We're having another heatwave here in Western, NY, and it's not pleasant. Hot is one thing, hot and humid is something entirely different. The birds don't seem to mind the heat. They just keep eating and eating. I saw a brown headed cowbird (Jim's least favorite kind of bird) feeding another cowbird (I'm guessing her baby although he looked almost as big as she did). She would peck the seeds on the ground and then literally put the food right in his mouth. It was kind of cute in a twisted sort of way.

My video pick of last week is a 1949 film called All The King's Men. It tells the story of Willie Stark (loosely based on Huey P. Long, one time governor of Louisiana). It stars Broderick Crawford who plays Stark and appeals to the common man and becomes a popular political figure. As his popularity soars he becomes more controlling over others as he loses control of his own life. He even has his right hand man keep a little black book detailing all of the dirt on just about everyone in town. Mercedes McCambridge (who was big in radio) stars in her first film role as the manipulating assistant. McCambridge lights up the screen no matter what scene she's in and I found myself focusing on her even when she wasn't the main attraction in the scene. McCambridge (along with Crawford and the film) won an Oscar and almost 25 years after that film another generation was exposed to McCambridge's talent. In 1973 McCambridge lent her "demonic" voice to the film The Exorcist. That wasn't Linda Blair you heard, it was McCambridge giving us the shivers. And as with all classics, Hollywood is seeing the need to remake the film. Filming is currently underway to remake All The King's Men and will star Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins. Having said that, the original Men was based on the Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name.

Jaw dropper of the day: A woman who was in a car crash in Tokyo was actually dead before the crash. On Sunday, a man driving with his son hit a concrete wall, rebounded and then hit the lane divider. The three year old son was thrown from the front passenger seat and both father and son were killed when they were hit by oncoming traffic. The woman, who was the wife and mother of the other two, was found near the crash but was already in a state of rigor mortis. She is believed to have died one or two days before the crash. Nothing like riding around with your dead mother/wife in the car.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Hello,

I'm back from a weekend of coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ. Had a lot of fun and rode many of the coasters (except for the really big one). I did find out why that coaster was closed. During a test run there was a malfunction (sparks flew out at one point and the car landed with a thud at one point during the run. No one was on the coaster at the time but who knows how long it will be closed. I didn't know there is a similar coaster at Cedar Point in Ohio and it had similar problems when it first opened two years ago. One thing I was appalled by was the fact that all these kids just pushed their way to the front of the lines. It was so annoying and I just felt like smacking them upside the head. Of course there were signs that said line cutters will be ejected from the park and if I wouldn't have gotten in trouble, I would have ejected them myself.

Well I'm tired and hot and cranky. I slept for only two hours yesterday. I got back into Rochester at 2:30 and then had to work last night. More tomorrow and jaw dropper will be back.

By the way, Tom Cruise is an idiot!!!!!!!! Did anyone see Matt Lauer's interview with him on Friday?

Enjoy your day,

paul

I hope everyone had a wonderful first day of summer. The first full day of summer is overcast and rain is threatening to pour out from the sky.

It appears that Saddam Hussein, the butcher of Baghdad, is a nice guy who gives out cigars and really likes Doritos. So say the guards who have watched over him during his incarceration. I really needed to know that. Poor Saddam, he gets caught in his skivvies and is really just a sweetheart. Is there any real news?

Jawdropper of the day: Another unique item on sale on Ebay. Pieces of toast bearing the image of Michael Jackson. These pieces of toast (several of which are fetching upwards of $300) all popped out of their toasters either right before or during the reading of Michael Jackson's not guilty verdict. The sad part of this story is that people will actually buy these pieces of toast and some may even eat them.

Enjoy your day,

paul

The rain is finally gone and the sun is back but the humidity and heat has not returned with the sun. I never tire of watching the birds at the feeder. They seem to be so busy these days, even more so than winter when food was scarce.

Poor Tom Cruise, he just can't get a break. He was in London for a premiere of War Of The Worlds when a man, posing as a journalist, put a microphone in Cruise's face as if he was going to interview the star. Then the microphone squirted water in Cruise's face and Cruise called the guy onto the carpet (the red one they were standing on, it was a premiere). He called the guy a jerk and said he was giving the guy an interview and he goes and does something nasty. The guy was part of a television crew filming a sketch for a comedy show for Channel 4, a publicly owned station. The last time that happened, to Sharon Osbourne, she took a bucket of water and dumped it on the interviewer.

One more note today: Many of you may know that Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride, will be giving her interview to Katie Couric tomorrow night. New reports have come in now saying that while in Las Vegas Wilbanks was seen playing blackjack. She even went so far as to ask people at the blackjack table for money. She allegedly said she would soon have lots of money. Anyone thinking that Wilbanks is not getting paid for this interview, think again. In order to secure the rights to the story, NBC has paid her to give the interview and get the rights. MMMMMM I wonder if her husband was in on this.

That's all for today.

paul

Here's the jaw dropper of the day: A six legged puppy with two (yes, two) penises was found outside of a Chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur. The members of the temple are taking care of the puppy and consider him a good omen. They have named him Ong Fatt (Lucky One). The six legs are visible, unfortunately, it's not a good shot of the two penises. Now that's funky!!!! 

Another gray and dreary day, a good one for going back to bed for an hour or two.

Is it just me or does anyone else NOT care about TomKat (ooooh, I'm Tom Cruise, I can propose to my sweetheart on top of the Eiffel Tower). I still think he's an idiot for making those comments about Brooke Shields. What does he know about post partum depression anyway?

Jaw dropper of the day: Southern Baptists in Nashville, Tennessee, are being told to take their children out of public schools that are tolerant of homosexuality. Who is telling them to do this? The churches of course. About 85% of Southern Baptists send their children to public schools or "godless" public schools which they are being deemed by the church. Many can't afford to send their children to private schools or home school them. It just goes to show you that the churches are getting scarier and scarier, telling people how to vote, where to send their children, how to live their lives. The church is supposed to be a spiritual place and not a place where one goes to have the pastor tell them how to make daily decisions. I've got nothing against Southern baptists, however, I do have something against ignorance.

Wherever you are today, enjoy.

paul

Jaw dropper of the day: Still don't think that innocent people are executed? Well Ting Xingshan, of Beijing, was executed in 1989 for butchering a woman. An 18 year old woman disappeared in 1987 and around the same time police found pieces of a woman that had sliced in a professional manner. Xingshan was a butcher by trade and police found out, through rumors, that Xingshan frequented a hotel where the 18 year old worked. He was arrested and sentenced to death and killed by gunshot. He claimed his innocence right up until the very end. Well, lo and behold, the 18 year old, Shi Xiaorong was later found to be serving a prison sentence for selling drugs. Not only that but her husband was serving as well. That's not the first time an innocent in Beijing has been wrongfully convicted. In April, a man was released for killing his wife. He had served 11 years of 15 when the wife turned up alive with another man. Scandalous!!!! Hey, if it can happen in Beijing, what's to say it can't happen in America?

Hello, it's finally the weekend!!!!!!! Thank God and hallelujah.

Friday rant: I am sick, sick, sick of hearing the right wingers say that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are not being mistreated and that they are not entitled to the Geneva Convention rights. Most, if not all, of them have never even been charged with anything but pose a "threat" to our nation's security. Only a handful of them have caused any trouble after being released. I applaud Sen. Dick Durbin for the comments he made regarding Guantanamo Bay. "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings," That is the quote that all of the right wingers are focusing on and I have to tell you he is right. There is a great article in this week's Time magazine that details the torture of the 20th hijacker, the one who didn't make it onto one of the planes on 9/11. It talks about the abuse, physical, mental, and spiritual that these soldiers are employing. Either charge the detainees or let them go. For God's sake doesn't our country look bad enough already? And that is not un-American as the Bush administration would have people believe, that is standing up for doing what is right and just.

