Author: Andy Labis

Do You Drink Coffee in the Morning?

I go in streaks. No, I didn’t say I go streaking, though I did, once, lose a foosball game resulting in some running around with only my sneakers, but that’s a story for another plight. No, my drink of the morning goes in streaks. For the longest time I was a tea drinker, then it shifted to coffee, and now I’m drinking a cup of green tea followed by coffee. I’m not sure where the green tea thing came from, probably from reading how it’s supposedly good for you or some crap like that, but here I sit, as I type this, with my cup of green tea and it’s antioxidant goodness, or some crap like that. Later, though, I’ll fire up the coffee machine and shift to some coffee seed goodness.

A simple plight this morning: Do you drink coffee in the morning?

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

Have you ever been to a football training camp?

Here in Chicago, the summer has become a vast wasteland of sports. Sure, we had the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup, so at least that carried some excitement into the summertime, which just seems wrong as it’s hockey and it’s summer, but at least it was something to pay attention to. Now we are stuck with two baseball teams that are pretty much sucking as the Chicago Cubs are still on their twenty year plan for greatness, or something like that, and all of the White Sox fans who, at the beginning of the season, were saying the analysts were wrong in the prediction of Sox mediocrity, well, they are quickly finding out that White Sox mediocrity has turned into suckosity.

Thankfully there is hope as Chicago Bears training camp is right around the corner, July 25th for what it’s worth, with the public being able to start getting their football fix on the 26th. I’ve never been to training camp, I never really saw the point although a lot of fans say it is a fun time, and actually I’ve never been to a Bears game. My original team is the Cleveland Browns, and I remember some games at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which is now at the bottom of Lake Erie. Don’t get me wrong, I love football, and I’m ready for some football, but from what most people say, and I vaguely remember, going to a game is 5 seconds of excitement with 2 minutes of dealing with the drunk people around you until 5 more seconds of excitement.

Sure, someday I hope to go to a Bears game, but as a basic fan, I can tell you that there is 99% no chance of me ending up in Bourbonnais, IL, for Bears training camp. I am wondering about everyone else out there, though, and so I plight: Have you ever been to a football training camp?

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

One

Artist: Sarah Miles
Listenability Scale: 91%
Released by: Rock Ridge Music
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I’ve been listening to “One,” the “debut full length” (as the press release calls it, I suppose because she has released some EP things before) album from Sarah Miles, mostly as background music for about a week now, and have found myself humming along and occasionally bouncing around/tapping my foot while sitting in my chair. With its recent release I decided to actually “listen” to the album, and I’ve decided I’m really liking her little mix of pop/folk/and sort of countryish music. I believe you might as well.

The album kicks off with “Middle of Nowhere,” an upbeat sounding tune, and continues through ten more tracks ranging from being in love (“Just So You Know”), where I have to say you don’t always find the word “capsulize” very often in a song lyric, to being kind of a sucker for love in “Bad Intentions,” and then pretty much totally realizing it’s over in “You’re Not.”

There are empowering songs with the more pop-country sounding “Stand Up,” a song that reminds me a bit of Sara Evans, complete with the lyric “Stand up, face the world, and shout out loud – ‘It’s all about me!’”, and “One,” a collaborative effort with Matt Duke, Steve Mandile, and Ingram Hill, almost autobiographically detailing her taking off to chase her dream of singing in the “city of unknowns.”

Things slow down to the acoustic guitar driven “Gray” and hit a nice stride with “Take the Lead,” a great duet of working life’s dance together with Matt Duke.

Sarah MilesI don’t know why, though, but, when all is said and done the song I like the most is actually “I Don’t Wanna See You,” an upbeat, kiss-my-ass kind of song, that I’m sure many of the dudettes out there can relate to when, as Sarah puts it, another girl is trying to steal her thunder.

If I’d ever get off my butt and review some concerts again I think I would put her up there on my list of folks to see because from the CD it sounds like she would be great in a smaller venue, with just her and a guitar, although I’ll bet she can easily connect with the big crowds, too.

The only confusing thing about her as I was looking for info online is her stage name change. She used to be under Sarah Jane Wilson, and now is Sarah Miles, but in the end, it doesn’t matter that much because what she is is good.

If you are a fan of the pop/folk/country-ish, girl sound out there, I highly advise checking out Sarah Miles and “One.” You get love, you get heartbreak, and you empowerment, and you get someone who won’t take crap. I really liked ten out of the eleven tracks, so that puts it as a 91% on the Entertainment Ave! Listenability Scale!

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

Do you inspect your pet’s poop?

