Vivos

“You can’t predict, but you can prepare.”

This is the motto of Vivos, a private company whose business is fear. For $50,000 per adult, $25,000 per child (&pets are free!) you may have your very own underground bunker, and be among the “Genesis Elite”. This is supposedly going to keep you safe from nuclear war, global axis “slips” and meteorites, etc.

I must say that this seems like the biggest scam ever…..though I will not be running for the hills and I don’t expect to survive any major devastation. I live close to the ocean (for tsunami or other ocean related disasters), near a nuclear sub base (for any world war scenarios), and on the largest fault line on the east coast of the USA. (just had quite a doozie up this way). I am just asking for it.

The number of questions this type of venture elicits are too numerous to mention here but let’s go with a few of obvious ones. Anybody read “Lord of the Flies” lately? What type of government will be imposed? Who will be running it? Will there be armaments (you know there will be)? Who gets to guard the bullets? What happens if the supplies run out earlier than expected?

There is a Vivos Selection committee that decides if you’re qualified as a resident. What are the criteria? “If you were on a desert island what three things would you bring with you, and can you repopulate the world in a hurry? I’d like to be a fly on the wall of that committee’s meeting room.

The gentleman who founded this little project has spent 30 years conceptualizing and planning for this Irwin Allenesque scenario. Evidently, some financiers thought this was a worthy project to undergo; it must have cost a little more to build underground and have a year’s resources for people’s survival.

I guess with the Mayan Calendar ending in 2012, and the world being quite unstable politically, it is an easier sell, but I think it might be better first, to see what we can do about salvaging this present world.

Ultimately nobody gets off this rock alive, so let’s be prepared for a happy eternity. Write me, if you need more specifics than that. One almost unbelievable story at a time.

United We Stood

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more." ”

Adams' prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29

In Honor of Independence Day, I decided to do what burned in my heart rather than what's "Hot" today. We observe the Fourth of July as the day we separated ourselves from the tyranny of a government that did not represent us, but rather exploited our resources and hard work.

This people took a stand and said no more! They refuse to be forced into allegiance to a country that offered them no legitimate form of participation in the governing of their lives.

Some of us (not me) are related to those people. Most of us who think of ourselves as Americans value what they did, and still believe in these fundamental truths. I wonder if we'll have to the opportunity to continue saying that out loud?

Value your rights; they may be God-given, but many would like to take them from you. Many live in this world without them.

First we ignore history, and then we are fated to repeat it. IF it's not too late, let's exercise our ounce of prevention today, by getting involved in the political process, before a pound of revolution is the only alternate to the coming socialist regime.

Folly Aboard!

Hold it a second; don’t bother trying to replay because you have seen the entire video. There is the one funny shot. But do you want hysterical?
Go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EWvnV0xrC4&feature=related
and read the comments. I laughed myself sick at the ridiculous comments; some serious, some vehemently defending this video, and some poking fun at the people making the comments.

Hey faithful readers I hope you don’t feel the levity in my last couple of blogs is too silly; sometimes you just gotta laugh at silly stuff! I have been accused of taking stuff too seriously, and this is me searching for balance...

How Many Accusations Can You Balance on the Head of a Pin?

BET Awards 2010: Justin Bieber Won’t Be at the Show
By WSJ Staff
Justin Bieber said he won’t be at tonight’s BET Awards, even though he’s a nominee.
It looks as if Justin Bieber, a nominee on tonight’s BET Awards, won’t be in attendance at the show.
He wrote on his Twitter page today that he’s currently in Milwaukee for a performance. “Missing everybody out in LA for the BET awards,” he tweeted. “Just wanted to say I…. this show was booked before the nominees came out, and i dont cancel shows…I would never cancel a show and let down the fans…Why did we not plan for the BET Awards?? Well b honest people, not many of u thought the white boy from Canada was gonna b nominated. but…just goes to show that Music is COLOR BLIND!!”
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/06/27/bet-awards-2010-justin-bieber-wont-be-at-the-show/

Can you hear the wolves’ teeth chomping together; this boy, yes at 16, he’s certainly a boy. This boy has been shot up to stardom and now the same ones who are canonizing Michael Jackson because he’s dead want to tear this boy into a million pieces. I am old enough now that I feel fatherly towards most kids, and seeing this boy whose persona, anyway, seems kind and decent, swimming in the shark tank really gets me angry.

Can you imagine being 16 and having the world all want t apiece of you for one reason or another? That would be way too much for any kid, but to have to dance on the pin of celebrity for the media, who have an agenda (crush, kill, destroy, and then wait for comeback to shoot him back up all over again)will not let him get away with it, no matter how slick Bieber’s manager and publicist are.

Imagine what they’d say about him if he canceled a night in Milwaukee to hang out with the Hollywood phonies. Justin, if you have a decent Mom or dad, or anyone who’d like you penniless, dude, hold on for dear life, cause the meat grinders are coming!!

BTW, IMHOToday, his rap on Saturday Night Live was better than on his released single.

Unbelievably Good Songs You're Probably Never Gonna Hear.

How do these things happen? Songs on the top of the charts that no one seems to love but everyone knows. Songs that two years later no one will admit to having liked. Yet a song like the one in this video, by a prominent musical artist just go almost unnoticed. I heard this song on a college radio station and immediately called the station (probably the 5th time in my life I'd ever done that) and couldn't get through. I called one of my musically gifted brothers, and he knew it Was from Bruce Springsteen's newest album.