A bit gray and rainy today but at least it's cooled down. We had a bit of a hot spell there, whew!!!

Big surprise on Terry Schiavo's autopsy (NOT!!!!). Of course it showed that she died of dehydration due to her feeding tube being removed and that she was blind. The widely seen tape of Schiavo seeming to smile and follow her mother's voice is not what it seems. Those actions, smiling and moving the head are automatic responses and do not prove that she was aware of her surroundings. Also her brain had shrunk to half the size it should have been. Personally I think the parents should just let it go once and for all. One would think that after 15 years there would have been some sort of closure.

Jaw dropper of the day: If you happen to move to Frankfurt, Germany, and decide to work at Wal-Mart then feel free to flirt while you work. A court in Germany ruled that employees can flirt with other employees while working. The clause that banned "any kind of communication that could be interpreted as sexual" was found by the court to contradict German labor laws. Pretty soon the employees will be allowed to flirt with the customers as well. We here in America never do that (right!!!!).

Enjoy your day,

paul

I finally got the mowing done; well most of it anyway. I pooped out after doing about 90% of it. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. At least it's not as humid as it has been. Tonight it's supposed to be in the 50's, how nice (I mean that).

No jaw dropper today but I am sucking on a jawbreaker right now, a fire ball (mmmmmm). I do want to say this though, let's be careful driving out there. I'm not sure if it's the nice weather or if I'm just more attuned to the crazies but people drive like maniacs. Let's all be on the defense and don't be afraid to use your horn. That's what it's there for.

Have a great day,

paul

It's another warm day and gray to boot. How dreary!!!!! I wish it would cool down and be sunny so I can get out there and mow, damnit.

Jaw dropper of the day: Talk about minding your own business one day and then dying the next. A man in Lagos was relieving himself (#1, not #2) by the side of the road when a horned African cow knocked the man down and killed him. Efforts to revive him were not successful. The cow also injured several bystanders. The man, a bus driver, was taking a leak by his bus when the cow went mad. So what's the next logical thing to do? Arrest the cow!!!! Yes, that's right, the cow was arrested by the police and they were looking for the cow's owner to charge them with failing to keep the cow under control. No word on whether they will seek manslaughter charges against the cow (oh!!!!!!!).

Enjoy your day,

paul

It's been soooooo hot that I've just not wanted to do anything. I haven't even been outside to mow the lawn, which is getting quite long. Hopefully the cool off later this week will allow me to get out there and make it look pretty.

10 years ago, in 1995, a not guilty verdict was handed down in the OJ Simpson trial. Now 10 years later, another not guilty verdict was read in the Michael Jackson trial. Not guilty on all 10 counts, a clean sweep. Many people think that this case never should have gone to trial. I think that Michael Jackson was lucky, especially in this day and age of hysteria over sexual abuse. Despite the not guilty verdict, I cannot imagine Jackson going back to his normal life, whatever normal was for him.

I've been really bad about writing, it's just been so hot and oppressive. The humidity is the killer.

Wherever you are today, enjoy yourself and stay cool.

paul

It's another scorcher. Thank heavens for air conditioning!!!!!

We went to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith today, no not the pie makers, the movie. Starring Brangelina (Brad & Angelina) the film is very tongue in cheek with some funny moments. It also has more than its share of ridiculous moments. It did have a very serious underlying theme of what can happen to a marriage if people don't tend to it every day. The lies, deceit, bitterness and anger all build up and in the film two people have to try and literally kill each other before they realize what's really important. If you are in the mood for two hours of bang, bang and shoot them up then see this movie. If you'd rather have a more believable and deep thinking movie, skip this one. I will say this though, it was a very nice ending.

Jaw dropper of the day: Two cats in Tokyo almost lost "one" of their lives when they urinated on the wrong appliance. The owner of two cats had his kitchen and living room damaged by fire when his two cats urinated on his fax machine. The electrical printing mechanism was soaked after the cats were done doing their business. The fire was caused as a result of that. No harm to the cats but the owner did suffer smoke inhalation.

Enjoy your evening,

paul

One of the great actresses of our time has passed away. I was so upset that I didn't write yesterday. Anne Bancroft has passed on due to uterine cancer. I had a feeling something was wrong when she was cast in the movie Spanglish she had to drop out and the role went to Cloris Leachman. The reason was health problems and as it turns out they were quite serious. Although she didn't win an Oscar for her role as Mrs. Robinson, Bancroft is probably best known for that role in The Graduate. She was only 6 years older that Dustin Hoffman in that movie but she was clearly supposed to be much older. Her one and only Oscar came from playing Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.

Jaw dropper of the day: How's this for talent? Sonya Thomas, nicknamed The Black Widow, is the champion in the popcorn eating contest. In a contest sponsored by MTV, Thomas ate 10 boxes of popcorn in 12 minutes. She was tied with Rich LeFevre but some kernels missed LeFevre's mouth. For her prize, Thomas got an MTV movie awards talent gift basket. The estimated worth is $10,000. Not only is she the fastest popcorn eater but she also won the lobster eating contest. Last August she ate 38 lobsters in just 12 minutes. She also won the bean contest eating 8.4 pounds of beans and pork in only 2 min and 47 seconds. Not to rest on her laurels she's also the record holder for the hard boiled eggs contest. Lest you think that Thomas is a big girl, her weight clocks in at 105 lbs. I personally cannot watch those kind of contests as I find them revolting. Anyone eating like that is not a pleasant sight. Food is meant to be enjoyed not wolfed.

Enjoy your day,

paul

It's gonna be another warm one today but we did have a wonderful thunderstorm late yesterday afternoon. I like a good thunderstorm. Yesterday the cottonwood was flying around everywhere. It was all over the ground too and looked a bit like snow. It was a little annoying as I had the car windows open and it kept flying in my car and flying around me. I kept waving my arms trying to keep it away from me. I must have looked like I was having a seizure.

Jaw dropper of the day: I've heard of some strange things to bring through customs but this sounds fishy.....An Australian woman arriving at Melbourne airport from Singapore caught the attention of customs officials when they heard "flipping" noises coming from her waist area. Officials discovered, upon closer inspection, that the woman had an apron made out of plastic water filled bags and they contained fish. Fifty-one fish, all alive and tropical, were discovered. So far she hasn't been charged and no word on what kind of fish they are but this woman must have been BIG. Another five fish were found at her home. Whatever happened to just going to the pet store?

Enjoy your day and stay cool,

paul

Here's a pic of some of those fish in the bags the woman from Melbourne had around her waist. There were 51 fish in bags all around her waist. She wore them like an apron. Anyone know what kind of fish these are? 

I just can't seem to get the hang of getting the links in there right. Here's the link for some "bathroom" reading.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050604/ap_on_fe_st/taiwan_royal_flush

Well the weekend box office numbers are in and Cinderella Man only came in 4th behind The Longest Yard, Star Wars III and the number 1 movie, the asinine animated film Madagascar. I don't care, I enjoyed Cinderella Man and I will say it again, I'll be surprised if it doesn't walk away with some major Oscar nods. Of course I may be wrong, but it wouldn't be the first time. I just hope that angry Russell Crowe's antics don't hurt the film. Throwing a phone at a hotel clerk, come on. He thinks that just because he's sexxxxxxxy that he can act however he wants to. Ugh!!!

