A Slippery Slope to Morbid Obesity

(Mr. Cooper's blog post from a few days ago reminded me of something I wanted to mention regarding Domino's Pizza...)

Is it really necessary and/or desirable for Domino's Pizza to be serving fudge brownies, or 'Fudgems' as they call them? Am I the only one a little confused and disgusted by this? You sell pizza, Domino's...well, to be fair, you sell a pizza-esque creation. Regardless, how does it logically follow that your customers want 2 large cheese pizzas, one with sausage and one with pepperoni...oh, and also a half-dozen fudge brownies!?

I can already hear the Domino's Executive's rebuttal: McDonald's serves ice cream, Subway serves cookies AND brownies, etc. Well, Mr. Hot Shot Executive, my first question is how the hell did you find this blog!? Secondly, ice cream (more specifically milkshakes) has been paired with burgers and fries for decades (once again, I'm being VERY generous calling what McDonald's serves "burgers and fries"). And finally, it's natural to have a cookie or brownie as a snack with a turkey and cheese Subway sandwich. Not so with a greasy, cheesy, saucy slice of Domino's "pizza".

Face the facts, Domino's. You realized you can capitalize on your already unhealthy, overweight customers by exploiting their low tolerance for chocolate snacks. Shame on you. From now on, world, "Just say 'NO' to Domi-NO's"!

[NOTE: For the record, fudge brownies are quite possibly one of my favorite snack foods. However, I make them fresh from Ms. Betty Crocker and they end up having less than a gram of fat per brownie. Additionally, there have been unconfirmed reports that Domino's, in response to my comments, will no longer serve fudge brownies. Instead, they will begin serving 'Salad-on-the-Go' adult meals...but guess what's sprinkled on every salad...FUDGE BROWNIES*!]

*Of course, I made this last part up...please don't sue me Domino's.

Funny, Funny, Funny

Al Franken was on The Daily Show last night...now that's good television! Take a look...
By the way...Al Franken's newest book The Truth with Jokes is finally out in paperback, and it's easily one of Franken's greatest books (along with Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)...Go nuts, buy them both!

We'll Take It!

I've officially survived the grueling process of purchasing a new car.

In a few days, my fiance Andrea will be the proud owner of a brand new 2007 Volkswagen Jetta! It's going to look so hot...black exterior, black leather interior, sunroof, heated seats, Sirius satellite radio, and so much more! AND, thanks to our amazing negotiating skills, we got it for a really great price. Of course, my "amazing negotiating skills" are clearly a sham considering I am the most timid consumer ever (Restaurant food is cold? I'll go with it...Overcharged for that shirt? Oh well).

Unfortunately, considering the 2007 models are just now coming out, it won't be at the dealership for a few days or so. Until then, we'll just have to drool over this picture...

A Past President, A Political Pundit, And...Pat!

It's Tuesday. Here are three things that will help you pass the time at work...or at school...or at home...just read on:

1. Check out the Clinton Global Initiative web site. In light of the highly successful NYC event last week, let's all get in the spirit of giving. For example, Bill Gates has invested over $28 billion in philanthropic causes because he is worth close to 100 times that amount; I, on the other hand, donated $10.00 to the Clinton Global Initiative yesterday because I am likewise worth close to 100 times that amount. Sad, isn't it? Regardless, do your part and DONATE NOW! The world will thank you.
2. Read Craig Crawford's blog. Crawford is a columnist for Congressional Quarterly, a news commentator for MSNBC (yep, that's right...he's a frequent guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann), and author of the new book Attack the Messenger. If you're interested in politics (or better yet, obsessed) you'll want to check out Crawford's blog. Like Olbermann, Crawford combines intelligence and wit to make political discourse both interesting and entertaining.
3. Purchase It's Pat: The Movie on DVD. You say "why?", while I say "why not?" Oh, you say "because it's a terrible movie." Well, I say "it's so bad it's good." You say it's actually "just bad"...touché.
   

And She Gets Paid For This...

The 'Sherlock Holmes Award for Best Movie Review' goes to Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune, who provided the following revelation in her review of Jackass: Number Two:

"There's no plot here...this movie is just a progression of increasingly disgusting and/or dangerous stunts."

