It's Time To Celebrate National Pet Month

So this may sound crazy, but May is actually National Pet Month, so let's all go out and celebrate. I have heard that several supermarkets are running sales on pet food, so we should all run out and buy some to celebrate! For those of you who may be confused, thinking it was last month, April, let me assure you it was not. Because April was National Pets are Wonderful Month. Two totally different months with two totally different names. :) Which got me to thinking, what other National Months is May known for. Upon doing some research, I was actually quite surprised to find that there were quite a few National Months in May, so to keep this posting on the shorter side, I figured I would post a few of the celebrations that is going on this month:

• Correct Posture Month
• Foot Health Month
• Mental Health Month
• National Artisan Gelato Month
• National Asparagus Month
• National Barbecue Month
• National Bike Month
• National Chocolate Custard Month
• National Egg Month
• National Good Car Keeping Month
• National Hamburger Month
• National Mine Month
• National Salad Month
• National Salsa Month
• National Share A Story month
• Older Americans Month

I also wanted to mention National Macaroon Day which is May 31st!

Just in case you were concerned, I haven't forgotten today is Cinco de Mayo. So Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! Today started with a big pain with the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. How many people were up before dawn to see it? I certainly missed it.

Humorous Weekend Stories

Every so often, I scour the Internet for stories that make me do a double take, and this weekend was no different. Now, I realize if I want to have a humorous read, I would visit The Onion, which if you haven’t visited before, I highly recommend it. They have all the best spin-off (i.e., partially-true) stories. With that said, the following four stories have been reported as true:

Lei Day – Friday was Lei Day in Hawaii and a group of individuals set out to set a Guinness World Record for the longest lei. When the group was finished worked on the lei, it totaled 5,335 feet in length.

Prison Time for Sharing – We have all been told sharing is a good thing. But for a man in Ohio, he may be sent to prison for sharing his Little Debbie snack cake with an inmate who was on restriction and therefore, not allowed access to snacks. County prosecutors are asking a judge to put the man in prison for nine months.

The Aliens Are Coming – A Denver resident has asked the city to form a commission to deal with the preparations necessary for the arrival of space aliens and there continuous presence on Earth. The proposal for a commission will be discussed at an official meeting.

The Horse Knows the Way Home – I’m sure we all remember the song “Over the River and Through the Woods.” For those who doubt that “[t]he horse know[s] the way to carry the sleigh . . .,” this story is for you. In New York City this past weekend, a Police patrol horse (“Aldo”) was spooked by traffic noise, bucked his rider off him, and took off. Aldo managed to find his way to the stable, which was about eight blocks away. If the horse could make it eight New York City blocks, why couldn’t it make it to Grandma’s House?

If you think I missed anything, please share!

The Only Question is Why?

I took the Metro into work today and because I start at the beginning of the line, it is generally easy for me to find a seat. This is helpful because of my long legs, I can only comfortably sit in certain seats. This morning, like most mornings, I found a seat that was comfortable, so I sat down and started reading the newspaper. By the time the train was at the third station on the line, the metro car that I was in was starting to fill up. It was at that point, the most perplexing thing happened. A man, who could easily be viewed as a toothpick, sat down in the middle of two seats. For those of you that are not familiar with DC's Metro system, the seats are paired in groupings of two. Rather than New York's subway style of lining the walls with seats, Washington's style is more reminiscent of train or standard bus seating. Then he took his briefcase, which again was as thick as he was fat and put that next to him. Just seeing this perplexed me, but what am I to do? There were still a few extra seats, so it was not that he was preventing anyone from sitting down. That is, until we got to the next train station and the Metro car that I was in was standing room only. Still this guy refused to move. People would just stare, and one even said "excuse me" three times, but the guy just sat there, with his legs sprawled open preventing anyone from sitting on their side of him. I am guessing that if the chairs were hard plastic and not cushioned then maybe it wouldn't be as comfortable, but nonetheless, he didn't seem to mind. When I saw an elderly lady standing next to him, I offered her my seat so she could sit down. While I would gladly make such a gesture, it would have been unneeded if the guy decided to sit in one seat. So the only thing I was left to do the rest of the way to work was wonder, "Why?" Does anybody have a similar experience or have an idea of what I should have done?

