Vogue Cover

On the right is the April cover of Vogue Magazine. That's the NBA's LeBron James posing with Gisele Bundchen. This upsets some people. Actually, this upsets a lot of people.
Sorry, I don't see anything upsetting in this picture. I see two highly paid celebrities, each doing what they are famous for doing.

The cover picture on any magazine is designed to do one thing and one thing only, sell the damn magazine. The fact that James is the first black man to appear on Vogue's cover and that he's with one of the most beautiful white women in the world,.....so? The story which is linked to the cover is about super models and atheletes. Yes, we see two races on the cover, we also see mixed races in Old Navy TV commercials. I thought that by now racial differences were no longer a big deal...for those of us in the human race. Is Vogue trying to sell us something or are they reporting on a new trend? Are we supposed to be intimidated by LeBron? (or Gisele?) Are we supposed to imagine them doing the horizontal mombo? Who cares? (Isn't love beautiful!) Perhaps Gisele can do for LeBron's career what she did for Tom Brady's.

Wal Mart Cake

First, read what is on the cake.

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: 'Hello 'dis Walmarts, how can I help you?'

Customer: 'Yes, I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'

Walmart Employee: 'Whachu want on da cake?'

Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne.' And underneath that, 'We will miss you'.

General Salutes Wooly Bully!

One of my regular readers signs himself as "Wooly Bully." Well as a tribute to Wooly and to let you younger readers know what we're talking about, here is my salute to "Wooly Bully" and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs. Sam's real name is Domingo “Sam” Samudio from Dallas, Texas. Sam was a little "different." He and his group had a string of hit records in the mid to late 60's. Their biggest hit was Wooly Bully. The song sold more than 3 million copies, was on the Billboard Charts for 18 weeks in the USA where it peaked at #2! If you were alive in '65 - you knew this song! My mother thought that "Wooly Bully" was a song about an Afro Haircut......moms!
Here are the words:

Wooly Bully
Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro

Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw.
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw.

Wooly bully, wooly bully.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.

Hatty told Matty, "Let's don't take no chance.
Let's not be L-seven, come and learn to dance."

Wooly bully, wooly bully
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.

Matty told Hatty, "That's the thing to do.
Get you someone really to pull the wool with you."

Wooly bully, wooly bully.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.
-0-

The reference to "Let's not be L seven" (or L7) means "Let's not be square."

Sam is still "with us" and at 71 he has his own website: www.samthesham.com

Here's a link to Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs on You Tube singing Wooly Bully.

Britney Boosts "Mother"

Britney Spears guested on last night's "How I Met Your Mother." Brit and the hype that always seems to follow her helped find an additional 3 million viewers to save the show from cancellation. A reviewer from the N.Y Daily News said that Britney can act as well as she can sing!

Pam: Free Again, Again

So, it's official. Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon are no longer married. I mention this because it all seems so odd. The union was annuled based on fraud. Fraud usually = money. No further details. The two were hitched on Oct 6 in Vegas. They've been seperated since Dec. 13.
Fascinating!

Elisha Cuthbert

You may notice that outside the left margin on this page is a small map of the word with little red dots. By clicking on the map I can see where in the world you are and what story brought you to this blog. I can also view the satellite photograph of your area - or the area where your server is located. The point is...most of the blog's viewers find this place by searching for Pamela Anderson, the Deal or No Deal Banker, or some other timely subject. So, to satisify these types of internet surfers (and myself) I proudly provide you with the following entry:

Over the weekend I saw "House of Wax" on the FX channel. Not exactly my cup of tea but I can't see myself watching those Sunday Morning Infomercials or listening to politicians lie and sidestep questions.

House of Wax. Dumb horror movie where the bad guys kill the kids...including Paris Hilton. Watching Paris Hilton get killed turned the show into a comedy...at least for me. But getting back to Elisha Cuthbert. My my! Good actress! I have a link to a YouTube video, below, which highlighs some of her acting ability. It looks like she enjoys her work - so do we...so do we.

Click here for the YouTube Video.