Wow, really? Did it take you the entire movie to deduce that one? Good thing you warned the masses about Jackass: Number Two having no plot because I, along with many people, were expecting a coming-of-age story focused on a Johnny Knoxville living in post-WWII German.

I can only imagine what Ms. Reaves review of Finding Nemo was like:

"There's no live actors in this movie, only animated
fish characters that act like real people."

By the way, I just looked at my calendar so...

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

My Name Is Jeff...Gwarf?...No, it's Jeff...Boranon?...No, Jeff!

It's a sad day for SNL...well, I guess every day has been sad for SNL over the past few years considering how unfunny the show has become. Except for the efforts of a few key cast members, the show has become, as I like to put it, "Kenan-ized". It's about to get worse.

SNL released their official cast list for the upcoming season and it does not include Chris Parnell or Horatio Sanz (also, Finesse Mitchell won't be returning and if you're saying "Finesse who!?", you're not alone). Horatio Sanz had his ups and downs (sometimes he's hysterical, sometimes he messes up the whole sketch), but Chris Parnell was easily one of the most versatile cast members of recent SNL seasons.

His most memorable characters include Tyler, the trailer park hick that finds himself at the Appalachian Emergency Room because he "accidentally" rams various items (including a jar of cotton balls and a can of Axe Body Spray) up his you-know-what; and Tato, the spirited man-servant to Nuni and Nuni Schoener (pronounced "new-knee"...well, the pronunciation is actually half the hilarity). Nobody makes liquid yogurt spit through a straw look as delicious as Tato does.

Mr. Chris Parnell, I salute you.

Make Time For TV

The television industry has marked this week as the official beginning of the 2006 Fall Television Season. It's only natural that I take some time to talk about the shows I'll be watching this fall, something I'm sure you've been anticipating for quite some time. Here we go...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sundays

Must-See: Family Guy remains the funniest animated series currently on television, period.

TiVo It For Later: The Simpsons...the best way to describe an animated comedy in it's 18th season - classic.

I'll Give It A Chance: Hmmmm...nothing really. ABC's Brother's & Sisters just looks depressing, and, while I know Everybody Hates Chris is a good show, it's on UPN and watching shows on networks other than the "Big Four" (plus HBO) is a slippery slope to a sedentary lifestyle.

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: The War at Home is so bad, I'd rather add a year to President Bush's second term than watch 5 minutes of an episode...YES, that bad.

Mondays

Must-See: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip...hands down, no contest, undeniably the best new show on television.

TiVo It For Later: Prison Break...it's like 24's younger brother, AND adding character actor William Fitchner to the cast, as a vengeance-seeking FBI agent, was a really great move.

I'll Give It A Chance: Heroes...is it a lame version of Lost, or will it offer something new? Let's find out.

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: The Bachelor: Rome...if you're watching this show, please do the following: turn the television off, brush aside the two cats sitting on your lap, wade through the endless sea of other cats laying on your floor/furniture/etc., walk to your kitchen, throw away the 2-gallon bin of Breyers Triple-Fudge-Fun Ice Cream in your freezer, walk back through the sea of cats into your bedroom, get into bed, weep for hours.

Tuesdays

Must-See: In my opinion, there's actually no show worthy enough to be called "Must-See" on Tuesday nights...how unfortunate.

TiVo It For Later: 2006 World Series of Poker...only watch this if you like poker. Pretty obvious, huh?

I'll Give It A Chance: The Knights of Prosperity...sure, the premise of the show sounds like someone was dared to make this into a television show ("a janitor gathers a band of blue-collar misfits to rob Mick Jagger's New York-penthouse"), but I'm damn intrigued!

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: Boston Legal...this show was previously cancelled for a reason.

Wednesdays

Must-See: Lost...Lost...LOST! The answers will come on October 4th...and so will 100 more questions.

TiVo It For Later: Justice...even though it's so clearly over-the-top drama, I just can't seem to get away from this "CSI-meets-Law & Order" creation.

I'll Give It A Chance: 30 Rock...if it's as funny as Studio 60 is enthralling, I'll be watching.

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: Dancing With the Stars Results Show...first of all, of course I would never watch the results show since I'm not ever going to watch the horror that is the competition show; secondly...well, I think that's reason enough.

Thursdays

Must-See: My Name is Earl/The Office...these two comedies go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly, if Peanut Butter & Jelly makes you pee your pants.

