I Might Just Start Liking the Sun Devils and Wildcats

I do not like the University of Arizona Wildcats nor the ASU Sun Devils. Never have. Really it is not so much a dislike but rather more of a discount. I tend to discount PAC 10 football when considering the "national championship" picture although this can be a mistake at times. Remember the exceptional USC teams of a few years back? One year the Condoms claimed a share of the national championship although they did not play in the actual BCS Championship game. That game was of course between LSU and the Sooners. It is really a shame that the BCS system can be so flawed that Oklahoma played in the game instead of USC which truly deserved the shot, but so it goes. It would have been much better if they had, and it is entirely possible that USC would have beaten the Tigers that year to legitimately claim the title. Alas they did not and consequently can not claim to be the rightful champion. The BCS is so screwed up. But that is not what I came here to discuss.

Arizona has passed anti illegal immigration legislation in their fair state and that is a good thing. Any of us who live in a border state and now even those who do not know that illegal immigration has gotten completely out of control. This is not a real secret and the problem has been with us for such a long time that any solution to eradicate (as in humanely deport - don't get your panties in a knot) those already here unlawfully will be inadequate at this point. That does not mean however that further illegal immigration can not be stopped. Arizona has taken a step in the right direction. It is interesting that some of the "Latino" advocacy groups are already calling for this to be repealed or be challenged in the federal courts. What they don't understand is legislation does not give carte blanche for the police to "profile" and arbitrarily harass Hispanics and others.. What it does do however is give the police the authority and indeed the obligation to inquire about immigration status when contact is made with criminal suspects in the performance of their job. Does this mean that some rogue cops will not profile? Of course not. This will happen and will, I am sure, be dealt with on an individual basis. Nothing is perfect. Now many people believe that all illegals should be rounded up and deported to their country of origin. I am not sure that is a realistic goal although it certainly is an admirable one. Many people including my brother are advocates of this tactic. He says ship them all back if found to be illegal and bill the cost to transportation to their country of origin. He even includes the oriental massage girls most of which are probably here illegally. In that case I say let us not be too hasty. Let's not go overboard here. All joking aside, this action by Arizona is a breath of fresh air and will open the door for other border states to consider similar action. Our nation can no longer afford to take on the "tired and hungry" of the world any longer. Sorry but we just can't. Waiting for the federal government to take any meaningful action will do nothing but insure that the problem will get worse. The current national administration certainly will not do anything.

With the passage of this legislation I am now officially an ASU Sun Devil and U of A Wildcat fan. I will follow their progress on the road to a BCS national title.

I Saw It Happen

Well I have written about this before but I have seen one of those bicyclists in action this afternoon. As I was driving down the road one of these guys was blocking traffic in his fruity get up and caused a traffic back up. Can you guess what happened next? That is right, a fender bender. Of course the man on the bike just kept riding on with an "oh well" expression on his face. Of course these folks have the right to ride their bikes on main thoroughfares and cause all kinds of problems. Just ask them - They will tell you.

Do You Trust A Multi National Corporation?

The other night I was doing a bartending gig for a well known multi national corporation. These things are very common in the Houston area although they tend not to be all that profitable from a bartenders point of view. Hourly pay is about all that can be expected, anything above that is rare and very surprising. Other than the crappy compensation, there is something that really bothers me about some of these events. At this particular event there were quite a few people from mainland China in attendance. Now I certainly have nothing particularly against these folks personally but I must admit I do not trust them. I have a gut feeling that China is doing all it can to undermine the U.S. and is unfortunately aided in that endeavour by corporations that have their headquarters in this country. I am certainly not educated in international business but I do know something that is wrong when I see it. At least I saw no Americans (or any others for that matter) bowing and scraping to these representatives of Red China. I once was a bartender at a gig at the Toyota Center where American citizens were bowing to our Chinese guests. I suppose they were just being polite culturally speaking, but it is traditional that we in this country bow to know one. I certainly did not. Glad I was not fired. I'm not sure if our current president has gotten the memo on the whole bowing thing however.

