Meet the Next President: OPRAH!!

When Barack Obama made his acceptance speech in Chicago last week, the cameras kept flashing on Oprah leaning on and weeping all over some guy who is now a media star. Everything Oprah touches (I don't need to even mention her last name, that's how famous she is) turns into gold! The woman was glowing like a Chernobyl baby!
After supporting him early on and actually going on the road and campaigning for Obama, Oprah must now certainly believe that she's a president maker, in addition to being the highest paid woman on TV. Will the President-Elect now feel obligated to keep her involved? Will she be the new Secretary of the Interior, for instance?
The already self-absorbed Oprah must now think she can do no wrong. She gives needy people cars and money; she started a school in Africa and celebrities clamor to be guests on her show. Every public appearance she makes results in a mad mob scene. She's into publishing, the Web, radio and retailing.
Oprah's show is a consistent hit and she's assembled a following equal to any entertainer on the planet. She recommends books and they hit the bestseller list. She touts other entertainers and they get their own shows. She drops a dozen eggs and an omelette suddenly appears. She breaks wind and it's an alternative fuel source.
What's next? Will Oprah run for president herself in 2012? Or will she put the people in place to run, say a ticket with Dr. Phil for Prez and Rachel Ray for VP? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Obama's victory was a triumph for Oprah. And now it's time to give for Barack to give her her due!

Best Diet Loss Pill: Have You Voted?

This is a new beginning here in this country. And part of that involves a healthier way of living. And a substantial part of that is all about the best weight loss pill in the world. Well, it's still up for discussion. This is you vote and your call so don't drop the ball. Comment here, my fans, and let's see where you stand on this subject. What is the best weight loss pill on the market out there right now? It's a tough question. We don't want to be quite as skinny as Keira Knightley, but we still feel like we could afford to lose a few pounds. No one may really have the definitive answer, but that is for YOU the consumer to decide. Don't shy away from the question. In fact, try and gravitate toward the answer. Let it be YES!

UGG Boots Are 4 Guys Now!

Hey, if it works--go with it. UGG Boots have always been great-looking on women. Hotties like Pam Anderson got the ball rolling and other celebrity babes like Judy Tenuta, Star Jones, KT Boyle, Laurie Stapleton, Michelle Bogdon, Sally Struthers, Hillary Clinton and Linda Evans have all helped to make UGG Boots famous. But, guess what? Now the guys are wearing them too, including Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, Andy Dick, Danny "The Greek" Rettig, Bettlejuice, Eric the Midget, Eric Gouldsberry, Alex Durbin, Jerry Lewis, Bruce Muiles and Tom Hanks. UGG Boots have crossed over, fellas! Do you have yours yet?

There's Something A-Sconce Here!

My buddy Jason hit it big a few years back. He wrote some video game software and made like $5 million in two years.

He bought this amazing mansion on a hill in Los Angeles with a huge home theater, almost as exhilarating and historic as the first theater ever built. (See photo) I think they called it The Delphi.

There was this enormous movie screen that automatically retracted up into the ceiling, theater seats, high-tech surround sound and even a popcorn machine.

But, what really caught my eye were the home theater sconces.

I have to admit-I am a big sconce fan.

I see a sconce, well-it gets emotional; sometimes.

So, check out the home theater sconces at www.stargatecinema.com.

But, don't tell me about it.

I can get crazy around sconces!

Balancing Life & Work Issues with The Donald

I had a dream last night where I was talking to Donald Trump.

"I have a good credit score but no assets, so what do I do?" I asked The Man Himself.

"You're basically a newbie, a post-40, behind-the-economic-times sputnik baby who did drugs for 12 years and is now trying to jump back in the credit game?"

"Yeah, I guess," I replied. DT pretty much had me pegged--exactly.

"So, you're coming to me asking for free advice just because I happened to show up in your drug-induced, alcohol-impaired dream?"

"Uh, well, I..." This guy is good, I'm thinking.

"You think Donald Trump makes money appearing in people's dreams?"

"I never thought about it, I..."

"Balance transfers," The Donald suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"I don't have time to explain it to you. There are no paparazzi here, so i will have to leave soon. Transfer those balances and you'll live a more balanced life, at least financially."

