Flashback Video: Mr. Big - Wind Me Up

So I stumbled upon this video while searching through VH1 Classic's video catalog. WOAH did it bring back memories!
When the CD with this song came out, we got a promotional copy at the record store where I worked. I took it home because i fell in love with it and all my co-workers weren't big rock fans.
So after listening to it a million times and memorizing the songs I was convinced that they would MAKE it Big at SOME point.
Then some time later they came to town for a show.
First they did the obligitory appearance at a local music store where some friends of mine worked.
Jumping the line I found my working buddies and asked if they could get the guys in the group to sign a magazine for me.
So he took it up to the table and pointed me out to the guys so they knew who it was for.
Once the mag got into the hands of the lead singer, Eric Martin, he stopped and thought. For a pretty long time too.
Then he seemed to write a novel and hand it back to my friend who brought it to me. (Needless to say, I was curious!)
What Eric wrote was "Love Kills, stop me before I kill again!"
Of course, I took this as a bit of a compliment.
That night after the show the band hung around and mingled with us commoners because the basz player is from Buffalo but for some reason there wasn't a stop in his hometown on their tour. His whole family was there.
Anyways...I was standing talking to a friend of mine when Mr. Martin walked by. (who am I kidding...I didn't take my eyes off him for one minute when they were done, I had to say something!)
So as he got near me I said "Love kills!"..which stopped him in his tracks. He turned to me a bit confused and I said "Love kills, stop me before I kill again? That sounds like a good song title to me!"
He laughed, remembering suddenly where that came from.
I don't remember how long he stood talking to me and my buddy, all I remember was loving every minute of the attention and paying him TONS of compliments on his singing.
Well, there wasn't a song called Love Kills on their next CD but there was a song called "Be With You" that became a HUGE hit and brought the stripped-down ballad into style in the early 90's.
What can I say, I know talent when I see it!
Ahhhh...MEMORIES!

TASTEY

This is a true story straight from an incident that occured last night at the movie theatre where I work:

We had a sneak preview of the movie "I Am Legend" and while the ushers were cleaning the theatre after the show, they found someone's partial on the floor
(if you don't know what a partial is, it's basically fake teeth on a bridge)

One of the ushers was pretty sickened by it being there and pushed it with her broom over to the other usher because she just couldn't bring herself to pick it up
Eventually it ended up in a courtesy cup in the lost and found

About an hour or so later a customer came up to the service desk and asked if we had found a partial in the theatre
I told her we had and she was ecstatic, so I handed her the cup and turned away to take care of another customer
Fortunately I didn't see what happened next, but my manager did.

The lady took the partial out of the cup and, without hesitation, PUT IT IN HER MOUTH!!

BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Sex and the City Movie Trailer!

There's nothing I hate more than falling asleep early in the night only to wake up around midnight and know that you're going to be awake for the next....3 hours. (ugh)

but I'm so giddy right now....I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning.

A short trailer has been released for the Sex and the City movie that's going to be released this spring.

I don't know about you, but not seeing those 4 women once a week really has been difficult. What can I say, they became people I loved. although I do love the SNL take-off of their conversations and then PUNS!

Anyway, to any other SATC fan....watch and enjoy and share the giddiness!!

http://movies.aol.com/movie/sex-and-the-city-2008/30247/main

Things I've learned this past weekend....

I love the holidays and they always teach me something new...

Here's what I've learned this weekend:

Some parents are complete idiots and I'm afraid to run into their kids in 10 years.

(they'll probably be working jobs which require their names on their shirts)

The closer to the holidays it gets, the crankier people get.

(including myself. No...it's not that, I just get less patient with people who are idiots)

Holiday music playing earlier in the year doesn't bother me like it used to.

Christmas decorations being out in the stores earlier in the season doesn't bother me either!

There's something going on on the New York State Thruway. They must need more gas-tax money because I've NEVER dealt with rubber-necker delays like I did on the drive home today.

And no, they weren't delays for accidents. I didn't see ONE emergency vehicle other than a couple police cars.

I could watch holiday movies over and over again.

I'm presently watching Elf for the 3rd time in two days.