Nudity in a Movie: The Double Standard

Last night, I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall and had a good time. However, as a guy, I thought I saw a little too much of Peter Bretter a little too often. In the movie, the only person that is ever fully naked is Peter Bretter. The only other nudity that occurs is a panning of a wall of pictures that shows girls flashing and a brief scene where the camera focuses on one particular picture that is supposed to be Mila Kunis. I hate to disappoint the guys out there, but the picture was not a real picture of Kunis, but rather a body double. Not that I know from personal experience, but she has said so in numerous interviews.

On a side note, it is interest to hear how Kunis described the process of picking out her body double.

“They sent pictures and emails to me of the women -- just boobs and no faces. I get to see their bodies and see what matched my figure the most and what kind of boobs I wanted to have. You go from, like, double D's to A's. It was every kind of boob you can imagine. I sat there with my friends and boyfriend and we looked at them like, "What kind of boobs do you think I should have. Maybe these ones or these ones..." And then I emailed back and said I like this boob and this boob and they ended up going with the boobs that I liked.”

So was this type of nudity okay? I am comfortable saying that saying a male’s full frontal nudity does not bother me, but I do think they went a little over the top with it. It went from shock factor to over the top quickly and while it was really only in the beginning and the end of the movie it never really left the back of my brain. Reading other reviews and speaking with friends, I think a consensus between both guys and girls has been that it was a little too much. But if the roles had been reversed and the movie had full frontal female nudity and only random male crotch shots, would that have been viewed in the same way? The answer is probably not. While some women may take offense to it, most guys would say it was the highlight of the movie.

This is what I call the double standard in Hollywood and this is one of the things that Judd Apatow, the movie’s producer, is trying to address with his movies. For those unfamiliar with Apatow’s name, he has recently had a string of hits including, Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40 Year Old Virgin. I am not making this up. Apatow has admitted on numerous occasions that it is his personal mission to increase the amount of male nudity in movies, so the double standard is no longer applicable. In fact, he stated in a World Entertainment News Service story that “I’m gonna get a penis in every movie I do from now on.” If you think about it, there are not really that many movies that include full frontal male nudity. Apatow has a long way of breaking the double standard, but in doing so, he needs to ensure that he does not isolate his audience by trying too hard to break it to quickly. To that end, Russell Brand, who plays the new guy in Bretter’s character’s life, has said that if he knew how much full frontal nudity was going to be in the movie, then he would not have been in the movie. This seemed ironic to me, because his character is a musical star who is also a sex maniac. But nonetheless, Apatow has a fine line to walk to ensure that he is moving movie watchers and actors in his direction, rather than having them turn away.

Sport’s Crystal Ball: Looking Ahead to October

I am the first to admit that I am fair weather fan when it comes to hockey. Coming from Florida, where hockey is almost as popular as lacrosse, I root for the Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals, but I wouldn’t say I am a die hard fan. That’s not to say that I am totally ignorant and have no clue who is on the roster for the teams. But, if they don’t win, then its not the end of the world.

I am however, a big fan of basketball. As a Chicago Bulls fan, this has been another disappointing year. It has been an exciting year as an up-and-coming fan of the Washington Wizards, but sadly, as I predicted yesterday, there playoff run has ended. So while I will continue to watch the playoffs, I have lost a team to route for. So, I must now focus my attention to October.

