Our great Republican Representative Eric Cantor who seems to have only one object in mind and that is to keep Obama a one term President, suggests strongly that all FEMA aid for the Irene Hurricane victims be held hostage to cuts in spending or they won't fly. With the Tornadoes, Earthquakes and Hurricanes FEMA's budget is running short of funds but can't get anymore unless spending cuts are found. Never happened before but the Tea Party says that is the change they are bringing. While they protect the rich who certainly can sustain losses due to disasters, they claim they are protecting "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" by stuffing it to the middle class who need State and Federal assistance to try and cut their losses from disasters. Without help they go down the tubes. Aren't the vulnerable "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"? What they really want is to play this card over and over again and with the help of Rush Limburger and Fox turn the voters against Obama so they can then defeat him and then get control and really do a job on "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" by slashing the entitlement programs they have hated since their inception. When the say "FIX" they mean "SLASH" programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security so the rich can get richer and the middle class can become the poorer class and we can have two classes, The Rich, led by the Eric Cantors and Rush Limburger's. Then the poor led by US, you and me, "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" can fend for themselves. Let us hope Obama doesn't fold in this fight! Because he has folded in many past skirmishes but some times strategic retreats lead to ultimate victory.
The other Idiots I refer to in the title are those columnists and talking heads that are finding fault with the National Weather Service, Federal and State Governments and the TV media for their handling of IRENE.
They are all crazy! They are saying they made too much of the hurricane after all it wasn't as vicious as predicted Instead of being joyous over the fact that Mother Nature had a little breakdown in her force
sparing us greater damage they want to say that all acted in their own interest by insidiously overplaying the situation for their own profit and aggrandizement rather than acting in the interest of the citizenry. By preparing, and maybe over-preparing out of caution many lives were saved. Many of the known deaths related to Irene came from people NOT heeding the warnings and advice of our leaders. Their actions saved us from a nation in mourning instead of a nation in recovery. They reacted quickly and in many cases had everything in place BEFORE the storm struck thereby avoiding a Katrina type of episode. They were up all hours. They were at the helm. This time they didn't go to Bermuda or some tropical place, this time they were here with us doing everything in their power to keep the damage minimalized and getting the recovery underway as soon as possible. Bravo! So a few more dollars were spent. So a few people scored some points personally at he end of the day we "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" were safer. By the way just because you or I or your mother didn't suffer much damage and wasn't put in harm's way doesn't mean that many millions weren't as lucky. Some lost houses, savings, incurred minor injuries that could have been worse if they didn't heed the instructions. Ask them if they think the officials and the media didn't help and I bet they would say maybe, if it was a bit much it helped greatly and damn the critics who worry more about dollars than human life and possible misery. By the way the damaging effects of Irene are still being felt as massive flooding is happening as we speak due to rivers cresting far above flood levels in many areas. It is so easy for those who live comfortable lives far away from the real world that we in the middle class and poor must endure to survive, to be critical. Sure, they are safe. They are OK. Somehow they rose above us, they and the Politicians, and they are glad, and they intend to remain above us. Give it all up for the greater good? For what? For someone I don't know? Are you kidding!?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World
He was young and his world was his oyster. Everything was new and fresh as it is when one experiences life for the first time. The problem was that his oyster had a pearl in it and he couldn't extract it. He used to joke that he must of been part fag (gay meant being happy back then) because he like the feminine side of life so much all he really wanted to do was spend his time with the girls he loved. Notice he used the plural term as it didn't matter who he spent the time with as long as she was pretty and laughed at his jokes.
However, there was this one special girl who was really the definition of feminine pulchritude personified who wouldn't even give him a smile as he attempted to get to know her, actually pick her up was the term. He was determined to make her know him, love him, so he could ditch her. The game of love was just that, a game which he excelled at. He started asking around and found someone who knew someone who knew her. What made this so good was, the someone who knew her was pretty so not only would it be an easy introduction when he was finished with the girl of his dreams he could he could pursue this other girl.
The formal introduction was made after Mass on a Sunday. They stopped at a local diner for coffee and cake where he was able to wheedle a date. They went out a few times. The last date he went into his routine of saying he was falling in love with her but he just wasn't good enough for her so they couldn't see each other anymore. All the other girls reacted by saying they wanted to be more than friends, some tears, some heavy make-out and then he could go on to his next conquest feeling secure in the knowledge that he had won again in the game of love. So then with this beautiful babe he goes into his spiel. There is silence and he prompts her by asking how she feels about what he had just said to which she responded, "Whatever you want.". He was taken aback by her lack of emotion so he asked if she wanted to be friends or something to which she responded, "Whatever you want.". He immediately drove her home and felt angry at her nonchalance. He walked her to her door and let her go with the admonition that this would be the last time they would see each other to which she responded, "Whatever you want.".
He spent the next few months doing some heavy dating and drinking because if the truth could be told he couldn't get her out of his mind.He convinced himself that he had to go out with her again because he felt as though she beat him at his own game and he couldn't let that happen. When he called she acted as though she didn't miss him at all but he felt she was just putting on an act. He convinced himself that she had spent the time pinning for him. They went out a few times and he went into his routine more sure than ever she would succumb to his ploy. "Whatever you want." was her response and he would get angry again and claim they'd never see each other EVER again. Then a few months would pass and the same thing would go on. Over a couple of years she kept saying, "Whatever you want." and he would angrily claim they's never see each other AGAIN! Finally his plan was to make one final date, Sammy Davis Jr. was on Broadway in "Mr. Wonderful" they would see the play have a romantic interlude and then he'd give her the final kiss-off. Only this time as he was going through his spiel after the play over cocktails at the Hotel Victoria, she came to his side of the table threw herself into his arms and planted the sexiest kiss right on his chops that got him all flummoxed. She said there's more of that to come if you ask me to marry you. He melted on the spot. The more of "that" he found out was to come AFTER they said "I do.".
