Update

It's official, I don't blog. My last entry was 2008.

Bully

I watched this movie on IFC this evening. I missed a little of the beginning while channel surfing but once I stopped I was hooked. Bully pulled me in and would not let go. It's apparently based on a true story, one that I was not familiar with. There is a ton of sex and drug use in the film, not that I am complaining. But it's the depiction of the teenagers that are so disconnected from reality and their totally clueless parents that was so engaging. It didn't hurt that Brad Renfro was in it. He has always intrigued me ever since his first role in The Client. Too bad Hollywood messed him up so much he ended up dead at 25.

So check out this film if you get a chance. It's disturbing, twisted, dark, funny and perverted. Just my kind of movie.

Martinis and Mini Skirts

Dionne Warwick came to town this week for a rare concert appearance. I could not have been happier. Some of you may be saying at this point, "have I reached the wrong blog?" No you have not. My taste in music varies greatly. We had the pleasure of hearing Ms. Warwick for the first time about six years ago. Her concert appearance back then was at a venue in Galveston. The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston is a great place to see concerts since it's a very small theatre allowing for great views wherever you sit. Our tickets back then were included with a package deal that included several opera recitals and a Greater Tuna show. BTW, the Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston is THE place to see Greater Tuna shows. Anyway, six years ago we went to see Ms. Warwick not really expecting too much. Boy were we mistaken. This lady can work a crowd. So when we saw that she was playing a concert date last week in nearby Stafford Texas (I won't even go into all I could say about Stafford, only to say if you didn't see the sign saying you were leaving Houston you would not know you have crossed over into Stafford). The concert was on a Thursday night (work nights are not the greatest for going out) so we did not immediately buy tickets since we had looked online and seen that there were plenty of seats left about a week prior to the show (such a shame, those tickets should have been snapped up when they went on sale). We waited to see how tired we were on Thursday after work. As it turned out we were both feeling pretty good so we ate a quick dinner and drove the 30 minutes to the Stafford Centre and bought tickets right before show time.

What a fantastic night! The show actually started with a singing impersonator. At first I was saying to myself "oh God this is going to be cheesy". He actually turned out to very good, with his best impression being that of Frank Sinatra signing New York New York. What made it so good was he sang it as if the song were being played in a jukebox and the record kept skipping. I swear this guy sounded exactly like a skipping record. The whole cheesy aspect of the impersonator added to the already 60s feel to the evening. I was being transported back to 1960s Vegas via song.

Dionne came out after a brief intermission. She was accompanied by two keyboardists, a pianist, base player, drummer and a percussionist who played a variety of instruments from bongo drums to tambourines. Her set included songs from her heyday in the 60s, a few Brazilian numbers (she lives in Brazil) and a gospel tune. Everything was flawless. She sounded perfect, her voice taking the audience back to a simpler time when the world just needed Love, Sweet Love. My favorites included Walk On By, Do you Know The Way To San Jose, and I'll Never Love This Way Again. By the end of the concert we were fully involved in the moment, signing along as encouraged by her and tapping toes to the beat. This was one classy evening and a great escape from the work week. I would encourage anyone to leave your preconceived notions at home and go see her if you ever get a chance.

Counting the minutes

Madonna's new CD "Hard Candy" comes out April 29th. I can't wait! "Loves her" as Paris Hilton would say. The first single "4 minutes" is fabulous. The duet with Justin Timberlake is as fun as they get and the video is equally entertaining.

I understand this is the last CD she will release under her current label. She apparently has signed a huge deal to release several more CDs under a new label and she is also going to tour again. I can only hope she comes back to Houston. I saw her here when she began her Blond Ambition tour. It amuses me that Joel Osteen now preaches from the very same building that Madonna once writhed around on stage, faking masturbation while surrounded by men wearing over sized cone bras.

Anyway, I've had my CD pre-ordered on Amazon for some time now and I've already downloaded the song and video from iTunes. The end of April can't get here fast enough.

My Hero!!

I absolutely love Margaret Cho. I can't say enough good things about her. I love her foul mouth, I love her politics, I love her humor, I love her abrasiveness, but mostly I love that she pisses off the people that I tend to hate the most.

