They call me mellow yellow

I've always considered my musical tastes to be fairly broad. And even though I do like listening to everything from rap to the rat pack, I've recently discovered that my preference have slowly shifted to all things soft alternative/indie/bluegrass/rock. Basically, I'm just soft.

After trying to figure out why I'm such of raging vagina when it comes to my musical choices, I stumbled upon a startling realization; I'm high strung. That's right. I have a lot of energy. My mind goes a mile a minute. And I have a hard time sitting still. I guess it makes sense that I need to indulge in mellow music in order to balance myself out and decompress.

If I listened to too many hardcore riffs, my heart would probably explode. In fact, every time I think about being relaxed, it usually was when I was listening to music. And that's about it. Besides those moments, I'm usually thinking about the next new slogan, or how I'm going to build my deck, or why now is the perfect time to invest in the stock market.

Music is about the only thing that keeps me mellow...at least as mellow as I can allow myself to be. And I'm okay with that. As it turns out, I'm not a vagina. I merely need a counter weight to my life.

Ah Ha!

Apparently I agreed to run an 8K in two weeks. I need to quit promising people that I will run races with them and then forgetting about it. Granted, it's only 5 miles. But I hate running 5 miles at a mediocre pace. In fact, I hate doing anything mediocre. Maybe that's why I gets so depressed all the time.

Climb On

So I will be climbing Mt. St. Helens this summer. Sounds like it could be fun. 

Chris Brown makes me Pun Happy

Chris Brown sent Rihanna an iPod Touch for her birthday. Considering the circumstances, he probably should have sent her an iPod No Touch. Or better yet, an iPod Quit Punching Me In The Face. Those aren't expected to hit the streets until early next year, but I'm sure Chris could get his hands on one. He's got plenty of solid connections.

**check out all of my cheesy puns. They're italicized. 

Great Viral Commercial:

Did You Know?

I always thought that energy drink were super bad for you. Granted, they're not the best for you, but they're no worse for you that a 20-ounce Coke - regarding calories, sugar, etc. A 20-ounce Coke has 65 grams of sugar and 240 calories while a 16-ounce Full Throttle energy drinks contains 57 grams of sugar and 220 calories. The energy drink does double the Coke in the sodium department at 160mg and has just over 2 times the caffeine at 141mg. But all in all, that's not a huge difference.

I'm not saying that they are good for you, but in comparison, drink up.

Bowling? Kind of.

I went bowling last night. Dropped a solid 100 followed by a 95. Wow! I can't remember the last time I sucked that hard at bowling. I guess I can scratch 'be a professional bowler' off my list of things to do. No sense in wasting my time.

Fortunately, it tired my arm out enough to make me money from the three-point line during my city league basketball game. Awwwe, the silver lining.

Mayday, Mayday.

What's up with all of these planes dropping out of the sky? Luckily, the total fatalities is way down, but it's still a little disheartening. 

iStereo iPod Docking Station

I bought the iStereo Docking Station at Wal-Mart this weekend for $49.88 and crossed my fingers. You see, I'm by-and-large a cheapskate. I needed some form of stereo in my living room but didn't want to fork out a lot of coin for one - $50 was my limit. Unfortunately, at this price point you're bound to find more rough than diamonds. Hence the crossing of my fingers. After a limited search of Fred Meyer, Circuit City, and Target, I finally found what I was looking for at the Wally's World. 

Observations:

The iStereo is considerably heavier than all of the other options at this price. It may not mean a thing, but it sure feels like it will work better because of it. The wood grain finish actually looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, it has no CD player, so your totally bound to your iPod's playlist - not a big deal for me. It has a remote that works well. And finally, it produces a pretty darned good sound for $50 speakers. 

All in all, if you're looking for a cheap set of docking speakers that look more expensive than they really are, I would totally recommend the iStereo. Granted, I've only had it for one weekend. It might break tomorrow. But as of now, I'm happy with my bargain purchase.

