February 15, 2010
Congratulations to the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. The game did not play out like most expected, as Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning looked quite average instead of like one of the greatest field generals of all time. The victory is good for the beleaguered city of New Orleans and I sincerely hope many benefits are reaped.
The re-entry sequence near the end of Apollo 13 deserves to be ranked right up there with the baptism scene from The Godfather and the “Dad” scene at the end of Field of Dreams as among the greatest movies moments of all time.
I have come to a spiritual crossroads. My faith and belief in God and in my Savior Jesus Christ is still there, but my patience with superficial Christian clichés has run out. I no longer desire church to be a shallow social gathering. At the same time, I see no value in being a humorless Bible thumper who can’t loosen up and have fun…others too easily disregard that person as an uptight, unhappy killjoy. I am on a journey seeking an authentic & devout relationship and I am not sure it is available in the places one would normally assume it can be found. Something inside me has either broken or been awakened (I’m not sure which) in the past few months, and my BS meter when it comes to religion is on high alert.
Even as a diehard conservative I am not really sold on Sarah Palin as a legit Presidential candidate, but the outright vitriol aimed in her direction by histrionic shit stirrers on the left is puzzling. Palin and former President George W. Bush have their flaws for sure, but how some can so completely eviscerate them almost daily while at the same time putting Barack Hussein Obama on the largest pedestal mankind has ever known is completely beyond all logical comprehension.
I would like to nominate ESPN’s Skip Bayless as the worst sports journalist in history. His arrogant and condescending attitude is off the charts, and his opinions are so often dead wrong that he has become a joke. I recently saw him trying to justify the possibility of 13-11 North Carolina being chosen as an at-large team for the NCAA tournament. He was dead serious about the Tar Heels being selected merely due to their history and pedigree over lesser known teams with better records. Not only did the debate prove him to be a complete fool, but it highlighted what can be very wrong with collegiate athletics when so much credit is given to a reputation and a perception instead of actual performance. Call it The Notre Dame Fallacy.
Valentine’s Day has to be the worst holiday on the calendar.
I love it when people act like they understand something when in reality they have absolutely no clue. It really makes them look silly. Mark Twain famously said it is “better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt”. More people should follow that advice. And yes, I see the irony in a guy who writes a VERY opinionated blog espousing that philosophy.
Can we please dispense with the term “pro-choice”?? People who are pro-choice only believe in a woman’s right to choose if she ultimately chooses to have an abortion.
Speaking of BS…..
I accepted long ago the fact that it is very possible that I may someday be one of those people who is dead for several days and whose body is only discovered because the neighbor’s begin to notice a stench. This is because at some point it became very clear to me that very few people legitimately give a damn whether I live or die, which does not in any way make me special or unique…..it’s just the way we human beings treat each other nowadays. So armed with this awareness, I have very little patience for petulant, bratty adults who act like whiny children in a desperate attempt to have their ego validated. Encounters with so-called adults make me ever more determined to fade into the background in a concerted effort to not draw attention to myself.
I like Nascar and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
2 Comments | 
Random Thoughts | Tagged: abortion, Apollo 13, Barack Hussein Obama, Christianity, Drew Brees, ESPN, Field of Dreams, George W. Bush, God, Indianapolis Colts, Jesus Christ, Nascar, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, pro-choice, pro-life, Sarah Palin, Skip Bayless, Super Bowl, The Bible, The Godfather, Valentine's Day | 
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Posted by sammano
February 7, 2010
I have developed a troubling fascination with the Kardashian reality show on E!. They are just so sincerely and hopelessly out of touch with the real world that it is sort of amusing.
Out of all the hundreds of types of people out there, I think I’ve decided the one I like the least are progressive hippie wannabes who fancy themselves 1960’s throwbacks.