I immediately got this and listened a few dozen times convinced that it would be a major hit, a signature song that every guy over 30 years old would certainly relate to and Love!

I heard it on the radio maybe 10 times and it disappeared.



This song could pull me out of the worst funk ever! It is fun and happy, and very cool. Jamiroquai is very popular all over the world, but not here in USA> How can that be? They won Best Video from MTV, awhile ago for "Virtual Insanity" which was a great song as well.


Is it just me or do the standards of popular music seem 100% arbitrary? Jules Shear is the greatest song writer you have never heard about. He writes lyrics that can make you laugh and rip your heart out.

You've never heard of him but I guarentee you've heard some of his songs. His voice is an "acquired taste", but his delivery has all the heart and soul of Enrico Caruso. Liste to his song and tell me that's NOT amazing! This song has been on youtube almost one year and only 7 people have rated it!!

Is the Painting Elephant Stealing American Jobs?

If you watched the first ten seconds of the video and then thought I’d gone crazy and shut it off, GO back. It is one of the best videos ever! It is an exhibition somewhere in Britain from elephantfamily.org, who promotes awareness of Asian elephants as an endangered species. The artwork is great and the video is done very well.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a friend. He is an artist and his work is on display @ Ideat Village in New Haven, CT, so we wandered through a bit of the festival. The highlight was hearing two musicians, both guitarists and a guy doing voodoo on a laptop with their sound equipment; it was beautiful. These guys were so talented.

They were playing outdoors but in a semi-enclosed space so the acoustics were great. As I listened to their wistful rage, it was bitter sweet to hear these young men play in earnest and with passion, to a crowd of, perhaps, twenty. I wondered if they’d ever have a larger audience; I guess what I really mean is that I wondered if an opportunity for their music and expression would ever be fully realized by them or any audience. If a musician plays his composition in the forest with no one else to hear it does it still have the same meaning for the artist? I think communicating your art is a big piece of the purpose.

Kurt Vonnegut made a point in one of his books that because of our technological society, we’re so connected that the village poet, the church choir singer, and the old wise men of the tribe no longer have a prominent, necessary place in our society. We have Jack Nicholson to play some great roles, so we don’t need the aspiring actor who lives down the road to do a thing, so he works at a hardware store and his dreams go the way old socks. How many Kurt Vonneguts does the world need when you can read Kurt Vonnegut for about $7 per paperback.

This leaves a disenfranchised group, creative with a need to dispel the talents that well up within…well thank God for blogging, you tube, and reality TV.

Orange You Glad I didn’t Video Banana?

The first 30 seconds of watching this video, all I could think of was that old saying about goldfish. You know, how the goldfish is the perfect pet, because long before you get tired of looking at em they die, and down the toilet they go.

This video couldn’t be longer than two minutes so I figured I’d waste that much time before flushing it away. You know what happened? I laughed, out loud; a couple of times. It is silly, yet kinda fun.



Will Hollywood be optioning this for next summer’s blockbuster (Well they did remake the A-Team…)? No. I will also not be buying Annoying Orange's transcripts, nor a tell-all book about the life and loves of Annoying Orange. What I will do is peek at this the next time I have two minutes to kill. That is if I have already had my third cup of coffee, answered all my emails and watched my Nate Pinky Videos (natepinky.com).

10 Cents a Dance

I know this isn’t “hot today”, it originally aired in 2006, and it’s not my first time viewing the video. But, you know, as I was surfing around, I caught this and started watching it again and I enjoyed it as much as the first time!
This guy is friggin awesome! His is a good dancer, but that’s not all. He has genuine personality and appeal and it comes through in the video. You’re happy and excited for the guy, rooting him on as you hear each song change. It’s a fun, wild ride and all you have to do is watch.

That brings me to my main point here. You know I genuinely feel bad for him. I hope he has a great attitude and is enjoying the celebrity it may have brought him. After all, almost 150 million views of this video have taken place. Imagine how many individual people have seen this? Have you considered that he may not have received a dime for a bit of it?

I must confess I don’t think I could live with that. Don’t get me wrong, I believe some selfless acts make us better human beings, just in the doing of them. But to entertain people with your dance, having fun and suddenly becoming an unpaid phenomenon; let’s just say I’d be doing the bitter jitter, unless I found a way to get a little something something!

Wa Po No Mo Opinion? You Better Not Believe It!

Breaking: WaPo's David Weigel Resigns After More Conservative-bashing Emails Disclosed

The new emails also demonstrated that yesterday's quasi-apology from Weigel was really not as sincere as he claimed. He said that he made some of his most offensive remarks at the end of a bad day. But these new emails show that there was really nothing unique about them, and that offensive remarks about conservatives really were nothing new or uncommon.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2010/06/25/breaking-wapos-david-weigel-resigns-after-more-conservative-bashing-


Okay, first, David who? Some poor schmuck spoke badly about some other poor schmuck. I got it.

He’s a journalist writing a blog, and he is supposed to be objective. That’s the first problem. I gotta warn you, objective points of view are usually pretty boring. Not much entertainment value in that. So if anybody was reading his blog, I guarantee you he wasn’t objective.

Next let’s talk about the schmucks who exposed him. I challenge any of them to open their private emails up. Give me twenty minutes with their passwords and I guarantee you they will be divorced, fired, and lose, like minimum, 1/3 of their friends.

