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  1. Happy April Fool’s Day, Mitt Romney

    April 2, 2012 by editor

    Who did you prank on April Fool’s Day yesterday? Forbes pranked Presidential-hopeful Mitt Romney on Sunday morning, running an article on the news company’s website stating that Romney had dropped out of the race, and further, that he is now endorsing Rick Santorum. Just goes to show that on the day of fools, you can’t trust anybody–let alone the media! Ehab Zahriyeh of the New York Daily News reported,

    “April fool’s pranks are sometimes easy to detect as we expect a blitz of them from all angles, but that task proved to be difficult for Google News and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

    Google’s sophisticated aggregation failed to notice a Forbes article, “Romney Drops Out of Race, Endorses Santorum,” was a spoof, and had it lead their top breaking- news headlines. Forbes magazine eventually took the prank off its site, moving the article off of Google News’ top spot, Mashable reported.

    The blog-site Gawker was able to capture a screen-grab of Google’s mishap before the article disappeared.

    While Mitt Romney has been campaigning for the Presidency for some six years, he might have thought his efforts have been for naught when his campaign staff pranked him on Sunday.”

    To read the rest of the NY Daily News article about how Romney got april fooled, click here.

    Nicely done, Forbes. Nicely done. Even though the article only ran for about a half hour, someone over at that office had some major cojones to run that story. In the spirit of April fools, I tip my cap to them although will probably be getting my news from other sources besides Forbes from now on every April 1st.

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  2. James Cameron Visits the Mariana Trench: the Deepest Place in the World

    March 26, 2012 by editor

    The guy who we know as having directed film greats such as “Avatar” and “Titanic” lived out his own real-life adventure over the weekend. James Cameron traveled in a one-person submarine down into the 7-mile deep Mariana Trench, an underwater canyon 120 times bigger than the Grand Canyon and over a full mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Do I sense that his next film might just take place in the ocean and involve some of the strange deep-sea creatures he may encounter in his dive? Ker Than of National Geographic reported live from Guam when Cameron touched down at the bottom of the trench:

    “At 5:52 p.m. ET Sunday (7:52 a.m. Monday, local time), James Cameron arrived at the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep, members of the National Geographic expedition have confirmed.

    His depth on arrival: 35,756 feet (10,898 meters)—a figure unattainable anywhere else in the ocean.

    Reaching bottom, the National Geographic explorer and filmmaker typed out welcome words for the cheering support crew waiting at the surface: “All systems OK.”

    Folded into a sub cockpit as cramped as any Apollo capsule, the National Geographic explorer and filmmaker is now investigating a seascape more alien to humans than the moon. Cameron is only the third person to reach this Pacific Ocean valley southwest of Guam (map)—and the only one to do so solo.”

    To read the rest of this remarkable article about Cameron’s deep sea dive into the Mariana Trench, click here.

    That move takes major cojones. No one on the planet has ever performed a solo dive of that depth before, and I don’t know about you guys, but am I the only one who would be sent into fits of claustrophobia being cramped into a tiny sub the size of “an Apollo capsule”? James Cameron, you are indeed the man.

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  3. Review: Balboa Island and Balboa Bars

    March 24, 2012 by editor

    One of my childhood’s great memories was getting a balboa bar on Balboa Island.

    It is a square ice cream bar on a stick rolled in sprinkles.

    Photo Courtesy of janet-cottageblessings.blogspot.com

    Tonight I got to entertain two young girls and their young hot mommy.
    So, I took them to Balboa Island.

    We went on a great adventure and walked all the way around the island,
    which takes about an hour at a slow pace. Along the way we were followed
    by a cat, walked on piers, saw a dog that looked like a bear, and had to explain
    why we were not going to the carousel across the water.

    I did get to explain to the mommy how my grandparents used to go to the balboa pavilion
    dancing in the 1930′s.

    So, after the walk we stopped for a snack.

    I shared a frozen banana with the mommy, and the kids got candied apples.
    Candied apples have never appealed to me, but they loved them.

    I have finally realized as an adult the advantage to the frozen banana over the balboa bar.
    It is healthier, and digest faster. LOL

    As a kid the frozen banana sucked because you could not bite into it.
    Literally it took be 47 years to realize that if you wait a while, it warms up
    and bananas are not that hard when defrosted. Also the banana keeps the chocolate cold.

