Somebody Has to Say It

I do not understand what all the fuss is surrounding President Obama. He seems to have a huge following of almost cult-like fans. People faint and fawn over him like he’s a Hollywood celebrity like a movie star or pop star or rock star. There are blogs about his wardrobe, news stories about what kind of music he listens to on his Blackberry, articles on what kind of food he eats for dinner, his workout and fitness routine, fan clubs discussing his sex appeal … the absurd list goes on and on!

Give me a break! Who cares about any of this trivial stuff? Barack Obama is the President of the United States of America and the United States is in the midst of a huge economical crisis. We’re in a recession and swiftly headed towards a depression. So wake up people!! Instead “worshipping” Mr. Obama like some starry-eyed school girl, we need to start looking at the big picture. How is Obama, as President, going to help America and the people of the United States overcome the gigantic financial and social hurdles we face as a nation. THAT is what we need to be focusing on.

This is a plea to all the media outlets - please stop reporting on Patrick Swayze’s battle with pancreatic cancer unless you have solid concrete facts! To publish a story that is not true just for the shock value or just to make a buck is inhumane. Cancer patients are fighting for their lives and a HUGE part of that fight is HOPE. It’s hard enough going through chemo that makes you feel like a train-wreck every day. 

So this is a plea, as a cancer survivor myself, I ask that you put your journalistic greed aside and give Patrick a break. Do not print a defeatist story saying he’s stopped his chemotherapy treatment or that he only “x” amount of days to live unless you have checked your facts. Mr. Swayze is in a battle for his life and should not have to spend one minute dispelling rumors about his health. His time is precious and he and his wife Lisa need to hang on to hope. Constantly hearing hopeless news stories about how bad pancreatic cancer is and untruth’s about his condition and/or treatment detracts from that hope. 

So I say shame on you! Shame on the reporters, magazines, and newspapers who print untrue stories about him … you obviously care more about shocking headlines and making money than a man’s life. 

According to a story on the USA Today website, the Snuggie is a pop culture hit. I’m sure you’ve all seen the TV infomercials showing them. It’s nothing more than a big fleece blanket sewn together with a collar and sleeves. Personally, I think the people in those commercials look like a bunch of monks sitting around wearing them. It’s hilarious! Not to mention the cost. Gee whiz folks, just grab a blanket or shawl and keep your money in the bank. Or get up OFF of the couch or out of the easy chair and get some exercise and you won’t need a Snuggie because you’ll be nice and warm. You might even lose a few pounds and gain some health benefits from the exercise too.

If you want a laugh, just watch the YouTube video and read some of the comments.

While you’re at YouTube, you might as well check out the Tiddy Bear commercial. It’s even funnier than the Snuggie.

Come on folks … just turn off the TV, put the Snuggie and Tiddy Bear out of your mind, and move along.

Our next door neighbor’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a while back and they recently brought him to live with them. The dad was getting too bad off to be left alone and the memory loss and confusion is getting worse. The neighbor’s alerted us that dad would be coming to live with them and asked that we keep an eye out in case he should see him wandering down the street.

 Today the dad somehow walked outside and got locked out of the house. It is very cold outside and he did not have on a jacket and only had on a short sleeved shirt. I have no idea how long he had wandered around in the cold but he eventually ended up on my doorstep. He was shivering with cold and very confused.

Luckily I knew who he was and contacted his son. The son left work to come get dad and take him back home. I spent a couple of very eye opening hours with this kind man and got a cold hard look at Alzheimer’s. It was very scary.

I could speculate for hours on how long he was outside in the elements with no coat and short sleeves in the freezing temps … or why the neighbor’s don’t have a way to keep him from getting outside … but for now I’m just relieved that everyone is safe and sound once again.

God bless those who are living with this disease and those who are caregivers and family members having to watch the devastation.

There is a new hit show on the TNT television network called “Leverage”.  All of the TV commercials promoting the show put the emphasis on Timothy Hutton. Well, move over Timothy Hutton, because Christian Kane is acting your socks off!

I don’t know why I’ve never heard of Christian Kane until now, but WOW, is he ever sexy! Every time I saw a commercial for Leverage I always noticed a guy sort of standing in the background and he caught my eye every time. The camera would never linger on his long enough to get a good look but I could tell just by the quick glance I wanted to see more. Finally the show aired and I discovered the guy in the shadows was Christian. After that, I was hooked … hooked on the show and on the guy! I think TNT would get a lot more viewers if they would showcase Mr. Kane more … at least from a female perspective.

He’s not only an actor but also has his own band named Kane. He’s a decent singer but is just so drop dead gorgeous and sexy that all he has to do is just stand there and grin (or give one of those smirky smouldering looks) and he’s got my vote for whatever he wants!

I did some background research on him and he was in a movie called “Her Minor Thing”, a low budget sleeper film. I just watched it and he was phenomenal in it! I would not have given the movie a second glance had he not been in it. If you’ve haven’t seen it, and you’re a fan of Christian Kane, then you definitely want to rent the DVD! All that raw sex appeal just oozes out and he doesn’t even have to try.

Well, pardon me while I go swoon and take a cold shower now.

Say what? According to an article on MSN, Joaquin Phoenix is spreading his wings now and quit his acting career to pursue his dream of sing rap music. Joaquin says his rapping is straight from his heart and he is putting himself out there to see what happens.

Rumor has it that Diddy is producing Joaquin’s first rap album. 

Honestly, I have no problems with someone pursuing their dreams. I will also admit that I don’t know enough about rap music to critique the genre. But to my unprofessional ears this “music” is nightmarish and rapping is not one of Joaquin’s talents. 