The years flew by and they became parents, fought, laughed and loved madly for many years. Then suddenly she started to become distant, remote. She was changing, living more and more in a world of her own. He started to feel excluded from her very being. He didn't know it at the time but she was slipping into the world of dementia eventually requiring institutionalization. He was always there but she wasn't quite sure who he was. She would tell people she had a husband who she loved and was waiting for him to take her home again. Some of his friends told him he should make a life for himself and return to the land of the living. He answered, "Where should I be? I am where I want to be, "For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart." (Matt 6:21). Some asked if he regretted his life with her, especially now with the loss of recognition by her. They couldn't understand that he cherished every minute of their time together from the beginning up to the end. Finally she passed. He was the last to see her as they closed the casket and Ronnie Milsap's song came rush into his mind and he let the lyrics flow as his last prayer to her.
However, there was this one special girl who was really the definition of feminine pulchritude personified who wouldn't even give him a smile as he attempted to get to know her, actually pick her up was the term. He was determined to make her know him, love him, so he could ditch her. The game of love was just that, a game which he excelled at. He started asking around and found someone who knew someone who knew her. What made this so good was, the someone who knew her was pretty so not only would it be an easy introduction when he was finished with the girl of his dreams he could he could pursue this other girl.
The formal introduction was made after Mass on a Sunday. They stopped at a local diner for coffee and cake where he was able to wheedle a date. They went out a few times. The last date he went into his routine of saying he was falling in love with her but he just wasn't good enough for her so they couldn't see each other anymore. All the other girls reacted by saying they wanted to be more than friends, some tears, some heavy make-out and then he could go on to his next conquest feeling secure in the knowledge that he had won again in the game of love. So then with this beautiful babe he goes into his spiel. There is silence and he prompts her by asking how she feels about what he had just said to which she responded, "Whatever you want.". He was taken aback by her lack of emotion so he asked if she wanted to be friends or something to which she responded, "Whatever you want.". He immediately drove her home and felt angry at her nonchalance. He walked her to her door and let her go with the admonition that this would be the last time they would see each other to which she responded, "Whatever you want.".
He spent the next few months doing some heavy dating and drinking because if the truth could be told he couldn't get her out of his mind.He convinced himself that he had to go out with her again because he felt as though she beat him at his own game and he couldn't let that happen. When he called she acted as though she didn't miss him at all but he felt she was just putting on an act. He convinced himself that she had spent the time pinning for him. They went out a few times and he went into his routine more sure than ever she would succumb to his ploy. "Whatever you want." was her response and he would get angry again and claim they'd never see each other EVER again. Then a few months would pass and the same thing would go on. Over a couple of years she kept saying, "Whatever you want." and he would angrily claim they's never see each other AGAIN! Finally his plan was to make one final date, Sammy Davis Jr. was on Broadway in "Mr. Wonderful" they would see the play have a romantic interlude and then he'd give her the final kiss-off. Only this time as he was going through his spiel after the play over cocktails at the Hotel Victoria, she came to his side of the table threw herself into his arms and planted the sexiest kiss right on his chops that got him all flummoxed. She said there's more of that to come if you ask me to marry you. He melted on the spot. The more of "that" he found out was to come AFTER they said "I do.".
The years flew by and they became parents, fought, laughed and loved madly for many years. Then suddenly she started to become distant, remote. She was changing, living more and more in a world of her own. He started to feel excluded from her very being. He didn't know it at the time but she was slipping into the world of dementia eventually requiring institutionalization. He was always there but she wasn't quite sure who he was. She would tell people she had a husband who she loved and was waiting for him to take her home again. Some of his friends told him he should make a life for himself and return to the land of the living. He answered, "Where should I be? I am where I want to be, "For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart." (Matt 6:21). Some asked if he regretted his life with her, especially now with the loss of recognition by her. They couldn't understand that he cherished every minute of their time together from the beginning up to the end. Finally she passed. He was the last to see her as they closed the casket and Ronnie Milsap's song came rush into his mind and he let the lyrics flow as his last prayer to her.
Our paths may never cross again
Maybe my heart will never mend
But I'm glad for all the good times
Cause you brought me so much sunshine
And love was the best its ever been
I wouldn't have missed it for the world
Wouldn't have missed loving you girl
You've made my whole life worth while with your smile
I wouldn't trade one memory
Cause you mean too much to me
Even though I lost you girl
I wouldn't have missed it for the world
They say all good things must end
Love comes and goes just like the wind
You've got your dreams to follow
But if I had the chance tomorrow
You know I'd do it all again
I wouldn't have missed it for the world
As he left the chapel he knew it wasn't over. He knew he'd be seeing her again, some place out of time in space. This time she would know he was her husband and she his wife and they were still madly in love.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Derek & Me
Just viewed the HBO Special about Derek Jeter and his quest toward the 3000 hit milestone. It was very good. Didn't provide all the insight I would have liked but he is such a great guy I just saw it and enjoyed it. After it was over I thought about it for awhile it struck me that our lives paralleled each other in many ways, albeit there is a forty year difference. But what the hell is that in the grand scheme of things?