Do those in the multinationals not understand that doing business with enemies and potential enemies (not sure which category China falls under) is damaging to this nation? I guess not. Why should they care? They take their cue from the U.S. government. Hell there are more Soviets (Russians) at the Johnson Space Center than there are in the NHL. Our multinationals and indeed those in our government just do not get it.

The world is a dangerous place and there will always be enemies. Why aid them?
We will pay for it one day. In spades!!

I Had A Green Job Once

I have been wondering lately what a "Green Job" is. It finally occurred to me that I once worked on a project that may well be what the government has in mind.

 A few years ago I was bartending for a St Patrick's day event at a venue in downtown Houston and had to wear a silly green leprechaun hat. Of course we were serving green beer and Irish Whiskey. It must not have been that interesting as I had almost forgotten all about it. Apparently there were no "beaver shots" or anything of interest - that is the kind of thing that sort of helps one remember such events. It was not near as interesting as the event that I worked where I had to dress up as a cat. I have very little shame when it comes to making a buck. At any rate at that event I had to go to the back room to replenish my stock and walked in on a fellow employee (also dressed as a cat) being fellated by some bimbo. You see, that sort of thing sticks out in your mind. My "Green Job" paled in comparison to that.

American Idol, Eddie Kendricks, Usher, and Ellen D.

I admit that I am now a fan of American Idol and have been watching for most of this season. I used to only watch some of the preliminary auditions simply because it was amazing that people were so deluded as to believe that they have talent when in fact many have less than the average shower singer. It was hilarious in a sad, somewhat voyeuristic way to watch these folks make complete fools of themselves. This year I started watching the real competition and have found some of the performers quite good and well worth watching and rooting for. I am not sure who will be the winner this season but there are probably three or four contestants that have a pretty good shot. All of them that are still left on stage have at least enough talent to make a decent living in the music industry. This show has actually been instrumental (no pun) in changing the lives of quite a number of people.





One of the celebrity guests was the performer Usher and I was totally blown away by his performance of "OMG." He obviously has been influenced greatly by Michael Jackson and his performance is every bit as good as a Jackson show minus the ridiculous freakishness. Usher's silky smooth singing voice reminds me of soul singer Eddie Kendricks (RIP) and the backup dancers and musicians are spot on. I wish when I was younger I would have learned some moves like I saw the two male dancers make on the stage. I would have parleyed those cool moves into some nookie at the clubs. I shit you not. Incidentally the dancer on the right (Usher's left) looks a lot like a guy named James Greer I used to work with in a small industrial coatings plant. Didn't know James had so much talent. That was a good job as I remember but it was dangerous and I got tired of my wife hounding me about the dangers and the relatively low pay. I quit and went to work with a freight broker for quite a bit of money but was miserable. The boss was obviously a homosexual and that is not a big deal but he apparently could or would not admit this fact to himself. His issues caused a good deal of problems in office. But I digress. This is another story for another time perhaps (but probably not).

I DVR'd the Ellen D show the next day and watched Usher perform the same number with almost the same dance routine. It too was exceptional.

At any rate I purchased the new CD by Usher and am enjoying it. That says quite a lot as I am a fan of real rock (the harder the better) and generally discount pop music. Music is good for the soul I believe.

American Idol, Green Jobs and the Border

Ok I will now admit it. I watch American Idol and find it entertaining. Don't tell anyone.
I would like to pose a couple of questions as long as I am here wasting time. With your permission Herr General.

What is a "Green Job?"

Why is our southern border not militarized?

Would Rachel Maddow look less bullish with longer hair?

What is a real "progressive" anyway?

Why does my lawnmower continue to give me problems?

How is that "hope and change" working out for ya?

Why is loving this country a bad thing?

Why is Osama Bin Laden not dead and gone?

Why is Coke better than Pepsi?

Why is the Panama Canal in the hands of a third world nation?

Why is Toyota better than Ford?

Why do old "bikers" wish they were really members of the Bandidos, Sons of Silence, Pagans, The Breed, etc etc?


These are good questions damn it.

