« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »

June 30, 2006

Still Inept at Your Job After a Couple of Years.

By: The Dude on the Right
Sometimes I wonder how some people still have their jobs.  No, wait, I suppose that's really not it.  I suppose I wonder how, after years at being on a job, they still seem like they are new on the job, and they also still have their job yet their hygiene leaves a lot to be desired.  My case in point is a dude who works at a local grocery store, manning the register in the liquor department.

Every now and then I am want to purchase some liquor, and there have been two, regular, check-out folks who have been working the register for years.  One is this nice, older lady.  She doesn't remember your name, but she does remember your face, and is always there with a "Hello" and a "How are your today?"  She is also able to run people through the line like nobody's business.  Scan, bag, scan, bag, scan, bag, scan, sticker, scan frequent shopper card, punch the right buttons, and you're out the door.

The other is this middle-aged dude where if the line is just two people deep you might as well hoof it to the normal check-out lines because your trip will probably be quicker.

And somehow, after working for years in the checkout lane and stocking shelves in the same liquor department, he still has a job, still hasn't seemed to figure out how it works, and well, taking pride in one's appearance doesn't seem to apply.

Here's what I'm talking about:

First off the dude is way fat.  Don't get me wrong, I need to lose some weight as well, and even some of the most obese people can at least be one with their obese selves and make it work for them.  Not this dude, he is pretty much, for no better term, a fat slob.  He is also sort of surly, never greets you with a smile, and doesn't seem to know how to wash his clothes, or at least to know when it's finally been too many days wearing the same shirt.  He also doesn't seem to remember anyone who comes through the line, because as much as I've seen him over the years, he still doesn't seem to recognize me.  But I can get past the initial gross-ness issue of the dude, what really blows my mind is after all of these years the dude still doesn't seem to be able to put together how all of this technology works, even though he also helps stocks the shelves in the liquor department.  In front of me is a wine person, with a dozen bottles of wine.  For every bottle, even if they are multiples of the same bottles of wine, check-out dude looks to find the bar-code before running it over the scanner.  Yes, that's right, after all of these years he still hasn't seemed to figure out the bar-code is on the back label of the bottle of wine and you don't really need to look for it.  And both you know and I know that on those cases of beer, the bar-code is on the bottom.  Not him.  He has to look on all four sides, then do the "head tilt" to look at the bottom and realize that "Aha!  There it is, that pesky bar-code!"  Lighting quick.  And still, after all of these years, you would have thought he would have some technique to actually put the items in those plastic bags, but no, not this check-out dude, because somehow he labors at still trying to figure out how those bags actually work.

And then comes the actual payment procedure.

So your items have all been scanned, he has scanned your frequent shopper card, and it's time to pay.  I would say 95% of the folks coming through this line know how to scan their credit card through the scanner and punch the buttons, or if they are paying with cash even better, but it's not the purchasers having the problem, it's check-out dude.  From what I can tell there are a couple of buttons to push depending on your method of purchase.  To me it sort of seems like it would be redundant - If they pay with cash, hit these buttons;  If it's a debit card, these buttons;  Credit, it's these.  - and after years with the same cash register system (I know it's the same because when the grocery folks switched the cash register system a bunch of years ago, the nice, older lady, took a little more time, explaining they switched the system), you would actually get used to what buttons to push, but not this check-out dude.  Nope, from day one, until day, well, it's have to have been over 500 on the job, check-out dude still works those buttons like it was day one.

And so I just wanted to vent about this dude who still has a job I think he should be much more familiar with because, thanks to my fault, I didn't listen to my normal rule today, and that is to head for the main check-outs if two people are ahead of me when this dude is running the liquor check-out.  There I stood, for about 15 minutes, waiting to pay for my twelve pack of Heineken Light (my diet starts tomorrow), and not really wondering how this dude still had a job, but how this lazy, fat, slob, still had a job that after all of these years he still hasn't figured out how to do it at least somewhat efficiently.  Thank you for letting me vent.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2006

What's New? A Movie Review of "Click."

For this movie review of "Click," The Dude on the Right is disappointed and worred because lately Adam Sandler hasn't been able to bring the funny. He's just still happy that Kate Beckinsale is still smokin' hot, and would like to role-play with her, even though she has her own dude.