I'm very disappointed that she does not have a date in Houston for her current tour. She previewed the show at the Laugh Stop a few month's ago but I declined to buy tickets for fear that it would ruin seeing the show when it came to town. Now I wish I had gone. Perhaps she will add some dates in Houston in the future.

Blast From The Past

I was recently looking for something in the back of my closet and came upon a game of Pente. For those of you not familiar with this board game, it was popular in the 70's. That is when someone gave the game to me as a present. I have always loved playing it even though sometimes years will go by when I don't play a single game. It's like a long lost friend every time I find the game.

The game consists of a board divided into small squares and two or four sets of small, glass beads. The object of the game is to get 5 of your beads in a row or capture 5 pairs of your opponents beads.

Anyway, after I found the game in the closet and not having anyone to play with I of course did the next logical thing and searched the net. Bingo Pente.org was found. I love this site. There is a group of regulars and some novices. The online game can be played two ways. One way is to play live against an opponent or against the computer using a java window. The other method is called a turn-based game where each player logs in whenever they feel like it and makes a move. I like both ways, especially since the java method won't work through the firewall at my job.

It's a very easy game to play and the people on the site seem willing to entertain questions from beginners. There is also a lot of online help available. Check it out.

FindaDeath.com has new forum

I think it was my friend Karen that turned me on to this little site but I'm not sure. Anyway FindaDeath.com now has a forum. I like forums. I usually don't sign up, instead I prefer to lurk. You might want to check the site out. It's really maintained very well and not as ghoulish as the name implies.

Sorry for the delay

It's been a very long time since I last posted. In fact it has been so long that when I logged into Blogger they had changed the entire log in procedure.
I promise to try to be better at posting more often. The whole reason that I decided to update my site right now is because I have been on hold with a company on the phone so long that I ran through every bookmarked website I have in my favorites and this was the last one. I've been on hold about 30 or 40 minutes and now it has become a test of will....oh my god they answered the phone while I was typing this sentence. So a 40 minute wait was handled in a 30 second conversation. Well I'm glad that is over. OK gotta go. See you soon. P.S. love the new spellcheck feature.

A Fitting End?

I hated this man. I was so pleased when he was convicted, and I was looking forward to his sentencing this fall. Lay ruined thousands of lives with his greed and lies. I wonder how many innocent victims died of heart attacks as a result of his evil?
While talking about his demise, the first reactions from friends and family were interesting. Not one person expressed any condolences for him or his family. Actually, there were two typical reactions. Upon hearing of his death, people either asked "did he kill himself?" or "they better check that body to make sure it is really him". I think that sums up the situation pretty well.
I still feel cheated out of the pleasure I would have had watching him being carted off to jail. Although, there is always Skilling.

Delay Announces Resignation From House

I could not be happier. Former bug man and current indicted criminal is doing the right thing and vacating the office that he has abused for two decades. It's about time the trash was taken out in Washington.

There ought to be a law...

Grand Imam Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi of al-Azhar University, the world's highest Sunni Muslim seat of learning(whatever) said the Danish prime minister must apologize for the drawings(if you don't know about the drawings, you must be living under a rock) and further demanded that the world's religious leaders meet to write a law that "condemns insulting any religion, including the Holy Scriptures and the prophets." He said the United Nations should impose the law on all countries.
I have an idea, let's just do away with any form of free-thought. Better yet, let's outlaw sarcasm. Now there's an idea I could get behind.

...and I thought baptists were scary

Apparently no one is allowed to draw caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad without causing mass protests and global embassy burnings.
This blog could go so many ways. I could take the "violence is never the answer" route. Or maybe the "what are they so pissed off about" route. Perhaps the "I'm mad 'cus I don't have the same civil liberties as most others but you don't see me burning down Pat Robertson's house" route. I could get really bigoted and go down the "if you would take some anger management classes and stop beating your wife and making her wear that ridiculous shrouded outfit in 102 degree weather" route. There is also the "I've seen gay Jesus, black Jesus(closer to the truth, deal), lounge singer Jesus, Jesus having sex and ice skating Jesus but I don't remember an embassy being burned down as a result" road.
But the truth for me is "The world would be a much better place without any religion." That's a direct quote from someone I met at a dinner party several years ago and I totally agreed with her. I can hear the gasps now. I'm not suggesting the immediate outlaw of all religion, just suggesting a wish that the concept of religion had never occurred to mankind. That's my opinion. Get over it.