What’s with America’s fascination with spicy food?? Everywhere you look restaurant food and grocery items are “fire grilled”, “molten lava”, “fiery”, “flame throwed”, and “volcanic”. Now I will admit I have whatever is the direct opposite of an iron stomach. I’ll need to run to the bathroom after writing this. But the increasing obsession to kick up our food to scorching levels of hotness seems a bit odd.
The History Channel show Life After People has to be one of the dumbest television programs of all time.
Fat free bologna does not fry very well.
I have a solution for overly rowdy fans at collegiate sports events, because no one should ever get away with throwing anything onto the field or court. Such behavior needs punished severely. If the perpetrator is a student then he or she is banned from attending any university sporting events for the remainder of their college career. If the person is an adult non-student then they are banned from all university sporting events for 10 years. The penalty for an adult is harsher because they should know better.
RIP author JD Salinger, author of infamous novel The Catcher In the Rye. I personally don’t see what the big deal is about the book, but I realize I am in the minority.
President Obama’s low blows against Vegas just make me want to want to go there even more.
Two weeks of hype for the Super Bowl is undeniably too much.
I had my wild party days in college. I drank plenty of beer and liquor. But I’m in my mid 30’s now and drinking on a regular basis holds no thrill for me. It kind of surprises me the number of my peers that seem to enjoy drinking like they are still college students. A lot of them are people with spouses and jobs and kids, yet they try so hard to be perpetually 19 years old. I find it a rather unflattering side to otherwise decent people. Are your lives so miserable that you have to dull the pain with alcohol?? Have a cola or an iced tea or some milk folks.
RIP as well to actress Frances Reid, who died at age 95 after portraying Alice Horton on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives for over 40 years. My sister and I had a babysitter that got us hooked on DOOL (and General Hospital) back in the early 1980’s. I’ve been watching ever since.
1 Comment | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Days of Our Lives, Frances Reid, History Channel, J.D. Salinger, kim Kardashian, Life After People, President Barack Obama, Super Bowl, The Catcher in the Rye | Permalink
Posted by sammano
January 23, 2010
The baseball community is up in arms because Mark McGwire finally admitted he was on the juice. I’m not sure how anyone with a brain could be the least bit surprised.
I recently saw someone list their political affiliation as “demacrate”, which speaks volumes about the intelligence of your average liberal.
Faithful readers of The Manofesto know of my affinity for late night television and that I have made several comments on the topic in the past year. Recent events have seen the powder keg explode in a way I certainly never imagined. I had a brief flirtation with writing a whole piece on what’s been going on, but really my thoughts can be boiled down to a few basic statements. The people that run NBC are incompetent assclowns…that is undeniable. Conan O’Brien has gotten the shaft in this whole thing, but just may have the last laugh when he lands on his feet at another network later this year. I think his decision to not accept having The Tonight Show pushed back to a 12:05am starting time showed that he has a huge set of…well, you know what I mean…..and good for him. And then there’s Jay Leno. Anyone still buying Leno’s selfless nice guy act really needs to take the blinders off. He’s as shrewd as they come. A true class act would have either walked away 5 years ago when the NBC brass were wringing their hands about what to do, or walked away now. Then or now he too would have landed on his feet on another channel. But he showed back during the original “Late Shift” that he’d do just about anything to hold onto The Tonight Show, and nothing much has changed in 17 years.
I have no interest in seeing the movie Avatar. I don’t know why.
What is it about grocery stores that turn people into complete imbeciles?? I honestly believe that maybe a two part training course should be given, one for the outside and one for the inside. I fear for my safety in some parking lots more than I do on a busy highway. And then once one makes it inside you see people standing around in the aisles, lollygagging, and generally making life for their fellow shoppers more difficult than necessary.
I can only say this about the terrible tragedy in Haiti:
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. – Matthew 24:4-14
Congratulations to new United States Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, a Republican who won the seat formerly held in a vise grip by the late Teddy Kennedy. The wacky, out of touch, not so subtly Communist libs still have control of Congress, but rumors of the death of conservatism were obviously blown out of proportion.
