Outrageous! a-ha was robbed!

What!? VH1 Classic is a pretty sure bet for a child of the Eighties when he is up late with his child of 2006. Always a video on that start a trip down memory lane. Sometimes Memory Lane is a dead end, but that is another topic for another day.

Last night I was watching VH1 Classic and they had "20 Top Videos of the Eighties" or some such thing. A countdown of ...well...you get it. Anyhow, whoever assigned rank and value to these videos must have the artistic sensibility of Twinkie addled baboon. They put "Take On Me" by a-ha at number eight. How in the name of Cindi Lauper can they place that video any lower the number one? That video is the best video of the Eighties. I don't know what they said was number one. I went to bed when "Take On Me" was named eight. It does not matter. Sure. Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" was good. I could almost live with that. ZZ Tops' "Sharp Dressed Man" is almost worthy. But neither top "Take On Me"

I have a sick feeling that "Thriller" won. Don't tell me if you know. I am SO over it. That show was totally bogus.

music, tv

What I hate about American Idol...

Did I mention that I watch American Idol? Yes? Did I explain that I realize it is really below my usually pretentious standards? Good. I hate one aspect of American Idol. This is their insane practice of handing a microphone to the person the voting public just voted off the show and asking that individual to "Sing for us one more time." Why? It is usually a bad practice to tell your customer "Thank you for your feedback. Here is more of what you like least." It makes no sense to me.

I suppose they are hoping the newly-minted loser will break down, slobbering and sobbing. That would be good live TV, of course. But it never really seems to happen that way. Now that I think about it, Chris Sligh might be entertaining when they send him packing. I see him going down in a blaze of glory.


American Idol, marketing blunders

Daytona 500 as seen by a three year old

I can't say I am a huge NASCAR fan. But I was watching the Daytona 500 today with a three year old. After about the fifth yellow flag he says "They are not very good racers. They keep crashing." I found it impossible to argue with his logic.

NASCAR

The REAL reason Keith Foulke retired...

Tribe fans, I hope your optimism is not crushed for 2007 already. On the day that pitchers and catchers were to report, Keith Foulke announced he is retiring. He reportedly said that he was not happy with the way his body was responding to training. Have you ever been to Winter Haven, Florida? I think he took one look and said "How many weeks are you expecting me to live here?"

baseball, Indians, Keith Foulke

American Idol - Geez kid, It ain't the end.

I watch American Idol with the lovely Joyce K. I make no excuses. Not up to my usual highbrow standards, but there you have it. I am a complex man.

Watching tonight a thought struck me. I am never really going to be moved by the "drama" of Simon, Randy and that crazy chick walking in the room to tell the contestants their fate. If you have not seen the show, here is what happens. At the start of every season, they assemble a crowd out in Hollywood of performers. They have them audition individually and in groups. They then partition them into three hotel meeting rooms. Two groups advance. The third weep and wail at the horrible fate that they are freshly minted former contestants on this season's American Idol.

Watching tonight, I had a flashback of sorts. I have been through several rounds of lay-offs. (Part of the fun of formerly being employed in the manufacturing sector in Ohio.) One of these events was organized in almost the exact same manner as this American Idol elimination round. The employees were segregated into several groups, then led to different rooms in the plant. As you were walking to your assigned room, you are compelled to look at the man or woman to your left and right. You wonder. Let us all be honest. We all have put in a day's work that was not exemplary. So there are always a couple of people in each group that you can look at and say "Well, if it was MY decision....he would be gone. Wait...he is in MY group."

So it is like those kids on American Idol. Looking around the room. However, the stakes for the people in the lay-off situation are much higher. So forgive me if the weeping nineteen year old hoochie mommas do not give me a lump in my throat.

American Idol ,
work

Winter Fun!

Old Man Winter has hit our humble hometown. My boy's pre-school had a field trip today. We went to a local park and took a nordic skiing lesson. Only a matter of time until he is an Olympian!

Get the hot stove burning

The Indians are only a few weeks away from having the Pitchers and Catchers report. A new season a new outlook. I'm hoping the pitchers we signed in the off season will be able to work a little magic. The signing of Trot Nixon took me by surprise. At first thought - this dude is old why are we signing him? Then I realized he is the same age as me! oops! My second thought was - oh good Sin Soo Choo won't be our starting right fielder. We have a veteran who has a little pop in his bat. Not a young man who looks like he is playing little league with both ear flaps on his helmet.