Posted by Rightdude at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2006

What's New? My Sister is a Champion, How to See "Superman Returns," "Spiderman 3" is Only 11 Months Away, and Don't Worry About That Asteroid.

For this podcast, The Dude on the Right congratulates his sister, has some movie viewing dilemmas for "Superman Returns" and "The Devil Wears Prada," and is psyched about "Spider-Man 3" even though it won't be released for 11 months. He also isn't worried about the asteroid coming near Earth over the 4th of July weekend, unless, well, those tracking it forgot to convert Metric to English, or vice versa. And then he just babbles for no apparent reason because he can never really figure out how to close out these podcasts sometimes.

Posted by Rightdude at 8:10 PM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2006

My Sister is a Champion, The Boogeyman, and a Happy Shed.

By: The Dude on the Right
Okay, I'm a day or so behind.  I'm sorry, it won't happen again, until the next time.  Anyway, I made it back to my old country, and back to my current country, actually forgot to get together with Stu to get a podcast done today, but thought I would at least start things back up with some blog talk of my trip home.

Well, my trip home reinforced my continuing belief that those who aren't used to driving on a three-lane highway have absolutely no clue on how to drive on a three lane highway, how my old country town is letting its resident's learn what it might be like to drive on the moon, how sleeping in a basement has some benefits in a house of older parents, and how my sister, and I hate to proclaim this, but my sister is a champion.  I will not really elaborate at what my sister is a champion of, but in all of my life, no one, and I have been around the best of them, has ever accomplished an accomplishment such as hers.  I might talk to Stu about it when we actually get together to do a podcast, and let him know he used to be a contender, but he has now fallen so far below the bar, well, there is no getting back in contention.  I will just say these things right now:  I think my sister's husband would be proud (at least that's what my sister said), my nephew should be glad he wasn't in Ohio (nor in any adjoining states) at the time, and my niece is still in awe that I survived.  My sister's championship aside, I have finally been able to combat my fear and sleep in my old, country home, basement, alone.  I'm thinking The Boogeyman that lives in the laundry room was caught off-guard with my coming home, and especially my camping out in the basement by myself.  Had he have known I was coming home, and sleeping alone in the basement, he probably would have wrestled up a bunch of his friends to spook me, but by the time I left it was too late for him, and I actually got an extra hour of sleep!  I suppose I should explain these last couple of sentences a bit.

When I was a youngin' there was one room in our house that creeped me out because I thought The Boogeyman lived there.  That room was our laundry room in the basement.  I don't know why, I'm sure there is some repressed memory that made it that way, but for whatever reason, whenever I had to go downstairs, I had to turn on all of the lights so I wouldn't be afraid of what might jump out of the laundry room.  Even as I got older, and more rational that there wasn't actually a boogeyman living in the laundry room, every time I would walk down the stairs to the basement, and even today, I couldn't help but remember how the laundry room spooked me out.  But this past weekend I won!  While at home I slept in the basement, in the dark, and no boogeyman attacked me, even in a completely dark basement, and I am confident that the next time I go home, and down those basement stairs, I am sure I will still wonder if The Boogeyman still lives in the laundry room, and that he has now just grown into a slacker in his boogeyman ways.

The Boogeyman aside, and being at home in the old country, I didn't take pictures again because, well, sometimes I'm a slacker, and for this weekend I was a slacker.  I wanted to do a blog or two but didn't, was going to do a podcast but am using the excuse that since neither my sister nor my niece wanted to do one, well, I didn't, and in some simple honesty, it was nice to just get away and watch some baseball, and I don't think those podcasts would have proved that productive because I would have just made fun of my sister or flipped-off my niece again.  I'm such a bizarre brother and Uncle.  I was also going to try to do a movie review about "Click," but didn't.  I saw the movie and give it 1 1/2 stars out of 5, but that review will wait.