Listen to his “skills” for yourself and tell me what you think. Here’s the link to a clip posted on YouTube.

This sniplet was filmed by brother-in-law Casey Affleck, who is married to Joaquin’s sister. Affleck is filming a documentary about the ex-actor’s attempt at a new career in the music career.

OH, and check out the horrible looking beard and how overweight Joaquin looks. Poor guy … I hope he’s not heading down “rehab road”.

Please someone, tell me this is a joke! What are your thoughts?

So, did you get your free cosmetics? Surely you heard about the class action lawsuit where retailers such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue were ordered to give away $175 million worth of free cosmetics products to consumers. If you don’t know all the details, go to http://www.cosmeticssettlement.com/ and check it out.

Supposedly, the cosmetic giveaway is going to continue for a few more days, or while supplies last. Odds are though, if you didn’t go today, the supplies of free cosmetics are gone. Actually, after seeing the crowds in the area where I live, I suspect the supplies probably ran out around 2:00 pm on the 20^th!

I was right in the middle of the throng of women getting my freebies. The first store I went to was Macy’s and I got there right as the doors opened at 10 am. I was the second person to walk up to the giveaway area. All I had to do was print and sign my name on a piece of paper and pick which product I wanted. The lady in front of me asked if we could get more than one product and was told no, but that we could go to each participating store and receive one product. So that’s all I needed to hear!

I live in an area with a mall which has a Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, and Nordstrom’s … so I hit all of them. I did ask at each store if consumers were allowed to go to different stores and was told yes - but we could only go through the line once and only get one product per store.

After leaving the first store, my next stop was Dillard’s and the line was long this time. There were probably 20 people ahead of me but the line moved quickly. The lines at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom were long moved a bit slower than the lines at Macy’s and Dillard’s. It did seem that Macy’s and Dillard’s were a little more organized and prepared than Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. By the time I got to the counter area at the last two stores, some supplies of certain products were already depleted. Bummer!

After my last stop, I traced a path back to my car and passed back through each store to see how things were going. It was around 1:00 by this time, the lines at every store were very long. Crowds of women were actually running towards to cosmetic counters and some were even shoving and trying to cut in line. I was glad I got an early start, otherwise I would not have participated in the “feeding frenzy”.

Gee whiz! What some folks won’t do for free stuff, huh?! So did you participate in the giveaway? What was your experience?

It has long been a tradition for each Presidential First Lady to redecorate the White House and leave behind a legacy of their own. Laura Bush added a few last minute purchases during the last few days of the Bush presidential term. She purchased two custom rugs and a 320 14-piece place settings of China. The cost of the china was $492,798. I fully understand that the china was purchased with privately funded money earmarked for the purpose of acquiring objects for the White House. But to me, this does not make the spending any less socially irresponsible given the current state of our economy.

I question the need to continue these frivolous traditions. The price tag(s) for these redecorations and “legacy” items are quite hefty. Presidents and society folks don’t have to eat off of expensive china. And there is no reason to re-paint, re-carpet, re-tile, or re-do perfectly adequate living quarters just because you move into a “new house”. Why not use that money to help America?

Since the Obama administration is all about change, perhaps they will be the first to come forward and request that the private funds be used on something that will be of benefit to America. Now THAT would be leaving behind a true legacy!

Say what? According to reports on several new outlets such as CNN and MSN, Larry Flynt of Hustler and Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild said they are going to ask Congress for a $5 billion bailout of the adult entertainment industry. Flynt and Francis said that sales of XXX rated DVD movies are down about 20% from last year. They say people are depressed over the state of the economy and that the government should step in with a bailout to rejuvenate our sex lives.

In a report in the LA Daily News, some adult film porn star actors and actresses were interviewed and they said they were feeling the pinch of the economic downturn also. These particular adult industry stars display their sexual activities on websites and said their customer base is decreasing and the dollar amount people are willing to pay to view the pornography is getting to be less and less. They also complained that they are having problems coming up with enough money to hire people to have sex with in their web videos.

The report also speculates that the request for a bailout by Larry Flynt and Joe Francis was most likely a joke.

I say boo hoo to Larry Flynt and Joe Francis and the entire adult film / porn industry! The economic depression is not a laughing matter and think it shows very poor taste for them to request a government bailout as joke or publicity stunt. 

It’s about time the state of Texas is doing something about uninsured motorists by creating a program called “TexasSure”. The Texas legislature directed the Department of Insurance, Department of Public Safety, Department of Transportation, and Department of Information Resources to create the “TexasSure” system. It’s a vehicle insurance verification system that has a database that contains information on every registered vehicle in Texas and matches that info with data submitted to the state from insurance companies. This database is then accessible to law enforcement and tax assessor-collectors to they can verify whether a car has the required auto insurance. If the required insurance is not in place, the motorist will face penalties such as fine and suspension of drivers license. According to the TexasSure website, this new program aims to put an end to uninsured motorists, drivers dropping coverage after receiving a valid insurance card, and fraudulent insurance cards.

I am overjoyed that Texas is finally trying to ensure everyone on the road has car insurance. My family has been bitten in the behind numerous times by having our car hit by someone driving without insurance - which means we were left holding the bag to get our car repaired and/or pay hospital bills for injuries as a result of the wreck. We either had to cough up the money out of pocket, or tap into our own car insurance coverage to pay for the damages. This meant our insurance rates went up - all because some irresponsible person was behind the wheel of a car without having car insurance.

All I can say is I hope this new program works! It’s about time we law abiding citizens who do whatever it takes to make sure we have car insurance quit having to foot the bill for those who disobey the law. If someone can’t afford auto insurance then they should not be driving.