Who annoys you?

There have been, and are, many actors who don't really act. They just play themselves in different roles. In many cases this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Clint Eastwood comes to mind. Oh, he's tried to expand his range, and I like most of his movies, but he's really the same character in most of his movies. On the comedic side, Jim Carey is another one. He's shown some range, but many of his movies are the same act. But, at least he's funny.

Then there are those who can't seem to be anything but the same character over and over and over again . . . and it's annoying. For me, Will Ferrell is the worst offender. Adam Sandler is another one. But in his case, his movies are just retarded more than anything. Getting close is Jack Black.

Another one? Ben Stiller. And I'm not the only one who thinks so:

I Hate Ben Stiller.

Who annoys you?

Public Service Announcement

Well, summer is finally here and it's time, once again, for flip flops.

No, not the John Kerry kind, the annoyingly noisy and visually disturbing footwear kind.

People. Flips flops are for around the house, at the beach, and for little kids. Girls, mostly. They are not for the work place. The sound they make when people walk is annoying. Plus . . . few people's feet should be seen, let alone, heard.

Say no to flip flops.

And guys . . . don't get me started.

Bad things can happen when you do stupid things

The popular "Batman the Ride" rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia remained closed Sunday while authorities continued investigating the death of a teenager who jumped over two fences and was struck by the ride.

The 17-year-old South Carolina teen who died was identified as Asia Leeshawn Ferguson, of Springfield, S.C. He was on a church outing when the incident occurred about 2 p.m. Saturday. It was the second Batman ride-related death at the Cobb County park.

According to police and the amusement park, Ferguson and a friend climbed over two 6-foot fences -- a wrought-iron style park perimeter fence and a second chainlink fence around the Batman ride -- as a shortcut to get back into the park after lunch. Signs about 40 to 50 feet apart on the outer fence warn that it is a "restricted area" for "authorized personnel only."

According to park officials, a sign on a locked gate at the chain link fence also reads "Danger zone" and "Do not enter."

Ferguson was decapitated when the ride struck him, police said.

I think at 17 one knows how to read and comprehend, knows right from wrong, and knows that when you ignore safety warning you put yourself at risk.

Tough to know what to say about this. It's tragic, no question. But why these boys (young men, really) were jumping the fence in the first place in spite of the obvious hazards is beyond me.

Lawsuit? My guess . . . yes.

No "re-do's" please!

My daughter informed us the other day that she really doesn't like re-do's when it comes to dinner. That is, left overs. She likes something different each day.

Cute kid.

I only play a tough guy on TV

I posted at Milwaukeean Rhapsody about the Bronze Fonz . . . how I didn't really mind the statue but wished that Henry WInkler was less of a weenie than what he actually is. That got me thinking . . . who else plays a "tough guy" in movies or on TV that is actually a weenie in real life?

Well, Winkler, for sure.

How about Corbin Bernsen?

Pierce Brosnan?

Anyone else?

It's Just a Penny!

The County Board approved a measure that would put to referendum a hike in the sales tax of one cent. This has come up and been tried before. But, Scott Walker has always vetoed the measure. I actually wish he would let it go to referendum. Maybe then the County Board would see NO ONE wants an increase in the sales tax. What's interesting, and dubious, is that the board says there would be a savings on a person's property tax as a result of this. From JSonline:

The sales tax would yield property tax savings of about $165 a year on a Milwaukee home worth $150,000, according to backers of the proposal. The estimate was based on substituting sales tax revenue for the $67 million the county now spends in property taxes on parks, transit and emergency medical services.

“Parks” is broadly defined to include recreation and cultural institutions the county supports, including the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Supervisor Joseph Rice said the referendum language was misleading and that supervisors couldn’t guarantee the property tax relief would continue in the future. Supervisor Christopher Larson said the tax relief was plainly stated in the referendum question.

“The voters should trust us that that’s what we’re going to do because that’s what it says,” Larson said.

"Trust us"?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Catching my breath)

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Jenkins Jaguar

Someone needs to tell the folks at Jenkins Jaguar that pronouncing jaguar here in America is two syllables, 'jag, wär. Not with three syllables as is often done by the British. Pronouncing it with three syllables with an american accent sounds idiotic.

Speaking of hypocrites

To get a perspective: Alaska has a population about the size of the nation's capital. But you could squeeze California into Alaska almost four times. Those who fear that Alaska is neglected in the matter of federal wildlife preservation are reminded that 60 percent of the official wilderness areas of the United States are in Alaska. ANWR is way over on the northeastern side of the state, about the size of South Carolina. What the oil industry is asking for is access to 2,000 acres, an area no bigger than Dulles Airport. "This footprint would be 50 times smaller than the Montana ranch owned by Ted Turner, who helps bankroll efforts to keep ANWR off-limits."

