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Random Wednesday Stuff

– If ever there was any doubt about the supremacy of the NFL in America’s hearts, look no further than last week’s Neilsen ratings, where a lowly pre-season game between two middling teams – the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills – trounced the competition from MLB, NASCAR and the PGA. The “Hall of Fame Game” (so-called because it takes place at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio) averaged 7.9 million viewers, compared to 6.3 million viewers for the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational, 4.7 million for the Yankees-Red Sox game, and 2.5 million for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. Let me emphasize – this was a pre-season game between two teams with small fan bases… and it beat out Tiger Woods, one of MLB’s classic rivalries, and a bunch of rednecks driving in circles! Read more here.

– Some nutty British scienticians have decided that Britain’s ideal pet would have the “ears of a rabbit, face of a cat, body of a golden retriever and tail of a horse”. Read more about it here.

– Like I lot of people, I occasionally walk past a dirty car and feel an overwhelming urge to write “Wash Me” on it. Texas artist Scott Wade is the same way, only he uses brushes and his fingers to create masterpieces on the windshields of cars:

Car Art

Read about his work and see more pictures here.

– And lastly, a bit of free advice for Apple: stop censoring so many iPhone apps! As you probably know, Apple’s iconic iPhone has an online store (called, imaginatively enough, the App Store) where users can download programs for their iPhones. The only problem is that Apple has complete control over what apps make it to the App Store, and sometimes the company likes to use a heavy hand when dealing with developers.

Apple pulled a Bittorrent app from the App Store because “it could be used for piracy” (which is pretty rich from a company that made billions selling iPods!). Apple then banned a Bittorrent viewing program because again “it could be used for piracy” (it’s crucial to note that this program simply connected to a desktop computer and checked the status of the BT app running on that computer; the rejected iPhone app couldn’t download anything by itself). Apple has also taken a caviler attitude with apps that complete with the iPhone’s existing apps (the recent Google Voice drama) or the bread and butter of its main iPhone partner, AT&T (the SlingPlayer drama). But last week might have been the last straw: Apple banned a dictionary app from the App Store… because the program contained “offensive words” (the app was later approved when all the “offensive” words were removed and a “17+” label was added to the app. I just wanted to say this: “Hey, Apple: the Justice Department can investigate companies other than Microsoft and Intel, ya know?”

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More on the Affidavit

In this post I talked about Angela Antonetti’s affidavit in the Ben Roethlisberger suit. I’d like to take a couple of minutes to follow-up on this.

First of all, you can download a PDF of the affidavit here.

Once you’ve downloaded it, check out paragraph 18:

In August 2008, Andrea asked me to travel with her to Pittsburg [sic] that fall to see a Pittsburg Steelers game and to try to “run into” Ben Roethlisberger. I told Andrea that she shouldn’t try to chase Mr. Roethlisberger. I believed that Andrea’s plan to travel to Pittsburg – uninvited – to attempt to see Mr Roethlisberger when he had not tried to contact her was not realistic. Based upon this discussion, I understood that Mr Roethlisberger had not tried to contact Andrea, although he could have easily reached her at Harrah’s.

And there’s the money shot right there. If this paragraph in particular is true, then I don’t believe a word of McNulty’s story.

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The Sacred Rules of Jersey Purchase

Behind the Steel Curtain has a great post about buying team jerseys. Although many casual fans (and wives and girlfriends) might think buying a jersey is as simple as picking a player then picking a jersey size, the fact is that it’s a complex process full of pitfalls:

I’ve gotta buy a new Steelers jersey. This has kept me up nights, and any die-hard fan in the same situation should treat this monumentous decision the same way.

See, there’s far more that goes into a fan’s jersey selection than most think. It’s a commentary of that fan’s ownership of the team. It’s a proud statement that shows the devotion and loyalty to America’s greatest team.

Is it your favorite player? Is it a tribute to the olden days of the team? Is it commemorating one of our two recent Super Bowls? These are all factors, but the “coolness” of that player or the uniqueness and rarity of that jersey is also very important. Longevity and likelihood of that player’s continued employment by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Even if you’re not a Steelers fan, you should still read the article, as it has a lot of good “rules” for picking just the right jersey. After all, every fan should know about “The Oversaturation Rule” (Roethlisberger, Polamalu), “The Bandwagon Rule” (James Harrison, Santonio Holmes), “The Commitment Rule” (Alan Faneca), “The Throwback Rule” and more, and how they might apply to your team.

Although amusing, the post has good information that every fan should know.

via The Sacred Rules of Jersey Purchase.

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Hotel Babylon: Season 4, Episode 7

Hotel Babylon
Season 4, episode 7
Aired: August 7, 2009 on BBC1

hotel_babylon_s04_e07

SYNOPSIS

Famous Sicilian artist (and frequent Babylon guest) Christiano Cucci has died, and he so loved the hotel that he wants his funeral service held there. James, smelling a chance to become the manager of all food and drink at Babylon, begs Juliet for the chance to show her what he can do. She agrees – if he pulls off the event, he will get his promotion. However, at Juliet’s insistence, James must partner with Geno to do so.