People talk dirt about one another. Even about the people they genuinely like. I have known about 20 people out of thousands who don’t talk smack on the people they know. It’s a disheartening fact, that I think most people would agree with (if you don’t PLEASE tell me where you live and/or who you associate with and I am there0.

If David Weigel has been kissing butts and then assassinating those same butts, then all right, but I doubt that’s the case. I have said some rotten things about clients I really kinda liked, just cause they peeved me for a minute.

Could we stop holding people to standards we can’t live up to?

In a perfect world a reporter covering the conservative political beat would be neither liberal nor conservative in his views while on the job. But c’mon we all have opinions! Would he be a better journalist if he were a hardnosed conservative. I’d rather see the Washington Post hire a bunch of conservatives report on the liberal happenings of the day. I’ll bet the stories would be juicier, and the reported on, would be held to a higher standard; we all tend to cut slack to those we feel sentimentally attached to (when are you guys gonna stop thinking Obama could be the next JFK?)

Give the guy a break.

Dr Livingston, I presume?

I know this isn't kind, but it just cracked me up

http://www.2samachar.us/streep-judd-awarded-harvard-degrees/112126.html

If you check out this link you will discover that Dennis Hopper died; however, the picture displayed is of Dennis Farina. Clearly the editor is not a movie fan.

On the bright side, I thought Mr Farina's career was as dead as Mr Hopper, but in reality, he has some upcoming projects, according to IMDB.com

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001199/

In this fast paced world of internet news, you have to expect this kind of blunder, I guess, but it does give me pause about accepting what I receive here as absolute truth.

The internet is a powerful force, and I don't want any single group governing it, yet it is kind of a scary capitalist monster that can reign terror over anybody with a chip and a little electricity.

What we as partakers of all this blather must do to be responsible consumers is to check and recheck before we spread the manure around.

Thanks to snopes.com and others we do have some fact finder sites that can help us reduce the amount of 'falderal' that we ingest and spread as fact.

Michael Jackson; devil? Nope, but not a God either.

I don’t want to speak evil of anyone; it’s not my job, unless, wait, am I now considered part of the media, cause I blog? No? Oh, okay, well then, like I said it’s not my job to speak evil of someone because they are a celebrity.

But I do have a problem with what looks like the deification of Michael Jackson, just because he is dead. This was a man mocked, ridiculed and accused of heinous crimes. I don’t want to rake him over the coals again, but the derision crowd is all crazy for making Michael into a cash God now that's he's dead.

Being an advocate for kids, I despise the thought of them being hurt, and it could make me hate Mr. Jackson for the evil he’s been accused of. But I remember the boy I watched, and loved on The Flip Wilson Show, with the Jackson 5, and I wonder about the life that made a man act the way he did. I guess I end up thinking I might have been as bad or worse, given his circumstances.

Let’s not praise Caesar, let’s just bury him.

Love it or Leave it, But Tell the Truth!

A little while back a good friend sent me an email accusing the ACLU of having filed a suit to have all military cross-shaped headstones removed. I certainly wouldn’t put it past them, so I checked snopes.com, and discovered that this was a false claim.

I responded to my friend’s email with two words. “Not True” along with the snopes.com URL. My friend responded in part: “Don't give a rap if it's true or not…my nephew is… at war for a nation in a steep and steady decline. The CHANCES of this happening are greater now than ever before in our history.”

I agree with the sentiment of the response, but if we spread falsities, then we have sunk to the level we hope to expose. I am not trying to beat anyone up, but there’s a reason I went to the trouble of checking these things out.

On a few occasions I have sent forwards with the declaration that though I wasn't sure the forward was true, I did KNOW the principle was true, and so I sent it out.

Conditional ethics are a dangerous tightrope to walk. This is when being a liar for a good cause is Okay. THAT in my opinion is exactly what is wrong with the political Left. They think any deception or underhanded behavior is justified because of the purity of their mission. They think because they believe they represent the oppressed masses, that lying or cheating is okay. After all they are protecting the defenseless. Like the nuns in "The Sound of Music" who confessed to their Mother Superior that they had sinned by disabling the Nazi vehicle that was in pursuit of the Von Trapp Family.

The problem with relative ethics is that they change as much as you change. Who decides on far we should bend the rules before they are officially broken. This is why truth and integrity matter so much.

One of the very few positive things I can say about the Right (IMHO it's all the same stew of deception and subterfuge) is that they don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. They are a bit more above board. I know there are exceptions, of course, but by and large republicans confess when caught. The Democrats, when caught, will back peddle trying to change the rules so they don't look quite so bad!

Those of us trying to be a positive part of the solution to what ails our beloved country MUST act in integrity revealing a character I think our founding Fathers showed while constructing our government.

“-- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” Declaration of Independence

One Ringy-Dingy for Comcast; Wake Up

Comcast
We’re the Cable Company
We don’t care we don’t have to
We’re the Cable Company

The above is a slightly modified Motto from a routine by a genius comedienne, Lily Tomlin. She played Ernestine, the telephone operator for the company that was big brother of all Monopolies; AT&T Telephone company. Remember all the things Big Brother warned us if that monopoly were broken? How service and technology would go down the toilet; prices would be higher than ever and quality and dependability would be out the door?