And my drive back to my country was actually uneventful for a change.  Getting out of Ohio still showed that those folks don't know how to drive on a three-lane highway with a speed limit of 65, I am liking Indiana with their speed limit of 70 (those people seem to know how to drive it, even with two lanes), and in Ohio, near Toledo, this spot (the picture to the right) always, and on every trip back and forth, somehow brings my spirit up.  For the last bunch of trips I have kept trying to get a picture of this shed with my cell phone, and this time I finally got one, and for the life of me, I'm really surprised I got it.  It came up quick, I said to myself "Shit, here comes the 'Smiley Face' shed!"  I pulled my camera phone out of my pocket, set it up, and luckily snapped this picture, which I haven't been able to do before.  The rest of the pictures I tried to take on my way back to my dude-pad came out lousy, but for some reason the "Smiley" picture worked.  Weird how things happen like this sometimes.

So, I officially made it back to my Chicagoland pad.  The 4th of July Weekend is coming up for all of us, in whatever way for you, and me.  Me, I've got to deal with Ozzie Guillen and White Sox, Dusty Baker and his issues with Cubs, and keep betting with my Mom and the Indians.  I would like to get together with Stu to do a podcast, but if not, one should be coming tomorrow night.  My Dixie Chicks CD review is almost done, I am psyched about "Superman Returns" (but torn on where to see it first), and if I do write a review of "Click," spoilers will abound because the movie just pissed me off.

As much as it was good to be back home in the old country, and I sort of felt bad for flipping off my niece, but I'm claiming "Road Rage Syndrome," it is good to be back in my normal country.  I'm thinking one more night in the basement and The Boogeyman would have figured out I was down there.  I can think of nothing worse than a 39 year old screaming up the basement stairs that "The Boogeyman" is coming to get me.  Oh wait, I can think of something worse, and that is why my sister is a champion.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 7:12 PM | Comments (2)

June 22, 2006

A Haircut Gone Wrong: Part Final

By: The Dude on the Right
I ended yesterday's blog, Part 1 of my "A Haircut Gone Wrong" episode with the simple line, "I miss seeing Vita."  If you wonder why, read yesterday's blog first, otherwise, here is Part 2 of the installment, the actual haircut experience, gone wrong.

... As I was heading home to the dude-pad, it was finally time to get that almost desperately needed haircut.  It's probably been about two months since my last haircut, which is sometimes long in haircut time, but I've gone longer, I think around four months has been my record.  Vita had a field day making fun of me when I came in for that haircut.  But Vita was not in this equation, I headed back to the same place that left me with two decent heads of hair with two different stylists.  I walk in and there she is, "Piercing Girl," and this time I had my contact lenses in so I wouldn't be blind during my haircut.  I tell the dudette at the desk that I'm looking for a haircut and a blow-dry, but I wasn't paying close enough attention because Piercing Girl was just finishing up with her client, so I didn't say I would wait for her, and all of a sudden I was with "I've Got Better Tools Girl."  I should have sensed there was a problem when, as she was washing my hair, she commented how she prefers to get her hair cut with whomever cuts her hair because it is in the haircutter's basement and she doesn't have to "wait in line" to get a haircut.  I guess what she was telling me was that coming here was a mistake.  This time she was right.

With my hair all washed, and me seated in her cutting chair, it occurred to me that she was a little too short.  Now I'm not a tall dude, but the haircut chair wouldn't go low enough so I had to crouch down a tad for her to be at a comfortable height.  And here is where I really knew things would be going wrong.  I have a simple haircut, at least so I think.  It's parted on the side a bit, and generally when I get a haircut I'm looking for it cut to the top of my ears, with no sideburns, with a square cut in back, slightly above the collar.  She went to cut the hair on the sides, first trying to line up the scissors for a straight line getting rid of my "sideburn" hair, but somehow couldn't just cut the hair in one nice clip.  Nope, she tried to do a series of clips, leading to a jagged look for the side hair.  At this point I could tell she was really pretty new to this haircutting thing, and I was her latest guinea pig, but at least she had the cool clippers.