Jaw dropper of the day: If you happen to be in Taiwan (I know you're going for your next vacation) then you might want to check out Marton's. Marton means toilet in Chinese and toilets they have. It has a bathroom decor and the food is served in Western and Asian style toilets. Customers sit on toilet seats and urinals are part of the wall decorations. The dishes can be mixed up to resemble a veritable #2. I've included some pics of the restaurant and if you have a strong stomach then please eat there and let me know how it was. I myself think I'll pass.

Enjoy your day,

paul

And you too can have your food served in your very own toilet. Here's the webpage so you too can read the whole story on this true lavoratory experience. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050604/ap_on_fe_st/taiwan_royal_flush 

It's a restaurant the whole family can enjoy. 

Aren't the toilets pretty? These are the "chairs" the customers sit on in the restaurant. 

Another beautiful and warm day today. I guess it needs to rain (soon). Our town has issued a conserve water advisory. We are hoping that doesn't affect our well.

Jaw dropper of the day: Kylie Minogue, who was taken to Melbourne's Cabrini hospital to undergo surgery for breast cancer, caused a ruckus there when she was admitted. Minogue was given 8 out of 18 rooms used for cardio patients. The rooms were used for family and they were cleared out and guards posted and everyone who approached the rooms were treated like members of the media. Family and friends who were wishing to visit loved ones in the cardio ward had to enter through another part of the building. Apparently Minogue did not request the special treatment, however, it does seem a bit extreme. Granted she is much more popular in Australia than in America but she wasn't even a cardio patient.

Enjoy your Sunday,

paul

Rant of the week: I'm so sick of hearing about prisoner abuse, why can't something be done about this? Guantanamo Bay is currently holding around 500 some odd prisoners and most of them are not interrogated or considered to have important information. They also are not entitled to the rights of the Geneva Convention since they are not technically considered prisoners of war. There is currently a case before the Washington court of appeals to decide whether prisoners have been given all the due process they are entitled to. Just because the US is a super power does not entitle them to torture or bully detainees, they aren't even considered pow's. No wonder there is so much anti-American sentiment around the world. Am I proud to live in the US? Yes. Do I think this country has problems? Absolutely. So let's fix them already.

Fun fact: A typical Amish man walks around 18,000 steps a day; women 14,000. A typical American walks around 5,000 steps a day (taken from Time). Now maybe we should take a page from our Amish brothers and sisters and do more walking.

Video pick of the week: Continuing my quest to catch up on Oscar movies I've never seen, my pick for this week is Sayonara. Yes, that is Japanese for goodbye. The 1957 movie, filmed in Japan, tells the story of military personnel meeting and falling in love with Japanese women. A forbidden act, it details how the military brass controls their men by telling them who they can be with, love, show affection to (sound familiar?). It stars a 33 year old Marlon Brando who plays Major Gruver and how he is pro American women. That slowly changes over the course of the movie as he meets and falls in love with the head dancer of a Japanese dancing company. Miiko Taka plays the head dancer whom Brando's character falls in love with. During the movie one of Brando's men, Red Buttons, falls in love with and marries another Japanese girl. The movie chronicles the relationships of both men with their respective Japanese women. The movie is beautifully shot and though it is long and not action oriented at all, it does have a nice payoff although one couple doesn't have a "happy" ending. The movie also stars a young (29) James Garner. Seeing Garner and Brando together it was hard to decide who was sexier in their hayday. Miyoshi Umeki plays Buttons's on screen wife and both Umeki and Buttons are standouts in this movie and both won Oscars for their roles. Taka is also a standout. Brando does a fine job, however, it was hard for me to get past his "mumbling" and he always seemed to be squinting his eyes. I think he was more eye candy (for me anyway).

Enjoy your day,

paul

It's the weekend and of course it's overcast and it looks as if it might thunderstorm. I'm raving about Cinderella Man and telling everyone I see that it is a must see. It's not a perfect movie but it is a feel good movie. The only major criticism I have with the movie is it tugs at the heartstrings too much. It is still a moving piece of work and definitely an uplifitng film. Go see it today.

Jaw dropper of the day: If you go to www.tacobell.com and click on the link that says Food Sightings Museum, you can get a look at different types of food that people took pics of because the food had faces or objects within the food. As if the runaway bride on a piece of toast or the Virgin Mary in the grilled cheese wasn't enough, now we have Jesus sightings on taco bell's chalupas. People are encouraged to take pics of their own chalupa shells if they think there's a hidden image. If you go into the food sightings gallery you can look at the different images and decide if it's real or enhanced. Whatever happened to just eating the food instead of looking for hidden images?

Enjoy your Saturday,

paul

The first great movie of the summer is here. Cinderella Man, starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti and directed by Ron Howard, is a wonderful and thrilling movie. Oh, I know, another boxing movie, well don't think that, this movie is a hit (pun intended).

It tell the story of James J. Braddock who was a mediocre boxer and then lost everything during the depression, including his right to box. He was a wash up and fought to provide for his family. Then when another fighter was unable to fight and they needed someone legit who could fight on short notice, Braddock is the one they turned to. No one expected him to last one round let alone win the fight. Win he did and then he went on to fight the world heavyweight champion at the age of 30 and win that fight as well. Ron Howard is a wonderful director and the editing on the film is terrific, one of the best edited movies I've seen in a while. Of course, Crowe, Zellweger, and Giamatti give great performances and I'm so envious of Zellweger as she gets to cuddle, kiss and canoodle with Crowe (hubba hubba). I'll be very surprised if this film doesn't come away with some major Oscar noms. I'm hoping that this movie does not get lost in the summer shuffle. I am a bit surprised that this wasn't released in the fall.

Jaw dropper of the day: Talk about role playing......Authorities "freed" a Berlin man who was stuffed in the trunk of a car. A concerned citizen called police and told them she saw someone being locked in the trunk of a car. However, when police opened the trunk they saw a man with just a leather throng and a collar. That's all that he was wearing. The mistress was driving and the guy in the trunk was the slave. Officers insisted the man sit in the front of the car and sent the couple on their way. No doubt to another bout of role playing somewhere else.

More later,

paul

Hit The Road Foulkes

I've never professed to be perfect but I do live the best life I can lead. I strive to be honest, true to myself, friendly with others, and do good wherever I can. That's all we can do in this life. Life is not something to get through or to suffer through, it's living each day to the best of one's ability. It's a learning process that doesn't end until death.

What I'm listening to on the radio: I'm really enjoying the new Dave Matthews Band song, American Baby. I've liked certain songs by them, however, I've never been a devoted fan. I'm also enjoying Gavin DeGraw (he sounds a bit like Jon Bon Jovi) and his new song Chariot. One other song I'm enjoying is by a rock group called Staind (I kid you not) and their song Right Here.

Jaw dropper of the day: Talk about a road trip, this is the ultimate road trip. A woman in her 80's in Melbourne, Sydney, took to the road despite being refused an extension of her license. She was denied an extension due to old age. So Marian Foulkes and her husband Tom travelled 1,400 miles from Melbourne to New South Wales. At one point during their journey a cop, who thought they were disoriented, took their car keys so they travelled by bus for the remainder of their journey. They were eventually found at a hotel in Canberra, the Australian capital. Their son reported his parents missing and they travelled for two weeks before being found by police. Both of them have varying degrees of dementia, however, they no doubt enjoyed being "on the run."

Wherever you are today, enjoy it.

paul

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I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day and at some point in the day took time to remember those who died for our great country. Yes, we are screwed up in some areas, however, which country isn't? It's still a great place to live.

