wii

I was fortunate enough to purchase a Wii and the extra remote and nunchuk controller along with Call of Duty 3.
The sports game that is included with the Wii console is beyond any other video game experience and should be played by any and all gamers.
What a long wait for the new console, but with the new intuitive controller and sensor bar this one was definitely worth the wait and the $249 price.

Rung out Rummy

Rummy's handed his hat. After all the criticisms and all the speculation, the administration uses the old "scapegoat" tactic to distance itself from policy that was never popular but was approved by all in the current administration.
I wonder if the Dems will make any real progress on domestic and foreign policy come January when they take their seats?
So it goes.

Vote

So, then, to every man his chance -- to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining golden opportunity -- to every man his right to live, to work, to be himself, to become whatever his manhood and his vision can combine to make him -- this, seeker, is the promise of America.
- Thomas Wolfe

Linerider

If you haven't heard or read about this site Line Rider, just click on the link. Hours of good, clean fun for everyone.
When was the last time anything could claim that?

Sicknation

I guess we live in a nation of sick people.
With the amount of new school shootings and now the Amish school attack. I always wonder why the shooter or shooters just don't shoot themselves in the privacy of their own home before they go on a rampage? That is their final intent, to put a bullet through their own skull, so just prioritize the day in reverse order.
So it goes.

Reputation, whatever

Well it seems like the moral high ground is not so high after all.
To coerce or not to coerce that is the question.
Can anyone be labeled an "enemy combatant" and sent to Guantanamo indefinitely?
So it goes.

Holy Moses

Okay, so the Pope said something offensive, then he apologized.
Was it correct for the folks offended to react violently?
How many times should he apologize for his statement?
Maybe the offended persons should write an apology for him to read back to them so as to be clear about how his apology should be worded.
So it goes.

stay the course

Wow, with Tony Blair's statement of resignation I wonder if the Administration will continue with it's "stay the course" thinking?
Will the new PM continue in the same path that Blair has found unpopular?
I'm sure time will tell.

Shays shuffle

It never amazes me what the suits in Washington will do to get re-elected.
Case in point Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) long time backer of the War and now conveniently calling for a timetable for withdrawal.
Is it acceptable to call him a waffler now, or a flip-flopper or whatever the opposition would like to label him?
It is too bad as noted in the article that his change of thought required 14 trips and 3 years to notice that the Iraq situation has not made the progress the administration was so optimistically hoping for.
So it goes.

Pluto out

Pluto not considered a planet any longer. Say it's not so.
What is amazing to me is there was an international group of astronomers debating this incredible problem.
I guess the other huge crises on this planet were secondary to Pluto and it's classification.

Earn your keep

Well it's about time these ball clubs and players earn their salaries. Fighting in baseball is just what the game needs.
That's why I enjoy Hockey.
Go Dallas Stars.

Beyond Petroleum

Isn't it ironic an oil corporation can market itself as "beyond petroleum"?
It's almost a quaint way of selling itself. Well for most of us consumers we already know BP is or was British Petroleum and their marketing and advertising geniuses thought up the catchy new way to define itself.

With the Alaskan pipeline being shutdown until who knows when, I wonder how soon America will begin looking more like Communist China where so many working class citizens are forced to drive smaller cars or worse having to ride a bicycle to work.

Exxonian Profit

How nice it must be to own shares of ExxonMobil or better yet to be one of the executives that are sowing and reaping profits out of middle America's pockets.
So it goes.

Plain Spoken

There is something good about being straight forward and plain spoken.

Listening to the media's recording of The President and Tony Blair, I have to say it is refreshing to hear The President and/or any politician being so honest about anything.

The unholy land

Wow, I can't believe it. The holy land at war. How frikkin ironic.
I wonder what Jesus would say if he were alive today? What would Gandhi say? What would Buddha say? Okay, and what would Mohammed say?

Try living in peace you sons of bitches.