This place also experiences 5 months of daylight and 5 months of darkness. There's also a trillion mosquitoes in the summer, and it's -125 degrees in the winter.

Sounds like paradise.

Turner's a douche.

Iron Man

Am I the only person who thinks Iron Man was so-so? Seems like it. Don't get me wrong, the movie was a lot of fun. The family saw it in a theater in Arizona. My sister paid (thanks, sis!). I likely would have waited for the DVD, but since it was free . . .

I also like Robert Downey Jr. a lot. I think he's a great actor and is doing his best to get his life back together. He pretty much made Iron Man for me. He did great with the role. Gwyneth? Eh. That could have been anyone.

But, all these super hero movies tend to blend in to one another after a while. Hero vs Villain. That's about the depth of the stories with some filler stuff attempting to make it interesting. I liked the first Spiderman. Not so much the second. I haven't seen the third. Now, we still have Hancock and Batman coming out.

How many flippin' super heroes are there?

Midwest Airlines during 911

Chilling:

Book details Midwest flight that nearly collided with 9/11 jet

Conspiracy theorists can check their neurosis at the door.

Thug Mike . . . Guilty On All Counts

Well, THAT didn't take long.

Guess he couldn't get to the jury.

And this is just the Federal case. The State charges are next.

Well, maybe Mike and Snipes can write letters to each other.

NASA and the technicolor spacesuit

Thinking too much about space creeps me out. The fact that we're (earth) just floating here, the vastness of it all, other life . . . you wonder if we'll ever know for sure. Given our life expectancy, it seems improbable. But who knows?

None the less, some amazing things have been accomplished by NASA lately. Whether you think it's a waste of money or not, these projects are amazing.

The first was Project Deep Impact. In short, a space craft was launched that traveled 267 millions miles at a speed of 64, 000 mph for 174 days with a goal to impact a comet about 2 miles wide which is also traveling about 100,000 mph. It was successful, and that's amazing. That took some heavy calculations.

The second is the Mars Phoenix project. I know this isn't the first time we've been to Mars, but it's amazing still. It takes 9 months traveling at 74,000 mph (14,000 relative to Mars) to make the trip. That's one heck of a road trip. Once it enters the atmosphere it must slow to 5 mph to land. Again, I think that amazing.

Cool stuff. The truth is better than fiction.

Heroes . . .

Started taping for the new season.

Yay!

The Barrett Report

Part of the Mayor's Barrett Report had this in it:

Let’s Split the $91.5 million in Transit Money

Right now, the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Wisconsin Center District are exploring ways to finally utilize $91.5 million in long-idle federal money to enhance and upgrade transportation in our community.

County Executive Scott Walker and I have different views on how to spend this money. Scott thinks all of the money should be used for new buses. I believe we should invest in buses; but we should also seize this opportunity to introduce rail transit to Milwaukee. That’s because all across the country, cities of all types and sizes in every region are reaping the enormous economic benefits created by rail systems.

We have been debating how to use this federal money for far too long, with little to show for it. It is time to break the stalemate. I am prepared today to split the $91.5 million with County Executive Walker.

A split would provide the County with money to purchase new buses, and the remaining dollars would be used to fund a starter system that would introduce rail to Milwaukee. Virtually every major American city that is growing features this technology in its transportation system, and rail can do for Milwaukee what it has done for cities across America: spark billions of dollars of economic growth and development.

No doubt, the County Executive and I have different views on transit. But we must end the paralysis and move this community forward. It’s time for Scott and I to simply agree to disagree, split the $91.5 million and invest our respective shares as we each see fit.

Let’s end the stalemate; let’s split the $91.5 million. I am prepared to accept this deal today. If you agree this is a fair and reasonable compromise, e-mail me and County Executive Walker and tell us it’s time to split the money and finally move forward: countyexec@milwcnty.com.

The air must be thinner up where Tom's head is. I can find no other reason for him to continue to pursue this idiotic idea. But more to what he said. First, it's packed full of lies. "Virtually every major city . . . "? Not true. Only a handful are. "Spark BILLIONS of dollars of economic growth"? Where did THAT figure come from. Billions?

Then, of course, he wants us to believe that HE'S being the reasonable one here. HA! Walker knows better. He knows NO ONE wants an ancient means of transportation that continues to die a slow death back as a means of sucking money out of our pockets. Put it to a referendum, Mayor, I dare you. I double dog dare you!

So, email Scott Walker. Please. And tell him to tell Barrett where he can stick his rail.