Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: 5.) List your top 10 “Spring Trends."

I love the Spring time (actually, I love all the seasons ...). It's a time for new beginnings ... almost like an awakening out of hibernation ... and after this past snow-filled winter, it's time for some good weather! But, I digress ... Here is a list of my top 10 Spring trends ... in no particular order:

10. Fishing ... April 3 is opening day of trout fishing season. Two of my best friends and I are heading out to catch a great bounty of rainbows, brookies, and brownies ... unfortunately, we'll be out there with a collection of some of the worst fishermen ever ... opening day is like amateur night ... but hey, it's tradition!

9. Grilling and barbecuing - I can't get enough of this. I love the smell of barbecued flesh! And heck, I'm really good at grilling!

8. Enjoying some refreshing drinks on our back deck. The weather is turning nicer - it's not too cold and not too hot. Plus, with the sun staying out longer and longer, it's time to enjoy the outdoors .... with a beer or two!

7. Spring cleaning - no, I don't enjoy it, but it's gotta be done ... and the sense of accomplishment felt isn't so bad ... right?

6. Baseball! Philadelphia has once again become a baseball town, thanks to a recent World Series victory and a beautiful ballpark. Can't wait to go!

5. Playing sports outside - I don't play as much as I used to, but I can't wait to play some basketball, tennis, and even some baseball outside with friends ... oh yeah, we don't play as long as we used to, either ... getting old sucks!

4. Horse-shoe tournaments - Yep, I love playing horse-shoes ... it's simple, and it can be done whilst holding a beer. I love sports like that!

3. Taking trips to the shore - Springtime is great down the shore ... not too crowded, and still very peaceful ... this is good fun up until around Memorial Day.

2. Shorts and t-shirts - Time to break these out soon ... actually, I wear shorts and t-shirts all year round when I work out ... however, soon, I'll be able to wear these outside.

1. Outdoor summer concerts - I haven't really gone to one of these in a while, but man, they are fun. Hopefully some good bands come around Philly this summer!

Wacky News Stories

Always good to say partisan politics at every turn ... thanks Republicans and Democrats!

1. On a teacher who was arrested for drunk teaching:
"Ma-am, do you realize how fast you were teaching?"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7349812

2. On two bank robbers calling the bank and asking for "money to go:"
"Do you want that supersized?"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7347784

3. On two elderly sisters battling in the courtroom over a $500,000 lottery ticket:
"Here's to hoping this court-case gets fast-tracked."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=7345773

4. On two people pleading guilty to a $20,000 baby formula theft:
"I had no idea that some baby formula contained gold."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7347651

5. On a Connecticut girl winning the prize for the world's most disgusting sneakers:
"That girl is such a heel!"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7347651

80's Corner

A music "wave" overtook the world in the mid 1980's. To black guys with long flowing hair, dancing together in bicycle pants, "singing" hit after hit after hit. It seemed like everything Milli Vanilli did or was involved in was successful. Then, it happened. One night, during one of their shows, the record skipped.

A whirlwind of news, rumors, and scandal replaced Milli Vanilli's music. The two "singers" were disgraced - it turned out that the real singers were two German dudes who weren't so photogenic, so the record-company that signed them decided to put two easier on the eyes frontmen in their place ... of course, these front-men couldn't really sing, apparently.

Once in a while, I still hear a Milli Vanilli song on the radio, and it makes me a laugh a little bit.


One of their videops

Dope or Nope

This week, I'm tackling a serious topic. Specifically, I'm tackling potato chips ... and not just any potato chips, but ones that are burnt. I've always been a fan of these for some reason. I like getting a bag of plain "Herr's" potato chips, and seeking out the burnt ones in the bag. For some reason, these just seem to taste better to me.

But, it seems like this is much like U.S. politics. Not everybody is a fan of the burnt chips. I just assumed that because these chips taste so good to me, that they must taste good to everyone. Oh, by the way, I'm not talking about the kettle cooked chips ... not a big fan for some reason.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you like burnt chips?

