Superfly Weekend Video

Now this is amazing. I have been watching Basketball since I was a little kid. Some of my first memories of watching it come from when I was around 2 or 3 and we lived in West Richland. My dad would sit in a chair from the dining room table about 5 feet away from the TV and watch sports. The only sports I remember him watching were WWF (Or maybe it was another 80's wrestling association, I don't know for sure.) and basketball. He is the reason for my love of both the Seattle Supersonics and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

So with that being said, I don't think I have ever seen a play like this before. Not in all of my years of playing on the playground. Not in any of the many basketball (High School/College/Pro ) games I have been too, and never on TV. Most of you have heard of an alley-oop play. For those of who are basketball deficient, it is a play where one player throws the ball up in the air, and another player jumps up, catches the ball in mid air, and then proceeds to make the shot. Most of the time the shot ends up being a dunk, but you don't necessarily have dunk it for a successful alley-oop.

I have seen this play 100 times over. But what I haven't seen is a double alley-oop. That is, until now. What is amazing is that this isn't the pros or college. It is a high school game, and from the looks of it not many people were there to actually see it. But because of the wonders of the Internet (More specifically YouTube.) we are able to enjoy it. I wouldn't be surprised if you start seeing this added to playbooks across the country.




Simply Amazing.

Picture of the Day

A frozen Al Gore is 100 times better than a burning Al Gore don’t you think?

 

 

 

http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/jan/19/al-gore-ice-sculpture-unveiled-fairbanks-invitatio/

 

 

Weekend Video

I LOVE this video! Mostly because cell phones are my BIGGEST pet peeve! (Yes, even ahead of extreme environmentalists and owners who put clothing on their animals.) I have always been of the opinion that unless you are a Doctor waiting for a heart to come in via beer cooler so you can transplant it, cell phones should be there for when you need them, not every waking minute of the day!

So next time you see someone being annoying cell phone guy, hopefully there is an open hole in the ground and a squirrel ready to pounce on him and teach him a lesson. (Or girl, this is one of those things that aren’t limited to gender. In fact, the female may be even a worse offender.)

****UPDATE****

Just to be clear, I do believe cell phones are great to have. The only time they bug me is when people do not practice proper cell phone etiquette, like the bozo in the video. And that also goes for texting on cell phones too! (Actually, texting is worse, but the video is some goober making a call, not texting.)

I have a confession

How many of you out there in blog land ever had a musician or music group that you secretly liked, and didn't want anyone to know about it? You know what I am talking about. From the punk rocker who would listen to NSYNC when his buddies aren't around, to the star athelete who would crank up Bach to get pumped up for a big game instead of Metalica, everyone likes some sort of music that doesn't fit into the category that they claim to be their type. I am not immune from this. I secretly listen to an artist who not only has a hit TV show, but has toured the country as two "different" people. Who is this artist that I speak of? (OK, here goes!)

None other than Miley Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana.

I have a feeling you might be asking yourself right now, "Is he being SERIOUS!?!" The answer is yes, I am. Maybe I am a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus fan because I have two girls who adore her and watch her show whenever it is on. Or maybe it is from hearing Alexandra play Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus songs on her Disney Mix it MP3 player. Or maybe (just maybe) I like her because she has actual talent. Not just for singing, but for entertaining.

At first all she did was get on my nerves. I dismissed Hannah Montana as just another tween performer who didn't really have any talent. The show would come on Disney Channel and I would go do something else. The last thing I wanted to do was watch yet another kid show where all the adults act retarded. But then I sat down and watched an episode of the TV show with Alexandra and Lorelai.

To my surprise, the show was actually watchable. The cast is good and blends well together. There are parts of the show that make me laugh. And I would have never thought that Billy Ray Cyrus would have ever been anything other than the achy breaky heart guy. In fact, I watched a whole Hannah Montana show DVD with the girls that they received for Christmas. Yeah, I could have left the room at any time, but I was enjoying the show as much as they were.

Then there are her CD's. Her first Hannah Montana CD (2006) is ok, but is a little too teeny bopper for me. I haven't heard anything off of Hannah Montana 2 (2007) But I do know that she co-wrote 8 of the 10 songs on that CD. Her most recent release, Breakout, is nothing short of amazing. Once again, she co-wrote 8 of the album's 13 songs. How many 15 (now 16) year old kids write their own songs nowadays? I am thinking not very many.

