My 2007 Year in Review

Unlike everyone else, I slacked off and waited until 2008 was officially here to do my review. 2007 was my first year of full on blogging. I’d messed around here and there with different blogs before, but 2007 was the year I drank the Kool Aid and went at it for real. I’ll keep this list confined to what occurred on this blog. You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m somewhat guarded about the personal life. Enough about me…here are my thoughts on my 10 most notable posts of 2007:

Ron Paul’s Presidential Run
At times it seemed to me that Ron Paul news was taking over this blog. On one hand I feel like I need to apologize for that, but on the other hand, it’s my blog and that’s what I was interested in. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who was excited by Dr. Paul’s message, and I hopefully played a small part in helping him get elected. More on that later this year, as I have some thoughts on what is realistic, and what is for the best.

Knox County Scandals
There were more in 2007 than I can even count. That makes you wonder how much stuff is going on that we haven’t even heard about yet. Last week I saw a t-shirt that read, “Miami: A sunny place for shady people.” Knox County seems to have the market cornered on shadiness this year.

Steroids in Sports (and Non-Sports)
My bottom line–WHO CARES? Next topic.

People Getting Nekkid and Almost Nekkid
I got a ton of traffic this year writing articles about Vanessa Hudgens, along with a couple of articles about the Inskip teacher who had arguably inappropriate photos on MySpace. I don’t really care who gets naked and takes photos of it, I just wonder how people can do that and not retain ALL digital copies of the material. Idiots.

Barbie Cummings and the Highway Patrol
This was just a funny local story that ended up causing me to exceed my bandwidth when it went national and I ended up ranking #3 on Google for “Barbie Cummings Blog”. Since then, Ms. Cummings life has apparently changed dramatically, much for the better. How do I know that? I’m resourceful, and it didn’t take much digging anyway. Nevertheless, it seems like she wants to leave that part of her life behind her, so I think it’s time this story finally died and went away, never to be mentioned here again.

Tennessee Smoking Ban
Thank you to our state’s elected leaders for writing and enforcing personal choice laws on private property. If you really want to look out for me and mine, stop wasting our tax dollars on this crap. Next thing you know we’re going to have to provide health care for people who would’ve otherwise died if you’d not spent millions trying to keep them from smoking.

Buddies Blogging
Some people I know IRL also started blogs this year. It’s funny that you can go months or years without talking or emailing with someone, and this medium puts you in the position to “converse” with them every day. Even when it isn’t dialog, you read what they write and they read what you write. Very cool. Not to mention the countless other blogs I’ve begun to read that I never would have learned about if I’d not started blogging for real this year.

The War On Education
Also known as the public school system. I feel like I don’t spend enough time or energy talking about this because I think it’s the number one problem facing our country. Solutions are anything but clear and simple, but one thing I’m very excited about for this coming year is that I’ve got an idea that may help a little, at least for individuals. I’m finishing up some other projects, and then I’m going at it full force.

Blogging About Blogging
As I said, 2007 was my first year blogging full throttle, and boy did I learn a lot. I posted a ton of stuff about monetizing, driving traffic, building networks, linking to other people, and I’m sure lots of other stuff that annoys people. I can’t help it…my interest is peaked. Another project I want to tackle for this year is keeping that stuff off of this site and directing it to a different blog that is dedicated to that subject.

The One I Wish Was More Popular
Just a couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about The Wire. I really wished more people watched this show, especially the season that starts next week which will address the media. I’ve had several great conversations with people who watch The Wire, and I’d love to bring more of them to this venue. In fact, I think I’m going to, despite the fact that most people don’t know about the show. At least I’ll have the bragging rights that a couple of people heard about it from me when they are finally turned on to it.

I’m Glad I Didn’t Win

In my most recent poll, I asked readers to choose the most annoying guy on the radio.  Fortunately for me, I have a face made for TV and am not on the radio, so I wasn’t eligible.

But I don’t think I could have competed with Sean Hannity.  He completely ran away with the poll, although I’m sure he’d say that was only because a handful of Ron Paul supporters found a way to hack my site and vote several times.