Starbucks has finally created a drink I'd stand in line for. (I'm not a coffee drinker)

Caramel Spiced Apple Cider.

Some people don't understand why the bank is busy the day before Thanksgiving and no matter what you tell them....they STILL don't get it.

Anyone who would camp overnight to get in to Best Buy or ANY retail store at 4am should see a shrink iMMEDIATELY! and if they drag their kids out for this stupidity they should be put in a rubber room.

Just when I thought I would NEVER play a video game my nieces and nephew officially have me addicted to Guitar Hero. Now I want a PS2 and a game of my own!

okay, that's all I can think of for now. I've gotta go watch Buddy the Elf and the fake Santa trash Gimble's "North Pole".

Two of my favorite people!

Grover and Madeline Kahn
Classic Sesame Street that NEVER goes out of style.
She's so cute...and missed.

You know you're being a bitch at the movie theatre when..

First of all, happy 2nd birthday to my blog.

My best buddy calls it eclectic. I think it's just nuts and all over the place, but that's just me!

I had a to work at the movie theatre all weekend. Considering it was one of the busiest weekends of the year, thank you Simpsons movie, it was a given that eventually I would have to deal with some assholes. The percentages were just too high.

Not to disappoint, there were 3 of them that stand out most in my mind. Shockingly, they were ALL women.

Asshole #1: Friday night a small women came to my window and said "You have my credit card" and I said "Excuse me?" Since I don't remember how the rest of the conversation went, probably mentally blocking it so that the hot-blooded Italian in me doesn't start to bubble again, all I can say...WHAT the FUCK?? Basically, she didn't believe me. She said she used her credit to pay for the tickets and didn't have it anymore which means I had it. Oh...okay. So I told the bitch, MORE than once, that I didn't have ANY credit cards. I give them back. Now here's where I screwed up. Instead of sending her to the service desk to talk to a manager, I asked her to wait and I'd check and see if one had been turned in. Sure enough, one had so I asked her for her ID so I could make sure it was hers. And it was. The thing is, because of how I handled it, she took that as me lying to her. Yeah, that's me. I'm a fucking credit card stealer. I'm all about identity theft. I was gunna take her card and buy everyone in the theatre a round of popcorn. That's what I get for being helpful and honest and that's the last time I try and take care of it on my own. You have a beef or need to find something, go talk to a manager because I don't paid enough to put up with caustic bullshit.

Asshole #2: Sunday afternoon. A women and her son come to the window. She buys two tickets to The Simpsons Movie. So I tell her, $14. She looks at me like I had three heads. She said "FOURTEEN DOLLARS? For me and him??" and I said "yes." and she says "Fuck! Isn't this a matinee?" And I said "Yes" and she says "How much are the tickets??" Okay....the referree just threw the idiot flag. Fourteen dollars and the bitch can't divide that by TWO??? So I reply "$7" and she says "Fuck" and slides the money through the window with all the attitude she can muster. So I slide her change back w/the SAME attitude and say "Can I help who's next?" Which is the nice way of saying "Get the hell away from my window before I verbally pound you into the lobby bricks". I don't make the prices.

and finally..the highlight of weekend (although it's kind of tie between this and #1)

