Long Live The Arrowheads!

This is some serious business in the Kuhn house. All things fantasy. All things sports. And the big talk of course is about a repeat championship.

No, I'm not talking about the stinkin' Gators. Spit - pewey - yuk. We don't root for anything blue and orange in this house. Okay, the Denver Broncos maybe, but that's it!

Fantasy Baseball is almost upon us and last season's champions, that's right - my Amazing Arrowheads will be defending their championship title. Tonight, we're holding the big draft and the teams are ready to try to tackle that studly team of mine that so gallantly strode to victory.

And just look at the incredible players fortunate enough to remain on their team after a long, tough decision on which 15 players to keep among 50 awesome stars.

1B ALBERT PUJOLS (STL)
1B PAUL KONERKO (CHA)
SS MICHAEL YOUNG (TEX)
SS JOSE REYES (NYN)
3B GARRET ATKINS (COL)

DH DAVID ORTIZ (BOS)
DH TRAVIS HAFNER (CLE)
OF ALFONSO SORIANO (CHN)
OF CARLOS LEE (HOU)
OF CARL CRAWFORD (TB)

OF MATT HOLLIDAY (COL)
SP JOHAN SANTANA (MIN)
SP CARLOS ZAMBRANO (CHN)
SP CHRIS CARPENTER (STL)
SP BRANDON WEBB (AZ)

I think it's pretty clear. Those teams can't touch this awesome buffet of big hitters and sneaky pitchers. Let the draft begin and a return to greatness for the proud Arrowheads... sigh.

I'm ready to make a pick...is it my turn yet?

A Jab At The Media

Jib-Jab takes its latest smack at an old friend - the news biz.

Check it out and enjoy a good laugh!

One Pretty Cool Pooch

I've always insisted that I have the coolest dog on the planet.
But I've got to admit.

This dog is pretty damn cool. Read on...

Some Couples Are Meant to Be...

...and some couples are meant to wear flame-retardant clothing.

Has this man managed to have one easy decade yet?

Vasoline?!

GASOLINE's more like it!

Isn't This Cool?

Saw this awesome news first at my pop culture hero Whitney Matheson's blog and had to spread the word to my buddies. NBC is holding a charity auction of the original art from the show. All proceeds go to the Epilepsy Foundation. Now, none of the "Heroes" fans I know (and I know a lot of 'em) are going to be able to afford this, but how cool and what a smart marketing ploy!

So, that means if you want a memorable keepsake from Isaac, like my personal favorite below - Claire in peril - you can actually bid to own it! Pieces go up for sale starting tonight...it's worth checking out!

Hurrah...It Happened!

The Who came. They sang. They didn't cancel. Woo-hoo!

Peyton Manning Hams It Up Like a Champ

Did you get a chance to see Peyton Manning hosting SNL this weekend? He wasn't afraid to take risks and look like a goofball in the skits.

But the funniest spoof poked fun at athletes' involvement with non-profit organizations.

Check it out!

Look Who's Blogging

I'm amused when celebrities use blogs to communicate with their fans. We've heard about Rosie's ramblings and Brittany's blabbering.

But did you know that even cool celebs are blogging, too? Who fans can check out what's happening in Pete Townshend's day at his blog site. (He even tells us how he managed to get rid of those pesky dry elbows.)

Taylor Hicks chats about life on the road and the people he meets along the way in his own blog, Gray Charles.

It's fun to see that celebs are people, too, and have just as inane stuff to report as the rest of us.

Celebrity March Mania

Have you made your OTHER March Madness picks?
Check this out, celeb gawkers!

Rounding The First Bend

I haven't blogged about my little fitness adventure in a while. Probably because while I've been getting in better shape, losing a little weight, etc., I haven't been as fully committed as I probably should be.

Yeah, I've achieved a total 7.4% weight loss since I started the day after Christmas last year and I'm proud of that and still moving forward though ever so slowly. But I fell out of the habits of writing down my food, tracking my exercise, doing some kind of physical activity with some frequency and really watching everything. I'm at the point where my straying hasn't hurt me but it hasn't helped me either.

I'm at a crossroads.

This is my opportunity to acknowledge that sure, I slipped a little but not enough to undo my good work and that I can easily hop back on the fitness wagon. And I've been doing it starting this week. Already I've done weight training twice and cardio once and it's not even Friday yet.

So as I edge closer to completing that first 90 days on my own self-guided, healthy life program, I'm looking to this time as a chance to summarize the first 90 days, a chance to recognize where I started and where I sit now.

This next week, I'll be dusting off the food diary and integrating that into my days again.

ll be committing myself every day to some kind of fitness activity no matter HOW busy the week gets.

I'll be using the free online tools I previously used to pick new weight training routines, get nutrition and exercise advice and chat with other people with similar struggles.