Hillary In Terre Haute

On Thursday, Spring came to Terre Haute - so did Hillary Clinton. Coincidence? Of course! It did stop raining long enough for a few hundred supporters and a couple thousand curious Hoosiers to attend HRC's visit. I'd like to point out that she was late, you know, tardy. She's campaigning for the most important job in the world, it's her first "stop" of the day and she's half an hour late! Would the same lack of punctuality be carried to the White House? Still, I was curious and I would have loved to attend. It was a big deal for Terre Haute since we seem to lack significence in relation to the rest of the world. A lot of Compact Discs are made here...but I digress.

Apparently Mrs. Clinton didn't say anything new or earth shattering while she was here. We would have known if she had. The place was crawling with news media. The (not-so-secret) Secret Service was here, too. They were easy to spot - sunglasses and suits. Normally, not too many suits in Terre Haute.

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh was with her. The guy cracks me up. He's a two term Governor of Indiana and in his second term as Senator from Indiana and he says stuff like, "We need to develop......" Hell, you've been here long enough to have done something. If you did your job better, maybe whatever you're talking about would have been less of a problem! His facial expressions are funny, too. Sometimes, I don't think even he believes himself! But we love him in Terre Haute! He's smart...and handsome!

Simon Cowell - An Angel?

Simon Cowell is famous for being the "bad guy" judge on American Idol. Actually, I thing he's usually right-on-the-money, but his articulation is superb and refreshing on an otherwise "simple" show.
Well, Simon is on the Oprah Show recently and he meets Randy & Amy Stoen of Minnesota. The Stoens have a 3 year old girl named Madalaine who has a rare form of cancer. Oprah and Simon listen to their story and Simon tells the couple not to worry about their $160,000 mortgage...he's paying it off! He added, "It doesn't stop there. If there are any problems, I'm her guardian angel now." Of course, this was not done on impulse. The reason that I bring this up is that with all the Hollywood do-gooders, you rarely hear about a story like this. That's right, General Tom is bringing you "Good News." Last month I donated a pint of blood. Does that count?
Again, the irony is that Simon, who is viewed as such a hard ass, is really a softy. You may say that 160 grand is "nothing" to Cowell. Well, what are the other big shots doing?

Poor Heather

Yes, I may be a few days late with this one. Little Heather Mills was asking for a minimum of $100 Million from Paul McCartney. He was willing to part with half of that. Well, that's about what happened. She says she's glad that "it's over", but that the decision wasn't fair. There is a victim, here. It's not Paul. He got a bargain! It's not Heather. While she's wealthier than she ever should be, no good will ever become of her new found pile of money. The real loser is the child who, somehow, came out of this union. Sure, she'll be taken care of. But, could you imagine having a mommy like Heather Mills?
Heather's future? Who cares...even with all that money - she's "damaged goods." Maybe, if she tries real hard, she can pair up with a nice alcoholic or junkie!

Featuring Jenelle Moreno - Because I Can!

One of the great things about having your own blog is that you can say and do just about anything. From the TV show "Deal Or No Deal" this is Jenelle Moreno. She's one of my favs. Certainly within my top 20! Here's a bit of her bio:
Jenelle Moreno was born and raised in sunny Southern California. At a very young age, she knew she wanted to spend her career in front of the camera; and was a natural at it right off the bat.
At the age of 15 she was discovered by a major Hollywood agent, and the very next day, booked an 8-page spread in Teen Magazine.
From there, Jenelle spent nearly every weekday in LA either working or going to castings. That same year a powerhouse agent from Paris came out to meet her, and less than 2 months later she was on a plane, graduated from high school, and on her way to Paris.

I'll be featuring some of Jenelle's co-workers from time to time.

Ronn Mott

I've got to stop answering my phone on Sundays. During the week I don't have a choice, but on my lone day off, I really don't need to hear any bad news. I got a call from old buddy, Ronn Mott, yesterday, Sunday. I always enjoy talking with Mott. Somewhere above the BS, you always know where you stand with the guy. Well, Ronn gives me some bad news. He's been working at an oldies station in Terre Haute/Rockville for the past ten years and he's been laid off. Others were also let go including Bryan Thomas (Hayden) - another Terre Haute Radio Celebrity and the sales consultant who's been calling on our business for more than 10 years.

