Sunday, January 13, 2008

Rock of Love 2 premieres tonight on VH1


Tonight at 9:00 EST,Rock of Love 2 premieres and Bret Michaels will be selecting a group of women who want to stay in his house and "rock his world"!In the end,on the original Rock of Love,Bret chose Jes but....they just kind of fizzled.I was honestly rooting for Heather in the end,just because they had alot in common-but there were issues.In an attempt to avoid any heartache,I have a few tips for Bret when when he needs to eliminate one of the girls if he wants to avoid repeating history and pick the right one...

These women are not keepers:
  1. No exotic dancers,aspiring actresses or musicians who want a resume filler.I liked Heather but she was an exception.
  2. No bored "Trustfund Daddys Girls"
  3. Nobody who admits they have fake boobs
  4. No girls half Brets age
  5. Last,but not least,any b*tch who doesn't know ONE single line of one Poison song!

Keepers:

  1. Groupies-I am dead serious-they were given a bad rap by all the other girls in ROL 1 who ostracized Brandi M. for being one-Without groupies there would be no great bands!
  2. Any girl with cool parents like Heather's Dad,who will get drunk with you and tell fart jokes !
  3. Anyone who can keep up with Evick drinking....
  4. Women who EAT like Heather-no wussy salad and water for her!
  5. Girls who kiss other girl-it looks like Bret likes that....lol

I seriously cannot wait to see who shows up!Big John will stay in the house again with Bret and the women and hopefully Brets solo band members return for another episode.Let the "good time" begin!

Retro Rewind


Every weekend there are decent music-themed movies on VH1 Classic,anything from "Purple Rain" to "Almost Famous"and today they are showing "Urban Cowboy",one of the FEW movies my hubby and I agree on besides "Roadhouse"!I am NOT a Travolta fan,I refer to him as John "Revolta" -I mean he was great as a "Sweathog" and phenonemal in "Grease" & "Saturday Night Fever"I just don't dig him in serious roles,I like his early stuff.I don' t even care for alot of country music either,but "Urban Cowboy" is basically a chick flick set in an action movie-classic love story meets honkytonk heaven.It sure did alot to make mechanical bulls popular.....and put Gilleys on the map!AS with any bonafide chick flick,the leading man,Travoltas "Bud"-the good guy-is so stubborn you just want to smack him!He would rather be miserable than admit to his estranged wife he still loves her!If you can get over the music,Travolta has some impressive dance moves here.And the ending is great-he beats up the bad guy,saves the fair damsel and tells her" lets go home"!See?Chick flick in an action movie!
VH1 Classic is available on most satellite/digital cable and is a worthwhile addition for people who like to see classic VH1 material,mostly stuff from the 70's and up!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

37 years of Archie & Edith....


Yep!On January 12,1971,while yours truly was waiting to be born,"All in the Family"debuted on CBS and the whole world met the Bunkers from Queens,NY for the very first time.Legendary TV producer Norman Lear adapted it from the British comedy"Til Death do us part" and it was quite controversial for it's time.CBS aired a viewer advisory prior to each episode because the bigoted Archie would say just about anything."All in the Family" actually spawned successful spin-off series-"Maude" was introduced as Edith's liberal outspoken cousin,and that became a series.Maude had a cleaning lady from a working class inner city family,the maids name was Florida,who was the matriarch of "Maude" spin-off"Good Times"George Jefferson,the "black Archie" and his family lived in Queens prior to their "moving on up" and "The Jeffersons" spun off from that.Later,Sally Struthers also starred in short-lived spinoff,"Gloria".

Archie was a REAL bigot and Edith was his dimwitted long-suffering wife and the arguments he got into with "Meathead" were hilarious.I loved his Queens vernacular-"Terlet" for toilet LOL,and let's face it,we all have an "Archie" in our families,even if we don't admit it readily.My husband HATES all those old sitcoms and he doesnt understand why I howl with laughter everytime I see a reun on TvLand or watch one of the DVD's of the shows.We haven't had maybe a dozen decent sitcoms since the 1970's in my opinion and Norman Lear was by far one of the best producers in that genre.Be sure to catch "All in the Family" reruns on Tv Land!!

