entertainment ave!

The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz are back for a "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast. The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz are back for a "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast. The Dude on the Right and Stu Gotz are back for a "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast. Oh wait, this isn’t "Groundhog Day," the movie, this is a "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast on Groundhog Day, and Stu Gotz is here! With the Super Bowl over The Dude and Stu talk about the game, how The Dude’s BFF has a few more M&M’s, and how Stu watched the commercials even though The Dude didn’t pay that much attention. And even though the Super Bowl was on TV, there is a lot more TV talk for the two of them to have, Stu wonders why Google thinks he is German and why Disney World is dirty, complete with a lot of gum, while The Dude is happy that Manuary is over and talks about why he reads Playboy for the articles. Oddly enough, Stu asks The Dude if he could borrow his Playboy later to read the interview with the dude from "House," Hugh Laurie, and not to investigate who the centerfold is. Odds are Stu is lying and will check out the centerfold before even looking for the Hugh Laurie interview.

By:

The Dude on the Right
Oh the weather outside is frightful, or, well, it’s at least warmer, but as we are definitely going to have a white Christmas here in Chicagoland, I had to laugh at a lot of the comments on the radio when we were having the sub-zero temperatures about “Where is this global warming?”  Some pundit-types were using the cold weather to say, “See, Al Gore is wrong.  We don’t need to worry about the environment.  Everything is cyclical.  This year we might be global warming, next year we’ll be global cooling.  See, Al Gore is a dufus!”  Then there are the environmental types spinning that the cold weather is an affect of global warming because the environment is all out of whack.  Me, I don’t really know who to believe, all I know is that on TV yesterday I saw a news story about a Chinese company that is supposed to have an electric car, similar to the Chevy Volt, that is supposed to come out a couple years earlier, cost a bunch less, only won’t be as luxurious.  Me, I’m not that worried about the carbon emissions, my carbon footprint, or if I fart too much, what I do think is cool would be a car that pretty much doesn’t need gasoline, and somehow the Chinese are ahead of us in developing that car.

And that leads me to the loan offered to the auto manufacturers and a great post from Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, the won’t be owner of the Chicago Cubs because baseball owners are a bunch of dufi, but does write a nice blog where a few days ago he mentioned how Chrysler is toast because, well, what better way to waste money than to put a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal thanking America for, well, investing in Chrysler, “America’s Car Company” that used to be sort of a Mercedes Benz car company until the Benz people couldn’t even take it anymore.  My simple analysis is that the car companies are in this mess much the same way Motorola is in their cell-phone mess.  Motorola rested all of its laurels on the Razr line, not seeing that things are changing, and now no one gives a damn about the latest Razr phone.  The car companies have become just as complacent, resting on their laurels without seeing the innovation consumers want in order to buy a new car.  A little Chinese company might just show that even with the Chevy Volt coming out, a once mighty car company gets beaten to the punch by a company that sees car buying differently.

Than again, with gas prices around $1.50 a gallon again, who cares about electric cars anymore.

In any case, I’m just waiting for my BFF before we start our holiday celebrating, so I thought I would write about something, so why not mix global warming, the loans to the auto companies, and cheap gas all in one post.

Happy Holidays.

That’s it for this one! 
I’m The Dude on the Right!!   L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
Little did I realize that it’s been over twenty years, last October, that this
odyssey that is Entertainment Ave! began, and thanks to the historical nature
that is The Mystery Dude, and the continuing work of Mookie,
the first review
from The Unknown Reviewers, from our days at the Illinois Institute of
Technology, incognito as we were, has been posted.  With no fanfare, or
really any coolness, we reviewed a band named "1313." The Dude on the Left and
I, or actually, for our first article, me being "LEFT" and him being "RIGHT,"
well, we gave the band "Two Thumbs Up!", and suddenly, two dudes just looking
for a way to make beer money, helped to develop an internet entity that has
lasted 20 years, sometimes strong, sometimes not so strong, but in the end letting
some people have some fun.

The weird thing for me is that I can almost
remember every picture I have taken, but as I read our first review, I have no
recollection of the band "1313," sort of.  Then I became obsessed, scoping
out the photos in that issue, and those in the rest of the 1988 archives that
have been posted, and can honestly say "I took that picture!" many a
time.  Yup, back in
those days we had cameras, with film, and we had to develop it in a darkroom,
and I knew how.

But as I also perused those 1988 archives, and the year came
to an end, I don’t want to say one band influenced me to love seeing music, but
as I read
our
review of "Shuddup ‘N Drive," who knew a bar band would be so influential in
my appreciation for hard-working bands?  Those early days instantly brought
supporters and

initial non-supporters (Barry – Where are you?), and I would like to say
that over the years we have become more polished in the review department, but
that definitely is not the case.

As the IIT Galvin Library continues adding to
the Technology News online archives, I’m really looking forward to the
progression of things, the changing of the guard at times, our online advice
column, Dear Dudes, and how we slowly transformed from just reviewing bar bands
to shifting to national acts.