Maybe we should just start calling that historical part of the world the "Unholy Land", it has a potential ring to it.
So it goes.

Snow job

"It's not really a reversal of policy."

Thank you, Mr. Snow for clarifying this complex policy addendum. I wonder what Mr. Cheney thinks about this Gitmo makeover.
So it goes.

Shooting star

Well it was probably time for the Star to go Nova or maybe the Star was simply being sucked into a Black Hole of self-aggrandizement.
Whatever the case may be, any sane person with half a brain would be certain to never cross the ever-powerful Barbara Walters.
Of course, she won't be looking for employment for long, she is a lawyer.
Ask her, she'll tell you.

Step forward

Steps forward from Corporate America? I was shocked and dismayed. It seems that there are some executives that can think outside the box and truly have some progressive ideas.
I wonder how soon Ford and Chevy are going to pull their heads out of the sand and start offering some real hybrid contenders that can compete with the Toyota Prius and the Civic hybrids? Not soon enough I'm certain.

Anntagonism

Wow the more things change the more they stay the same.
It seems that no one ever mentioned to Ms. Coulter that hate breeds hate.
There might be something in the good book about treating others as we ourselves would like to be treated but I'm not good at remembering such details.

Gay old time

Banning gay marriage. Is this really a priority concern for Americans?
It seems to me just another diversion for this administration to flex it's morality muscle.
Excuse me if I don't join in on the horror of gay people across the land wanting to get married.
I'm not sure if this really is about moral decay and the decay of family values. What is the divorce rate among man/woman marriages right now? Better than 50% I can almost bet.
How has the sacrament of marriage been stained by our (the heterosexual community's) lack of respect to such an esteemed institution.
Maybe something more radical needs to be introduced to marriage, such as a 2 or 5-year renewal of the license? This way the divorce rate will no longer tarnish what our exceedingly wise leaders consider such a holy union.

Mexico's other border

Thanks to the Newsweek publication I was able to read this insightful report. It seems Mexico and it's above-board government may need to be more introspective when they decide to tell the U.S. government how to handle illegal aliens coming across the border to take jobs their citizens will not do.

$3.50 is a day's pay for a Guatemalan field hand on a coffee plantation in southern Mexico.

Irony sure is ironic. Just when they think their feces doesn't stink, some media outlet lets them know different. Maybe our leaders in D.C. should consider how Mexico handles it's undocumented worker problem and adopt some of those tough love solutions.
So it goes.

Quote of the Day

"Given the approval ratings of Congress these days, I guess we should all be grateful the bricks are coming through the mail, not the window. "
DAN PFEIFFER, a spokesman for Senator Evan Bayh, on a campaign to influence Congress on the immigration issue.

Come November all incumbents should be sent home. Maybe freshman suits can listen to their constituents and make some progress for a change.

Shiloh and behold

Well it finally came to pass. I still can't believe why any man would leave Jennifer Aniston for a girl that used to think Billy Bob was hot.
So Pitt loves the bad girls it seems, so what, who cares?
Obviously the tabloid-indoctrinated masses care. Why else would they be buying up this yellow journalism?
Anyhow, none of it really matters, Jennifer will give birth to some gorgeous babies when she's good and ready.

Preview this

Okay, so recently I was at the Cinema and they now have previews they show prior to showing the previews. I was hoping the previews I was seeing before the movie start time was going to be the previews, but I was mistaken.
I was able to view the previews a second time which was in fact the movie start time. WTF.
I guess it is just too much to ask for a movie to actually start as indicated on the ticket you are given by the clerk.
Just another paradigm stuck in a paradox.

Hatch goes down

Never lie to the judge is likely one lesson Mr. Hatch will remember as he spends 51 months in the can.
"Survive this," might be a familiar saying Richard will hear from his fellow inmates over the next few years.
Another classic genius-turned-idiot story.
So it goes.