There were a lot of shots inside his New York apartment high above New York. When I was younger we also had a high rise apartment over a drugstore which had a window which opened to a roof top of an adjacent store. I too could see above our town as we viewed the world atop the stores. If you adjusted yourself on some clear nights one could catch the New York skyline.
Jeter has a "drop dead" beauty for a girl, maybe his future wife. My girl was even more of a "drop dead" beauty AND she kept that beauty into old age. Jeter doesn't know if his girl will retain her beauty but I guess plastic surgery won't be a problem as to cost. One thing I'm certain is Jeter's girl won't be as fruitful as mine, six boys and one girl, especially if he waits much longer in popping the question.
The special showed Jeter with his friends, entourage, in his apartment. A big table with all kinds of friends, male, female, black, white Hispanic. In my house there were always loads of people, Hispanic, male, female, black, white, albino. Sometimes they were spread all over the place but most of the time they found their way to our table. Jeter said he liked to eat, and so did we. His friends gathered around his table eating sumptuous morsels for breakfast prepare by Jeter's Chef who said she knew what each liked and was always prepared to give what they wanted. Well! I had my own Chef too! Except we didn't refer to her as a Chef I would call her more of a Wife which meant she wore many hats, Chef, Mother, Friend, Lover Healer, a person who knew to laugh at my jokes. But she always prepared delicious morsels for us and our friends too, like hamburger helper, Macaroni and cheese, cold cereal, and all that type of gourmet foods. All she prepared must of been good because everybody kept showing up at the table, just like at Jeter's.
They showed many other aspects of Jeter's life. Every place he went was first class, from the Tampa rehab place the Yanks maintain to the his journey back to Yankee Stadium. He was approaching getting 3,000 hits in a game played by many thousands but only about 30 men have reached that plateau and very few were able to keep themselves, their images as clean as Jeter. He truly is the golden boy. He is getting near the end of his career but he will definitely be a hall of famer. He has as much as 50,000 people cheering for him. He is an true idol. I too have had standing O's with a lot fewer people, I will grant you that and not as consistently as Jeter but what the heck, I had over a hundred soldiers after a week of bivouac give my Trumpet renditions a rousing cheer. I never was quite certain if it was in appreciation of my playing or they were just glad the week was over. Once during a sandlot ballgame that had about fifty people watching I got a standing ovation for a catch I made in left field after I misjudged a fly ball. Many, many, many years later some three hundred people gave a standing O at the end of a few plays I was in. Again I am not sure if it was in appreciation or they were glad it was over and they could go home. BUT what the hell I kind of know what Jeter likes when his fans cheer him.
He finally got his hits that he needed and all the adulation that goes with the accomplishment. Now he is back to being a just a star ballplayer who seems to have resurrected his batting but we know father time is creeping up on him and soon, relatively speaking, his playing days will be behind him and he will come back for old timers games and all that. How he will handle himself will be telling, but I am sure he will have his pick of jobs, he will have a great pension (as if he needs one) and social security. What he doesn't pay into Social Security?
I had to go through this and like Jeter I have a pension, IRA, and Social Security. I went over the hill and slid down the backside of my active career. Of course the comparisons pale when we compare the magnitude of accomplishments and remuneration paid in appreciation of them. But with all due respect, Derek & Me? Not too much difference! Is there?
There were a lot of shots inside his New York apartment high above New York. When I was younger we also had a high rise apartment over a drugstore which had a window which opened to a roof top of an adjacent store. I too could see above our town as we viewed the world atop the stores. If you adjusted yourself on some clear nights one could catch the New York skyline.
Jeter has a "drop dead" beauty for a girl, maybe his future wife. My girl was even more of a "drop dead" beauty AND she kept that beauty into old age. Jeter doesn't know if his girl will retain her beauty but I guess plastic surgery won't be a problem as to cost. One thing I'm certain is Jeter's girl won't be as fruitful as mine, six boys and one girl, especially if he waits much longer in popping the question.
The special showed Jeter with his friends, entourage, in his apartment. A big table with all kinds of friends, male, female, black, white Hispanic. In my house there were always loads of people, Hispanic, male, female, black, white, albino. Sometimes they were spread all over the place but most of the time they found their way to our table. Jeter said he liked to eat, and so did we. His friends gathered around his table eating sumptuous morsels for breakfast prepare by Jeter's Chef who said she knew what each liked and was always prepared to give what they wanted. Well! I had my own Chef too! Except we didn't refer to her as a Chef I would call her more of a Wife which meant she wore many hats, Chef, Mother, Friend, Lover Healer, a person who knew to laugh at my jokes. But she always prepared delicious morsels for us and our friends too, like hamburger helper, Macaroni and cheese, cold cereal, and all that type of gourmet foods. All she prepared must of been good because everybody kept showing up at the table, just like at Jeter's.