Is this going to be the year where one of my teams will actually make it to the World Series? As of right now, I am “sitting pretty” as a fan of both the Oakland Athletics and the Florida Marlins. As a fan of the Washington Nationals, I just need to smile and say, hey at least we have a new stadium. Regardless of how the rest of the season turns out, this season has provided me hope that if not this year, then one of my teams will be showing up in the World Series in some of the coming years. Coming into the season, no one predicted that the Oakland Athletics would have a shot at making the playoffs. Now, they are currently third in MLB with runs scored and share the top spot with the Los Angles Angels in the AL West Standings going into tonight’s game. In fact, even the front office was surprised by the team’s progress and instead of having a “rebuilding year,” they have signed Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas. And the best part, is that they only need to pay $337,000 for the year. The A’s have now moved up to the #2 spot on ESPN’s Power Rankings.

The Florida Marlins have also been a surprise thus far. While I am very satisfied with the Marlins’ World Series record, I do look forward to the day they shed the reputation of “buying” the World Series. Truthfully, with the Yankees still in the MLB, I think the phrase “buying a World Series” for any other team cannot be used. It is interesting to note that for 2008, the Yankees' payroll is over $209 million, while the A’s and Marlins' payrolls are the bottom two teams with only approximately $48 million and $22 million, respectively.

While Las Vegas still has the A’s and the Marlins as a long shot for the World Series, it will definitely be a season of surprises. Play ball!

Does the NBA MVP go to the Best Player?

So the reports are now circulating that Kobe Bryant will win the MVP for this year’s season. But does he deserve it or is it more of a pity vote? It is clear that his statistics, while impressive, are dwarfed by LeBron James’ statistics. I understand that this award is not BP or Best Player, but rather Most Valuable Player. I also understand the argument that have been made for Kobe. However, was this year’s award more a matter of giving Kobe his due. I recognize that part of my disdain for Kobe is the fact, as an avid Bulls fan, that he was not traded to the Bulls. However, it would be interesting to see what fact a true Kobe supporter can hang their hat on. It certainly is not his statistics. While Kobe’s 3-point shot was quite accurate, 36.1%, he only averaged 28.3 points per game, compared to LeBron’s 30. He also only averaged 5.4 assists per game, while LeBron averaged 7.2 per game. Lastly, he averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, compared to LeBron’s average of 7.9 per game. While Kobe’s statistics are quite impressive, I refer to his statistics as “only” because I believe that LeBron’s statistics are just that much more impressive.

If you look at the recent playoff series between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which I believe will sadly end tonight, LeBron has been and will probably be the difference. If you compare the supporting cases that LeBron and Kobe have, it seems to me, that the Lakers would have had a better chance of making the playoffs without Kobe than the Cavaliers would have had without LeBron. But if that is the case, doesn’t that mean that LeBron should be the MVP? If it is the best player that led their team to the best record, then why is it that they are predicting Kevin Garnett to be third in voting? Through Garnett’s solid play, the Celtics were a force to be reckoned with during the regular season, amassing a 64-16 record. Who in the world ever expected this from the Celtics this year?

I am by no means suggesting that Kobe is not a great player. I think he is amazing. I just do not think he is the most valuable player. It is a sad day when a player is not given his due because his team or supporting cast is not the greatest. And then the fans wonder why a player wants to get traded to a team that has a supporting cast, rather than developing a cast. Is it a matter of saying if Kobe and LeBron switched teams for the year and the statistics were the same, then LeBron would have won or at the very least Kobe wouldn’t have? Or is it really a matter of saying Kobe is 29 years old and if he does not win it this year, then he may be the greatest player to never win the MVP? If that is the case, then we should all realize that this year’s MVP is more of a sympathy vote. As I said before, I think Kobe is a great player. Now whether he was this year’s MVP is a different story.

The Desire or Lack Thereof of Being Innocent

What does it mean to be "innocent?" I could be literal and say that Merriam Webster defines "innocent" as being "free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil." But that not what I mean. I guess the proper question is whether innocence a desired trait and at what cost would people pay to remain "innocent." There are two stories that are consistently being discussed that are discussing innocence and they are coming from two very different angles.