    Mine was a frozen banana dipped in hot chocolate and rolled in chocolate sprinkles.

    I know the chocolate was not organic, and probably had vanillan (an aritificial flavor, and palm kernal oil, a cheap hard to digest oil), but my justification is that I don’t do it often, and most of it was a banana!

    It was cold, very few people, and breathtaking.

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  4. Hunger Games Boasts Record-Breaking Sales

    March 21, 2012 by editor

    And you thought that people were banging down the door when “Twilight” hit theaters. According to Crystal Bell of the Huffington Post, “The Hunger Games” has sold 2,000 tickets so far in its pre-sale, which tops the pre-sale of even the “Twilight” saga. The film is definitely living up to the tried and true supply-and-demand theory–the less of something there is, the more that people want it. And in this case, the film really does look bitchen’. The Huff Post article reads,

    “It may not come out until March 23, but “The Hunger Games” is already breaking records.

    The highly anticipated big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel has sold out nearly 2,000 screens in its pre-sale, Fandango announced on Tuesday. The online-ticketing company said the film is already accounting for 92 percent of its daily sales at the moment, and has surpassed the first “Twilight” film’s pre-sales numbers.

    The epic cinematic tale is currently on track to rank among Fandango’s top five advance ticket-sellers of all time — a group that is currently dominated by “The Twilight Saga.” “

    To read the rest of the article, go here.

    Unlike any of the “Twilight” flicks, I might actually go and see this one. For one thing I hear that though there is some romance in “Hunger Games,” it’s about 300% less than in any of the vampire movies. Oh, and another weighing factor–”Hunger Games” isn’t just for teenage girls :)

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  5. Daylight Savings Time Sunday, March 11

    March 8, 2012 by editor

    Guys, is it just me, or does Daylight Savings Time seem super early this year? If you didn’t know, Congress actually changed the date a couple years back to add some more “daylight saving time” to our yearly calendar. Score. It does make it feel like 2012 is flying by, but hey I’m not going to complain about some extra daytime sunlight. I might need to take a nap on Sunday to make up for my lost hour of sleep. Dangit, I knew there was something I didn’t like about springing forward! Ruth Carr of the Moberly Moniter reports,

    “At 2 a.m. Sunday, March 11, we’ll be springing our clocks forward—and losing an hour of the day, for daylight saving time.
    You may have noticed the annual tradition of daylight saving time has crept forward a bit.

    We used to spring forward on the first Sunday in April and fall back on the last Sunday in October. But a couple years ago, Congress changed the date—adding more daylight saving time to the calendar. This year, it will run from March 11 until Nov. 4. Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands don’t participate.

    Around the world, about 75 countries and territories have at least one location that observes daylight saving time, according to TimeandDate.com. But another 164 don’t observe the time change at all.

    According to the Huffington Post:  Benjamin Franklin has been credited with the idea of daylight saving time, but Britain and Germany began using the concept in World War I to conserve energy, the Washington Post observes. The U.S. used daylight saving time for a brief time during the war, but it didn’t become widely accepted in the States until after the second World War.”

    To read the rest of Ruth’s article in the Moberly Monitor, go here.

    So don’t forget to set the clocks peeps. 2 a.m. on Sunday morning is the official “spring forward” hour, but I’m sure you can get away with setting your clocks Saturday before you turn in for the night. I’m curious, what will everybody be doing with their extra hour of sunlight on Sunday? Me, I’m thinking a good surfing session is in order. I am so ready for spring: bring it!

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  6. Happy Birthday Leap Year Babies!

    February 28, 2012 by editor

    I would like to give a big shout out to the 200,000 people in the US who were born on February 29th and therefor only get a birthday once every four years. I think they deserve some extra love from the people who are born the other 365 days a year, not only because their b-days are so few and far between (a leaper who is 80 years old will have only gotten 20 birthdays,) but because of all the crap they have to deal with using programs that don’t recognize their true birthday as 2/29. And apparently there is quite a bit of confusion and difficulty associated with having a leap year birthday. Barbara Goldberg of Reuters reports,

    “Some people devote their lives to ending world hunger, some to lifting children from poverty, and still others to getting Leap Day the respect it deserves. The cause may seem frivolous but it is not the least bit trivial to leapers, those born on February 29, a date that appears on calendars once every four or sometimes eight years. 