Probably one of my favorite possessions.

I love my John Wayne coffee mug. It's 20 ounces of ass kickin' goodness. 

Oscars Smoscars.

Don't get me wrong, 'Slumdog Millionaire' was good, but not Best Picture good. It was cute and fun but that's about it. 

Why Soccer Sucks.

You should never work your tail off for 90 minutes and have to go home with a tie (or a draw as they call it). That is fundamentally flawed. You compete to either win or lose, plain and simple. 

Even golf makes competitors play until someone comes out on top. Golf! Soccer, did you realize you're a bigger nancy than golf? Do you just not want to have anybody's feelings get hurt, or are you too much of a pansy to finish a game?

I admit that soccer is hard and exhausting. But I'm also not scared to say that if you're happy with a draw in any sport, you might as well be giving out purple participation ribbons instead of trophies. 

Nike, behave.

I'm sick of writing campaign ideas at work and having Nike come out with them the next day. I don't know if I should be pissed because I'm one step behind a corporate giant or excited because I'm only one step behind a corporate giant.

Or maybe my computer is bugged, and they're listening to everything I have to say. 

Side Note

I'm not writing reviews on energy drinks because I want to be as cool as all of the blogs that are devoted to such reviews. I'm actually researching them for work, and I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. 

Suck on some granite sea gull and crow.

SoBe Energy:

My quest to research a variety of energy drinks has led me to the lizard. SoBe energy drinks as we know them have been discontinued, and I’m now among the mourners.  Adrenaline Rush has a light, crisp passion fruit flavor that goes down easy. It ventures far from the traditional energy drink taste (Red Bull/Rock Star) by delivering fruity bliss.

A 16-ounce can is packed with 66 grams of sugar (ouch) and 260 calories. It also has plenty of taurine, B vitamins, D-ribose, and L-carnitine. Like most energy drinks, it full of artificial ingredients. But compared to a cola, it’s not that bad.

Adrenaline Rush proved to be a delicious pick-me-up without a horrendous crash. Word on the street is that SoBe has dropped its name on the product because it was hindering sales. However, SoBe continues to make energy drinks. It’s just under the No Fear label. 

Duffel Bag or Duffle Bag?

That's a trick question. According to the online dictionary it can be spelled both ways. Nothing drives me nuts more than when the rules of grammar can be twisted. Pick a spelling Webster. Give me a right and a wrong so I can move on with my life. This same dilemma comes up with commas all of the time. Nearly half of the rules are either suggestions or user's choice. I think I'm going to write my own book on grammar where there are definitive rules. No one gets to slide by anymore. Duffle is spelled with an 'le' and use must always use a comma before the 'and' in a list of three or more items. Done!

Doom and Gloom

I know the economy is lagging, but the media is making it worse by beating it into the ground. It's just like the gas crisis we faced this last summer. Things are bad enough, but when the media shoves negative story after negative story down our throats, it makes it seem much worse than it really is. The result is a snowball effect of fear smothering our spending, which perpetuates the downturn. 

Take the wife and I for example. We have largely been unaffected by the recession. But every time I think about buying something, I stop and think, "well what if I lose my job? What if my life goes to hell tomorrow?" And the only reason it crosses my mind is because every article I read is telling me that this is going to happen.

Sure, we won't be selling our house anytime soon and we lost a little in our stocks. But we have a place to live, and we didn't plan on using our retirement anytime soon anyway. I know some people have been crippled by the economic downturn and that sucks, but the media is helping the cause with their constant doom and gloom. It's scaring off those who actually have the ability to spend. And we won't be able to right the ship until the willing and able start opening their wallets.

Change is Fun!

According to a recent news article President Barack Obama approved adding some 17,000U.S. troops for the flagging war in Afghanistan.

