Ah, yes, General Tom stumbles upon another cutie worthy of the Friday Foto spotlight.
She's Camilla Belle, American actress and model. She lives in Los Angeles with her parents and grand mother and dates Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.
Golly.
Click on the picture to get the full effect.
Have a nice weekend!
I know that I'm a little late with these picks. They were actually made well in advance of the Thanksgiving games. (I have witnesses!)
Last week I was (yawn) 9 and 7. Let's see if I can do better this week...
TENNESSEE at detroit
seattle at DALLAS
arizona at PHILADELPHIA
san francisco at BUFFALO
BALTIMORE at cincinnati
INDIANAPOLIS at cleveland
carolina at GREEN BAY
MIAMI at st. louis
NEW ORLEANS at tampa bay
GIANTS at washington
denver at JETS
ATLANTA at san diego
pittsburgh at NEW ENGLAND
kansas city at OAKLAND
chicago at MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE at houston
The adult bookstore in my little town is closing. This is probably an economic decision since the City Of Marshall has been taking it to court for years. The history of legal action has cost the city (pop. 3,800) more than $600,000! The establishment is on the north side of town, located in a former Hardee's building, between the downtown area and interstate highway, adjacent to a kid's soccer field. The locals say that most of the store's business came from out of town. Maybe so. Maybe other Marshall businesses should be as lucky in attracting out of town shoppers!
Personally, I'm not a fan of the place. I should point out that physically, the place was never an eyesore. Some of us can remember the two eyesores that greated travelers on Illinois Route 1 on the north end of Marshall, but that's in the past. Being the free thinker that I am, I'm wondering if "The Gift Spot" (G Spot on its logo) was given a fair shake. They were a legit business selling legal products. They just weren't proper. Some of the locals are relieved, having thought that the dirty bookstore was going to send us all straight to hell - I never really cared much, one way or the other. I think it's interesting that the adult book and novelty store thrived while the Hardee's restaurant, in the same location, quickly went belly up.
Life goes on. The owners will probably ask for too much money to lease the property. At last, we get another eyesore!
Today is Indiana State University's final football game of the season. Before I get accused of bashing the ISU football program, let me point out that I am a proud alumnus of the institution...and yes, I am bashing the program. The Sycamores have been experiencing a rough run of luck, winning only one game in their past 44 outings. We should point out that the one victory came over the Bears of Missouri State, back in October of 2004. Today's season ender is at home against the same Missouri Stare Bears.
We are on the edges of our seats!
UPDATE: ISU lost the game, in overtime.
The genius on the right is G. Richard Wagoner Jr, Chairman and CEO of General Motors as he testified at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, last week. He and his buds from Ford and Chrysler flew corporate jets to D.C. to beg for money to borrow to bail out their companies. Yeah, you guys need money, you also need some common sense. The money that you are asking for is huge. You are asking politicians. Let's remember that politicians don't care about spending money! Hell, it's not theirs! Politicians care about one thing and one thing only - remaining in power! The worst thing a politician can do is anything that will lose him (or her) votes for their re-election effort. Getting back to the matter of common sense. If a politician is smart enough to not use a private corporate jet, why would the automaker CEO's make this mistake? The answer is a lack of common sense. If you are looking for a favor, especially a big favor, especially a big favor surrounded by controversy, you should do your best to pretend to be humble. Faking sincerity is so important!
Seriously, they should have made the trip in a minivan - one of their own products that the public will not buy for fear that the company will not be around to honor its warranty!
Marina Orlova is a 28 year old Russian-born philologist (although primarily an etymologist) who has become an Internet celebrity, hosting one of the most popular channels on YouTube, HotForWords, and a corresponding website. She explains what words mean. That's right, she's a Russian girl teaching American guys about the English language. Marina, with the proper backing, could easily start up her own on-line university!
Is this a great world or what!
Have a nice weekend.
I was lucky last week. Somehow, I was inspired, last Thursday, to come up with a 13 and 2 week! That puts my season total at 84 and 66.