Fast Food Corner

Have any of you ever tried KFC's Famous Bowls? I've never "had the pleasure," because I'm not sure if I want to have all those different "aspects" of dinner put together in one bowl. For those not in the know, the "Famous Bowl" consists of a plastic bowl filled with mashed potatoes, corn, chicken, and "drizzled" with gravy and cheese.

This is not my style - I guess you could call me a food "separationalist." I don't enjoy combining my "dinner" food like pieces of chicken, rice and mashed potatoes, into one bite.

It's been on the menu for years, so I'm guessing this is a pretty good seller for KFC ... not to mention the "Famous" name in the title. So, what are your thoughts on this?

Song of the Week

The Monkees probably won't be on most serious music fans' top ten list of greatest rock bands ... and no, they're not on my top ten list either. As far as musicianship goes, they can't really even be classified as a "true" rock band. First, they weren't "formed" in the traditional "band" sense - a company held auditions for to create a "pop" band. So, these guys don't even have a "story" on how the band was created. Second, they didn't even write their own songs ... well, at least not initially. No, they had musicians like Neil Diamond write most of their "original" hits.

But, a funny thing happened during (and after) the TV show filming. The band began to gel and actually became kind of good. The band even began to write its own music. One particular song that probably only "true" Monkees fans have heard about is a song called "Goin' Down."

This is not your typical Monkees song. It's not all "happy" and "poppy," and employes a very fast beat ... has a sort of New Orleans "jazzy" sound, with fast and darker lyrics hinting at suicide because of a lost love, however, the attempted "drowning" in a river takes the singer into New Orleans, where the singer longs to live again, thanks to that catchy New Orleans music. The song is accentuated with "crazy" horns. I urge you to take a listen - I think you'd be surprised.

Music Updates Needed

A friend of mine and I were discussing music the other day (like we normally do), and we hit on an interesting topic. Some songs need to be updated to reflect the times. We came up with a couple:

Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll. It's a great anthem of a rock song. But one line in it really annoys me. She says "I love rock and roll. So put another dime in the juke box baby." Man, I wish I was able to frequent the bars back when it only costed a dime to play a song on the juke box. Now, you'll be lucky to get 2 songs for a dollar. Maybe Joan should go back and update that lyric to "put another dollar in the juke box, baby."

Blondie - Call Me. Nobody calls anybody anymore. We pretty much just IM and text at this point. Couldn't Blondie update this to "Text Me?"

The Turtles - So Happy Together. There's a line in it that says, "If you could call me up, invest a dime." I'm sorry, but I can't remember the last time I saw a payphone. And that last time, I think calls costed 35 cents, didn't they?

Prince - 1999. He says, "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999." Should he update this to "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 2-0-9-9?" Or, was 1999 really cool?

Can you think of any others?

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: What did you compromise when you married? Ooh, this could be the kiss of death here, right?

To be honest, I don't really think I compromised too much. Well, there are two areas I had to compromise that I can think of. The first is sports - I love to watch sports ... and yes, I still do watch a lot of sports. BUT, when it comes to attending sports games, I don't do it nearly as much anymore. That's ok for the most part - I really don't like going to pro football games - I'd rather watch them on TV. I've been pretty much priced out of hockey. Really, the only sport I'd like to watch live more is baseball. The wife really doesn't enjoy it, so I don't go much. I'd like to go more with friends, and I guess I could, but I don't for some reason.

I also LOVE stand up comedy. I love watching it. I love listening to it. I love talking to friends about it. However, the wife isn't a fan. We've gone to one stand-up show, and I don't think she had a good time. When I have it on TV, she loses interest. If I want to listen to it on my Slacker (look it up), she objects. It's not a huge deal, but still.

I guess if those are really the only concessions I've had to make, that's not too bad, is it? My wife probably has had to make more concessions, especially with my finickey eating habits.

Wacky News Stories

Happy Spring, Y'all! Hopefully, no more snow!

