also, the entire diner seems to be built from chrome.

It is one of my favorite places - brings back great memories of childhood. The place serves a fantastic milk shake. The Pistol Pete's Spicy Fries are fantastic, and the burgers are to die for. Nifty Fifty's also serves great breakfast at reasonable prices. The fresh squeezed orange juice is a nice touch, too.

It is a VERY popular place, so sometimes it takes a while to be seated. Plus, parking at the Holmes/Folsom location is miserable. But, it's all worth it. If you're ever in the area, I'd suggest going here.

80's Corner

Does anybody remember Rough Riders 4X4? I can still hear the commercials in my head. Rough Riders were little battery operated cars/trucks with giant rubbery wheels. The commercials implied that these bad-ass trucks could drive through anything - mud, water, sand ... and they would climb over rocks and sticks and shrubbery.

My cousin and I ate this all up - we bought quite a few of said trucks ... and we played with them in the creek (backyard of my house), in the sand box, and elsewhere. We constructed all kinds of crazy challenging mazes for these Rough Riders to drive through.

Sadly, most of the time, the Rough Riders would fail in these courses. Plus, they ate batteries like I eat potato chips. Also, once sand, mud, or water got on the inside of these trucks, they became worthless. But still, they looked cool!

Wacky News Stories

A couple of friends of mine told me they really missed my other blog site - I used to routinely post a list of weird news stories and make comments about them. I figured maybe I should, from time to time, reprise this here on Plethora. Without further ado:

1. On NASA setting to crash on the moon ... Twice!
"Good to see NASA raising the bar!"
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/08/probe.moon.crash/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

2. On a food stamps for Viagra scam being busted:
"A 'stimulating' story, if you ask me ..."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7056085

3. On a man who got arrested for stealing from a convenience store ... he stole cookies and juice worth about $9.
"Those better be double-chocolate chip cookies!"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7056085

4. On a driving lesson ending with a minivan in a bedroom:
"My guess is the second lesson should be free ..."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7054147


5. On Dallas police looking for a man who they say repeatedly sneaks into backyards, dances around naked and then runs away:
"As long as he's not doing the hustle."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7054893

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's weekly homework assignment! Even though it's not Mother's Day (every day should probably be Mother's Day), the prompts all had to do with mom. This week, I chose the following prompt: How did you parents choose your name? What does it mean? What would you change your name to if you could?

Without giving too much away about my name, my first and middle name are the same as a famous comedian's first and last name ... I'll leave it at that. I always assumed I was named after this comedian, but wasn't sure why. One day, I asked my mom about it, and she claims I was NOT named after said comedian ... not sure if I believe her. Anyway ...

So, the first two questions have been, for the most part, answered. My first name is a common German first name, and my middle name is of German "heritage" as well. Growing up, I absolutely hated my middle name. When people asked what my middle name was, I pretended I didn't know. I was embarrassed by it, probably because it didn't sound "normal." It isn't a middle name like "Thomas" or "Robert." I guess I was afraid I wouldn't fit in if I told my friends what my middle name was ... stupid, I guess.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Now, I love my middle name - I wouldn't change it for the world. I like that it's different ... and, God willing, if we ever have children, I would consider naming my son said name.

Onto the third question - I don't think I'd change my name. I'm comfortable with it - it's easy to spell, different enough that I don't know many people who have a first name spelled like mine ... at least not in the U.S. (Germany is a different story - the country is supersaturated with people with the same first name as me). I'd change my name to Mick Jagger if I'd have access to his bank account, though ... just sayin'.

Dope or Nope ...

I'm a big fan of dogs - I always have been. I like most dogs - especially German Shepherds, Akitas, Boxers, and Labrador Retrievers. Sure, these are all big dogs, but I like beagles, basset hounds, and many other smaller breeds.

But, I absolutely can't stand Chihuahuas. These aren't dogs - they are more like rats. But, all of these celebrities absolutely love them, and purchase multiple of these rodents in order to match with their purses.

Plus, these dogs shiver all the time, even in mid-summer. What's the deal with that? Also, they are nippers - they nip at your feet, and yip annoyingly all the time. For a little dog, they cause big headaches.