I wonder if the equipment truck is leaving on Friday. Can anyone explain why the equipment truck leaves weeks before camp is to take place? Do they drive one state per day? Or is it a matter of having an extra week to get the equipment organized??

Sara Evans - State Theater

Thanks to the generosity of my brother and his wife, Joyce and Matthew K got to see Sara Evans when she played the State Theater in Cleveland last week. Oh My! The nicest seats a man could ask for. I now know the following about Ms. Evans:

1. She is better performer in concert than I had suspected.
2. Her band is very good.
3. She matches her toenail polish to her shoes.
4. Her perfume is delightful.
5. Freckles can be lovely.
   

I was really impressed by her stage presence. The show was well paced, with just the right amount of banter and introduction of the material. Her song selection on the albums carried through to excellent pacing in concert.

And did I mention she is a charmer? I would swear she was singing only to me during "Perfect". I know that is not the case. But that is the mark of an engaging performer. I would highly recommend you see her perform if she graces a stage near you.

Kudos to Radney Foster, who opened with an acoustic set of about a half hour. A member of Foster and Lloyd (I played their albums in my college radio days), he has also written hits for Sara Evans and Keith Urban. Some songwriters are shaky singers, not our Mr. Foster. Very strong voice, good guitar. I'd enjoy a longer show from him.

Technorati tags: Sara Evans, Radney Foster, music

Super Bowl XVI

Not to jump on the bandwagon or anything, but it is good to see Manning get to "the big game". Don't you laugh when you hear your local pizza joint or electronics store talk about "The Big Game"? They are afraid the jackbooted thugs from the NFL will shut them down if they actually say Super Bowl© ™? They may be right. I do not doubt the NFL's lawyers monitor 100 Watt AM radio stations, poised to slap a strongly worded letter together and post with next day delivery.

Where was I? Oh, right, Manning shook that monkey off his back. It may have been a gorilla, I heard that analogy also. Maybe it was a chimpanzee. I am old fashioned enough to enjoy the thought that two teams from the Midwest will meet for..um..you know...THAT game.

However, I am also practical enough to recognize the fact that the Colts moved from Baltimore rather underhandedly. Being a fan of the Browns, that makes me sensitive. The Bears are OK, but they remind me of the Cubs. Which is better than reminding me of the White Sox. Oops! The just reminded me of the White Sox.

I guess I'll just settle for enjoying the commercials until the Browns play in the Super Bowl© ™. Don't let me down, Madison Avenue!

Browns, football, tv, Super Bowl

Good Product - GREAT Name! HKVAC-2000

I had a conversation at work today about blogs and blogging. I admitted that I have this humble site, but did not name it. My colleagues asked me "What do you post about?" I wanted to avoid talking politics , so I jokingly said "About the cool vacuum hair clipper my wife uses. Stuff like that."

Then I realized that the clipper in question really is a neat little device. Remington makes it. The clipper has a vacuum integral to its design, so most of the clippings are somewhat contained. Here is the kicker, though. I never knew the name of the device until I decided I was really going to make a post about it. The thing is called the HKVAC-2000. Doesn't it sound like Binford Tools should make the thing? Also evokes MST3K.

So there. An official product endorsement. And just to be transparent, this is not some Pay Per Post deal. I have not received any compensation for this review. However, if the good folks at Remington discover how thick my hair is I could be to Remington what Jared is to Subway.

By the way, if any of my colleagues got all curious and snooped around enough to find this post, leave a comment. First one to do so gets lunch at the local Mexican joint.

New Year's Resolutions Anyone?

Has anyone made any resolutions for the new year? Would I like to lose weight - sure. I think I would like to cook some healthier foods. Be more patient with my children - which is really hard sometimes. Tell my husband how wonderful he is and how much I appreciate him alot more often.

The Halftime Show - BCS Championship

I really wish there was a channel to which one could turn to see the halftime show on the field of college football games. I would far prefer that to the blabbering boys in the booth. With the broadcast HDTV bandwidth, they could surely do so.

In any respect, I just caught a glimpse of the Ohio State marching band at halftime of the BCS Championship game. They were playing the theme from The Titanic. Most appropriate.

Never too soon to talk baseball

I just watched a good NFL playoff game. "Good" because it was a back and forth affair that came down to the last play of the game. But I am a Browns fan (I sometimes deny this), so pro football does not grab me by the lapels and hold my attention.