Meanwhile, famous comedian Jim Doody (played by real-life comedian Hugh Dennis) has checked into the hotel. One of Juliet’s old flames, she starts swooning whenever he’s around… which sets Sam off on a jealous rage. He ends up going to the room of Sophie (Poppy Elliot), a flirty guest, to have a one-night stand. But Juliet is in for disappointment: despite his being all flirty with her, Jim is married. Sam, too, feels awful, because he only slept with Sophie to “get back” at Juliet… until Sophie says that they didn’t actually sleep together, as Sam passed out from tequilla before anything happened. So Sam feels better, and he and Juliet try getting back together again.

Continue reading “Hotel Babylon: Season 4, Episode 7”

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It was consensual?

I haven’t said much about the civil suit against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because a) I’m not a lawyer; and b) so far, we’ve only had the alleged victim’s 36-page original complaint to comment on.

However, in an affidavit filed on Friday, Angela Antonetti, a former co-worker of the alleged victim, stated that Andrea McNulty “did not appear to be upset, stressed-out or nervous” about the incident… in fact, she appeared to be “happy and boastful”, and even wondered if she might “have a little Roethlisberger” inside her (i.e. be pregnant).

Antonetti further states that McNulty’s series of psychological treatments and long absences from work after the alleged incident were actually related to the affair she was having with a married man, and another “relationship” she was having with a soldier in Iraq (who was actually an imaginary person made up by the wife of the man she was having an affair with).

Look folks, this is just the opinion of one of Andrea McNulty’s co-workers. I’m sure that if you asked most of your co-workers about you, you’d get several “he’s a great guy” comments and a few “he’s a complete jerk” comments. The point is, just because one woman says that McNulty is lying doesn’t mean that the suit is a slam-dunk for Roethlisberger’s attorneys. It’s not, however, a good sign for McNulty. Her case has always seemed shaky, and a few more affidavits like these and the suit will collapse.

Read more about it here.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-09

  • "Surely the problem must be with everyone else, not you, oh precious snowflake!" #
  • "Windows 7 sucks because it won't run [program written in 1992]!!" #
  • I've never seen an Asian woman on a bicycle… #
  • My inbox has 1509 unread items. *sigh* #
  • R.I.P. John Hughes 🙁 #
  • Chumbawumba is now in your head! #

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John Hughes Follow-Up

John Hughes, director of such iconic 80s and 90s films as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She’s Having a Baby, Uncle Buck and Curly Sue and the writer of many more such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Mr. Mom, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Home Alone and Career Opportunities, passed away of a heart attack yesterday in New York at the age of 58.

Born in Lansing, Michigan on February 18, 1950, Hughes grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, where many of his films would take place (the city was originally named “Shermerville”, hence the “Shermer, Illinois” name in the movies). He married his high school sweetheart in 1970 and remained with her throughout his life. He began his professional life working for Chicago ad agencies, where he created the famous “foam vs. Edge” credit card commercials.

I’m not going to write a long post about how he was the “voice of a generation”… in fact, I’m not sure I really even know what that phrase means. All I know is that Hughes made me laugh, cry and think about my life. His movies were the first to portray “my” generation in a somewhat realistic manner. And when I saw his characters on the screen, I identified with them. These weren’t movies for my mom, my younger and hipper uncle, or even the babysitter… there were movies for me. And for that, I’m thankful we had John Hughes, if only for a short while.

Here are a couple of neat Hughes-related things:

Here’s the complete text of “Vacation ’58”, Hughes’ “allegedly fictional” short story that inspired the Vacation film. It’s a short (but hilarious) read… you oughta check it out!

And here’s a blog entry by a woman who was “pen pals” with Hughes. It seems that she wrote Hughes a long letter, pouring her heart out to him after she saw The Breakfast Club. Hughes sent her a form letter in return, which made the woman so mad that she sent him another long letter, this time an angry one. Hughes actually wrote her back personally this time, and the two exchanged several letters over the years. Reading her post is sad… not only because of Hughes’ death, but because she quotes a few paragraphs from her letters about why he largely turned his back on Hollywood. It’s a sad and poignant post, and if you were a Highes fan at all, you should really read it.

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FRIDAY FUN: WTF, Rite Aid?

So… yesterday, Lisa and I needed to run some errands. One of the stops was at our local Rite Aid, so Lisa could pick up some lipstick. Having no interest in lipstick, I just wandered around the store while Lisa decided between “salmon” and “coral”. I managed to stumble upon some “limited edition” coconut M&Ms. Being a fan of all things coconut, I just had to try them… but check out my receipt:

Rite Aid WTF 01

Now, I’m not one of those “save the planet” types, especially when it comes to paper – which comes from trees, which can easily be replanted. But come on, people… Do I really need 16″ worth of receipt for one 88¢ bag of M&Ms? WTF Rite Aid!

Rite Aid WTF 02

By the way, the M&Ms were crazy delicious!

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R.I.P. John Hughes

It’s a sad day for those of us who grew up in the 80s:

Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood’s youth impresario of the 1980s and ’90s who captured and cornered the teen and preteen market with such favorites as “Home Alone,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.

Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.

via ’80s teen flick director John Hughes dies in NYC – Yahoo! News.