I gotta find out from you guys and gals. Chihuahuas - dope or nope?

80's Corner

One of the "endearing" things about the 1980's was the Bud Light beer commercials - prior to these commercials, the Lite Beer from Miller commercials featuring former pro athletes (Bert Jones, John Madden, etc.). Bud Light fought fire with fire, creating some really funny gems initially. Sadly, Bud-Light went too far with these commercials, much like most beer companies and automakers do to this day. Here are a couple pretty good ones:

Fast Food Corner

I'm disappointed - McDonalds hasn't sold its McRib sandwich for quite a while. Now, I'm not a big fan of the taste of this sandwich ... for the most part, it's ok, but I can't really determine what it tastes like (or what it's supposed to taste like, or be, even).

I just find the shape of the patty funny - I mean it looks like they tried to shape this processed meat into the shape of ribs. Not sure how this is supposed to help in the selling of the sandwich (and maybe that's why McDonalds has held off on reintroducing the sandwich).

But, you have to give it to those ad and marketing wizards - they really make you "want" to have this bland-tasting sandwich. Check out the commercial below and tell me that you don't want a McRib:

Song of the Week

The NHL hockey season has started up once again, and thanks to the EA Sports video-game commercial (for their hockey game), I can't seem to get a song out of my head. No, it's not a rock song, and it's not a very new song, but inexplicably, it's catchy. I think this song has been around in Canada for a long, long time, but only has gained some popularity in the US in the past 5 years or so.

The song itself is very folksy, with only a few instruments - maybe an electric guitar, a simple drum set, and a catchy chorus "Well the Good Ol' hockey game is the best game you can name, and the best game you can name is the good ol' hockey game." No, certainly not something Shakespeare would be envious of, but catchy nevertheless.

The "narrator" basically talks about a hockey game from start to finish in the song - again nothing ground-breaking, but still compelling for some reason. You can hear the song and see a hockey video here:

Bermuda - part 2

We had about two days to enjoy in Bermuda ... not nearly enough to fully experience the island, but more than enough to get a taste of it's majesty (yeah, I used the word majesty). Just a beautiful place - turquoise water, fabulously colored fish, lush plants and trees.

The first day, we took a ferry to St. George's. My wife and I went to Crystal Caves, and enjoyed the stalactites and stalagmites, and the 88 steps we had to traverse to get to them. We spent the second part of the day snorkeling at Tobacco Bay ... unfortunately, we forgot our underwater camera - we saw a really big Parrot Fish and many other fish.

The second day, we traveled to Horseshoe Bay - spent the morning swimming and snorkeling. Then, we hiked a trail that overlooked a bunch of coves along the beach - just beautiful scenery all around. The time flew, sadly.

Here are some pics of Bermuda:


One of the cool cave formations we saw.



Great pic of Tobacco Bay.



The Unfinished Church in St. Georges.



A beautiful shot of Horseshoe Bay



The coastline during our hike.

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! I chose the following prompt this week: Find your one very favorite picture of Summer and write a poem about it.

The picture above is from a family trip of ours when I was 7 years old. I'm the one on the right, by the way ... the one sitting the goofiest. I'll always remember this trip to Arrowhead Campground near Myrtle Beach for so many reasons. First, my parents, aunt and uncle, and my two cousins all took the trip in one ... count 'em ... one station wagon. To say the going was a little tight would be like saying that Barry Bonds' head grew only a little bit over the years. Basically, my two cousins and I had to actually sit/lay on top of the luggage in the trunk ... which would break many laws today, but was apparently quite legal in the 1970's.

I also remember the campground, and our camper, and how close it was to the ocean. It was like pure heaven - we probably went to the beach 3 or 4 times a day, rode the waves on our union-jack rafts, and got crazy tans.

Which leads to the next thing I remember - we rode our rafts so much, that I got a rash all over my chest from all of the scraping whilst riding the waves on said raft. I had to spend the last part of the week riding the waves with a t-shirt on. I looked so cool!