TiVo It For Later: Survivor: Cook Islands...yes, the tribes are divided by race, and they used to be divided by age and/or gender...stop overreacting!

I'll Give It A Chance: Six Degrees...the reviews don't look so hot, but I'll give a show involving J.J. Abrams a small amount of consideration. The last time I did, Lost was found (pun intended), and I think you know how I feel about that show.

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: ER...John Stamos is on the show this season? What the heck ever happened to shows "going out while they're still on top", because this show's a few years late.

Fridays

Must-See: Real Time with Bill Maher...politics, humor, blunt honesty. It doesn't get any better than that.

TiVo It For Later/I'll Give It A Chance: Nothing good enough...catch up on all the shows you TiVo-ed during the week.

I'd Sooner Gouge My Eyes Out: Men in Trees...I'm desperately trying to come up with a funny joke regarding the fact that a television show starring Anne Heche is called Men In Trees...how about "this season it's Men in Trees...next season it's Women in Trees"...hey, I tried.

Saturdays

Unfortunately, the television industry has completely abandoned Saturday night programming. Choose one of the following:

• Go to the movies.
• Watch college football.
• Save your/my social life.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go See 'The Last Kiss' This Weekend!

Phrase Of The Week

Movie Update: the official website for Al Franken: God Spoke is up and running with movie info, trailers, and a release schedule (a wide release schedule isn't included, but there is a list of individual city releases over the next two months). Check it out!

Moving on...ever hear a word or phrase used so many times in such a short span of time that you find yourself wanting to harm a puppy? For some odd reason, I can't seem to escape the phrase "...at best [something is something], and at worst [something is something]...". It's in Time magazine articles, on television shows, on websites...I see it everywhere! For example, someone is talking about the situation in Iraq, and the expert says "...at best were dealing with Iraqi extremists, and at worst the country is in a civil war...". Or, while discussing Tom Cruise, a comedian points out that "...at best he's a raging lunatic, and at worst he's an actual alien...". You get the point. Are we incapable of describing events and people without having to give a range of possible realities? We get it, you don't want to be wrong so you avoid being specific...if you call Tom Cruise an alien and it turns out he actually just an insane human, don't worry, I won't call you on it.

This actually reminds me of a 'New Rule' that Bill Maher had on his show a few seasons back, a joke that at best is hilarious, and at worst it's just funny...

New Rule: Stop calling it a "perfect storm" when two bad things happen at the same time. Sometimes it's just some crap happening at the same time as some other crap. Let's go back to what we used to call it before the movie about George Clooney and his epic struggle to kill more tuna: Shit happens.

Good Night, And Good Luck

My respect for the intellectual Keith Olbermann continues to grow...for an amazing, 8-minute long special commentary by Olbermann regarding President Bush and the past five years, check out last night's video on Bloggermann.

For my own personal reaction to the speech delivered by President Bush last night, I refer to the following words of wisdom...

The superior man is modest in speech,
but exceeds in his actions.

~Confucius

In Memoriam

Stephen J. Saraniero, a Sergeant of the New York Police Department, was working in New York City five years ago today. He survived the day's events, managing to get a few blocks away from ground zero when the towers fell. During the days and weeks that followed he, along with other members of the NYPD, took turns working 18-hour shifts in what I can only imagine was a living nightmare. Unfortunately, Stephen passed away less than 2 years later from a heart attack that doctors suspect was the result of intense levels of physical and mental stress. He was my uncle, only 42 years old, and he is deeply missed.

And The Job of Oscar Host Goes To...

Although the 79th Annual Academy Awards aren't for another 5+ months, they've officially announced who this year's host will be. Did you hear already? I'll give you a hint: she's easily one of the funniest female comedians of our time and she's the host of a very entertaining daytime talk show. Do you know who it is? Well, if you said Joy Behar from The View, you're absolutely right!

No, no, no, just joking (I said funny comedian, not obnoxious loudmouth...I also said entertaining show, not boring gabfest...I also said female...oh, SNAP!). It's actually the very talented Ellen DeGeneres that will host the upcoming Oscars, and I couldn't be more excited; a bad host can really bring down the entire Oscar night (Chris Rock, anyone?). I consider Ellen and Conan to be the best of what today's talk shows have to offer (and with Conan successfully hosting the Emmy Awards this year, it's only perfect that Ellen hosts the Oscars).