They showed many other aspects of Jeter's life. Every place he went was first class, from the Tampa rehab place the Yanks maintain to the his journey back to Yankee Stadium. He was approaching getting 3,000 hits in a game played by many thousands but only about 30 men have reached that plateau and very few were able to keep themselves, their images as clean as Jeter. He truly is the golden boy. He is getting near the end of his career but he will definitely be a hall of famer. He has as much as 50,000 people cheering for him. He is an true idol. I too have had standing O's with a lot fewer people, I will grant you that and not as consistently as Jeter but what the heck, I had over a hundred soldiers after a week of bivouac give my Trumpet renditions a rousing cheer. I never was quite certain if it was in appreciation of my playing or they were just glad the week was over. Once during a sandlot ballgame that had about fifty people watching I got a standing ovation for a catch I made in left field after I misjudged a fly ball. Many, many, many years later some three hundred people gave a standing O at the end of a few plays I was in. Again I am not sure if it was in appreciation or they were glad it was over and they could go home. BUT what the hell I kind of know what Jeter likes when his fans cheer him.
He finally got his hits that he needed and all the adulation that goes with the accomplishment. Now he is back to being a just a star ballplayer who seems to have resurrected his batting but we know father time is creeping up on him and soon, relatively speaking, his playing days will be behind him and he will come back for old timers games and all that. How he will handle himself will be telling, but I am sure he will have his pick of jobs, he will have a great pension (as if he needs one) and social security. What he doesn't pay into Social Security?
I had to go through this and like Jeter I have a pension, IRA, and Social Security. I went over the hill and slid down the backside of my active career. Of course the comparisons pale when we compare the magnitude of accomplishments and remuneration paid in appreciation of them. But with all due respect, Derek & Me? Not too much difference! Is there?
Friday, August 19, 2011
Commercials
Many use these new fangled inventions to cut out the commercials from the TViewing but they don't know what they are missing. Many of these commercials are more entertaining the the shows they are watching. Yes, the commercials are entertaining, informative, instructive and some boring and distasteful, but most show great creativity. Let me start out by commenting on the anti-smoking commercial shown here in NY. We have a big black guy sitting in a chair with his back to us and he is wheezing almost suffocating. And it gets worse as the camera pans in to how parts of his face with tubes going in his nose and he is in great pain and discomfort as he tries laboriously to breathe. Then the words come on that dying from smoking is never easy and always painful.
This is a very tough commercial and when I see it I always turn to another station. Volunteering in a Nursing Home I get to see something like that in person. So do the workers, Aids, Porters, Nurses, rehab specialist and the DOCTORS. Yet on the break they go outside off the grounds and do what. SMOKE!!!!!! The ones who treat those who actually are dying from smoking are not deterred by the up-close scene how in the world do those who put on the anti-smoking commercial I described think that will provide a detriment? The price of cigarettes loosies were two for a penny when I started, albeit I was six, a pack was around ten or fifteen cents now they go as high as Eleven dollars a pack. I think if they went as high as one hundred dollars a pack those who want to smoke would find a way to support the habit even if it meant no food on the table. They have got to come up with a better way to inform, educate those who are smokers so that they quit, perhaps they should try entertaining them because drama isn't working. By the way I quit some 27 years ago.
I would like to cover a group of products which fall under medicines that present a pretty picture of people first in pain, most of the times, then when they take the product they are moving about, happy, with peace of mind. While the visual aspects are very good and the introductory words seem hopeful you have to listen very carefully or read the fine print at the top or bottom of the page which can hardly be seen. These notations usually contain words like the medicine may not be for everyone, if you have strange feelings contact your doctor immediately as they may be signs of stoke, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns, or may even result in death and by the way improvement in some cases, like Alzheimers may only be short term (They never say how short the term is). Makes one wonder why everybody is so happy if at any time the medicine can turn against them and make their condition worse. Doesn't it?
Now let's get to the commercials for Cialis. Everbody is always smiling and happy. Wouldn't you be all smilly face too if you could stop painting and have your house turned into a beachfront love nest and find you and your mate sitting naked in an empty bath tub? Let's get real! First of all I have a stall shower and that is a lot more fun than an empty bath tub that only fits one. AND when I'm painting, which I try NEVER to do, there is no way we are going to jump into sack until we wash! Oh yeah, there is another commercial that shows a guy eating and he has a crumb on his mouth and his wife comes over and wipes it off and they get "that" look and end up watching a play and of course in their seperate bath-tubs. Come on! If I have food on my lips she makes an ugly scunched up face and sort of disgustingly makes a gesture that I should get a naptkin. We are not running off, smiling to our sepaerate bath-tubs. Of course the commercials always end with both of them instructing you what to do iof you find yourself dying from taking this stuff and over-exerting yourself. But they make sure they are not leering but are gently smiling transmitting the idea, "Ain"t Life GREAT!"