Hannity received a whopping 60% of the vote.  Maybe not all that impressive, but you have to consider than his buddy Rush was also one of the choices.  At least Rush is funny.

I even tried to make it a little more fair by including Jim Rome as a choice, but to no avail.  Sean Hannity is definitely the most annoying guy on the radio, and you heard ItFrom.Us!

Knoxville Mans Shares Love For Jesus With Prostitute

Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t feeling it.

“I ain’t saying what I did was smart, but I don’t think I did anything wrong,” Bohannon said. “I just saved an infant’s life, and maybe helped spread the love of Jesus a little bit.”

You have to give it to the guy.  Only a true optimist could find the silver lining in getting carjacked by a hooker and her “friend” at knife point in her hotel room.  It gets better:

Bohannon says he picked up Stephanie Rae Starcher, 30, early Tuesday morning to share his Christian testimony. He said he didn’t know she was what police call an admitted prostitute or that he’d end up losing his car to the man in her motel room.

“Early” here probably means 2:00am, not 7:30 am.  Of course, I’m speculating.

This is, by far, the best excuse I’ve heard so far for picking up a prostitute and taking her to a motel room.  Usually on Cops they give some lame excuse like, “She’s my cousin and I’m taking her to work” or the like.  But this guy got super creative.  Bonus points for that.

Supporting Social Programs Is A Lot Like Driving

I don’t remember where I heard this comment, but the basic idea is that there are two types of drivers:
1) Maniacs–these are people who drive faster than you
2) Idiots–these are people who drive slower than you

What is the ideal speed? Whatever speed you drive.

I think a lot of middle class neo-liberals have the same basic outlook on how social programs should be structured. There should be two types of people in their view.
1) Payers–these are “rich” people (people who make more than them)
2) Recipients–these are “poor” people (people who make less than them)

And what is the ideal wage to neither pay or receive? Whatever they make.

Want to put this to a test? Let the market decide. List every social program on the individual tax returns and allow people to choose how much of their yearly income will be allocated to which program. Allow people to contribute as much or little as they want. Allow them to choose as many or as few programs as they want.

What do you think would be the result?

Tonight We Have a Fine ’07 Sprite

Soda WineI saw this on the soda dispenser at a BK yesterday and absolutely had to take a photo of it. Is this for real? This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. They are actually offering suggestions on which soda you should drink with which meal! I’d love to meet the person who actually uses this as a reference when choosing a drink.

Note to BK–you’ve already sold the drink. It doesn’t matter which one they choose. You aren’t going to make any extra money, and your suggestions aren’t going to add any enjoyment to anyone’s meal.

I love it when people do idiotic stuff like this.

There Should Be A Law

For those of you who are not yet convinced of the dangers of smoking and have not yet written your state representative a letter of thanks for deciding on your behalf which private businesses can allow smoking, this story should change your mind.

In the vehicle they inhaled fumes from a can of compressed air normally used to blow dust from computers or photographs.

When one of the women lit a cigarette in the vehicle, the fumes ignited, burning the couple, DeBusk said.

This could have been avoided. All we need to do is outlaw smoking in private vehicles. That way people will be forced to either step outside of the vehicle to smoke after huffing, or will be compelled to huff outside so that they can smoke immediately.

We must do everything within our legislative power to make huffing safe….for the children!

What Will You Be For Halloween?

The question gets asked every year of everybody. If you’re like me, there are two basic rules–your costume has to be homemade, and you have to keep it a secret until Halloween. It seems the administration at Kohl Elementary School in Westminster, CO only have half of the equation down.

What they are going to be is definitely homemade, but unfortunately they let it slip to the Denver Post early this year. So what will they be?

Turds.

We’re still weeks from this glorious pagan celebration, but you can already hear the sound of the pinheads sucking the fun out of life.

Why can’t kids celebrate this spooky orgy of fun? Well, as one fourth-grade Kohl teacher puts it – and I paraphrase here – if even one child feels left out because of Halloween, we’ve all failed.