In case you’re not old enough to know; it didn’t happen. There was a touch of floundering for a year or so, but the only ones who may have been let out to dry were the telephone employees who thought big brother would take proper care of them after they retired. In fact technology, service, dependability got better. The prices? The prices came down. WAY DOWN. It used to cost about $2.50 per minute to speak to someone in California from Hartford, CT. 30 years ago I was paying between $50 and $100 dollars a month to speak to friends all over the country (Internet was just a gleam in some geek’s eyes, kids, and I had to do it with a phone connected to the wall).

The bottom line is Comcast is back in Ma Bell’s shoes and they are pinching our feet. They also want NBC Network as bedroom slippers. Well since they're doing such a bang-up job.......I have had literally half a dozen technicians to repair my DVR service. The first one replaced my box. The second one replaced my remote. The third one replaced my box again; the fourth one noticed I didn’t have the proper cable wire. The fifth one realized that my box wasn’t properly programmed. The sixth one did nothing and acted like I was crazy for expecting him to do something, when all the tricks had already been tried.

Does this sound like a company who is worried about competition?

So after the breakup of the telephone monopoly, why was there better, cheaper service, with all this amazing technology? Because……. get ready for this: Capitalism Works! When you can make a buck at something and nobody is hampering you with the amount you’re allowed to earn, and the government doesn’t get to take most of what you get, the best and brightest of you will make life, healthier, happier, and more advanced for the rest of us! Take the United Sates for example, but you better hurry, cause socialism is on the horizon.

Family Circus On Global Parade

Really a sweet video of a large family that I wish I could call typical, but I suspect they were more typical about 30 years ago. I counted 5 kids and a very pretty Mom along with a sharp narrating, filming Dad. They seem like the kind of family I’d be happy to see my family’s children turn into. Well, except that Daddy clearly has no privacy boundaries that I can detect.

Still, they have happy healthy “normal” looking kids who seemed well loved, and that in itself was quite life affirming.

Will the little girl put in a time out, one day resent having her punishment aired before the world? I’ll put $20 down on 12 to 13 years old. Let’s start a pool! Hey she seemed to do well with process and Dad clearly adores this beautiful toddler.

It also tickled me that Dad thought he was “doing everything” to help his post-partum-ed out wife by going to a Chili’s to pick up dinner. Hey Dad, where were the other 4 kids? Out on a publicity shoot?

Think I’m being too hard on these folk? Well, they did open the door, I found em featured on youtube.com and I am pretty sure we go there to be entertained, grossed out, informed, and to play judge and jury on how other people are doing their doings. Still when all is said and done, if being filmed is the worst thing that happens to this family I am confident they will make out Okay.

Playground Pharmaceuticals

Important! Brainwashing By TV, Are Drug Ads Misleading?

Psychetruth | MySpace Video

In our consumer culture, it is gospel that we must be taught to consume as much as possible for the greatest common good; i.e. of course stuffing our pocketbooks with cash. While our children are raised by strangers or worse, other kids, we can fill our houses up with stuff we have no time to use.

The “Good News” is that Madison Avenue has found a way to make more money for those poor pharmaceutical companies; which is to make every single one of us neurotic, pill popping, needy, geeks.

Did you know depression can be good for you to go through, briefly? It’s true, like a snake shedding its skin, we are compelled to face issues, make changes and initiate fresh starts because of the pain of our temporary conditions. I have worked with adolescents for years and there are few that didn’t clearly exhibit genuine signs of depression. I also watched the majority of them come through it beautifully without benefit of drugs.

Have you listened to the depression pharmaceutical ads recently? They warn you to be careful if you have suicidal thoughts (especially adolescents). Trying to stop what might have been a temporary, painful symptom to endure, could end in suicide. Let me say that I know intimately some who are on antidepressants, or who really should be, and I fully support that.

Are you aware that taking prescriptions that remove important symptoms can create more serious problems down the line? You remove the pain that is your body’s warning system and you wind up taking five more prescriptions to get rid of the side effects of your meds while your original condition becomes more serious.

Women taking birth control pills so that they only menstruate 4 times a year? Tell me that one isn’t going to end in disaster! Let the body do what it is supposed to do. Stop trying to make your body like a new smart phone. You need healthy food, sleep, and as little interference as possible from the Madison Avenue Doctors.

"Hitler in Springtime" Goes on the Road

Libya's Col Gaddafi saves Italian village
A struggling Italian village with high unemployment and dismal prospects has had its prayers for help answered from an unexpected quarter – Libya's eccentric leader, Muammar Gaddafi….He stopped for a break in Antrodoco and was reportedly bowled over by the locals' hospitality and warmth. After posing for group photographs and hugging villagers, he was quoted by La Repubblica as telling them: "You have entered my heart and I won't forget you."
http://digg.com/d31UZye


It's Guys and Dolls all over again kids, the murdering fascist with a heart of Gold, "adopts" the little village that could.....overlook the fact that Muammar al-Gaddafi is a murdering fascist..

It tickles my evil grin muscles to think that people will embrace any kind of celebrity at all. It sure doesn’t hurt if the celeb has a few bucks to throw around. “Jack the Ripper-Live in person”; Jack could have had a hell of a career these days, though of course there is more competition too.

What I can’t quite figure is, don’t these villagers realize if they dance with the devil in the pale moonlight tonight, they might not like the tune he picks out for the dance tomorrow. But which one of the villagers is going to tell him that when the time comes?

