The Return of the King (of radio)...

I just spoke to Martin Bandyke and he said that he finally got a job. He's now DJing at 107.1 (an Ann Arbor station). Reception in Dearborn is questionable, but give it a try. He's spinning M-F 6:00AM-10-AM. It's a Clear Channel-owned station and it's not free format, but I guess they're pretty cool and play some decent stuff. Show Martin your support! He'll have a two hour free format show on Sundays soon. Welcome back to radio Martin!

FU WDET!!!

Cheers,
Jason

The Apple Dumpling Gang doesn't ride again...

Don Knotts, legendary comedic actor, has died at the age of 81. He was probably most known for his role as Deputy Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show, but was also Mr. Furley on Three's Company as well as a star in The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, and Pleasantville. He also had numerous cameo appearances on television including memorable bits on Scooby Doo. He brought us a lot of laughs. I mentioned his passing to a young co-worker yesterday and she replied "Who?". It's unfortunate that the younger generation may not grasp his fame or talent. I was lucky enough to be a child of the 70's and was able to witness him in his post-Griffith prime. Today's kids will be able to acquaint themselves with Mr. Knotts through numerous reruns of The Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company, but those of us that already had the joy of growing up with him are truly blessed. He will be sorely missed.

And in other news...

The Detroit Red Wings win gold at the Olympics!
...well, sort of. Sweden defeated Finland 3-2 in men's hockey today. Four Detroit Red Wings played for the Swedish national team and helped them reach first place. Detroit Red Wing Nicklas Lidstrom scored the winning goal. WTG guys! Now they can return to their other first place team.

It's sad to see the Olympics come to a close. I didn't get to watch as much of them as I would have wanted, but I was glad to have the chance to see the Olympic spirit in action. It's probably because I have to work until 8:00 or 9:00 PM every day that I missed most of the action. Although there was Olympic coverage on NBC, CBC, USA, and CNBC evening coverage seemed a little short to me. I don't think I saw any Olympics coverage on USA or CNBC. Of course I don't expect to see live coverage considering the time difference, but NBC's coverage seemed to be lackluster to me this time around. Thankfully I live across from Windsor, Ontario and have the luxury of CBC. It's cool to live north of Canada! (Detroit is north of Windsor) Thanks Canada! Now I have Vancouver to look forward to in another 4 years. Good luck to Jim who will be skiing in the 2006 Paralympic Games. See you when you get back from Torino...hopefully with a gold or two.

I think that Joey Cheek is my favorite Olympian this time out. His philanthropic spirit goes hand in hand with true Olympic spirit. Way to make us proud! And WTG on taking a little of the attention off of some of the ugly American egos. You can stop talking now Mr. Miller...

I just found out that I've been invited to a small outdoor Native American ritual-inspired lesbian wedding/commitment ceremony. I'm truly honored to be invited as it is such a small event. They're really awesome gals. It'll be a hoot and I know for sure that there will be lots of drinking going on. It's really, really sad that C's family will not be attending. She was given an ultimatum by her father that it was "R or her family". She obviously made the tough but correct choice by choosing R. I really don't know what to get them. They already have a nice home and couple of great dogs, but most importantly they've got a lot of supportive friends. They'd be perfectly happy to receive a case or two of beer, but I'll have to come up with something better. And I didn't think I'd have any weddings to go to this year. (Actually I should have another this June).

I hope that my friends are having a great time in Italy. They still have another week to go. I can't wait to hear about the Olympic events they witnessed. (They had tickets to 3 events). They are actually there to visit a mutual friend's parents who happen to live very close to Torino. Pretty cool.

Abe Vigoda Watch- He's still alive.

Random Quiz- There are five remaining communist countries. Name them (without looking it up). (Answer on Tuesday)

Random poll #1- What was your Olympic highlight? (Not the highlights in Ricky Martin's hair during the closing ceremonies either...)

Random poll #2- Are you going to watch the Oscars this year and will John Stewart be the most awesome host ever?

Random poll #3- Does anyone actually want to see the Kid Rock/Scott Stapp sex tape?

Random poll #4- Doesn't a person have to be a celebrity to be on a celebrity reality show? (ie. Nick Lechey's brother should not count as a celebrity even if he was in a shitty boy band that no one gives shit about)

Random poll #5- Mr. Roper or Mr. Furley?

Random poll #6- What's more soothing? A hot chocolate in the winter or a Slurpee in the summer?