Dial-up Purgatory...

I haven't blogged alot in a day or so because of the weather and the fact I am on dial-up.Logistically,my dial tone travels about 10 miles in an area that floods easily and any damp and/or windy rain wreaks havoc on my delicate modem connection.On good days I am fine but right now I am dealing with 9kpbs-yes single digit transmission!It's the price you pay for rural life.I notice that when new subdivisions pop up out in the country they always get fiber optics but existing homes sure don't if they are out of the way.The very best method in my novice opinion is a T1 line but if you can get one on the Shore its expensive!Until then I will stick to the old way,dial-up,and be grateful I have THAT!I am old enough to remember when only rich and/or super-geek kids had a computer in the home!Glad those days are over-we have come along way since Pong!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Thanks ALOT,dude!


Forty-four years ago today,the very first Surgeon Generals warning of the dangers of tobacco was issued to the American public.Luther Terry was US Surgeon General from 1961 to 1965 and dedicated most of his career to educating the public about the potential health hazards of smoking.I know personally that smoking is bad for me but I cannot fathom the idea that no one had a clue it could kill you until the Government told them so!I personally believe the additives in cigarettes are more deadly than tobacco itself.While I appreciate Terrys contributions to public health,his early warnings paved the way for the situation we have today,where smokers are taxed to death by states to fund antismoking initiatives.Sure its bad,but what about booze?I do not see a surcharge placed on alcohol to recoup costs of publicly funded programs to "dry' out drunks!
Heres what I find funny...there is a new drug,Chantix,similar to antidepressants in that it works in the brain to counter addiction and it is approved by the FDA to help people stop smoking.If you ever listened to the TV ads,you would think that the possible side effects(seizures,etc) are worse than what cigarettes will do to your body.If you can get beyond the troublesome side effects and want to try it out,guess what?It is a relatively new drug so it is prohibitedly expensive unless you have great RX coverage and if you are like me,you have Rx coverage that will NOT cover most of the newer drugs in any category because of the cost....But theres hope!Somerset County Health Department has flyers and newpaper briefs informing the public that if they wish to participate in smoking cessation support groups,they can receive Chantix,free of charge!However it is NOT "free",nothing is.It is funded by-you guessed it-the ridiculously high cigarette taxes heaped upon us by the liberal Governor and his "tax 'em all to hell" flunkies.I have no problem with these type of public health programs if they are administered fairly,but they are not.Alcohol abuse is a WAY bigger social,legal and medical problem than cigarettes but if one wants to detoxify from booze,they either cannot find a rehab with an empty available bed or they cannot afford the treatment at all.Where is the surcharge and/or tax on every bottle of gin to fund alcoholism treatment for those people?Drunk drivers kill and maim thousands annually-wheres the tax on booze to help Medicaid recoup hospital costs for the uninsured victims of drunk drivers?Furthermore,fast food causes heart attacks-so wheres the Whopper surcharge to fund heart disease prevention?See where I am going with this?It is unfair to single out one vice as the "villain".Its great we have warnings on every pack of cigarettes but who in hell ever thought they WEREN'T bad for us?Last week I bought my very last pack of cigarettes with the Maryland tax stamp.First of all,I might smoke a half pack a day,if that-and my husband is in Delaware daily-so I refuse to give Md anymore money than they are already stealing from me!

Cosmetic surgery is STILL surgery!