I wouldn't say I'm for or against the wars in the Middle East. I'm all about keeping America safe, and I put my faith in the President to make the decisions that do that. At the same time, I find it interesting that you can run a campaign predicated on pulling troops out of Iraq but piggy back it with sending them to Afghanistan.

Maybe I'm just ill-informed, but I remember an awful lot of people protesting our overseas involvement. I guess we'll see if those voices remain silent now that it is Obama calling for the troops.

I also have to wonder if it was just a coincidence that he signed the economic stimulus plan on the same day he announced the troop surge. A little slight of hand...maybe.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

While tacking a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, the wife and I decided to give ‘Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ a shot. The story revolves around two high school kids who are connected by mutual friends but have never met until a chance encounter brings them together in NYC.

The young actors handled their roles nicely. The supporting cast was quirky but fun, and the screenplay was solid enough. Ari Graynor, the drunken friend, stole most of the scenes she was in while Michael Cera’s band mates walked the line of being just too gay. 

All in all, it was a good movie that came together nicely. Granted, a bottle of wine always ramps up my acceptance of cute and cliché, but I think this high school love story would hold up on a wine-free night as well.

Coming Attractions

I just saw a preview for 'Gomorrah,' an Italian film about the mafioso directed by Matteo Gorrone. It looks intense. Check it out.

Irony Makes a Comeback!

An Islamic man who started a television station aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes in upstate New York was just arrested for beheading his wife. OOPS!

I threw my back out doing nothing. This sucks.

Dunk Contest

The new-age dunk contest is depressing. Not because these guys can't dunk, but because we've reached the pinnacle of athleticism in regards to dunking already. When the dunk contest first blew up on the national stage, we were just breaking into the creative side of basketball. The Jordans and Dominiques were carrying the torch from the old school post up game to the new school finesse style of play. 

We've seen just about all the human body is capable of in regards to dunking, which is evident in the last couple of dunk contests where the winner became victorious through the use of props. Superman capes, green shoes, birthday candles? I get the showmanship of it all, but it lacks the soul of the game. 

Combine that with the fact that the biggest names in the NBA don't even want to compete, and you've got yourself a yawn-fest that lacks parody. How do you fix it? I'm not sure. Maybe you have height categories to put ballers on an even playing field. Maybe you list out mandatory props to see how creative each player is by comparison. Maybe you have rims at different heights and allot a different rating system for each. I don't have the exact answer, but there's one out there.

The fact remains that the street side of the game has reached a height that's hard to one-up. The players have changed. It's time for the game to catch up. Winning WWII was predicated on the idea of not letting technology out-progress war tactics. It's a ridiculous comparison, but the basic idea still applies. 

All-star = All-suck

The NBA All-star game is lame. The idea of the weekend is fun, but the game itself itself is a half-assed playground session. The dunk contest relies on props, the three-point contest is too short to care about, and the final game lacks heart. 

I know the players don't want to get hurt because they have big contracts on the line etc. But what's the point? The Pro Bowl suffers from the same apathy, but at least they're trying to do something about it. 

There needs to be a reason to try. Baseball gives their teams home field advantage in the finals. Is it fair? Maybe not, but it makes the all-star game worth playing for. So let's get a clue, NBA. Let's inject some life into the all-star game.

I still haven't found a reason to use my Sham Wow!

A Bottle of Wine

The wife and I enjoyed a magnum sized bottle of Yellow Tail Cabernet (one of our favorites) last night after the kids went to sleep. That was our Valentine's Day special. Unfortunately, it made waking up at 4 in the a.m. to take care of the baby that much more exhausting.

Most overused phrase is Baseball's steroid drama:

"Guilty in the court of public opinion."

My Valentine's Day will be spent with my wife, daughter (2 years), and son (2 months). Instead of the fancy candlelight dinner, we have graduated to breakfast at Denny's.

