Friday Photo - Rachel Reynolds

Ah, yes! It's that time, again!

This week's Friday Foto features current Price Is Right model, Rachel Reynolds. Rach is from Louisiana, 5' 8" and loves Cajun food and red wine.
I raise my glass of chianti and say, "Have a nice weekend."

America's Best Restroom

Well, the votes are in! The nation's best public restroom is at the fancy-shmansy Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. What makes it the best? Leaded-glass tiles, authentic terrazzo floors and a shoeshine station in an art deco design.

I'm wondering if I print this picture and take it to Home Depot.....naw...

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps -"The Early Years"


Thanks Benny!

Manning Hurting

Around here, the Indianapolis Colts are similar in importance to a religion. Perhaps even more so among some of the Horseshoe Faithful. Mike Lombardi is well respected in the NFL world. He's not given to the sensational. Here's what he wrote in his blog, yesterday:
I talked to several people in the NFL yesterday (Wednesday) who know things and they assure me that Peyton Manning’s knee is a huge concern for the Colts. Apparently Manning had to go through another procedure on his knee to clean things out after having his bursa sac removed last month. What is the most concerning is not the second operation (which the Colts are denying), but that they cannot control the swelling in Manning’s knee and any physical movement causes MORE swelling. Once he returns to the game, gets hit, has to place a load on the knee, and drive the ball, there can be swelling. All I know is that there is MUCH more here than meets the eye. Manning has the trainer come over to HIS home for rehab and is rarely seen. Now, I have been with some big-time quarterbacks in my career like Joe Montana and Rich Gannon and never have they rehabbed from home. I thought this was not an issue and that Manning would be back. However, after talking to my friends in the league, it’s clear that this is a HUGE concern short- and long-term for the Colts.
The Colts begin their season on Sunday, September 7 at their new Lucas Oil Stadium against the Chicago Bears. From what I hear, I would be very surprised to see Manning on the field. I'll put my $2 on the Bears!

Glitter Saga Continues

This is a follow up to a previous post about the sad saga of Gary Glitter, the 64 year old Glam Rocker had been living in Viet Nam, most recently in a Viet Nam jail. Glitter was found guilty in 2006 of committing "obscene acts with children" — offenses involving girls aged 10 and 11. This week, he was released from jail in Viet Nam and was refused entry to both Thailand and Hong Kong. The picture that you see, here, is recent - taken earlier in the week. Reports indicate that he has returned to his native England.
This is sad. We hope he finds the help he needs.

Glitter is most famous for his top ten hit "Rock and Roll (Part 2)." The song is still popular at various sports venues.

Friday Foto - Kristin Chenoweth

It's FRIDAY! ...and so soon! This week's Friday Foto is of Kristin Chenoweth. She was featured in the Robin Williams movie RV. She has a web site (don't we all?) www.Kristin-Chenoweth.com.

Have a nice weekend!

Doors' Case Shut

Here's the deal: If you're a fan, you know that the Doors lead singer, Jim Morrison is in Rock & Roll Heaven along with his wife, Pamela Courson. In 2002 keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger decided to go on tour. Drummer John Densmore declined the invite. Manzarek & Krieger made a ton of money on the tour, calling themselves "The Doors." California courts say that was a bad idea. The California Supreme court doesn't want to hear the case. Up for grabs is more than $5 million. It looks like Densmore is going to share the loot with Morrison's parents and Courson's parents. This is a case where a good attorney in '02 would've helped.

Olympic Stuff

Hey! It's the Olympics! You know, international competition...the world coming together and all that... Why would anyone want to cheat? Is it really necessary? Well, China being, well, China is being widely accused of breaking the rules. They have a very talented gymnast who won 2 Gold medals. The problem is that she's probably too young to compete. Olympic ruses say that you have to have turned at least 16 during the year of the competition. China says that He Kexin was born on January 1, 1992. Take a look at the picture. Remember, young girls tend to look a little older wearing makeup.