Random poll #7- What's your ideal breakfast? Croissant and an espresso? (That's mine) Fresh fruit and yogurt? Capn' Crunch and a box of Pop Rocks? Cold pizza and beer? Oatmeal and juice? An omelette with all the fixin's? Toast and preserves? Pancakes? Leftovers?

Random poll #8- "How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?"

Random poll #9- You don't have to be Polish to polish off a paczki (poonch-key). Are you going to? (Hey Julie and Darrell! Did you know that this site existed?

Random poll #10- How many polls are too many?

Cheers,
Jason

Austin...not too shabby

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Struggle for the golden donut...

All the talk seems to be about Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya not winning the gold medal or how the new scoring system is flawed (falls should be penalized), but how about giving some credit to gold medal winner Shizuka Arakawa? She skated beautifully. Give credit where credit is due. Cohen and Slutskaya screwed up and Arakawa gave the performance of her lifetime. I was hoping that Slutskaya could pull it off, but it just wasn't in the cards...

Cheers,
Jason

I am 32% evil...

You Are 32% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

No use for a title...

Not a lot going on. Sasha Cohen got 1st place in the short program and I'm quite happy for her. She skated beautifully. Irina Slutskaya took a very close 2nd. She skated amazingly considering her "old age" (27) and illness. It's amazing how I always find the Russian skaters extremely cute. Slutskaya, Gordeeva, etc. It's fine when your in high school and maybe in your twenties, but it may be a little creepy now. I guess I shouldn't feel guilty about looking at a 27 year old. Anyhoo... it was some good skating. Two fantastic Japanese figure-skaters took 3rd and 4th. Slutskaya wore pants which I thought sort of unusual until I heard it announced that this was the first Olympics where female skaters were "allowed" to wear pants. Hmmm...

Davis and Hedrick took 2nd and 3rd to an Italian in the 1500m. "Root, root, root for the home team..."

Speaking of Cohens...
I was watching something on CBC tonight on "Suzanne", Leonard Cohen's muse for the song. It was very interesting. The real Suzanne is now living a Bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach, California. She broke her back a while back and has officially been homeless for the last 2 years or so. She's been living out of a truck with 5 stray cats. It's sad to see what's happened to her, but she seems to be making the best of her situation. She's actually pretty happy and at peace with the world, but she misses the dancing.

Here's a link to sign a petition to help save the Detroit Zoo (thanks to Kathleen). Do it now!!!
Awesome! When I signed the petition earlier I was about the 8000th person. I just checked and they're over 20,000 people. Keep it up...and tell the Detroit City Council where they can go!

It's scary time! Let's see how Roberts and Alito vote on this.

Although I'm a new addition to the 24 fold...I'm hooked! I'm addicted to this new season!

A Michigan teacher was recently arrested because she took an unruly student into the hallway, grabbed his throat and lifted him off the ground. Back when I was in elementary school that sort of behaviour was commonplace. It sounds bad now, but that's because times have changed. There's no more paddling in schools and not a lot of spanking at home. I mentioned this to a younger co-worker today and she thought that any sort contact with a student is abuse and she couldn't even fathom the idea that kids used to get the shit smacked out of them...and that's in public schools! Spare the rod, spoil the child.

In other over-reactive, over-protective news...
The game of "tag" has been banned from another elementary school because it is too "violent". It may also be troublsome with kids emotions or some other bullshit like that. We used to play a game called "Smear the Queer", but I'm sure the name's been cleaned up by now (rightfully so). They may as well now call it "Gang Assault and Tackle Some Poor Dis-Oriented Kid and Beat the Shit Out of Him". I never liked that game much...or dodgeball. Kickball, wallball, and "Battlestar Galactica" reenactments were more my style on the playground.

We should start a "Start Spanking" campaign. Kids these days need a whoopin'! A whoopin' I tell ya!

I'm REAAAAALLLLLYYY looking forward to my July vacation with friends. Work sucks!

Cheers,
Jason

A Jackson Pollock or shotgun spread post. You decide...

