Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Blogging Tips I Should Follow

Last night I was eating dinner with my wife and we were talking about her work. She mentioned something and it got me thinking about what a great blog entry that would make. Sadly I can't remember what my great idea was to save my life. Literally, if some one put a gun to my head they would have to shoot me because I can't figure out what I thought of in that moment. So my blogging tip for the day: Write down any good ideas you have for a blog entry. Of course at the time I didn't have a pen or paper so I am not sure how I would written it down. Of course while writing the previous sentence I realized I have a notepad feature on my phone so I really have no excuse. Does anyone have any tips for creating an awesome blog?

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Myspace...To whom I bid farewell

I just cancelled my account with Myspace. I can't say that I am sad to see it go, mostly because I haven't seen it in over a year. Thanks for all the good times...you know all those men and women emailing me to look at their other profiles on websites that didn't have nudity restrictions. Yeah I miss that...not. Facebook is getting there though so I am looking for the next big social networking site. I am thinking www.callyourfriendsandmeetthemforsocialouttings.com should be good enough.

Myspace Blog 2

7-18-08 posting from Myspace

This is just a random blog about my thoughts.


I listen to the radio almost all day long while I am at work. Lately there is a radio commercial that has been cracking me up every time I hear it. I understand that probably no one else will find this funny. The sonic commercials are becoming well known for their two guys or guy and girl in a car routine discussing the newest product. The radio commercials introduce an extra character. This extra character advertises specifically to the couple in the car, either two guys or guy/girl. In all the radio commercials the special advertising character is always a stereotypical something.


Now that you have been set up, in the latest sonic radio AD the guy/girl combo are enjoying the new sausage biscuit dippers, when a stereotypical TV salesperson starts in with "hello folks, this is Jeff Frank Steve Stuart here to tell you about the amazing new Sonic Sausage Biscuit Dippers." The guy in the commercial says something like, "oh Sonic must have hired a stereotypical TV salesperson," when the girl interjects, "hush I trying to hear what Jeff Frank Steve Stuart has to say." This is the funniest part. First, that the stereotypical TV salesperson has only first names for all FOUR parts of his name, and secondly the female character is mesmerized by the salesperson and has instantaneously remembered the four first nondescript names named salesman. This is hilarious to me.


The next commercial that has been on my mind is a commercial issued by the Catholic Coalition of Bishops or something like that. The commercial emphasizes marriage and what it takes to make it last. The commercial begins with "What have you done for your marriage today?" It is followed by real testimonies of individuals and what they do for their spouse. They range from took the kids out so the wife could have a day to herself to "wow, I have no idea what I've done for my marriage." Because it is supposedly real audio from street interviews I am constantly amazed by the tone the voice carries. The ones that haven't done anything for their marriage often sound like they just realized how stupid they've been for not doing anything. On the other side, those that have done something for their spouse always sound hopeful for years to come or confident in their marriage.


When I am listening to this commercial, I always am reminded that something like 50% of first marriages end in divorce and 60% of second marriages for one spouse end in divorce, and still again 77% of third marriages end in divorce. With these statistics, I wonder how many of those people on the commercial will be divorced. However, while I am not doctrinally aligned with the Catholics I am glad that there are large campaigns fighting against divorce, by emphasizing that marriages take work and intentional acts of love to make them work.


Myspace Blog Entries... From the past.

7-21-08 Posting from Myspace

So, earlier I posted a blog about two commercials, and this blog will continue my commentary on commercials.

There is a new radio commercial by FORD. The commercial starts out in this booming voice that declares, "BE AMERICAN!!! BUY AMERICAN!!!" I am completely offended by this statement. Maybe I am just over reacting and maybe this means I am not American, but I don't like the Ford Company calling me un-American because I choose to drive a Toyota. Now, I must clarify that I drive a Pontiac which is an "American Made" car. I previously owned a PT Cruiser and a Ford Taurus. Chrysler was an American company that sold to a German Company that has relinquished the majority share of ownership to a private American Company. So, I drive American made cars but the part of this that really bothers me is FORD IS TELLING ME I AM UNAMERICAN FOR NOT BUYING FORD, GM, etc.

Get this. On July 01, 2008 Cars.com released an index of the top ten cars that are made with American made products, products bought in America, manufactured in America, sales, etc. Ford only has two cars on the Top Ten List of cars that are "American made." Now, I will be fair and say the Ford F-150 is the number one American made car, but it still is not completely composed of American made parts. The F-150 is only 80% American made products.

I guess what I am saying is, can Ford really claim that it is un-American to buy a Toyota Tundra that is 75% American made content when many of the Fords out there have less than 75% American products.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Insert Title Here!

I was reading some blogs today (video game blogs) and they all had something in common, titles. Take a second for that to sink in. Okay I realize all blog posts have a title, but these titles were witty, eye catching, and relevant to the blog. This is something I wish I could do. I went scavaging through the multiple (sighs) posts I have made and feel as though the titles leave something to be desired. Maybe I am self-deprecating and they are awesome; regardless, I have been inspired to be a better titler...namer...bestower of blog titles...maybe I should work on my vocab first.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Radio Ads

So I listen to secular radio (gasp), and my favorite station is 96.5 The Mountain, Chattanooga's No. 1 Hit Music Station. Besides playing Chattanooga's hit music they also play...wait for it...advertisements. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I love commercials. I think they are a great look into our culture, but sometimes they are so absurd it is funny. Netflix's has recently (>1yr) released a series of commercials that spoof game shows. It is a question and answer style show where they ask absurd questions and receive absurd answers. All this lead up to the final question that reveals you can stream netflix to your Wii. Some are funny and some are just absurd.

Q. If a tree is cut down in Brooklyn,...
And before he finishes, the guy answers....
A. A sprout pops up in New Jersey?

Q: A dog goes ahead in time and bites his tail. When does he feel it?
A: Yesterday.

Q. If Jack and Jill went up the hill, then where is Fred?
A. Milwaukee?

Q:If a triangle is happy and a square is sad, what is a rectangle?
A: Diassapointed.

Q: What is the inverse of January 12?
A: September 22nd 9pm eastern!

Q. If pie is in the sky, where's cake?
A. A distant meadow

Q. If a rhombus has four sides, what is the inverse of blue?
A. Purple

Q. Three guys walk into a bar. Who has the monkey?
A. Guy number 3!

Q. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what does a pear do?
A. Prevents hard feelings.

Q. What is the square root of Orange?
A. Uhhh...Turquoise?

And now for the bonus round.
Q. If Mary had 10 sheep.... what did Jimmy have?
A. A silly salamander.

Salamander...wipes tears away...