Then there's the American 4 X 100 meter team. Boy, did they ever stink up the place! In case you missed it, both the men's and women's teams dropped the baton during exchanges, knocking them out of the races. I've participated in relay races. I was awful, but I could pass a baton! Yes, I could pass it and receive it - in the rain, too! All it took was practice. Maybe if I were pampered a little more by my high school track team I would seize the opportunity to practice less and party more!

Shawn Johnson

I'm not a big fan of Gymnastics. Yes, it takes strength, coordination and, of course, practice. I was watching the Olympics and noticed Shawn Johnson, a high school junior from West De Moines, Iowa. The first thing I noticed was that she has a personality. Most of the Gymnasts look as if they're on the final days of a death row sentence! Not Johnson. Teenage girls could learn something, here. When her competition makes an error, she doesn't smile. She knows how to be a 'good winner.' Oh, and she's athletic, too. Athletic enough to win Olympic medals amid some impressive competition. After the games are over, you'll see a lot of little Miss Johnson. I predict that she'll be in more TV commercials than Peyton Manning and Billy Mays combined! Being a parent, myself, I should mention that Shawn Johnson is the daughter of Doug and Teri Johnson. She is an honor roll student and has had three short stories published. Her favorite athlete is Lance Armstrong. (Well, no body's perfect.)

Friday Foto - Melania

Yes, Friday is here. It is becoming customary for me to usher in the weekend with a Friday Foto. Usually programed to appear at 2PM Eastern Time. Well, Guido, here it is! Melania Trump, wife of the Donald.

Have a nice weekend!

Trump Rescues McMahon

Most of us have heard about Ed McMahon's money problems. He's losing his house - it's a mess. The guy is in his 80's and lives in a six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house. He bought it in 1990 and he's having trouble making mortgage payments.

Enter Donald Trump. Money is no problem for him! He's a fan of McMahon, so he's buying McMahon's mansion and letting him live there. This will probably cost the Donald 4 or 5 million dollars. He'll spread it out over several years. For him it's simply a cost of keeping his image afloat and keeping his name in the public eye. Meanwhile, the rest of us are satisified to have reasonably priced egos.

Olympic Games +

A co-worker told me about this. He heard about it on ESPN Radio and I couldn't believe it!
UNAIDS, the Beijing organizing committee BOCOG and International Olympics Committee are providing 100,000 condoms for the 10,500 Olympic athletes as part of a campaign on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination at the games. I'm not sure how a condom can prevent discrimination. Is there something lost in the translation, here? The idea is that the young, healthy, trim athletes have plenty of leisure time and apparently a lot of opportunity for games outside of the Olympics.

A little background, this practice of supplying condoms began in Barcelona in '92. In Sydney, in 2000, 70,000 condoms were not enough, 20,000 more had to be brought in. In Utah, officials wanted to distribute 250,000 but religious folks objected. The modern record goes to Athens in 2004 when 130,000 were distributed.

This all seems odd to me. But, remember, I never did too well in the 100 yard dash! And, no, boys and girls, for several reasons, nobody ever had to buy me a condom. If you know me personally, you know that I am not a prude. At the same time, at all times, I have complete control over my zipper.

Three Pictures

I have three pictures for you. No explanation is necessary.

Quiz

Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember, NOT the ones you were told
about! Your ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes
6 Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RP M records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16. Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

Note: General Tom remembers all of these things as common, everyday things. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say that the we've improved on the above items?

Friday Photo: Lacey Chabert

Another weekend!
The staff at General Tom's Blog is happy to present a picture of Lacy Chabert. An actress/model worthy of the cover of Maxim...not to mention the Friday Photo Section of this blog!

Have a good weekend.