So she quickly abandons the side of my head and heads to the top of my head where she grabs a lock of hair and asks "Is this short enough?"  I tell her just a little more, which for her ends up being about a finger and a half worth of hair, to which I say, "A little less."  With my patience in full patience mode, I knew I was in for the full ride, and a ride it was.  I've seen Vita cut my hair a lot of times, and even the other girls at this place had the "grab first batch of hair here and cut to appropriate length, grab another batch of hair off the newly cut hair a bit and match the length, but adjust for the shape of the head and haircut" maneuver.  This girl, though, couldn't.  She would miss her mark where she made the first cut, thereby grabbing a handful of hair with no reference where to cut next, and continued.  With the top of my head not that bad, she now moved to the back of my head, and I could still see her struggling.  The right side wasn't too bad, she would try to flip up some hair with the comb, and oh, did I mention that she already dumped two combs onto the floor by this time?, and then clip some of it.  She didn't really seem to have a game-plan, just trying to make it shorter, and around the ear, but not really having the ability to just make a decision and cut.

But it was the left side of my head that, for some reason, just gave this girl trouble.

Now since I hadn't gotten my hair cut in a while, and as it got longer I skipped the mousse portion of my morning regimen, so my hair on the sides sort of trained to "flip" out a little bit.  And she had the hardest time with this, especially on the left side.  She would flip up some hair with her comb, try to cut it, but because it was already dry it would fall before the scissors got there, then she would try again, and each time catching just a little tuft of hair.

My guess is that for this haircut chain, they will give you the basics, some combs, scissors, but for the most part, if you want cool stuff, you are on your own.  This girl had the cordless trimmer thing, which one of her colleagues borrowed earlier, and it is a cool thing if you can use it right, but I'm thinking she had it just because whomever cuts her hair has one, because she couldn't use it right, especially for the side of the head hair.  There is sort of an art to using the cordless trimmer to sculpt the hair.  You use the comb to line up the hair, and this only works if the hair is sort of damp (mine wasn't), then you nicely trim the hair along the teeth of the comb.  You move the comb a little (keeping some of the other cut hair for some reference) and do it again.  She kept trying, especially on the left side of my head, but forgot the hair needs some wetness to keep it pointing out of the teeth of the comb.

My hair is finally a little shorter, and in the meantime, the two other dudettes cutting hair have already gone through their next batch of clients.  At this point my dudette actually told me she couldn't figure out how to get the hair on the left side of my head to go how she wanted, and by this point, I knew I was just better off getting out of there without hurting her feelings, and without her cutting any more of my hair.  As I was looking in the mirror it didn't look like the back of my hair was that straight, I could see that the right side wasn't too bad, and that the left side had some slight gouging which I figured I could cover up with some mousse and a blow dryer.  And as I fibbed to her that "Everything looks fine," I still couldn't help but wonder how you can't at least get the first cut, leveling out the hairline with the top of the ear, to be level.

And so ends this episode of "A Haircut Gone Wrong."  Look, I realize the dudette was probably kind of new at this haircut thing, and that's sort of why I didn't want to wail into her while I was there, or even show her how to use her crazy clipper thing.  Maybe I should have inquired how long she has been cutting hair, and if it's been over a year, maybe it might be time for her to look for new work.  But I didn't, and now I sit with a haircut I have to try to work with in the morning to make sure it doesn't look like a haircut the previous girl who cut my hair would make fun of.  Me, I've got a couple of months before I need another haircut, as messed up as this one is, and then the dilemma comes up:  Do I risk it and try to get "Piercing Girl" to cut my hair again, or do I just try to plan a trip into Chicago and call Vita?  As much as "Piercing Girl" is nice on the eyes, I'm thinking it might be nice to talk with Vita again, who's also nice on the eyes, and give her my family update, and see how hers is doing as well.  With getting a haircut from Vita I've got to plan a little bit better in getting said haircut in a little bit better fashion, but I know what I'll get - A decent haircut, and comfortable conversation, and isn't that what we are always looking for?  But then again I might just be to lazy and pray I get Piercing Girl the next time around.

Sometimes I'm such an idiot.  Happy Haircutting!

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

Posted by Rightdude at 8:27 PM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2006

A Haircut Gone Wrong: Part 1

By: The Dude on the Right
I was going to let yesterday's blog wrap things up here until I got back to the old country, but an incident today, as part of planning for my trip to visit the P's, went as I feared it might one of these times.  This blog is simply about my haircut today, and you can probably relate in one way or another.  Or you can just quit reading and go on with your daily life, and check in for my next Blog.  But isn't there something nice about a getting a decent haircut?  Today, it didn't happen.