I'll be taking measurements to notate my progress over the past 90 days and perhaps this will help me realize that it really has been worth the time and sometimes aggravation and pain. I know I've lost some inches because I feel it every time I put on certain shirts or pants, but the scale just doesn't reflect the degree yet.

I will make the next quarter matter and 90 days from now, I'll be reporting on my latest positive progress.

I'm determined to make it so.

Elliott Yamin on Live with Regis and Kelly

Elliott Yamin performed "Wait For You" on Regis & Kelly yesterday (3/20/07). Plus, he chats with Kelly and Howie Mandel (filling in for the recovering Regis). What a cool guy!

His new album released yesterday...and my copy is on the way from Amazon.com this week. Woo-hoo!

Click here to check out yesterday's performance!

No Flying Legs

Nope, it didn't happen. In her first live TV appearance on the ballroom dance floor, Heather Mills (the soon-to-be ex Mrs. Paul McCartney) managed to glide around pretty good without any limb malfunction. But the sleeziest part of all was the cheesy camerawork, focusing on her leg at every turn. As if the producers could not wait for the leg to go flying into the studio audience.

For my complete commentary on the show's spring debut, check out last night's reality TV blog entry. Next week, the women will take on the mambo and the men, the quick step, and our first official casualty of the season is named Tuesday, March 27. Should be a hoot.

Tough Week For Pet Moms and Pops

Ever heard of Xylitol? Me neither. But apparently the artificial sweetener is really dangerous to dogs, according to a new announcement from the ASPCA. If you're a pet parent, you need to read this.

This has definitely not been a good week for any of us. Food recall lists continue to grow. Here's the latest list I've found of recalled brands of pet foods. Here's the doggie chow list. And the kitty food brand list, for my cat buddies.

Take care of your little pooches. Keep them safe.

No Better Place To Be

This is where I was today.

I can't imagine anyplace better.

The weather was beautiful, the company was terrific and I even had a few good moments of play.

A year ago this month, Larry and I played our first official golf game and I've been hooked ever since. If you had told me that I'd be spending four hours in the sun (even in the scorching summer heat), hitting a little ball over and over (and in my case, over and over and OVER!) up and down hills and PAYING to do this --- I probably would have laughed at you.

Now, I can't wait to play my next game.

Yeah, I'm a golfer and not even a very good one. But I love it and I can't get enough.

Sigh.

Off The Charts...Literally

This morning, I watched VH1's top 20 video countdown. Just for S & G, as I like to say. I'm so out of touch with what's actually on today's contemporary music stations that I was curious how many artists I would know.

It was not pretty.

Yeah, sure there were some pretty awful entries by people I'd heard of like a duet by Beyonce' and Shakira (quite forgettable) and a horrible song by Gwen Stefani and some hip-hop guy (ewww). There was Idol winner Carrie Underwood's very Reba McIntire song "When He Cheats" (or something like that) and Idol loser's Chris Daughtry and his band's Creed rip-off in first place. I wasn't all that knocked out. Only one song out of the twenty really knocked my socks off and the band has done it before.

The Killers (below) and "Read My Mind." They show me some glimmer of hope that good, melodic rock and roll isn't dead just yet. It's only sleeping. Thankfully, bands like them and Snow Patrol, O.K. Go, among a few others are still putting out some catchy, haunting tunes.

In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying my own eclectic tastes in the car every day for my regular commute --- whether it's The Who, Elvis Costello, Dixie Chicks or Bobby Darrin. Yeah, I'm a weird one but I'd kinda like to keep it that way.

A Special Gift

Anyone who knows me, knows that my dog means the world to me. He's the first dog I've ever had and the most loving little guy you'd ever meet. (Of course, I'm not being subjective or anything...)

Earlier this week, I received one of the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me in my whopping 36 years of gift-receiving.

My son's girlfriend gave me a little tribute to Dexter. No one has ever made me a painting before. It was such a genuine, heartfelt gesture and it really touched me.

Dexter likes it too.

Now why don't more people put that kind of thought into their gifts, huh?

Are You Mad?

Once a year, and only once, I enjoy college basketball. That time is upon us. March Madness has officially begun.

Yep, I don't know what it is - maybe it's just the gambler in me, but I get March Madness big time. I think it's the challenge of picking the winners, filling out the brackets and sitting back and counting my points. Gulp. Or lack of 'em.

This year is no exception. And nope, this Nole is not predicting a repeat performance by the Gators and I feel pretty confident about that.

But here's what I do think will happen in the Final Four. So have you filled out your bracket yet? Huh, huh, huh?!

Who Would Have Guessed?

I knew something was holding up the band. But I had no idea it was the band itself.

In 36 years, I've never been told the concert was over before it had even begun. Oh well, there's a first for everything.

Feel better, Roger.

A Tampa Target Tradition

It's one thing for your building to get hit by a moving vehicle.

It's quite another for this to be the 12th time in 22 years.

Just another day in Ybor City...

