Category: General Musings

By:

The Dude on the Right
I did it.  I knew I would because I’m crazy like that some times, but I did
it.  I made a MySpace page.  So there I am, at

www.myspace.com/thedudeontheright, and I don’t really know why.  I even
wrote that for my first blog entry over there, because, well, I have a blog
here, why do I need a blog there?  I suppose I made it just to have a
MySpace page, but I think I also did it as a sort of promotional tool to maybe
drive an extra person or two over here to Entertainment Ave!

It was
interesting setting up the page because you start to analyze things you want
made public, and as a computer nerd, it also re-introduced me to CSS coding,
although I haven’t utilized any of it yet because at this time it was just
enough to get the page done, add some photos, and hope it’s not to dorky. 
I also found many sites out there that will automatically generate the coding
needed to change the layout and color scheme of the page.  Part of that
seems like cheating, especially when I would actually like to expand my CSS
coding knowledge, but in the end, I’ll probably use one of those sites and
cheat, knowing that by analyzing how the coding gets manipulated, it will
actually help my learning it.  Alright, enough technical workshopping. 
If you have a MySpace page, right now I’m looking for friends.  I got two
requests to be a friend this morning, one was from some girl with a naked photo
of herself on the page, and and the other with a page that had absolutely
nothing on it about the person, just looking like she was trolling for friends. 
I was going to add the naked girl, but then realized her photo would end up on
my "Friend’s" list, and felt like adding nudity at this time wouldn’t be a good
start.

In any case, I’m ready for the bashing I might take from my niece and
nephew for the page, but so be it.  I’ll survive.

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

For this podcast, The Dude on the Right has many dilemmas about starting his MySpace page, and doesn’t really solicit any help, he just doesn’t want to look like a total dork when he finally gets his page posted. The Dude also had a laugh at a YouTube clip of the TV show WKRP. Did you know that turkeys don’t, well, you’ll have to listen.

By:

The Dude on the Right
I have decided that I need to make a
MySpace page.  I think
the only reason why is because of peer pressure, no wait, not really peer
pressure, but because everyone else seems to have one and I don’t, I would like
more friends, but what about the humiliation if I don’t get any new friends? 
That alone sets up one of the many dilemmas I have found myself having on how to
really set up my MySpace page.  My life gets so overanalyzed when I let
myself overanalyze it, and now that I’ve decided to set up a page, my
self-diagnosed OCD kicks in because I want a cool page, want friends, and don’t
want to look like another total dork with a MySpace page that is a mess.  I
do know that I won’t be

setting up a Facebook page. 

Even with my MySpace complications, I did get a good laugh from a

YouTube link from a site I regularly visit.  It’s about Thanksgiving
and the fictional radio station WKRP.  It made me laugh, and it might make
you laugh, too, especially if you wait for the end of my podcast, or the end of
the YouTube video clip, whichever you are paying attention to.

Thanks for listening.

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

By:

The Dude on the Right
I don’t know why, but for all of my life I have liked high school-themed films. 
They can be the one’s geared at the dudes, the one’s geared for the dudettes, or
those geared for everyone.  So I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised
when this morning came around and as I was deciding whether to see "Scoop,"
the Woody Allen movie, or "John
Tucker Must Die," the high school movie, I opted for seeing if John Tucker
would find an untimely demise.  I have to admit that I feel kind of silly,
and I’m sure I get some weird looks, going to the local gigaplex box office,
alone, and asking "One for ‘John Tucker Must Die’ please."  But there I
sat, in the theater, myself, about ten, teen girls, and a mom.  I got some
of the jokes the girls didn’t, the girls got some of the jokes I didn’t, so I
guess it worked for all of us on some level.