First, some back-story...

For the longest time I've been getting my hair cut by a nice and nice looking dudette named Vita.  I was introduced to Vita, and her then hair salon partner, Angela, by a college friend, Laughing Boy, back in, well, college.  Laughing Boy knew Angela, but it was Vita's place, and really, I didn't care which one cut my hair, on the looks side they both measured up, but in the end I just wanted a decent hair cut, actually a decent cut of all of the hairs on my head, and eventually, this was the place I always went.  They weren't the cheapest, but the both of them gave a consistently decent haircut.  As the years went on, after college, except maybe a couple of times during my stint as a Radio Shack Manager in downstate Illinois, I still visited Vita's place and got a decent haircut.  As my job careers would have it, my locations still stayed neared my old college stomping grounds, and thus, near Vita's place.  Vita, she eventually closed up her shop and Angela went away, but Vita kept doing her hair thing in her basement in her nearby neighborhood, and I kept getting my haircuts there.  Over the years, and it has probably been almost 19 years since either Angela, but for the most part, Vita, have been cutting my hair, Vita's gotten to know me and my family whom she has never met, and I know a little bit about her family as well.  She knows when I am going to visit my parents, because, well, I need a haircut, and we joked a lot because I always took too long to get a haircut.  She saw me starting to go "gray" and asked if I wanted to have my hair colored, to which I replied "What's the point?" and she related a story about a dude whose hair she colored who one day couldn't understand why he was spending so much money to "not go gray."  Conversation aside, and she has a super-friendly dog, I could always count on a decent haircut, even when I got a little goofy with a spiky look.

But then something changed.

One of the companies I do computer consulting for, that was keeping me near to Vita's haircuts, moved.  The new location wasn't close to their previous location, nope, it was out into suburban-land, which traveling-wise is actually better for me, but it was nowhere near Vita's house, so now I had a problem:  I had to find a new place to get a haircut.

My quick solution - one of the national chains.  And it wasn't that bad for the first two haircuts.  For the first haircut I got a cutie with nice assets and some cool tattoos, a piercing through her lower, umm, below her lip, and I was just a little sad that I didn't have my contacts in because, well, once taking my glasses off I was pretty much blind and couldn't focus on her assets, I mean my haircut.  The easy joking back and forth was that I couldn't see what she was really doing to my hair, and she laughed.  She asked me to take a look, I put my glasses back on, and she did a pretty good job with the haircut.  I was pleased, just wishing I had my contacts in, but I left feeling okay about my haircut and not feeling that bad about not seeing Vita again.

A couple of months go by (I'm not that quick to get a haircut), and I'm heading home again to see the parents, so I know I need another haircut, but sadly, piercing girl wasn't there, and I got "when I'm out with my husband I always point out to him people who got a bad haircut" girl.  Again I had no eye contacts, so the joking was back and forth about my not being able to see the haircut.  "Perfect Haircut" girl professes during the entire process, from the washing of the hair to the final removing of the haircut cape, that she is the best haircutter, and I just humored her during the entire process.  She didn't do that bad of a haircut, but piercing girl did better, and now it was time for haircut number three, without Vita.

And this time, things went wrong.

And this time it will wait for my next blog to explain everything that went wrong because this blog has gone on too long as it is, and I'm trying to watch two baseball games and "America's Got Talent" at the same time so I can't focus on my bad hair anymore.

I've just got to say this...

I miss seeing Vita.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 8:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2006

A College Paper About the Word "Fuck," Going Home, and Maybe Some Music Listening.

By: The Dude on the Right
If you didn't listen to our "Stu & The Dudes's Weekend Wrap-Up," I've got to thank our staff member Stu Gotz for solving part of my new movie-going dilemma that I talked about in my last blog.  His suggestion was since the old movie theater had the better viewing experience, when it comes to blockbluster-type movies, pay the extra buck and a half and head to my tried and true theater, but for the most part, I should save the cash and head to the new theater for the rest of the movies.   Thanks Stu!