Hall of Fame Material?

Tonight, five new artists will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For me, REM is a no-brainer and from everything I've read, most critics and Hall voters are happy with this soon-to-be freshman member.

But the rest? I mean, come on!

Every year, I'm constantly amazed at the utter crap that's deemed worthy of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's a constant source of conversation and aggravation in the Kuhn household.

This year's other so-called Hall of Famers include freakish punk entity Patti Smith (who I've NEVER understood), fashionably full of themselves rockers Van Halen, not-quite-the Supremes girl group the Ronettes and the Hall's first and probably not their last hip-hop artist (unfortunately), Grandmaster Flash. Oh boy.

Why successful songwriters and performers like Neil Diamond and Chicago are not in the Hall when these nuts are, is beyond me! What about Jeff Lynn and ELO, the Moody Blues, the Hollies, Hall and Oates, Joe Cocker...I'm sorry, but they look down their noses at commercial success but this is good stuff, too. And now that Van Halen has made it, I can only hope that opens the door for some of these other artists who many thought had no chance in Hell to get in.

I'll listen to the REM and maybe Van Halen portion of the concert (but only to see if there's a fistfight during the latter!). But my guess is that most people will tune out this year's lackluster selections.

This Place Is For The Birds

My grandson Deacon got to meet his other grandma's neighborhood seagulls yesterday afternoon and it was quite the spectacle.

He got the hang of the feeding business pretty quickly and soon was quite popular.

Off to a new adventure!

Up, Up and Away!

Took Dexter out this morning in the backyard for his usual AM lawn watering. And just look at what I found lurking over our home?

Having Independence Day flashbacks...egads!

The Kuhn household found it quite fascinating... let's make a movie!

Nole In Mourning

Yesterday, a celebration and the flag hoisted.

The flag is at half-mast now.

Yep, this picture just about sums it up.

Elliott's Back!

Woo-hoo!

Okay, okay, I've gotten my composure once again. During last season's American Idol, I had one favorite throughout the competition who kept getting better and better and yes, even better.

Elliott Yamin.

He transformed himself from an awkward crooner to a smooth stage presence. I just love the tone of his voice and the power that surprisingly spouts out of that little guy. He's great!

I plan to pre-order his CD this weekend, but in the meantime, to check out what his new album sounds like, go to his MySpace page and listen to two complete songs (including his new single "Movin' On") and clips of two other songs.

Enjoy!

So What's In Your 200?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers released their take on the 200 definitive albums of all time.

So, did they get it right or miss the boat entirely? Larry and I did a scientific scan of all sounds in the Kuhn household and concluded that we have 40 of the Top 100 and only 70 of the Top 200! Guess, we're just not "definitive" listeners. Hmmmph!

So where are the 4 Seasons? And Elvis Costello? And Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde? HUH???

R.I.P, Oh Captain, My Captain

Did you hear the big news?

How can they do this to America? It's bad enough we're saddled with W. Now, you kill off our symbolic hero, too?

Man, that's cold.

The Genius Among Us

I find this local tale of fugitives, fraud and tomfoolery very amusing.

Check it out!

The Latest Trek News

Okay, okay. Admittedly, I am not personally a Trekkie - or as really SERIOUS fans like to call themselves, Trecker. However, I am married to one and all of the boys in the family subscribe to Federation theology, too. So this by law makes me a Trekker. That's just the way it is.

There has been talk for some time about another Star Trek movie and with LOST mastermind JJ Abrams at the helm, the concept offers some real promise.

The latest? Possibly Matt Damon and Adrian Brody as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock? Here's the most recent cool news from Starfleet Academy.

Blog long and prosper!

What Is ABC Thinking?

My husband told me about this and well, I've just got to laugh. Are you kidding me?

I thought Big Pussy doing the Paso Doble was a funny sight to imagine. Can you just picture Cliffy Clavin quick-stepping?

Uh, I don't think so.

My Favorite Demon-Slayer Returns!

I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV series. It's remained one of my all-time favorite shows. I had heard that its creator Joss Whedon was planning a comic book based on the show but no more since.

My favorite pop culture blogger Whitney Matheson shared a sneak peek at the new comic. Here's a sample for you to enjoy. I love this new futuristic take on the show!

What do you think?

Awesome Dog Site

A friend of mine* alerted me to this really cool Web site that I had never stumbled over before: The Daily Puppy. Have you been there?

Click here to check it out...and meet Freddy. Awwww...

*Thanks for the tip, Luke!

Chris Sligh Has A Band

Check out Chris Sligh before American Idol...not bad at all! Nice sound...

CLICK HERE FOR THEIR MUSIC VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE!

Food For Thought

For those of you who like clever or bizarre TV commercials as much as I do, enjoy this blogger's tribute to the best ads with people dressed as food.

Yep, that's right. Dressed as food.

But where is the grooviest, saltiest cat, Mr. Peanut?