When I was a waiter in Manhattan, I had a nice man give me a $50 tip for a cup of espresso and going across the street for him to buy his favorite cigar. He was certainly my new favorite customer. On his third visit the owner of the restaurant saw him there, and he told me as of tomorrow there would be no more cigar smoking allowed anywhere in his establishment.

He further explained that the gentleman was a mobster, and this particular mobster had “taken an interest in” and eventually “became partners” with other restaurateurs, whether they liked it or not. I realized $50 tips are great, but if you lay down with mobsters you might get up dead.

Come to think of it, before we ask ourselves too many questions about the whys, let’s remember, this is the same country that embraced that free thinker Benito Mussolini, a lovely fascist in his own right. Of course, in the USA, we’ve elected a couple of winners too.

Are you ECrazy?

eCreamery Ice Cream: Great last minute gift for Dad or just about anyone
June 20, 2010 07:50 AM EDT (Updated: June 20, 2010 07:53 AM EDT)
By Kate Petrie
eCreamery, developed in 2002 in Omaha, Nebraska, is taking the world by storm with their deliverable ice cream sensations. The concept is easy. Starting from scratch and using all-natural ingredients, eCreamery customizes your ice cream or gelato order exactly to your liking….But this deliciousness (and adorable packaging) does come with a pretty hefty price tag. A mere half gallon (shipped in four pint sized containers) wil run you $49.99 plus the cost of shipping (anywhere form $20 - $60, depending on how much you are purchasing and how fast you need it). A full gallon wil set you back $89.99, plus the cost of shipping.

http://momlogic.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978314727

Just yesterday, for my brother‘s birthday I stopped by Cold Stone Creamery, a place I usually avoid for about 10,000 reasons per tablespoon. I picked up a quart of hand mixed peanut butter and chocolate chunk perfection, or some such nonsense. It ran me $8 and change, but my brother is a sickeningly trim and fit sugar addict (though to be fair judicially he administers his fix).

The article above, IMHOToday, is similar to buying wigs for dogs that are not bald (see “How Many dollars Per Flea is That?”). People, can we get a sense of perspective here? Oh how Rome is falling!!

• $50 dollars will buy 10 pints of Ben & Jerry’s at a convenience store
• $50 dollars will buy over 25 lbs. of boneless, skinless, chicken breast @ Price Rite Grocery store
• $50 dollars will buy you a great dinner at Lena’s Restaurant in South Windsor!
• $50 dollars will buy you FC5 Invigorating Body Cleanser , FC5 Skin Conditioning Oil & FC5 Ultra-Hydrating Hand Crème from Arbonne
• $50 dollars will buy you a round trip from Hartford to New Haven, CT with $8 left over for a great slice of pizza and a drink.
• $50 dollars will buy you a guy’s haircut in Brooklyn, NY by a guy named Soulja Kenny
• $50 can set up a community health volunteer with equipment and a bicycle to travel to several villages giving prenatal care to women who cannot travel to get any medical attention.

The big point here is perspective people.

We can splurge but let’s keep it in the sane.



http://www.ginak.myarbonne.com

Tickle Me Emo

Celebrity! Boy this is funny; and sad, and funny, and strange, and funny. Notoriety-What are we willing to do to get a piece. If you're not prepared to answer this yet, don't worry, fame is coming to you. "Reality" is being recorded all around us. and if you're reading this I'm guessing you have tweeted and booked your face online. This is the new quasi-fame; it's the Chef Boyardee of stardom. People you don't even know will read stuff about YOU!!

Well, for those of us who love to artistically express, it's a great time to expose your talents (or strangeness in some cases). I do love the few people who write and call to tell me they enjoy my ridiculous posts. I do feel "expressed" at the end of the day.

For the rest of you, if you're not looking for publicity, keep an eye on your profile...... WE SEE YOU

Contrast n Compare

Look I know I just sent out the Toy Story 3 blog the other day, but Shrek just begs to be the anti-thesis of Toy Story's appeal.

I went on about the sentimental journey of our connection with Woody and the gang. Shrek is all about our adolescent views of fairy tales, fantasies, and who we really want to be, rather than who we suspect we are.

Many 14 year old boys suspect (and often celebrate) that they are creatures that should be living under bridges. Don't believe me? Go look at their bedrooms.

Many girls of 14, desire to be the princess at the Ball, but "know" the awful ogreish truth at their own core. They battle between wanting "pretty", but also owning their own strength that doesn't fit the formal fairy tale.

Shrek is a story of hope about being accepted for all our ugly bumps and idiosyncrasies. It speaks of a truth that cuts through the glass slippers and and birds designing ball gowns and it gets straight to the poison apple.

It's fun and a bit more real. Here's to Shrek; and IMHOToday, Donkey is funnier than a Ken Doll, any day.

Did Ken Cause Friction With Woody & Barbie?

Talk Like a Toy with Our Toy Story 3 Quotes!
Posted on June 14th, 2010 6:13 PM by Rupert Pupkin

Toy Story 3 will be in theaters this Friday, and we've already stockpiled some of the best quotes from the film for you to enjoy! Toy Story 3 sees Andy heading off to college and all of our familiar friends from his toy chest accidentally get sent off to a day care center, which turns out to be more of a nightmare, with new toy characters with ulterior motives and new toddlers with insatiable appetites for destruction.

We have quotes from all the toys! Check out a few below, and read all of our Toy Story 3 quotes in the gallery!