Beard Protests, Fur Flies In China

Amanda Beard is a two time Olympic gold medal winner. She's in China to defend her "Gold" in the 200 meter breast stroke. Many of us know her from her appearances in Playboy Magazine. Still others know her from her support of PETA...the animal rights folks.
Well, she's in China. China is the world's leader in the export of fur. Did you know that? This blog is so damn educational, sometimes I amaze myself! China's fur farms have been widely condemned by PETA who claims that animals are killed in brutal fashion, allegedly including electrocution and poison, and even skinned alive.
This is where PETA gets Amanda Beard to pose for the poster that she is holding. It says, "Be comfortable in your own skin, don't wear fur."
The Chinese are not pleased.
A couple of things, here. Beard is representing the United States in the Olympic Games, not PETA. She and her fellow athletes are in a foreign country as guests. I'm not talking about manners nor common courtesy, I'm talking about China. This is a totally different culture, a different mindset, a different part of the world. Be careful, Miss Amanda. You may not be able to swim fast enough to avoid some big trouble - for yourself or others.

L.A. Says No 2 Fast Food

Have you heard about this? The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to put a one-year ban on new fast-food restaurants in one of the city's poorest areas. Why would they do this? Because Los Angeles kids are fat - that's why. 30% of them are obese in the area affected as opposed to 21% in the rest of the city. Yes, by God, the L.A. City Council knows what's best for these kids - better than mamma does!

For some reason, this area of town has few grocery stores and many many fast food joints - 400 within 32 square miles! The council is simply banning the addition of any more fast food restaurants in the next year. The ordinance has to be approved by the mayor and can be extended to a second year.

This, after all, is the American way! When parents can't decide to supervise their children's diets, the government must step in and take action! Even if it means the curtailment of free enterprise, employment, tax generation, etc. The City Council vote was 13-0 in favor of the ban.

What's next? Banning additional drug dealers and new gangs?

Calvin & Eva Stir It Up

Weeeedoggie! We got us a real controversy! Calvin Klein's new scent, "Secret Obsession" commercial has been banned by the U.S. broadcast networks (thank you, Janet Jackson) and most of the broadcast stations. Cable networks will probably air it - they don't answer to the FCC. Apparently there really is an FCC. That could be the subject for another post.
Anyway, in the commercial, actress Eva Mendes is slowly rolling around on an unmade bed, whispering how she loves this stuff, the perfume. Oh, did I mention that she's naked? Yup, except for a towel, over the lower neighborhood. We also get to see 25% of her left nipple. See for yourself, click here to see the commercial. Offended, anyone? Actually, I'm more offended by Viagra, Cialis & Levitra commercials. Again, the subject for another post.
My opinion? I think it's a nice break from the violence and dead bodies of prime time TV. Also, for 28 seconds I'm back in 1975.

Another Idea

I thought this one up, all by myself, this weekend as I was sitting under a tree in my backyard sipping an Old Milwaukee and puffing on a Pall Mall Ultra Lite. The U.S. Federal Government should have a lottery. Not a lottery as we know it. State lotteries target middle to low income people who, because of a poor understanding of math and a dream of the big score, waste money that should be going to more important things, like a savings account.
Well, back to the idea. The government sells lottery tickets for, say, $10 each. The lottery winners don't win a pile of cash, instead, they become exempt from all taxes for an entire year. Imagine, no property tax, sales tax, income tax, etc. This wouldn't appeal to people who are dirt poor. They, quite frankly, don't pay much in tax so there's not much at stake for them, besides, they shouldn't be playing the lottery, anyway. Here, a productive member of society gets rewarded! Corporations would not be eligible. The lottery could be run weekly with multiple winners guaranteed from different geographic regions. Somebody in D.C. could figure out how many winners to have. You also would not have the problem that we see so often where somebody wins several million dollars and his life goes down the tubes and he's broke in six months!
Like I said, this is my idea. Any municipality is welcome to adopt all or part of it. You are very welcome.

Friday Foto: Karima Adebibe

Ah, Friday!

Most of you don't know who this is. She's Karima Adebibe, the new Lara Croft. (I do my best to stay up-to-date!) I don't know too much about her except that I notice that she has excellent bone structure! You may want to Google her. As usual, you can click on the picture to get the full effect!
Rather convincing proof that there is a God!

Have a nice weekend.

FYI - Our Congress

You may be wondering why nothing seems to "get done" in Washington. Lets look at our Congressmen:

36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year.

Why don't we know this? Our news media has been doing such a fine job! I look forward to election day when I will vote to re-elect NOBODY!