    Leapers face a range of troubles over their birthdays, from computer snafus to police suspicion during traffic stops to hearing about delivery room negotiations to alter their birth certificate to a day earlier or a day later.

    “I’ve had people tell me to my face, ‘Who cares?’” said Raenell Dawn, who with Peter Brouwer in 1997 created The Honor Society for Leap Year Day Babies. The online club for people born on February 29 boasts more than 9,000 members. ”I’ll tell you who cares. One in 1,461 of us do,” Dawn said, citing the chance to be born on Leap Day. There are just over 200,000 leapers in the United States and just under 5 million worldwide, she said.

    Lest non-leapers dismiss leapers’ complaints, leapers point out that salaried employees are working for free this February 29 since paychecks are based on a 365-day year. February 29 is not recognized by some computer services and software programs that power everything from banking to life insurance, Brouwer said.

    “Leap year deniers claim February 29 is an invalid date,” said Brouwer, who said he was told by Crown Life Insurance Co. that March 1 had to be listed on his policy because the company’s computer system balked at his February 29 birthday.”

    To read the rest of Goldberg’s Reuters article, go here.

    I LOVE having birthdays. They are such a great excuse to spend time with friends, laugh, eat great food, enjoy being alive. I’m not sure how I would feel if I was born on the legendary February 29th. Would I pick February 28th or March 1st as my substitute birthday for the other three out of four years? It’s an anomaly that I must admit, is kind of cool–only one in 1,461 people are born on a leap year–but would I want it to be me? Naaah.


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  7. A Great Time in Agoura Hills

    February 16, 2012 by editor

    If you happen to be going to the north end of Los Angeles (LA) or the north end of the Valley and you want an inexpensive beautiful place to stay.  Go a little further north to Agoura hills.  When you get to the area of Agoura hills, LA stops being LA.  It opens up into beautiful rolling hills, the graffiti disappears and the gangs are gone.  You’ve got nothing by space and upscale fancy pants houses.  In this area, surprisingly, is my favorite chain of hotels, The Hampton Inn.

    Hampton Inn and Suites Agoura Hills
    30255 Agoura Road
    Agoura Hills, CA 91301
    818-597-0333


    For a Sunday night I paid $109.  The rooms, like all Hampton Inns, are super comfy, with really soft beds, and a not so bad free breakfast.

    They also had a killer hot tub but I never had a chance to use it.

    If you go about 4 miles north, there is also a necessity for me of survivable food, Whole Foods Market.

    I stayed at the Hampton Inn Saturday night and then on Sunday, I went north to Channel Islands Beach and took a walk south on the beach from Channel Island Harbor.  It was about a mile each way and when you get to the end of it, climb up on the jeti and look down and watch the waves crashing into the rock.  It was just breath taking.

    I was lucky enough because it had rained the day before and the day after.  Sunday was so bright and sunny that even in the middle of February in Oxnard I managed to get a little sunburnt.

    Afterward, I took the grub I grabbed at Whole Foods and went to the Oxnard Beach Park, just north of the harbor right on the ocean.

    In LA County and Ventura County, a lot of the places don’t allow you to barbeque on the beach.  So, having a nice park to do a barbeque in was awesome.

    I brought along a little Masterbuilt portable charcoal kettle grill that I picked up at Home Depot for $20, practically disposable, and barbequed on that along with a bag of Matchlight charcoal.  For the barbeque, I used scallops, shrimp, and 2 kinds of bacon that I picked up at Whole Foods.  I also used bosc pears, papaya, onions, and drenched all of it with tangerine and lime juice after everything was cooked.  I also toasted ciabatta bread.  I hadn’t eaten all day.  So, it was amazing.

    The park is super clean, super safe and the only downside was seagulls.  I had to take multiple trips to take the stuff out of the car and leave it on the picnic table.  As I was approaching the table I noticed there were seagulls starting to stalk my food.  I can see there was a pathway through the park all the way to the sand although I never made it that far.

    Check the weather in advance cause Oxnard tends to be foggy.  I just got lucky that day and ended up with beautiful sun. I also noticed that on the beach we were on there was decent surfing.  I wished I had my board.  I found out that ocean front property there costs about as much as a fancy condo in La Jolla which was very attractive.