There are few albums out there where almost every song is good, and Breakout is one of them. Cyrus's deep sultry voice rips through songs the way a singer much older and experienced would. The song "These Four Walls" is an instant classic. It is one of those songs that you can put on repeat and listen to over and over again. The same can be said about track 3, "The Driveway." Her version of the Cyndi Lauper classic "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is a great remake, and the songs "See You Again" and "Breakout" are two that sound great cranked up in the car. About the only song that I didn't care for on the Breakout albume was the eco-wacko "Wake Up America." I may enjoy her music, but the last thing I want is for ANY artist to preach to me about global warming bullcrap.

There you have it. My secret is out. But then again, that is OK with me. It isn't like I really care about what people think anyway.

So if a day arrives where my girls come up and ask if their daddy can take them to a Miley Cyrus concert, even though I will have to pretend that it is the last thing I would want to do, inside I will be stoked that I get to hear a good singer, and not some teeny bopper hack job.

The Wonders of A.M. Radio

As most of you are well aware, I listen to a lot of talk radio.  This means that I am pretty knowledgeable about what plays on which stations.  Here in the Tri-Cities, there are really only 4 A.M. stations that are worth your time.  610 KONA, 870 KFLD, 960 KALE, and 1340 KTCR are the only ones that have anything worth listening to.  Well, and they are the only ones that don’t sound like a record that has been dragged through a rock quarry.

 

So with only 4 stations to keep me occupied, sometimes I like to have a little fun on my drive home from work.  Maybe everybody knows this, but once night falls, the A.M. dial drastically changes.  Stations known as ‘Clear Channels’ that during the day can only be heard in their respective local areas become A.M. powered blow torches at night.  So right around the time it starts getting dark out, stations that are referred to as ‘Local’ or ‘Regional’ are required by law to power down.  Of course this in turn makes it possible to tune into the clear channel stations that are hundreds of miles away.  This my friends is where my fun begins.  I will scour the A.M. dial looking for far away stations to listen to.  Some I can get to come in for a minute or two, and they are lost to static.  But there are three that I have found that I can tune in to every night.

 

The first station that I discovered was KSL 1160 out of Salt Lake City, which is a little more than 625 miles from good ol’ Kennewick.  This station is mostly just news, weather, and traffic updates.  What I enjoy most out of this station is the traffic updates.  Now I have driven in Utah many times, and I am here to tell you, it isn’t the roads or the congestion on the roads you have to worry about.  It is crazy SLC driver man/woman.

 

You have all seen this person before.  They would pass you on a one lane road with no shoulder.  They will be driving at 85 MPH in a 60 MPH zone, slam on their brakes to look at an accident that happened on the other side of the highway, and then speed back up again like it is totally normal to drop from 85 down to 35 and back up to 85 again.  A lane change in SLC isn’t the usual one lane change like it is in the rest of the country.  It is a “cut across 4 lanes and skim the water buckets in front of the exit so you can make it to the Jazz game on time to watch them get their butts handed to them by the L.A. Lakers again” lane change.  I have driven in several metropolitan areas, and even though SLC might be the smallest of them, it by far has the most insane drivers.  So that is why I tune into KSL from time to time.  Nothing like hearing on the radio, “We have a 5 car pileup on MLC drive to watch out for.  Apparently all 5 drivers were texting to one another about how they heard that Marylyn Manson is LDS.”  Ahh, good ol’ Utah.

 

The next station that I check from time to time is KFBK 1530 out of Sacramento.  KFBK is even further away from Kennewick, a whole 683 miles away.  KFBK is a lot like KSL.  It is a news/weather/traffic station.  I actually don’t listen to this one very often, and the main reason is because nothing ever exciting happens on their traffic reports.  I just may be because there aren’t enough Utah people living there.

 

The third station that I tune into is by far my favorite.  It is a whopping 1065 miles away!  I really have no idea how I even pick this up as clearly as I do.  The station I am referring to is KFI 640 out of Los Angeles.  While this station is like the ones listed above (news/weather/traffic) it has actual shows on the air.  In the morning I can listen to Bill Handel, and for the drive home I can tune into The John and Ken Show, which is the most listened to local talk show in the nation.  And of course more often than not, you get some great traffic updates. Updates like, “Naked man running down the Santa Monica Freeway waving a machete and decrying the fact that his Ralphs store ran out of toilet paper” or “Man throws mistress out of car when he finds out she is cheating on him.”  And then there are the police chases.  Of course these are always better watching them live on TV, but there is something that gets me going when I am driving home here in Washington State, and I can hear about a police chase in Riverside or West Covina.

