Leaf Blower (ain't no snow in San Diego)
The title of this sounds like it could be some Indian name. Or the nickname of a Charger quarterback. But it has to do with that annoying piece of machinery that we all hate. The first time I remember seeing …
No Bull -- Another Child Dies Because of Bad Parenting
At a Boulder County Fair, a 12-year-old was thrown and trampled by a bull. It was during a competition called "Little Britches Rodeo." Emergency personnel were on the scene, but after the bull stomped on the childs chest, there wasn't …
Standing up to a Bully
When there's a story in the news about a high school kid killing themself, you often hear they were tormented by bullies. And all the school authorities and parents, talk about the various ways to curb bullying. But I realized …
Keep the Tip!
Remember that punchline? C'mon, it's from that list of leper jokes that went around when we were kids. I've talked about tipping in blogs before, but it's always a subject worth revisiting. The Reader either had a screening, or is …
Oscar Nominations
The Oscars did something that many movie lovers are happy about. I’m not. They are increasing the number of movies nominated from five to 10. Some academy members say this has to do with all the bad press they got …
BREAKING NEWS BLOG -- Michael Jackson and Farrah Die
So, Ed McMahon died. And his death gets pushed to the side by Farrah Fawcett dying this morning. Fawcett gets overshadowed by the king of pop, Michael Jackson, dying this afternoon. I think it would take Madonna or Obama dying …
I'm So Glaad
I never thought I would blog about Perez Hilton, as I've always thought the guy was an idiot and not worth the time. I never thought he'd top the idiotic behavior he displayed in the Miss USA pagaent. Now, I …
Oceanside Cop Back to Work
My stepbrother and I usually agree on things. But we argued for hours about the cop in Oceanside. I was bothered that a jury found him not guilty, after he unloaded his .38 into a womans car, hitting her young …
Weddings
I was at the dog park today, and overheard two women talking about an upcoming wedding. I didn't hear all the details, but one was upset that she wasn't invited to a wedding that some of her co-workers were. And …
Shark Sandwiches and Drug Busts
There was a story the other day about a woman trying to cross the border. She looked nervous as she walked by with her stroller. It probably had something to do with the 10 pounds of pot she was using …
An $80,000 Song. And a Dead Pilot.
I met my liberal lawyer friend for coffee the other day. And it was nice to have discussions that didn't involve us arguing over politics, the ACLU, or anything like that. Instead, the few news stories we talked about were …
The Dog Blog -- A Walk in the Park
So, it's been almost six months that I've owned this little mutt. And it's a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I made the mistake of taking him to this park near my house. A lot of other …
Top 10 -- Famous Dead People You'd Like to Meet
I always think lists are fun to debate and play with. Although, when I did the list of best drum songs, that fell flat. I think only a few people responded. When I turned on my computer this morning, one …
Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law (when it's students)
I thought for a brief moment about blogging on another NFL player that's gotten into trouble. Donte Stallworth, who had actually gotten himself into trouble with my girlfriend. No...not an illegitimate kid or anything like that. She's just made the …
Yes Blogs
Yes has had many different members over the years, but bassist Chris Squire has been with them from the beginning. He’s the only guy to appear on every Yes album released. The most recently added members include Oliver Wakeman (Rick’s …
Lakers Win, State Loses
You know what is so great about ghetto losers? They're so predictable. Jimmy Kimmel once joked on his show, when a Detroit team was in a championship game -- that if they lose the fans will riot in the streets. …
Exercising Excuses
I first made an this observation as a teenager. The cool roller-skating rink Aquarius, on MIramar Road, had gone out of business. I couldn't believe how. Me and all my teenager friends packed the place on Friday night. It became …
Conspiracy Theories
I was reading the Sunday paper and saw a story about Buzz Aldrin. The 79-year-old walked on the moon 40 years ago, and was with the Boston Pops to narrate a performance called "The Planets".There was NASA footage shown, and …
Usher in a New Baby
I'm heading to L.A. and didn't want to sit here writing some long blog about some serious subject. Two news stories came up on the computer screen as if they were huge events. Both of them you could've seen coming. …
David Letterman Controversy
This whole Letterman/Palin thing is bizarre (hey, that would make a could bumper sticker...like it's a future ticket) I thought Lettermans jokes weren't all that funny, but they worked. One of them was when Palin was in New York at …
Don't Tase Me, Sonny!
We've all seen the video by now. It happened in Texas (where else?) A great grandmother in her early 70s, was pulled over. She was cursing at the cop and telling him she wasn't going to sign the ticket. I …
Celebrity Sex Scandal Stuff
Checking my voice mail at the Reader office can be fun. Once Martin Mull left a funny message about parties. Sometimes a PR person will call, asking if I want to interview some celebrity. Or I'll get five calls from …
Hooray for Hollywood
One of my older blogs...can't remember the title at the moment. I think it's about idiotic football players or NBA personalities; we've gotten into this debate about...well, about a lot. Things like racism, bad schools, what we can learn from …
Pop Corn, Red Vines, Bon Bons or Beer?
One of the classic scenes in Pulp Fiction has John Travolta talking about all the cool things Europe has that aren't available in America. One of those was being able to order a beer in a movie theatre. The Reading …
Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You
I have a love/hate relationship with movie trailers. I most recently had this discussion with a guy at a black film festival going on in Horton Plaza months back. He runs a website that is devoted to movie trailers. On …
King of Late Night (and other things)
It was one of those days where I wasn't sure what to blog about, so I just thought I'd type and see what came out. Hey, nobody can really complain. Have you seen these idiotic Twitter things that come out? …
Drumming is My Madness
I've told the story before, about wanting a drum set for my 12th birthday. My parents ended up instead getting me drum books, sticks, and practice pads. They said if I practiced, they'd think about a kit. The practice sessions …
Don't Bring a Bat to a Gun Fight
At a Long Island convenient store that had only been open six months, a guy in his 40s came in to rob it. He looked menacing standing there with his Louisville Slugger. Until the store owner pulled out something that …
LeBron James -- Bad Sport?
When the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic, a lot of the media talked about how horrible it was that LeBron James didn't shake hands with the Orlando players. He just walked straight to the …
Prom Queen Controversy
I read this story on some news page a few days ago, and was reminded of it when I heard KGB the other morning. An 18-year-old wasn't named the prom king, but "prom queen" of his high school in Fairfax. …
A Day in the Life
I woke up on Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m. Now, I don't go to church, so unless it's football season, I don't wake up before 10:00 a.m. But the dog wakes me up when he has to go outside to …