1. On a TV presenter getting a death sentence for sorcery:
"They finally got his Lucky Charms!"
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/19/saudi.arabia.sorcery/index.html?hpt=T2

2. On Pittsburgh University Police investigating painted chickens.
"Is this worse than choking the chicken?"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7339258

3. On a man finding a cold intruder in bed with him:
"Seriously, the least an intruder could do is warm up before jumping in a stranger's bed, right?"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7337198

4. On the Tennessee senate saying that birds and fish are OK in a barbershop:
"Could you take a little off of my gills, please?"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7337213

5. On the world's shortest man dying in Italy:
"Apparently, somebody accidentally knocked over some table salt ..."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=7332937

80's Corner

Remember the last episode of MASH? This was the most viewed TV show in the history of US TV show watching ... until this past Super Bowl. I was never a fan of MASH for some reason (although I did have the Atari 2600 game). I just never got into it - I know it had a lot of good humor in it, but for some reason, I could never really find anything funny with regards to the Vietnam War. Maybe the topic was just a little too heavy for me ... whatever it is, I'm not sure. But I do remember thinking "Hot Lips" Houlihan was kind of cute.

I guess I was in the minority in not watchng the final episode. I was probably too busy watching Benny Hill or the Muppet Show.

Dope or Nope

The NCAA basketball tournament is all the sports talk this time of year. It seems as work stops the first few days of the tournament. People either take off and go to a bar to watch the early games, or they sit at the computer and clog up the band-width watching the games. People who normally have no interest in college basketball all of the sudden become experts this time of year - filling out numerous brackets, and discussing their "strategy" for picking specific upsets.

Unfortunately for the fans who watch college basketball all year round, they tend not to win pools. No, usually some woman who picks by team colors or mascots will somehow miraculously win. It seems to happen all the time.

So, with that said. What are your thoughts about the college basketball tournament? Are you a fan, or do you try to ignore it? Personally, I dig it. I'm not a true college basketball fan - I don't go out of my way to watch games during the season. But, I do tend to follow more games as the tournament approaches. And yes, I fill out numerous pools. Heck, I've even won a tournament or two in my time.

Fast Food Corner

With the amount of Hardees ads and commercials I see (in addition to the amount of times I've eaten at Hardees when I went to Penn State), I'm surprised the fast food restaurant has never been able to make it in the Philadelphia area. We've seen a couple of Hardees in the area over the years. They've lasted a little while, but for some reason, they close down.

I'm surprised, because Hardees is kind of a jack-of-all trades. You want a burger? Yep, you can get a variety of them. How about a box of chicken? You betcha! Did you say you wanted a roast beef sandwich? Check!

I guess being a jack of all trades isn't necessarily a good thing, if you are a master of none, right? The chicken is ok, but I'd rather eat at the colonels. The Roast Beef sandwiches are good, but without horsey sauce, what's the point? The fries are ok, but nothing to write home about. Maybe they should focus on one thing ... at least in the Philadelphia area.

Song of the Week

The Rolling Stones have been around forever (nearly 50 years at this point), and they've cranked out a lot of great music. But, even the best relationships can have sour periods. The Stones had theirs in the mid 1980's. Mick pursued a solo career. Keith thought it was a stab in the back to the band at first, but also decided to try his hand at as a solo artist. His first album, "Talk is Cheap," actually outsold Mick's "Primitive Cool" CD, and is far and away a better album.

The big single of the album was a song called "Take it So Hard." The lyrics, like much of the other songs on the album, take shots at Mick being a sellout, and a backstabber. The band that backs Keith, The XPensive Winos (truly a fitting backing band name for Keith's group), provides a strong reggae influence, with a touch of blues.

The song and album proves that if Keith really wanted to, he could've led the Stones in Mick's absence. Sure, the sound would be less mainstream, and more blues-focused, but it probably still would've worked ... although, I still prefer Mick fronting the band.

Have a look at the video:

Toxic Neighbor

A local news website ran a story about a "toxic" neighbor recently. I was going to post it in the wacky news section of my blog, but I wanted to talk further about this, because, well .... we have a toxic neighbor in our neighborhood.

The story states that this 86-year-old lady has called the cops more than 35 times in the past 3 years ... one of the more head-scratching moments was when this nag knocked on her neighobor's door at 11:00 pm and told him he had to trim his bushes. The cops came out and deemed the bushes were fine, and gave the lady a warning that she needed to stop calling the cops and make friends with the neighbors or she'd be disciplined.