It was revealed yesterday that Donda West,late mother of entertainer Kanye West died from from heart disease and other postoperative health problems following her plastic surgery,according to the medical examiner.She died in November 2007 just one day after a procedure which included a breast reduction and a tummy tuck.Her surgeon,Dr.Jan Adams,had been under fire and sources say another surgeon Ms.West consulted previously advised against the surgeries because she had pre-existing heart disease that would have been worsened by undergoing surgical procedures.While cosmetic procedures are quite safe,they are still surgeries and should not be taken lightly.
Totmom has underwent two breast reduction surgeries and let me tell you folks,it is NO picnic.My first surgery went well but for some reason my blood pressure dropped drastically in recovery and I was not fully conscious until 14 hours after they completed the operation.I was discharged the next afternoon and did well the first evening.The next morning I was so sore I could not move my arms,as most breast reductions include liposuction of the area under the armpits,and I was literally purple with bruising from my axillia(armpit) to my waist on both sides and very tender.The day after that I popped a stitch and started bleeding and had to go to see my surgeon again.Then a week into recovery my right breast sutures became infected,had to be reopened and redressed and to this day I have major scarring from that.Several months later,when I had completely healed,I underwent a revisional breast reduction because they were asymmetrical (one was bigger).I went home the same day after that one but since I was hardheaded and didnt quit smoking prior to surgery,I ended up with a bronchial infection and had a very delirious 3 day fever.A few months after that operation,I had a third procedure where a a small knot comprised of dead fat tissue was removed(they feared it was a malignancy).I had one of the best cosmetic surgeons on the Shore,I was young and in good health and STILL had all those complications,so you see how serious cosmetic surgery is.Almost 10 years later I still have no feeling in some parts of the "girls" due to nerve damage but I consider myself lucky-some women have lost their nipples to nerve & tissue damage.Would I go back and change it?NO!The benefits clearly outweighed the risks in my case because I had severe back and neck problems from "big boobies" and not everyone has complications from it.I wished I had put it off until after I had my daughter but other than that I am glad I did it and even happier that my insurance covered it.
Even in the best of circumstances,bad things happen.While it was not wise to operate on someone with a known heart condition,it is not fair to blame the surgeon,Ms.West or any other factors-surgery is always a risk,if it wasn't they would not make you sign all those liability forms before they put you under.And while most cosmetic surgeries are purely aesthetical,some are very necessary and cannot be avoided.It is a tough decision to make and should not be taken lightly.Alot of women my age start wanting to have "work" done and get tummy tucks,or nose jobs or breast implants and if it will make them happy and they can afford it,I say go for it-but think long and hard about it first and make sure you have no pre-existing medical conditions that might jeopardize your life on that operating table!

Vh1 Reality Rehab Revisited

I have to admit I watched the premiere episode of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr.Drew" and while it did not disappoint,it became exploitive and pitiful towards the end of the show,as viewers saw Jeff Conaway(Taxi) go into a seizure and subsequently get whisked away via ambulance to the nearest hospital.
The majority of the cast seems to be really dedicated to getting themselves clean and sober and I applaud them for it,but Conaway CLEARLY needs more than a drug rehabilitation clinic can offer.He arrived at the center in a semi-conscious state,and mumbled incoherently throughout the initial entrance exam.He later started babbling and sobbing prior to his seizure and I just feel he belongs in a hospital setting in order to safely detoxify his body and get off drugs.
The only other peeve I have is porn star Mary Carey-Dr.Drew made it crystal clear that ANY sexual activity was off-limits because it is not conductive to recovery and she not only shows up with a suitcase full of sex toys,she is dressed like a Baltimore St. hooker and has already showed her bare ass before the first commercial break.What gives?It is celebrity rehab,not "Whores R Us".I have a hard time taking her seriously when she is flirting with a fellow cast member halfway into the hour long show and when he refuses her advances and tells her to stay out of his room,she moons him!Is she there to get clean or just add to her resume?
I DO anxiously await the next episode because I am truly interested in what happens and I can already see that Daniel Baldwin and Brigitte Nielsen are gonna butt heads,because they are both dominant,authoritive personalities who are used to being the big dog.We shall see what unfolds,but I honestly hope this works for everyone involved.And if they consider another season after this one is up,I nominate Tiffany from "Rock of Love" as their first patient.She showed the world she was a raging alcoholic on the first episode of "ROL"!