Woody: [in Bonnie's room] Look, I just need to get out of here...
Buttercup: [dramatically] There is no way out!
[Woody stares at him in horror]
Buttercup: Just kidding. Door's right over there.
[he points] | permalink

Ken: Okay, now you start.
Barbie: I...
Ken: love...
Barbie: you! Oh!
Barbie: [overlapping] Ooh! Okay okay okay...
Ken: I...
Barbie: love...
Ken: you! You see what I mean? It changes every time!
Barbie: [laughing] You are so smart!
http://www.reelmovienews.com/2010/06/talk-like-a-toy-with-our-toy-story-3-quotes/


With supreme sentimentality and state of the art technology, it’s easy to see why Toy Story has been such a successful franchise. Toy Story 3 is no exception and they have moved into a new venue and cast of characters that promises a 4th and 5th for Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang.

I had a stuffed Yogi Bear as a kid and it was one of my most cherished toys. I loved Yogi on TV and I loved sleeping with him at night. I named the first dog I exclusively owned (at 30 years old) Boo, because he had the same nose as Boo Boo Bear, Yogi’s sidekick. Back then the shelves weren’t overly stocked with your movie and TV favorites as much as they are now; it was more the junk they sold on the commercials in between.

I remember at two or three, playing with silly putty and Making Mr Potato Head into a unicorn or a Mrs Potato Head before they had marketed that. When I was five, my dad kept the refrigerator and TV boxes from our new acquisitions, attached them and made me a two room playhouse out in the back yard that was an amazing fort to set up army men until the rain came. I cherish the times of building multiple forts with my brothers, made of blankets, couch cushions and chairs, with slinky's used as barbed wire.

Toy Story seems to reach into my treasure vault of childhood and beautifully animate the secret joys and fears that I had growing up. Is Toy Story 3 the greatest of them? Probably not, but they possess something unique; the child-like loyalty of this grown-up.

Foo Get Abow Dit

'Sopranos' star Joseph Gannascoli arrested on DUI charges

BY Kristie Cavanagh
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Friday, June 18th 2010, 2:04 PM
Joseph Gannascoli, the actor best known for his role as Vito on 'The Sopranos,' was arrested early Friday morning on a DUI charge.....best known for his role as Vito on 'The Sopranos,' was arrested early Friday morning on a DUI charge. According to jail records, Tampa police arrested the 51-year-old actor early Friday morning.
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/06/18/2010-06-18_sopranos_star_joseph_gannascoli_arrested_on_dui_charges.html


Man there are days when I have yearned for notoriety. This isn't one of those days. How would you like your personal failures and weaknesses observed and reported by by the world at large? Constantly watched, judged, knocked down so we can read a nice come back story next year...

Are you kidding me? In the words of the Sopranos' "Foo Get Abow Dit"

Yeah the money could be nice, and doing something like acting is closer to 'playing' than digging ditches, unless you're acting in Cool Hand Luke. But who needs TMZ monsters going through your garbage and waiting outside your doctor's office so they can ask about your hemorrhoid cream. Hey maybe if you applied the cream to TMZ...
Well just so I can say I am one of the vicious gang.
The most shocking thing about the whole article?

This guy is only 51 years old?



?

How Much Is That Per Flea?

Gail Posner Leaves $3 Million Trust Fund To Pet Chihuahua, Conchita

Conchita, the pet chihuahua of Gail Posner, is officially the most spoiled dog in the world. Posner left a $3 million trust fund to Conchita, and two of her other pet dogs.

http://indyposted.com/28058/gail-posner-leaves-3-million-trust-fund-to-pet-chihuahua-conchita/

I love dogs truly, I have no kids of my own and I do lavish a good amount of affection on my 4 legged friend named Flo.

But tomorrow I am going to see and feed people who are homeless and hungry, and I wouldn't think of giving Flo equal or better treatment than the "lowest" of the lowly vagabonds. Why? Because with greater understanding and reasoning comes greater suffering. I know some PETA people will disagree, but I believe it. Some of the smartest people suffer a great deal more, and for the same reason, I think.

According to famvin.org 850 million will go to be hungry tonight. Some estimate that 100 million people are homeless in this world. That's a tough number to pin down since locating the transient isn't a simple matter. Those who are able-bodied will travel to warmer weather, or where they can find work as migrant farmers.

Ask any of us who work with them and you'll discover that there are many patterns, but few clear reasons why. There are many who are helpless in this world and for many unclear reasons.

If Ms. Posner had left every single dime she ever had to help these people it wouldn't be enough. That's not the issue. Pets can be nicer than the majority of the people I have met. Sorry, but it's true. Being kind or generous to a pet isn't the issue. Human suffering should not be ignored. People clearly have the ability to do better with just a little kindness and a helping hand. That IS the issue. Even a Libertarian-leaning guy like me can see that. To see this woman leave millions to a couple of dogs? Well, like I said, pets can be nicer than lots of people.

Pets are Good Company, Treat Them That Way

Pet Store Animals, Excluding the Fish, Being Removed From Mall

By David Morton | June 15, 2010, 11 a.m.
Employees with the McKamey Animal Shelter and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture are removing all the animals, excluding the fish, from a Chattanooga pet store Tuesday morning.
http://chattarati.com/metro/government-politics/2010/6/15/pet-stores-animals-excluding-fish-removed-mall/

Cruelty against humanity is atrocious, and should be our top priority, but, IMHOToday, there is something simply pathetic as well as wicked about cruelty to animals. Animals are pretty defenseless against their captors so it’s especially pathetic to see them mistreated. Cruelty in any form is something I fight hard against when I am witness to it. That includes moments I have seen it in myself.