The Winter Olympics just don’t frost my cupcake. Except for curling…..I really dig curling.
I can’t believe this is the first edition of Random Thoughts in 2 ½ months !!
Just because you’re a pedestrian and therefore legally have the right-of-way does not give you the right to casually meander in front of or behind my moving vehicle. Get out of the way!!
I have suddenly become a huge fan of both cereal and soup. Strange.
Chan Gailey?? Really Buffalo…that’s the best you could do??
1 Comment | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Avatar, Chan Gailey, Conan O'Brien, curling, Haiti, Jay Leno, Mark McGwire, Senator Scott Brown, Winter Olympics | Permalink
Posted by sammano
November 7, 2009
The whole concept of hate crimes is insipidly inane. Murdering someone because of their race or sexual orientation isn’t any worse than murdering someone for any other reason. Either way it’s murder. Hate crimes are just a branch of the vapid political correctness tree.
I think television died a two part death for me. The first part came on May 20, 1993…the last episode of Cheers. The final blow was the demise of Seinfeld on May 14, 1998. I just haven’t given a damn about scripted prime time television since those two events occurred.
Comedian David Cross was recently bragging that he snorted coke…the drug not the cola…at the White House Correspondents Dinner mere feet from President Hussein Obama. Oh where to begin?? First of all, the only reason Cross was there was because he is inexplicably dating cute actress Amber Tamblyn. Yeah, you’ve probably never heard of her either. Both are so far down on the relevance scale that they are barely worth writing this sentence. Cross’ career highlight was cancelled TV show Arrested Development, a show so fantastic and popular it was…well…cancelled. Secondly, what kind of a society do we live in where such an illegal act is not only not frowned upon but put on a pedestal?? There is no doubt in mind that the same intellectually vacant societal succubuses that thought it was funny that Letterman cheated on the mother of his child with a professional subordinate will find it hysterical that Cross “got away with” snorting coke at The White House. Amongst this group will likely be the approximately 3 dozen people who ever bothered to watch Arrested Development and the even smaller group of losers who wasted their $$ at the local cineplex for Cross’ live action Chipmunks film. And finally…way to go White House security. Not even I can pin this one on Hussein Obama. I almost feel sorry for him. How safe is he supposed to feel if it’s so easy to commit a felony within feet of him, at an official White House function??
The older I get the more I embrace short stories over long novels. It seems like my attention span is decreasing.
The shootings at Fort Hood and an office building in Orlando are tragic stories, situations that I cannot even fathom. I believe more details will come out about the Fort Hood situation, but thus far it looks like a Muslim with atleast some anti-American feelings decided to handle things in precisely the way The Koran tells its followers to. It’s scary to think that the armed forces can be infiltrated like that. And I’m sick and tired of politically correct apologists who keep defending Islam and saying it’s a truly peaceful religion with a few overzealous nutjobs. That’s just not the case. Maybe those folks who have the knee jerk reaction of soft selling the reality haven’t been paying attention, but I have and I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade. Islam seems to have more than its fair share of violent zealots. As far as the Orlando shootings…it was a disgruntled former employee. That’s certainly not new or unique, but it’s never been something I’ve been able to grasp. I’ve been on both sides…..having to fire people and having been fired myself. It gave me no great joy to have to do it and not for one second do I believe the folks who did it to me got any kind of perverse pleasure in their task. It’s not personal, it’s just business. For someone to get so angry about it that they take innocent lives is just something I will never understand.
I’d honesty forgotten that football legend Lawrence Taylor matriculated at the University of North Carolina until he showed up at one of their televised games.
The just released 3D motion capture animated version of A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey is amazing. It’s stays fairly true to the book and is rather dark and disturbing in places. I enthusiastically recommend it for all moviegoers and especially fans of the classic novella and/or Christmas movies in general. However, I recommend leaving the crumb crunchers at home. Just because it’s animated doesn’t mean it’s kid friendly.
