Another one bites the dust

It seem the United States saw fit to execute Saddam Hussein, the deposed leader of Iraq.

In what way did we think that this would help the situation in Iraq?

If the U.S. really wanted to show the Iraq people that the U.S. isn't just all talk and no action we should have found something more useful to do, rather than just ousting their forsaken leader, turning their country upside down and just generally making a mockery of international law by hanging their former leader, we should have done something useful like give them weapons and money to defeat Iran. Oh, wait we did that. Yep, it's true the good ol U.S. of A. supported Saddam and his Bath party to gain power so he could defeat Iran. At the time the U.S. was really "unhappy" with the shaw of Iran, so we would do just about anything to "piss in his Wheaties" if you know what I mean. Yes, anything up to and including supporting a guy we didn't really like. And now somehow the U.S. thinks killing the guy is going to help things.

It makes me sad and a bit embarrassed to be an American.

File under "what's the real story"

It seems that the Sheraton Hotel & Resort Corporation has decided to use the Pat Benatar song, "We Belong" in it's latest advertising campaign. Now I'm sure that the Sheraton Corp. big-wigs didn't make the actual decision on the use of the song, I'm sure it was some advertising exec. or child of the '80s Creative Director who just liked the song. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great song, it's just that I always thought the song was about teenage runaways and therefore it would seem odd that a major hotel chain would choose a song about teenage runaways to use in their advertising campaign.

It seems the song was written by a D. Navarro and R. Lowen, is the D. Navarro listed in the writer credits the same Dave Navarro we all know and love of Jane's Addiction, husband to Carmen Electra, and Rock Star reality TV show fame? Who knows.

These days we just download the song in MP3 format and give it a listen, best I can offer you are the lyrics to the song, for your decision making process.


We belong
we belong to the light.
Many times I've tried to tell you
many times since I'm alone.
Always I'm surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone.
Don't wanna leave you really
I've wasted too much time.
To give you up that easy to the doubts
that complicate your mind.
We belong to the light
we belong to the thunder.
We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under.
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
We belong
we belong
we belong together.
Maybe it's a sign of weakness when I don't know what to say.
Maybe I just wouldn't know what to do with my strength anyway.
How we've become a habit
do we distort the facts.
Now there's no looking forward
now there's no turning back
when we say:
We belong to the light
we belong to the thunder. . .
Close your eyes and try to sleep now
close your eyes and try to dream.
Clear your mind and do your best to try
to wash the pallet clean.
We can't begin to know it
how much we really care.
I hear your voice inside me
I see your face everywhere.
Still you say :
We belong to the light
we belong to the thunder. . .
We belong to the light
we belong to the thunder. . .
We belong to the light
we belong to the thunder.

I can't tell if it's a love song or a song about teenage "street people" I thought the line "I see your face everywhere" refereed to the faces on the milk cartons of missing or exploited children.

I couldn't really find any information about the songs origins or meanings, only this blurb from some website:

In 2006, her song "We Belong" was part of a $20 million dollar ad campaign for Sheraton hotels. The same song is featured in the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, starring Will Ferrell and directed by Adam McKay.

Though she had earlier expressed dismay for rock stars endorsing products (including onetime cohort Debbie Harry, who had developed her modeling career simultaneously to her rock career), Benatar herself has now become a commercial spokeswoman for the Energizer company, and is currently being featured in an ad for Candies Vintage shoes for Kohl's department store.

I guess it's up to the general public to decide.

WTF

I sorry for the delay, I've experienced some technical difficulties. I was unable to log in to my blog for the past few days due to a rare form of brain laps or some such thing. Something to do with the migration from beta blogger to the final setup.

Nothing like a nice warm fire for the holidays

Unless it's your house burning.

It seems Evangeline Lilly' s rented house burned down while she was away.

Associated Press
Dec. 21, 2006 08:02 AM

HONOLULU - Fire destroyed the rented home of "Lost" star Evangeline Lilly in coastal Kailua on Oahu island Wednesday, officials said. Lilly was not at home, and no one was injured.

I really like the show Lost, however the constant recap shows and 3 month breaks make me think twice about how I feel about the show. I'm, oh whats the word, um DISENFRANCHISED or feeling left out! I watched a few episodes and was hooked, promptly went out and picked up the first season DVD set and watched and waited with great anticipation while watching the second season. At the end of the second season I just sat there wondering where they (the writers) were taking the story. JJ and crew went off and did MI-3 and the show went down the tubes. I never picked up the second season on DVD and the more I think about the less interested in the show I become. Sure I'll still watch, but I think the show is on the downhill coast to the end.