And now, time for some Oscar host trivia...

1) What two men were the co-hosts of the 1st Academy Awards?

2) Since the 62nd Academy Awards, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Steve Martin hosted the show a combined total of how many times: 7, 10, 14, or 18?

3) True or False: Chevy Chase and Golden Hawn co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards with Paul Hogan, a.k.a. 'Crocodile Dundee'.

4) Who hosted or co-hosted the Academy Awards 18 times, more times than anyone else?

5) Since 1988, how many women other than Whoopi Goldberg have hosted the show?

~ Answers Below ~

[Answers: 1) Douglas Fairbanks and William C. DeMille, the brother of famous filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille; 2) 14 times total, with Crystal 8 times, Goldberg 4 times, and Martin twice; 3) True, unfortunately; 4) Bob Hope; 5) None...way to go Ellen!]

2006 Summer Movie Season Wrap-Up

It's official. The 2006 Summer Movie Season is over. I know, it's sad. But dry those tears, my friend, because Oscar season is around the corner, and there's positively nothing sweeter than Oscar season.

Since I poured my heart and soul into reviewing all 12 of the summer movies I managed to attend, I figured I'd spend a little more time and summarize my thoughts on these movies for your viewing convenience. Enjoy!

(By the way, here's a list of summer movies I never got around to seeing in theaters but will probably try and see some time in the future: Poseidon, Over the Hedge, Nacho Libre, Strangers with Candy, Miami Vice, A Scanner Darkly, World Trade Center, and Clerks II.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mission: Impossible III .................... A
"An excellent movie with sequences that will blow you away, definitely as good as and potentially better than the original."

The Da Vinci Code .................... B-
"The movie version is basically the book acted out in front of a movie camera. Still, it's fun to see the characters, the settings, and the conspiracies of an intriguing book come to life."

X-Men: The Last Stand .................... B-
"The movie is pretty successful as a visually thrilling action movie, but it falls short where the previous two films soared, namely in the 'good story' area."

The Break-Up .................... C

"A shallow, broken story that provides little more than an erratically funny Vince Vaughn...which may make it worth seeing (for a reduced matinee price or a future Netflix rental)."

An Inconvenient Truth .................... A
"While this powerful documentary may leave you feeling helpless against the forces of nature (as well as the forces of business and government), you'll ultimately experience a greater sense of empowerment to change the way we abuse our one and only planet."

Superman Returns .................... A-
"An incredible superhero movie with stunning visual effects and a dramatic story, matching (and potentially exceeding) the greatness of previous superhero franchises like the Spider-Man series."

The Devil Wears Prada .................... B+
"With some good acting talent and a light story, this is the perfect movie to see with your significant other."

You, Me & Dupree .................... B+
"Reminding me of all the ways The Break-Up failed as a comedy, this movie is the official "summer comedy" that'll make you laugh."

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest .................... C+
"While failing to live up to it's spirited predecessor, this movie may or may not provide enough pirate-related fun to last you until the potentially exciting final installment."

Lady in the Water .................... B-
"It's certainly doesn't pack the power of some of Shyamalan's earlier movies, but a quirky story and a unique style is enough to make the movie watchable."

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby .................... B
"I'd take Ron Burgundy over Ricky Bobby any day, but that doesn't mean I didn't laugh and cheer for the insanity that is Talladega Nights."

Little Miss Sunshine .................... A+
"Easily the funniest, most interesting, and overall best film of the year so far."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Ray Of 'Sunshine' At The End Of Summer

_____________________________________________________________

Movie Title: Little Miss Sunshine.

Starring: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston.

Date/Time Attended: The 2:00pm showing on Saturday, August 19th, and the final "date movie" of the summer with Andrea.

Average Age of Audience Member: 55+.

Movie Synopsis in One Sentence: An eccentricity-laden family spends some quality time together during a road trip to the finals of a young girl beauty pageant.

The Good: Where to begin...the movie's style is so unique in it's authenticity, the story is both hilarious and oddly inspiring, and the acting is simply excellent. The actors complement each other so perfectly, and if I were to describe each of their singular talents in detail I would never do them justice...so I won't. The movie becomes so chaotically hilarious at points that I found myself convulsing in my seat, tears of laughter streaming down my face (luckily, I need only look to my left to find my Andrea in a similar state).