I think it is entirely within the realm of possibility that within a few decades physical attendance at school may be purely voluntary. I envision an Internet based home schooling system (government approved of course) where a child has a curriculum to complete at home at their own pace, meaning an intelligent, driven child could conceivably graduate high school by their early teens. Conversely, a lazy, academically challenged person may not finish until they are legal adults. Either way it will drastically reduce demand for teachers, eliminate the necessity for upkeep of older school buildings and the construction of new ones, minimize health and security risks (think swine flu & Columbine), and utilize a reward system in which the smart go getters are able to move forward with their lives much sooner. I’m not saying this is all gonna happen tomorrow, but don’t be surprised if you see a version of this scenario on some scale within your lifetime.
This just in: both Sting (the singer, not the wrestler) and Bono are idiots.
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: A Christmas Carol, Bono, Cheers, David Cross, Fort Hood, hate crime, Jim Carrey, President Obama, Seinfeld, Sting | Permalink
Posted by sammano
October 15, 2009
I’m pretty much completely off the Letterman bandwagon. I’d already begun to sour on him over the past few years because of his increasingly bitter and jaded schtick (and it has to be bad for me to be turned off because I do bitter and jaded pretty well myself) as well as his turn toward the hard left. Then the whole Sarah Palin incident happened and that was a real head scratcher. Now news of Dave’s numerous trysts with female staffers and the ensuing extortion stemming from those infidelities is being treated as one big joke. I am far from a prude, but it’s all just too much. I watch my late night shows to laugh and be entertained, not to be taken on a reality roller coaster ride.
Baseball’s final four…..New York Yankees, LA Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, LA Dodgers. What a God awful end of the season. I have absolutely zero interest in any of these teams. I won’t watch a single inning of any of the last three series. Will someone PLEASE buy the Pittsburgh Pirates and make them relevant again?!?!?
Congratulations to the city of Rio de Janeiro for procuring the 2016 Olympics. Unfortunately Rio’s victory comes at the expense of Chicago. I guess the committee decided that the athletes couldn’t compete effectively while wearing bullet proof vests.
I am hearing that the winter of 2009-10 will be the worst in 60 years, one that “you’ll tell your grandkids about”. I really hope that doesn’t prove to be true.
Apparently a reboot of the Vacation movie franchise is in the works, this time with Rusty Griswold as the bumbling patriarch of his own family. Now I LOVE the original Vacation and, because of my deep affection for Christmas films, absolutely adore Christmas Vacation. European Vacation and Vegas Vacation…..ehhh, not so much. If this next sequel actually occurs I really hope it is good and worthy of its heritage, but that will only happen if a few things occur. First of all, Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo must appear as Clark & Ellen Griswold, even if it is only a token cameo. Secondly, the original Rusty, Anthony Michael Hall, must must must be signed to star. There have been four different Rustys, but the original was the best and really the only one who most would buy as a father. And finally…and this is more of a generality…the writing must be funny and original. Amusing references and homages to the other movies in the series are fine, but it won’t work if it’s just Rusty repeating the same gags that his father did two decades ago.
Farewell Saturn…the car, not the planet.
Sooooooo…..according to out of touch Hollywood elitists director Roman Polanski should be let off the hook for raping a 13 year old girl because he has been rich enough to elude the police for 30 years and because he happened to direct some decent films. Yep, that makes perfect sense. Idiots.
RIP Captain Lou Albano, one of the most memorable pro wrestling personalities of all time.
The pre-emptive ouster of Rush Limbaugh as a perspective NFL owner is more than unfortunate…it’s racially motivated. The media and the powers-that-be in the NFL are more willing to listen to twits like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who have proven to be divisive and fraudulent, than a man who has 20 million listeners every week (equal to the most popular shows on television). The NFL is chock full of thugs who’ve done everything from drive drunk to possess firearms to beat their wives, yet somehow Rush isn’t good enough to be a minority (pardon the pun) owner?? That’s such a load of PC hogwash. Assclowns like Al Davis, Jerry Jones, and Daniel Snyder are allowed to own teams yet Rush is deemed inappropriate?? Unbelievable.