 

So next time you are driving at night, scan your A.M. dial, and see what you can find.  You might be surprised at what actually comes in. 

El Donaldo is back in the blogosphere!

23 long days, and no posts I have done. And while it felt pretty good to have a break from the blogging world, I feel it is now the time to reenter. Just a couple things are on my mind at the moment, so here goes.

#1. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

2008 was a crazy year wasn't it? You had the financial and housing markets crashing (still), the Unites States electing a crazy Socialist to be our fearless leader, (Actually, I don't know if he has formed a committee yet to decide if he is going to be fearless or not.) Michael Phelps rewriting the history books in the world of Olympic competition, the birth of El Donaldo blogo, man made global warming further proved to be a hoax, American bad ass Charlton Heston dying in April, and many other events that made this year both a year to remember as well as a year to flush down the toilet and forget about.

I am looking forward to 2009 for many reasons. And while I do doubt Mr. Obama's skills, I pray that he can guide this country in a good direction. Using Clinton sloppy seconds for his staff isn't a good start, but hey, what can you do?

#2 (And only because it comes after the end of 2008.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A SPECIAL SOMEONE

I would like to take the time to wish a Happy 29th Birthday to my lovely wife Lisa. I can honestly say that I would be totally lost without her in my life, both mentally and spiritually. Most of you know about her and her amazing talents from reading her blog, but for those of you who don't, (HA! Who am I really kidding here??? I get 99 percent of my readers FROM her! The other 1 percent happen upon me by clicking the "next blog" button at the top of the page.) be sure to pay her a visit. I can pretty much guarantee you won't go away disappointed.

I love you Lisa, and wish you the best these days leading up to the big 3-0. Or as the SoCal barbie puts it....29 and holding...

#3 THE INDOCTRINATION OF MY CHILDREN IS ANNOYING!!!

Today before church Lorelai was playing a Curious George game on the PBS Kids! website. Now I have seen her play on there countless times, but this time I noticed that she was playing a different game than usual. It went like this: C.G. had some crap that he had to get rid of. He could either throw it in the recycling bin, the compost heap, or a Goodwill bag. I just want to know one thing. Are garbage cans considered evil outside of my house? I mean c'mon...I can't even throw away a sock with the heel worn out because Goodwill wants it??

Now I get it. Recycling is not a bad thing. I personally do not do it, but I am 100 percent fine for others to do it. Same with compost heaps. If you (or some hippie that you might be acquainted with.) want to place putrid waste in some pile in your backyard, be my guest. More power to ya. And while I am a firm believer in donating to Goodwill, (Three words: TAX WRITE-OFF) I don't want some computerized monkey force feeding ideas into my child's head.

You see, back in the late 60's early 70's many kid shows on the air such as this and this show where they were for entertainment value only. Of course Sesame Street revolutionized children shows by integrating lessons into the show. But nowadays, these kid shows are not interested in teaching my girls their ABC's and 123's. Instead they want to brain wash them into thinking that if you do not do things such a recycling and composting and trying to "save the planet" that you are somehow not a good person.

And that is the reason why I steer my girlies to the Boomerang network. I would rather have them enjoying classic shows such as (but not limited to) The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, Pink Panther, Smurfs, Tom and Jerry, and even though I personally do not care for it, (But Lex and Lor love it!) Scooby Doo. All classic shows that every child should know like the back of their hand. And no preaching about how CFL light bulbs are soo much better than incandescent bulbs. Although we all know those bulbs suck. Who wants that crappy light in their house anyways?

There you go. My first post of 2009. It feels good to be back. I can't wait to get back in the blogging groove again. With that being said, watch a new blog coming your way. It is a joint effort between me and this guy. What are we going to write about you ask? Well, lets just say that once we have it up and running, you will see no more political posts here on El Donaldo.

Once S and M gets started, we will be eating liberals and crapping out hippies. It should be a lot of fun!!