On another topic, one of the blogs I read on a regular basis is from a dude named Brad Feld.  Subscribe to it if you will.  I don't always agree with him, but he found a great piece by a dude from Ohio State about the word "fuck."  Thankfully he read the entire thing and gave some great thoughts, appropriate for his blog title, so I was able to skim over the entire "fuck" piece.  I just found Brad's thoughts entertaining and thought I would share the links.

On a last topic, I wanted to post something tonight since I'm not sure when our next post will be, at least in the next few days.  That's because I'm heading back to the old country for a weekend of rest and relaxation.  Okay, it's not the old country, it's just Ohio, and it's not a weekend of rest and relaxation, it's just a weekend of getting together.  But unlike the last time I went home, when I forgot to charge the battery in my little digital camera, said camera is on charge so I'm hoping to give a fun-filled blog with pictures from my homestead.  I'm also taking the "Mobile Podcast Studio" with me so I'm planning on wrestling up my niece, one of my siblings, or one of my parents to do a podcast over the weekend.  My guess - they'll all chicken out and I'll just have to find something entertaining and topical to talk about, much like I always do.

In the meantime I've got to make sure my laptop is set to update the website from afar, get some laundry done so I have clean clothes, get my garbage out in time, and get a haircut.  The other thing is that even though I have my Sirius Satellite Radio, as my driving day is Friday, Howard Stern is off this Friday.  As much as I like "The Friday Show," I'm thinking about listening to a bunch of new music on my iPod and finally, and I mean finally, getting some music reviews posted.  I've been really liking the new Dixie Chicks CD, have become a little iffy with Blue October, and need a couple of more spins with Augustana.  But then I've broken promises before.  I guess we'll just have to see how the trip goes.  Let's just leave this blog at...

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

Posted by Rightdude at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2006

What's New? Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up: Stu's Father's Day, Britney Talk, Movie Talk, and Some Fun but Dirty Songs.

For this episode of "Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up," it was Father's Day for Stu, but they both saw "Nacho Libre." There's also some talk about "The Lake House," but The Dude on the Right shows his proficiency as a radio DJ talking up his new favorite band, "Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocolypse."

Posted by Rightdude at 7:07 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2006

Two Dilemmas and Some New Movie Reviews.

By: The Dude on the Right
I have two dilemmas I am dealing with right now, both of which I hope to remember to discuss with Stu Gotz during our "Weekend Wrap-Up" podcast tomorrow.  Well, one I will definitely discuss with him, and that simply has to do with having a podcast that really isn't for the kids.  No, we aren't going to have any strippers or porn stars in the studio discussing perverted sex acts or how they were molested as children, although Stu would probably welcome that.  Nope, I'll leave that to the kings of those who do that.  In any case I heard a new song on the radio this weekend.  Nope, it wasn't on an FM nor an AM station, it was on satellite radio, Sirius as a matter of fact, and it's a pretty blunt song about Connecticut.  The thing is I laughed my ass off during the song, and I'd like to play some clips for Stu, as well as some clips from some of the band's other songs.  I'm not sure if I want to go there, namely risqué songs, but I think Stu will appreciate the songs, for the campy feel they are worth.

My other dilemma has to do with movie theater loyalty.  I don't think Stu has this issue, but for the past many years I have been a steady patron of our AMC theater sort of near my dude-pad.  It was a little further away than some of my other local theaters, but it was the only one with stadium seating, had a huge variety of times movies would be playing, had great online ticketing that didn't charge you anything if you were a MovieWatcher member, and even gave you free stuff (popcorn, sody-pop, and movies) and other bonuses if you were also a said member of said MovieWatcher program.  But another movie theater has opened, much closer to me, and at slightly cheaper prices.  The problem I have is they don't have free online ticketing, the movie screen isn't as enveloping, and as far as I know, no free stuff for patronizing them.  The benefit is that the seats are a little more comfortable and bouncy, and they stock Raisinets.  I suppose I might have to do a statistical analysis of the pros and cons of both theaters, but man, the five minute travel time versus the 20 minute travel time is a huge issue, although without that travel time, I wouldn't have heard said song I eluded to in my first paragraph of this plight had I gone to the closer theater on Saturday.  Who knew going to the movies could be so complicated?