Our dog, Milo, has sensitive insides. At the earliest stages of his life it was a challenge to find food that worked for him without giving him intestinal issues that ranged from vomiting, to regurgitation, to diarrhea, to generally being sick, not eating, ending up underweight, and with icky poop. We finally found a vet, Dr. Karen Becker, who is both awesome and also seemed to know what was going on. After starting him on a simple diet of turkey and canned pumpkin, we finally got Milo’s digestive system on a decent track. She explained the benefits of a raw food diet, which when you think about it makes perfect sense, they are dogs after all, and where, in nature, would they find processed kibble to eat? No, they are generally tearing an animal to shreds and eating raw meat, remember? The other thing she told us was that the ultimate goal was for Milo to have “bronze-able poop.” Yup, we were instructed to inspect his poop regularly, and as his digestive system would get in line, his poop would become the kind you could bronze and put on a plaque on the wall proudly telling your friends, “Look at my dog’s poop!”

So, with instructions in hand, I began years of inspecting Milo’s poop. I would pick it up (No, not with my hands), and regularly check it for firmness, and yes, looking for anything wiggling in it signifying a really bad problem. Sometimes there are long hairs in it which causes it to dangle from his butt when he poops, and every now and then he gets in the habit of eating his dog litter so low and behold, there is some litter in it. Happily he hasn’t eaten anything like money or jewelry where I’ve had to actually break apart the poop, but I’m happy to say that, for the most part, Milo’s poop is “bronze-able!”

It was the other day, while doing my daily inspection, that I wondered if other people are out there doing the same, and so I plight: “Do you inspect your pet’s poop?”

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

Do you prefer your newscasts fun and light-hearted, or serious and to the point?

I guess I’m kind of old-school in the fact that I like a good newscast. The structure is generally similar, I know they are going to usually start with a quick look at weather, then the hard news, than some special interest story, eventually getting to the full weather forecast and sports. My go-to news on weekday mornings is the Channel 9 news, WGN, here in Chicago. They tend to keep things light and fun for the most part, and sure, they’ll get serious when the story calls for it, but the news incorporates some fun audio drops during some stories, and the music bumpers in and out of commercials many times somehow relates to some of the news stories.

This morning Jim Ramsey was the designated weather dude, filling in for the generally fun Paul Konrad, and most of the time I find Jim a little stiff. I don’t know what happened this morning, though, because Mr. Ramsey looked like he was having a good old time, especially when he was hanging in the weather center, seated at the console, waving his arms and sticking his finger in his ear.

I know the morning news is generally a little more light hearted than the evening news, but for me the WGN morning people tend to do a great mix of light-heartedness and serious news, so it’s a great start to the day.

I guess while I was watching Jim Ramsey with his finger in his ear I plighted: Do you prefer your newscasts fun and light-hearted, or serious and to the point?

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

Have you ever used a metal detector?

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember playing with a metal detector when I was a kid, or maybe it was when I worked at Radio Shack. In any case there is some buried memory in my head of holding the contraption in my hand and waving the detector portion of the device across the ground, listening for changes in some annoying tone that would signal I struck it rich, or more likely found some scrap piece of metal or if I was lucky, a penny.

It was the other day while my wife and I were walking in a local park that we saw a father and a son using some metal detectors, and I vaguely remembered my history of metal detecting. My wife asked me why they would be there in the park, especially by the “beach” volleyball courts, and I had to remind her that there are people jumping up and down on a volleyball court, and they sometimes have precious metals, or at least a few coins in their pockets, and sometimes those items fall out of their pockets and get lost in the sand. She said “Oh, yea.”, and I also reminded her of my other run-in with a metal detector enthusiast who bragged of his finding a wedding ring once in the same park.

I was curious as I started this plight about the proliferation of detectorists (A term I found referring to those who are metal detector enthusiasts) so I did what anyone would do – I Googled “metal detector club.” Low and behold Google listed over 15,000 hits, and a quick look at the “Midstate Metal Detector Club“, a group based out of Wisconsin, and “World Wide Assocations of Treasure Seekers” (WWATS) websites, and I quickly learned that the detectorists take themselves very seriously, and that it seems the world of metal detecting considers itself on the endangered list thanks to a myriad of government regulations and not enough representation on the part of the detectorists.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the whining of the speaker and watched the needle of the metal detector to see if I found a buried treasure, and I don’t see myself doing it again anytime soon, but after seeing the father and son I couldn’t help but plight: Have you ever used a metal detector?

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

Did you even consider going to see “The Lone Ranger” this weekend?

The big movie news over the weekend was twofold. First there was joy in Universal-land with “Despicable Me 2” as it brought in some $142 million over the long 4th of July weekend, a new record for a an animated film over the long, 5-day opening. Hooray! And then there was “The Lone Ranger.” Yup. you know the movie, at least I’m thinking you’ve heard of it. The one with Johnny Depp. He plays Tonto. And there is something about a train over a bridge and it blowing up? Yea, that’s the one. Well, it appears people heard of it, but for the most part no one went to see it as the news for Disney was bad with the movie only making about $48.9 million. Now, that seems like a lot of money, but the budget rumors say the movie cost anywhere between $215 and $250 million to put together, and when all is said and done after worldwide stuff and video it might break even, but if there were Disney dreams of replacing the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise with something new, they seem to be squashed.

