You Drive Me Crazy

It has always been my opinion that drivers from Illinois are worse than those in Missouri. It appears that my assessment may be more accurate than I thought.
Story - State Driver's Scores

Movie Theater Etiquette

After going to the movie theater last weekend to see Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, the following thoughts occurred to me and I feel compelled to share them.

How to Be a Considerate Movie Watcher
If you think you may need to go to the bathroom at some point in the movie, sit as close to the aisle as possible. (If you have a history of not being able to hold it for two hours or more, then you should do everything possible to claim the aisle seat.)

If you plan on actually leaving the theatre for candy, popcorn or soda during the film, place yourself near an aisle.

If you have small children with you, sit on the aisle so you can get out quickly when they need to go to the bathroom and/or get loud or begin crying.

If you leave the movie for any reason, do not begin asking twenty questions upon your return. You left the theater, so you figure it out. By asking all of your questions you are causing other people to miss things. Just sit back down in your seat and shut up.

If you feel compelled to make a comment to someone next to you, whisper it in their ear. I doubt that you have anything to say that would benefit the rest of us moviegoers, and I for one don't care what you think about an outfit, setting or plot twist. Talk about such things after the film is over.

If you have a cell phone or pager with you, turn it off. If you leave it on and it rings, silence it quickly. If you feel compelled to answer it, silence the ring then leave the theater prior to talking into your phone. If you leave your phone on and answer a call and talk to someone on it, you deserve to have it crammed down your throat. If you actually make the call yourself and speak to someone on it, then you deserve to be castrated and banned from movie theaters for life. Your best bet is to simply turn off your phone at the beginning of the previews. After all, you are at the theater to get away from the business of life for a while, so why don't you detatch the phone from your ear for a while?

Oh, and in case that isn't clear enough for you, read this great piece written by a television writer/producer who did some work on "Seinfeld". It seems that this kind of obnoxious behavior in theaters is pandemic.

To Bo or Not to Bo?

I thought the original songs that Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood were made to sing were not very good at all. However, I think Carries final song was definitely the most radio playable song of the new ones. I don't think either song that Bo had to sing was anything like his style or anything that will do well on the radio.

Bo and Carrie are both good vocalists. Bo is a great performer. Between the two I think Bo will have more audience "pull" both on the air and in live performances. Carrie totally reminds me of Martina McBride and Reba in the way that she doesn't have a whole lot of stage performance, but she can stand there and sing her face off. They both will do well.

Carrie's version of "Independence Day" was alright, but I think the time she sang it before was a better overall performance. She seemed to struggle with the lower notes all night long. I'm sure some of it was nerves, but it is also reflective of her lack of range to the low register.

Bo's version of "Vehicle Baby" was a great performance. He used all sides of the stage, played to the crown and the camera as well.

I think that Bo should win. Will he? Who knows... It really doesn't matter at this point. Bo will get a great record deal either way and he will be around for quite a while. Carrie needs to win it more than Bo, because she hasn't proven herself to be a magnetic performer. If she wins it will help her out in a big way, as far as starting out a career in the music business.

Last thought -
When Simon told Carrie after her last song that he thought she had done "enough tonight" to win the competition, I think he was playing with the audience to pull in votes. They both did alright and most people already have their minds made up for who they want to win. What he was doing was merely trying to increase the total number of votes cast. Undoubtedly, that ploy will have worked in a big way. (I think tonight's results will be the largest amount of votes ever cast on American Idol.) Oh, and I also think that Simon might have been trying to emply some reverse strategy on the audience - if Bo's fans think that based on Simon's comments Carrie has a better chance of winning, they will cast more votes for Bo and possibly make Bo the winner. After all, let's face it, more people dislike Simon than love him and a lot of people might vote against what he says just to spite him.

I hope it's Bo, but I wouldn't be suprised or saddened to see carrie win.
Was it the best season ever on American Idol? I'm not so sure about that.
Was it the best top three ever? Definitely?
Best top two? As far as possible career artists, definitely.

24 - Next Season Possibilities

Another great season of 24 comes to a close.

