Month: April 2007

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Teresa Takes On MySpace

I’ve always loved Teresa Strasser. She’s a great TV host and she’s an even better columnist, plus, she’s cute and cute=hot. So, what does she have to say about the phenomenon? Take a look at her LA Times column from earlier this year. You can check out more of her writings at www.teresastrasser.com.

So, MySpace or yours?
By Teresa Strasser
Originally printed in the LA Times – February 15, 2007

I thought of MySpace as a storm that would pass. If I didn’t panic, it would blow by like Hurricane Friendster and I would never get hit. I would never have to come up with an ironic yet welcoming “headline,” or decide who would make my “Top 8.”

The whole thing seemed like a juvenile fiasco that was tossing my girlfriends asunder and causing them to regress emotionally. If I could wait it out, it would pass and I could avoid pillaging Ferlinghetti for quotes on embracing life.

MySpace just seemed undignified for those over 29… which I’m not, if you go by my resume. Just don’t check my license.The point is, I knew if I could clutch my disdain, I wouldn’t be forced to cobble together a list of “Favorites” that would appeal to my target demographic: Bono, Bukowski, “The Big Lebowski.”

Too bad I caved. A month after posting my profile, I went out on my first MySpace date. It was my first Internet date ever. This is not a fact to be glossed over in today’s world of JDate weddings and Match.com babies.

I’ve been a singles columnist since Sarah Jessica Parker was a Square Peg, and while I would recommend online dating to anyone who asked, I had avoided it completely. It’s like giving blood. I know it’s the right thing to do, but when the van is out front and it’s blood drive time, I’d rather you took the needle, doughnut and karma points while I congratulate you on your bravery.

After a few exchanges of solid prose on his part (possibly recycled, there was the faint whiff of a cut and paste job), I told MySpace Man to meet me at the Smog Cutter, a dive bar so decrepit even Bukowski might find the alley a finer place to drink.

The guy was fine to look at, no better or worse than his photo. I sipped a few (five) Jamesons, decided he was my soul mate after talking four hours at the bar and became so moved by a pool shark dedicating a karaoke version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to us that I jokingly asked if he wanted to go to Vegas and get married. He didn’t flinch. Next thing I knew, we were flying from the Smog Cutter to Sin City. We got as far as Ontario before I had second thoughts (sobered up).

This would be a great story if not for our second date, so soul-crushingly boring and awkward I haven’t seen him since. Perhaps we were feeling thrown, confused and vulnerable about our almost wedding, though it was never consummated (I’m stupid, but not easy). While looking generally listless over dinner, he mumbled, “I may need therapy. I only want to pursue girls. When I catch them, I lose interest.”I can fake liking Bono, but there’s no way I can
pretend not to know that a man doesn’t lie about a thing like that.

Fast sex with strangers is fine if that’s what you like, but that’s not on my “Favorites,” nor is running from a guy just because he likes the chase. Men are men, from online, to in line at the grocery store. It’s a story as old as networking sites are new. It’s not like I don’t have my part. Perhaps I should reconsider my whiskey to date ratio before I turn into some boozy, old cougar.

Sure, I’m tempted to check his comments page to divine the reason it all went wrong, but I won’t.I may be new to MySpace, but I know when to give a guy the one thing he needs at a time like this: His Space.

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Sunday Afternoon Veggin’

After a weekend at the ballpark and dinners downtown, time to just veg out and watch some favorite movies.

I’d actually forgotten how fun “Office Space” & “Trading Places” were. Add in the fact they’re on Comedy Central and they’re even better. You have to love the fact every time someone says an foul word, they cut the word and forget about any nudity like the scene with Jamie Lee Curtis, they’re gone.
I watched “Office Space” first, in between phone calls. Thank God for the DVR. I don’t think I could live now without one. Just pause the movie and then pick back up after the conversation is over. Thanks to Comedy Central and all of their commercials, just fast forward through them to catch back up to live video. Fantastic. I guess I’m probably one of the only people who didn’t know Mike Judge of “Beavis & Butt-head” fame was responsible for the movie. It’s the ultimate “F-U” movie to bosses and big corporations.
Also, thank God, Spring is almost close to really arriving. It’s 7:45pm and still light outside. I can’t wait for summer and all the fun it promises here in Ohio, Europe, & North Carolina.
Stay tuned…
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Who Needs A Personal Trainer…

when you have OnDemand? I recently discovered Time Warner cable offers Exercise TV on their OnDemand line-up. It’s free and the work-outs are arranged by the muscle group that you’re looking to target. Whether it’s a core body work-out or if you’re interested in just targeting the abs (that was me today), you’ll find it on your television. I’ve tried several of the different workouts already. They will kick your butt too. I just think it’s a great alternative to buying DVD’s and or trying to catch one of the programs when they start at the top or bottom of the hour. I love OnDemand! Pure convenience!

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Going International

I’ve been out of the country before. Count Canada and Mexico but I’ve never left this big land mass we call North America yet. That’s about to change. Two of my good friends are getting married overseas this summer. As I alluded to in a previous post, it is one of my big trips. I’m heading to The Netherlands of all places. I’m excited and I hope it’s not the same weekend as another wedding I’m supposed to attend that is in North Carolina.

I got to get all of the details but the wedding is in Amsterdam so I’m gonna have to brush up on my Dutch. While I there I’m going to go to France and Switzerland. My great great grandparents were from Switzerland and France. So, I’ll be on expedia or anywhere else I can get cheap tickets!!

