Random Thoughts

Let me start today by thanking all of my readers. I am truly grateful for your feedback, and support. I hope you will continue to visit here often.

It has come to my attention several of you may be under the wrong impression, so to clear things up:

I do not work for Yahoo!. I have no connection to them in any way. I can not solve your disputes with them, although I would like to. The only advice I can offer you regarding ending your affiliation with them and thereby closing your account is to stop using it. Yahoo’s policy is to delete all accounts not logged into for more than 30 days. All you have to do is stop logging in and game over, check mate. You are free of Yahoo. Simply put, I hate them and hope you all will follow this advice and rid yourself of the hassle, but please realize you are the only one who can end this. You must help yourself. Sorry, but I can not do it for you.

I hope this clears up any confusion you may have had. As always thanks for listening and thank you for your support.

The networks have once again released their lackluster fall schedules, and absent yet again are shows with imagination and plot. They have been replaced by “faux” reality shows and Law and Order regurgitation number 512. By this I mean formulated cop shows (which I do enjoy), but seriously, how many do we need?

Not to mention, what has turned Tuesday night into a veritable battle ground for cop show ratings? With 24, The Shield, NYPD Blue and now Law and Order SVU all on the same night, what is a viewer without TiVo supposed to do? I am forced to sit through days of endless garbage and then try to get my brain to process all these shows on one night? Help!

Take, for example, Dick Wolf’s version on Dragnet on ABC, I am not a huge fan, but I usually end up watching it because this season it aired after Alias on Sunday nights. What the hell is it doing being moved to Saturday nights following The Wonderful World of Disney? First of all, WWD is a Sunday night tradition, but more importantly, what kind of a lead in to Dragnet is the Disney movie of the week? Especially since NBC already demonstrated how poorly this would turn out by resurrecting Fred Dryer’s now twice debunked series, Hunter. All I can say is at least Alias no longer has the curse of the Disney lead in.

In other stupid ABC blunders, a few years ago, they all but abandoned their T.G.I.F. line-up to go for more adult oriented programming. I thought it was a mistake then, and they have realized now. The question is, is it too late? They had the market share of the captive pre-teen audience (and sadly me), but they threw it all away to be more like the other fledgling networks. Now they want the pre-teen market back, but those kids have moved on. Will today’s kids even notice? I doubt it.

As for the adults, we are stuck with endless mediocrity. When we finally do get a decent series, it is hard to be motivated to invest our viewing hours in it because networks consistently give up on quality shows before they are allowed to play out. Freshman and Sophomore series “on the cusp” as they call it are cast aside to make room for new crap like one of this year’s entries, a drama based on J-Lo’s character in Out of Sight.

The current system stinks, fans and the shows writers deserve better. The networks should decide no later than March which shows are being renewed to allow the writers time to create closure for the fans, leaving no more dangling unanswered cliffhangers. I hate to wait all summer for the resolution of the spring finales, but at least I know I will get the answers in the end.

So many of my favorite shows of the last several seasons have been cut short, abruptly ended with no resolution. Leaving me clinging to the small hope they may one day be wrapped up in an underwhelming, crappy made for tv movie. This situation is completely avoidable; all the networks have to do is make a decision before the finales are taped and aired. I don’t care if they announce their decision to the public, but at least have the courtesy to tell the shows and their producers.

Shows like Felicity, Dawson’s Creek and Providence (although not all time favorites) got forewarning and successfully created closure for their viewers. Friends and Fraiser already have sight of their endings, why can’t this be true for other favorites? Is it really that hard to see which shows are in the crapper? Unfortunately this dream will never come to fruition, and there will always be some viewers somewhere left unnecessarily hanging, but as a disappointed tv addict, I can’t help but wonder why…

California’s hall monitor, protecting every one everywhere, well Californians from the “dangers of junk food”

I have said it before and I will say it again, I love San Francisco, but you people seriously need a hobby. More specifically, Stephen Joseph needs a hobby. This asshole has nothing better to do than try to ban Oreo cookies in California because they contain hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. He has more spare time on his hands than councilwoman, Pam Smith of Lakewood, who has made it her mission in life to ban enclosed porches and 24 hour restaurants.