Here are this week's picks:
cincinnati at PITTSBURGH
PHILADELPHIA at baltimore
JETS at tennessee
TAMPA BAY at detroit
minnesota at JACKSONVILLE
buffalo at KANSAS CITY
CHICAGO at saint louis
new england at MIAMI
san francisco at DALLAS
houston at CLEVELAND
oakland at DENVER
carolina at ATLANTA
GIANTS at arizona
WASHINGTON at seattle
INDIANAPOLIS at san diego
GREEN BAY at new orleans.
I'm not a fan of tattoos.
I dont think they are attractive, much less sexy.
On the other hand, you gotta love somebody with a sense of humor!
Click on the picture to see what I mean.
When I say that Lee Majors "sells out", well we all "sell out." We work for a living and on payday are compensated with a few pieces of silver. But hey! There are different degrees of selling out! Former 6 Million Dollar Man Lee Majors is hawking hearing aids for an introductory offer of $14.95. (I'm sure they work as well as the $500 types) The company that is selling them has even put his name on them! Watching the commercial, you get the feeling that Majors' heart is not really into the product. While he's an actor, and in this case, a pitchman, I get the feeling that the only thing he wants is some quick money in return for sacrificing some self esteem. Actually, it's sad.
General Tom's advice: Lee, get yourself a different agent. An agent who knows the meaning of the word "Dignity." There are ways to get recognized by casting directors - It's too late now, but as a last resort, you could've gotten some publicity by endorsing a national political candidate! Be seen buying Paris Hilton a drink! Hey! It's Hollywood, the possibilities are endless!
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Many of you know Kelly Brook. She's an English model and actress. Kelly is celebrating her 29th birthday this month. The staff at General Tom's Blog is happy to add her to the Friday Foto family of fine looking females! After all, Friday Foto is the only reason that most of you are here! Click the image to view the proper size. Actually, Kelly reminds me a great deal of somebody I know, personally. No names, she knows who she is. Enjoy and have a nice weekend.
Yes folks, I am not making this up. The Indiana Supreme Court decided today in a split decision that Terre Haute's Mayor, Duke Bennett, is not qualified to be the city's mayor. This is because of his employment at an institution that was partially funded by the federal government. The Hatch act prevents such people from running for public office. (No, he did not work on Wall Street.) His opponent in the November 2007 election, incumbent Kevin Burke, went law-suit-happy after his surprise defeat by a mere 103 votes. The Indiana Supreme Court said that Burke should not get to sit in the mayor's chair because he only complained about Bennett's eligibility after the election. It should be noted that Burke did not mention this 4 years prior when he defeated Bennett.
Sooooo, who's mayor? We aren't sure. Terre Haute doesn't have a deputy mayor. We do have a City Council! The law, as I understand it, says that the City Comptroller, appointed by the mayor who is no longer mayor and legally never should have been mayor, not the City Council President, gets to be mayor. A special election may happen. They say it'll cost $500,000 for the election. In the last mayor's election, 10,000 people voted. Assuming the same numbers repeat, it'll cost roughly $50 per vote. Thank God Terre Haute is a wealthy community! If you are reading this in a third world country, please don't hate us Americans for the way we disrespect money. It's an acquired weakness. We've been perfecting it for generations!
Not bad, last week. I only missed 4 out of 14 games. This puts me at a rather shabby 71 & 64 on the season. There's work to do. Let's get to it...
NY JETS at new england
denver at ATLANTA
minnesota at TAMPA BAY
baltimore at NY GIANTS
oakland at MIAMI
NEW ORLEANS at kansas city
detroit at CAROLINA
PHILADELPHIA at cincinnati
chicago at GREEN BAY
houston at INDIANAPOLIS
st. louis at SAN FRANCISCO
ARIZONA at seattle
TENNESSEE at jackasonville
san diego at PITTSBURGH
dallas at WASHINGTON
CLEVELAND at buffalo
I visited EllisIsland.org today. Probably one of the more meaninful things that I've done with the internet in a while. I looked up my grandfather. I easily found that he arrived at Ellis Island on December 3, 1903 at the age of 14. He was traveling alone. (Think of this the next time you put your kid on the school bus). Grandpa had some older brothers here at the time. This is a drawing of the ship that took grandpa to New York.