Thankfully the Jackson trial will be over soon. People may be asking themselves, 'Are the kids his or not?' I frankly don't care. His life is so messed up and anyone who names one of his children Blanket has got to be missing a few screws. I seriously think that Jackson's elevator doesn't go all the way up.

Ok, that's all for today. It's gonna be another beautiful one.

paul

It's the start of another week; let's remember to be kind to those we claim to love, do at least one nice deed every day, and take a second each day to enjoy nature. Smell a flower, watch a bird, gaze at the sky, or do all three.

Jaw dropper of the day: Houseguests won't leave? Set your home on fire or do what a man in Illinois did and set your mother's house on fire. Dean Craig, from Geneva, Illinois, did just that when two visitors he had at the home refused to leave. Craig started the fire by igniting rubbing alcohol that he had splashed on the floor. Craig had asked the two visitors to leave and when they refused he threatened to start the house on fire. Were these visitors from The Sopranos? What ever happened to calling the police or just showing them the door? It's a much better idea to just torch the house I guess.

Enjoy your day today,

paul

Wow!!!! It's been a beautiful day and the birds have been busy. When I woke up this morning I heard the birds screeching. There were several of them and it reminded me of the sound of a crowd at a baseball game. I don't know that the birds were playing baseball, however, they sure sounded excited about something. Maybe the glorious day ahead.

Sith This: Went to see Star Wars Episode III:Revenge of the Sith. It was the best of the first three episodes and Lucas captured the tortured soul of Anakin before he embraces the dark side. The war and politics in the film eerily mirrors the war and politics going on in the world today. One of the main themes, fear and how it can wreak havoc, is evident throughout the film. Anakin, consumed by his fears, embraces the dark side in order to prevent his fears from coming true. Unfortunately, he makes the wrong decision and his fears are realized anyway. A few of the things in the film are contrived, such as the death of one of the characters near the end, but there are some really exciting light saber battles and it's a movie that should be experienced on the big screen.

Jaw dropper of the day: Only in San Francisco, huh? The city's Center for Sex and Culture played host on Saturday to the Masturbate-A-Thon. Apparently it's an annual event and people come to celebrate playing with Rosie and her five friends in a semi-public setting. There's even an endurance competition. Last year's record was six-and-a-half hours. There is a five minute break allowed for every hour. One man, who only gave his name as Tony, gave this statement about the event, "The whole point is coming out and making love to your best friend." No question as to where his loyalties lie.

Wherever you are today, I hope YOU, like the birds, are screeching with excitement.

paul

I didn't get to finish this yesterday because there was a slight problem with our monitor. We ended up having to get a new one. It's a flat screen and it's bright!!!!

Joan Of Arcadia: It's too bad that this show didn't get renewed. After an especially dour season, the storyline between good and evil was just starting to pick up. With the introduction of a character, who was obviously supposed to be some sort of devil, the storylines could have become exciting and unpredictable. Most of the season was spent watching the characters mope and act tortured, however, the last couple of episodes did show some promise. Alas, we'll never know what might have been. 6.5 antennae

Judging Amy: Another show that didn't make the cut for next season. This show ended with Amy quitting the bench, losing her court supervised officer, and finding out one of the girls who had appeared in her courtroom had been killed. So what does she do? She goes to Washington to become a Senator. Tyne Daly's character was starting to show some promising change and she realized that she shouldn't let fear run her life and embrace the blossoming relationship with Ignacio, her landscaper. This show, like many other finales, lacked the punch and pizzazz to go out with a bang. 4 antennae

Cold Case: One of my absolute favorite shows, Cold Case's finale offered suspense, drama, and creepiness. It delved into the psychosis of many of the characters and offered a hostage situation with Lily. The villain was truly creepy and the last song played of the season, The Who's Behind Blue Eyes, was wonderful. 8 antennae

Amazing Race 7: In the penultimate episode, Rob and Amber were leading. They had been leading for most of the season. It took me a couple of episodes to get over the gay couple being eliminated. Uchenna & Joyce, overtook Rob and Amber to become the victors for this season. For a while it looked like it might be anitclimactic, but Boston Rob and his girl were put in their place. Besides they already won a million dollars, or at least she did. 7.5 antennae

Survivor: Pulau In the tenth installment of this series, first was the name of the game. Two people were off the island moments after the tribes had been chosen, the longest challenge ever, one castaway banished to an island by herself and one tribe whittled down to just one member before the merge. Not a lot of excitment most of the time, however, there were some great moments. One that sticks out was when redneck James is talking to the camera and beating himself up for getting beat during one of the challenges by Coby, the gay hairdresser. I was rooting for Jen to win but once Ian took himself out of the last challenge and Tom and Katie were left, there was no doubt who would win. And while the jury was questioning the final two, Katie hanged herself several times creating even less of a doubt that fireman Tom would win. 8.5 antennae

That's all for today. Tomorrow my review of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Here's one with Vladimir Putin and our very own George W. enjoying a nice ride together. My thanks to my friend Mikey D. for this pic and the Go Navy pic. 

Here's a couple of pics for your enjoyment. Some midshipmen at a navy game had "go navy" spelled out, however, the men with "g," "a," and "y" were standing a bit too close to each other, as you can see. I wonder if they realized this. 

Well, for us, the season is over. We've seen the season finales of our favorite shows and this season was the season of the fizzling finales. The episodes started out promising and offered excitement, suspense, adventure, however, in the final minutes the delivery was off or not there at all. Therefore, without further ado, I'll offer my ratings of some of the season finales. The rating system will be 1 antenna for a truly horrible finale to 10 antennae for a superbly fascinating finale.

Lost: The episode started with a bang, literally, as one character blew himself up in mid-sentence. The castaways on the raft faced a mysterious crew on a boat who asked for little boy Walt, and took him as his father looked on helplessly. Their boat, meanwhile, got blown up and all three of the men ended up in the water. We got a glimpse of the "big monster." The glimpse was a dust of smoke and it really sounded like some sort of machine as it attacked one of the characters. The hatch was finally opened up, however, instead of getting a look at something good, we were treated to a long tunnel leading downward. And this was the big payoff we've been waiting for? Lame-o 4 antennae

CSI: Quentin Tarantino, who directed this episode, is out of touch with reality and took arty for his own good. All of the characters in this episode were not written true to form. Catherine, Warwick, Nick, all of them were written as if they had been invaded by body snatchers. Nick, especially, was not himself. Yes, he was buried alive, however, his crying fit early on was not typical Nick. The best part of the episode was the last 20mins when the crew found Nick. Grissom showed more emotion than he's shown in five seasons, which was nice. A really nice touch is when Grissom referred to Nick as Poncho. Poncho is what Nick was called by his father. The ending, with Nick going to visit the woman in prison, was really weak. It should have ended with Grissom saying, "I want my guys back." 6 antennae

Third Watch: The very last episode ever was actually pretty good. I never watched this show every week, however, when I did watch I found it good. One of the high points was tough cop Cruz blowing herself up and taking the bad guys with her. The ending also featured a look into the future of the characters. This was a nice ending to a thrilling show. A bonus for including Doc in the episode. 8 antennae

Medium: A typical episode, even a bit ho-hum. Nothing too exciting happens and the show ends with a character in the hospital pulling out his IV. Not even a major character and no explanation as to why he's apparently killing himself. A lame 'to be continued' then appears on screen. Oh goody, looking forward to that continuation. 3 antennae

Grey's Anatomy: Not a bad episode. Filled with funny moments and poor George, one of the residents, really gets busted on and humiliated to no end. It's revealed what has happened to the main character's mother, who was once a brilliant surgeon and the ending has a bit of a twist as it's revealed that Patrick Dempsey's character is married. A twist, yes. Lame, definitely. 4 antennae