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Sunday Night Viewing

It is (was Easter) so here goes a little religious post. If you don’t know this, I was raised (not literally) in an Assembly of God church. My great grandfather helped start it so there’s a great deal of family history there. We went to church, Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. That’s a lot of going to church. I love theology. In college, I almost had enough credits to declare it as a minor. We had some great professors at my college because the Grace Brethern Church founded the university.

Normally on Sunday nights, I end up being up and of course there’s nothing else on television so I end up watching Jack Van Impe Presents. When I was a kid, I didn’t know who he was. I thought he was some crime fighter but when I’d tune to the channel there was some guy talking about religion. I thought “how many times can the TV Guide mess this up?” I digress. Dr. Van Impe talks a lot about the end times and the rapture. If you don’t know much about this, check out the book of Revelations. You’ll also need some support from the Internet because it’s one of the most difficult books in the Bible to understand. There’s a lot of symbolism there. Dr. Van Impe’s show is at times a little over the top, however, it’s entertaining and informative. During each show, his wife, Rexella, reads news headlines and then Dr. Van Impe explains how they relate to the Bible and the Lord’s return. Dr. Van Impe is known as the walking Bible because of his extensive knowledge. He’s almost memorized it. He claims to use no teleprompters or notes while on the air. You’ll hear him quote verse after verse after each of Rexella’s stories. He prefers to have his shows air later at night rather than the day because he noticed more people watch it during the late hours than earlier in the day. There’s nothing but paid programming on up against him. You should check him out and see what you think. If nothing else, it’s like getting credit for going to church.

Also tonight, I wanted to watch Joel Osteen and see first hand why everyone is talking about him. During his visit to Cleveland, he packed Quicken Loans Arena. Newschannel 5 anchor Ted Henry has even done several stories on Osteen and his Houston church (it was the former home of the Rockets, the Compaq Center) It’s now called Lakewood church. Unfortunately I got a phone call so I didn’t get to see his entire message but I will tell you, he preaches faith and positivity. He must be doing something correct because he packs that arena each and every Sunday. Wikipedia says some Christians don’t agree with his methodology. Pentecostal scholar Gordon Fee wrote a series of articles denouncing both the health and the wealth gospels which Osteen preaches. I’m going to watch Osteen a couple more times and I’ll report back on what I think. I will say there’s nothing incorrect with teaching positivity and faith. I believe positive thinking breeds positive outcomes. God does not want us to be a negative people. If you do not have faith, do you really have a future?

This has been one of my more extensive blog posts. Like my description says, you never know what I’ll write. God Bless!
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G-Love at HOB Cleveland (Jennie & Olive too…)


The venerable G. Love (or Glove) is coming to Cleveland. It is one exciting event for Jennie and I think Olive shares in her enthusiasm. I’m preparing Chez Todd for their visit. I know they’ll have a good time. Jennie even bumped up her tickets so she’ll finally get to meet her man (Sorry Bruce, you’re still number one, I’m sure.) I’ll let you know their review of the concert. Speaking of which, my upcoming concerts, so far, Barenaked Ladies and the Police. I’ve got two more I wanna get tickets for but we’ll see how things go.
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The CD Project & The “Q”

Once and for all, the CD Project is complete. All of the files are named correctly and all of the CD’s have been ripped on to the MyBook drive. There are more than 11,000 songs on the drive and it only takes up about 40 gigs so there’s plenty of space for more. Thankfully that project is finished.

I’m starting to get used to having the “Q” as my cell phone. It’s amazing. I just put my gmail account on the phone. There’s a bad side to the “Q” with Sprint. It doesn’t have a native PictureMail feature. I put the gmail account on the phone so I could post pictures to my blog. There’s no built-in way that I’ve found yet to do such a thing.

Side note, I’m looking out my window now as the snow just keeps coming down. There’s actually a decent side drift on the roof of the other apartment. See Winter’s Revenge.

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Winter’s Revenge

I have to admit I moved back to Ohio to experience this but NOT IN APRIL! Yes, I’m getting cabin fever and long for the days when you can be outside in shorts and get a good run outside without having to get on the treadmill. The Indians almost got their home opener in yesterday (Thanks, Grover for the discussion with the umpires!) Today, they cancelled their double header with Seattle. Mother Nature gave us a good taste of Spring with a record breaking high last week and then the bottom dropped out. I am ready for another season. That is why I’m happy I’m back in Ohio. No two weeks of winter or one week of spring and fall. Just give me Spring. By the way, I don’t think the saying goes, April SNOW showers brings May flowers…

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When Is Hi-Tech Too Hi-Tech?


I think the answer is when I’m blown away by the technology itself. The Motorola “Q” is like a laptop. The keys are a little clumsy but it’s amazing. I had to wait until April 1st to get all of the rebates on the phone. I somewhat miss my flip phone already but it’s just all about taking some time with the next phone and figuring it out. There’s a lot to figure out. Supposedly, I can get my e-mail on it. Write word documents, etc. It should be fun and it does have an mp3 player and that’s a big bonus! I’ll have more of a review soon!

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The CD Project

I didn’t think this possible so quickly. I’m ripping one of the last five CD’s into my computer. I’ll be done with the ripping portion by 7:00pm. Alas, the project is not finished yet because I have to go through the renaming process with every CD I ingested. That won’t be as long as the actual ripping project however. I’ve not peeked at iTunes to see how much music (in days) that I have. I don’t plan on doing that until all of the renaming process is finished. All I have to rip yet is the Simon & Garfunkel “Old Friends” box set and the Now 24 CD. I’m missing Natalie Merchant’s Tigerlily CD. I’ll just download it from Wal-Mart and that will be that.