It was called Citta Di Napoli. It was also previously known by three other names during its history. It was built in 1871 by Harland & Wolfe Ltd. of Belfast, Northern Ireland - the same folks who later constructed the Titanic. A little info about the Citta Di Napoli - it's cruising speed was 15 knots, it measured 420' in length and only 40' wide. It carried 1,166 passengers. (166 first class and 1,000 third class).
Grandma arrived 7 years later, as a young lady - on a much nicer ship, the Madonna.
It's funny, I don't remember them ever talking about this.
All is not right with the world! In less than a month, Hugh Hefner loses two of his live-in girlfriends! I doubt that the problem is with the food at the Playboy Mansion.
"The Girls Next Door" co-star Kendra Wilkinson is engaged to Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The 23-year-old model-actress has lived with Hefner since 2004 and currently co-stars as one of his three girlfriends in the E! reality series. Last month, his main GF, Holly Madison moved out.
Hef, who is 82, isn't asking for any dating advice. He's playing house with twin 19-year-olds Karissa and Kristina Shannon.
After all these years - he remains my idol!
Another Friday, another opportunity to dazzle you with a Friday Foto. This is Blanca Soto. She's a Mexican model and actress. I spotted her on a commercial for Yellow Book. She's also active with the USO and the Wounded Warrior Foundation of San Diego.
Have a nice weekend.
Last week was a miserable week for me - in the NFL. I picked 6 winners of 14 or 61 & 60 on the season. While that was a poor performance, I'm looking to do better in Week 10. The only problem is that some screwy things can happen during the 10th week.
Anyway, here goes:
denver at CLEVELAND
new orleans at ATLANTA
TENNESSEE at chicago
jacksonville at DETROIT
BALTIMORE at houston
seattle at MIAMI
GREEN BAY at minnesota
buffalo at NEW ENGLAND
st. louis at NY JETS
CAROLINA at oakland
indianapolis at PITTSBURGH
kansas city at SAN DIEGO
NY GIANYS at philadelphia
san francisco at ARIZONA
You know, when you look at it, it's really amazing. Here's a black Senator in his first term and he decides to run for President. He competes with the likes of Hillary Clinton and some other more seasoned Democrats and he gets the nomination. He did it the same way that Ronald Reagan did it. He built a staff of the best possible people that he could find. He allowed them to do what they do best.
To be honest, the guy has not gotten me sold, 100%, yet. But the truth is, things have to change. We need somebody to make some corrections. Even though politicians are not my favorite kind of people, somehow, I feel this could work.
While everybody else is watching the election returns on TV, I notice that the price of regular unleaded gasoline in Terre Haute, Indiana has just gone below $2.00 a gallon. I would like to know how the price of gasoline can swing from $4.00+ to less than $2.00 a gallon within four months? If you think the reasons are complicated, I agree. They are as complicated as greed and politics can possibly be.
Today is Election Day. I voted. I had no choice, I had to vote! With all of the less enlightened people running around with their flawed opinions, my vote was more important than ever. The candidates portray their opposition as being irresponsible, moronic or even criminal. Don't you just love this process! How would it sound if my boss went on TV and called the Ford dealer, across the street, a crook and a louse? You can only get away with these tactics in politics. Spending donated money.
The Presidential race in my state of Illinios was already decided - Obama. There were some local races that I didn't quite understand. A friend of the family is running for office. He's had commercials on the radio. I even put a poster, on my front lawn, supporting him. The guy is running unopposed!
After I voted, I felt a warm feeling. Warm, but somehow I felt that I'd rather have the cash that the candidates spent as they sought my vote.
Anyway, I voted. Tonight, I'll empty a few cans of Old Milwaukee and see how the rest of you voted. Tomorrow, regardless of who won or lost, I'll go back to work.