Wife of Joel Osteen Asked to Leave Plane

I absolutely love this news article. The mere thought of the Osteens being dragged off a Continental flight brings a smug smile to my face. For the religious "power couple" of Houston to be ejected from a national airline, shows how they have truly lost touch with the congregation that they preach to daily. You don't have to scratch the surface of their facade to deep before you reveal the real ugliness below. I mean, when was the last time you were personally escorted off a plane for bad behavior? The word "never" comes to mind for me as I am sure it does for you too.
What a bitch she must have been. I can just picture him and her and the two kids gathering their belongings from the overhead bins, heads hanging in shame, while the flight attendants watch with disgusted faces. Perhaps mommy's Valium had worn off by takeoff time or maybe Joel rang the call button one too many times to ask Tom, the cute attendant, for another glass of bubbly causing mommy to throw a fit. We will never know since neither the FBI (who was called in) nor Continental will talk.
And all this mess right before Christmas time. Oh well life's a bitch, or maybe just she is.

Impeach Bush NOW

Enough is enough. This country has had it with the lies and the loss of civil liberties.

Perhaps that is why there was announced today a call for a bipartisan, congressional spy probe into President Bush's approval of electronic spying on American citizens.

In response to the call, Cheney vigorously defended the program, saying "it's not an accident that we haven't been hit in four years."

Oh my God, so using his logic, breaking the law is perfectly fine as long as you justify it by saying that a possible negative outcome that may have happened was avoided. Well congratulations Mr. Cheney, you have just hit a new low. I always knew you were a snake. At least the skin has been shed and your ignorance is in full view.

I can't wait until Congress puts the screws to you and Bush and all your high-horse riding friends.

Hypocrites

Quotes from Republicans when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia:

"You can support the troops but not the president."-Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."-Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"-Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"[The] President...is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."-Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy." -Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning...I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."-Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"-Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."-Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

A Perfect Ending

The series finale of Six Feet Under aired last night on HBO. I cannot begin to express how absolutely perfect the episode was. Over the years I have seen many of my favorite shows end. The approach of a series finale always puts a melancholy touch on the last season. The fifth and final season of Six Feet Under was no different. All season long I watched as my favorite show worked its way to the inevitable end.

I have come to expect very little from series finales. I usually enjoy them but they tend to never live up to the hype. Six Feet Under broke the mold for a series and series finale. I won't give anything away for those who have not viewed it yet. I just have to say that this finale lives up to all expectations and then proceeds to venture into perfection. I have nothing but complete admiration for Writer, Director and Executive Producer Alan Ball and the entire cast and crew of this absolutely wonderful show.

Rarely, if ever; has a show ended with such an emotional impact as this one. I was literally in tears as the final moments flew by. An emotional wreck, I lay there listening to the music played over the final credits reflecting on what I had just witnessed. The shear, raw emotion exhibited during the finale was some of the best entertainment I have ever witnessed. I tip my hat to any show that can have that kind of impact on me and I feel glad to have experienced it. I will truly miss Six Feet Under, a show that has raised the bar for dramatic television.

Bigots in charge

ANTI-GAY TEXAS MARRIAGE AMENDMENT PASSES SENATE

The amendment has been cleared to appear on a statewide ballot November 2005. Of course it will pass. Texas is filled with uneducated, hateful, fearful hicks.

This would mark the first time in history that a minority group would be singled out in the constitution in order to be denied rights. Constitutions are historically treated as sacred documents, designed to preserve rights and ensure equality for all.

Shame on the Texas lawmakers for allowing this amendment to pass the Senate. They should be ashamed of themselves. The hatred I feel for them right now is only tempered by my knowledge that eventually they will be defeated in reelection bids and will fade into oblivion as lonely, bitter, homophobes who pandered to the lowest common denominator in order to justify their lives.

I'm thankful that our government includes the judicial system which will eventually overturn this piece of hate legislation.

So true it's scary

UPDATED EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

DRESS CODE
It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing $350 Prada sneakers, and carrying a $600 Gucci Bag, we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress in-between, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

SICK DAYS
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

PERSONAL DAYS
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

RESTROOM USE
Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. There is now a strict 3 minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.LUNCH

BREAK
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation, and input should be directed elsewhere. Have a nice week!
THE MANAGEMENT

My new ride, the '05 Acura TL

Mine is a darker grey than this one.