Asshole #3: Sunday afternoon. Two young girls approach my window and ask for tickets to the movie I Know Who Killed Me. May I first say, thank you SO much Lindsay "why don't you buy a permanent residence in rehab because you're gunna need it" Lohan for making an R-rated movie. So I ask them "I need to see ID" and I get the three-headed monster look again. One girl says "It's in my car..." and I say "you're going to have to get it" so they go off. A few minutes later, here they come. One girl hands me ID...and I look at it and she's just turned 17 a few months ago. Fine, no problem. I look at her friend. She doesn't have any. So I tell her, I'm sorry but I can't sell you a ticket. And her friend asks me "Can I buy hers for her?" and I tell her the policy. "No, you have to be at least 21 in order to buy a ticket for someone who's not 17 or someone who doesn't have ID". So on her cellphone she hops. So a question pops in my head and I radio the manager and tell her what's going on. I said "I think she's on the phone with a parent right now. If they come in, can they just buy tickets for them or do they have to get one too and go into the movie with them." And sure enough, they have to go in with them. I figured, but I wanted to make sure. So I tell the girl "If you're on the phone with your parents, let them know that they can't just buy you a ticket. They have to get one and go into the movie with you too" So I hear her relaying the message and they walk out the door. So, I figure it's over. WRONG. About 10 minutes later...here come the two girls again with a mother-looking woman who comes STRAIGHT for my window. She says "Can you explain what's going on because we've never had this problem before" So I tell her our companies policy. And she says, again "I don't see what the problem is, we've never had to do this before" so I said "I can't speak for how other employees do their job. All I know is how I was trained and what our company policy is and that is that if someone doesn't have ID to prove they're 17, they have to be accompanied by a parent or someone who is over 21. A 17 year old cannot buy them a ticket. The funny part was during her ranting the girl in the box office with me heard her say, and I was too PO'd and blind angry to hear it, that the other girl was a minor. Which most likely means, she wasn't 17. Hence not having ID. So eventually the mother just gave me the wave off and left.

Okay, so maybe I was being a theatre nazi but here's the deal. A, I think the rule is right. B, that movie is a pile of crap so I saved them $14. and C, if the mother really cared that her daughter saw this movie why didn't she just go in and watch it with them. Oh, I know....it's SO much easier to drop your kid off somewhere so you don't have to deal with them.

No wonder our society is so fucked. Look what great examples we're setting for the kids. Treat people who are just doing their jobs like shit.

Harry and Butt Dog

So JK Rowling has done it.

Her writing talents made me stand in line for over and hour, read until my eyes were blurry but she left me a happy woman. Thanks JK. I'll leave it at that so not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't completed The Deathly Hallows as of yet.

Although I do admit that my hours of reading were interrupted by a long and hilarious trip to the southern tier. Myself and two friends headed to Keuka Lake to visit some of their wineries. The highlight of the trip was our visit to Bully Hill vineyard. If you're not much of a wine fan...I still highly recommend the place. It's a rock and roll winery, at least that's what I made of it. It's got all the fancy trimings but the wine tasting time itself is a different experience. Instead of you and your friends having to listen to an elderly man or woman drabble on about how their wines were taken from vines that were originally stolen from Italy or how they won this Gold medal or THAT Gold medal, it's a group event. You and about 25 or more of your fellow tourists stand around a huge tasting area while your host asks you to lift the glass with a beer-can death grip or to hold the stem with your pinky out or, my favorite part, have you repeat "Napa is auto-parts".

Our wine tasting host was a trip. He came over to me and my friends to ask us if we were ready to taste some wine and for some reason decided to pick on me because of the some-what over confident look on my face. He didn't know who he was dealing with but was up to task. Especially when I asked him to explain why the back of his shirt said "butt dog". (turns out, it was bull dog but remember, this was two wineries into our trip!) I love a good sarcasm-laced but flirty verbal joust!

I just have to wonder, will the cashier at the local liquor store give me a strange look when I make the sound "rahr" when I buy my next bottle of Aurore?

Harry Potters fans grow up with him

The kids now...

POTTER' CASTS RECORD BOX-OFFICE SPELL
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The boy wizard still has a magic touch at the box office."Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" took in $44.8 million in its first day, the best single-day gross ever for a movie on a Wednesday.

That included $12 million from screenings that started at midnight Tuesday.The sequel from Time Warner Inc. unit Warner Bros. topped the previous Wednesday record of $40.4 million for 2004's "Spider-Man 2," according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers."In terms of box office, the law of diminishing returns does not apply to `Harry Potter.' It seems to be getting better with age," said Paul Dergarabedian, Media By Numbers president, who noted that the July 21 publication of the seventh and final "Harry Potter" novel likely helped drive interest in the latest film."

It has the effect of creating even more excitement for both properties," Dergarabedian said. "It's a synergistic match made in heaven to have the book and movie come out within a couple weeks of each other."

"Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment of the movie franchise based on J.K. Rowling's fantasy best-sellers, has teen wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) teaching classmates magic spells to defend themselves against the coming battle with the forces of dark Lord Voldemort.