Desperate Housewives: Another example of a last episode starting off with a running start. The main mystery of the season is in fact cleared up and a revealing scene as to who really killed the "poor" girlfriend of plumber Mike. Alfre Woodard's charcter will be involved in the mystery of season 2. Her character already seems deliciously cool (and she's not white....yea!). The ending, meanwhile, lame and not a hint of suspense. 4.5 antennae

Alias: This episode featured Lena Olin, probably her last episode for a while from the looks of it. It's part Night Of The Living Dead and part 28 Days Later as the characters defuse a nuclear weapon. One character, although minor, did get iced, however, I was really hoping either Arvin Sloane or Nadia would get killed off. It was looking like Nadia might die, however, at the end it was obvious she was going to be alright. The last few minutes looked promising as Vaughn and Sydney were racing off to Santa Barbara to elope. He started to tell her that it was no accident he took her case when she first entered the CIA and he implied that he has a very shadowy past. She was starting to get scared and then BOOM they were blindsided by another car. What a cheap and lame ending. This show offered a very clever and exciting ending two years ago as Sydney awoke after a fight with an enemy. However, come to find out, she's been "gone" for two years. 3.5 antennae

Jaw dropper of the day: Ok kids let's play a game. A substitute teacher in Terre Haute, IN, has been fired. Some of the first graders in the class would not stop talking so substitute teacher Sheryl Smith taped their mouths shut. She put the tape on vertically and did not leave it on very long, however, it was long enough for some parents to complain and Smith end up fired. She alleges it was "just a little piece of Scotch tape" and that she "was just joking with them." I've no doubt these kids were laughing under their Scotch tape.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Good morning,

Another glorious day with the birds surrounding us with their song. Picture me as Julie Andrews standing outside in my front yard twirling and twirling and singing. Now wouldn't that be a sight!!!!

Exxon Mobil has passed on protecting GLBT people in their non-discrimination policy. For the 7th year in a row sexual orientation will not be included in the policy. 29.4 percent of the shareholders voted in favor of including sexual orientation in the policy, the highest percentage so far. The company used to have the sexual orientation provision but it was rescinded in 1999 when Mobil merged with Exxon. It is the only Fortune 50 company not to include orientation in its primary non-discrimination policy.

Jaw dropper of the day: The season finale of Lost. The episode started off well enough; with a bang in fact as one of the characters literally blew up mid-sentence. It was exciting, suspenseful and full of action, however, the ending gave us nothing and offered us more questions than it had already answered. What a disappointment. I haven't watched the finale of Alias yet, however, I'll be grading all of the finales for the season (of the shows that I watch anyway, I can't watch everything, sadly).

Enjoy your day,

paul

Hello,

I apologize to those of you that read this, I didn't write yesterday. It was such a gray day and I was in a gray mood and just didn't feel like it. Even God took a day off. Ooooh, I must have some sort of complex comparing myself to God.

Tonight is the big season finale of Lost and Alias. I just know that the season finale of Lost is going to have me pulling my hair out. And to think I'll have to wait almost four months before I find out what happens. This weekend I'll be rating all of the season finales (the ones I watched anyway).

Jaw dropper of the day: Let's move to Denmark. Actually I've always wanted to visit the country, I've heard the Danish are quite modern and liberal. In Copenhagen, which has the world's largest sperm bank (now there's an idea for a field trip), authorities plan to start taxing donors. Now donors receive 500 crown, about $84 US dollars. According to Cryos International Sperm Bank, "it's a special kind of work and cannot be compared to a normal working income." The bank is afraid the tax will deter donors from making deposits. Typically, Cryos receives between 30-60 donors A DAY at its three branches. Wow, talk about a possible low sperm count. Oh, I couldn't resist.

Enjoy your day,

paul

By the way, the season finale of Desperate Housewives was really pretty good. It wrapped up the mystery of Mary Alice and Zack and Paul Young. There weren't a lot of so called surprises, however, the revelation that Mary Alice, not Paul, killed Deirdre was a bit of a twist. Now as Teri Hatcher's character, Susan, sits being held hostage by Zack we have to wait to find out what happens to Mike Delfino. Zack is determined to kill Mike because he thinks Mike killed his father. Mike walks in the door and.......will Mike survive? My guess is no and Zack will be sent away. The mystery next season will involve Alfre Woodard, who's already been introduced.

A new day has dawned, the birds are singing their joyous song, the sun is rising to burn off the morning dew, everything is waking up, rejuvenated and refreshed. Oh, gag me with a spoon!!!!! Somebody stop me, I sound like a hallmark card. Yes, it's Monday and if you live in Western, NY, you may be excitied that Bushie is coming to visit Rochester tomorrow. Or you may be like me and can't care less.

Jaw dropper of the day: Talk about preventing one's daughter from seeing someone. A man in Eagle, Idaho, west of Boise, has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and felony kidnapping. 49-year old Paul David Thomas, forced his daughter's 18 year old boyfriend into his van during the boy's lunch hour. He forced the teen into his van in front of Eagle High School and told the teen he had a knife and threatened violence against him all because the teen persisted in seeing the man's daughter. The teen escaped the van while it was stopped at an intersection and he got into another car, which just happened to have some of the teen's classmates. The father then followed the car and the teen phoned the police using a phone of one of his classmates. That sounds like one scary father. Maybe the boy should just find another girlfriend. There are other fish in the sea.

Enjoy your day,

paul

The big news this weekend: Star Wars and Saddam's underpants. Yes, Saddam does wear briefs as witnessed by the pics of him in The Sun and New York Post and all over the news. And Star Wars is the number one movie of the weekend; duh!!!

Jaw dropper of the day: A NYC man was saved from burning up by some special liquid. A wheelchair bound Vietnam Vet, Francis Abrams, was riding the subway when some teens set a plastic bag, attached to the wheelchair, on fire. The flames then spread up to Abrams's jacket and could have burned his entire body. However, two women, one with a baby, doused the flames. One woman doused the flames with a bottle of water, the other woman, who was carrying a baby, doused them with a cup of freshly pumped breast milk. The man was saved and officers confirmed the fire was put out with breast milk. The teens, thankfully, were later caught.

Enjoy your evening,

paul

For fun

Here's a cool link with some pics and a quiz. Decide which pics are real or fake. I did terrible. I only got 2 out of 10 right.

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/4462/real_or_hoax1.swf

first one of the season

We're finally getting our first thunderstorm of spring. Ever since I was little I've enjoyed thunderstorms. The louder the thunder, the better. I like how quickly it gets dark and the flashes of lightning and the rumbles from overhead. The claps have always freaked me out but only a little bit just because they are so sudden.

In my humble opinion: One of the best movies of the year so far is definitely Walk On Water. It's directed by Israeli director Eytan Fox. He also directed Yossi & Jagger, a film about two army men who form a relationship while in camp on the Israel-Lebanon border. The new movie, Walk On Water tells the story of Eyal, a hardened hitman living in Israel who is charged with befriending a young man and his sister in order to get information about their grandfather who is responsible for some crimes during WWII. Eyal bugs the apartment in order to find out what, if anything, the siblings know about their grandfather. Eyal acts as a tour guide and the three of them visit several attractions such as the Dead Sea.