I had my first Saturday off (excluding vacation days, lay-off, or weddings) in 16 years. I didn't know what to do. I ended up being a lame-ass and staying home. I did go to Westborn to pick up some spinach and fresh shrimp. I figured that I may as well make myself a nice dinner at least. I made some garlicky shrimp and served it with risotto and sauteed spinach. Quite nice. The majority of the day was spent flipping through NBC and CBC as I watched Olympics and a few other distractions. I enjoyed all of this from my new couch (delivered on Friday). I must say that the new couch is quite nice as well. The former couch was my roommate's, but Huey (the landlord's dog) had done a little claw damage to one of the cushions so my roommate threw it out. WTF?!? My new couch is much nicer than the old one anyway...and quite comfy. Since I had the day off yesterday I had to mind the store today. That was about as exciting as watching a glacier melt.

Back to the Olympics...
The Swiss men's hockey team beat Canada yesterday! This comes after their defeat of the Czech Republic. The Swiss men haven't medaled in hockey since some bronzes in the 40's and haven't beaten Canada since the 20's or something. Go Switzerland!

Today NBC was showing a frickin' NASCAR race rather than Olympics coverage. Thanks lame-asses! And true thanks to you CBC!

It's funny that most of the hyped American hopefuls are falling by the wayside...nowhere near the podium. Kudo's though to Joey Cheek! He's already donated $35,000 or $40,000 (all of his winnings) to Right to Play and many companies have followed suit. Much of the support is going to Darfur. That's awesome Joey! The guy is a former inline skater who was not expected to win and now he's donated his winnings to charity. How selfless is that? He's just about the best example of an American we've got, but unfortunately he's not the norm. The other speed skating surprise (sort of) was Shani Miller winning gold. He's the first black person to win gold in an indiviual event from ANY country. He has an attitude, he's not a team player, he's not the friendliest person, but damn it that's cool too! WTG!!!

Former Wayne County Exectutive Ed McNamara died at the age of 79. Some of his record may be questionable, but I certainly liked him better than the current Oakland County Executive (L. Brooks Patterson).

I was watching the Food Network yesterday and they had a "Chocolate Fantasy Challenge". Five top pastry chefs from across the country competed. I actually know one of the guys. I don't know him very well, but I still know him. He used to date an aquaintance of mine. He's a nice guy and very talented. He took 3rd place, but he was up against some very serious competition. Good job Tarik! He also provided the bulk of the humor during the event.

Detroit, as you may know, is the Rodney Dangerfield of cities. No respect! Even though the Superbowl went smoothly everyone will soon forget. People didn't take the Pistons seriously when they faced off against the Lakers in the finals a couple of years ago and even after they won! No respect again last year in the finals. This year they have the best record in the NBA and four of the players were reserve players for the East All-Stars. The East won thanks to Detroit Pistons Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, and Rip Hamilton. Now how about a little bit of respect for Detroit? You can have Geoffrey Fieger...and Kwame.

In HORRIBLE DETROIT NEWS...
The Detroit Zoo may close!
Kwame and the city council have to be mindful of the budget and are considering pulling zoo funding. How about not paying off Kwame's friends and buying Navigators?!?!? Save the Detroit Zoo now!!! Apparently there is an emergency plan for the animals if something does indeed happen. They will all be sent to other zoos or humane facilities. But please don't let it come to that!!!

Tonight, again on Kathleen's recommendation, I finally saw Hotel Rwanda. Actually it's been on my very long Netflix queue for some time, but I bumped it to the top of the list after her recent positive review. The movie is very powerful, gut-wrenching, wince-inducing, and moving. Once again Don Cheadle shows his very talented chops! He was also great in Crash (also recommended by Kathleen...if you read her blog please be advised to follow her movie advice). It's hard to believe that just some time ago he played a country music-loving stereo salesman/porn star in Boogie Nights. Hotel Rwanda is a difficult film to watch, but it really opens your eyes to the genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus. It's all very scary as it's a true story. Have you ever seen The Killing Fields? Many years ago when I lived in Oregon I was a member of a small, but very friendly church. Our town and our church had a large refugee population of Cambodians and Vietnamese as well as Laotians, Thai, etc. Our pastor recommended to our congregation that we all see The Killing Fields so that we could have a clear idea of what our Cambodian friends, neighbors, and schoolmates went through. It was rated "R", but I convinced my dad to take me (I was fairly young and my parents didn't attend the church). I was old enough (or mature enough) to understand, but being young I didn't know the history prior to the film. The film, like Hotel Rwanda, just rips your heart out and stomps on it with combat boots. That movie aged me a little bit, and I certainly had a new found appreciation for what some of my friends had to struggle through. I've seen the movie a few times since and it still packs a whollop. Sometimes you have to be made uncomfortable if you seek the truth...