BAWLS

I decided to venture from my normal energy drink, Full Throttle Fury, in the spirit of trying new things and avoiding unneeded sugar. The first can I grabbed was BAWLS Guarana Exxtra. It’s advertised as a sugar free soda with 50% more caffeine. So what does that equate to?

BAWLS Exxtra basically tasted like a sugar free Sprite or for those that may remember, a Fresca. So the taste wasn’t bad. It’s made with more guarana than the rest of the BAWLS product line and boasts having as much caffeine as 2 strong cups of coffee - 150 mg. per 16 oz serving.

Unlike the traditional energy drinks, BAWLS ingredients list is short: carbonated water, citric acid, natural guarana flavor, sodium benzoate, and caffeine. No high fructose corn syrup? Crazy!

The result was a good pick-me-up that lasted an hour or two, but it was followed by a pretty hard crash. After the crash cames some heartburn that lasted the rest of the day. Granted, the heart burn might not have been related, but I haven't experiences it in quite some time, which leads me to blame the drink.

Despite the decent taste and ‘not horrific’ list of ingredients, I don’t think I’ll be going back for more. Going up is no fun when you have to come right back down.

I Love TV

A couple of weeks ago I purchased this 42” Samsung Plasma TV for $600. Upgrade! It was a great price on a decent TV. I’ve already noticed a crisper HD picture compared to my LCD. Not to mention standard def looks better too. Add on smoother video game graphics and a swivel stand, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Sure, I could have spent three times as much on a Sony, but for the money, I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Brew Me Some

I was going to get my wife a Keurig Coffee maker for Christmas, but she decided that she didn’t want one. Of course one week after Christmas she informed me that the single cup brewer was a must have. She simply didn’t want one for Christmas. And just like that, a Keurig arrived in the mail 7-10 days later.

These coffee makers are a little pricey but make a great cup of coffee. You can keep a variety of flavors on hand, including teas, and you only brew as much as you drink. But at just under a dollar a cup, it gets expensive when you have family and friends over.

They also sell a brewing insert, so you don’t have to buy the expensive single servings. Instead, you can dump in your Folgers and experience the best part of waking up.

A Penny For Your Thoughts

In honor of Honest Abe's 200th birthday, the U.S. Treasury redesigned the penny. It's a nice thought but doesn't make a lot of "cents." Whatever. It was a good attempt for a lame play on words.
Americans hardly use the penny anymore. Many people think it should be removed from our currency. Instead we through money at it through a redesign. Not my idea of a good use of government money.

You know the economy is bad when instead of being bummed because you didn't get a yearly raise, you're happy that you didn't get laid off. See, there is a brighter side. We all now have lowered expectations regarding success.

Why Heath Ledger will win the Oscar.

When you look at all of the supporting roles up for the Oscar, you can legitimately see Heath Ledger playing each role. When you look at all of the other actors who got a nod for a supporting role, it’s very difficult to believe any of them could have pulled off the Joker in the same fashion as Heath Ledger.

Man On Wire

This is as documentary about a French dude that snuck into the World Trade Centers at night, strung a tight rope between the two towers, and walked across it a total of eight times back in 1974.

With actual home footage of his early years and pictures of this daring stunt, “Man On Wire” blew my mind a little. And if your disregarding the stunt’s difficulty, take a second and really think about walking across a wire with no safety net at over 1300-feet in the air. If that doesn’t freak you out a little, you’re lying to yourself. And nobody likes a liar.

If you like documentaries, definitely check this one out. The subject matter isn’t too heavy, but the natural tension still permeates throughout.

Why Were We Angry Again?

According to the New York Times, pro pot organizations are ripping Kellogs for not resigning Phelps to a new contract and organizing petitions and boycotts against Kellogs’ products.

Do potheads really have that much motivation?

SHAM WOW!

As a revolt against the Snuggie, I bought the Sham Wow this last weekend. Okay, it might not actually be the brand name Sham Wow, but it’s the same thing. This one is sold on QVC and uses identical methods of demonstration for selling the product.