I really love my new car. This has to be the finest automobile I have ever owned. Well, "owned" is a term I use lightly when talking about cars. I actually lease the car. I have leased my last three vehicles and find it a very useful tool. I get bored with cars easily and like to trade them in about every three to four years. For me, leasing has worked out very well. Little or nothing down, a monthly payment I find reasonable and I get a new car at about the time I get tired of the old one.
Let me say right off the bat that I am a "car" person in the sense that I like how certain cars look, both inside and out. I am not the least bit interested in how fast a car will go or how powerful it is. Those are nice, but for my driving habits, if the car moves forward when I press the accelerator and stops when I press the brake, that’s all I really need to know about its mechanics. In fact, I have never even popped the hood on this car. I'll probably have to do a short search for the button that releases the latch the first time I have to open it. (note to self, go open the hood soon) I know that there are plenty of people who do like all the technical and mechanical aspects of automobiles and I am very glad that such people are out there.
This is my first truly luxurious car. It has all the bells and whistles that I could want. XM radio came with a free trial period. While I am slightly disappointed with the quality of the reception of XM, I understand that it has something to do with the way they compress the signal(both XM and Sirius do this). The lack of commercials more than makes up for a slightly diminished quality. I have listened to the radio more in the last few weeks than I have in the last two years. Rediscovering the joy of listening to the radio has been a very pleasant by-product of the new car.
Along with XM radio, the TL comes Bluetooth equipped so you can talk on your Bluetooth enabled mobile phone hands-free. With a press of a button, you can have the radio muted and then recite the name or number of the person you wish to call. The microphone is hidden somewhere near the rearview mirror and you listen to your caller through the front speakers. When a call is received, a voice interrupts the radio and announces that you have an incoming call. Very cool. I tested this all out the other day with Bill's phone. Worked like a charm. However, in order for me to take advantage of this feature, I need to purchase a new mobile phone. My current phone is not Bluetooth enabled. I checked with my carrier and I will be eligible for a major discount on a new phone in about six weeks. A wait that I find excruciatingly long.
Another nice feature, the side mirrors automatically tilt downwards slightly when you put the car into reverse. This is to allow you to see the curb easier when parallel parking. The last time I parallel parked, the officer gave me a passing grade and allowed me to obtain a drivers license. None the less, it's a nice touch. I love the sound system in the TL too. In addition to playing regular CDs, it will also play DVD audio. These are a lot harder to find in the stores but the sound quality is very good. The system will play 5.1 surround. That means there is even a sub-woofer in the rear. I've had fun experimenting with the controls to get just the right mix of treble, base etc.
It's great driving a car that you really like :-)

P.T. Barnum was Absolutely Right!

My friend Karen recently posted a blog about medical pseudosciences, including: Iridology, Colonic Irrigation, and Aromatherapy. Here is the link to her blog ...http://finijo.blogspot.com/2005/01/pt-barnum-was-absolutely-right.html

My thoughts on the subject:
Karen hit on one of my biggest pet peeve topics. These so-called "remedies" for what ails you really upset me.
Awhile back, when I was very sick, I had all sorts of people offering their various opinions on what crack ball remedies I should try. While I thanked each and every one of them for their kind thoughts, I would immediately roll my eyes back in their sockets when I was out of eyesight. Don't get me wrong, if someone wants to try any of these things, more power to them. However, those vultures that prey on the infirmed, selling these items as magical cures, have a special place in hell reserved for them.
My lowest place of honor goes to the colonic irrigation faction. The colon has a very delicate balance of bacteria and other unknown flora and fauna. They are there for a reason, to keep us healthy. Flushing them out with one of these "treatments" is very invasive and totally unnecessary. Not to mention, possibly very damaging. Also, red meat does NOT stay in the colon for years as most people who administer colonic irrigation treatments would like you to believe. Neither does bubble gum or any other swallowed substance. Can you say "urban myth"?
One more thing and I will shut up. This topic is closely linked to another pet peeve of mine. Those people who take great delight in telling a sick person that it is all their fault for becoming ill. As if something the ill person had done or thought had made them the way they were. Those types of comments have to be the least helpful and the most insulting of any that are made to anyone who is battling an illness.