On a completely different tangent...
And back to the All-Star game...
Did you see that little guy dunk OVER Spud Webb in the Slam-Dunk competition?!? Amazing!

Michigan weather is INSANE! It was 58 degrees a few nights ago and it's been in the teens, singles, and sub-zeros (with wind chill) since. What the hell?!?!?

In interesting music news...
(to me anyway...and a few others that I know)
A Joy Division biopic is in the works. Anton Corbijn (a rock photog) is set to direct and an unknown named Sam Riley (beating out Cillian Murphy) will play Ian Curtis. Samantha Morton will also star. I really, really hope that it comes to Detroit! It may not get the biggest audience, but damn if it's going to be an excited one.

Apparently the Pogues...with Shane MacGowan...are going to play 9 US dates. I just find out and then I find out that every show is SOLD OUT...including a St. Patrick's Day show! Damn it! The Pogues reunite and they're not coming to Detroit. Like I said...Detroit gets no respect. Tom Waits has never played Detroit either. Supposedly Shane has even been remembering most of the lyrics recently too. Don't worry he's still a raging drunk with the liver of a 300 year-old alcoholic. I think that ALL of his teeth are missing now...seriously. Here's an older shot, a slightly later one, and a more recent one...




Shane MacGowan- Drunk, genius, and drunk

Random poll- Which band would you most like to see reunite (no dead people please)?

Cheers,
Jason

The Facts of Life factor...

I just finished watching Crash. Wow!!! What a great film! I won't give away any plot but it's essentially an in-your-face confrontation of stereotypes and their ugliness. The large ensemble cast really did a fine job...all around. And yes, I have to agree, that Sandra Bullock even did a great job. The concept very vaguely reminds me of Grand Canyon. It's a bit Altman-esque at his best (like Short Cuts). Paul Haggis did a great job with this film even if he was a writer on The Facts of Life. Thandie Newton is as gorgeous as ever! I've been amazed by her for years (starting with Flirting). It's powerful and surprising (like a sucker-punch). Brilliantly written and beautifully performed. The only other Best Film nominee that I've seen is Walk the Line (which is a great film), but Crash walks all over it (no pun intended?). I may try to see some or all of the other nominees before the Oscars, but so far Crash has my vote and I think it'll be hard to beat! It's nice to know that the actors worked for scale to make this movie possible...

Who'da thunk that George Clooney and Paul Haggis from the Facts of Life would've made it big?

I saw In My Country last night on Kathleen's recommendation. Great recommendation!

Work really sucks right now! A lot!!!

Apparently the guy that Cheney shot had a minor heart attack caused by the shooting. Cheney supposedly also did not have the proper hunting licensing. WTG #2!
So when is going hunting with Dubya?

I somehow managed to get this Saturday off of work (but have to work Sunday). I haven't had a Saturday off (other than vacation or taking a day off for a wedding) in 16 years or so. What should I do? What do people do on Saturdays? Maybe I'll go see some of the Oscar nominees (any joiners?). Maybe I should go downtown. Maybe I should stay home and read. Maybe I should stay home and watch movies... I really don't know what to do.

Hope that your Valentine's Day didn't suck as much as mine did!
Did anyone choo-choo-choose you?

Random poll #1- What should I do on my Saturday off?

Random poll #2- What's your favorite Winter Olympics event?

Random poll #3- What's your favorite condiment?

Cheers,
Jason

Confessions of an Olympic junkie...

I shoot Olympics between my toes...

I do love the Olympics! I only saw a bit of the opening ceremonies as I was working at the restaurant on Friday night. What I did see was without sound. I thought that it was pretty cool that Sophia Loren and Susan Sarandon were both flag carriers. The torch lighting ceremony was really spectacular this year and I thought that the acrobatic folks on tethers were pretty darn cool.

I've loved watching the Olympics since I was a kid. I may not be very athletic or even a big sports fan, but the Olympics are special. There's really nothing as uniting and pure in spirit. It's awe inspiring how an event that happens every four years can unite the world. The athletes are truly amazing. They train their entire lives for a few minutes of exertion and hopefully glory. Maybe it's the fact that I'm half Swiss that I'm really drawn to the Winter Olympics. I used to watch ABC's Wide World of Sports on Saturday with my mom and we'd watch the downhill Swiss downhill legends like Pirmin Zurbriggen and others. I really enjoy all of the winter events, but I would say that downhill and slalom skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, luge, and bobsled really stand out. A friend of mine is actually headed to Italy next week and she has tickets to a few events. That's really damn cool! I just love the Olympic spirit. The world would be a better place if only we always had the Olympic spirit. It's not enough to show it every four winters or summers.