A commercial that has been playing for a short time starts out with some really clean, nice looking but not sexy women. They start out with a serious look as they say "It is time to get serious!" Then it goes on to say this is really serious! They've got my attention then the say it is time to say what we really want from toilet paper. Really? Funny but I thought I always had a pretty good idea what the whole toilet paper scene is. Maybe I was wrong so I listen intently. A spokeswomen kind of hefty, not fat just pleasantly plump, dressed in a summer type of outfit, motherly not sexy, looking as though she just stepped out of a shower looking and I imagine smelling very clean. With a big smile on her face looking almost a little uncomfortable but knowing in her motherly way she has to say the whole thing is to be clean with no breakage. I am now getting the idea that America may be a bit unclean with the toilet paper breaking in everyone's hand while it was being put to use. This could be a problem especially having a stronger meaning when our critics say "America Stinks!". But then I get indignant. This whole commercial is talking about cleanliness by women without one male in sight. What are they saying? The American male don't care or is too immature to know how to use toilet paper and Mommy has to teach them hygiene again? I think this is a sexist commercial implying the American male has a stinky behind that has to be tended to by Mommie again. This is a lot of s**t. I am laughing very hard at this point and I don't know what brand of toilet paper they are pitching. The thought runs through my mind back in the day they used to refer to toilet paper as facial tissue which I always thought missed the point. The Mr. Whipple, Charmin commercials that ran from 1964 to 1985 were far better in advancing the product and the telling of the virtues of Charmin.
The commercials that use the term PRE-OWNED instead of USED cars always amuse me as they try to sell the idea that the owners that had the car before always took care of them and of course the manufacturer wouldn't try to screw you. Would they? No Caveat Emptor! Sure! There is one for Audi though that is cute. A gal comes out of a Starbucks (?) holding a coffee and a bag of something to nosh on. She is met by the guy who tells her to be careful because after she trades it in he will be the second owner. She looks like she thinks he is crazy and as she drives off he has the bag and is noshing on her nosh while he says "Be careful with our car." Well done and I know the make but I'll never buy a used car if I can help it even if it is called "PRE-OWNED"!
I love the commercial that shows the dog while "worry, worry, worry" plays in the background as the dog is concerned that someone, another dog perhaps, will steal his bone. Finally he insures it and he can play happily again because he has no worries. As if the insurance company will cover his losses. We know better don't we? After filling out ten thousand forms and we can't come up with the original invoice showing the cost of the bone we get zilch! But we have to continue to pay the premiums. Great commercial.
Did you see the insurance one that ask's a question and then proves it. I loved "Does it take two to Tango?".
I use this company but not because of this commercial but I do admire their creativity. After the question is asked it shows two people Tangoing with a teacher somehow getting in-between them. Hilarious.
Before I close I must mention the Bra commercials. They are instructive as I never knew so much went into the selection of this item. I am happy to learn and am very attentive to these commercials so when I get past the training Bra stage I will use this knowledge to my benefit.
"Big Brother", "Jersey Shore", and all the junk which is foisted on to the TViewing public while they miss the best, the most creative art form by not watching the commercials which in many case are far better artistically providing great entertainment, and useful information in 30 second clips.
This is a very tough commercial and when I see it I always turn to another station. Volunteering in a Nursing Home I get to see something like that in person. So do the workers, Aids, Porters, Nurses, rehab specialist and the DOCTORS. Yet on the break they go outside off the grounds and do what. SMOKE!!!!!! The ones who treat those who actually are dying from smoking are not deterred by the up-close scene how in the world do those who put on the anti-smoking commercial I described think that will provide a detriment? The price of cigarettes loosies were two for a penny when I started, albeit I was six, a pack was around ten or fifteen cents now they go as high as Eleven dollars a pack. I think if they went as high as one hundred dollars a pack those who want to smoke would find a way to support the habit even if it meant no food on the table. They have got to come up with a better way to inform, educate those who are smokers so that they quit, perhaps they should try entertaining them because drama isn't working. By the way I quit some 27 years ago.
I would like to cover a group of products which fall under medicines that present a pretty picture of people first in pain, most of the times, then when they take the product they are moving about, happy, with peace of mind. While the visual aspects are very good and the introductory words seem hopeful you have to listen very carefully or read the fine print at the top or bottom of the page which can hardly be seen. These notations usually contain words like the medicine may not be for everyone, if you have strange feelings contact your doctor immediately as they may be signs of stoke, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns, or may even result in death and by the way improvement in some cases, like Alzheimers may only be short term (They never say how short the term is). Makes one wonder why everybody is so happy if at any time the medicine can turn against them and make their condition worse. Doesn't it?
Now let's get to the commercials for Cialis. Everbody is always smiling and happy. Wouldn't you be all smilly face too if you could stop painting and have your house turned into a beachfront love nest and find you and your mate sitting naked in an empty bath tub? Let's get real! First of all I have a stall shower and that is a lot more fun than an empty bath tub that only fits one. AND when I'm painting, which I try NEVER to do, there is no way we are going to jump into sack until we wash! Oh yeah, there is another commercial that shows a guy eating and he has a crumb on his mouth and his wife comes over and wipes it off and they get "that" look and end up watching a play and of course in their seperate bath-tubs. Come on! If I have food on my lips she makes an ugly scunched up face and sort of disgustingly makes a gesture that I should get a naptkin. We are not running off, smiling to our sepaerate bath-tubs. Of course the commercials always end with both of them instructing you what to do iof you find yourself dying from taking this stuff and over-exerting yourself. But they make sure they are not leering but are gently smiling transmitting the idea, "Ain"t Life GREAT!"