Quote of the day

"It's time to cut seniors a little slack."MAX BAUCUS, senator from Montana, on legislation to waive the financial penalty for people who sign up late for Medicare's prescription drug benefit.

Finally, I can agree with one of the suits in Washington.

Fight or Flight

I guess these thugs forgot the first rule about Fight Club. What can be said about this?
A couple of kids decide to be entrepreneurs and record a fight then mass-produce the footage for sale.
What we have here are breakout producers of a fantastic new reality show. Call them Young Urban Don King wannabes. Everybody is just trying to get paid. What could be wrong with that? It is capitalism at it's best.
Thugs and gangsters want to fight, why shouldn't they?
They want to make some hard-earned cash for the newest $5000 dollar chrome spinner rims for their ride. These young toughs are just trying to stimulate the economy.
Maybe something about pure capitalism is not so pure after all.
I wonder what Mr. Bill Cosby would say about this?

Broken Axl

Didn't Axl's career die some ten years ago? I guess wishing for him to disappear is too much to ask.
I wonder if the original crew can make one last stand. They are so strung out and played out it's become a rock and roll cliche.

Usually I'd have to agree with Neil Young's
'it's better to burn out than fade away'
but for me, I would much rather have Axl just fade away.

Pandemic panic

Okay, so the government has a plan for the dreaded bird flu that is coming. It is a $7.1 billion dollar plan but where is this money coming from? Who knows? Maybe the bird flu is just the newest Y2K problem that will not entirely materialize, that's what I'm hoping for. So it goes

The plan lists more than 300 recommendations including:
People in the workplace should stay three feet apart and avoid face-to-face contact;
College and university dorms would be used to quarantine the sick;
Infected people should voluntarily quarantine themselves, and quarantine would be mandatory in the most extreme cases; and
Flight crews should have facemasks on board to put on coughing travellers.

Quote of the Day

"Political anxiety in an election year is to blame for a lot of the bad bills Congress passes. "REPRESENTATIVE JEFF FLAKE, Republican of Arizona, on a proposed $100 rebate to taxpayers to compensate for higher gas prices.

Lucky for us idiotic Americans we have Representative Flake on duty to point these things out for us.
So it goes.

Rush to judgment

However the media decides to spin the news on Mr. Limbaugh and his trials with addiction it is a serious matter for many Americans.
Best of luck to anyone struggling with addiction.

Fuel Fight

Wow, it's hard to believe the President is actually considering doing something to end the war on the middle class with the current rising gas prices.
I guess I better pray and hope for some kind of miracle from our compassionate conservative President to put into effect some kind of fix for this problem that all Americans are affected by.
So it goes.

More of the same

Just like all the rhetoric preceding the current reshuffle, we shall stay the course.
Thousand points of light.
Nothing to fear but fear itself.
I could go on but I won't.

It's a gas

Gas goes up and we bend over.

Bushisms

A friend of mine recently sent an email with a few "administration ideas" that I wanted to share, here they are:

1. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing healthcare to all Americans is socialism.
2. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

So it goes.

scott free scooter

Just when it seems like one of these D.C. suits is going to serve some serious time they always manage to side-step a landmine or two.
If some average American is indicted and brought to trial he or she usually goes straight to jail.
But these Washington public servants somehow finagle the system and walk away from the breaking scandal.
It must be nice.

Go Katie

Katie will have one difficult challenge facing her when she takes the chair of Mr. Rather. It's going to be harder than Chinese arithmetic for her to fight her urge to flirt with every able-bodied male that she interviews and/or interacts with.
The face of nightly news will change, another barrier for women will be broken, let's hope she doesn't foul it up.

We're # 1

Isn't nice that the criminal element can always strive to be the best. With the return of working class citizens back to the charming city of New Orleans so return the dealers and pushers utilizing abandoned homes to sell their product.
What a sad commentary for such a city rich in culture, history and unfortunately crime.