The Bad: This is tough...there really isn't anything coming to mind that I thought could have been done differently or didn't work. Maybe the scene at the hospital was a little too off-the-wall, but what ensued as a result of that was hilarious so I didn't mind.

Oscar Potential: It's definitely deserving of a 'Best Screenplay' nomination, and the musical score was pretty enjoyable. In terms of acting, while the ensemble nature doesn't really lend itself to any lead or supporting acting nominations (maybe a supporting one for Alan Arkin), I expect the Screen Actors Guild Awards to extend an 'Best Ensemble' nomination their way.

The Verdict: Easily the funniest, most interesting, and overall best film of the year so far.

If You Liked______, You May Like These: The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation, About a Boy.

FINAL GRADE: A+

Boy Meets World...World Unimpressed

Ever notice how just about every episode of Boy Meets World centers around Cory and Topanga getting into a fight and subsequently breaking up? Cory won't let Topanga use his toothbrush...they break up. Cory has feelings for a girl at the ski lodge...they break up. Topanga french kisses Mr. Feeny after class...they break up. Ok, I made up that last one, but you get the point. The plots of Boy Meets World are so egregiously repetitive, they make me yearn for the vast array of Full House episodes involving vehicular damage to the kitchen, references to "how great Pam was", and/or Michelle's obsessive desire for "ous-cream". I must have missed the episode where Danny explains to Michelle the health risks associated with childhood diabetes.

Speaking of Bob Saget (excellent segue), I finally watched The Aristocrats the other day, a documentary that recruits a multitude of great comedians to discuss the legendary joke involving a family pitching their "family act" to a talent agency. If you're amused by extremely offensive humor with a vulgar twist, don't miss this one.

Round 2: Keith Olbermann vs. President Bush

[From the September 5th broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann]

It is to our deep national shame-and ultimately it will be to the President's deep personal regreat-that he has followed his Secretary of Defense down the path of trying to tie those loyal Americans who disagree with his policies-or even question their effectiveness or execution-to the Nazis of the past, and the al Qaeda of the present.

Today, in the same subtle terms in which Mr. Bush and his colleagues muddied the clear line separating Iraq and 9/11 -- without ever actually saying so—the President quoted a purported Osama Bin Laden letter that spoke of launching, “a media campaign to create a wedge between the American people and their government.”

Make no mistake here—the intent of that is to get us to confuse the psychotic scheming of an international terrorist, with that familiar bogeyman of the right, the “media.”

The President and the Vice President and others have often attacked freedom of speech, and freedom of dissent, and freedom of the press.

Now, Mr. Bush has signaled that his unparalleled and unprincipled attack on reporting has a new and venomous side angle:

The attempt to link, by the simple expediency of one word—“media”—the honest, patriotic, and indeed vital questions and questioning from American reporters, with the evil of Al-Qaeda propaganda.

That linkage is more than just indefensible. It is un-American.

Mr. Bush and his colleagues have led us before to such waters.

We will not drink again.

And the President’s re-writing and sanitizing of history, so it fits the expediencies of domestic politics, is just as false, and just as scurrilous.

“In the 1920’s a failed Austrian painter published a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews,” President Bush said today, “the world ignored Hitler’s words, and paid a terrible price.”

Whatever the true nature of al Qaeda and other international terrorist threats, to ceaselessly compare them to the Nazi State of Germany serves only to embolden them.

More over, Mr. Bush, you are accomplishing in part what Osama Bin Laden and others seek—a fearful American populace, easily manipulated, and willing to throw away any measure of restraint, any loyalty to our own ideals and freedoms, for the comforting illusion of safety.

It thus becomes necessary to remind the President that his administration’s recent Nazi “kick” is an awful and cynical thing.

And it becomes necessary to reach back into our history, for yet another quote, from yet another time and to ask it of Mr. Bush:

“Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Just Don't Make Them Read '7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens' And You'll Be Fine

****************************************
To my amazing fiance, Andrea...

~ GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK ~
And remember, if any of your students attempt to wear your cardigan during class, trick you into reciting the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in front of the entire class, or refuse to do any work towards the walkathon class project, don't worry...it's completely normal.

****************************************

It Seems Like Only Yesterday We Started...