A commercial that has been playing for a short time starts out with some really clean, nice looking but not sexy women. They start out with a serious look as they say "It is time to get serious!" Then it goes on to say this is really serious! They've got my attention then the say it is time to say what we really want from toilet paper. Really? Funny but I thought I always had a pretty good idea what the whole toilet paper scene is. Maybe I was wrong so I listen intently. A spokeswomen kind of hefty, not fat just pleasantly plump, dressed in a summer type of outfit, motherly not sexy, looking as though she just stepped out of a shower looking and I imagine smelling very clean. With a big smile on her face looking almost a little uncomfortable but knowing in her motherly way she has to say the whole thing is to be clean with no breakage. I am now getting the idea that America may be a bit unclean with the toilet paper breaking in everyone's hand while it was being put to use. This could be a problem especially having a stronger meaning when our critics say "America Stinks!". But then I get indignant. This whole commercial is talking about cleanliness by women without one male in sight. What are they saying? The American male don't care or is too immature to know how to use toilet paper and Mommy has to teach them hygiene again? I think this is a sexist commercial implying the American male has a stinky behind that has to be tended to by Mommie again. This is a lot of s**t. I am laughing very hard at this point and I don't know what brand of toilet paper they are pitching. The thought runs through my mind back in the day they used to refer to toilet paper as facial tissue which I always thought missed the point. The Mr. Whipple, Charmin commercials that ran from 1964 to 1985 were far better in advancing the product and the telling of the virtues of Charmin.
The commercials that use the term PRE-OWNED instead of USED cars always amuse me as they try to sell the idea that the owners that had the car before always took care of them and of course the manufacturer wouldn't try to screw you. Would they? No Caveat Emptor! Sure! There is one for Audi though that is cute. A gal comes out of a Starbucks (?) holding a coffee and a bag of something to nosh on. She is met by the guy who tells her to be careful because after she trades it in he will be the second owner. She looks like she thinks he is crazy and as she drives off he has the bag and is noshing on her nosh while he says "Be careful with our car." Well done and I know the make but I'll never buy a used car if I can help it even if it is called "PRE-OWNED"!
I love the commercial that shows the dog while "worry, worry, worry" plays in the background as the dog is concerned that someone, another dog perhaps, will steal his bone. Finally he insures it and he can play happily again because he has no worries. As if the insurance company will cover his losses. We know better don't we? After filling out ten thousand forms and we can't come up with the original invoice showing the cost of the bone we get zilch! But we have to continue to pay the premiums. Great commercial.
Did you see the insurance one that ask's a question and then proves it. I loved "Does it take two to Tango?".
I use this company but not because of this commercial but I do admire their creativity. After the question is asked it shows two people Tangoing with a teacher somehow getting in-between them. Hilarious.
Before I close I must mention the Bra commercials. They are instructive as I never knew so much went into the selection of this item. I am happy to learn and am very attentive to these commercials so when I get past the training Bra stage I will use this knowledge to my benefit.
"Big Brother", "Jersey Shore", and all the junk which is foisted on to the TViewing public while they miss the best, the most creative art form by not watching the commercials which in many case are far better artistically providing great entertainment, and useful information in 30 second clips.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Some More Summer Games
The Blog of Maria Schulz, http://talesfromahungrylife@wordpress.com just posted "Summer Games"brought to mind games young boys played when I was a kid. Give a guy a ball and there was a hundred different things he could do with it. A rubber ball and a stoop gave birth to three or four different stoop ball or wall ball games. Add the sawed off stick from Mom's broom and you had fast pitch, stick ball and without the stick there was punch ball or slap ball. The ball, stick or bat if you will add gloves and some catcher's equipment and you had a softball game or baseball game. We didn't use helmets or anything like that our heads were hard enough to withstand any smack a ball might give. When there was enough guys around for a full team even the method of choosing a team was a game. If we had 18 or 20 guys we could play a neighborhood make-up game of softball at the school yard. The guys that owned the bats, ball and gloves had the say as to the method of choosing. I guess two guys that did the choosing could be called the managers but after the team was chosen and the line-ups made there was little managing to be done. A bat would be turned upside down and tossed to the other chooser who was to catch it with one hand, furthest away from the handle as possible. Then the other chooser would place his hand on the handle directly above the opposing guy and they would do this until they reached the knob and if possible grab the knob only by the fingertips. If one guy was able to cover the knob with a full grip this was good for him but the fingertip hold was precarious. The next move was the guy with the knob grip, fingertip or hand, would have to turn the bat around his body over his head three times and then hold it at arms length while the other guy would try and kick the bat out of his grip. After three kicks and the guy still had the bat in his grip that guy had first pick however if the bat was kicked out of the grippers hand the kicker had first pick. First pick was important because it set up the whole pick-up team but sometimes the later picks did OK too. When there was more than 20 guys present there was always the humiliation of not being picked at all but those guys hung around to cheer and boo and maybe get into a game if someone got hurt or had to go home because his mother was calling him. Sometimes other methods of choosing were employed like the finger method where two guys would play two of three by yelling 1,2,3 then sticking out one or two fingers. One guy was odd the other even. There was also a one potato two potato method but considered somewhat girly by some. This was usually used to see who would be "it" in the game of tag or who would "seek" in the game of Hide and Seek. Standing in a circle one guy or girl would start by raising one clenched fist to their mouth saying one potato then hitting their left hand with two potato going to the next person around the horn up to seven potato with the eighth one being "MORE" and that hand would be put behind the person's back. This would be repeated until all were eliminated except one and that the "it" or "seeker". I hope I haven't lost you. This is some of the ways these games would choose up sides but there were other games that were played that were a lot of fun that really had no sides and no winners or losers in some participant's eyes. These could be considered party games but could be played out doors under a shady tree or in an abandon foundation of a house started but never completed.