And as much as going to see the
"John Tucker" film sort of made me feel old, it was seeing the Chicago Cubs game
on Friday that again reminded me that those days of college are way behind me. 
Sure, it was like 93 degrees, sun blazing down, and humid, but back in those
college days, drinking water at a ballgame never even came around as a little
bit of a thought.  Granted I don’t think they were even selling bottled
water back then, but in those days, even with the heat, it was all about beer. 
Sure, I was driving home from this Cubs’ game, so drinking a lot of beer wasn’t
an option, but even after having the few I had before the game, and one at the
ballpark, all I wanted was water, and lots of it.  So there you have it – I
think my body has officially decided it has grown-up, but I suppose my mind and
sense of humor have a long way to follow, especially choosing a high school
flick over a Woody Allen movie, even if the Woody Allen flick did have Scarlett
Johansson in it, whom I want to stalk.  I guess I’m kinda hoping my mind
never catches up with my body.

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

By:

The Dude on the Right
I am very happy my mother celebrated her 80th birthday yesterday, but somewhat
sad I couldn’t be there for it.  But what also makes me sad it I can’t find
a great caricature our resident artist did of my mom, my niece, and me, a bunch
of years ago, so I can’t post it here, yet.  If I can find it, buried on
one of my back-up files of a back-up of an old hard drive, I’ll post it later.  I also
found it odd that the City of Chicago folks are doing all they can to

drive businesses out of city, and maybe Target will actually

stick it to the aldermen, but sadly, that also means a lot of jobs lost for
people who really can use them, by closing some stores in the city.

But the other story really bugging me right now is about a

PBS documentary that might not air as originally intended for fear of getting
fined by the FCC.  You want community standards, well, I’m thinking
community standards will say that veterans of World War II might drop a bad word
every now and then when they talk about getting shot at.  But we’ve got to
save the children  because Lord knows they aren’t using any of those words,
like shit or fuck.  The good kids, like me, even at 39, know not to use
them in front of their parents, at least most of the time.

And, oh yea, congrats to the folks at

ExxonMobil!  I’ll remember you when I’m filling up the Dude-Mobile with
some go-go juice tomorrow morning on my way to the Chicago Cubs game. 

Thanks for listening.

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

For this podcast, The Dude on the Right is disappointed at missing a classical music concert, is trying to see four movies in two days, laughed during “Trapped in the Closet,” and gets a little teary knowing his niece needs sensitivity training.

By:

The Dude on the Right
The last podcast I did solo, well, I tried to keep it under 10 minutes, and came
pretty damn close.  I did this specifically at the request of my sister and
my niece.  What thanks do I get? – A slam from my niece.  That being
written, for this podcast I give you some incite into the world of "Carmina
Burana" from Carl Orff, and discuss my plan for seeing four movies in two days,
namely "My
Super Ex-Girlfriend," "Monster
House," "The
Lady in the Water," (or as Ivan Reitman calls it, "The Chick in the Pool"),
and "Clerks
II."  It’s a busy weekend for me.  I was also happy to see
Comedy Central
re-run the South Park episode of "Trapped in a Closet" and I give a teary-eyed
discussion about my niece needing sensitivity training.

And if you know the secret to printing a
Google Calendar in
color, in an easy manner, I’ve got a free Entertainment Ave! golf shirt and hat
for you if you’re the first to e-mail that secret to me at
podcast@entertainmentavenue.com.

Thanks for listening.

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

By:

The Dude on the Right
Much of my life is about dilemmas, or at least the dilemmas I personally create
in my life.  My latest dilemma is coming up in trying to see four new
movies opening this weekend in a span of two days.  If I accomplish this
feat I will have spent a lot of time sitting on my ass between seeing the
movies, driving to the theater, and writing my reviews.  Man, my dilemma’s
are tough.  But what kind of dilemma would the FCC have found themselves in
if our Congress had passed the original version of the "Broadcast Decency
Enforcement Act," President Bush had signed it, and our networks were covering
said President Bush’s attendance at the G8 summit lunch, live, with his
discussion with British Prime Minister Tony Blair being aired with an open
microphone, and, well, President Bush saying the word "Shit."