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Anthony Michael Hall, Captain Lou Albano, Chevy Chase, Chicago, Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold, David Letterman, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, National Lampoon's Vacation, New York Yankees, NFL, Olympics, Philadelphia Phillies, Rio De Janeiro, Roman Polanski, Rush Limbaugh, Rusty Griswold, Sarah Palin, Saturn | Permalink
Posted by sammano
September 27, 2009
The funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy cost the city of Boston over $400k. Somehow that seems like a fitting tribute to his liberal tax & spend legacy.
I’ve just never been able to get into Canadian football…I don’t know why.
Is anyone really shocked that Iran is adding to their nuclear arsenal (besides The Obama Administration of course)??
Awhile back I wrote about my satisfaction with the current late night lineup. With all the pieces now finally in place, let’s take a quick look at the hits & misses. I’m not sure Conan has found his stride on The Tonight Show quite yet, but give him time…it took a few years for him to get into the proper comfort zone at 12:30, so the current situation isn’t a surprise. Leno at 10pm is okay. There are some kinks to work out, but if one found him funny on The Tonight Show he’s pretty much the same now. For those that find his humor too vanilla and crave the edgy stuff, you won’t like him any better earlier. Jay is built for comfort, not controversy. I honestly haven’t watched Letterman, Kimmel, or Ferguson all that much lately. Letterman turned me off with the whole Sarah Palin thing and it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Ferguson is occasionally a bit too…manic…and I have to be in the right mood. Kimmel hasn’t done anything wrong, but his odd timeslot and lack of promotion make him forgettable, which is unfortunate. The emerging star in my eyes is Jimmy Fallon. I know he annoys alot of people, mostly folks my Dad’s age or older. But I find him to be the best compromise amongst the group. He’s got Leno’s affability, Conan’s wackiness, some of Letterman’s subversive humor and is just edgy enough without coming across curmudgeonly and bitter like Dave. He connects with the audience and seems to genuinely be having fun, which is remiscent of Kimmel. If I owned Fox I’d throw a boatload of cash at Kimmel for an 11:30 show and then move heaven & earth to get Fallon at 12:30. It could be The Jimmy Late Night Connection.
So let me get this straight about the proposed government health care fiasco – If I choose not to buy it there is a $1900 fine, and if I don’t pay that I could get a year in jail?? When did I involuntarily move to Cuba or Russia??
“Rachel’s Adult Night Club in Casselberry (FL) is giving out free flu shots to city residents.It is the sixth year in a row the club has held the promotion.Residents get free vaccines from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and senior citizens get free lunch.Non-Casselberry residents can also get flu shots, but they’ll have to pay $30.” – Needles at a strip club…..now there’s a good idea…*lol*.
One of the biggest problems in our world today is incompetence. People don’t care enough to even head in the direction of excellence.
Filmmaker Michael Moore is an embarrasment and a moron. This isn’t a new revelation, just something I like to reiterate as often as possible.
It’s “supposedly”, not “supposibly”. That drives me nuts.
Gadhafi was allowed an audience with The U.N.?? Are you kidding me?? And Ahmadinejad?? It really is like the cantina scene from Star Wars.
I’m okay with Ellen Degeneres taking Paula Abdul’s spot as a judge on American Idol. She’s not a music industry insider, so she can kind of be the voice of the fans. Plus she’ll be just as amusing as Abdul but the humor will be intentional and ostensibly not pharmaceutically enhanced.
Recent legit terror threats leave no doubt as to the brilliance of former President Bush and the bumbling ineptitude of the current buffoon residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We’ve gotten complacent in the years after 9/11, but GW and a few others always realized how foolish it would be to let off the throttle.