Axel, the young man, it turns out is gay and Eyal finds this out as the film progresses and when Axel returns home to Berlin, Eyal is forced to travel there in order to attend a birthday party for Axel's father. The final scenes in which Eyal discovers Axel's criminal grandfather and the moment when Axel realizes Eyal is not who he has seemed, provide some wonderful quiet suspense. The movie also uses a lot of music to correspond to the characters shifting moods and their slowly changing ideals. Of course any movie that uses Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love, one of the few Boss tunes I really like, has got to be good. The tunnel in this movie is not necessarily a literal one, instead it's the tunnel the characters go through to reach the other side.

One of the best scenes is a scene in which Eyal, a total straight man, and Axel sit in a gay bar and Eyal gets a brief instruction on gay sex. It's not played for laughs, however, the fact that the characters are genuine and not stereotypical, does offer the scene some chuckles. Definitely good chuckles. It's a MUST SEE.

That's all for now, enjoy your day..........

paul

Absolutely beautiful here in Western, NY, and the birds are going to eat us out of house and home. They have really been eating a great deal lately. I would have thought they would let up and scrounge for other kinds of food besides our bird seed. The bluejays are such slobs. Everytime I see them out there they are throwing their food around and making a mess. Just like two year olds.

I have two video picks this week: The first one is a movie called The Green Butchers. It's a movie in the tradition of Eating Raoul and Sweeney Todd. It focuses on two butchers who open their own business and one of them stumbles upon a way to make his marinade more tasty. The one character who discovers this "secret" ingredient is not the sharpest tool in the shed and before the two of them know it their scheme spirals out of control and threatens to ruin them. There is an interesting side story with the mentally handicapped brother of one of the butchers. It's well done and while it is a bit predictable with a typical hollywood ending (it's not a hollywood movie) it's engaging and has a good pace. It is subtitled so if that doesn't scare you off, then check it out.

My second pick is a sprawling film from 1961 with an all star cast. Judgment At Nuremberg spans the trial of several judges who ruled during the atrocities of WWII. Set a couple of years after the war, the film takes us through the witnesses of the trial, the burden of the tribunal to decide if these judges are guilty or not and just who does share the guilt during a war. Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Montgomery Clift and Maximilian Schell (who deservedly won an Oscar for his role) star in the film. It's a finely made film and lest you think it's outdated then take a look at what's going on in our world right now especially the controversy in our judicial system.

Jaw dropper of the day: A village in Moscow is mourning the loss of its lake. All that's left of a lake in the Nizhegorodskaya region which is East of Moscow on the Volga river is a muddy hole. Of course it's not all that bizarre; officials think an underground water course or cave sucked the water down. Of course one woman thought that America took the lake. Even America isn't that good.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Jaw dropper of the day: This lesser panda at a zoo in the Chiba zoological park, southeast of Tokyo, can stand on its two legs for about 10 seconds when it sees something interesting. Unlike a typical black and white panda, the lesser panda has brown fur and a white stripe on its tail. Is it just me or does this look like someone in a panda suit? It's actually kind of creepy. Oh well, enjoy anyway. Here's the link if you want to read the whole story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050519/od_afp/japananimalpandaoffbeat_050519153203 

Here's one of our pretty goldfinch birds. They are so small (they really do look like tweety bird. Tweety could have been a canary or goldfinch). 

I finally got a really good one!!!! Here's a rose breasted grossbeak at our feeder. We actually have a few of them every day. He looks quite proud doesn't he? If I looked as pretty as he did, I'd be all puffed up like that too. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050519/od_afp/japananimalpandaoffbeat_050519153203

Let me try this again!!!!

Sorry, how about I put in this link again so it's clickable. I'll get the hang of it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050519/od_afp/japananimalpandaoffbeat_050519153203

Sorry about that. I didn't realize the link was not in the email. It's kind of hard to click on it if it's not accessible. Here it is.

http://www.softlab.ece.ntua.gr/~sivann/pub/swf/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf

http://www.softlab.ece.ntua.gr/~sivann/pub/swf/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf

Here's a neat link that I was sent. This is for all of you who tire of the "send this to 5 people in 10 minutes or you are a loser," emails. Or "send this to 10 of your best friends and you'll become a millionaire."

Enjoy

It's a fabulous day to be alive, but then again so is everyday. I've been outside taking more pics of our birds. I'll post a few in a bit here. I've got a couple with goldfinchs and a couple with red breasted grossbeaks. The northern orioles still have not been back and after we went out and got some special suet for them too.

jaw dropper of the day: Some of us know people who could benefit from a law like this. In Icononzo, Colombia, a small town about 40mi southwest of Bogota, a law was passed about six months ago that makes it a crime to gossip or spread rumors. This is punishable by $150,000 or up to 4 years in prison. Apparently people in Colombia have been spreading rumors and telling untrue gossip about people and those people have been ending up in jail or worse being murdered. Jesus Ignacio Jimenez, the mayor of Icononzo, claims that gossip in a place like Colombia can have "serious consequences." In other words, it can be murder, literally. So far no one has been caught gossiping or telling rumors since this law has passed (hmmm). I guess that means people are just being more careful about who they gossip to. Either that or they are just watching their mouths. Of course, as my sister pointed out to my stepfather once when he told her to watch her mouth, her nose was in the way so she couldn't.

Enjoy your day,

paul

wee weener winkie

Today is the day that season 4 of the most quintessential show about nothing, that really had something to say, is released on dvd. The 4th season of Seinfeld is out today and only a few months after the release of the first 3 seasons. It's nice that they don't wait so long between releases of the different seasons. My personal favorites are The Puffy Shirt and The Doll. Alas, those are in seasons 5 and 7, respectively.

Jaw dropper of the day: Grill owner Loyd Ardrey, of South Carolina, says, "I just want my weenie back." Someone stole a 12-foot long smiling hot dog sign from Ardrey's Ebenezer Grill in South Carolina. The sign weighs about 35 pounds and cost around $750 to make. The police say that the screws were taken out and someone made off with the sign. According to Ardrey, people use the grill restaurant as a marker to locate professional offices which are nearby. Before the hot dog was stolen, Ardrey wanted to make up bumper stickers that read: Ebenezer Grill-Look for the big weenie. Now it seems more than a few people are doing just that.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Survivor:The next day

If you had asked me before the jury tribal council if I had wanted Tom to win, I would have said no because he is arrogant, chauvinistic, and acts like his shit doesn't stink. That was before the final tribal council and after the final tribal council, watching Katie hang herself and not at least pretend she wants people's votes, I was definitely rooting for Tom.

Survivor: Palau had a lot of firsts; the longest challenge (over 11 hours), two members booted off (not voted as there was no vote) right after the tribes were chosen, the first tribal council held at a challenge and one of the most popular (in a good way) women players: Stephenie. I like to think of her as the female Rupert. Rupert was very popular and a favorite to win, Stephenie was the same way.

The reunion show was good and I'm glad they continue to have Jeff Probst host it. Coby, the gay hairdresser, adopted his cousin's newborn daughter and named her Janu. That was a touching moment. The next Survivor will start in September and be held in Guatemala. Exciting!!!!

Katie Gallagher hung herself during the jury. Tom Westman has won the 10th season of Survivor. Survivor Palau winner: Tom Westman.

Well I was wrong, Jen didn't win. The final tribal council with the jury speaking out was quite exciting. Katie is a piece of work. She acted like she didn't even want to win. She even told Janu that she didn't expect Janu's vote so she didn't feel as if she needed to answer Janu's question. After watching the jury I'm hoping Tom wins.

Had a wonderful Sunday here in Western, NY. Today was the first day we used our new projector at church. We still have a few glitches to work out but it was so nice to finally have it up and be able to use it.