Frankly Speaking With a Baseball Legend: Herman Franks

A left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Herman Franks broke into baseball with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League in 1932, but he was soon acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals and joined their large farm system. All you really need to know about his playing career was that he played primarily as a backup and finished with a batting average of .199 with three home runs in 188 games over parts of six seasons. In 1949 Franks landed his first coaching assignment, as an aide to Leo Durocher with the New York Giants.

He was a member of two National League championship clubs (1951, 1954) and one World Series (1954) title team through 1955. According to author Joshua Prager in his 2006 book The Echoing Green, Franks played a critical role in the Giants' Bobby Thomson's famous pennant-winning home run in the 1951 NL playoffs -- Baseball's Shot Heard Round The World. According to Prager, Franks was stationed in the Giants' centerfield clubhouse at the Polo Grounds, their home field, stealing the opposing catcher's signs through a telescope and relaying them through second-string catcher Sal Yvars (who was stationed in the bullpen) to the Giants' coaches and hitters. When asked where he was when Thomson hit his home run, Franks said, in 1996, that he was "doing something for Durocher" at the time.

Whatever his role may have been on that day, Franks was known as a devotee of Durocher-style, win-at-any-cost baseball, including intimidation through flying spikes and brush back pitching. Author Roger Kahn quoted Dodger outfielder Carl Furillo that Franks would poke his head into the Brooklyn clubhouse to taunt Furillo that Giant pitchers would throw at his head during that day's game. Furillo, whose hatred for Durocher was so intense that he would engage Durocher in a fistfight in the Giant dugout filled with enemy players, said of the Giants, in Peter Golenbock's book Bums, "They were dirty ballplayers ... They all wanted to be like Durocher, to copy Durocher. That Herman Franks, he was another one."

Franks managed the San Francisco Giants for four years from 1965-1968, and produced four frustrating second-place finishes in the National League. The club won 95, 93, 91 and 88 games and finished 2, 1½, 10½ and 9 games behind the league champions. He then coached nd managed off and on for the Chicago Cubs over an 11-year period. Although Franks compiled a poor record as a player, he notched a winning record as a manager - 605-521, .537.

On his role in the Thomson home run: “They say that I stole Brooklyn’s signs that day and I’ve never admitted to anything. And I never will. There’s been a lot of talk about it since ’51. People don’t ever get tired of talking about it. I must have talked to this writer Prager more than 50 times. He even flew out here to Salt Lake City to interview me. Prager researched the hell out of that story, let me tell you. I read things in there I didn’t know. Sal Ivars has blabbed all over the place, but no one else has talked. Alvin Dark didn’t talk; I didn’t talk; Whitey Lockman wouldn’t say nothing about it. But, there are a lot of them still alive who did a lot of talking. When Bobby hit that ball it was one of the highlights of my baseball career.”

His relationship with the Brooklyn Dodgers’Carl Furillo: “Carl Furillo died a broken man; mad at the world. He got blackballed and was angry at the world. He couldn’t get another job in baseball and he blamed it on everybody but himself. He said a lot of bullshit about me. In those days, we all jawed back and forth. The Dodgers had some tough pitchers in those days, Don Newcombe especially, and everyone threw at each other and knocked each other down all the time. You protected yourself. They were fiercely competitive in those days, Brooklyn and the Giants. Those two teams hated each other. In those days, there was a league rule—if you talked to the other teams’ players out on the field, you got fined. It’s not like today where the players chum around with each other; not at all. Now they go out to dinner with each other after the game; they’re all buddy-buddy.’ It’s just different now.”

About steroids and managing the game today: “I am so sick of them talking about steroids. Barry Bonds is one of the best damn hitters I ever saw. He can flat ass hit. And he set all those records when there was no law against them, right? A lot of this bullshit wouldn’t go on if I was still managing. Maybe I couldn’t manage today’s game the way it is, I don’t know. I think the players are managing the managers today—agents telling the managers when they can pitch their pitchers, and all that kind of bullshit. That wouldn’t go with me. And the money—the most I made as a manager was $125,000, with the Cubs, which at the time made me one of the highest paid managers at the time. Now they get millions”

Bench jockeying: “Durocher was a helluva bench jockey, that’s well known. But, in those days you could holler from the bench. ‘Stick it in his ear,” stuff like that. ‘Knock him down!’ You don’t dare say that today. Hell, I seen Leo walk up to the plate and get knocked down four straight times. He never complained. Everybody hollered at each other!”