I want to talk baseball. Major League Baseball. Cleveland Indians baseball. I know that the Indians have all sorts of things to work on this Spring. Last season was disappointing. But the great thing about being and Indians fan is that you always hold hope for next year. (This optimism does not seep through to the Browns fan portion of my being.)

So, does the Tribe have a shot at something good this year? Will first base and right field be a mess? Will the bullpen solidify? What about Victor Martinez? CC? Can Hafner continue his growth?

When do pitchers and catchers report?

To my fellow blog squad members...

This is still a group blog. But when I upgraded to the new Blogger it is requires each of us to establish a Google account. I think in the long run, it will be worth it. But I did not realize it would kick you off the blog until you did so. I was going to send an email out to give you a heads up. But now I am just going to give a prize to the first "Stop Me When I Am Lying" teammate who notices this change. And is able to post. Given the lack of activity (myself included), I'm thinking that will happen around St. Patrick's Day.

Christmas on the radio

I hear it is a national trend that more radio stations are playing Christmas music, and they started earlier. My local market seems to follow this trend. With all those hours to fill, do you suppose the overall quality of the music suffers? Do the programmers think we will tire of Bing and Perry and Nat and Burl? Do they pump in Twisted Sister to add spice? (I actually heard Twisted Sister singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas on NPR today. No pledge for You!)

Personally, I can't make an informed decision about the merits of more Christmas music on the radio. I listen to CDs. And I usually don't have the luxury of choosing them. But I'm not complaining, because John and James have really good taste in music. Too soon to tell with Patrick, but Mommy is training him well.

John heard We Three Kings the other day and he said "Hey! Is that George Strait?" Gotta love that!

Welcome to the world, Patrick!

Patrick was born at 1:54 a.m. on December 7.
He is 20 inches long and 7 lbs 2 oz. 

Santa Drives A Truck

Rob Ervin & The High Strung Lifters are a "rockin'-country-poppy-folky outfit", Ohio- based and fun loving. You might sense this when you listen to "Santa Drives A Truck" a soon-to-be holiday classic. While you are visiting their website, check out "$30 Thursday" and "A Hound Dog Will Always Be True".

These guys perform witty, catchy original music. Tell your friends, commit the lyrics to heart and whistle these tunes in the shower. You will thank me later when your life improves immeasurably.

Browns Win! Browns Win! Browns Win!

The amazing thing about yesterday's Browns victory over the Chiefs is not that they beat a playoff bound team. It isn't even amazing that the backup quarterback played his heart out and literally went the extra yard. I think the most amazing thing is that there were actually Browns fans in the stands. If I had tickets, I would have had reservations about using them. Do you recall what happened the week before against the Bengals? Would YOU have wanted to see a repeat of that?

Anyway, the Brownies take on the Stillers Thursday night. Go Browns!!

If your pregnant, don't watch the Food Network

Last evening my husband was surfing the channels for something to watch with our children. He stopped at the Food Network. It is pretty safe for the kids to watch and the commercials aren't too scary either. The show that was on was Food Finds. They were going around to different specialty bakeries to give their holiday sales a boost and to drive any pregnant woman to craving something. The one that got me was Cheesecake on a Stick that is made in Traverse City, Michigan at The Underground Cheesecake Company. Please visit their website www.undergroundcheesecake.com. I guarantee your mouth will be watering in moments. The thought of eating a mint chocolate chip cheesecake covered in chocolate was all I needed to dream about last night. It was a good thing I had just bought some sugar free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream to get me throught the night!

I think their desserts are fairly priced but being cheesecake there is no ground shipping to be had and the shipping can be quite high. Before they mentioned that they had a website I was asking my husband - how far is Traverse City from Ohio???

Fans should sue for fraud!

The Cleveland Browns fans should sue the Lerner Family for fraud. The teams that have been put on the field have turned out to be an imposter! After yesterdays pitiful loss it is clear to me more than ever the Browns fans should be asking for a discount on next year and a refund for previous year's PSL's. This an NFL team in name only. The guys sometimes act as professionals but the quality is awful. The sad things is there are too many leaks to fix in one off season. If the Lerner's won't open up their wallets to the fans, then maybe they should open them up to quality players so we can have at least one winning season to give the old faithful something to cheer about.