"Whats Up Doc" The Color Orange

This will blow your mind. I have always been a snack eater but recently I decided to make my snacks a bit more healthy steering away from things like chips and salsa. Now I snack on cottage cheese, gold fish and carrots. Last night I was interested in where most of out carrots come from in the US so I Googled it, most of them are from California and Michigan. Roughly 1.5-billion pounds of carrots are annually produced and marketed in the United States. This translates into over 600,000 tons of carrots per year with an annual value of at least $40-Million dollar.

So to get to my point I came across something much more interesting then everyones healthy obsession with snacking on Carrots. A man (name not found on site) has decided based on his roommates idea that if he eats enough carrots he will turn orange. So this guy will eat a metric ton of carrots to see if he will actually change colors. Supposedly there is a condition known as Carotenemia. This condition says its possible. Now I thought Morgan Sprurlock was crazy when he ate McDonalds for a month in his documentary Super Size Me.Me to see if it was unhealthy! Well Morgan we all appreciate the entertainment factor but seriously it doesn't require a documentary about eating fast food to prove its unhealthy to consume for a month. as for you Orange man, I have not looked into it but im sure you wont die eating carrots or have liver failure like Mr Spurlock but can you tell me why you want to turn orange like and Oompa loompa just to prove your roommate wrong. I assume thats why you are doing this. Maybe you should consider he us using you are his ginny pig for his genius ideas. I can tell you an easier way to turn orange, self tanning. The people I see walking out of those tanning salons always look orange to me. I wish you luck orange man. but I think your a bit crazy. I suggest you check this out.

I love Jet Blue

Ok so now its only $40 each way from Boston to New York on Jetblue. I have flown with them quite a few times and I must say that there is no other airline like it. I did fly with Taca once to Central America and it was comparable but they didn't speak english. Jet Blue has a great philosophy about its customers and its employees for that matter. Last time I flew home from vegas they gave away free tickets to anywhere in the US to the person in the row next to me... I was so close danm it. I recommend the next time your on the Jet Blue look in the back of your neighbors seat there might be some free tickets. What im most excited about is not having to take a four hour train ride to NY for $60 a pop anymore now that I can take plane for $40 in and be there in an hour.

For those of you who might be interested in early cartoons I have a link here that might be of interst. Last night I was going through Googles new video section and came across this war propaganda cartoon. Take some time to watch it and look at all the cleaver ways it deconstructs nazi germany and other figures of that time period. I especially like the storm fighters about half way in. Click to watch: WWII Looney Tunes Propaganda

Enjoy and let me know what you think. Runtime about 3 mins. Thanks Jet Blue ill fly with you anytime.

October passes by

Its been a rainy fall so far and I'm getting a little sick of it. Just when you think that the rain is gone, the next day it begins all over again. I don't know about everyone else but Im ready for snow anything is better than the rain at this point.

This past weekend Heather and I traveled up to the White Mountains in NH. It was a pleasant drive through the New England fall foliage. We stayed at a nice Bed and Breakfast called the Spruce Moose Lodge, nestled in the backwoods of North Conway. Not to far from my favorite store called Zebs. This general store is a must if your up in those parts full of gourmet dips, jams, and sauces. I only left with a bit of Bloody Mary mix. I have always liked going up north in the fall, the setting up there offers me a great sense of nostalgia. There is something about the small towns that are spread fairly far apart with the remans of the old railroads passing through that really make me feel like i've stepped back into the past. Its a great getaway from the city.

On friday we stopped in a small town called Bartlett for lunch at a small general store which seemed to be the only store for miles. When they say general they mean it, things like live bait in the same cooler as bottled coke and just one or two boxes of every product on the shelf, yet plenty of post cards that seemed quite dated. Fortunately we were hungry because our sandwiches were mostly cold cuts, mine for example contained what seemed like two cans of tuna and Heather had a full turkey on hers but they were tasty and we chose just the right place to eat them. We took our lunch a mile down rt 302 and parked roadside. We childishly walked over an old train bridge that hung over a fairly large rocky river creak that was roaring from all the rain that we have been getting. It was the nicest lunch that I have had in a long long time.

The weather was perfect on friday and we ended it with a nice bottle of champagne by the fireplace in our room. Saturday we walked down to the dining room and were served eggs benedict by the owners and their golden retriever Whitman. It was chilly and we decided to make our way to Mt Washington to see if the summit was open. The day before we stopped at the cog railway to see if it was open but they told us that due to the weather on the summit that the train was only going 2/3rds the way. When we arrived at the base we drove up to the gate and the guard told us that personal vehicles were only allowed half way but the coaches were going up to the top for the last day of the season and that we'd be unwise not to go. We took his recommendation and it was well worth it. Our guide steve was a riot, he was in his early 60's and worked his life as a postal man retired mountain enthusiast. Approaching the summit the snow was unlike snow I had ever seen. Steve explained that the temperatures being still on the warmer side cause the snow to melt slightly during the day and freeze at night. Combined with the wind causes it to form in what I can best describe as leave like crystals that all point in the same direction and stick to anything thicker than a hair growing downwind like sideways icicles except these are frosted with snow. Over all I guess you could say that Heather and I had a great weekend, I just though I would share some of it with you.