It's probably funny to most people, but not to me. We have a family of neighbors who are just this annoying. Thankfully, their spite isn't directed towards me. But, they do cause a lot of problems for a neighbor I am good friends with. They call the cops on him anytime he is doing home improvements. They call the cops on him when his dog barks, or when his TV is "too loud," or when the bumper of his car is "on their side of the property line" on the street. This victim is in his mid 60's ... he doesn't cause any problems to anybody, and if anything, will go out of his way to help you if you need it.

However. these evil creatures who have decided to make his life a living hell or the dregs of the neighborhood. They've decided oral hygiene is overrated, and that keeping ones house and property clean is not something they're interested in doing. But, they've also decided that they need to poke their heads in everyone's business ... sometimes tailing neighbors in their car for no apparent reason, or making snide comments and giving dirty looks to any guests who are visiting another neighbor. Satan thinks these people are bad.

And, the local township knows them all too well. Unfortunately, the township, for some reason, hasn't given them any warnings about their behavior. The cops show up, roll their eyes, and leave. It's so frustrating. My question is, why would anybody want to live like this? Do they get off on being ass-clowns? It's a helluva way to live.

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's weekly homework assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: Write about someone who is an underdog. I took some liberties with this one, as I'm not choosing a person. No, I've decided to choose the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia as an underdog.

"Why Philly?" you say? Simple. We're lucky if we're looked at as New York City's little brother (sometimes, we're ignored altogether). Fashion, movies, shows, shopping, food ... people recommend to go to New York, "the city that never sleeps." Meanwhile, Philly is around in case you feel like getting fat on some soft pretzels and cheese-steaks.

We have some competitive sports teams in Philly, but from an international perspective, people have probably heard of New York teams like the Yankees, Giants, and Rangers ... not so much with our Phitin Phillies, Iggles, or Flyers. Plus, our sports teams seem to always get ignored by the superstar athletes ... we don't hear about LeBron James wanting to come to Philly ... heck, we were even shunned by one of our own (I hate you, Kobe).

But seriously, take a trip to Philadelphia sometime - you'll enjoy it. We have so much history to take in, and some excellent restaurants. Our sports stadiums are incredible, and the beer coming out of Philadelphia is second-to-none. And don't forget - we're only a short drive from Atlantic City, New York City, Baltimore, DC, and even Lancaster and Gettysburg. It's the perfect place!

Wacky News

Sad week ... Legendary movie icon Corey Haim dies, then Teleflora salesman extraordinaire Merlin Olsen passes ... who's next, Mr. Belvedere?

1. On the recent study that long-time smoking reduces your chances of getting Parkinson's Disease:
"It also reduces the risk of living long enough to get Parkinson's Disease."
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/10/longtime-smoking-cuts-parkinson%E2%80%99s-risk-dramatically/?hpt=T2

2. On one of the founding members of "Ben and Jerry's" ice cream getting married in an ice-cream parlor:
"I'm glad some news reporter was able to get this 'scoop.'"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7324666

3. On a robber holding up 11 people, and making off with $6 in cash:
"Probably not a scenario that CSI or Unsolved Mysteries would want to tackle."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7322761

4. On a chef who concocted cheese made from his wife's breast milk:
"I think the only thing I can say about that chef is ... what a boob!"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7322305

5. On the death of Corey Haim:
"Looks like there may be a sequel in the works to 'The Lost Boys.'"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/entertainment&id=7322392

Dope or Nope

A lot of the newer pop music songs (and bands) are utilzing some sort of "technology" to make their voices have an electronic/synth voice boxsound. It's gotten so "popular" that it has even been "mocked" in a Budweiser commercial.



The commercial is quite funny, but man do I hate this synth voice sound. And the thing is, more and more of these teeny-bopper pop singers are doing it. It's driving me crazy. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!!! I'm starting to sound the way my parents sounded when I played my rock-music back in the 80's.

Is this cool, or am I just losing touch? Dope or nope?