More looks back at our early days will be coming
soon, but for now I can’t believe how thin I was back then.

That’s it for this one! 
I’m The Dude on the Right!!   L8R!!!

The Dude on the Right is a little bummed for this podcast, what with his mom
passing away and all, but what better way to get out the doldrums than by buying
a new computer!  Unfortunately, for The Dude, buying a MacBook also means a
new learning curve (if any of you can help him plug two microphones into his
MacBook and be able to control each mic independently, he would appreciate your
advice), but on the plus side, his history is starting to come to light with his
alma matter, Illinois Institute of Technology, beginning to post old issues of
Technology News, the campus newspaper, from the time he attended. 

We now learn he was a good bowler, but if The Dude wanted to be where the
money was at, he would have shot to be a good golfer!

There is some political talk for this podcast, as the elections are next
Tuesday, but with this weekend The Dude is just really hoping to get a movie
review posted because then things are just a little closer to normal.

The Dude on the Right ended up flying solo for this podcast, but even if The WGN isn’t there to help him through a Thursday, The Dude just looks to set up a contest about farts, wishes America had more talents about whistling, and thinks he can sing S.O.S. better than Pierce Brosnan. The Dude, sadly, is more fixated on people begging for money.

Some travel issues delayed Stu Gotz getting back in town so

the podcast of "Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up!" was a day late, and even
with some extra time, well, The Dude on the Right screwed up the opening. 
But that’s okay because they have lots to talk about, including some movie talk
about "Wanted," "Wall-E," "Presto," and "Letters from Iwo Jima."  The Dude
relates to Stu that he really should get Showtime so he could see "Penn &
Teller: Bullshit," and Stu should also get Sirius Satellite Radio so he could
hear ABBA, 24/7, for a couple of weeks.  Stu, on the other hand, relates
his woes of toilet paper at airports.  They both talk about a fight at the
Cubs/White Sox Crosstown Classic, they talk about tattoos, and with the 4th of
July weekend coming up, they talk about how it looks like The Dude’s BFF still
won’t get to meet any of The Dude’s friends, even with the lure of REO
Speedwagon.

The Dude on the Right was joined by The WGN for this Thursday podcast, and they talk about a lot of things. The Dude introduces The WGN to “America’s Got Talent,” the both talk about George Carlin, and The Dude learns that The WGN is making contacts for his future. They both talk about guns (how topical, what, with the Supreme Court decision today), family gatherings, and if The Dude’s family is socially inept. The Dude is also happy to hear The WGN knows who Night Ranger is, hopes the two of them might be able to see Radiohead at Lollapalooza, and fears he might get sucked in to “Dolphin Olympics 2.” Maybe The WGN is a worse influence on The Dude as apposed to The Dude being a worse influence on The WGN?

The
Dude on the Right saw

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with someone who
doesn’t really like bugs, which, because The Dude is weird, actually made the
movie experience bring a bigger smile to his face, but in the end

it’s all about the review, and The Dude does what he does.  Stu Gotz,
though, is back doing some typographical reviewing, maybe because his kids might
be a little too young to see the "Crystal Skull" movie, but that doesn’t mean
his family, or at least just him, can’t

get in shape thanks to the Nintendo "Wii Fit."  Hopefully Mama
Gotz won’t let Stu shove the thing under the couch to collect dust bunnies. 
The Dude saw movies and fireworks, Stu is probably trying to figure out
how to dry a sweater on a "Wii Fit."  Such are different weekends.

By:

The Dude on the Right
So, tomorrow, Saturday, March 29th, from 8PM to 9PM, if I want to participate in
"Earth Hour," I’m supposed to turn off all of my lights, but what confuses me is
that at the Earth Hour web
site there is a link of what to do when the lights are off, but the link
doesn’t really tell me anything to do during that hour.  And with turning
off the lights are they expecting me to also turn off my TV and my computers,
which I consider essential appliances?  And with turning off the lights,
and as they add, non-essential appliances, which must not include my TV nor
computers because I consider them essential, I think my microwave oven is
hard-wired so how am I supposed to turn that off?  And with turning off the
lights and non-essential appliances (except my microwave), yet leaving my
computer and TV on because I consider them essential, and changing to energy
efficient bulbs, what if, during that hour when I’m trying to change my light
bulbs, I drop one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, thereby releasing
toxic mercury into the air, how am I supposed to see what I am supposed to clean
up without the lights on?  And with turning off the lights and
non-essential appliances (except my microwave), yet leaving my computer and TV
on because I consider them essential, and breaking that compact fluorescent bulb
that I can’t see how to clean yet breath in the mercury, when I fall down the
stairs and break my leg how am I supposed to call 911 since I unplugged my
cordless phone, which at the time I was unplugging things I considered
non-essential?