I can’t believe there are still people in America who willingly pay $50+ for boxing pay-per-views.
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: George W. Bush, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show, David Letterman, Jay Leno, American Idol, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Ted Kennedy, Barack Hussein Obama, Canadian Football League, Iran, health care, Obamacare, Michael Moore, Moammar Gadhafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Paula Abdul, Ellen Degeneres | Permalink
Posted by sammano
September 15, 2009
I was always taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. So…..I am withholding comment on the happenings at Michigan involving football coach Rich Fraudriguez…..for now. Let’s see how it all shakes out. I will simply opine at this moment that an upset victory over an overhyped & overrated Notre Dame should not mean possible cheating gets conveniently overlooked.
The older I get the bigger fan I become of normal, solid names like George, James, Joe, Vince, Paul, and Ike. Unusual and cute names are just irritating.
I refuse to buy baseball caps with Velcro closures.
President Hussein Obama seems hell bent on “convincing” the American public that we need socialized health care. Obama obviously misunderstands the concept of democracy and representative government, which is that we tell you what we want, you do NOT tell us what you want. We don’t care what you want. Your job is to represent the people who are, collectively, a whole lot smarter than you Mr. President. This health care debate needs to end right now, today. We’ve made our opinion perfectly clear…it is the job of those whom we elected to submit to the will of the people.
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Pirates on your record setting 17th season with a losing record, meaning that you really do suck worse than anything has ever sucked before. Everyone associated with the organization must be so proud. I wonder if they had cake…maybe had t-shirts or other mementos made…maybe a special luncheon to mark their accomplishment??
I’d be interested in meeting the inventor of the funnel cake, the person whose idea it was to deep fry dough and top it with powdered sugar, all in an amoeba-like shape. Yum!!
I already had no use for Kanye West. First of all, he’s a “rapper”, a form of artistic expression for which I have absolutely no appreciation. And of course he’s the dude who said a few years ago that President Bush hated black people…..one of the most asinine statements in the history of asinine statements. Now he’s gone and made an ass of himself once again by hijacking the MTV Video Awards, a harmless little pop culture fluff event. He stole country star Taylor Swift’s winning moment away by spouting some nonsense about how Beyonce should have won. I won’t claim to be a huge fan of either Swift or Beyonce, both of whom sell sexuality rather than musical ability…..but West’s actions prove just what a ghetto thug he really is (no wonder he’s such a fan of the current President), and if MTV had any cahonas whatsoever they’d not only ban him from their frivolous awards shows but ban him and his videos and anything else he’s involved in from their network for life.
I would like to suggest a new twist on sports prognostication. We’ve all see these guys on TV, in the newspapers, on websites, or on the radio who predict a large slate of games. The problem is that no one ever examines their results. I humbly propose that there should be consequences if it is proven that an “expert” is just a bag of hot air with no more expertise than you or me. Anyone predicting more than 2 games that are wrong with more than half of their guesses should be suspended for two weeks without pay.
Saturday Night Live is turning 35 this season. The cast is ever changing but one thing has remained the same for nearly all of SNL’s three decade run: producer Lorne Michaels…..which is probably why the show isn’t all that good anymore. One can’t expect a 65 year old man to still be in touch with what the 18-35 year old target demographic finds entertaining.
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Barack Hussein Obama, Beyonce, Kanye West, Lorne Michaels, Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rich Rodriguez, Saturday Night Live, Taylor Swift | Permalink
Posted by sammano
August 28, 2009
Welcome back Bret Favre…I guess. I find it sad that he waffled so much that he became a punchline and turned people against him because of a perceived diva attitude. Now he’s back and no one outside of Minnesota gives a damn.
When someone mentions Uncle Jesse do you think Full House or do you think Dukes of Hazzard ??