The first is the famed Miley Cyrus pictures that were taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. Without going into to much detail, because I am sure everyone know what I am talking about, the issue was whether those pictures should have been taken of Miley Cyrus in the first place. I understand that she is only 15 and they were being published for the whole world to see. I also understand there is an ongoing debate between whether the pictures were "tasteful" or "artistic." But that is not what caught my attention. I was reading a few articles online and some of the commentators on the articles pointed out, why would Miley Cyrus take these pictures. I think that should be a key question that very few people are addressing. I think it goes without saying, that a year ago, everyone would agree that Miley Cyrus was "sweet and innocent." Now there are pictures that are turning up (both amateur and professional) and instead of asking why, they are scrutinizing the pictures and the photographer. One of the current comments pointed out that this could be a public relations ploy for Miley to lose her "innocent" title. The truth is, Miley Cyrus will not be able to play Hannah Montana forever. There has to be a point in her life where either she or Disney says that enough is enough. However, what happens then? I know I am going really far back, but look at Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was a huge childhood star that never really lost her "innocent" title, so as she grew up, there were not any roles for her. These pictures could be the start of a turning point in Miley's career where she is trying to add a little bit of an edge to her career. I do realize that Miley issued a statement saying that she is embarrassed, but that was at the behest of Disney, her current main sponsor. This could be reading too much into it, but her most recent concert tour was titled the "Best of Both Worlds." Miley is starting to break out and so these pictures could just be another way of her trying to transition from a sweet and innocent child into a teenager. This could mean that her past affiliations and sponsorships might end, but then a completely new set of affiliations and sponsorships may be waiting for her. The question is, if this is true, just how far would Miley go to lose that "innocent" label?

On the other side of Miley is Roger Clemens. Assume for the brief moment that as you read this post, that you believe that Roger Clemens is indeed innocent of taking performance enhancing drugs or steroids. (I realize this is a stretch because most people that I have spoken with think that he is indeed guilty.) So let's see what this "innocent" man has endured, so far. He testified before Congress saying that he did not take performance-enhancing drugs and he was heavily doubted. So much so, that skeptics said that if you are so innocent, what are you going to do about your accuser. Clemens was forced into a corner where for public perception reasons, he had to sue his accuser Brian McNamee for defamation. Regardless of the outcome of the defamation suit, a new issue has arisen due to the suit: namely the "relationship" of Roger Clemens and Mindy McCready. While it is unclear what their relationship actually consisted of, it is clear that the then 28-year-old Clemens befriended the then 15-year-old Mindy McCready and a friendship had developed. The report of this relationship has now further tarnished the public's perception of Clemens. In fact, many newspapers are reporting that this "relationship" is more damaging to his reputation then any possibility that he did use performance-enhancing drugs. So in the end, the question that some people, at the very least Clemens, has to ask, is was it worth it? Even if the defamation suit is successful and a court finds that McNamee defamed Clemens' reputation, who would really be a winner? This is looking like a lose-lose situation all the way around. The only question is, how much more can Clemens lose?

I wanted to share my thoughts on this, because I find it so interesting to see two totally different people trying to get to the other side of the "innocence" line.

A New Song "In My Head"

So last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up and had another song in my head. I really do not know where they come from, but this one is really fitting for the topic. It was the The Cranberry's Zombie. I just kept hearing "In Your Head" all over again.

My Car May Be a Total Loss???

So the estimator came to my house last night and said that he agreed with the repairs that the body shop said need to be done. However, he also said considering my car's age (8 years) and total mileage (~55,000), the insurance company may consider the car a total loss! The total estimated cost of the repairs was only $1,800. When I went onto Kelley Blue Book today, the value of my car is at least $5,600 for a private party sale. I am not sure how this would qualify as a total loss, but I am awaiting to hear back from the insurance company.

Crazy Songs that Get Stuck in My Head

I am sure that I am not the only one that gets a song stuck in my head and can't get it out. I am not sure why, but all I know is that I have had Monty Python's I'm a Lumberjack song in my head since Saturday and I still can't get rid of it.