IMHOToday, it shows that man is NOT innately good, but that he can sink down to desperate levels of depravity through the natural progression of habit. If The Pet Company is guilty of mistreating animals, I am sure they didn’t start out with that intent. It was most likely a natural progression of dealing with the difficulties of baby animals that began a more callous, careless treatment of their “stock”.

I think this is similar to the atrocities that have been found (and believe me, there are plenty more) in nursing homes. The people left here are often catatonic, and if they’re not, many are complaining and difficult. So the people who do this thankless job become less caring; they stop seeing the poor people as people. Some become truly abusive or passively so, allowing patients to languish in their own filth, and not receive timely care and attention.

It’s the same reason we need the type of government with checks and balances; an imbalance of power is a dangerous thing. Man is not innately bad, but with too much power I guarantee he’ll turn out that way.

Go To You Corners & Come Out Disgraceful

It seems unthinkable that this elected official would show such poor judgment, particularly when there is a video camera pointed at him.





Perhaps serving as a 7th term congressman gives you a sense of entitlement. Perhaps it was fear of what type of scandal these young men might be trumping up. Perhaps it is just as he has claimed, that he'd had a very "long day."

All I know is that there is no excuse because it sure looks like assault to me. Why wasn't this guy arrested? Because he is entitled to different, better treatment? Because he is a public servant? Probably, but is that Okay with you? How about you North Carolina? Is it Okay with you Mr. President?

Pretty quiet, isn't it?

For Love Of Boriqua

Jun 13, 2010 10:45 am US/Eastern
Millions Expected At Puerto Rican Day Parade
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Over 2 million were expected to turn out for the 2010 Puerto Rican Day Parade in the Big Apple.
Fifth Avenue will once again be a sea of… more than 2 million people… to celebrate their Puerto Rican heritage.
"It's just an incredible experience. It's a sense of pride, unity, a sense of cultural contributions, it is…an incredible message for the younger generation that is watching this, that is participating," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/marc.anthony.new.2.1748585.html

There is little on the face of the earth as hot as Latin culture in general, and Puerto Rican culture, in particuliar. Being hot, of course can be great and not so hot. But for passion in art, love, and living, it is terrific! The Latin culture as a whole speaks to me from Picasso to the South American beauties; they have, IMHO Today, the most extraordinary looking women in the world. I lived in Spanish Harlem for more than ten years. I am presently living in Hartford, whose residency is probably 75% Hispanic. My neighborhood is primarily Puerto Rican and Brazilian and I must say that I love the Latin flavor. The Churrascaria Brazil Grill is an amazing restaurant right around the corner from my home. The aroma will arrest you a block away; with every meat you can imagine slow roasting on spits over an open flame right before your eyes. The spices create an indescribably delicious meal, and though the ambiance is very plain, (There is a jumbo screen showing soccer games) the prices are unbeatable. It’s truly a delicious choice and only one of many in my little Latin Paradise.

Though I love and respect the melting pot principles that have made The United States great, I do love the little chunks of undiluted culture I have experienced in our great community!
Viva la difference
http://www.brazilgrillhartford.com/

Every Rose Bush Has Its Thorns

I love what this young lady has to say, and I admire her. Rather than focus on her privileged position she desires to serve the poor and sick. I support what she is doing and I think we as a society should help every person get food, shelter, and medical attention. But is it a right? I don't believe so, not according to our Constitution. It is our right to pursue all these things, but not our right to be given them.

I literally would not be alive today if I'd had my serious car accident in many other countries. My care cost a quarter of a million dollars 7 weeks after it had begun, and I spent another 6 months in Hospital for Special Care, that, at that time ran about $2,000 a day. I was the recipient of Title 19 money, from the state because i was financially wiped out. I mention this to point out that I don't make the statements above lightly.

But when it becomes the governments' responsibility to take care of us, it becomes the governments' right to dictate to us the ways we live our lives. The Germans In the 1920's clamored for relief from serious economic woes, and they got it along with government that dictated to them how they would live. It was run by a dictator, with a funny little mustache.

I admire Barbara Bush, and I make it my business to help many people, including creating a soup kitchen that I donate time and food to regularly. But, then, I don't have the right to dictate to the recipients, so I guess we're all safe.

You're A Grand Ole Flag

Flag Day 2010
June 14, 2010 09:35 AM EDT

Today, June 14, is Flag Day 2010. It is a day for Americans to show respect to the flag, as well as to its designers and makers…Everyone should review the proper ways to display the American Flag. Here are the basics of displaying the American Flag, courtesy of Holiday Insights.

* The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset.
* In the morning, raise the flag briskly. At sunset, lower it slowly. Always, raise and lower it ceremoniously.
* The flag should not be flown at night without a light on it.
* The flag should not be flown in the rain or inclement weather.
* After a tragedy or death, the flag is flown at half staff for 30 days. It's called "half staff" on land ,and "half mast" on a ship.
* When flown vertically on a pole, the stars and blue field , or "union", is at the top and at the end of the pole (away from your house).
* The American flag is always flown at the top of the pole. Your state flag and other flags fly below it.
* The union is always on top. When displayed in print, the stars and blue field are always on the left.
* Never let your flag touch the ground, never...period.
* Fold your flag when storing. Don't just stuff it in a drawer or box.
* When your flag is old and has seen better days, it is time to retire it. Old flags should be burned or buried. Please do not throw it in the trash.