Proactive arrests

The T.A.B.C. is looking out for you. Or so they would like us to think they are.
If I'm at a hotel bar and I'm staying at said hotel, I would like to assume that I can drink leisurely and not have to worry about being slapped with handcuffs for getting buzzed.
The reports from the State indicate that they are being proactive about drunk driving. Let me think about that, the people staying at the hotel are getting a bit tipsy and heading up to their room after a day of stale, dull convention meetings.
I guess the T.A.B.C. might want to think this one through. If said person is catching a nice relaxing buzz at the hotel bar and not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, maybe just maybe they are not likely to drink and drive. They are likely to drink and go back to their room and sleep.
What's next, proactive moving violations?

Warning from the AMA

Wow, it's amazing that the A.M.A. took the time to warn everyone what happens during Spring Break. Lucky for us all they are on the job and informing College students to be careful, bad things can happen to you if you choose to go to the beach and party too hard.
What a complete farce. Isn't the wild disregard and drunken recklessness the reason students go south for a week in March?
Why can't they actually accomplish something of value like curing the common cold instead of jerking off these ridiculous reports?

H.M.O. help me out

Lucky for me, my health insurance company's standard operating procedure is the following.
After going in for a routine checkup that includes blood work, etc. I receive a bill for $200 plus dollars from my Doctor informing me my HMO has declined payment for services. My H.M.O. wants to first check with me to make sure I don't have other health insurance coverage before they consider paying.
It seems these multi-billion dollar corporations automatically decline payment for even the most basic of services. No wonder the CEO's of these companies are so wealthy, they collect premiums on the front end, then a co-pay in the middle, then they decline to pay what we have already agreed they would pay.
How corrupt can this health insurance picture be before our Government fixes this nonsense?
Maybe I shouldn't waste my breath.

New Jersey justice

Well it seems in the state of New Jersey, twenty-two murders equal multiple consecutive life sentences in prison and no eligibility for parole for almost 400 years.
The families of the deceased deserve so much more it is beyond understanding why the state will not put this convicted murderer to death.
Society is far from perfect and will forever be so as long as serial killers get this kind of judgment from the courts.

The Taliban goes to Yale

How nice it must be to be able to afford to go to Yale. I guess the admissions office likes any student as long as he or she can pay the tuition.

I can only imagine what might be next, Hugo Chavez's college-bound children will be admitted to some other Ivy League University, or better yet Fidel Castro's offspring come over to learn from the hated Yankees.
What a country.

mean, old V.P.

Some people may think the V.P. is a mean, old S.O.B. and they are entitled to their opinion of the old guy.
But, as far as I'm concerned, I prefer a geniune old dude to a disingenuous old bugger any day of the week.
I'm almost certain the V.P. has been overheard saying, "That's my name don't wear it out."

Benny Hill Salute

And the Benny Hill Salute this week goes to Rodney from Cali.
He's an outgoing, misunderstood, proactive kind of guy. He's a member of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF for short). The members of ELF might be less than average height but they are not short-sighted when it comes to giving speeches on how to best firebomb the establishment.
Thankfully, he is now under federal custody in Tuscon Arizona.

dubious dubai

Is this a real political scandal or just something else for the suits in D.C. to bicker about. When it comes to the current administration I am never shocked, dismayed or bothered by what comes to light.
I am curious though as to just who or whom is benefitting from this deal. My favorite quote from this Times article is the following:

"Our track record speaks for itself," said one United Arab Emirates official, who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the security matters.

British Bulldog

When did this kind of thing become commonplace? Was it after Scott Peterson? Or after Baretta? I'm not sure when this new trend started but it is definitely never okay to murder your wife and child due to mounting debt.

This British bastard fled the country after deciding not to turn the gun on himself after putting his wife and child down. Police found his BMW S.U.V. at the Boston airport when he split the scene.
How in debt is someone that chooses to drive a BMW? I'm not sure how stressed he was with the "mounting debt" as the report states but I'm sure the stress will be relieved with whatever form of execution the State of Massachusetts has waiting for this scumbag.