And the kids then...wow, how they've grown!

Barbaro's little brother and Rags to Riches!

Knowing his he has family somehow makes his death a little less painful. (yeah...I know, silly but the people who know me know what an animal lover I am!
And look at how adorable he is too!!




http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/sports/othersports/01barbaro.html?ex=1327986000&en=bcddf7586a92371f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss




LEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 31 — Just 75 miles from where Barbaro first captured the nation’s attention with a remarkable run in the Kentucky Derby, a young colt, a baby in many ways, spends much of his day frolicking in a large paddock at Mill Ridge Farm. He is just one among thousands of yearlings living on thoroughbred farms throughout Kentucky, and all of them are still months away from their first chance at showing what they might amount to on a racetrack.

Still, there will always be something special about this brown colt. As yet unnamed, he is a son of the sire Dynaformer and the dam La Ville Rouge. That makes him Barbaro’s full brother, the only full brother that he had.



It is an association that will follow this yearling as he grows up, making for high expectations, potential disappointment and a permanent soft spot in the hearts of the many who became drawn to Barbaro’s story.
“There was a time when we thought about selling him,” Gretchen Jackson said of the yearling, which she owns with her husband, Roy, just as they owned Barbaro. “We could never do that now. There are going to be a lot of emotions tied up in him.”
Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, was euthanized Monday after losing a long and dramatic battle for survival that began when he fractured his right hind leg during the Preakness Stakes last May. He was the type of thoroughbred that comes along once in a great while, with a rare combination of speed, stamina, talent and desire. Now comes his kid brother, an unproven and untested 10½-month-old, and with him, the inevitable question: Can he possibly be as good?

When a horse is as young as Barbaro’s brother is, there is little to go on. But the early indications are all positive, said his handlers at Mill Ridge Farm, where he was born and will remain until September, when he will be sent to Florida to begin more serious preparations for a racing career.
Conformation, a horse’s physical alignment, is an early indicator. For instance, a horse born with a crooked knee is unlikely to be successful on the racetrack. Barbaro’s brother has no such problems. He also has the type of attitude that could translate into success on the racetrack.

“He’s easy to handle and has a good personality,” said Donnie Snellings, the manager of yearlings and stallions at Mill Ridge. “He’s tough enough with the other horses in the field, which shows you that he has a competitive drive.”

For two horses to be considered full siblings, they must share the same father and mother, or sire and dam. Horses with the same dam but different sires are considered half-brothers or half-sisters. Horses by the same sire only — and there are many of them — are not even considered to be related.

Meanwhile, La Ville Rouge and Dynaformer have produced another full brother to Barbaro who is set to be born in mid-April. After delivering that foal, La Ville Rouge, who is 11, will again be bred to Dynaformer, who is 22 and does not have too many years left as a stallion.

What this all will ultimately mean for the sport of horse racing is anyone’s guess. Breeding is an inexact science and the results of even the most carefully planned matings can be wildly unpredictable. There are very few examples of sets of full siblings becoming major stars on the racetrack. Seabiscuit had two full brothers, one named Naval Reserve, the other named Sea Base. They combined to earn a meager $10,470 during their racing careers.

“The record books show that lightning can strike twice in the same place, but perhaps not nearly as often as you might expect,” said Andrew Caulfield, a breeding consultant to Juddmonte Farms. “Think of it in human terms: How many brothers or sisters are carbon copies of each other? The odds of hitting the genetic jackpot more than once are certainly loaded against the breeder. Of course, that doesn’t rule out a very bright future for Barbaro’s brother, but will he have inherited the full range of qualities, including the courage and will to win, which made Barbaro so special?”

That is a question that will not be answered until he makes his first start, as a 2-year-old, perhaps in the summer or fall of 2008.
“The expectations are going to be high for him,” said Bayne Welker, Mill Ridge’s director of sales. “Barbaro has set a very high bar.”