Tonight is the big finale of Survivor. My money is on Jen, possibly Katie but I'll be surprised if Tom or Ian wins. Of course I've been wrong before and it's possible I'll be wrong again.

I hope you all have a wonderful evening.

paul

A truly gray day here in Western, NY. A good day to be inside which is exactly what we were. My spouse and I spent some time with a good couple friend of ours from church. We went to see Monster-In-Law. It was truly enjoyable and very funny. The writing was very funny at times and Jane Fonda was hilarious. Jennifer Lopez wasn't bad and Wanda Sykes, another funny lady, proved that she can hold her own with Jane Fonda. I recommend it.

That's it for now. Dinner time. My spouse is making a dish that is like pizza but not really pizza (hahaha).

enjoy your evening,

paul

It's another glorious day although it's still a bit chilly. Thank heavens it's the weekend.

My video pick of the week: It's not a new movie, in fact it was released in the mid 80's and it's probably not a movie many have seen. Brazil is the movie I recently watched and totally enjoyed. It stars Katherine Helmond, Robert DeNiro, Jonathan Pryce, Jim Broadbent, and Ian Holm. It's got car chases, murder, shootouts, romance, fantasy, intrigue, betrayal, comedy, and action. It's got everything and the story moves briskly. Some of the fantasy scenes are a bit much and the end chase is a little long but the ending is a bit of a shocker. I was a little upset by the ending, however, the whole movie was wonderful. It told a great story. It's also a story that can easily be applied to today's hustle and bustle.

That's all for now, enjoy your day and have a pleasant weekend,

paul

Oh my gosh it's so cold!!!!!! It's really just the wind that is cold but the sun is out and the birds are feeding and singing. I've been experimenting with my digital camera and trying to get some pics of the birds. I got a few and a little later I'll try to get some more. The biggest problem I'm having is keeping the camera steady when I get ready to shoot.

Jaw dropper of the day: Jesus Christ is alive and well and living in West Virginia? Yes, it's true, although he's not the same one as the J.C. who died on the cross. The man born Peter Robert Phillips Jr moved to West Virginia and attempted to get a driver's license in the state with the name Jesus Christ. He was refused despite the fact that he already has a US passport, social security card and Washington license bearing the name JC. His birth certificate from Florida provided the snafu; it has his birth name. Phillips attempted to legally change his name in 2003 but was rejected in a court of law because taking the name could "provoke a violent reaction or significantly offend people." Phillips's lawyer argued that his client had already changed his name 15 years earlier and has been using the name "without incident." Why all the hassle? Phillips, um, I mean Christ wanted to express his faith and love to himself, um, I mean to Jesus. It's all so confusing. If he wants to express his love to the son of God why doesn't he just wear a cross or carry a rosary?

That's all for today.

paul

Another beautiful day, the kind of day that should make one happy to be alive.

Jaw dropper of the day: Imagine my surprise when on my way home from work this morning I heard that the cutest couple of the new millennium got married. Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney (yowsa!) tied the knot. Chesney is no longer on the market. It's about time Zellweger found someone worthy of her. After being linked with Jim Carrey and White Stripes singer Jack White she made a good choice of man to marry. Here's hoping that the marriage lasts longer than the box office run of one of her movies or the chart run of one of his albums.

Enjoy your evening,

paul

Another pic of Bushie and Abdullah. See the Pres is for gay marriage.  

Anyone watch Desperate Housewives? Last night's show was really good. One of my favorite scenes was when Felicia, murdered Martha's sister, said to the creepy Paul Young, "I'm not my sister Martha, you don't want to screw with me." Then when he left her house she revealed a knife she had hidden. Oh goody!!!! I am sick of Gabrielle. She is spoiled, irritating, obnoxious and so friggin' shallow. Of course she will probably lose the baby. She is also stupid because anyone who would cheat on someone that looks like her husband Carlos needs a good slap upside the head. He's a looker!!!!!! And that episode is just one more reason why Teri Hatcher won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy. She deserved it. Now if only the other housewives would cut her some slack.

Jaw dropper of the day: Talk about having too much time on your hands at school. A high schooler in Hazen, ND, and one of his friends are in hot water after one of the boys was put on ebay to be sold. The two boys lost their computer privileges at school for the rest of the year (oooh, big punishment since it's already May) after one boy was put on ebay as an item to be purchased. The mother of the boy being sold thought it was funny and thought the prinicpal "blew the whole thing out of proportion." Two of the boys friends actually put bids in and got it up to $3,300. Hmmm, I wonder how much I could get for my spouse.

Enjoy your day,

paul

Another beautiful day here in Western, NY, where we spent more time watching the birds at our feeder. I could just do that all day (that is if I didn't have a life). We saw the female and male Northern Oriole again and I'm pestering my spouse to keep suet in the house because that's what they seem to like to eat.

Jaw dropper of the day: As if the face of the Virgin Mary in the grilled cheese sandwich wasn't enough; a man from Newton, NJ, carved the face of the runaway bride in a piece of toast. The bride to be is Jennifer Wilbanks who ran away to New Mexico because she was nervous about getting married. Perry Lonzello from New Jersey etched her face in a piece of Wonder bread and put it on ebay to be sold. As of Friday the price was up to $15,400. The bidding closes today. In 2004 the grilled cheese sandwich with the Virgin Mary's face sold for $28,000. Next up, the face of Elvis Presley on rye. And then the image of Princess Diana on pumpernickel. There's no end to this craziness.

Enjoy your evening,

paul

Spent more time out at the feeder today. We saw some goldfinchs, bluejays, a cardinal and a beautiful bird that I've only seen pics of, a Northern Oriole. We saw a male and female. The male, described by my spouse as liquid gold when he flies (the bird not my spouse), was yellowish-orange, black and white. He was so magnificent. We also saw a rose breasted grossbeak. Very pretty. I like our birds.

For those of you who want a chuckle, here's a pic of crown prince Abdullah and Bush holding hands.

paul

How cute!!!! 

Are you outside enjoying the weather? It's a beautiful day. I was outside mowing and my spouse and I did something we had never done before. We both went outside and sat in the grass and watched the birds at the bird feeder. It was fun, enjoyable. In a bit we'll be taking a little hike at Letchworth Park.

I watched the first season of Dynasty. It recently came out on dvd and I wanted to watch how it all started. I remember growing up I got hooked on it somehow; probably my mom or my grandmother (my grandmother did watch Dallas so it's possible I first saw Dynasty with her). Anyway, I remember when I was 11, the show had been on for a few years, and on Wednesday nights I would sneak out of bed and turn the tv on (thankfully there was one in my room) and watch on Wednesday nights. I'd have the sound turn down to low so my mom and stepdad wouldn't hear and if I heard footsteps or something I'd turn the tv off real quick. I really liked watching Krystle and Alexis and their many catfights. The first season was bland and many characters spent most of the season just moping. Krystle wasn't like I remembered her, Blake treated her like a servant and she didn't really seem to carry any weight within the family. Maybe that was just the first season. The character of Fallon was a real witch and "Alexis" (really just a woman who was meant to look like Joan Collins) didn't come onto the scene until the final minute of the final episode of season 1 and wasn't introduced until season 2. Even the theme of the show was a bit different during the first season. I'm looking forward to season 2.

Jaw dropper of the day: Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco, during his trial for securities fraud was asked about an omission on his 1999 tax return. Kozlowski neglected to claim on his return a $25 million dollar bonus and then stated at his trial that he didn't notice it was missing from the return. Oh, come now, how ridiculous is that?