Apparently, Stephen just figured out trans-fatty acids are bad for you (something most of us learned in the third grade, but certainly no later than high school). Anyway, he has filed a lawsuit in California to try and force Kraft Foods, the manufacturer of Oreo Cookies, to stop using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the processing of their cookies.

Is it just me or is Stephen Joseph the only guy on the planet who didn’t realize Oreos aren’t good for you? Has anyone ever seen them flying off the shelves of health food stores? Does the food pyramid recommend a diet rich in trans fatty acids? When I think of healthy eating and nutrition, the last thing that comes to mind is an Oreo. Still, I love to eat them because they taste good in spite of, or more likely because of the trans fat included in them.

Stephen takes his argument further, faulting the industry for secretly including these oils in chips, other cookies and snack products. You know, the FDA has guidelines for putting labels on products for a reason, idiot. The existence of these substances in foods has been spelled out for years; all you had to do was read the label. Regardless, where do you get off trying to ban Oreos for the rest of us? If you don’t want to eat them, don’t. If you want to start a website to warn people of the so called “dangers” of trans fatty acids in foods, go ahead, but don’t spoil it for the rest of us who already know and either don’t care or simply avoid eating products containing them.

I am not willing to completely change my snacking habits because you weren’t smart enough to figure out what was in an Oreo in the first place. Hello, the filling looks and tastes like shortening, which is a polite term for manufactured lard, what the hell did you think was in there? And as for your changes in industy standards, they tried replacing snack items with reduced fat products a few years ago. The new snack products tasted like crap and worse yet, people got sick off of the fat substitute. It is clearly not an option for everyone.

I know he just wants to ban the use of hydrogenated oils for products in California, but I have no doubt some other moron will pick up his cause in my state. Ohio is crawling with people who have too much time on their hands. Besides, I go on vacation to California every year, and I don’t want some freak show banning snack foods and trying to force me to eat healthier when I am trying to have a good time. It is bad enough you can smoke anymore, at least let me have my junk food!

P.S. Universally referring to it as junk food should have clued you in to its dietary short comings, Stephen. Since it didn’t, you also might want to avoid all of the following: fast food of all kinds, corn dogs, margarine, candy, peanuts, cookies (obviously), cheese crackers, potato chips, all processed foods in general, and basically anything that tastes really good or is fried in oil. Oh…and skydiving (trust me on this one, it is not the sport for you).

In general for being a useless, annoying, waste of women’s time, but today for protesting Scott Peterson being charged with two murders instead of just one, since Connor was still a fetus. Regardless of your feelings on abortion rights, you can’t dispute Laci wanted the baby and intended to give birth to him before she was senselessly murdered. He was 8 months old and full term, completely viable outside the womb. Nice try, but the asshole is going to burn just the same.

In America, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but it is not necessary to prove one’s self guilty. Perhaps some one should have told Scott Peterson that. There is more evidence against him than there was against O.J. Simpson. Scott better pray he hires a lawyer who is a witch like Johnnie Cochran.

I understand his parents want to believe in their son, but come on! He was a mere 30 miles from the Mexican border with 10 grand in cash, and a totally new look (I don’t care what his friends say, you don’t get that dye job from a pool and no one forgets to shave and ends up with a goatee). You can leave out the speculation about travel brochures and his brother’s identification documents; things are not looking good for Scott. You can’t blame the police for your son’s suspicious behavior. If he didn’t do it, why is he trying to flee? I don’t care if they do live in San Diego, their excuses just don’t add up.

I also don’t buy his parents argument he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to have gone fishing 3 miles from where the bodies where found. Are you kidding me? Have you seen some of the stupid criminals out there? He was establishing an alibi 90 miles from the scene of Laci’s disappearance. The dump was out of necessity; clearly, he didn’t intend for anyone to ever find her body.