Gift options on V-Day

With so many retailers offering so many items on Valentine's Day, here is some free advice:
If you are strapped for cash after the holidays you can always wrap a ribbon and bow around the mid-section and tell her, "it's the gift that keeps giving".
Good luck.

F.Y.I.

The V.P. shoots a V.I.P. and now is M.I.A.
The administration would like to keep it all on the Q.T. because to them it's S.N.A.F.U.
In the meantime reconsider hunting alongside Dick unless you want to end up K.I.A.

Outrage

Such outrage about the Danish cartoon recently, I guess the policy must be, do as I say and not as I do.
A better example of outrage for me would be the forgotten February 2001 destruction of the tallest Buddha statue in the world.

KABUL, Feb 27 (AFP) - The leader of the Taliban Islamic militia in Afghanistan Tuesday shrugged off international condemnation of his order to destroy ancient Buddhist statues, saying "all we are breaking are stones."

Controlled Burn

ORANGE, Calif. Feb 7, 2006 (AP)— A 6,500-acre fire that triggered evacuations of more than 2,000 Southern California homes apparently was ignited by remnants of a controlled forest burn that escaped, a U.S. Forest Service official said Tuesday.

Genius at work. I hope these experts at the Forest Service don't do any controlled burns where I live.

S.N.A.F.U.

I think Shatner said it best, "Irony sure has a way of being ironic."

With the great new catch phrase: addicted to oil, I'm just so delightfully disgusted with the options we as a nation have concerning our reliance on foreign oil from sovereign nations like Saudi Arabia.
It's no surprise to me that Prince Turki al-Faisal is concerned and alerted by our President's new and astonishing rhetoric that America needs to be weaned off this particular addiction.
I'm sure he was shocked and is now willing to do whatever it takes to keep his cash cow happy, undisturbed and well fed.
Whatever happens I hope for the best but I'll still plan on the worst. Our leaders in Washington have not pushed for an increase on the C.A.F.E. standards and likely will not in the near future.
So in the meantime I will remember the frightfully funny military term SNAFU and go about my day.

NHL tickets

File under R for Realization.
Being a fan of the Dallas Stars and the N.H.L., I decided I'd try to get some tickets online with the February and March tickets going on sale today at 9 a.m. I try the Stars website first and the system informs me the amount of tickets I'm requesting is not available (3 tickets) so I change the number requested to 2, same thing.
So I figure I should try the Go Stars telephone line and doing so I wait 15 minutes plus on the phone to no avail. During my brief meditation waiting on the phone (with no background music, mind you) I come to the realization that I'm already paying to see my favorite hockey team on cable via my monthly subscription.
So, I hang up and I know I'll continue to be a Stars fan, I'll just be a fan from the comfort of my own home with more cash in my wallet.

Sheehan out

My only thoughts on Mrs. Sheehan are: I wish she wouldn't allow herself to become a caricature of herself. If she is the voice of the anti-war movement I'd prefer her to attempt to make some kind of progress with the attention she has gathered, not just getting thrown out of the State of the Union address.

Hell, I could have accomplished that by wearing short pants or chewing gum and making rude gestures while the President gave his speech. Unfortunately I didn't get a free ticket from my member of Congress.

stereotype

Unfortunately with this postal shooting we have yet another stereotype being reinforced.
The shooter kills six then herself. What the hell happened here? Why can't these shooters just turn the gun on themself first?
I guess there'll never be an answer for it.

Enron Irony

Wow, the jury pool was asked not to seek vengeance.
I can't believe it. These top execs are so blood-stained with the lost futures of thousands of employees that were shredded like so many of their misleading documents, they definitely deserve whatever justice/vengeance they have coming.

