Odds and Ends....
A 67 year old blind man and his legally blind 51 year old fiancee were wed at home plate in Yankee Stadium last Friday. They were introduced to each other several years ago by Yankees Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto..... apparently it was love at first sight.
Last week baseball hall of famer Kirby Puckett passed away at the age of 45 years old. Honestly, I could care less about baseball but Kirby's name always stuck out from the rest. He was a rare gentleman in professional sports and was someone you'd want your kids to look up too, not like most of these arrogant assholes you see playing these days. Kirby was a rarity because he played his entire career with the team that originally drafted him and stuck with them until they reached world series champion status in 1987 and again in 1991. I think this is more than a loss for baseball fans.... I think it's a loss for sports fans in general.
The reigning Miss Deaf Texas was killed yesterday when she was hit by a train...... man the punchlines are numerous for this one.
Dear Idiots, Shut up already. Why do professional singers and entertainers who get the luxury of singing the national anthem at sporting events feel the need to "spice it up" or "make it their own"? This is not American Idol or some kind of karaoke contest, just get out there and sing it normally like we've all been taught and the way we all know is familiar. Contrary to what the announcers might say you did not do the song justice, you didn't make the people proud, and you didn't add "soul" to the star spangled banner. What you did was make a mockery out of the nations anthem and an idiot out of yourself. The song is supposed to invoke pride, inspiration and unity not cause nausea and induce vomiting. The next time I see Boyz II Men sing their 17 minute a cappella version of the Star Spangled Banner I'm going to use my right to bear arms.
Why wait for news when you can create it? Some lame-ass came out with a study recently that noted only 1 in every 1000 people can name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, and yet 22 out of every 1000 people could name all five family members from the T.V. show "The Simpsons". This was a study that (I'm guessing) was supposed to create concern about today's society and their level of intelligence. Are you serious??? When was the last time the First Amendment was advertised daily on primetime T.V. and sold to syndication? When was the last time corporate America paid millions to tie their product lines, make action figures, and produce video games of our guaranteed five freedoms? The next study done should be to see how easily it is to receive government grants to find out obvious shit that anybody with half a brain would already know.
So Julie and I headed for the Connecticut Home Show last weekend. The main reason I wanted to go was to see my old boss and his countertops/cabinets company. He was a good guy to work for overall and he helped me out quite a bit when I decided to go back to school to become a machinist. I used to go to these home improvement shows back in Vancouver with a friend or two and be completely ignored, but now that I'm married the vendors flock to us like vultures. Everywhere we went people were trying to pull us into their booth to explain the latest gadget to heat/cool/re-design/re-finance/save energy/relax in your home. They are all smiles and handshakes until we tell them we have yet to buy a home..... then it's like we have leprosy or something. I thought of a great idea to make a fortune next year though, I'm going to stand in the parking lot and sell T-shirts that say, "We're Renters" to the people going inside.
Plan B? How about Plan A? So the poor people down at Wal-Mart are in the middle of yet another political controversy, should they or should they not carry an emergency contraception pill in their stores? The so-called "morning after" pill with the shelf name of "Plan B" is the focal point in a nation wide argument between many groups of bleeding hearts....err... I mean activists. I'm all for the pill and think it's a necessary tool in today's world and should be readily available to everybody. In fact, the hell with just implementing Plan B, why not start up a program called Plan A? The Wal-Mart in Waterbury, CT would be a prime example of where my new Plan A could be most useful. Local schools and parents with kids aged 11 to 18 should have to spend a mandatory two weeks working the front door of this store. Every damn time I go there all you see is rambunctious kids and single mothers fighting and screaming at each other. I was there last week and this one guy was yelling at the lady behind the customer service desk while frantically waving his receipt and two packages of Nutter Butter cookies in the air. This guy was PISSED off. His kids (I assume) were running around knocking things over and getting in people's way. The other mothers stand at the front of the store with two kids hanging off each hip and stare at you as if to say, "Oh no you didn't!". The place is just one great big 100,000 square foot poster for birth control. People wouldn't need a "Plan B" if they spent a week or two in that store, hell half the time when I leave there I'm wanting to get my OWN tubes tied.