The original
version of the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act" looked for a two-fold fine –
One against the company who aired it, and the other against the person who said
it.  Congress, later, removed the portion fining the individual (although
some companies seem to be trying to make individuals sign agreements saying that
if there is a fine levied, the individual will have to pay the company back, but
that’s another story for another time. I’m sorry, I digress), but Congress did
raise the fine to something like $325,000 with some kind of cap.  But if
that original bill went through the process of "I’m just a bill, Yes, I’m only a
bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill," to "He signed you Bill!  Now
you’re a law!", right now The President of the United States should be faced
with a fine nearly wiping out one year of his salary.

For me, I don’t know if
that is irony, or a bummer.  I seem to get those things confused ever since
that Alanis Morrisette song, because I think all of her ironies are actually
bummers, but in this case, would the FCC actually, under that original version,
fine "The President of the United States?"  The second question is this: 
Even if the Big Four Broadcasters, over the open airwaves, namely CBS, ABC, NBC,
and FOX, had been airing that luncheon, live, without delay, because, well, who
would assume that the S-Bomb would be aired at this summit, and they let the
"shit" word fly, would they all be subject to a fine, in all of their markets,
if I set up a campaign of complaints via e-mail?

I’ve written a few blogs
about my thoughts on the FCC and what their role in indecency should be, and my
thought is that they should have no authority over indecency because the
airwaves regulate themselves, via their ratings and their advertisers.  But
right now had Congress approved that first proposal, and President Bush signed
it into law, our President might be out nearly a year’s pay.

How fucked up is
that?  And do any of our lawmakers actually realize this?

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

By:

The Dude on the Right
It’s hot here this weekend in the Chicago area, so of course all of the local
news stories are about drinking a lot of fluids, checking on the elderly, and
creative ways to beat the heat.  Some try to blame global warming, and I’m
not dismissing the notion of global warming because I do think we are messing up
our environment, but for the most part, lost in all of these stories, is the
fact that there have always been hot spells from time to time, but maybe we have
just lost our ability to adapt as the weather changes,  maybe lost some of
our connection as family because we no longer necessarily live near our loved
ones, and we also no longer really give a damn about our neighbors.  I for
one thank, I mean blame, one man for this, and his name is
Willis
Carrier, and he is considered the man who invented air conditioning.

There
was a time, and I don’t remember it, when air conditioning in your home, in your
car, at work, at the store, didn’t exist.  You didn’t live your life to be
at a comfortable 70ish degrees, you adapted as the temperature outside got
higher.  You learned how to get a breeze through your house when it worked
to your advantage, you kept the windows closed for a time because the coolness
of the night was still trapped inside.  But your body knew things were
getting warmer, because, well, it had been doing so in the weeks leading up to a
hot spell, it didn’t have the benefit of getting out of the heat for most of the
day, and you adapted.  And if you were older, your kids probably lived
nearby.  Nearby so much that they, or at least your grandkids, stopped by
to say "Hi Grandma!" at least once a day.  And when they did, and Grandma
didn’t have her fan on, they would say, as kids are want to say, "Grandma, can
we put on the fan?"  And when they also came over Grandma would offer them
something to drink, probably lemonade, and you know what, Grandma would have
one, too.  Getting the elderly to put on a fan and have something extra to
drink were done because we were close enough to visit.  Everyday.

And you
also probably knew your neighbors because, in a worst case scenario, at the end
of the day, when it was cooler outside of the house rather than inside the
house, you went outside, and constantly reunited with your neighbors.  And
back then, neighbors always being nosey yet still being friendly, they would
wonder why "Mrs. Thompson" hasn’t come out of her house yet, and would actually
go over to her house, knock on the door, and politely ask, in that nosey kind of
way "Emma, are you all right in there?"  If Emma didn’t answer, well, her
door wasn’t locked, and they might find her crying in the kitchen because her
husband…, well, in any case, they would get her outside of the house, into the
cooler night air, and not to get her out of the stifling hot house, but to just
get her out of the house.