80's Corner

The 80's gave us many great things ... Capri Sun, break dancing, Acid Washed Jeans, weird sunglasses, just to name a few. But who could forget what the fine people at Bartles and Jaymes gave us ... the wine cooler! I'm not exactly sure if Bartles and Jaymes actually came up with the idea of the wine cooler, but their commercials seemed to ignite our nation's desire to indulge in said wine coolers.

Beer was great to drink in large quantities, but many people (mostly females) didn't like the "bitter" hoppy taste of beer. Wine tasted better, but man, if you drank it like beer, you'd be feet-up in no time. Enter the wine cooler. A nice, sweet taste, and not too much alcohol. Women could drink many bottles of this to keep up with men, with the additional "benefit" of having to use the bathroom as much.

Of course, this product wa also marketed towards men as a more "refreshing" drink on a hot-summer day ... most men resisted the urge, however, preferring to consume Miller Genuine Drafts, whilst barbecuing chicken in their Jams.

And, as the two old dudes in the Bartles and Jaymes commercials loved to say, "Thank you for your support!"

Song of the Week

Over the past 2-3 years, I've slowly developed a liking for the band Vampire Weekend. At first, I couldn't really figure them out ... They're certainly part of the Alt Rock/Indie movement, but they don't tend to fit into a specific "style" of music. I guess this bothered me first, because I'm used to "segmenting" my bands. At times, Vampire Weekend employs a "poppy" sound to their songs, and at other times they seem to delve into "punk." But with one song, they throw all that out the window and channel early '60's and sprinkle it with just a dab of reggae.

The song, Oxford Comma, probably won't initially stand out as a song you'd want to listen to more than once. It starts of slow, with a slow and steady drum beat accentuated by a simple keyboard. The song itself is really about about some outdated grammatical piece, but looks to go more deeply into the people who defend the use of it, and how ridiculous this is. An argument with a former lady friend might also be a part of this diddy.

The song really picks up with the chorus, making you want to sing along with Ezra Koenig as he belts out,
"Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall.
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth."


Oh, and with the "art" of the music video seemingly dying, it's great when a band puts some work into creating a good one ... and folks, this one is much better than good.

Fast Food Corner

As you probably already know, I tend to like fast food ... probably a little more than I should. So, I feel that it is a duty of mine to bring up issues or concerns I have about fast food restaurants and questionable tactics they employ.

For instance, Chick Fil-A offers a "healthy" alternative to french fries ... now, I don't think the fine folks at Chick Fil-A should ever worry about me choosing healthy over their waffle fries, but certainly there are some people out there who opt the healthier way. I believe the healthy option is some sort of fruit cup.

However, Chick Fil-A charges more for said fruit cup. Really? Fruit cups more pricey than fries? I don't understand. And, doesn't it look like Chick Fil-A is trying to discourage good health with this? (Again, keep in mind, I doubt I'll ever choose the furit cup over the french fry).

For some reason, this miffs me a little. And, I'm not sure if this is the case at other fast food restaurnats ... I mean, I hope it isn't. It doesn't seem fair to me. Will this prevent me from going to Chick Fil-A? No, probably not ... but still.

Cell Phone Question

I have a cell phone plan. I won't name the company, but it rhymes with "Schmerizon." I've been seeing these cell phone war commercials about 3G service, better coverage, better rates, and I'm confused. My cell phone plan is up in July, and I really want to get the best deal in plans. Right now, I don't have a smart phone, but am really interested in upgrading. But, here's the thing - I don't know if it's worth it to put $30 more on a monthly phone bill just so I can surf the web when I need to.

I've been seeing commercials from Sprint - the have a deal for unlimited text and web, in addition to a good amount of phone minutes for around $129 (for 2 phones). This is far less than what Verizon and AT&T offers. Of course, I have no idea how good of coverage Sprint has.

And what about T-Mobile - I hear their rates are about $40 cheaper than Verizon and AT&T, but again, how's the coverage?

Then, I hear stuff from these alternate carriers - Boost, Cricket, Metro PCS ... they seem to have fantastic deals and no contracts (for the most part) ... but what is the deal with them? Why are they so much cheaper? Are there hidden charges?