Reality Check.. extreme makeover

So what would you see if you came into my apartment on a sunday, a teary-eyed 25yr male eating ice-cream watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition... its a heart warming show with such a positive message. You know I really dont understand why the rest of the networks dont get on the bandwagon and get rid of the Fear Factors bug eating overly endowed wannabe porn stars, Hiltons and other reality shows alike because these reality shows are not what this country needs and basically they SUCK. 16.5 million viewers last time I checked watch Extreme makeover on sundays, meanwhile these other networks scratch their heads and wonder why there ratings are plummeting and advertisers are not paying. Hmm... is it because your old school reality shows SUCK? Let's just take a look at the profitability vs cost and effectiveness equation for a sec. Something that a first grader could understand.


1. Reality show that are based on pointless competitions eating bugs and starving on deserted islands

Cost: not much, cheap to make

Advertiesing Dollars: getting worse, who wants to sponsor that crap

Effectiveness: They make most of us want to vomit. Fear factor depletes the amount of silicone left in the world... sorry if I offend but can they be a little less selective with their female contestants sometimes I think Ron Jeremy must be on staff

Vs.

2. Aspirational Reality shows like Extreme Makeover

Cost: ummm Donated goods by advertisers and viewers... plus lots of volunteers= not much maybe a little more than the alternative

Advertising Dollars: Well for one they get the most viewers on a sunday night... so lots of advertisers with deep pockets plus they donate things to the show for product placement and because of the shows format of making homes increases the production value... and a result more viewers cry from overwhelming extreme emotions and want to shop at sears. Oh yah by the way some needy family gets a home!!! and bugs dont have to die and no one vomits.

Effectiveness: Tuff one ha kids? so for the answer... Well I dont remember what they called it in math class because i never paid attention but its definitely off the scale. Everybody wins!!! the network the advertisers the people in the show and their families plus the viewers eat lots of Ben and Jerry's go to bed have sex and sleep well... jeez what a country this would be if only there were more shows like this.




So if any of you big wigs at the big network get around to opening your eyes and take in a little reality tv you might realize that its not even close to REAL. In reality people dont force themselves to eat bugs, starve themselves or shove there hands up a cows ass... I mean what kind of viewers do you think your attracting.. most likely ones whom your advertisers dont care to spend their money on. So on that note lets all hope that reality TV is gone forever and that more people can have fancy homes and have lots of great sex.

goodnight


Note: Network Share holders please consider me as the next big wig. I have a much better sense of reality. and your board of trusties need a Extreme makeover

Sunshine

Just thought with all the rain we have been getting here in the Northeast that I would post a little sunshine from my vacation early this past summer.

Five Classic Films

I wanted to share five silent films pre 1930 that I think are must see's even if you aren't a film buff. I promise you'll be glad you sat through them.

1. The Man With the Movie Camera (Vertov 1929)
2. Metropolis (Lang)
3. The Last Laugh (Murnau)
4. The Gold Rush (Chaplin)
5. Nanook of the North (Flaherty 1922) Note: this is a long film but really important to the rise of early documentary.

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Mac Lovers

I just thought that I would share with you Apples newest coolest addition to the mac. You can now buy TV shows for you Itunes for 1.99. Thats much better than Netflix in my opinion since I usually watch a lot of the popular shows on DVD like 24 and Curb Your Enthusiasm ... Check it out at Apple

Advertising America

Just in case you have not driven cross country lately let me tell you about the latest trend in Advertising. Its not secret that Americans love there country and that that post 9/11 you can drive cross country and rarely see a overpass without an American flag centered over the highway not to much wrong with that since it is a tribute to those lost in the WTC's but in other ways we have gone to far. Trust me I just drove 3000 miles and I saw that same trend as far west as colorado .

So what is the next step for Americas-ego. Well as I drove though Stanford CT last week my freind and I could not ignore the huge billboard advertising our country, a billboard for America. No better way to do it in three phrases... it looked something like this

I I

I Superbowl I

I Supersize I

I Superman I

I America I

So now when you think of america you think of line-backers and bud-lite advertisements of the super-bowl oh and ozzy osbourne popping out of an oversized football helmet. As well as overpaid... super giant corporations, organizations and franchises that seem to find new ways of ruining sports more and more every-year


Super-sized ... this is the truth.... FAT FAT FAT americans did we mention that we are fat, lazy and full of Mc'ds, who drink big gulps while smoking turkish cigarettes. so super-sized that we stand still on people movers and escalators because we are so damn lazy!!!! and would probably buy anything that says "no exercise needed loose weight" with an disclaimer at the bottom " this product cant guarantee that it does not support terrorism" yah super-sized what a great representation of the over all population.

Oh and Finally superman... A country obsessed with Penile enlargement... Viagra popping, womanizing, sexually empowered men...not that im a feminist by any means but what kind of message does this sign give to everyone... that we are just super obsessed with everything powerful? Or is it just our inability to take life with a grain of salt ... im surprised that they didnt put SuperPower, supermodel and supermarket that pretty much sums up the entire infrastructure of this country... i dont mean to sound so anti america but come on people this is not the way we should be representing our country.... i think we should stick to the flags and leave the symbolism and labeling up to the individual...

Vegas Photos

Utah... nothing but road

Vegas

Leaving for vegas tomorrow, sounds crazy but im driving there with my good friend Dan who has decided to move there. I don't think I would want to live on the surface of the sun although the Vegas part sounds great. I'm excited because believe it or not its my first time out west. Ill be back on tuesday... later. I wish I owned a laptop so that I could blog along the way. Hmm that probably seems a little obsessive.