The 1965 Giants: “The best team I ever managed, except I didn’t have a shortstop or a second baseman. We couldn’t make a double play. If I had had that I would have won the pennant all four years. We tried out a bunch of shortstops and second basemen, but we couldn’t find anyone to fill the holes there. We had five hall of famers on that team—Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. I taught Gaylord Perry how to throw that spitball; that’s what made him. We won 90 games three times during those four seasons and finished second each time. Today you win 90 games and you’re in the playoffs.”
(Parts of this article are from Wikipedia and www.thisgreatgame.com)

Hydroxycut Works!

Most of us don't want huge muscles, bulging through our shirts. We also don't want to be so fat that our ass envelopes a chair whenever we sit down. The majority of the people out there in this country just want to be fit. Sometimes we need help getting there, and that's where Hydroxycut comes into the picture. Hydroxycut is a great way to get ripped without getting ripped off. Let's face it, a lot of the diet/fitness supplement products out there right now are bogus. But, not Hydroxycut--it's been around for a long time and is proven. You will not be disappointed with Hydroxycut--just read the testimonials and you'll see how effective it is. So, if you want to be fit, healthy and looking good--give it a try! What do you have to lose?

Crazy Cats!

"Hey Ed, check this out!" Angelina said as she pointed out the back window.

"What the..?" I can't believe what I just saw, I thought, blinking as if clearing my brain and vision might give me a different result.

The neighbor's cats were jumping around as if being electrocuted, caught up in this weird, almost rthymic dance, bobbing and weaving, rising and falling, like two over-amped out-of-control marionettes.

"We better call the guy next door," Angelina said with a slight tinge of fear and confusion in her voice.

In minutes, our neighbor Danny The Greek was at the door. When he saw his two felines doing this strange ritual on our back lawn, he knew what had happened.

"Oh, no--not again," he exclaimed.

"Why are they doing that?" we both asked simultaneously.

"They got into my diet pills again. They must have eaten a handful each."

Just then one of the cats slammed into our back fence, nearly redeeming one of his nine lives.

"What? Your diet pills?" I asked.

"Yeah, they've done it before. They eat the pills and then act like this for a few days until the effect wears off. I hide them in the bathroom, but they always seem to find them."

"You need diet pills with less caffeine in them, Danny. If they're doing this to your cats, just think what they're doing to your system. I would check out http://www.dietpillsdietpills.com/, to find a less-speedy more healthy alternative."

"Thanks, man--I will." Danny promised as he started to leave.

"Hey, what about the cats?" Angelina inquired.

"Oh, they'll be like that for a few days. When they pass out, can you call me again and I'll come get them?"

"Sure," we replied.

It was going to be a long weekend.

Yuletide Yuckfest 2008 Announced Today

Due to the current economic crisis, Toys for Tots needs more toys than ever. Come support a worthy charity as we celebrate or 11th year! Admission is $10 with an unwrapped toy and $15 without a toy. Music by Chubby's All-Stars starts at 7 pm (featuring special guest Viv Savage from Spinal Tap); and comedy, featuring headliner Larry Bubbles Brown (as seen recently on David Letterman), Jeff Applebaum, Nick Leonard and other special guests, starts at 8 pm. Call (415) 595-4555 for reservations.

Crib Notes

Why is this child so frazzled? What has happened to this toddler to make her so disheveled? Maybe it has to do with her crib bedding. Crib bedding is so important to a baby's early years, because it helps them get a good night's sleep or daytime nap, safe and sound in a well-designed, durable bedding set. Being in a crib cannot be a lot of fun. I used to climb out of mine all the time (or so I've been told -- my memory is fuzzy). http://www.babyearth.com/ has some of the finest crib bedding on the market today, in a wide range of fresh, vibrant color schemes and styles, with upholstered bumpers to make sure your little one(s) doesn't bump his or her head. If this kid's parents clicks through to http://www.babyearth.com/, their toddler will feel better and her hair will probably return safely back to her scalp.