It's finally here! The moment we've all been waiting for...

*** The 100th Blog Post ***

What does one discuss on the landmark occasion of their 100th post? Television? Books? Music? Cool Websites? Internet Browser choices? Funny YouTube videos? I suppose they discuss all of those topics. Here we go!

• I feel very fortunate to live in a society where we can all share in the blunders of news reporters. The network: CNN. The reporter: Kyra Phillips. The blunder: leaving her mic on during President Bush's Hurricane Katrina anniversary speech. Take a look. How irate are you if you're Phillips's sister-in-law?

• On tonight's edition of 'I Can't Get Enough of Keith Olbermann', I present you with an exciting new book The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders, coming out next Tuesday. Currently ranked #7 in book sales on Amazon.com, this reminds me of how much I enjoyed reading the collection of New Rules from Bill Maher's show Real Time with Bill Maher. Buy this!

• What do you get when you mix eBay with the bartering system of trade? Why, you get Zunafish.com, of course! Basically, the site is designed to allow people to swap like items with one another (i.e. a book for a book, a DVD for a DVD, a CD for a CD, etc.); the only money involved is a $1.00 transaction fee per exchange, which presumably goes to running the site. I have yet to actually register to the site, but I feel like it's only a matter of time.
  

• This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly is the heavily anticipated 'Fall Television Preview'. I plan on doing an extremely long-winded post on the new and returning shows that I plan on watching (and not watching, of course). To hold you over until then, here are some quick impressions of three new Fall shows that I've already began watching: Justice (FOX) is basically CSI in the court room, which is actually a good thing; Victor Garber (Alias) is great as a high-profile case lawyer, and even though the drama is clearly overblown, sometimes it's more fun to pretend law can be that exciting...Vanished (FOX) is what you get when The Fox Network wants to stretch the success of 24 as far as possible; unfortunately, the acting is so poor it makes the actress playing Chloe O'Brien on 24 look like Meryl Streep; plus the plot is better described as "24, but with much less excitment"...Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (NBC) is by far the most exciting show I've seen so far; with creator Aaron Sorkin and a cast including Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, etc. I knew this would be good, but it's actually even better; Studio 60 is what you get when the essence of The West Wing and Entourage have a beautiful love child.
  

• I just want to make sure that everyone reading this blog knows of the wonderful existence of the Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser. For the computer illiterate, it would replace Internet Explorer as your internet browser, and let me be the first to say that since I switched programs over a year ago I have been extremely pleased. You really don't know just how much better surfing the web can be until you have a program that actually helps, not hinders, opening multiple sites at once, keeping your favorites organized, and other nice features. If only I were employed by Mozilla, I could get a nice commission for this post.

• Last Friday, my fiance and I went to a Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls concert on the Camden Waterfront and it was really amazing. The Goo Goo Dolls were so much better than we expected, mainly because we didn't realize just how many songs of theirs we actually knew but never thought were sung by their group; even more strange is the fact that the Goo Goo Dolls have been a band since 1986. The Counting Crows were expectedly awesome and, considering these tickets were free from a radio contest Andrea won, we both bought Counting Crows T-shirts (a first for my concert history). And, of course, no concert night is complete without a barely conscious, extremely drunk girl being escorted swiftly passed us...good times.

[A picture from our seats of the Counting Crows on stage.]

Will We Ever Trust Our President Again?

My mind is blown. In the back page essay of the August 28th issue of Time Magazine, essayist Jeffrey Kluger discusses the debate surrounding Pluto's existence as a planet (by the way, R.I.P. Pluto). In demonstrating how recorded history is notorious for skewing what are actual truths, Kluger references President Bush and how he is the 42nd president of the United States, and not the typically declared 43rd president. "Huhhh?", I thought. Well, turns out Mr. Kluger is 100% correct.

For some curious reason, history has decided to count President Grover Cleveland twice, once for his 1885-1889 term and once for his 1889-1893 term (check it out here for yourself). As odd as this is, I really don't understand why we don't correct this already. Are we unable to start admitting that our current President is #42 and not #43 just because we've incorrectly done the opposite for over a hundred years? Let's set the record straight here and now, or else, when the day comes that our country engages in a nation-wide celebration of our "100th" President, our children's children's children's children's children will be living a lie...is that what you want?