    On the way out this morning, Hampton Inn had ‘Breakfast to go’ which I thought was a really cool Idea.  Inside the bag, I believe, they had a yogurt, muffin and a drink.

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  8. Get Ready to Rock

    February 15, 2012 by editor

    When I think of the Bonnaroo Music Festival, I think of it as Coachella for the East coast. However you slice it, it’s a bitchen’ 4-day music festival held in a massive 700-acre Tennessee park, with fresh air, great art, cool people, and tons of rad artists. This year is no different. The Bonnaroo lineup was just released yesterday, with headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, and Phish. The Hollywood Reporter stated,

    “Radiohead, Phish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the reunited Beach Boys will head to Manchester, Tenn. this June for the 2012 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The initial lineup for the annual festival, which takes place from June 7-10 this year, was announced on Tuesday.

    Radiohead will return to the ‘Roo after delivering an epic set at the 2006 version of the festival and releasing The King of Limbs last year. Meanwhile, Phish headlined two nights of Bonnaroo in 2009, and closed out 2011 by selling out four straight at New York’s Madison Square Garden from Dec. 28-31.

    Red Hot Chili Peppers, who returned in 2011 with a new full-length, I’m With You, have planned an expansive North American tour for the spring to support their first album since 2006′s Stadium Arcadium. And the Beach Boys will continue the 50th anniversary celebration that they began with a performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks all signed on for Bonnaroo.

    Other notable acts at this year’s festival include dubstep phenom Skrillex, best new artist Grammy winner Bon Iver, hip-hop heavyweights like Ludacris and the Roots, and a reunited Ben Folds Five. Tickets for the four-day festival go on sale this Saturday at noon via Bonnaroo’s official web site. “

    To read the rest of Jason Lipshutz’s Hollywood Reporter article, go here. 

    Some other artists that I’m personally psyched for to have received a slot in the famous festival’s lineup are the Avett Brothers, the Shins, Dispatch, and the Roots. The other great thing about the festival is the Bonnaroovian Code, which includes such requirements for behavior as Be In Here, Don’t Be That Guy, Play as a Team, Radiate Positivity, and Leave No Trace. Should be one heck of a show!

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  9. Gotta Wanna Need to Have It

    February 6, 2012 by editor

    Although I found the Super Bowl commercials a bit lackluster this year, there was one ad that stuck out and, in my opinion, was hands down the funniest commercial of the entire segment. I’m talking about the Honda commercial where Jerry Seinfield meets Acura NSX, and will do virtually anything to become first in line to own one.  (If you haven’t seen the commercial, it is seriously worth a watch.) Not only was it clever and funny advertising–with Jay Leno besting Seinfeld at the very end, seconds before he is handed the keys to the first Acura NSX–but the car itself is seriously stunning. It’s both a hybrid and a luxury sports car, slated to begin mass production in 2015. Edi Pop of Speedlux wrote,

    “Acura is planning to return to the supercar industry with their new NSX. Since this project was dropped in 2005, and its restart has been delayed because of the negative global economy situation, Honda enthusiasts have been hoping for a new performance car.

    The Acura NSX concept is believed to start mass production as early as 2015. What is so special about this car is its hybrid drivetrain. This may seem odd for a supercar, but bear in mind, that the engine will still deliver over 400 horsepower. Due to this power we expect the new NSX to perform well both on the racetrack and on the road.

    The exterior design somewhat resembles the one of the Audi R8 (in terms of dimensions), but this car surely has a personality of its own. The aggressive and modern design gives the Acura NSX an interesting, high-tech look.

    The engine will probably be a V6, with a cylinder capacity of 3.5 or 3.7 liter. The power output will be connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that in its turn is connected to the rear-wheel drive. The NSX also features two electric motors, for a total hybrid power output of 400 horsepower.”

    For the rest of Pop’s article in Speedlux go here.

    Brilliant, Acura, totally brilliant. Advertise during the 2012 Super Bowl in front of millions of male viewers, create suspense and anticipation for a car that buyers can’t get their hands on for three more years, use one of my favorite comedians (aptly picked since Seinfeld is a funnyman from my generation, clearly the target market for their new product,) and I’m hooked. Badda bing, badda boom. Is it 2015 yet?

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  10. Cat Fights Off Alligator

    January 30, 2012 by editor

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