Good Grief, President Obama!!

Am I glad that President Obama is scheduling a speech tonight to update the world on the status in Afghanistan? Yes, yes I am. However, the speech will be bumping the annual showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas on ABC. Sure - I have a copy of the show on DVD somewhere, but it is just not the same. You know what I mean, don't you? To tell you the truth, the Charlie Brown Christmas show has not been the same for me since Dolly Madison Cakes stopped sponsoring it, but those days are long gone.

This whole Obama-Charlie Brown tangling got me thinking...which of Charlie Brown and his friends would make the best president? Who is the most Obama-like? In my opinion, Charlie's friend Linus is the best fit. He is pretty grounded for a kid, and has held his devotion to the Great Pumpkin through many a Halloween season. Many may question his abilities, considering the fact that he is constantly seen holding a blanket. To me - Linus' blanket is like President Obama's teleprompter - he really doesn't need it - but he feels better having it.

So - keeping with this theme - who is Lucy? Well, the obvious answer is Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Lucy, like Hillary, is not afraid to "play with the boys." That one is easy. I have had a more difficult time coming up with which Peanuts character is Vice President, Joe Biden most like? Not Snoopy; to me, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel seems more Snoopy-like. You know, a little bit behind the scenes - but tough. I think that I am going to have to go outside the box and go with Peppermint Patty. Peppermint Patty is kind and down to earth, but sometimes talks a little bit too much. OK, who is Charlie Brown you may ask? I think that we all can agree on that. Nobody says "Charlie Brown" like Senator John McCain.

Since we won't get to see A Charlie Brown Christmas until next week then, here is a little snippet. Enjoy:

Gobble Gobble

It's one day before Thanksgiving, and it is hard to believe that it has been a year since I first posted about Sarah Palin talking to an interviewer while turkeys were being slaughtered in the background. It is even more hard for me to believe that over 365 days later, Palin is still in the news on a daily basis. That is well past Andy Warhol's prediction of each of us getting fifteen minutes of fame. Well, anyway, here is the video below - and please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Oh My Nose!!!

OK, there is no way that I could resist today's blog item being about Food Network celebrity Paula Dean being bopped in the face by a low flying ham. Paula was doing a spot about her helping to distribute free hams to needy families for Thanksgiving, when someone in the group got the idea of throwing one in her direction. I actually found the lack of response in her husband (guy with beard showed at end of video) to be just as funny as the incident itself. She was OK afterward, and suffered no bad injuries. No word is in yet on the ham, however. Here is the video:


This Paula Dean incident reminded me of my generation's most famous "hit in the nose" incident on television. Of course, I am speaking about the Brady Bunch scene in which Marcia Brady gets hit with her brother's football and exclaims, "oh my nose." Here is a snippet of the scene below:

American Music Awards

To tell you the truth - I have never been a fan of American Idol. I don't like watching people get ridiculed. I can get enough of that in real life. I don't remember who won last season. I know it was a guy - and that it was down to one cute guy who seemed straight and one cute guy who seemed gay. Well - the straight guy won, but the gay guy - Adam Lambert - made a big ruckus on last night's American Music Awards. Here is the video below:


There are a plethora of opinions out there today. I will take any opportunity to use that word. Terms that I have read include: pushing the envelope; double standard for men; double standard for gay men; lewd, pornographic; cool. What do I think? Well - I think that there is a double standard for men, and particularly gay men. Madonna, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and - more recently - Lady Gaga - have been doing blatantly sexual maneuvers for years now. Hey - look at Michael Jackson. If I had a dime for every crotch grab that he had done - I would be rich now. But - what is different about Michael? He never kissed a dude - at least on stage, that is.

You know what they say - that there is no bad publicity. Years ago, when I was very deeply in the closet - I remember watching the Grammy Awards with my mother. I told her about Annie Lennox and how she had such a great voice. I nearly plotzed (passed out in Yiddish) when she appeared on stage that night with Elvis style side-burns. It was a little too close for comfort for me and my own issues. I am attaching the video of that performance below. Well, anyway, that was years ago - and performers have been "pushing the envelope" in different ways for years now. I think that it was probably about time that this most recent envelope push was "guy on guy" action.

Google and Clouds

Today is a big "tech geek" day. I pretend to be a "tech geek" - but I am really not one. I know a little bit of stuff - just enough to sound impressive. It usually doesn't work. Anyway, the tech geek event of today is the Google's Chrome OS meeting being held in Mountain View, California. You know it has to be for real - look at the picture of the guys above who are in attendance.

From what I understand, Google Chrome is a web browser. Google Chrome OS is an operating system. The two real big competitors in this market currently are Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft has the bigger piece of the pie, but they are about it. The cute but informative video below explains how Chrome OS is faster and makes more sense now, because people, in general, are using their computers for the internet. When operating systems were first put into place, the internet was not in the forefront as it is now. That is why it takes so long to get onto the internet. Your computer still has to go through all the system checks for all of the other stuff that we only occasionally use. With Google Chrome OS - you are the internet and the internet is you. Your information and data is stored on the internet, and not on your "hard drive." I saw someone comment, "it's not stored on the internet - it is stored on Google servers." Ah - that is the catch. That "cloud" as they call it - where all of your stuff is stored - is stored in Google land. How will this effect privacy, security, etc? I really don't know - but truthfully - I don't think that there is really much left anymore anyway.

OK - take a look at the video and see what you think. Anything this cute can't be scary, right? Oh - and also - you can't download a Google Chrome Operating System - you have to buy a whole new computer.


I am including a video of something else that considers itself - cute, inventive, innovative, and what is "to come." Well, at least Mr. Google would probably hold up better to Katie Couric:

Cupcake Cars and John Edwards

Remember how John Edwards spoke about the "Two Americas" during his 2008 campaign stumping. You know - his version of the "haves" and "have nots." Bill Maher joked that Elizabeth Edwards agreed with the "Two Americas" concept, until she learned that her husband was having sex in both Americas.

John Edwards aside, this holiday season at Neiman Marcus, you can purchase your favorite person a Cupcake Car for only $25,000.00. It doesn't take too much time to figure out which "America" can afford such an unpractical gift. I bet I won't see many Cupcake Cars driving around the poorer sections of Philadelphia this year.

Here is a little snippet of the Cupcake Cars in action:

Happy Felix Unger Day!

I pride myself on knowing all sorts of meaningless trivia, but this one passed right by me. Today is known as "Felix Unger Day." Felix is the character from the Odd Couple movie/television show. I know him best as being portrayed by Tony Randall - in the television series. The Jack Lemmon version in the movie was a little bit before my viewing time. Well, anyway, it is Felix Unger Day today - November 13th - because at the start of each "Odd Couple" show - the background vocal guy would say:

On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. (Unger's unseen wife slams door. She reopens it and angrily hands Felix his saucepan) That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"

Here is a snippet of that now famous intro, as well as another classic Odd Couple Scene. And - before I forget - Happy Felix Unger Day.