The Weather Channel

I can watch the Weather Channel for hours on end, especially if there is a hurricane or a blizzard or some other weather event going on. There is something exciting about knowing what the high temperature in Peoria, Illinois is going to be two days before the day after tomorrow. (That's for you Skillz!)

Boy do those people get excited about the weather. They even make their correspondents go outside when "extreme" weather hits to tell us what is going on. "Yup, it's raining and very windy as the hurricane approaches, back to you in the stuuuuuddddiooooo." I am amazed they haven't lost a few people this year with all the damn hurricanes we've had.

There is one guy on there that I worry about though, good old Jim Cantori. He is waaayyy too excited about the weather. Especially the prospect for bad weather. If there's a blizzard forming or a hurricane on the way - he is genuinely excited. He will always give you the worst case scenario - "Lots of people stand to lose power from this storm". It is like he is wishing bad things to happen to people. I think he may actually have a woody as he sits behind his weather desk. Then again, if I was sitting next to Sarah Libby, Jen Carfagno or Hillary Andrews I would too.

Music Pimpin'

Wow, it is amazing how the world of music has changed over the past dozen years or so. I heard a song on the radio today by Train - "Get To Me." It is really catchy and I am sure it gets a bunch of airplay, but the first time I heard this song it was in a cell phone commercial many, many months ago. Five years ago, this song would only have been in a commercial months or perhaps years after it was a big old radio hit. Not so anymore, this song was in a commercial and that finally got it airplay. This song is from 2003 but is just getting popular now.

Ten years ago, they wouldn't have used an actual hit song, they would have doctored it up a bit and used that for a commercial. The best example of that I can think of is Toby Keith's "Big Ol' Truck" was pimped into "I'm A Ford Truck Man" - sad but true. There are dozens of other songs suffered the same fate and their commercial alter egos are all just as forgettable.

Bands are just pimpin' themselves out all over the place these days for a shot at some dead presidents. How many bands does "One Tree Hill" pimp out in each episode? Seems like they pimp out a dozen songs in every damn episode. (OK, now you know I watch "One Tree Hill" like a pre-teen school girl.) It used to be taboo for a band to have a song used in a network TV show. They were considered sellouts for that kind of exposure. Now it can jump start someone's career.

Oddly enough, the first TV show I remember doing this was.........drum roll please...............Beverly Hills 90210! They were pimpin' the Bare Naked Ladies back in 1997, the Goo Goo Dolls in 1995 and good old Jamie Walters waaaayyyyy back in 1994. Like I always say - everything I learned, I learned by watching 90210!

"I just scored the most righteous job of the summer!"

Totally Obnoxious

Terrell Owens is the epitome of what is wrong with professional sports, business, music and society in general in this day and age. It's all about me, me, me - look how great I am. Screw you, let's talk some more about me - I am truly gifted.

I am totally impressed that The Eagles gave him the old heave-ho! This is an unprecedented move in the world of professional sports. It is good to see a team take a stand against obnoxious behavior for a change.

So T.O. has been a self absorbed jerk for like 10 years (why do you think the 49ers let him go?) but suddenly, today he has turned over a new leaf. Magically, now that he is no longer being paid, he is ready to be a team player.

The sad thing is that there are dozens of other players just like him in the NFL, NBA and MLB. Which is worse - Albert Pujols standing at home plate watching his homer leave the park or Joe Horn hiding a cell phone in the pad of the goal post to celebrate a TD catch? That is like asking which team is better The Tampa Bay Devil Rays or The Colorado Rockies? They both suck!!!

The Guvernator

Election day is right around the corner and the hot race in my little patch of the world is the Governor's race here in Virginia. Now I am not the least bit into politics, frankly I feel which party controls the Senate has very little impact on my day to day life. The Governor's race here in VA is supposedly a tight one. There are "Kaine" and "Kilgore" signs everywhere, "On Every Street" as Dire Straits would say. The funny thing is that neither candidate lists the party they represent on their signs or in their TV ads. It doesn't say "The Republican candidate for Governor" or "The Democratic candidate for Governor" anywhere in any media I have seen for either candidate. Are they that embarrassed about their political affiliation? Shouldn't these guys be excited that they are their party's choice for the highest office in our state? It doesn't seem to me that they are. Come on fellas, show us some sack!

The death penalty is supposedly the hot button issue of this race, but the issue that I think is interesting is the widening of I-66 inside the Capital Beltway. Kilgore is saying that he will get that done. I don't believe this promise for a second. I still remember Jim Gilmore's promise in 1997 to get rid of the car tax. People bought it and he became Governor and 8 years later I am still paying a car tax. It is easy to make false promises when you know you will not be the one who has to take responsibility when they are not fulfilled.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and......um......well.....you're not gonna fool me twice".