This is how I, a Dude who doesn’t know life without
air conditioning, sort of sees how lots of people in your city didn’t die
because of the heat, because, back then, I bet it wasn’t news that told you to
keep cool.  You just learned to adapt, and you either had children or
grandkids close enough to visit, or at least neighbors who cared to do the same. 
And you always had some lemonade and stoop to sit on in some cooler night air.

And as much as I like to think of those simpler times, thank you Willis Carrier,
because it was 100 degrees here outside the dude-pad today, but inside it was
nicely in the 70’s.  And I even picked up some lemonade at the grocery
store because, well, it’s summer, and what is summer without lemonade?  And
you know what, maybe I should get to know my neighbors?

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

By:

The Dude on the Right
This past week or so something came back up in my life that I would really like
to research, really would like to find out the answers to, and would really like
to figure out a great way to document things, both the good and the bad, but
sadly the time to find these things are slipping away.  It’s my Dude
genealogy. 
I
got into it a bunch of years back, but it started again over the 4th of July
weekend, when I was starting to clean the Dude-Pad, and I found a place to hang
some older paintings of some of my elders that would actually sort of work in
the decorative scheme of my Dude-Pad.  I was pretty sure the one picture
was of my Grandma, but didn’t really know who the other dude was.  So I
e-mailed my mother, and for the photo to the right I was able to confirm that
the painting of the girl was my Grandma, at age 16, and that the painting of the
dude is my Great Uncle Edward.  From my Mom’s memory, he died in World War
I, was declared missing, then my Great-Great Grandma went to France to see what
is his grave.  I have never known the man, but we are related, and thanks
to my Mom, I have a story to tell about him, the man in the painting.  And
that’s the thing we seem to miss about our ancestors, accurate stories to tell.

The sort of bummer side of this is that my Grandma always had stories to tell,
and I was a lot younger at the time, so most of them are in fragments.  I
remember her stories about her coming over on a boat, and the boat had trouble
getting here, and still remember that she made the best toast, with the pat of
butter that didn’t melt so when you got to the middle of the toast you got
squished bread with a big pat of butter.  My Grandma aside, in the grand
scheme of things, my mother had a plan to record our history, especially since
this was the donning of the age of cassette tapes:  Visit Grandma and let
her record her stories.  But my Grandma was not really one for technology,
didn’t want to "tell her stories to a tape recorder," and for most of the times,
unless those memories pop up for whatever reason, most of her stories are lost. 
As I’m writing this blog, two of her stories pop back into my head, and they are
two of my favorites, never to be forgotten, but my dilemma in this blog is how
to start to record these things I find, or remember, and try to find the best
way to document them.  And now my self-diagnosed OCD kicks in because as
much as we don’t want to admit it, all of our families are fascinating, from the
good to the bad, and in this day and age, when we can easily record our history,
we still forget to.

71ish
years ago a woman named Miss Burrell put a simple quote in an autograph book of
my Aunt’s.  Back then, girls kept autograph books, and my Aunt had a book,
which I now have.  The quote was this:  Happiness is an excellent
remedy and keeps people in better health than any other medicine.  I don’t
know where Miss Burrell got this quote, or whether she made it up on her own,
but it’s a quote that still fits with life today.  The autograph book I
have isn’t that big, but it is filled with lots of other quotes, sayings,
things, that shouldn’t be lost.  And as I hold it, it is at least 71ish
years old.

And as my OCD continues to kick in, the oldest thing that I know I
have is a silver dollar coin from 1878.  It’s not worth much money because
most of all of it is worn, but the date is there, a mere 13 years after Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated.  My Grandma on my Mom’s side was born a mere 20
years after that coin.  And I’m not even going to get into my Dad’s side
right now because otherwise this blog will get really too long.

I guess I got sort of melancholy over the last weekend, but realized again
that all of our lives are fascinating, and should be shared, to at least our
families, and it shouldn’t just be the good, but it should also be the bad, so
that we can, and our siblings can, know where we come from, and learn.  I
guess I’m such a dork sometimes.

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