Hopefully this is a wake up call to all of the people who cheer when Christmas is attacked and banned because it is exclusionary or offensive to a few people. I’m sure included in that group are a few Pagans, to whom Halloween has some meaning beyond wearing really uncomrotable platic masks with rubber bands holding them to your head (remember those?) and eating teeth-rotting candy for two weeks.

Realistically, most kids either don’t know or don’t fully understand the deeper meaning behind either one of these holidays. To them it is just innocent and harmless fun. You may view that as a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your own religious beliefs, or lack of. But as a guy who doesn’t really care one way or the other, I can tell you this…

When you start squashing something that is innocent and harmless fun for kids, you are just a jerk.

If you don’t want it for your own kids, that’s your right. And honestly, I applaud the fact that you have some conviction and care enough about your kids to raise them the way you think is rght. But don’t ruin it for everybody else.

Now, what are you guys gonna be for Halloween?

No Apartment For You!

A San Antonio man feels he’s been discriminated against because an apartment complex didn’t want to rent to him based on the fact that he has lots of tattoos.

Frankel e-mailed us a statement saying his apartment complexes do, in fact, “reject prospective tenants who have… tattoos exposed on the neck, head, hands and wrists, or large tattoos that cover over 40% of the lower or upper arm.”

Frankel says, “We do not discriminate. The above applies to persons of any race, color, gender, etc.”

I have to side with the apartment complex on this one. Dude, you CHOSE to get ink up and down your arm. That was a market decision. If you don’t like it, go buy your own apartment building and require all applicants to have a sleeve of tattoos before you’ll rent to them.

Think that will work? Probably not–the market won’t support it.

If they were denying people based on the fact that they have large birthmarks it would be different, but c’mon.

The Carrillos were also upset that the manager refused to refund their full $70 application fee. But mostly, they feel the policy is discriminatory.

So give them their money back and let them dry their tears with the check.

Vanessa Hudgens, Nude Photos, and Total Jackasses

What are these people thinking? And I’m not necessarily talking only about the minor celebrities or local news people who have sex tapes or nude photos out there floating around. It shouldn’t be too much of a leap to think that we will only hear about a very small percentage of the ones that exist. Let’s face it, with digital cameras and digital video cameras easily accessible to everyone these days, it only follows that there are a countless compromising photos and videos in existence. Some of them are bound to be of celebrities people someone somewhere may have heard of.

And really, who cares?

Before Paris Hilton made this the “in thing”, I knew a guy (friend of a friend) who had some topless photos of a (super hot) high profile girl. He threatened to release them in the media, and it eventually let to her becoming much lower profile. To this day I don’t understand why he did it. Obviously, it was an attempt to embarrass her and get back in her in some way, but it made him look sort of pathetic in my eyes. I think if he’d thought it through he may have realized that would be the outcome–maybe not.

The funny thing is, I don’t think any less of her for her having the photos taken other than her poor judgment in who she let photograph her. He’s the one that came out looking like the lesser person, at least in my eyes.

I pretty much feel the same way about the Vanessa Hudgens photos. Of course, I was forced to look at them in order to properly research this post. If you haven’t seen them yet, I wouldn’t bother. They are not that big of a deal.

But the guy who released these is a complete jackass. I don’t know how much he got paid, but I doubt it was enough to buy back his word, which I’m sure he gave her that he would never let anyone else see them.

Then there is the other price he has to pay–I wish him luck in finding another girl who will let him take dirty pictures of her.

Nice move, moron.

Tommy Lee vs. Kid Rock

TMZ is reporting that these two will meet in a ring in Vegas to settle the score (and pocket $1M). Supposedly they will fight until one of them is knocked out.

Predictions:
1) Frequent smoke breaks
2) Most people in attendance won’t see the fight, they’ll be distracted by all the skanks lifting their shirts
3) It won’t be a win by knockout. Cardiac arrest is much more likely.
4) Brett Michaels will be in Vegas the next week fighting one of the “Rock of Love” reject girls, and he’ll lose.