Suddenly "Earth Hour" has become very complicated, but, as I
reflect back on my life, I’m thinking none of us need an "Earth Hour" to help us
remember to turn off the lights, we just need our Moms, or at least my Mom. 
You see, my Mom is the Queen at knowing when we leave lights on, no matter what
part of the house.  She will be sitting in her living room chair, see a
large glow as we are leaving the kitchen, and tell us to go back and turn off
the light.  She will be sitting in her living room chair, see a subtle glow
from around a corner, bounced off a door and a ceiling, leaving just a smidge of
brightness on a wall that shouldn’t have a smidge of brightness on it, and say
"Did you leave the light on in the bathroom?"  She will be sitting in her
living room chair, seeing the remnants of light (and I swear light leaves
"remnants" on your clothes, especially when you are coming from the basement),
thus instructing you to go back downstairs and turn off the light in the laundry
room at the opposite corner of the house.  "Earth Hour" pales in comparison
to the "turning off the light" power of my Mom.

Since, though, Mom is in Ohio
and I am here in Illinois, there I will be, tomorrow night, with no lights on,
although my computer, TV, and microwave will still be working.  I’ll be
inhaling toxic mercury complete with a broken leg and a non-working cordless
phone, still wondering what I should do with the lights off because the Earth
Hour web site never gave me instructions on something to do during that hour. 
And if those Earth Hours folks had at least said something like "Plan to be with
the one you love, turn off all of your lights, pretend it’s a blackout, and do
what you would do in a blackout with the one you love," or in the words of
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "If you can’t be with the one you love, love the
one you’re with!", well, I’m thinking the worst of my problems might begin to
show about three months from now.

You know what, screw that being with the one
you’re with in a forced blackout like this "Earth Hour," and I suppose the word
"screw" isn’t the appropriate word.  Maybe it’s better being curled up at
the bottom of the stairs, with a broken leg, inhaling mercury, knowing my TV,
computers, and microwave still are working, rather than child support some nine
months from tomorrow.

The thing is just listening to my Mom will resolve all
of these potential problems – Turn off the lights and wear a Jimmy Hat (my Mom
is hip, she has an iPod).  Listening to her saves money, and future money. 
Maybe we just need to listen to my Mom rather than worrying about turning off
the lights for an hour and not knowing what to do.

That’s it for this one! 
I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

By:

The Dude on the Right
As I’m trying to pay attention to "American Idol" tonight, with the dudes
singing classic songs from the 70′s which so far have been bad renditions of
songs from Fleetwood Mac, Andy Gibb, Queen, Foreigner, and The Carpenters, I’m
also in a quandary because I can’t get my film scanning stuff like I want.

First off, I finally scanned all of my concert negatives, got them digitized in
a decent resolution, and slowly plan to update the photos on the website with
the higher resolution versions I now have.  That was the easy part, with my
old HP Photosmart film scanner.

But
then I decided I wanted to start digitizing older photos (like this cute girl on
the right), and old negatives, and post them on the internet for family,
friends, and anyone to see, and I have run into many questions, and many
choices.

As far as posting them on the internet, I started by setting up a
site at Flickr, but I have to say that as much as I like it, and would pay the
yearly fee for unlimited stuff, I am worried about the potential takeover by
Microsoft and what that might mean to the photos I post.  I also looked at
maybe using Google’s Picasa instead, but from some quick things I have read
there are some copyright/publicity issues Google might be able to enforce. 
And as I was investigating Flickr vs. Google, I came upon a bunch of other sites
that seem to do a similar thing, namely set up family photo albums.  I’m so
confused.

Then came the problem of a scanner.  My old scanner was an HP
Photosmart S20, which has served me well through the years, but it doesn’t
handle the medium format film that my mom had stored in a box.  So, today,
I went to get a new scanner, based on a lot of reviews I read on the internet,
and even though I like the scanner (it’s an Epson), the software for it sucks,
and I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend more money for scanning software. 
So, sadly, tomorrow, I have to hope the store will take it back, and then I
suppose I’ll go back to an HP scanner (I loved the software that worked with the
Photosmart), I just hope the HP folks kept the same format for the software (or
at least close) that I am used to, and that the scanner works like I need it to.

Now don’t get me wrong, for most people the Epson software will be fine, but for
me, and my photos, it blows (and if the Epson folks want to know why they can
e-mail me), because all I really want to do, before the rest of my older
relatives pass away, is to find out who all of these people are in photos that
are tens, and twenties, and maybe even thirty or forty of years taken before I
was born, and if it takes me that much longer to get the photos digitized and
posted (like the Epson software leaned itself to), those relatives will be dead
before I find out.

If you’ve got any suggestions for digitizing old negatives,
medium format (up to 6 x 12), or if you have an internet site you love for
posting your family scrapbooks, please let me know.  Right now I have to
figure out how to box up my Epson scanner I bought, hope the store takes it
back, and then hope again that if I buy the HP version the software will be to
my liking.  With my luck the new scanner won’t scan worth a darn but the
software will be great.

That’s it for this one! 
I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!