Last week baseball hall of famer Kirby Puckett passed away at the age of 45 years old. Honestly, I could care less about baseball but Kirby's name always stuck out from the rest. He was a rare gentleman in professional sports and was someone you'd want your kids to look up too, not like most of these arrogant assholes you see playing these days. Kirby was a rarity because he played his entire career with the team that originally drafted him and stuck with them until they reached world series champion status in 1987 and again in 1991. I think this is more than a loss for baseball fans.... I think it's a loss for sports fans in general.
The reigning Miss Deaf Texas was killed yesterday when she was hit by a train...... man the punchlines are numerous for this one.
Dear Idiots, Shut up already. Why do professional singers and entertainers who get the luxury of singing the national anthem at sporting events feel the need to "spice it up" or "make it their own"? This is not American Idol or some kind of karaoke contest, just get out there and sing it normally like we've all been taught and the way we all know is familiar. Contrary to what the announcers might say you did not do the song justice, you didn't make the people proud, and you didn't add "soul" to the star spangled banner. What you did was make a mockery out of the nations anthem and an idiot out of yourself. The song is supposed to invoke pride, inspiration and unity not cause nausea and induce vomiting. The next time I see Boyz II Men sing their 17 minute a cappella version of the Star Spangled Banner I'm going to use my right to bear arms.
Why wait for news when you can create it? Some lame-ass came out with a study recently that noted only 1 in every 1000 people can name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, and yet 22 out of every 1000 people could name all five family members from the T.V. show "The Simpsons". This was a study that (I'm guessing) was supposed to create concern about today's society and their level of intelligence. Are you serious??? When was the last time the First Amendment was advertised daily on primetime T.V. and sold to syndication? When was the last time corporate America paid millions to tie their product lines, make action figures, and produce video games of our guaranteed five freedoms? The next study done should be to see how easily it is to receive government grants to find out obvious shit that anybody with half a brain would already know.
So Julie and I headed for the Connecticut Home Show last weekend. The main reason I wanted to go was to see my old boss and his countertops/cabinets company. He was a good guy to work for overall and he helped me out quite a bit when I decided to go back to school to become a machinist. I used to go to these home improvement shows back in Vancouver with a friend or two and be completely ignored, but now that I'm married the vendors flock to us like vultures. Everywhere we went people were trying to pull us into their booth to explain the latest gadget to heat/cool/re-design/re-finance/save energy/relax in your home. They are all smiles and handshakes until we tell them we have yet to buy a home..... then it's like we have leprosy or something. I thought of a great idea to make a fortune next year though, I'm going to stand in the parking lot and sell T-shirts that say, "We're Renters" to the people going inside.
Plan B? How about Plan A? So the poor people down at Wal-Mart are in the middle of yet another political controversy, should they or should they not carry an emergency contraception pill in their stores? The so-called "morning after" pill with the shelf name of "Plan B" is the focal point in a nation wide argument between many groups of bleeding hearts....err... I mean activists. I'm all for the pill and think it's a necessary tool in today's world and should be readily available to everybody. In fact, the hell with just implementing Plan B, why not start up a program called Plan A? The Wal-Mart in Waterbury, CT would be a prime example of where my new Plan A could be most useful. Local schools and parents with kids aged 11 to 18 should have to spend a mandatory two weeks working the front door of this store. Every damn time I go there all you see is rambunctious kids and single mothers fighting and screaming at each other. I was there last week and this one guy was yelling at the lady behind the customer service desk while frantically waving his receipt and two packages of Nutter Butter cookies in the air. This guy was PISSED off. His kids (I assume) were running around knocking things over and getting in people's way. The other mothers stand at the front of the store with two kids hanging off each hip and stare at you as if to say, "Oh no you didn't!". The place is just one great big 100,000 square foot poster for birth control. People wouldn't need a "Plan B" if they spent a week or two in that store, hell half the time when I leave there I'm wanting to get my OWN tubes tied.