A few possibilities for next season:
The Chinese angle is huge. There are a number of possible plotlines here. You have the still captive CTU Agent Bern that might need to be sprung and Jack would be the perfect candidate for that(I don't see this as a good option though.) Perhaps the conflict escalates and Jack Bauer is sent to eliminate some of the leaders in China. There are several options in this avenue.

President Logan, being the idiot and the arrogant smuck that he is, takes the country to the brink of disaster again through his inability to make the tough decisions. Jack is called on to help clean up the mess that is President Logan's doing. (Another unlikely scenario)

Here's my personal favorite twist - Jack becomes the terrorist.
Imagine it. Jack wreaking havoc for once, instead of trying to prevent it. He knows the procedures and the steps that would be taken to attempt to prevent whatever he was trying to accomplish. He has the ability to make the decisions to sacrifice one person or more for the success of the plan. Jack would be the silent stalker that haunts whomever his target is.

And here's one way I see it possibly coming to be:

President Logan makes some stupid decisions, allows himself to be pressured into some alliances that are more than questionable and begins to display irrationality when dealing with the issues of American people. Some crisis allows the President to proclaim martial law and he begins to abuse his executive power for personal gain.

Jack is "recruited" by Tony - who despite having left CTU with Michelle for another job is still very much connected to some of the people there and receives insider knowledge of the President's maniacal agenda. Tony finds Jack and convinces him that the President is no longer being held in check by the legislative process and is threatening the lives of millions of Americans. Because Jack has prior history with President Logan screwing up and interfering with his plans to catch Marwan (can anyone say "revenge"?), Jack agrees to kidnap the President or kill him.

Another possible option:

Jack finds himself being hunted by the Chinese, who have discovered that he is still alive. Jack cannot go to CTU because they believe him to be dead and he is no longer an agent with them. Realizing that Jack would have needed help to pull off his "death" the Chinese discover how Tony and Michelle helped him. In order to lure Jack out into the open, the Chinese hold Tony and Michelle hostage in some precarious situation. Through some slip in dialogue, the Chinese learn of Jack's relationship with Audrey Raines. They use this knowledge to further provoke Jack's anger. Because President Logan is a self-centered moron, he chooses to allow the Chinese to do what they want with Tony and Michelle without CTU interference (because he is angered that they would choose to willingly deceive him and wouldn't mind them dying) - all the while claiming that it is not a terrorist activity but just a kidnapping, removing CTU from aiding in any way.

Jack locates Tony and Michelle, but only after Michelle has been either killed or seriously injured. Tony finds out through his connections at CTU that President Logan wouldn't allow them to assist in the matter. He becomes infuriated and begins to speak of wanting to kill the President. Jack attempts to console him and calm him down, but doesn't really have much desire to not see Tony kill President Logan. The plot gets real interesting when the Chinese kill Audrey and Jack decides to team up with Tony to "remove the President from office". Meanwhile, back at CTU there is a big shake up going on. The President removes certain key people from their positions for reasons that are less than understandable or warranted. Tony and Jack begin to use Chloe and Edgar to help them. Edgar screws something up and compromises Jack and Tony's plans. Chloe is fired on the spot. Tony and Jack spend the day hunting down the President.

These are only two of the extreme possibilities if the next season derives its main character or plot from this season. It is possible though that next season will not have any real connection to this one. For some reason, I think that President Logan will play some role in the next season. President Palmer may make a short appearance as well (I think he will get killed - possibly by order of President Logan. After all, Palmer knows firsthand how incompetent Logan is. This would also promote the idea of Jack becoming the "terrorist" or assassin.)

I also expect several characters from the last couple of seasons to either meet their demise or somehow become extricated from the show. I would love to see Chloe go the way of the dodo bird. Her character is annoying and her smirks and pouty faces make me crazy (in exactly the same way Renee Zellweger does.) I think that somehow Edgar returns and either screws something up big-time and ends up dying for it or he proves his incometence ins ome manner and gets fired for it.

I also think that it might be the season to say goodbye to either Jack Bauer or Tony Almeida. Due to the way the show has run to this point, I tend to think that it's Jack's turn to not recover or escape. Perhaps there comes a moment of choosing between his own life and Tony's or Aubrey's and he chooses losing his. Perhaps he just gets shot in the back from an unknown assassin (Chinese?). I just don't think that Bauer makes it through the next day alive.