I'm starting to get into the shows, Heros and Ugly Betty. I thought I was going to be a big fan of Sorkin's Studio 60, because of what he did with the West Wing but his new show doesn't seem to interest me as much.

I shouldn't waste my time watching TV anyway, it rots your brain.

It turns out that I am TIME magazine's "Person of the Year"

What do you know about that, I'm speechless!

And in other news, a local woman was busted selling sex on Craig's list, a man found a bee in his Fanta (don't ya want a Fanta, well maybe NOT).

Why are people so rude to each other during the Christmas holidays?

Also in the news, not a single sole is reading my blog.

Cheers

Another photo

Why is Advertising so bad these days

My answer is: everything is based on price, not value. Business purchase materials, products, services and employees based on price not value. The old saying "you get what you pay for" still holds true, however most business figure it's just the cost of doing business.

Example, if a 1 pound box of brand (A) widgets cost "X" and a 1 pound box of brand (B) widgets cost "X+ 1/4" for this example let us assume that brand (B) widgets are of better quality and longer lasting thus providing a better value at a small cost increase.

Most business will purchase brand (A) widgets based on cost alone. Never mind you get a better VALUE with brand (B) widgets.

I believe someone sold GEICO a inferior product with the whole "Cave Man" advertising
campaign, it's dumb! It's not cute, it's not funny, it makes no sense and it insults my sensibilities.

GEICO may have made their advertising decisions based on price rather than value, I don't know, but I say they made a bad decision.

What do you think?

Image of the Day, part II

for your visual tastebuds

It's beginning to look a lot like

Auto auction season around here.
That means Barrett-Jackson, and others will be coming to town. There will be car-haulers loaded with street-rods, vintage cars, muscle cars, trucks, sports cars and the like parked all over town unloading their shinny, freshly painted bodies (they call that blow-n-show).

Comments often heard will be "resale red" and "no-reserve" however, the best comment I ever heard was from Brock Yates, editor at large of Car and Driver magazine. A custom car was up on the auction block at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale and Mr. Yates commented that someone would need to "chain that car down or it would ugly it self away!" Classic, and very memorable.

There are so many things wrong with these car auction it's hard to know where to begin!

Firstly, why would someone want to pay money to watch other people buy USED cars? I mean I'm fairly sure you can see that sort of thing for free at the local used car lot. Ok, there is some entertainment value to watching someone pay thousands for a car you would love to own and drive, but could never, pay for, maintain or insure. I guess I'm a little unsure of why you would want to pay someone to remind you by slapping you in the face with the fact that you could NEVER purchase one of these cars, let alone be lucky enough to drive one. Sure sometimes "regular" folks like you and me are able to get a bidders pass ($500 just to bid on used cars) and GLORY BE! the bidders pass doesn't require you pay to Sat. $55 per adult fee to enter, it's included!

Holly Crap! Yes, $55 to watch cars being sold for hundreds, nay thousands more than they are worth on the open market. Never mind the fees, taxes, transport fees and all important auction house commission.

It boggles the mind. My advice never buy a car from an auction, there are better ways to get your dream car.

If you act now, you also get

A full set of Ginsue Steak knives.

I'm trying to figure out how to promote my blog. I don't know if I want to interact with other bloggers, or just connect with humans that share experiences. At any rate it would be interesting to hear, or I guess read what others thought about my useless ramblings.

Watched the movie "Shop Girl" the other night, it was "lost in Translation" Redux, nuf said.

If a Blog falls in the woods

and nobody is there to here it, does it make a sound?

Image of the Day

For your viewing pleasure

File under "what are we really trying to do there"

I saw on the news today that President Bush will "consider" the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group, but has asked the opinion's of well respected retired military folks and academics for a new "way forward" with respect to the events in Iraq.

Is it just me, or does anyone else realize that it is "in the best interest" of the US to keep the region destabilized?

Why, you may ask? (and mind you I don't agree with this tact, but here is what I think)

If the powers that be in the Middle East stop fighting amongst themselves long enough to realize they have the United States of America by the short hairs when it comes to the energy resources they have, or have control of, we giant-SUV-driving, gas-hog, 6 cars for every home, auto-loving folks here in the U.S.A. are in big trouble.

It is for that reason that I believe we like to keep them busy with silly side projects, like killing each other or trying to build hotels made entirely out of Gold!

Most US cities are so spread out that subways or other rail systems are cost-prohibitive, so we all drive cars. For one reason or another we like BIG cars/trucks or SUVs. So, onward we go into the blackness or world disorder.

Day One

Day 126, getting low on pop tarts. Still no word from Publishers Clearing House or the lottery!