Basically, I'm looking for your help. Can you help me in making my decision? Are there any websites or resources I can go to in order help me find reviews or help me make a decision based on my specific needs?

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's weekly homework assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: What lights your fire? Describe five things you are most passionate about.

I'm passionate about a lot of things - narrowing it down to 5 will be tough ... well, here goes:

* I'm passionate about sports. I love sports. I can't get enough of sports. I love football, baseball, hockey, college ball, and soccer (not really a big fan of pro basketball, though). I talk about sports night and day, and probably drive my wife nuts in the process. I watch sports, I listen to sports on the radio, and I dream sports.

* When I'm not thinking sports, I'm thinking music. I love rock and roll and love discovering new artists in the alt-rock/indie scene. Most of you know how passionate I am about the Rolling Stones. I visit their website every day to see if there is any news on them. I dreamt that Mick and Keith came over for dinner once.

* I love fishing. I'm passionate about it. Freshwater or saltwater, it doesn't matter. I love the strategy involved in it (yes folks, there is strategy involved in fishing ... I swear). I also love the relaxing nature of fishing, and the opportunities it gives me to hang out with friends and family.

* I am passionate about sales, deals, bargains, and coupons. It's a big and fun game to me. Again, my wife probably gets annoyed by it. I had a blast shopping for a new car last year, pitting the local dealerships against each other. It was exhilarating.

* And finally, I'm passionate about the TV show Lost. I love it. Can't get enough of it. Am I confused? Absolutely! Do I know what's going on? Heck no! But I continue to watch in amazement. The acting is fantastic, and the storytelling, though confusing, is great too.

Wacky News Stories

I saw some Robins ... which means that Spring is right around the corner ... right?

1. On a woman who sues a doctor because he gave her an extra set of breasts.
"I guess somebody needs to be held 'a-cow-ntable' ... wait, that was an 'utterly' terrible joke!"
http://www.ecanadanow.com/curiosity/2010/03/04/woman-sues-over-botched-boob-job-doc-adds-two-more-breasts/

2. On a man who is suing an airline for not looking at his scrotum:
"Either this guy has a lot of "balls" or he's just plain "nuts!"
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/03/05/13132366-qmi.html

3. On an undercover cop who spent nearly $17,000 on more than 130 lap dances, and didn't make a single arrest:
"Looks like this cop is going to be introduced to a different form of a 'pole dance.'"
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/416240_RICKS04.html

4. On an AIG employee saying the following on the possibility of losing his blood money: "To be honest with you, I really hope it blows up. I think the U.S. taxpayer deserves to lose a trillion dollars over this thing for the way they have behaved:"
"Maybe we can relocate these people ... to Afghanistan."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030303764.html

5. Man banned from all Wal-Marts for life because he refused to show his receipt to a door greeter:
"Really? What kind of stand was this knucklehead trying to make by not showing his receipt? Was he buying tampons or something?"
http://consumerist.com/2010/03/why-was-i-banned-from-walmart-for-not-showing-my-receipt.html

Dope or Nope

Facebook ... this has become the biggest "social" site in the U.S. (and maybe the planet - not sure about that, though). Facebook is a way to reconnect with long lost friends and family, post what you're doing, view pictures of friends and family, and become fans of cool things.

Facebook can also be a time-waster ... addicting games that seem to drain hours out of your life. Facebook can also be a tool for stalking, potential identify theft, and computer virus spreader.

Where do you stand (or sit) with Facebook? I'm a Facebooker, but really, I only spend about 15 minutes a day on it (if that). I'm there to read other people's updates, update my status (if I have something witty to say), and play a few games of Bubble Popp.

How 'bout you?

Song of the Week

I love super groups ... bands that consist of musicians from other big bands ... A couple that come to mind include The Traveling Wilbury's, Temple of the Dog, Chickenfoot, and Velvet Revolver to name a few. Recently, another one of these supergroups got together, put together an album, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and I believe they're even touring. The band includes David Grohl (who's been in two wildly successful bands himself - Nirvana and Foo Fighters), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stoneage), and none other than John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). The band is called "Them Crooked Vultures," and their first single is called "New Fang."