As Hollywood mulls over the story trying to decide if it is marketable movie of the week fodder or better suited to a very special episode of Law and Order, the rest of us are left to wonder, why would Scott Peterson do this (allegedly)? Was it anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred? Why Connor? Why not just Laci? What is the rest of the story? Perhaps we will never know.

There is only one person who can answer these questions for certain and for now, Scott is not talking. Reports say he looks uneasy and afraid. He should be! Justice is coming for him (if the other prisoners don’t get to him first). Watch your back, Scott; there will always be someone inside looking to even the score.

P.S. Mrs. Peterson, try living under Communism or in a Concentration Camp and then talk to me about how bad things are for your son. Here he will have a trial and face a jury of his peers. He will be able to present a defense for the crimes he is accused of and to beg for his life to be spared. If you lived in a nation without rights and freedoms, your son would be dead already and you would not be allowed to talk about it. Still not convinced? Ask the Iraqi people who are searching for their missing loved ones executed by Saddam’s regime.

For being a stupid, murdering (allegedly) asshole most of America is lining up to beat with a stick. That’s reality tv I’d love to watch!

To the lady who got on the radio this morning to vent her anger towards people who merge too slowly in front of her: GET OUT OF THE LANE THEY ARE TRYING TO MERGE INTO. It isn’t rocket science, you drive the same way every morning, and every morning someone merges in front of you and slows you down. You are in their way. Here’s a novel idea, do yourself and the guy merging a favor, change lanes BEFORE you get to the on ramp. Then, you won’t have to slow down and he won’t have to break his neck trying to merge in front of you.

I could spend a week complaining about idiot drivers, but I won’t. Face it, people are morons, and clearly they will give a license to any one who applies for it, so you might as well throw common sense to the wind and drive like an idiot. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?

But shouldn’t the POLICE know what they are doing? Some of the worst offenders are wearing blue. If they are not causing problems driving erratically on the roads, they are mucking up every rush hour by directing traffic at all the major red lights in the city. Aren’t those things supposed to be synchronized to avoid this very situation? I expected more from the city where the traffic light was invented. What a mistake!

The mayor assures us this is a service provided for our own safety and to keep traffic flowing freely. Really? Exactly how is directing on coming traffic to turn into a flock of pedestrians in a crosswalk promoting safety? This happens on multiple street corners daily; trust me, I have been on both sides of this terrifying situation. We also have police officers that will direct you to drive into the lane they are standing in. Are you sure you want me to hit you? I wonder. They also manage to create complete and total gridlock and stare in amazement after two cars they directed into one another actually collide. It is as if they can’t fathom what just happened, and then have to balls to get irate about it. I have even seen them scream at motorists as they pass by. They force you to change lanes to get out of an intersection they forced you to drive into in the first place.

I am sure stupidity like this exists everywhere, but I can’t help but be amazed. I was driving with my mom on I-77N and the police had closed off all the northbound lanes for overnight construction (unheard of in this union driven town). It was late at night and I had been out of town for several weeks, so I was unaware of any detours (if in fact they actually announced any). I exited the freeway as directed and tried to ask an officer which way to go. He just kept flailing his arms about and saying, “Keep moving, ma’am”. There were no signs, nothing to indicate where I should be going. I just had to follow the semi in front of me and hope for the best.

The cops here even muck up traffic at the airport. There are three lanes at our airport. One to pick up passengers, one for people who are either leaving the pick up lane or looking for another airline, and the final one is an express lane for the parking and hotel shuttles. The airport cops direct everyone into each other’s lanes and refuse to let you change lanes to get into or out of the passenger pick up lane. It’s no wonder there are abandoned cars and people stopping any where they damn well please. The police, who are supposed to be there to help, give you no alternative.