I was flipping between NBC and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation- It's a bonus to live near the Canadian border!) last night and I saw that the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey team beat the Italians 16-0. Ouch! I've always preferred the CBC coverage to the American coverage. Much less biased and much more diverse coverage...

Michelle Kwan will not be receiving an medals in Torino as she has injured herself and her Olympic careers is ending. Thanks for bringing us smiles for so many years! You're really an inspiration! Even though she isn't getting a gold medal, she will always hold a place on the trophy shelf of our hearts.

Shaun White just pulled some really sick moves in the snowboard half-pipe event. That kid is an insane snowboarder AND skateboarder...

I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks of Olympic TV. I won't be sleeping much...

Did you hear the one about the Vice President shooting somebody? Actually it's true. Dickhead Cheney "accidentally" shot a fellow quail hunter in the face and chest with a shotgun yesterday in Texas. No kidding...


A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE in the new Rolling Stone. It's about Dubya's proposal to get a manned mission and permanent settlement on Mars within 50 years. The project would cost at least 500 billion dollars and would most likely fail. I support the space program, but this idea is a little ridiculous. Mind you it would challenge the great the minds of the planet and who knows what new technologies they'd be able to develop, but the probability of failure is staggering. Going ahead with this project will do away with Hubble and other valuable projects. Read the article...it's pretty frickin' ambitious if you ask me. Did someone take Dubya's crayons again? I'm starting to wonder if Dubya is really a monkey. He proudly pounds his chest and throws around a lot of shit...now he just a public display of masturbation.

I'm so glad the Superbowl is over...

Two weeks since I left New York and now they get a record-breaking 2 feet of snow. Sucks to be them...

I went to Glen's store on Friday and bought a buttload of used CDs as they recently bought a rather large collection. I also picked up the new She Wants Revenge, a Sigur Ros EP, the newly re-issued on DVD "The Road to God Knows Where" Nick Cave DVD, a Joy Division DVD, a Gil Scott-Heron CD, and a Sarah Vaughan CD. Another big score at the fabulous Switched On CDs.

Happy Valentine's day to those of you that have someone to share it with. Gravel for the rest of us. Anyone looking for a big, sometimes funny (arguably), honest, wine-expert Valentine that likes to cook? I'm a good catch. I may not be Curly, but I'm at least Shemp. Definitely better than Curly-Joe...

Oh well, that's all for now...

Cheers,
Jason

Simpsons Personality Test

You Are Barney

You could have been an intellectual leader... Instead, your whole life is an homage to beer You will be remembered for: your beautiful singing voice and your burps Your life philosophy: "There's nothing like beer to give you that inflated sense of self-esteem."

The Simpsons Personality Test

My candy heart says...

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Candy hearts taste like chalk and I hate Valentine's day, but I am huggable...

What winter sport am I?

You Are Curling

What you lack in athleticism, you make up for in concentration. And while curling isn't much more of a sport than bowling, you *can* win a gold medal for it!

What Winter Sport Are You?

Pittsburgh...the other Detroit?

Well...it's finally over. The Steelers won the Superbowl. I was hoping for Seattle, but I have no hard feelings. I like both teams. There were a lot of Pittsburgh fans in the store this week and I have to say that they were pretty great...they reminded me a lot of Detroiters. Both of our cities have a similar strong work ethic and stigma about them. Mind you, Detroit is oft reported as a much more violent city. We both live in the frigid blue-collar towns with warm, pride-filled people. Detroit right now (as the parties go on) has become a Pittsburgh satellite. The Pittsburgh fans in Detroit outnumbered Seahawk fans 10-1. It was a lot of fun. I'm glad it's over. Hopefully the next time the Superbowl comes to town there will be a more developed downtown. Detroit has a bright future ahead of it. I just hope that Kwame doesn't put out the light.

I'm SO glad that we got the Rolling Stones for the half-time show, rather than Ashlee Simpson or some other shite. Detroit deserved the Stones! Here's a link to past half-time acts. Did you know that Carol Channing was the half-time entertainment at Superbowl IV? Neither did I.