I'm pretty sure the camper we "lived in" was a bit cramped - heck, we had 7 people sleeping in there, but it didn't seem to bother me. I remember the bathroom in the camper being quite small, but there was a community facility nearby that we were able to use, which made things a lot easier for the 7 of us.

I also remember crabbing a couple of days - we ended up tying rotten chicken around rope, and throwing the rope off of the dock into the water, and pulling in a ton of crabs. For some reason, I thought this was the greatest thing ever, however, at that age, I didn't have any appetite for crabs ... pretty much just hot dogs (thankfully, I've done a lot of growing up, and now LOVE crabs).

This picture just takes me back to a time when life was simpler and worry-free. Sigh.

80's Corner

Roller Skating rinks. Man, they were fun, weren't they? I'm talking about the ones in which you used your roller skates with the four wheels - not the in line skates. We had a roller skating rink right up the street from our grade school - I believe it was called "Skate Odyssey."

Many of my classmates had birthday parties at Skate Odyssey. I remember playing arcade games like Defender and Frogger whilst trying to stay balanced on my roller skates. I also remember skating around the "bowl" in my blue corduroy pants, listening to "We Got the Beat" by the GoGo's (I can't remember why it's this song that I remember most when I think of Skate Odyssey).

I was never great at roller skating, but I could hold my own. Sure, I fell a few times, but never anything serious or dramatic. But, one thing I do remember vividly is hearing the ambulance fly past our school on Mac Dade Blvd on it's way to the roller skating rink. It happened daily, and sometimes 3-4 times a day.

I guess that's really one of the reasons the place close - insurance prices were probably outrageous. Plus, the inline skating probably took away some of the "cool-ness" of the skating rink.

But man, at one time, THIS ... WAS ... THE ... PLACE! It was exciting to "slow-skate" with a girl, or play roller-tag around the entire facility.

Dope or Nope ...

There was a time when beer commercials were very, very funny. Who could forget those Bud Light commercials of the 1980's with the "Can I have a Light? A Bud Light" tagline, or the Spuds McKenzie commericals, "Wazzup" commercials, and the lizards. The commercials now are mediocre at best, and just down-right putrid.

The Coors Light commercials over the past few years in which they take a press conference of a former NFL coach, and make a spoof out of it makes me want to repeatedly stick a fork in my eyes. It was mildly annoying when I first saw it a few years ago. However, much to my dismay, the fine people of Coors have continued to ride this "Schtick." Heck, even the Chevy Silverado commercials think that the Coors press conference commercials are stale.

However, much to my surprise, a couple of my friends don't share my feelings. In fact, some of my friends even profess to find these commercials humorous. Not sure if I have to re-address my friends or if I need to re-address my thoughts about these commercials.

Anyway, what do you guys and gals think?

Song of the Week

After spending 5 days on a cruise line headed for Bermuda, all I have in my mind right now is Carribean/Reggae music. So, with that said, my song of the week SHOULD be some sort of reggae music, shouldn't it? Regardless ...

Peter Tosh is a reggae legend, and a trailblazer for the Rastafari movement (according to Wikipedia.com ... just a little background of Rastafari - Spiritual use of cannabis,[3][4] rejection of western society (called Babylon, which literally means "confusion"), and various Afrocentric social and political aspirations,[3][5] such as the sociopolitical views and teachings of Jamaican publicist, organizer, and black separatist Marcus Garvey (also often regarded as a prophet), inspired Leonard Howell to develop the foundations of this world view. Haile Selassie however, was in favor of a Westernized Ethiopia, introducing the first hospital and airport to his people. The Rastafari movement predominantly emerged in Jamaica in the 20th century, and it proclaims Africa (also "Zion") as the original place where the body of the first man was found.).

OK, so before he became involved in this extremist movement, he made some pretty darn good reggae music. In fact, he collaborated with the Rolling Stones at one point in time (and yes, this is how I found out about Tosh). He sang a song with Mick Jagger called "Don't Look Back," which was a remake of a Temptations song of the mid 1960's. Obviously, Tosh "Reggae-tized" the diddy, added some horns, steel drums, and a funky beat.