Because Barbaro was born and raised at Springmint Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., Welker has no way to compare him and his brother as yearlings. But maybe John Stevens will be able to do so, because Barbaro’s brother will be sent to his farm in Ocala, Fla., this summer or early fall. There the colt will be taught to be ridden with a saddle on.
Stevens was Barbaro’s instructor, too, so he should be able to make some comparisons. By early 2008, Barbaro’s brother will be sent to a trainer. No decision has been made yet as to who that will be, but Gretchen Jackson said it would likely be Michael Matz, the trainer of Barbaro.
By then, the brother will have a name.
Barbaro’s name came from a painting the Jacksons own. In it, six foxhounds are pictured and each one is named, including one named Barbaro. Gretchen Jackson said the brother will most likely be named after one of the other five foxhounds. Those wishing for a derivative of Barbaro’s name will apparently be disappointed.

And those hoping the brother will win the Kentucky Derby should be realistic. The Jockey Club estimates that 34,200 thoroughbreds were born in the United States in 2006, making the odds astronomical that Barbaro’s brother will be the one among that vast group who captures the Derby on the first Saturday in May 2009. Then again, you never know.

“It’s a miracle that we had one horse as good as Barbaro, and he gave us memories that we’re going to hold on to for a lifetime,” Gretchen Jackson said. “It’s hard to believe that it could ever happen again. As far as this foal is concerned, I can only hope that he has a great racing career, too. I just hope he gets his chance and does what he was born to do.”





IN OTHER HORSE NEWS:


Rags to Riches broke a 105 year old drought of a filly winning at the Belmont Stakes.


Some people say she had an advantage being that she had 5 less pounds on her but what about the fact that the male horses she raced against where taller AND longer? Funny how they didn't even MENTION that! (that's her on the outside...YOU GO GIRL!)

"A Pirates life for me..."

Welcome back movie fans,

So I finally went and saw Spider-Man 3 a couple weeks ago and all I can say is I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see it. I wasn't impressed. It was so CORNY! The best part of the whole thing was when the character of Sand Man first stands up. That was some amazing computer-animation work. And seeing James Franco come out of a chamber wearing nothing but black trunks. He is one fine human being.

I can't imagine taking your kid to this. The whole love-triangle thing got lame fast, not to mention it took up a majority of the movie.

The only thing you can do to enjoy this flop is go with a bunch of obnoxious or sarcastic friends and mock it out. That's what we did.

Shrek was also a disappointment at our theatre. It made things busier but not what I'd call a blockbuster by any means. At least where I work anyway. Where are all these big numbers happening? And from what I heard the movie itself wasn't very good.

This weekend Pirates of the Caribbean opens and all I can hope for is plenty of scenes with Cap'N Jack on the screen. And rain. LOTS of rain. If it rains, they will come.

I can't end this blog post without my usual bitching. Last weekend our theatre started a fund-raising drive. So EVERY customer who comes to the window we have to ask them if they want to donate a dollar. Yea, EVERY one. Let me apologize now to you all because I don't like doing this shit anymore than you do, but we're both going to have to tolerate it for the next 7 weeks.

"Yo ho, yo ho...a pirates life for me!"

Don't bother trying

I'll have to think of an award to give out to the genuises I have to deal with at the theatre.

Maybe even have a show at the end of the summer....because as the number of customers increases, so does the likely-hood of encountering another example of extreme idiocy.



Here's one of the front-runner so far:

People who come in and say that their friend bought them a ticket but they're already in the movie.

Trust me folks, no theatre manager, employee or security guard with a BRAIN in their head is gunna fall for that one. We may be kind and customer friendly but we know that fine line of being taken advantage of. A couple folks tried to pull that crap last weekend until our security guard whose also a police officer came walking up armed w/his gun and sporting a pair of handcuffs and a bottle of pepper spray all on his belt. Suddenly the guy seemed just fine with buying a ticket.

Now, let's talk about Spider-Man 3.
I understand it made BIG money this past weekend. I'm curious as to where. We had 7 of our 18 theatre rooms running it and none of them were even CLOSE to being at full capacity. Infact, originally we, the employees, were told that we couldn't see it for free until the 13th but that was moved up to the 7th. Yeah, 3 days after it opened.