Neither Pittsburgh or Detroit make it to the spotlight much and we both have economic issues to deal with, but I'm proud of both of them. I really want to go to Pittsburgh some day to see the Andy Warhol Museum and get one of those sandwiches with the French fries in them.

The commercials this year??? Kind of disappointing. There were a few solid ones, but most were boring. Maybe they just didn't care this year. I guess I'd have to choose Budweiser and Disneyworld as winners.

Should I go downtown to try to catch a glimpse of Alyssa Milano and all the other A-listers??? Nope... I wanna go to whatever Condoleeza is at...isn't she at the Hustler party?

It was a smooth week, I didn't win any squares, and I'm proud of my city. Now let's get back to normal...

Cheers,
Jason

This here blog quiz says that I should quit my job...

Your Job Dissatisfaction Level is 90%

Your job is a disaster - it's surprising you've lasted this long. You need to quit if you can, even if you don't have another job lined up. As far as stressful work situations go, yours is off the scale brutal. Almost any job would be better than what you've got!

Should You Quit Your Job?

Hmmm...no surprises there.

Haphazard stream of consciousness, misfiring synapses, and other random sputum...

I'm posting this BEFORE the Superbowl...

I've got to say that I'm pretty proud of my city and its behavior this week. Good job Detroit! Good job. I won't mention the three shootings the other day...oops. Just another day in Detroit. Anyway, I am pretty proud of the job that the organizers have done, but mostly I'm proud of real Detroiters representing. We are nice people, damnit! Lots of stars in town, but I didn't see any in the store. Dearborn hotels and restaurants are rockin'! The store is doing a little better than an average week. Yesterday I had a pretty good sale. A guy from Mexico was in town for the game and I sold him a bottle of Petrus, 2 Lafites, a Mouton, and a Greenock Creek Apricot Block Shiraz. Even with the healthy discount I gave him the 5 bottles totalled more than $1600. He paid with an American Express Black Card. Black! I've only heard about them and I've never seen one before. They're very rare and offered to users by invitation only from American Express. To get one you essentially have to be a millionare/billionare. I guess there's no limit. You could buy a jet if you want to. Crazy! Hopefully more of the world will get a better of how Detroit really is...a great city! I've heard lots of people commenting on how great it was to see so many people downtown this week and what a great time it was. Detroit is not normally like New York or Chicago where you see lots of people walking around. We've escaped virtually unscathed so far. I hope it keeps up. The parties in town this weekend have been INSANE! Big money, big celebrities, big hype! A friend of mine is actually supposed to hang out with Dylan McDermott this weekend. (Her boyfriend knows him and he's in town for the game...and Maxim party.) It's just too bad that the Lions didn't make it to the big game.

Great news! Sheryl "Screeching Wombat" Crow and Lance Armstrong are splitsville. I'm sure that Kat will appreciate that!

Prince was on SNL last night. The second song was okay, but the first one was pretty darn good and he even reminded us of what a GREAT guitar player he actually is. No one has ever questioned his ability as songwriter. He even smiled, sayed "thank you", and even stuck around with the cast during the closing credits. What's happening to the recluse?

We finally got some Detroit-appropriate Superbowl weather. It snowed quite a bit yesterday, but it was wet and slushy. It's still pretty warm out though (30's).

I was flipping through channels last night and Gretchen Wilson (one of the many country singers that I don't really care for) was on Austin City Limits. She actually did a pretty good rendition of "Good Morning Heartache" I hate to admit that I was actually impressed...

Funniest thing ever!!!
After working at the restaurant on Friday I decided to stop at White Castle on the way home. (When you've got a hankerin' you've got a hankerin'...) I went through the drive through and the woman at the window handed me a flyer along with my food. I'll just quote it exactly as it says..
"Make Your Valentine's Day steamy
Take your Valentine to White Castle on Tuesday, February 14 and we'll treat you both like a King & Queen!
Enjoy hostess seating, candlelight dining, your own server & more!
Reservations Required.
Please call..."
Awesome!!! However, most people would probably get dumped for taking their date to White Castle for Valentine's Day. Still...that's just about the greatest thing that I've ever heard.

My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones on the Egyptian ferry. Apparently there had been a fire burning for about 3 hours, but the captain refused to turn around and return to port. Sad...very sad.

Horatio Sanz is STILL not funny, but he does a decent impression of Aaron Neville...