Fuzzy Logic

Wow, even I know never to cross Oprah.
I'm just a simple man that has never been to Chicago and I have never met Oprah, but even I know never to betray her trust and never make a fool out of her.
I have to assume Mr. Frey is not in his write mind to think he could pull one over on her.
For a moment, just a slight moment I almost pitied him for his memoir mistake and how he has been publicly shamed for it.
But then I remembered how much cash he and his publisher have made on bending the truth with his fuzzy memory.
If anything I feel concerned that Oprah will not trust any more authors in the future and discontinue her book club.

Survive this

File this under E for evasion.
Poor old Richard Hatch is now in jail for claiming the TV show Survivor was going to pay his taxes on the $1 million dollars he won more than five years ago.
Hatch, 44, faces up to 13 years in prison and a fine of $600,000. Sentencing was scheduled for April 28.

It must be so sad for him, being such an intelligent person assuming he could simply outwit, outplay and outlast the IRS.

Movie Previews

Are these one minute movie previews showing the entire movie or is it just me? Just a day ago I was bombarded with the entire plot line for a new Harrison Ford flick that is coming this weekend.
Maybe it's just me but I recall a time when a film preview was a simple hint, a brief brushstroke of the directors vision that enticed us to want to see more. Now it seems I can see the catalyst of the plot, the apex and the conclusion of most movies by simply watching the one minute trailer.

dumb question

Usually I can agree that there is no such thing as a dumb question but some Kansas resident asked the President if he had seen the film, Brokeback Mountain.

Now I'm not saying the guy that asked the question is a moron for asking such an idiotic thing. What I am saying is when anyone has the President's ear at an open forum event with news media present it is best to ask a question of substance and keep any stupid queries for the co-workers around the water cooler.

Oh, brother

Recently I heard a phrase that just makes me sick.
This dude on TV is standing next to his buddy and the news personality asks the guy,
"Is this gentleman your friend?" to which the man on the street answers,
"He's my brother, my brother from a different mother."
I'm not sure how long this cute phrase has been around but it is not cool and it's not catchy. Simply the man standing next to his friend is not his brother, he is his friend.
What ever happened to answering the question truthfully?

Iran

refer Iran to the security council, a major escalation in the world of diplomacy.

I find it difficult to believe the U.N. has any real power to stop Iran from enriching uranium. It is just so tiring to read about these issues popping up in the Middle East and then hearing how the U.N. will resolve everything in a peaceful manner.

I truly hope they will be able to accomodate and pacify everyone involved. Unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world, and it will likely fall on American Military personnel and American taxpayer monies to adjust the thinking of some radical minded persons.

America, home of the brave, land of the free and policeman for the entire world.

End of an Era

Nikon has decided to end film camera production. A company spokesman said, "digital cameras have become the norm." Although, the corporation has not specified when it will end production, it will happen in the near future.
I guess as long as 35 mm film is available I won't panic.

Texas Hammer vs. Strong Arm

Wow, with Delay dropping out of the limelight, I guess the only hammer we can still count on is Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer or the Tough, Smart Lawyer as he calls himself.
I must admit though, the other lawyer on T.V. that calls himself The Strong Arm is rightfully impressive.
I just can't imagine which of these two T.V. advertisement lawyers is superior. Could the Texas Hammer defeat the Strong Arm, or would the Strong Arm be more even-handed in dealing out justice?
Alas, the answer to my question may never rise to the surface as it may remain forever in litigation.
So it goes.

Morning Malaise

Is it just me or does Katie Couric overdo it with her flirtatiousness?

I'm watching the Today show this a.m. and Matt is out, which Katie is so ready to announce that he is recovering from minor surgery (unprofessional), so the show has what's his name with the Steve Martin hair and Katie starts up with her little flirt-a-rama.
It is unknown to me why the producers of the show don't call her on this, but it becomes an uncomfortable display when the co-host is married and there is a chance his wife might be watching.

She'll likely not stop flirting in the future and that is o.k., but for christsakes could she stick to flirting with the single men that come on to promote their current project?
Is that too much to ask?