Shrek the Third opens a week from Friday so maybe THAT will be our big draw.
Personally, I wasn't a fan of Shrek 2. It took me three times watching it to get through the whole thing without falling asleep. Hopefully this one will be more to par with the first one. (which was hilARIOUS)
That remains to be seen....

GO SABRES!!!

Stupid is as stupid does...and Spidey 3

So I've been promoted, of sorts, at my movie theatre job.
Instead of slinging popcorn and serving sodas I'm taking loads of money and printing tickets at the box office.
I love it. Much more of an adult role if you ask me. Although you're cooped up in an area that has so many windows you feel like you're in a fishbowl and, god forbid, you don't like who you're working with. There's not much room to hide or do anything else. And let me tell ya, I'm suRROUNDED by know-it-alls. I can't get a word out sometimes without them correcting me. Hello...I'm HOW old?

Along with the bevy of employee hijinks come other issues that I've had to deal with in this new position. I can sum it up in two words:
CUSTOMER STUPIDITY

Examples:
A woman came to my window Saturday night and asked for a refund because she didn't like the movie she just saw. This after sitting through the whole thing.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT! No chance lady. We don't make the movies, we just show them.

People getting pissed because I have to proof for R-rated movies. Consider it a complement that I think you look young, okay?

Bitching about the prices. I don't make 'em folks. I couldn't give you a discount if I wanted to.

People who come to the theatre and get pissed because a movie is open caption. I explain to them; there's sound and words across the bottom for the hearing impaired. Then they ask me "Why is it like that?" Someone here at my dayjob told me to tell them "I did it just because I knew you were coming and wanted to get you all in an uproar"
Okay, maybe people who aren't from Rochester don't know that one of the best colleges for deaf students is about a mile away from the theatre. Yet people still ask this??? Deal folks. Either you want to see it that way, or you don't. Don't get aggravated at me because it's that way, I have no control over it.

So theirs my complaints about customers so far. I'm sure there's more to come.
Spider-Man 3 is opening this weekend so I can only IMAGINE what I'm going to have to deal with. At least I don't have to work the 3am show. That's right...3am. Our theatre is showing Spidey for 24 hours. Midnight on Thursday until 10:15pm Friday night. Isn't that insane?
Although I'd love to see the kind of "people" who show up for that 3am show!
I bet they come dressed in their Spider Man underoos!

Marvin Gaye sings American National Anthem

No one, not even Whitney "crack-head" Houston has EVER sung an anthem as smooth and amazing.
Yeah...some might consider it un-patriotic but they're just narrow-minded fools. Putting your own style and spin on it is fine as long as you don't ruin it. Mr. Gaye was the best. What a waste of an amazing talent to die so young!

I'm not married but....

This seems to make sense Bill:

How to be a Smart Ass 101

Enjoy your first professors!

AYE' MATIES!

This is one of the movies coming out this summer that I am COMPLETELY excited about.
Harry Potter is going to be amazing but there's just something special about Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.

Hurray for Hollywood...

As most people who are close to me know, I just got a part time job at a local movie theatre.

Pretty exciting.

The pay isn't bad, but the perks.....sa-WEET!

Free movies. How can you not love a free movie?

Especially with the summer blockbusters coming up! Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, The Simpsons Movie, Ocean's Thirteen.

It's gunna be a good one.

My friend Leah suggested that I start a blog with movie reviews.

Great idea, problem is...I already have a few blogs I author/co-author now and adding one more would be exTREMELY difficult.

So instead I'll be writing my reviews here.

I also want to post a disclaimer right away that my reviews are made by me or given TO me by customer exiting the theatre, (who are always happy to fill you in on their experience) I will not be held responsible for anyone's opinions other than my own and theirs and I will under NO circumstances reiumburse your movie money! Or your popcorn cash, or what you spent on that big box of Goobers.

**REMEMBER: NOT EVERY MOVIE IS FOR EVERYBODY!**

Wild Hogs: I plan on seeing this some time this week, however, I've heard nothing but raves from customers leaving the shows. They've been laughing all the way to the exits. The general consensus is that the trailers do NOT give away the funniest scenes.