Just a sample of the lyrics:
If you just put your hand in mine
We're gonna leave all your troubles behind
keep on walkin' and don't look back.

This is obviously a lot more positive-sounding than many of the later songs that Tosh released. Tosh is the anti-Bob Marley in that Marley preached peace, while Tosh promoted militancy (probably not all that different than Martin Luther King and Malcolm X).

Here's the video of this song in case you're interested:

The Cruise ... part 1

Oh man, how did the time go by so quickly? Really? 6 days fly by like that? This went by faster than The Van Halen 3 experiment. I blinked, and it was over. How depressing ... yet, at the same point, that means we had fun. I figured I'd bring you a recap, but split it up into a couple of parts (hopefully, it's not boring).

We embarked on our trip Saturday morning - around 9:00 AM. My brother and I stopped at the bank to get some 1 dollar bills (for tipping! Get your minds out of the gutter!), then packed the car, and traveled to Dunkin Donuts for a quick breakfast, before heading out to I-95. The morning was crisp, yet the bright sunlight hinted towards a fantastic trip ahead.

We arrived in Bayonne (just outside of New York City) in just under two hours, unpacked our luggage, and boarded the ship with little hassle. In no time, we were in the "Wind-Jammer" enjoying a lunch buffet. The food at the Wind Jammer was ok - nothing to write home about, but not all that bad, either. After lunch, we took a quick tour of our ship - Royal Carribean's "Explorer of the Seas." This ship is a mammouth - if you stood the sucker up, it is almost the size of the Empire State Building. Wow! It's like a miniature city in there, complete with a number of bars, shopping, restaurants, and even it's own casino! Additionally, this ship comes with a miniature golf course, a rock-climbing wall, in-line skating rink, and a number of pools and hot-tubs! Just awesome!

The trip down to Bermuda was choppy, bumpy, wavy, and cold. Thankfully, the wife and I did not get sea-sick ... but a lot of other people on the ship did. Anyway, this gave us the opportunity to really experience the ship's other offerings. We relaxed in the spa, we participated in a lot of trivia contests, certainly we enjoyed many of the fantastic drinks, and we ate ... OH BOY DID WE EAT! Breakfast buffet ... CHECK! Lunch buffet ... CHECK! A couple of slices of pizza and/or a cookie to hold us over before dinner ... CHECK! And then dinner itself - just a delicious feast ... I probably would've gained a whole lot of weight, had it not been for all of the walking, hiking, swimming, skating, and yes, even rock-climbing. Below are some pics from the first few days - enjoy!


Our Ship as we approach it!



Boarding the ship!



A scantily clad mannequin welcoming us to the casino!


The view from our room (Promenade windows!)


Playing Horse!


My brother blocking the heliopad.


The view of New York City from the ship.



Going under the bridge.

Fast Food Corner

We used to have a couple of Roy Rogers fast food restaurants in the Philly area. All have seemed to disappear in the past 20 years or so. There were a couple of neat things about Roy's restaurant. First, Mr. Rogers had MANY choices - you could get a burger, roast beef sandwich, or even a bucket of chicken - this is sadly unheard of today in the area I live in (I think Wendy's may offer fried chicken in Baltimore and south, but not in the Philly area).

Second, Roy had the "Free Fixin's Bar." Here, you could top your sandwich with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and other toppings - truly having it your way. This seemed like a great idea to me up to a few years ago. But, the more I think about it, maybe this isn't such a good thing - think about all of those nasty people sticking their nasty unwashed hands in the fixin's bar, or sneezing on the lettuce. I guess in that sense, this isn't such a good thing. But still ...

I miss ya, Roy - come back to Philly!

Weird Thought

My wife and I were having a conversation a few weeks ago regarding Hitler's mustache, and the fact that this will never come in style again because of the atrocities that Hitler committed. For some reason (beer), we started wondering "what if."

For instance, what if Hitler had mutton-chops? Would mutton-chops not be cool (not saying that they're cool now, but you know). What about a goatee? Or a soul patch?

Then, we came up with a different idea ... it's a shame Hitler didn't have a mullet ... jerk.