It's fun to speculate about possible plotlines. You could do it all day long until the next season starts and never touch upon a single angle of the show. That's what makes this a great show. It's unpredictable. It's totally shocking in the way it removes established characters at the flip of a switch. It is, in my opinion, one of the best shows on television right now and one of the most groundbreaking shows in a long time.

And now we wait for the next day's adventures...

A Bit Sassy

May I introduce you to an amazing woman?
I've never personally met her, but she grabs my attention daily and steals my time like a kid in a candy store.
She's funny, witty, insightful and just plain stinking cool.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the web (at least to the 4 of you who visit this page), it is my pleasure to introduce you to Ali Martell.


Visit her site. You'll learn a lot of stuff.
Like the fact that she's living in Canada.
Oh, and the fact that she is pregnant.


Here's to you Ali.
It's fun hearing what you have on your mind, and I'm glad you stop in here to visit from time to time.

(For those of you wondering why this post exists, other than that I think Ali is cool, it's the first thing that came to mind when I was asked about a prize.)

And here are the answers to the slogan quiz:
Choosey moms choose Jif (Jif Peanut Butter)
Life happens between Empty and Full (Conoco - Continental Oil Company)
Where's the Beef (Wendys)
Oh what a Feeling (Toyota)
You deserve a break Today (McDonalds)
You've got the right one baby Uh Huh (Diet Pepsi)
Good to the last Drop (Maxwell House)
Head for the Mountains (Busch Beer)
We bring good things to Life (GE - General Electric)
Diamonds are Forever (DeBeers Diamonds)
Best pizzas under one Roof (Pizza Hut)
The heartbeat of America (Chevrolet)
Thank you for your Support (Bartles and James - Wine coolers)

On The Radio

I just heard comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham on the radio hear in St. Louis (93.7 KSD "The Bull") and found this little quip to be quite amusing:

Barry Bonds is a huge man. In fact, he's so big that when he gives a urine sample, you can actually see the pills floating around in it.

I hope this is a sign of how my Friday will go. It's funny, sarcastic and at its core it is pretty much the truth.

How Sinful Are You?

Shamelessly lifted from John:

Your Deadly Sins

Gluttony: 60%

Lust: 40%

Sloth: 40%

Pride: 20%

Wrath: 20%

Envy: 0%

Greed: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 26%

You'll die choking on a cookie in bed.

How Sinful Are You?

Slogans

Things are a bit slow in my world today, so I thought I would put together a quick list of memorable slogans. See if you can finish the slogan. For bonus points, see if you can name the product/company.

Choosey moms choose ....
Life happens between .... and ....
Where's the ....
Oh what a ....
You deserve a break ....
You've got the right one baby ....
Good to the last ....
Head for the ....
We bring good things to ....
Diamonds are ....
Best pizzas under one ....
The heartbeat of ....
Thank you for your ....

Another Amazing Race Conclusion

For those of you who still haven't found your way to the best "reality" show on television, shame on you. The Amazing Race is the most entertaining adventure you will find on the tube. Last night was the conclusion of the latest Race, spanning two hours. The first hour ended with a non-elimination which I was anticipating. Uchenna and Joyce survived elimination but had all of their belongings and money taken from them. Puerto Rico is not such a beautiful place to start the final leg of the Race when it's 2 in the morning and you are trying to beg for money to go places.

Rob and Amber and Ron and Kelly pretty much kept stride for stride through the Race and this leg was little exception. That is until Ron and Kelly took a wrong turn and ended up missing the airport entirely. (BTW - How long did they stay on that road knowing they had made a wrong turn? It seems that the finger pointing and bickering kept them in the wrong direction for way too long.)

When Rob and Amber barely made it on that first flight to Miami I was not a happy camper. It was frustrating to see Uchenna and Joyce come back from so much and miss that plane by mere seconds. But oh the joy that flooded my soul when the pilot agreed for them to board as well! (The look on Rob and Amber's faces when they saw Uchenna and Joyce must have been totally fulfilling for the comeback kids.

