Post #100

On TV last night, Howie Mandel and his models (of which I think my wife could definitely be one) held their 100th episode of the hysterical "Deal or No Deal." What makes it funnier is watching The Son as he imitates Howie when he says "open the case."

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing except this is our 100th post here at Exit 55. That's about it.

Let me take you back a little over a week to my tribute to my late coworker Sheila, when I said the following:

My worst fear has come true in that it was suggested that I sit at her desk beginning next week. Not to overstate this, but it would be like, say, Miguel Cairo taking over Thurman Munson’s locker. I’m just a temp, and a very small part of the promotions department...

Bingo! The move is effective tomorrow, and it seems likely that it will be the final move here in New Rochelle for me. I would think that I will moving on as soon as they find Sheila's replacement. Incidentally, I could be Sheila's replacement but all parties seem to feel that I'm overqualified. I'm hoping to get about another month here. As for sitting at Sheila's desk, I'm coming to terms with it because I don't really want to fight it. I'll let you all debate what you feel about it. I'm just going to deal with it. It's not a criticism of anybody here - it's more of a personal concern.

I guess Post 100 can't go by without me saying a few quick thank you's. Like I said when I first started the blog, I had been thinking about writing for some time and got inspired by some friends, including Sean Kilkelly and Matt Hamilton. It's been fun and there have been good times and bad times. There have been times where maybe I was too whiny, or too personal, but I said I'd try to be me here. Believe me when I say that I've also held back a lot of things.

Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of this - from my family to my friends to the friends who I have made (like Tim Parry) as a result of Exit 55.

Lastly for every time I've called a post "Off the Bench", you can thank my great friend Harold. He knows why...

Enough - it's only 100. Let's move on.

In terms of overall annoyances, is there anything worse than the common cold? I was overdue to get one, but still, it's a pain.

I mentioned a song that grabbed my attention recently as a result of listening to Captial 95.8 in London. That song, ironically, was named "Sheila" by Jamie T. Capital has become part of my regular listening habit (even though I don't think we're supposed to be listening to it on the web in the US). Anyway, they have an evening show hosted by BamBam, with a cast that includes Streetboy, Craig the Engineer, and a TV game show host (the Brits call them "presenters") named Kat Shoob. It's quite entertaining listening, and they have their own MySpace pages - one for the BamBam show, and one for Kat Shoob. For purposes of full disclosure, I will tell you that Ms. Shoob posed in the UK's Maxim magazine. While she's definitely easy on the eye, I've never quite gotten that kind of fascination, so I'm content with The Wife, thank you very much.

I really don't get that "he/she makes me so hot that my significant other and I have agreed that he/she is the one person that I could cheat on my significant other with" concept. Guess that's why I've never been to a strip club either. I just don't see the point.

As you've probably noticed, I'm a bit of a music fan. I also enjoy a good debate about these idiotic lists that exist. Well here we go again. While at Costco the other day, The Wife spotted the legendary CD "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys. The CD is being released as part of a series called The Definitive 200, presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My interest piqued, I couldn't help but wonder what else was on the definitive 200. Have a look, and bring something to clean up the mess with, because you'll need it after you vomit.

We could complain about the ranking of the albums but I can't even get upset about that. What made me nauseous was the albums that were included in the first place. First of all, this is presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we can argue about the semantics of what is "rock and roll." With that said, we can start cutting the list (Norah Jones Come Away With Me just for an example, which is a CD that I like but it is *NOT* rock and toll). What's putrid to me are the mention of artists like Kenny G on a "definitive" album list. Where's Clay Aiken then, if we're really going to go for things that might...um...suck?

Damn. I've been trying to be more tolerant of music and my world. That can be the only reason that I would consider going to see 311 in concert. Either that or I just want to kill myself. Actually my goal (if it happens) is to see if they have any two songs that don't sound the same.

Double damn. I'm doing it again.

Anyway, any list that actually has Faith Hill's Breathe listed higher than Johnny Cash's Live At Folsom Prison is inherently flawed.

I've given you, the loyal reader, virtually nothing in terms of my road talk. Look up at that description, and "roads" is among the many things that I said would get the Exit 55 treatment. Perhaps I haven't done it because while I have discovered that there are many road geeks on the internet, it's still a unique hobby. The wife, conversely, is into stamping (cards, invitations and the like). She likes such types of crafts, and often picks on herself for doing so. Then I come back with "I take pictures of roads signs, so I have no right to say anything." That normally works.

Sometimes I think about putting up a second blog, just dedicated to roads but I don't really want to go that route (get it? Roads...Route! HAH!). That's why I label every post. If you decide that you don't feel like reading about a topic, then move along.

Still, the bottom line is that I think my road fascination is a little embarrassing. But I guess I'll give this the full on treatment soon - with pictures, why I enjoy it, and some other sites that I visit on the topic.

Back over at Capital (that's 95.8 FM in London), the BamBam gang (2:00-5:00 PM New York time) are asking people to text on how they want the Harry Potter books to end. They're asking for one word - "Happy" or "Dead." So what do you say?

Personally, I think Harry will move into the adult film industry.

Scary stuff in New Jersey, and this is just going to keep happening. Quoting from the story on CNN:

The federal government has charged six alleged "Islamic radicals" with plotting to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey. The six were arrested Monday night, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said in a statement. "Their alleged intention was to conduct an armed assault on the army base and to kill as many soldiers as possible," the office said.

Again, these are the things that we hear about. What aren't we hearing about? I shudder to think about another September 11th, and yet we all have to think about it, if only to remain alert and vigilant.

This is the world we brought a child into?

Is it me, or is Mitt Romney beginning to look like the safest bet on the Republican ticket for 2008? I don't know what the heck the Dems can offer, which is not to say that they can't win, because they obviously can. There are plenty of people willing to buy into Clinton or Obama. I'm just not one of them. I'm not against voting for a Democrat if they're the best person for the job.

OK, gas is just flat our of control. In Mahopac, the cheapest gas is $3.21. I'm not going to try to be smart enough to tell you the political reasons behind this, but the bottom line is that we, the consumer, are getting screwed, as usual.

I like to drive, and I want to do some road trips, so these prices have got to come down. Richmond, Maine, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania are all on the agenda, if we can get there. Plus I want to do some local road trips.

The tornadoes in Kansas reminded me that Mother Nature is really pissed off with us, isn't she? Didn't we learn from those Chiffon Margarine commercials in the '70s? "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature", was the tag line. Well who the hell fooled her because she is one angry woman.

Jokes aside, it was horrible to see an entire town wiped out. Sad.

Sounds like there might be a chance that Bob Costas would consider the Imus chair. I still can't see it, but perhaps I was wrong when I said that Costas taking the job was "not happening."

Gotta finish with a funny. NBC ran one of those "best of" shows the other night of Saturday Night Live in the 1990's. They were painful times for the mighty SNL, but the fact is that some huge stars came out of there during that period - Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Molly Shannon, David Spade, and Will Farrell, to name a few. There were also some funny characters and catch phrases. Yet for sheer hilarity, few things seem to make laugh as hard as "Celebrity Jeopardy." For those who know me, I will compare my level of laughter to Beavis and Butthead during the "Cornholio" segments or any time I watch Dennis Miller. Yes, that hard. To the point of not being able to breath.

I leave you with that as we say adios.