Zodiac: I have been told that this movie is long, moves very slowly at times and is exTREMELY graphic. If you can't stomach seeing a knife cut through and around someone's skin with a close up camera angle...don't see this flick.

Bridge to Taribethia: It seems as if this movie has been aimed at the wrong audience. It's not for little kids. I've heard it's VERY good but the ending is heart breaking. Bring some Kleenex.

23: So-so. Might be decent as a rental or pay-cable movie

Black Snake Moan: Long, slow and Christina Ricci doesn't get nekkid until well into this movie. I've also heard that although Justin Timberlake's role is small; he's very good.

Norbit: REALLY bad reviews from customers. They say it should be a stronger rating than PG-13. Don't waste the $$

Stay tuned!!

These Police can arrest me ANYtime!

After being completely disgusted by the finish to the Daytona 500 I started to channel surf.
Fortunately I got to VH1 Classic and saw a press conference with The Police announcing their tour and answering the stupid questions the media was throwing at them.
Then I remembered....I forgot to blog about how I felt when I heard that the band was reuniting.
To be quite honest, I was shocked!
You're talking about guys who haven't played together since the early 80's.
They were smart. They made their big hits, their great videos, played amazing live shows and called it quits leaving people still wanting more.
Well, that wasn't the ONLY reason they broke up.
Sting was ready to go solo. He was the star, no doubt.
The thing I always loved about The Police was you couldn't quite define their music. You couldn't put it in a box. It was pop, but it was rock but it was also kind of new wave. But not. Because it was melodic and the lyrics were pretty amazing. Okay, so they had "Da Doo-doo-doo, da da-da-da". Admit it though, that was a great little song. Even though I'm sure they somehow hated it.
My favorite dude in the band back then; Stewart Copeland, hands down. There was something slightly off center about him. He didn't have Sting's regalness. He didn't have Andy's calm but funny demeanor. Stewie seemed a bit....whacky. Granted, you probably have to be to be a drummer. And anyone who knows ANYTHING about music will tell you...he's one of the best. He plays on a standard, small drum kit and makes sounds out of it that would blow your mind. And quickness? There's one roll he does "Every little thing she does is magic" that's just so fast you can't believe it's humanly possible to play. But he does it, and it's incredible. Any true musician can see his talent. Maybe that's why the guy from Foo Fighters showed up at the press conference and was instructed not to ask questions about drums.
I remember when I was allowed to buy the LP Ghost in the Machine. I played that sucker OUT. Such an amazing collection of songs. They were all so different. It made you wonder who their influeces were. Two blonde Brit's and an American. How did THAT happen?

One thing I also saw during their press conference is Stewart still gets on Stings nerves. Those two are VERY different people. Andy is the mediator, Stewart is the goof genuis and Sting is.....well; Sting is Sting. Any guy who can take his name after a verb....has to be pretty special. And he is. There's no other voice like him.
And seeing how Stewart is still in amazing shape, there's no way they can slow down. He'll keep that engine rollin
I just hope that Sting can tolerate Stewart long enough to complete all the dates on the tour.
Thanks for coming back guys!

Thank you Gilda Radner

Being a somewhat last minute person, I ventured into a Hallmark store today to pick up some Valentines Day cards.
I normally don't get sucked in to this holiday because personally...I think it's bullshit. If you love someone you should show them all year round, not just once a year.

Last year on V-Day I was working my part-time job as a cashier at a local grocery store called Wegmans. I had my favorite Express Lane and all night all I was ringing up were flowers, cards, candy and the occasional beer and condoms. And EVERY person in my line was male. (stupid suckers)
Anyway, while I was about to leave the store I noticed the new cards they have that play a song when you open them. BUT SUDDENLY...I spotted Roseanne Roseannadanna! EXCUSE ME?? She never sang! It was a card marked "How are You?"
Upon opening it the words from a classic RR Weekend Update sketched came out "I'm depressed, I gained weight, my face broke out, I'm nauseous, I'm constipated, my feet swelled, my gums are bleedin', my sinuses are clogged, I got heartburn, I'm cranky and I have gas!"
Needless to say, I bought it. It's perfect for my cubicle at work.
Thank you Hallmark!!