I was at a local trade show when I got sucked into one of these booth demonstrations, and I have to admit that I was impressed. I don’t consider myself much of a sucker. I know there are a lot of ways to imply perfection on infomercials, but it’s harder to give me the old slight of hand in person. Granted, I’m yet to use my miracle cloth, but I’ve seen the magic with my own eyes.

So far, the only reason it might be a waste is because I don’t think to use it. Time will tell though.

Grammys, Miley, and my headache

I only watched about an hour of the Grammys last night. I love music, but for some reason the Grammys never really catch my interest. I did see Miley Cyrus present an award though. Before reading the winner, she pointed to herself and mouthed "me." As if saying she should be the winner - she wasn't even nominated. I know she was joking, but why is this little girl such a d-bag. She loaded, but she needs to start filtering some of her antics. I'm not impressed.

It's like the damn Jonas Brothers. They need to quite believing all of the hype too. They may have had energy on stage, but they looked like complete tools trying to out perform Stevie Wonder. I get it, 12-year-olds love you. Everyone else doesn't care. Maybe in 10 years you can go on a reunion tour with Hanson and relive the good old days before you actually turn 30.

Oh yeah, and I'm sick. I have a headache and that blows.

Tiger Woods on the Wii

I finally broke down and devoted three hours of my life to playing Tiger Woods Golf on the Nintendo Wii. I've been a long time advocate of the Tiger Woods on other platforms, but since becoming an actual adult, I haven't been able to invest much of my energy into games. However, this weekend my dad and brother were in town, and while the weather wasn't adequate for golfing outdoors, the temps were great inside.

Tiger on the Wii is awesome, and here's why. Playing Tiger on the Playstation 2, I became too accustomed to scoring in the low 40s per 18 holes. You can simply control too much. Added power, the perfect spin, and an adjusted hitting angle prompted birdie after birdie. But with the Wii, it's a little bit more of a guessing game. This not only makes it more competitive for everyone involved, but it also adds some realism to the game. I do recommend buying a golf club controller holder at Ross for 5 bucks though. It heightens the experience twofold.

Plus, you're constantly standing up and sitting down to make your swings. I wouldn't say you're getting a work out. But you're doing more than just sitting on your ass.

New Yorkenomics

A recent report released by the Center for an Urban Future found that a person living in New York City would have to make $124,000 a year to have the same standard of living as someone living in Houston. They would have to bring home $60K to mirror the same lifestyle of someone in Atlanta. And with the average monthly cost of rent exceeding $2,800 and the average monthly cost of daycare reaching $2,000, it’s easy to see why more and more middle class families are leaving the Big Apple.

And that is the main reason my wife and I packed our bags and headed back to the west coast.

94.7 fm

94.7 fm in Portland, Ore. is single handily ruining 90s music and indie rock. That's the station we listen to in our office, and it has become painfully obvious that they play the same song list everyday. At least when the top 40 gets ruined by the radio, you expect it. I'm now sick of half the bands that a lot of mainstream listeners don't even have on their radar.

Not to mention, there love of the "Rock Band" lineup. I should be able to play almost every song on the game "Rock Band" due to the frequency they fill the waves on 94.7. Then they have the audacity to run promo spots claiming how cool they are for playing only underground indie rock. News flash! Just because it's underground, doesn't mean you still can't play it into the ground.

You’ve Been Learned

New York City was first referred to as Gotham in 1807 by Washington Irving in the satirical piece the “Salmagundi Papers.” However, it was originally a nickname for Nottinghamshire, England, whose clever peasants pretended to be stupid in order to dissuade King John from taking residence there. Or so the story goes.

Apparently, the current residents of Gotham now “pretend” to be abrasive and rude so that most socially conscious people won’t want to live there. Unless of course, you’re loaded, and you can afford to live high above all the feigning city dwellers.