Another fun game was Post Office. I really don't remember all of the rules but it was co-ed. I seem to remember something like a girl going into a room and a guy requesting 2 or 3 stamps and if permission was granted he went into the room and collected his stamps coming out of the room smacking his lips.
But I digress. I started out talking about games with sticks, bats, balls, gloves and some cather's equipment.
Today you have Little League, which I hate since it wiped out all the initiative kids had to get a team including managers together. It is Baseball kids play for the gratification of their parents. It is organized in the image of the major leagues with many written rules governing team choices to games played. The fathers unfulfilled dreams are being completed as they run the whole show and the mothers are all agog over little Jr. performing so well as if it reflected on her being a good mother. Some of the kids are under tremendous pressure exerted by parents that they hardly ever enjoy the pure joy of just being a kid playing ball. Bushwicks and The House Of David, a Jewish team were two teams among many that played great semi-pro ball. Today Little League and the softball leagues are around but for the most part they really don't approximate baseball.
As we grew older and the summer nights got hotter the guys and gals would hang together on the front porch. In the evening we'd play a game called perdidle or perdoodle. If a car came by with one headlight one would call out perdidle or perdoodle. If the girl called it first she could punch the guy hard in the arm, if the guy called it first he got a kiss.
The summer nights were nice because the suns hot rays were gone and even if it was still hot it had the feel of cooling. The only air condition we had was a fan, maybe, and the cool night air. Sometimes it was difficult to sleep and took maybe 15 minutes but we were so tired from all the day's activities that we were soon in the land of nod dreaming of tomorrow's summer games.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Government or Mafia, What's The Difference?
The DOW was up and down in violent gyrations all week and depending on today's final result may even out after all this bull-s**t. Congress went on vacation and so did the President. What the hell, they screwed up the lives of many and claimed to be doing it for the best of "the American people" but all that really matters to them is that they be re-elected come hell or high water. BUT, no matter how the greedy and selfish try to soak up all the wealth of this country for themselves we believers know that the country will emerge stronger and better despite these incompetents fumblers, bumblers and gangsters.
Some may cringe at my use of the term "gangsters" for our politicians but if I may let us compare them to what we saw on the now expired HBO show, "The Sopranos". Without belaboring the whole thing, each has their territory and if one challenges the other a war erupts and killing follows until one mob takes control again. Sort of like the Dems. and Republicans isn't it. Each party will do what it has to do to regain power for power comes with wealth and rule. The heads of the parties get the most wealth and rule to generate more wealth and they pass some of this back down to the soldiers which include those who actually fight to those who are idea men. Meanwhile the bosses have a great time living lives of debauchery and gluttony.
We are in a few wars, I have lost count, our soldiers for the most part come from the economic underprivileged except of course for those who have graduated form our politically appointed war colleges like West Point or the Navel Academy. These guys get the chance to become top officers while the real fighters may rise to a battlefield commission but more likely to a non-commissioned officer whose highest ranking may be Sargent Major or Chief Warrant. Naturally only those "connected" get the chance to rise above the standing from which they have come. However, not all fight and those that don't manage to escape without wounds or bruises but upon entering civilian life again they find a struggle not envisioned because they are not "connected".
The common citizen is also a soldier in the political army. Some enter the political parties and do what they must to advance but unless they are "connected" the chance of rising above a mere "foot soldier" is very little. But our politicians need many "foot soldiers" to run the errands, putting up posters, making phone calls and finding recent deaths who can vote again for them. For the most part the cream doesn't rise to the top, rather one who is in the know, if you have come into money or became a business success then "they" will seek you out. Anyone out there remember "The Sopranos"? Or better yet. the newer HBO series "Boardwalk Empire"? While these guys were solidifying their positions and getting more powerful and wealthy they were doing "good" for the peons they needed in order to stay in power. Whenever they had to murder someone it was nothing personal "only business".
So MR. Senator, Mr. Representative, Mr. President enjoy your vacations and somehow we will get out of this mess you've gotten us into and will be here for all of you, without rancor, when you return, because we know it isn't personal it is just business and this is what we are sure you will be giving us, "the business".
Some may cringe at my use of the term "gangsters" for our politicians but if I may let us compare them to what we saw on the now expired HBO show, "The Sopranos". Without belaboring the whole thing, each has their territory and if one challenges the other a war erupts and killing follows until one mob takes control again. Sort of like the Dems. and Republicans isn't it. Each party will do what it has to do to regain power for power comes with wealth and rule. The heads of the parties get the most wealth and rule to generate more wealth and they pass some of this back down to the soldiers which include those who actually fight to those who are idea men. Meanwhile the bosses have a great time living lives of debauchery and gluttony.
We are in a few wars, I have lost count, our soldiers for the most part come from the economic underprivileged except of course for those who have graduated form our politically appointed war colleges like West Point or the Navel Academy. These guys get the chance to become top officers while the real fighters may rise to a battlefield commission but more likely to a non-commissioned officer whose highest ranking may be Sargent Major or Chief Warrant. Naturally only those "connected" get the chance to rise above the standing from which they have come. However, not all fight and those that don't manage to escape without wounds or bruises but upon entering civilian life again they find a struggle not envisioned because they are not "connected".
