Do You Know Anyone Who Has Hugged a Garbage Man?

The first Presidential Debate is over and now the debate will shift to who won. Me, I was watching the debate, wondering if Jim Lehrer owned a watch and thinking Mitt Romney just seemed a lot more sure of himself up there, but by the nine-o’clock hour I was getting tired of the seeming lack of control by Mr. Lehrer and since I wasn’t playing the Obamacare drinking game, decided my mind might be better served by relaxing a bit and switching to a new episode of South Park, complete with a lampooning of Honey Boo Boo, fat Americans, and the awesomeness of James Cameron who saved the day by “raising the bar.” I believe I made the right decision just before going to bed.

In addition to the debate of the debate, there will surely be a new blast of ads supporting each candidate, but one that already hit was from the AFSCME (that’s the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees to you and me) and was part of their “Meet…” campaign, designed for you to meet American workers that Mitt Romney supposedly doesn’t care about. In any case, one of the ads is about a gentleman named Richard, a garbage man who does the route in front of Mitt’s house in California. Richard talks about his job, about some of the things he does, and how people really appreciate him to the point that he mentions some of the people on his route will give him a bottle of water when it’s hot outside, and that some people actually hug him. It was the minute I heard this that I said “Really, people come out and hug you?” Fine, I can see an instance where a little old lady might hug a garbage man, like when the guy might spot a treasured heirloom in the trash, questions if it should be thrown in the trash, and joyfully presents it to the homeowner much to their delight, and sure, I’ll buy the bottle of water thing, but in general I have to plight: Do you know anyone who has hugged a garbage man?

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

Do You Plan on Watching the Presidential Debate?

I don’t know about you but I can’t wait for the election to be over next month as the over-analysis of everything Presidential has gotten nuts, and I’m not even in a battleground state and subjected to the relentless television advertising. ABC, a somewhat respected new outlet (Peter Jennings was the go-to anchor for the longest time for me), held a poll, and we found out that Americans would prefer to see President Obama on “Dancing With the Stars” instead of good-ol’ Mitt, but at least we don’t seem to be worried about a Mormon watching our kids as people think the President and Mitt would do about the same job babysitting our kids.

With the Presidential Debate on Wednesday night, the pre-analysis now has tried to figure out every bit of the debate before it happens, stressing the the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates, wondering if there will be any “knock-out” punch to the other guy, then debating whether we should even use the term “knock-out” punch anymore as the debates are so scripted it would seem impossible for anyone to land a “knock-out,” but mostly we are waiting to see if one of the guys trips over his own two feet. Does Mitt have an edge because he’s been debating in the primaries, does Barack have the edge because people seem to like him more, will Mitt be able to get under Barack’s skin, or will either candidate actually tell us what they plan to do to save America all in a 90 second soundbite? It seems all of these questions and more will finally be answered sometime tomorrow night, although probably not, to be immediately followed by about a week of analysis trying to figure out who “won” the debate.

As a good American it should be my due diligence to watch the debates and develop an educated analysis of which candidate will best lead our country, or I could just base my decision on whom I’d prefer as a ship’s captain, in which case if I’m not thinking Barack I’m in the minority. And so I plight: Do you plan on watching the Presidential Debate?

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

Will You Watch Any of the Republican Convention Coverage?

It’s finally here, the days we’ve been waiting for – Convention time! Fine. For most of us it’s not really the days we’ve been waiting for, but up first are the Republicans who will be spouting how their plan, even though they most likely won’t really detail a plan, will be the greatest thing for America, to be followed shortly by the Democrats who will be spouting how their plan, even though they most likely won’t really detail a plan, either, will be the greatest thing for America. There will be a lot of speeches, most during times when no one cares, and most by people no one really cares about nor will most people pay attention to because they will be during the day, but there has been some debate about the lack of coverage of Mrs. Romney’s speech until it was announced her speech was being moved so that the networks would carry it, and most still wonder if there will be an appearance by Donald Trump, especially now that Mitt opened up the birther debate with some off-handed remarks not “meant” to open up the birther debate again.

Most of the networks are limiting their convention coverage to their respective cable news outlets, dedicating a whopping one hour a night to the main networks coverage after most kids should be in bed (10PM on the east coast) either under the guise that Americans don’t care enough and would rather watch Howard Stern on “America’s Got Talent” or that you can find the rest of the coverage elsewhere, but mostly that decision is probably about ratings (and thereby money) and that wacky “fair time” rule about candidate coverage.

I still don’t know if I’ll watch any of the coverage, I mean, there is “America’s Got Talent” and “Big Brother” to worry about, and with it being at 9PM my time, I’ll be getting ready for bed myself, but as I think about it, I’ll probably do my duty, try to stay informed, and maybe hear what Mitt Romney has to say, and that leads me to my daily plight: Will you watch any of the Republican Convention Coverage?

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

Chicken Tikka Masala for St. Pat’s Day, Bangers and Mash for St. Joseph’s Day, and Mitt Romney Better Finally put Rick Santorum Away

By: The Dude on the Right

Download and ListenDownload the Podcast!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I ate chicken tikka masala, and in honor of St. Joseph’s Day I had bangers and mash. I really wish Stu Gotz were here to make fun of me for my food choices, but sadly it’s a solo “Weekend Wrap-up!” podcast as Stu is out running around.

With Summer already here in Chicago, even though Spring officially starts tomorrow, it was a weekend where I reminisced about St. Patrick’s Days gone by, and how downtown Chicago this year was filled with revelers and drunks by two in the afternoon. I also reflected on my experiences with Indian food, and how I enjoyed my St. Patrick’s Day dinner at Sara’s Grill and Eastern Cuisine.

I’m wondering why no one blind-sides Colton in “Survivor: One World,” I’m not liking “American Idol” that much and I blame it on the fact that they don’t have a British person with a condescending accent, “The Hunger Games” opens this weekend and I probably won’t see it, hopefully Mitt Romney will defeat Rick Santorum in the Illinois Primary tomorrow so the political ads will be done for a while and Stu Gotz might not be available for next week’s podcast so if you want to be a special podcast guest, feel free to email me at podcast@entertainmentavenue.com

Thanks for listening!

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