According to Wikipedia, the song is described as "Southern Boogie Woogie" rock, but to me, it almost sounds like something that was lifted from a Led Zeppelin outtake ... it's very bluesy, and the lyrics don't seem to make much sense, but seem to be shot out quickly in small quantities ... rather addicting if I do say so myself ... even though, half the time I can't even decipher words (being a Rolling Stones fan, this never bothers me).

In listening a little more to the song, it almost sounds as if this band was influenced by the Afghan Whigs (or maybe the Whigs were ultimately influenced by Zeppelin). Just the rattling off of lyrics, and the bluesy/choppy/winey guitars seem to echo to Greg Dulli and his band.

You can listen to the song here:

Fast Food Corner

Recently, Domino's pizza has been trying to do an image "restructuring" of sorts. Apparently, years of average pizza was no longer acceptable. Many of you have probably seen the Domino's commercials where the Domino's chefs (really, they have their own chefs?!?!?!?) talk about addressing the complaints about rubbery pizza and bland sauce, and creating a new pizza experience.

Well folks, curiosity got the best of me ... in the name of research, of course. As some of you may know, my family partakes in Fast Food Friday (or FFF). This consists of my wife, brother, his wife, and I bringing along my "dry cleaning" to my parents' house, and picking up fast food to eat for dinner. Oh, and this is also where my mom sneaks me $20 ... I'm not sure for what ... but I digress ...

Anyway, this past Friday, we chose to sample Dominos pizza ... and, it was definitely better than previous Dominos pizza iterations. The biggest thing I noticed was that the crust was tastier, with a definite garlicky overtone (or undertone ... whatever). There was definitely more cheese, and the sauce was tangy and not bland. A definite improvement, and worthy of getting for $5.99 (medium).

If I have any advice for Dominos, it's to work on the bread-sticks. They tasted ok, and the dipping sauces are great ... BUT they are nowhere near the ballpark of Pizza Hut bread-sticks (best fast-food bread-sticks on the market).

80's Corner

Leg warmers ... remember these? After the movie Flashdance came out, it seemed like every woman I knew had on these leg warmers along with an Esprit sweatshirt. Women loved these leg-warmers ... but I'm not really sure guys ever really understood them (maybe I'm just speaking for myself here).

Girls would adorn just about any outfit with leg warmers and this was "fashionably" accepted by society. Sweatpants and leg warmers? Of course. How about jeans and leg warmers? Why not? Skirts and leg warmers? I've seen worse! It was as if women were prepared to get into some sort of intense workout at the drop of a hat.

Thank you, Flashdance.

Cool Beer Place

The Philadelphia area has been blessed with great "home-grown" beer places popping up ... there are a number of good ones in the city, like the Yards brewery. However, there are a couple of good ones in the suburbs as well. Victory Brew Pub, located in Downingtown, is a very, very cool place, with lots of REALLY good beer. Some of their "classics" are Hop Devil (as you can guess, very Hoppy), Golden Monkey (a great Belgian effort), Lager (a good lighter beer that the women who like light-beers will enjoy), and the Braumeister Pils (a fantastic German effort).

The beers can be purchased at beer distributer's in the tri-state area ... not sure if they can be purchased anywhere outside of this area (maybe online?). I'd highly recommend you getting your hands on some of these brews (if you love beer, of course).

If you find yourself in Chester County, a trip to the brew pub in Downingtown should be on your list of things to do the burgers, pizza, and wings go very well with the beer.

You can check out there website here:


http://www.victorybeer.com/home.aspx

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! This week, I chose the following post: "3.) A difficult conversation." Oh man, I have so many of them - I'll keep it clean (boo-hiss!).

As a sophomore in college, I was dating a girl who lived near Lancaster. I was able to convince my parents to allow me to drive out there to see her over the holidays. Everything was going great - I was about 10 minutes from her house, blaring the Rolling Stones on my car stereo ... life was good.

Then, it happened. I noticed two police cars parked on the side of the road. They had their lights flashing ... but something was odd about them ... wait, they didn't have anybody pulled over, yet their lights were flashing. Unfortunately, I took a little too much notice to them, and not enough notice on the road ahead of me.