If anyone out there has a pug and has considered joining a site called Pugs.com, do yourself a huge favor and skip it. The people who interact on that board on a regular basis are a bunch of arrogant, self righteous jackasses who won’t offer any real insight. Instead they’ll just act superior and belittle you with insulting replies to genuine questions.
I think Pete Rose should have his ban from baseball lifted only after his death, ensuring that his enshrinement into baseball’s Hall of Fame would be posthumous. That would permanently cast his story in a tragic light while still rightly recognizing on the field accomplishments.
The powers-that-be can classify it as a homicide if they wish, but the bottom line is that Michael Jackson’s death was the responsibility of one man…..Michael Jackson. Sure, he had more than a few enablers and sycophants who used and abused him, but at the end of the day he was a grown man who got himself hooked on painkillers and died because of that addiction.
I’m so tired of people who wallow in the victim mentality.
In case you’ve ever wondered, no…a dirty house is not child abuse. It may be poor parenting, bad judgment, and a negative reflection on one’s values, but it is not abuse. Unless there are rats or roaches or something.
I’m no Plaxico Burress fan, but he got royally hosed by being sentenced to 2 years in prison for shooting himself.
The molten lava cakes from Domino’s are spectacular…..but you can find the same thing in your grocery store for a far more economic price.
While the death of Senator Edward Kennedy is sad just as anyone’s death is sad, thinking people will resist the urge to follow in lockstep with the drive-by media and put ol’ Teddy up on a pedestal. He was not only flawed like all human beings, but was more flawed than most. No one should ever forget that, no matter what the law officially declared, he was responsible for the tragic death of a woman 30 years ago, a crime for which his family’s money and power assured he’d never pay for.
To round out this sports heavy edition, my thoughts on Michael Vick: I’m not a fan…never have been, never will be. But that’s because he played for Virginia Tech and was a punk even then. As far as the dog fighting business…it was heinous, thug behavior that shouldn’t have been shocking to anyone who’d noticed the fact that Vick is indeed a punk. However, he has paid his debt to society. Everyone deserves a second chance. If being in prison and losing the great life he had humbled him in any way and forced him to reevaluate the meaning of his existence then that is a good thing and he needs to be given an opportunity to become that new man.
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Bret Favre, Dukes of Hazzard, Full House, Michael Jackson, Michael Vick, Pete Rose, Plaxico Burress, Pugs.com, Ted Kennedy | Permalink
Posted by sammano
July 11, 2009
I seriously doubt if I will ever get into Twitter…..but never say never.
A study has found that individuals “with unpopular names are more likely to engage in criminal activity”. Oddball names are “connected to factors that increase the tendency to commit crime, such as a disadvantaged home environment, residence in a county with low socioeconomic status, and households run by one parent.” The study goes on to say that “adolescents with unpopular names may be more prone to crime because they are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships.” Allow me to translate: if you think you’re being cool by naming your illegitimate baby Loquanda, FayNeNe, Donquavious, Shataniana, or adding Da/De to common names like Shawn, John, etc……well, you’re not. You are starting that child’s life already behind the curve and reinforcing stereotypes rather than proving them wrong. Maybe we should call this The Orenthal Theorem.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he would jump at the chance to drive in the Indianapolis 500 if there were not a conflicting NASCAR race on the same day. – Atleast he couldn’t finish 38th…..there are only 33 cars in the Indy 500.
An update on The Stimulus: it’s still not working.
The U.S. Agriculture Department would be given the power to regulate all food sold in schools, including vending machine snacks, when Congress renews child nutrition programs. Agriculture Committee work on child nutrition will begin with a draft that gives the USDA the authority to oversee all food in schools, so nutrition programs are not “undermined” by junk food in vending machines. There has been “pushback” from schools that count on revenue from vending machines to pay for student activities. – I’m a solutions oriented guy..…so I suggest the government just ban vending machines from schools and pay for all student activities by raising taxes. Why waste time when that’s where Hussein Obama is headed anyway.