Thankfully, Miami proved to be exactly what Uchenna and Joyce needed to pull it all together. I was practically screaming at the television when they were stuck outside the gates at the end. ("Tell the cabby you'll be right back with the rest of the money and finish the Race! The other ousted contestants will give you whatever you need to repay the cabby in a heartbeat!") It was during this time frame that Uchenna and Joyce displayed their character and proved to the world why they were deserving of the win. Having taken care of the cabby, Uchenna and Joyce made their way to the mat where Phil told them that they had just won the Amazing Race.

It was great to see Uchenna and Joyce beat Rob and Amber. It was great to see that the other previously eliminated contestants were hoping that Uchenna and Joyce would win. (It was a classic image to see and hear Patrick begging for the winners to be Uchenna and Joyce.) The way these two had run the Race with both respect to the other contestants and the people of other cultures was absolutely fantastic. It was evident that they had helped others along the way and only took care of their own business, without trying to hinder anyone else's.

In the end, Uchenna and Joyce stood bald-headed and crying on the mat, winners of the Amazing Race and $1,000,000 richer. They plan to try to have a baby and if they cannot get that to happen they plan on adopting one. (This decision was no doubt influenced by the leg that stopped in South Africa at the children's orphanage.)

Rob and Amber getting lost in Little Havana was a wonderful development.
Ron and Kelly coming in a distant third was satisfying.
Uchenna and Joyce winning the Amazing Race was everything that I have been rooting for for the past month and a half.

My Cryin' Heart

Kenny Chesney has broken the hearts of country music loving women.
He still sings the love songs.
He still sings the slow ballads.
He still flexes his muscles.

But now he does it while wearing a ring on his left ring finger.
Yep, Kenny just got hitched.

Congratulations are in order I suppose.
Except for the fact that I cannot stand his new wife.
Now I can call her MRS. Pouty Mouth.


I'll still enjoy some of Kenny's songs, but this throws a kink into some of the enjoyment of it. Hopefully, these two will remain happily married for a long time.

One More Convert

Buzz Bissinger, the author of the New York Times Bestseller "Three Nights in August", spent a year in the dugout with the Cardinals and Tony La Russa. While watching the Cardinals win and lose, laugh and groan and play at home in Busch Stadium, Bissinger became a trader to his "favorite team".

The author, a former New York Yankees booster, admits that he's now a Cardinals fan. "I have a terrific fondness for the Cardinals. I love their relationship with the region, with their fans," he said. "I grew up a Yankees fan, but La Russa won me over."

Welcome to Cardinal Nation Mr. Bissinger.

Drink Up

While eating my lunch today, the following came from out of nowhere to my memory:

Yep, that's right. New Coke.

Remember that? I do. I was young enough to still be at that place of liking almost everything that was sugared and carbonated. I would drink Coke, Pepsi, Vess, Shasta... You name a soda and I would drink it. I wasn't a dedicated consumer by any means. But my mother was. I can still remember her outrage when she first tried the "New Coke".

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and deprived of her original Coke.

Quickly, the Coca-Cola Company realized their error of epic proportions and returned the original fluid of life under the name Classic Coke. Life at home returned to normal and society began functioning again.

Whew!

Thinking back on that beverage, I recalled another shortly lived drink that has occurred more recently:

Ahh. Crystal Pepsi.

I remember when this hit the market. I tried it. At first it didn't taste too great to me or too terrible. It was kind of a neutral drink. However, through a series of circumstances that do not need explaining at this point, I began to drink Crystal Pepsi quite frequently. In fact, I began to like it. I might even dare to say I preferred it to the normal Pepsi.

Poof!

It was gone. No more Crystal Pepsi. So I reverted back to drinking my normal sodas.

It still amazes me how quickly some things can hit and be pulled from the market.
They were probably pulled for good reason, but it still astounds me that such an investment could be flushed down the toilet so quickly.

Will all the lime flavored drinks end up in the same water treatment plant?
Will the world decide it doesn't want vanilla in its carbonated beverage of choice?
Will we someday realize we can live without 4 million varieties of consumable fluid?

I hope not. I like having the chance to either love, hate or be indifferent to all the new, old and strange drinks. Cheers!