Enjoy the rest of your day,

paul

summer movies edition

It was an absolutely beautiful day today. Not too warm, nice breeze, sunny. I walked outside barefoot for a while and just enjoyed the feeling of the grass between my toes. Soon the fireflies will be out and it will be a veritable lightshow as it gets darker. That's always enjoyable to me.

Here's the list of the summer movies I'm really looking forward to. These are the movies I plan to shell out $6 for. I always try to go to matinees because I don't want to pay $2-3 more dollars for an evening show.

Monster-In-Law: Whatever you may think of Jane Fonda, she is talented and I for one am looking forward to seeing her back on the big screen as an over the top mother in law. JLo plays her "poor" daughter-in-law.

Cinderella Man: The reteaming of Ron Howard and Russell Crowe. Crowe is a wonderful actor and despite his turbulent personal life he knows how to deliver on screen. Also on screen with him is Renee Zellweger, another one of my favs. I'm drooling already (only figuratively).

The 40-Year-Old Virgin: It has Steve Carrell in it. The guy from the remake of The Office and Bruce Almighty. He's funny; enough said.

Bewitched: Not a true reworking of the original series. In the movie Darrin and Samantha don't already know each other and she is hired on his tv show. Shirley MacLaine plays Endora and Steve Carrell (yes, him again) plays Uncle Arthur. I hope he does Paul Lynde proud.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: Only because I've watched all of the other ones and I'm interested to see how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and besides my spouse will want to see it so I'll happily accompany him.

Honorable Mention to War Of The Worlds: The original still creeps me out a bit, however, I will go to check out Tom Cruise as action/sci fi hero and of course cute and not so little anymore Dakota Fanning is in it. This is an event movie in the same vein as Independence Day and one reason I'll go is because many people will be talking about it and I don't want to be left out (haha).

That's it for now. Enjoy your evening.

paul

Have you ever just stepped outside early in the morning and just listened to all of the songs of the birds? I get out of work at 5:30 in the morning and when I arrive home I have to stand outside for a few minutes just listening to all of the different birds and their different sounds and songs. It's really amazing the sounds they make.

My spouse and I got into a little disagreement yesterday about a news story I heard. Usually we pretty much agree on social issues, however, this time we didn't. Two high school students in Minnesota were suspended for wearing buttons that said I "heart" my vagina. I can't make the heart symbol so I have to write it out. The buttons were inspired by the play The Vagina Monologues. The school, which probably has a dress code, suspended them because the buttons were inappropriate and some students found them offensive. My spouse lumped this in with free speech, however, I don't agree. I think a school is an inappropriate venue for wearing items like that and if they were in violation of the dress code then they most certainly should have been suspended. Nothing wrong with a little healthy disagreement.

That's all, enjoy your day

paul

It's been downright chilly overnight here in Western, NY. Right now it's 32 degrees but this weekend it's supposed to get up into the 70's. Finally a warming trend.

Disease of the week: Don't worry, it's nothing I have or anyone I know has. Huntington's Disease is a degeneration of brain cells in a certain area of the brain. It is genetic and as of yet there is no cure but there is treatment to control it. The symptoms are emotional disturbances, loss of intellectual faculties and uncontrolled movements. Why am I talking about this disease? Because before last weekend I had never heard of it. Last weekend we rented a terrible movie called Darkness (I only rented because it had Anna Paquin, the girl from The Piano). Anyway, one of the characters in the movie had Huntington's Disease. Fast forward to a couple of days ago when I started reading a book called Saturday and one of the characters in the book has Huntington's Disease. Then this morning driving home from work I heard about a guy from Oswego, NY, who died while climbing Mt. Everest. He was trying to raise money for awareness for, you guessed it, Huntington's Disease. How funny is life?

Jaw Dropper of the day: Picture it: You're in your car, waiting in line at the drive through and from behind you hear someone yelling at you through their window and then you hear the words, Bitch Communists. That's what happened to a couple in Columbia, South Carolina, while waiting in the drive thru line at McDonald's. Apparently the guy was offended by the bumper sticker on their car that read, Another Christian Against Bush. And yes, HORROR OF HORRORS the couple was a lesbian couple. But the guy behind them didn't know that, all he saw was the bumper sticker. Not satisfied the guy caught up to the couple a few minutes later on the Interstate and proceeded to tailgate them for a few miles before finally turning off. I've seen some bumper stickers I didn't like and that I wanted to rip off but I've never had that kind of reaction. Some people just can't control themselves. And some people are just SCARY!!!!!!

Enjoy your day and check your rearview mirror (HAHAHAHAHAHA.....evil laugh)

paul

I always feel like I should write dear blog, like dear diary when I start an entry.

What I'm listening to on the radio: I'm really liking the JoDee Messina song, My Give A Damn's Busted, the ultimate "I couldn't care less" song. And everytime I hear that Gwen Stefani song, Hollaback Girl, some masochistic part of my brain forces me to listen to it. It is annoyingly infectious. It's grown on me; like a fungus. And I've been hearing Backstreet Boys's new song. You may remember them, one of the many boy band groups from the 90's. They were arguably the most popular and their new song sounds strangely like ALL of their songs from the 90's. It's like they went into the studio and just produced the same sound, no new direction or anything. How sad.

Anyway, not much to say today, I'm tired. I'll have a doozy of a jaw dropper tomorrow. Until then, peace.

paul

It's an overcast day in the 40's on this somewhat gloomy Monday. I did finally get out there and get a good start on the lawn. There's about 2 acres to mow and I probably got an acre and a half done. I would have finished it all but as it is my spouse calls me compulsive so maybe I shouldn't be SO compulsive. Besides it's not going anywhere.

I've discovered a new radio station in our area. It's 93.3 Fickle FM. Fickle being the key word. They switch decades and genres and never stick to one type (fickle). I like it very much so far. I've heard songs from the 60's-the present. Most of the radio stations in this area (and most areas) focus on 70's and 80's or 90's or classic rock. This is the first radio station I've heard that really spans all of the musical decades and does not focus on one particular type. And I've heard songs that I literally have not heard in years.

Jaw dropper of the day: Pesos or Pot? A man in Fargo, N.D., tried to pay the pizza man with pot. When the pizza delivery man came to the door the customer looked around for some money and then offered the delivery guy marijuana for payment. He then said he would either need money or the pizza. At that point the customer started yelling and pushing and punched the driver in the face. Needless to say the customer, who was intoxicated, was arrested and released after posting a bond of $5,000. The driver did not seek medical attention for his injuries. Maybe he didn't have insurance, maybe he was just embarrassed but if someone had punched me in the face I would have been at the hospital especially if blood was drawn. Oh well, that's just me.

That's all for today. Have a great day and be safe.

paul

It's another cool spring morning on this Sunday. We have a road sign very near to our house and every spring for several mornings each week we are awakened by the sound of a downy woodpecker pecking away at the sign. It's not unpleasant (at least not for us), however, it is quite loud because it is a metal road sign.

I heard another rotten remake on the radio yesterday. A new group calld d.h.t. has remade the song Listen To Your Heart. This was a #1 song in 1989 by the group Roxette. A terrific Swedish group who had several big hits. Why another group wants to come along and remake the song, which sounds eerily similar to the original, is beyond me.

Jaw dropper of the day: In Peru, more than 4,000 frogs were saved by Peruvian officials after they were found in an abattoir. In the Andes frog cocktails are apparently quite popular because they are supposedly aphrodisiacs. People can even choose their own frog for the cocktail. The officials released the Telmatobius frogs back to where they came from in the southern lakes of the high Andes. Whew!!!!! What's next frog soup? We already have frog legs.

That's all, enjoy your Sunday.

paul