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978300729

What's left to say? If we'll revere any earthly symbol, I can't think of a better one.

It's Like they read my blog!

I just saw this video and it makes my point in the previous blog in a very funny, bawdy way!

WARNING: There is some very rough language in this video

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c8ad4aa802/wax-on-f-ck-off-with-ralph-macchio

Is AT&T a worm in the Apple?

Apple announces new iPhone 4: the Steve Jobs keynote
June 7, 2010 | 10:17 am


“Steve Jobs took the stage at Apple Inc.'s Worldwide Developers Conference to announce new features and products from the company.
Jobs runs into a major problem when a display of the new phone's resolution fails because of a poor Internet connection. He's unable to load the New York Times' Web page -- an odd, unscripted blooper that's rare for Apple.

"Boy, I'm sorry guys, I don't know what's going on," Jobs said.

"Scott, you got any suggestions?" he says, seeking help from Scott Forstall, Apple's vice president of iPhone software.

"Verizon!" someone yells. The audience laughs.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/06/apple-announces-new-products-the-steve-jobs-keynote.html

Love that AND the punch line. When will Apple pay off its blood debt to AT&T and get on with another carrier? Heck, what do I know? This article quotes Jobs as saying they paid a billion dollars to App creators. So they are not on the way to the poor house. But for those of us scarred by AT&T, who have crossed swords with the Giant Corporation with the tiny, little heart, we don’t want to be deprived of our favorite fruit!

Well, in the mean time, my Google friendly droid will have to play fibrous, sustentative, and automaton.

It Ain't Necessarily So

Melissa Huckaby Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping, Murder Of Sandra Cantu
By Matthew Keys

“The body of the 8-year-old was recovered from a sealed suitcase found in an irrigation canal April 7th.
The following day, Huckaby told FOX40 News and local newspaper The Tracy Press her suitcase was reported stolen from the driveway of her mobile home the day Cantu went missing…Cantu, told reporters her suitcase was filled with Sunday school supplies.
Huckaby's interview with various media outlets, including FOX40 News, led authorities to suspect the Sunday school teacher in connection with the disappearance and murder of Cantu. Huckaby was arrested April 8th.”

http://www.fox43.com/news/nationworld/ktxl-news-huckabypleadsguilty,0,710013.story

Nothing hurts more than to hear of the death of an innocent; particularly, a child. Almost every report I read leads with something like ‘Sunday School Teacher murders a child’. It’s sensational, and certainly grabs your attention.

Why, you ask? How can someone involved in the church do such a thing? Well I have a common sense answer and a slightly theological answer as well.

To begin with plain old common sense, disturbed people often seek out the church as one of the few places willing to accept them as they are. Many people who don’t fit in at the local social gatherings find acceptance and an open door policy with God’s family. This often leads to some less than desirable behavior in and around church gatherings. For those of us in the church government business, I think the only reason this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often, is the diligent effort of church leaders keeping the troubled folk out of service positions where they may be tempted to behave inappropriately.

The more theological point of view, IMHO today, is that to discredit the church is the enemy’s delight, and he will certainly spend more time trying to twist the church-goers, over the night club attendees. The closer a person gets to God the harder he is tempted. For those who are unbalanced, it’s easy pickings.

No matter the reason it is tragic that this poor child had to suffer; life in prison without hope of parole is birthday cake, in comparison to the life of the family whose baby is gone.

Be Gentle, It's My First Time

BOSTON..Daniel Nava…swatted the very first pitch he saw from Phillies right-hander Joe Blanton and put it into the Boston bullpen in right-center field for a grand slam…."I was really small. I didn't grow until sophomore year of college. I really was 70 pounds. I couldn't go on the rides at the theme parks, I was so small."(as a freshman in high school)…With his grand slam off Joe Blanton in the second frame Saturday, Red Sox OF Daniel Nava became the fourth player in MLB history to hit one in his first career at-bat…."Nava is kind of a good story," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He's an independent league kid out of college -- he's hit everywhere he's been. There have been a lot of people in player development that have been talking about this kid for the last little while, saying, he can help you win games. So he's going to get a chance."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100612&content_id=11104724&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

There are so few “make good” stories, nowadays, it’s refreshing to find one; especially in baseball. God, I hope they don’t find he was on steroids next year. We need to know that some people playing by the rules can truly be winners. There are so many “All About Eve” winners all over the place that you begin to wonder if the rules really have changed in the last fifty years. Can good guys really finish first in this present world?

If not then by all means I will happily be signed up as a loser. I have lived long enough to genuinely believe that virtue really is its own reward. I have paid really close attention and it seems that most of them, who win playing by “their own rules”, don’t live well in the consequences of their own rules.

Now I believe that I am among the few who are closely paying attention, and see the difference between “any win” and a “clean win.” Honestly I care more that the truth of that not change than seeing much of anything else, before I turn to dust. If this is a world where people who cheat and hurt others to “win” can truly prosper and enjoy the fruit of their labors, I hope I am dust-buster food before I recognize it.

Workplace Ethics: Winning the Integrity Revolution