Top Ten Drawbacks to Working in a Cubicle

Received this from a friend in my e-mail today and thought I would post it here.

Top Ten Drawbacks to Working in a Cubicle - David Letterman
10. Being told to "think outside the box' when you're in a freakin' box all day long.

9. Not being able to check e-mail attachments without turning around to see who is behind you.

8. Cubicle walls do not offer much protection from any kind of gun fire.

7. That nagging feeling that if you press the right button, you'll get a piece of cheese.

6. Lack of roof rafters for the noose.

5. The walls are too close together for the hammock to work right.

4. 23 power cords - 1 outlet.

3. Prison cells are not only bigger, they also have beds.

2. The carpet has been there since 1976 and shows more signs of life than your co-workers.

AND THE NUMBER ONE DRAWBACK TO WORKING IN A CUBICLE IS.........

1. You can't walk out and slam the door when you quit.

TV Recap

American Idol - We finally say goodbye to Scott Savol. It only took 8 weeks... Anthony's turn is next...

The Amazing Race - Time finally caught up with Meredith and Gretchen. They made a good run of it, but it was their time to go. I don't know how much more of Gretchen's moaning I could handle. That's what happens when you decide to do the hard manual labor task instead of the mental challenge and your body is already weak, bruised and twice as old as anyone else. Take care you two.

US Backtracking on Darfur

The United States has played a leading role in attempts to deal with the crisis in Darfur by donating hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid, providing logistical and financial support to the AU mission, and pushing for various resolutions and sanctions in the UN Security Council. In September, the Bush administration even took the unprecedented step of labeling the situation "genocide."

But now it appears as if the Bush administration is intentionally lessening its pressure on Sudan.

On a recent visit to Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick backed away from the earlier genocide designation and offered an oddly low estimate of the death toll in Darfur. Shortly thereafter, the State Department released a fact sheet claiming that an estimated "63-146,000 'excess' deaths can be attributed to violence, disease, and malnutrition because of the conflict;" a figure that is less than half the commonly accepted estimate. Noted Sudan expert Eric Reeves wrote of the State Department's estimate "This is not epidemiology: this is propaganda" and claimed that it called into question "not only the motives of those who have compiled it, but the moral and intellectual integrity of those ... who would cite it."

And last week, Mark Leon Goldberg reported that the administration was working to kill the Darfur Accountability Act.

On the same day, the Los Angeles Times reported that Sudan had become an key source of intelligence information for the CIA and that Sudan's intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh, a man widely thought to be responsible for directing military attacks against civilians in Darfur, had been brought to Washington for a meeting with intelligence officials aboard a CIA jet.

The LA Times report revealed that Sudan had provided valuableinformation regarding al Qaeda's operations, captured and handed overIslamic extremists operating in Sudan, and even detained militantsmoving through Sudan on their way to join forces with Iraqiinsurgents.There is no doubt that Sudan feels it deserves to be rewarded for thisassistance and it remains to be seen what, if anything, the Bushadministration intends to offer in return.These new revelations raise complex questions about our priorities asa nation and serious questions about the future of Darfur. But whatmust not be ignored in this debate over realpolitik is that millionsof people are still in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Thus, weask you to join the Coalition for Darfur as we seek to raise money for organizations providing lifesaving assistance to the people of Darfur.

Sometimes I Blog

If I were to be a good blogger, I would tell you all about what is going on in my world right now.
Alas, I am too busy to write about it all.
I am not a good blogger.

Perhaps Thursday will help me be a better blogger... Perhaps...

Blogger Blues

Blogger has been really acting up on me lately.
I've made several posts the past two days, only to have Blogger refuse to post or save them.
After trying several times, I gave up and just considered it a sign or something.
I've also had trouble just getting into the Blogger login page.
Another thing I have done more than once and have since given up on is a little changing of the overall template. Perhaps I will try that again sometime soon.
In the meantime, it would be great if Blogger would cooperate for alittle while and just let me post.

American Idol

I am hoping to see Anthony Federov and Scott Savol perform so poorly tonight that America can finally understand how horrible these two are. If either one of them makes it into the top 5, then I think that the show loses a ton of credibility.