The common citizen is also a soldier in the political army. Some enter the political parties and do what they must to advance but unless they are "connected" the chance of rising above a mere "foot soldier" is very little. But our politicians need many "foot soldiers" to run the errands, putting up posters, making phone calls and finding recent deaths who can vote again for them. For the most part the cream doesn't rise to the top, rather one who is in the know, if you have come into money or became a business success then "they" will seek you out. Anyone out there remember "The Sopranos"? Or better yet. the newer HBO series "Boardwalk Empire"? While these guys were solidifying their positions and getting more powerful and wealthy they were doing "good" for the peons they needed in order to stay in power. Whenever they had to murder someone it was nothing personal "only business".
So MR. Senator, Mr. Representative, Mr. President enjoy your vacations and somehow we will get out of this mess you've gotten us into and will be here for all of you, without rancor, when you return, because we know it isn't personal it is just business and this is what we are sure you will be giving us, "the business".
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Rants and Raves
When are our leaders going to lead? They all seem to say they are doing what the American people want them to do. Who are these "people" they are always referring to? The ones reflected in the various polls? The ones who elected them from their districts? Or the PACS and other lobbyists that have a funded their campaigns? It seems to me that if all these guys are going to do is what the "American People" want them to do we might get in a lot of deep s**t! Just think back to the days when we as a nation were trying to integrate a segregated society. Many of the "American People" were against this, In fact Gov. George Wallace led his contingent of "American People" to block such a move. Our leaders at the time enforced our laws which were correct from a legal and moral standpoint despite the pressures to yield to certain State Righters and segregationists. They led, they didn't follow the so called "will" of the people because they were correct, right, and the "American People" were wrong.
The United States is still in the middle of a deep recession despite what many Economist might dispute but try and tell the sixteen million unemployed and underemployed any different. We are on the verge of repeating mistakes of The Great Depression. We could have learned a great deal from this history of ours. We were on the way out of the Depression when those in the Congress forced the President to raise taxes and cut spending which forced us back into the depression from which only the Second World War could rescue us. The mistake? When we are battling economic turn-downs more spending is needed not less. It is true that we have to curtail spending and limit debt but that comes AFTER we have rebounded from down-turns and get into prosperity. The cry that Government does not create jobs is untrue. Spending for infra-structure like repairing roads, bridges, building dams and the such, create jobs which spawn small business' to form and create new jobs around the activity these big projects create. The more jobs the greater revenue.
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the tax loopholes for big business have already created big deficits in our economy without increasing jobs. If this statement is incorrect just look at the figures, unemployment and underemployment remain at record levels while the real tax rates for the most wealthy and biggest business are at record lows. Show me the beef! It seems that the most wealthy should contribute something in getting our economy back to good levels.
President Obama has been too quiet. President Obama should come up with a solid jobs plan including public works and even if it won't pass, he should fight for it and take his case to the voting electorate. He should lead and not follow the whims of the polls and the minority representation calling for more cuts not caring if they wreck the economy as long as they get rid of President Obama. There seems to be a special hatred for the President by his enemies, maybe because he is black but I am sure there is even more to it than that. President Clinton had this type of thing used against him and I am not referring to his sexual peccadilloes rather the inference that the Clintons were involved in financial wrongdoings and maybe even murder. The Clinton enemies seem to have faded but the Obama enemies have not and they will do all to destroy the man. He has to fight back doing this by leading and proposing innovative and daring legislation, if not he surely will be only a one term President and his enemies will destroy us giving into the special interests who want to dismantle the entitlement programs while they feast on the wealth of the nation.
The United States is still in the middle of a deep recession despite what many Economist might dispute but try and tell the sixteen million unemployed and underemployed any different. We are on the verge of repeating mistakes of The Great Depression. We could have learned a great deal from this history of ours. We were on the way out of the Depression when those in the Congress forced the President to raise taxes and cut spending which forced us back into the depression from which only the Second World War could rescue us. The mistake? When we are battling economic turn-downs more spending is needed not less. It is true that we have to curtail spending and limit debt but that comes AFTER we have rebounded from down-turns and get into prosperity. The cry that Government does not create jobs is untrue. Spending for infra-structure like repairing roads, bridges, building dams and the such, create jobs which spawn small business' to form and create new jobs around the activity these big projects create. The more jobs the greater revenue.
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the tax loopholes for big business have already created big deficits in our economy without increasing jobs. If this statement is incorrect just look at the figures, unemployment and underemployment remain at record levels while the real tax rates for the most wealthy and biggest business are at record lows. Show me the beef! It seems that the most wealthy should contribute something in getting our economy back to good levels.
President Obama has been too quiet. President Obama should come up with a solid jobs plan including public works and even if it won't pass, he should fight for it and take his case to the voting electorate. He should lead and not follow the whims of the polls and the minority representation calling for more cuts not caring if they wreck the economy as long as they get rid of President Obama. There seems to be a special hatred for the President by his enemies, maybe because he is black but I am sure there is even more to it than that. President Clinton had this type of thing used against him and I am not referring to his sexual peccadilloes rather the inference that the Clintons were involved in financial wrongdoings and maybe even murder. The Clinton enemies seem to have faded but the Obama enemies have not and they will do all to destroy the man. He has to fight back doing this by leading and proposing innovative and daring legislation, if not he surely will be only a one term President and his enemies will destroy us giving into the special interests who want to dismantle the entitlement programs while they feast on the wealth of the nation.
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