Barbaro's gone...

Sad news today.
Barbaro; that beautiful horse who took the Kentucky Derby by storm but broke down at the Preakness has been euthanized.
Being an animal lover myself but with some veterinary experience I'm VERY sad but I also understand that it had to be done.
I've been checking the UPenn Vet hospitals website every day since it happened to read the updates on his condition or to look at new pictures of him.
I never had any knowledge of what laminitis was and didn't realize what an important thing it is for a horse to have his weight equally distributed to every hoof.
It's just really disappointing because for a long time it seemed like he was going to make it.
The doctor's did all they could do and when they realized he wouldn't be pain-free ever again, they had to let him go.

Run free sweet boy!

I knew the warm weather wouldn't last...

All the skiers and snowboarders are rejoicing here in Western, NY. The snow has come. (and yes, that picture is my car a couple years ago after a pretty decent snow fall)
I can't complain to much, I choose to live here.

I choose to live in a place that has warm weather normally 3 months out of 12. (although in 2006 it was more like 8)
I choose to live in a state with high taxes and low tax returns.
I choose to live in a state that's elects a woman who has never even LIVED in the state and was probably only elected because her husband is an ex-president (one who will only be known for getting a knob-job by an intern)
I choose to live in state where if you walk by a stranger on the sidewalk you don't dare look them in the eye. You keep your eyes straight down at your shoes until they walk by.
I choose to live in a state where the drive home on week days is like being part of the Indy 500 except you're not surrounded by talented/experienced drivers.
I choose to live in a state that charges you for use of it's largest interstate

But...there are some great things about New York:
I choose to live in an area where all public places, other than the outdoors, are SMOKE FREE!
I choose to live in a state where, no matter which city you live in, you can always find one place that has the most AMAZING pizza.
I choose to live in a state that has all four seasons.(although sometimes you think there's only two; winter and road construction)
I choose to live in a state that's only a few hours drive away from Ontario, Canada. (let's face it, unless you're somewhere near Vancouver, being close by is useless except if you're going on a beer run)
I choose to live in a state that has three NFL teams, 3 NHL teams, and one really amazing MLB team,...and the Mets.
I choose to live in a city that has tons of minor league sports teams and they all have new stadiums to play in.
I choose to live in a city that's a short drive away from a NASCAR race track.

and finally; I choose to live in a state whose motto is...I LOVE MYSELF! lol

Random Friday stuff

Okay, so the Yanks let my beloved Barry Zito get away.
Dang it!
We've got a hot infield and we could've gotten even HOTTER on the pitchers mound. But no!
Well, at least they're trying to ship The Big Uniq's stupid ass back to Arizona.
What a waste of money he was.
And they signed my Mikey Mussina, so I can't be TOO upset.
I was just hoping to see lovely Mr. Zito on TV 3-4 days a week.
When I think about it though, it does make sense that he stays in cali where he can continue his quirky zen-like lifestyle. I'll be interested to see how he and the bad-Barry get along.

What else,....OH! The whole deal with the FDA slapping some fines on the diet pills for being total bullshit.
All I can say is...DUH!!!
It's scary that people are stupid enough to think that just taking some pill will make them skinny. Oh yea, they have ones to make your boobs bigger too!
Come on folks, does the government really need to save us from our lack of commen sense?
I admit, I've gained weight. Right now I weigh more than I ever have in my life.
And I know why.....I got lazy. When I got the bloodclot over the summer I just had other priorities and they didn't include eating right or doing crunches.
So now I'm paying for it. But I'm not one to think there's a miracle pill sold by info-mericial that can make me drop 30lbs in a month. It took me some time to get this way so it's going to take some time to get skinny again.

Can I also tell you that this global warming thing is really paying off up here in Western, NY right now. Wow, the weather has basically been spring-like. People are even GOLFING up here. Crazy isn't it? Although I have this underlying suspicion that when Old Man Winter finally shows up we're going to get our asses buried in snow. It's inevitable.
Well, it'll give me reason to wear that new winter coat I got for Christmas!

Is it Daytona Speed Weeks yet???