Television Commercials I Like

Today I would rather not think too hard about the problems that are confronting our great country. If there was any doubt that we have a Mohammedan sympathizer in the Oval Office, then last weeks actions should have erased that doubt. There is now some sort of "health care reform" that will probably turn out to be a boondoggle that will further damage the economy, and thank the Lord that South Korea has determined (or chosen to determine) that their warship was not a victim of a North Korean attack. If the South publicly accused the Democratic Republic of a military attack it is conceivable that this administration would abandon our important ally in a lurch. I would imagine that those in South Korea sense this. So instead of delving into these important matters, I think I will just blabber about tv commercials that I find interesting.



Television advertisements can be an art form every bit as entertaining as "real" movies and tv programs. Although it must be noted that for every good one there are hundreds of those that are merely "informative" without being entertaining. That is fine and good but a little bit of humor works wonders in putting a product before the public. Lets take a look at a few successful campaigns.



The Progressive Auto Insurance ads that have been running for quite some time have been quite successful and by now every one who watches television should know that Progressive sell auto insurance. The woman that is the "star" of the commercials a somewhat goofy brunette who is at the same time, well, sexy in an odd sort of way. This is brilliant advertising and I would imagine that the campaign has paid for itself many many times. One of the early ads featured very attractive blond woman who, when talking, curls her lip in an interesting way. I would be willing to bet that males in focus groups found this very sexually appealing while at the same time not coming across as exploitive to women in said groups. There is actually some "science" that goes into a very successful and quite expensive national campaign before it rolls out.



Geico, another insurer, has two very good campaigns running. The predominant one features the Geico Lizard and it is doubtful that there is anyone in the nation that does not know who this is. The advertisements are somewhat amusing but the real genius behind it is that now everyone knows that Geico sells auto insurance.

Ditto for their other major campaign that features the "cavemen." This has been so successful that there was actually a sitcom spawned from the characters. Both of these campaigns have, I am sure, paid for themselves many times over.



Now the top dogs in the insurance industry - State Farm and Allstate do not have to resort to airwaves saturation as do the up and comers. State Farm advertisements of late have targeted Geico and Progressive in a straightforward way without resorting to humor or gimmicks. This is a luxury of a leader in an industry, but, it must be noted that since the State Farm ads do mention Geico and Progressive by name, it does mean that those at State Farm are worried at least somewhat about losing market share.

The advertisements for Southwest Airlines are exceptional. The latest one where the men run up to a competitors aircraft and lift their shirts while yelling is an exceptional take off of the scene where the Scots faced off with the English at Falkirk (perhaps Bannockburn) in the film Brave Heart. The entire "Its on" campaign that Southwest airs is quite good and helps to solidify the perception in the public mind that the airline, while "no perk," is still somewhat a cut above the "full service" airlines in the industry. Anyone who regularly flies with both Continental and Southwest will testify to the superiority of SW.

It is interesting that an add campaign can be quite irritating to be a huge success. Remember the "Mentos" commercials that aired a few years back. These were horrible but they are indeed memorable for being so bad and the do indeed hit the target in getting the products name in the public conscience. This is a risky strategy however as there are large numbers of people who will be so turned off by a campaign that they may not be inclined to buy the product.

The very same can be said of the "Old Navy" campaigns that are periodically unveiled. The commercials are terrible but they do get the "Old Navy' name out there.

Intel has a very good advertisement out that features an engineer walking into the coffee break room and being greeted like the winning QB or rock star. That is quite interesting and is probably effective at keeping the Intel name in the public mind.

The horrible fast food chain "Jack In the Box" has has a very successful campaign running with "Jack" being the "star" of the series. My favorite is the one where a couple are in the hot tub with Jack and his apparent wife. The other couple are apparently swingers and the long haired blond male just looks like a smarmy swinger type from the 80's. This commercial is exceptional as indeed are most of the spots in this campaign. Brilliant advertising without question. Unfortunately the food is not (in my opinion) worth eating.

I have always loved television commercials and often find them more entertaining than the actual shows that are being offered on by the various networks.