Is this life imitating art, or art imitating life? Man, I hate that line. It ranks high on the list of movie clichés. I guess it merely explains man’s inhumanity towards man. Damn, there I go again.

Streak for the Cash

I'm now taking part in ESPN's Streak for the Cash game. For those of you who don't know, it allows you to join a group (similar to fantasy sports) and try to pick the winner of key match-ups throughout the day. If you get 27 right in a row, you have the chance at winning some coin.

I've learned two things from this game already. (1) I don't check it often enough to really compete. (2) I should never go to Vegas. I've tried my hand at 14 different events over the last 3 weeks, and I've only gotten 3 right. Yet, I keep trying. 

Christian Bale Goes Crazy!

Bale lost his cool while filming Terminator Salvation. A lighting guy walked on set while he was shooting a scene prompting Bale to erupt in anger and expletives for 4 minutes. The dude went nuts. 

I tell you what, he's a damn good actor, but he can't seem to separate his real life from the land of make believe. I know actors have to put themselves into character and all that mumbo jumbo, but Bale has repeatedly gone bat-sh*t-crazy on set. This combined with his over-the-top Batman voice is starting to push me away. 

Come back to us Christian. Go to your happy place, so I can continue to enjoy your mostly awesome movies.

Rest In Peace Rock 'n Roll

50 years ago today, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper all died in a plane crash after one of their shows. They chartered a plane, so they wouldn't have to travel the 400 miles to the next venue in a tour bus that had no heat in it during a snow storm. This has long since been considered "the day the music died."

Don Gets a Cyber High-Five!

There's nothing more annoying that those who proclaim their embarrassment to be American while enjoying a higher education, driving around new cars, sipping lattes, and going to bed without the fear of their house being bombed over night.

I actually heard someone say that they would rather die than have another Republican president... and they were serious! Really? I know things haven't been the best in our country lately, but read a National Geographic once and awhile. If you want to see hardship, it's out there. If having a Republican president and a couple of years of a down economy is the worst thing that happens to the American people, than thank God. At least we're not experiencing civil war, widespread famine, or having to live in 4-foot by 4-foot tin huts.

I love the new found patriotism our country is exhibiting, but I've also never seen such a full political ban-wagon in my life. I'm all about change and making this country the best it can be, but we need to start putting things in to perspective.

Super Bowl Ads

I was definitely let down by the Super Bowl ads this year. I don't expect the best advertising of the year. I don't even expect to be rolling in laughter in 30-second intervals. But I do expect that for the amount of money being shelled out for each spot, they should at least write a script that makes sense and has a payoff.

Take the SOBE dancing lizard/football player train wreck. Can someone please tell me what the hell that was about. The ad made no sense, it wasn't funny, and there was no payoff in the end. And to think they paid millions of dollars for that spot.

The Doritos ads were funny, but inconsistent. The crystal ball Doritos ad started out great, but the second half where the dude hits his boss in the balls, and then that weird guys screams in his face just got creepy. Their other ad where the dude bites a chip to make magical things happen had no payoff what-so-ever. He gets hit by a bus. Really? That's all you got. At least give me a rhyme or reason for the magical chips.

The majority just seemed like they were half baked and half-assed. Miller's 1-second ad had the strongest storyline of the bunch, and it was only 1-second long - the story line being that they didn't want to shell out the cash and get lost in the shuffle, which has created great buzz for pennies on the dollar.

Maybe advertisers are putting too much pressure on themselves, or maybe they are relying too heavily on consumer contests for their ideas. Great ideas can come from random places, but if you're going to have an average Joe write your ad, you should at least give it a once-over for clarity.

News Flash

I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize the motorcycle manufacturer “Orange County Choppers” is located in Orange County, New York instead of California. I suppose I never really paid attention to the show that much, but still, those dudes are definitely from New York. Not to mention the fact that I used to work for a motorcycle magazine back when the show was gaining traction. Whatever. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.