Just last week I was listening to Ronn and he made a comment - on the air - that when a business fails, it rots from above - from the top, down. This makes sense. After all, the big shots do the hiring. They do the managing. If they do their jobs correctly, things thrive. If they do not do their jobs correctly, what happens? Ronn Mott gets laid off.
For those of you who don't know who the hell Ronn Mott is, I'll tell you who the hell he is. He's been in broadcasting for 54 years! Ten of those years at WAXI where he was laid off. The anal cavities who laid him off were not even born when Ronn was knockin' 'em dead at KIOA in Des Moines as Ronn Pepper. Here's a picture of Mott from '62.


Ronn, sorry, man. I've been where you are now - more than once. That's why I left radio. You were WAXI's best weapon in the fight against XM and the satellite jukeboxes.
Idea! -> Let's watch WAXI slide a little further and buy it! I'm thinking that we won't have to wait long!

GT On The Luv Guv

Eliot Spitzer...where to begin? This story falls into the category of "Money Does Not Equal (or buy) Class." No amount of money, large or small, would change this story. The do-gooder politician has a hot one on the side. The $1,000 an hour makes it a little more interesting, however, looooow class.
One of life's basic lessons is that we are (or should be) responsible for what we do. If you do a bad thing, eventually something bad will happen to you. Looking at the prostitution scandel, nobody got hurt. He probably spent his own money. If he spent the state's money - additional bad things will happen to him. But as I sit here, listening to Benny Brown on Radio Luxembourgh, I feel sorry for Mrs Ex-Guv. Spitzer should have been thinking about her and himself if he got caught. Oh - and if you say that "all men do it." No they don't. Yes, we're human. That means that we also have the ability to develop rational thought. BTW, Little Eliot is by no means the first public servent to be caught with his, er...well you know. Some people question the $1,000 an hour. The dollar amount doesn't matter. $100 or $4,000 doesn't change the fact that you're still "with" a whore. Is it that we all want what we can't have? The trick is wanting what you have. Little Eliot should have taken his $1,000 an hour and bought his wife some flowers, a bottle of wine, some dark chocolate and go home and do what real men do.
Hey, did you ever wonder what a $1,000 an hour prostitute looks like? I did. You be the judge.

After the votes are counted, I thing we'll discover that Spitzer had better taste in hookers than Hugh Grant did. Don't be too sad or shocked over this story. I'm reminded of what Rodney Dangerfield said of prostitution. "A girl's got something, she sells it and she still has it...what a racket!"

TH Ford Closing

Until now, I've been listening to the doomsayers. But I haven't seen much doom around here. Then word slips through the grapevine that a neighboring car dealership is closing its doors. Too bad, actually. Why? Because nothing stimulates local business better than some good competition. It's good for the consumer and even better for us. When those people moved in, across the street, we sold an additional 35 cars, the first month! Since then, they've been less than dynamic. I'm not privy to all of the details - and I don't want to be. It's just that I have trouble believing that a Ford dealership should have to struggle in a city like Terre Haute! It seems like the older I get, the less I know...

Why I Don't Live In Terre Haute

The City of Terre Haute buys 30 Police Cars. They send out bids. The bids come back and they decide to purchase the 30 Police Cars from a dealership in another county. This would be OK, but there was a lower bid in their home county! Problem is that Terre Haute prefers (rear wheel drive) Ford Crown Victorias to (front wheel drive)Chevy Impalas. I know for a fact that the Chevy Impalas would have cost the city $3,000 less per car. That makes a difference of $90,000. Add to that the expense in fuel as the Ford averages 3 miles per gallon fewer in the city and 6 miles fewer per gallon on the highway...but what the heck - it's not the City's money - it's yours! Also, Terre Haute loses out on the county tax that it would have made by spending their money/our money in their own county.
The title of this post is "Why I Don't LiveIn Terre Haute" - the short version is because the leaders are backward. I can only assume that the Police Car purchase episode is only the tip of the iceberg.
That bad smell in Terre Haute is coming from City Hall.
If only I knew somebody who works at a Terre Haute newspaper or maybe a TV station. Hmmm. If only......

Conversation Stoppers

Sometimes, I think we forget who we are.
A friend sent me the following:

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.
Powell answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those who did not return."

It became very quiet in the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying. "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?"

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our air carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"

Once again, dead silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks, but a French admiral suddenly complained that, ". . . whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English." He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."

You could have heard a pin drop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."
"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!"
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn Frenchmen to show it to."