I just turned around to watch the "Star Spangled Banner" performed by Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin, and Dr. John and the camera panned to Condoleeza Rice. I thought I felt a dark shift in the force...

Speaking of "squares"...I hope I win my Superbowl squares. I only bought two squares, but there's always a possibility of winning. My numbers aren't great, but they're not the worst. There's always a chance...

I'm looking forward to the commercials...

Bad Superbowl party- Last night our company provided bartending and other services for a Superbowl party in Detroit. Apparently the promoter was clueless, there was NO FOOD, the people were rude, and a guy in a white suit crapped in his pants while many others were puking in the bathroom. Amateur hour...it was one of the cheapest parties in town ($50 and cash bar, rather than $3000 a ticket like some of the others).

Thanks for behaving Detroit! It's just too bad that Detroit had to hide the homeless. At least they did get a reprieve from the elements and some free food. Here's a list of homeless shelters if you'd like to contribute to any of them.

Go Seattle!

Cheers,
Jason

Which Muppet am I?

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

I'd be happy to be any Muppet. The Muppets rule! Which muppet are you?

And the nominees are..

The nominees for the 2005 Oscars have been announced. I'm going to BOLD the ones that I think will win and will italicize the ones that I think should win. (I haven't seen all of them, but I'll take a few stabs in the dark.)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH


What do YOU think?

Cheers,
Jason

The State of the Union is...pretty f'ed up actually. Thanks for asking.

Dubya, Dubya, Dubya...
Tsk, tsk, tsk...
What are we going to do with you?

I'm sorry, but the state of THIS union is not indeed strong. It's in the shitter actually.

First of all, Cindy Sheehan, was to have a seat in the front offered by California Congressperson Lynn Woolsey. She was arrested before the speech in fear that she may have tried to sneak a banner into the House gallery. Nice job guys!

Dubya kept pushing the idea of "Weapons of Mass Destruction", "Weapons of Mass Murder", and terrorists using the "weapon of fear" against us. Hmm...sounds eerily like the current administration to me...

He also said that the U.S. will never surrender to evil. Well...the U.S. has already surrendered to evil. We voted for him...again.

There was nary a mention of South Korea, Hurricane Katrina, FEMA, the space program, or the defense budget...

Of course there weren't any good answers on Social Security, health insurance, education, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, or anything else for that matter.

Did you ever catch the camera panning on Hillary Clinton? Priceless!!! The faces that she made were purely priceless!

LOVED IT when the Democrats all stood up and applauded after he criticized them for not passing his Social Security plan.

Did you see his face when the Republicans applauded for him? He had a smirk on his face like he farted on the Speaker or something.

He made mention of cutting dependency on foreign oil and pursuing alternative fuels/methods/energies (ie. hydrogen, nuclear, ethanol, hybrid vehicles), but he never hinted on cutting dependency on or even further pursuing domestic oil. There was no specific mention of Alaska or Texas or anything...

Permanent tax-breaks? No thanks. Halliburton is doing well enough.

So how exactly do they put a speech in pop-up book form on a teleprompter?

A very fond farewell to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Also a fond farewell to Alan Greenspan.

And finally a very sad farewell to the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

Cheers,
Jason

12 Movies that make this guy cry...

Just like it says in the title...

1) Once Were Warriors (My favorite movie of all time. Brutal, beautiful, and intense with an ending that tears your heart out and pours acid on it.)
2) Japanese Story (Amazing, amazing film. Toni Collette at her finest. Gorgeous cinematography and a surprise ending.)
3) Secrets and Lies (The ultimate Mike Leigh tearjerker)
4) Whale Rider (How can anyone not cry at the end of this beautiful film?)
5) Basquiat (Another favorite film based on the life of Jean Michelle Basquiat. Amazing soundtrack helps define the atmosphere.)
6) Kolya (Just a nice, touching Czech film.)
7) White (From the Blue, White, Red trilogy from Keislowski)
8) Ernest Goes to Camp (A cinematic masterpiece. A classic! Kidding...)
9) To Live (If this film doesn't make you cry you've had your tear ducts sealed at the plastic surgeon's office.)
10) Joy Luck Club (I actually haven't since this since it came out in the theater, but I remember crying)
11) Schindler's List (Need I say anything?)
12) The Killing Fields (An amazing film that dares to talk about the atrocities committed by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge)

Buy a jumbo box of Kleenex before watching.

Cheers,
Jason