ESPN’s newest on air talent, Michelle Beadle, makes a favorable first impression. She’s reminiscent of a perkier, younger, somewhat less sultry Ellen Barkin.
The past several weeks have seen the deaths of actors David Carradine, Karl Malden, and Farrah Fawcett, singer Michael Jackson, Japanese wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa, sidekick Ed McMahon, infomercial guru Billy Mays, retired boxer Alexis Arguello, impressionist Fred Travalena, and former NFL QB Steve “Air” McNair. I’m not one to put celebrities up on a pedestal, but what a brutal month. May they all rest in peace.
Speaking of McNair…..as much as everyone wants to put him up on a pedestal because he was a star athlete (misguided hero worship that usually begins in junior high), the simple fact seems to be that he was just another guy cheating on his wife with a much younger woman. It’s likely that she had the attitude shared by young women everywhere, an overly romantic and idealized view of love. She probably thought he was going to leave his wife and they’d live happily ever after. She found out she was wrong, flipped out, and now they are both dead. Very sad story, and all too common.
An employee at a New Jersey chocolate processing plant died after falling into a vat of hot chocolate. He was dumping raw chocolate into the vat for melting when he fell in from a nine-foot high platform. – Wow…what a tragically awesome way to go.
I’m not so sure that Sarah Palin resigning as Governor of Alaska was such a wise move. Time will tell.
ESPN’s Mike and Mike were recently contemplating ways to make baseball’s all star game matter, lamenting the fact that it currently doesn’t, and trying to figure out why. It’s quite simple really. Baseball itself has become increasingly irrelevant. The game is populated with cheaters, junkies, and thugs. Babe Ruth was a beer guzzling, woman chasing, hard partying character…..Barry Bonds and his ilk are just a steaming pile of garbage. Clean up the game and it will regain its significance.
Michelle Obama showed off her more expensive taste in fashion by carrying a $6k black alligator manila clutch while strolling the wooded landscape outside of Moscow, Russia. – I’m not a woman and admittedly know nothing about purses…but how ostentatious is that??
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Alexis Arguello, Barack Obama, Barry Bonds, baseball all-star game, Billy Mays, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Carradine, Ed McMahon, ESPN, Farrah Fawcett, Fred Travalena, government stimulus, Karl Malden, Michael Jackson, Michelle Beadle, Michelle Obama, Mike & Mike, Mitsuharu Misawa, OJ Simpson, Sarah Palin, Steve McNair, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by sammano
June 26, 2009
So Chastity…um, I mean Chaz…Bono is getting an addadicktomy. That might be news if she/he were relevant in any way whatsoever.
“Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums. In a letter to the CEO’s of both companies, Representatives Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Anthony Weiner warned that a 70 percent sales threshold ‘may be too onerous’ and could lead condo buyers to shun new developments, according to the paper. The legislators asked the companies to “make appropriate adjustments” to their underwriting standards for condos.” - These two idiots should be removed from office immediately. Barney Frank is an embarrassment who can’t even talk right, let alone lead anything or anyone.
I think John Mayer’s music could grow on me if I gave it half a chance.
At what point, what hour, is it proper to stop imparting a wish for someone to “have a nice day” because the day is essentially over??
I couldn’t possibly care less about these John and Kate people and I’m tired of hearing about them.
Why does everyone suddenly want traded away from the Denver Broncos??
There is public outrage concerning Republican Governor of South Carolina cheating on his wife. Back in the Clinton years it was “just sex”, no big deal. I’m just sayin’…..
RIP Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. I feel like my childhood is slowly dying, and it makes me sad.
The Oscars are doubling the amount of Best Picture nominees to 10. When was the last time Hollywood even produced 10 films worthy of such praise??
Leave a Comment » | Random Thoughts | Tagged: The Oscars, John & Kate, Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Chastity Bono, Barney Frank, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Denver Broncos, John Mayer, Governor Mark Sanford | Permalink
Posted by sammano