Me, I relaxed a bit this weekend, working on some long-term projects, so I have to say that I didn’t even think of going to see “The Lone Ranger.” Well, there was that and the fact that the movie just didn’t look that good in the trailers, but as this weekend is over, and we get back to our normal schedule, I’m plighting: Did you even consider going to see “The Lone Ranger” this weekend?

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

Do you know what PBR stands for?

First off, let me say that I’m not thinking Professional Bull Riders, nor Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras, the first two results in Google when you, well, Google PBR, when I think of PBR. Should you think of those first, however, I’ll give you a pass and commend you for your knowledge of Brazilian oil, Silvano Alves, or maybe the lyrics from the Garth Brooks song, The Fever, “Keep your mind in the middle while your butt spins ’round and ’round.” Nope, I’m thinking of a fermented malt beverage, originally from the land of “Laverne and Shirley,” though not from Shotz Brewery.

The reason I bring this up is there was a story on the local news, and in the copy the anchor was reading was a reference to PBR. She finished the story, looked at her co-anchor, and said something like “I don’t know what ‘PBR’ is. Sorry, I’m not hip.”

Immediately I thought to myself, “Who doesn’t know what PBR is?”, and then I thought, “Probably a lot of people I suppose, especially folks not from the midwest.” Then I thought, “Who uses the term ‘hip’ anymore?” I think a lot to myself, sometimes.

The news anchor didn’t know what PBR stood for, and so I plight: Do you know what PBR stands for?

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

Would you ever clip your nails in a church?

So I’m in church as I’m wont to do on a Sunday morning a while ago, with my head bowed down in reverent prayer. Okay, it’s before mass has started, I’ve said a quick prayer, and now the A.D.D. in me is letting my mind wander and look around, noticing the flowers on the alter, scoping out what some people are wearing, and checking out what songs are set to be sung in the “follow-along-with-the-mass” handout (I’m becoming a fan of John Angotti). For this mass my wife and I are in the front row for the section which does leave some extra space to stretch your legs a bit, and then I spot it, out of the corner of my eye. No, it’s not someone in in bad shoes, it’s a toenail. Yup, there on the ground, gross as can be, a toenail. I start to get the heebeegeebees, look around the floor a little more, and yup, there’s a second! Ewwwwww!

After my initial grossness I do what every husband would probably do, I nudge my wife and point out the toenails to her. She, of course, isn’t as grossed out as I would hope, says they look more like fingernails than toenails, and comes up with some cockamamie explanation of someone trimmed their nails, probably wrapped them in a tissue and put them in their pocket or purse for disposal later, and then when the person needed something out of their pocket or purse, the clippings fell out.

Me, I envisioned some heathen, taking off their shoes before mass, pulling out the nail clippers, and giving themselves a pedicure right there, in the pew, before mass started, letting the clippings fly all over the church, but such is my mind.

I was careful not to step on the clippings when I got out of the pew, watched people waking by to see if any of them would step on the clippings, and then decided my plight: Would you ever clip your nails in church?

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

Do you hope to live to at least 100 years old?

It’s my 100th Daily Plight post! Sure, they haven’t all been daily, but 100 is still some kind of milestone! And speaking of milestones, for a person, making it to 100 years old seems like the ultimate milestone, or at least a good one.

I don’t know anyone directly who has made it to 100, nor anyone who has been congratulated by Willard Scott on the Today Show, but my family generally makes it pretty long, with my dad getting to 79 and my mom to 82, although I think my mom could have easily made 90 had she not been a smoker. My Aunt Ang right now probably has the best shot at 100 of most people I know alive right now, having eclipsed 90 a while back, and although her eyesight isn’t the greatest any longer, she still boasts of mowing her own lawn and taking care of her daughter’s dogs. My wife’s family also seems to be a long-living bunch of octogenarians, so it looks like her and I will have many more wonderful years of wedded bliss!

Technology as it gets better and better is probably leading us to days when more and more people will be making it to 100 years, although sometimes I think people wonder if those last few years will be worth it, but I think, for the most part, that even if you are 99% sure you will be making it to Heaven, or your version of the “good life afterlife,” it’s that 1% of doubt of what lies beyond that keeps you not really wanting to leave the living, but as Steve Jobs said, “… death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.”

I’m pretty sure asking a plight if you know anyone over 100 would lead to limited responses in the affirmative, but as I’m at my 100th plight, I’m plighting: Do you hope to live to at least 100 years old?

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