Still think your plan is working Mayor Campbell? Isn’t there anything more productive these guys could be doing? How many police caused traffic accidents will have to occur before you do something about it? Will your officers continue to be allowed to proceed with no regard to the laws they are sworn to uphold?Remember, in C-town, it’s safety first unless you are a police officer.

I really wasn’t gonna watch this year. I told myself, stick to your guns, tune out American Idol, but then every Wednesday I would come to work and hear everybody talking about how great Ruben and Clay are. Slowly and reluctantly, I caved. Then came the Corey debacle and none of the bottom three got booted off the show. America cried foul; we voted, one of them should pay. I don’t care about the averages; Trenyce or Carmen should be gone. It is just that simple.

It is clear the reprieve was just to keep the show on schedule for its finale, but the decision changed the dynamic of the show. America voted and no one cared. Which brings me back to Trenyce and Carmen. Trenyce is alright, she’s not the best, and she’s not the worst.

But Carmen? Other than hang all over Clay, what has this whore…err…talentless blonde done for us lately? She howls like a sick dog when she tries to sing and she actually pained me with her rendition of Blonde’s “Call Me”. She makes Nikki McKibbin sound like an angel. What is up, America? Did she pay you, offer to snog you, is she going to clean your house for the next 60 years for free? Please, she is horrible, get her out of there!

I didn’t think Rickey would go all the way. Clearly he couldn’t win it all, but he had talent and style, but most of all, he can sing. To tell the honest truth I would have rather heard him sing again and skipped Kelly Clarkson’s new single. She did want that to de a hit, right? I almost fell asleep. And what was that on her head, a dirty brown mop? Invest in a comb sweetheart; you must have the money by now. She could have at least brought back Justin to do the song in the clip, that was bad, but it wasn’t horrible.

I know, I know there is a war on, maybe that is America’s excuse for keeping Carmen, or maybe they just like Clay and feel guilty for separating them. I just hope America has the sense to keep it real with the big 205. Ruben rules in my world…

Jury selection got underway today in the wrongful death suit filed against Tommy Lee by the parents of a young boy who drowned at Tommy’s estate. In case you don’t remember, Tommy is in hot water over a swimming party he threw his son, Brandon, in June of 2001.

I have no special like or dislike of Tommy Lee, but I do think he loves his sons very much. I believe he was just trying to throw a cool party for his kid. I disagree with his choice of settings, but I find him in no way liable, certainly not criminally for the death of this child.

I can’t imagine the horror of losing a child in an accident such as this, but in the same turn I can’t imagine blaming the host because you sent your 4 year old child, who can’t swim, to a swimming party unattended…er wait, attended by a nanny who left the party early to go to a concert (allegedly). No 4 year old child of mine would go alone to ANY party especially a swimming party. For god’s sake, you can drown in two inches of water. In all fairness, hindsight is 20/20, but how can you blame Tommy Lee without accepting a portion of the blame yourself?

The parents contend there should have been someone trained in CPR present at the party, but the fact remains, CPR was attempted on the boy and he died anyway. There is no guarantee a fleet of lifeguards and medical staff on hand would have prevented this senseless death. To me, the real issue here is if the parents felt that strongly about the need for trained professionals to be on hand, shouldn’t the issue have been addressed BEFORE sending their son to attend the party?

When it comes to the safety of your children, you should never assume. We even run tv ads encouraging parents to ask who, what, where and when. I will grant you Tommy should have thought things through a little more carefully, but it is unfair to blame him solely when you are just as culpable. And before you tell me they weren’t there so they couldn’t be at fault, I would assert that is the very reason they are partially to blame.

The truth is, Tommy could have hired all the right people, the parents could have attended, the boy could have known how to swim, everything could have been done right, and Daniel Veres still could have drowned. All the philosophers and scientists and forward thinkers through the ages have never been able to tell us why bad things happen to good people. Simply put, shit happens. That doesn’t ease the sorrow or pain of the loss of a child and it doen’t make his death any less senseless, but honestly, do you think money will?