When I refocused on the road, I was approaching an intersection, the light was red, and a big Ford Bronco was stopped in front of me. I had no time to break, and smashed into the back of said Bronco. The Bronco's bumper was a little bent. My Hyundai Excel looked like an accordion ... with an anti-freeze leak.

The car was totaled ... and, I had to call my parents. Gulp! My girlfriend's parents picked me up, and got the car towed to a shop (for the insurance company to investigate). I dialed the number, and nervously began talking to my mom. "Mom, first I want to tell you I'm OK." That's probably not how my mom wanted the conversation to go.

"I got in a car accident, and totaled the Hyundai." I was expecting screams and shrieks, but my mom was actually pretty cool about it. She said something along the lines of "Well, we can always replace the car, it's you we can't replace." That really put my mind at ease, and I appreciated the compassion.

Of course, after taking the train to the station back in Philly, my mom informed me that there was no longer a plan of getting me a car after college graduation ... sigh!

Wacky News

Geez, only about a month until opening day of trout fishing ... how 'bout that!

1. On a single mom who kept a diary recording the 191 times she had sex with a 12-year-old being jailed yesterday for nine years:
"Hmmmph ... I wonder why she's single?"
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/27/single-mum-had-sex-191-times-with-boy-12-115875-22072646/

2. On a father who was stopped from taking a photo of his son on a children's train ride after an over-zealous security guard accused him of being a paedophile:
"Thank goodness the guard didn't see the dad cging his son's diaper a few years earlier ..."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1254175/Father-stopped-taking-picture-son-4-childrens-train-ride-case-paedophile.html

3. On Fort Worth cops arresting more gays and Mexican-Americans ato be intot bars because they think they're more likely to be intoxicated in bars than other people.
"Really? In Texas?"
http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/texas-racist-laws-drinking-while-brown

4. On scientists doing studies on rats with the hope of understanding why popcorn smells so irresistably delectable in the movie theater, but less so at home:
"Fascinating! Maybe these scientists should do studies on why scientists do stupid studies."
http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/stories/smound-hybrid-sense-of-smell-and-sound-found-in-lab-mice

5. On Tennessee cops issuing tickets to cars with the new, brighter headlights:
"Really, in Tennessee?"
http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=50894

Dope or Nope

Rock stars Sting and Bono are two musicians who have gone beyond creating music and have taken up fights in the political arena. Both Bono and Sting have focused on countries in need of food, money, and direction. Even Springsteen has done some of this.

What are your thoughts on this? Is this a noble cause that these rockers are doing? Or should they stick to just music?

I'm torn on this. I enjoy when musicians get together, and raise money for a cause. We saw a lot of musicians band together after 9/11 ... we saw it again just recently with the awful situation in Haiti. I think this is great and musicians should feel obligated to give back.

But, what about trying to influence politics in general? Is this ok? I don't know - sometimes, I feel some of these musicians go too far, and many times are not educated fully enough on political topics to speak on them. Sting seems to this a lot ... and it makes me long for the days when he just did good music with the Police. Oh, and I'd be pissed if Bono spent too much time on stage talking down to us about politics (I mean, I didn't come to see him give political speeches).

Song of the Week

The Scorpions are a legendary German rock band ... OK, they're really only legendary in Germany. They had moderate success in the U.S., mainly with the song "Rock You Like a Hurricane." I have the Scorpions Greates Hits cd, and surprisingly enough, it's actually a double cd - I had no idea the Scorpions even did that many songs!

In the early 1990's a movie by the name of Freejack was released ... it wasn't very good (although I thought the premise was great). The main reason I saw the movie was because Mick Jagger was in it. The main track featured in the movie is a song by the Scorpions called "Hit Between the Eyes."

It is a straight-up hard rocker which starts off with a loud and fantastic guitar riff, intertwined with a drum sound that is similar to a car engine trying to start. It then kicks into high speed, with some hard-hitting lyrics by Klaus Meine - "Late at night when you're all alone .... Take a ride to the Danger Zone ..."

The song never had big success in the States, and I'm not sure why. To me, this song is the best song they've ever done ... again, just me saying that.