On the simpler of things, I did catch "Nacho Libre" and "The Lake House" this weekend.  I'll talk to Stu about them as well, but feel free to read the reviews in the meantime.  There's a few more movie previews posted, with a few more to come in the next couple of days, and then finally I should be all caught up in getting my movie previews done.  My next step is to get back to some concert reviewing, some CD reviewing I've been promising for awhile, and even some DVD's.  My summer is looking very busy, and hopefully very fun.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)

What's New? A Movie Review of "The Lake House."

For this movie review of "The Lake House," The Dude on the Right is a sap for a good romance, likes time travel and magic mailboxes, but wonders if Alex might have gotten a ticket because he doesn't think his truck had the proper license plate on it. Even so, he still liked the movie.

Posted by Rightdude at 6:27 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2006

What's New? A Movie Review of "Nacho Libre."

For this movie review of "Nacho Libre," The Dude on the Right is sort of torn between his not having seen "Napoleon Dynamite" and wishing the movie was more like "School of Rock."

Posted by Rightdude at 8:31 PM | Comments (0)

What's New? A Great Movie Line, Mentos & Diet Coke Infatuation, and Your iPod and Your Toilet.

For this podcast The Dude on the Right finds a great movie quote, is still infatuated with Mentos & Diet Coke, but for the most part understands the importance of an iPod player combined with a toilet paper holder. You know you want to listen to your iPod in the bathroom, don't you?

Posted by Rightdude at 8:26 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2006

Mentos & Diet Coke: I Wish I Were In College Again.

By: The Dude on the Right
I guess this phenomenon started back in April 2006 when some folks found out that if you dropped a couple of Mentos candies into a 2 liter of Diet Coke, well, the Diet Coke erupted.  Sometimes I'm too big and slow in finding out about these things, but I blame most of this by being out of college and not even thinking about trying wacky stuff like this anymore, namely dropping some Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke.  But this morning I was listening to the radio here in Chi-Town, and Johnny Brandmeier was reading a story from, I think The Wall Street Journal, talking about mixing said candies into said soft drink.  Supposedly a geyser erupts, and Johnny B. did so by trying it and taking out some ceiling tiles in a bathroom (at least Johnny listened to his producer, Guy, and didn't try it in the broadcast studio).  I really meant to pick up a couple of 2 liters and some Mentos today, and try the experiment for myself, but I was too lazy so I just hunted out some videos on the internet, and none lived up to the folks at EepyBird.com, with a click to it at the right.  It's complete with cool music, they try to compete with the fountains at the Bellagio Fountains, and it is fantastic.  I know some of their secrets to getting different eruption heights, thanks to my extensive engineering background, and even their simple yet inventive way of setting off the "charges" as they would be.

There are lots of videos out there in internet-land about this phenomenon, so all you pretty much need to do is type something like "Diet Coke Mentos Video" into your favorite search engine.  Some show what look like college dudes (oh, times like this I miss college) tossing lightly capped versions of the same experiment, resulting in rocketing 2-liter bottles, and some just show failed experiments.  Chemistry is fun sometimes, and if I were a high school teacher trying to teach a class, on the interaction of various chemicals, this one is a hell of a lot more fun, and a hell of a lot safer, than mixing sodium and water, at least I think that is the bad one.  It's been a while since I took Chemistry, so please don't try to mix anything.

If you are younger you might be more likely to say something like "What happens if I drop a Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke?"  If you are older, that question never seems to come around anymore.  Sometimes, in this case, if you are an older, wouldn't it have been fun to find this out and show your kids?  I admit I've lost a lot of this experimenting, but maybe we shouldn't.  This is too philosophical.  Just get out there with your 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and some Mentos and see it explode.  You might need a shower, but have fun.  And wear safety goggles.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2006

What's New? Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up: Guess the Celebrity, Rude Old Ladies, Going Potty Before the Omen, and Champions.

For this podcast, Stu & The Dude give their weekend wrap-up. It's an action-packed episode with talks about "Cars," "A Prairie Home Companion," rude movie-goers, kids at inappropriate movies, and new Chicago champions.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:08 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2006

Chicago has the Champions, Should Blue-Hairs Get a Pass at the Theater, and do Potty and "The Omen" mix?

By: The Dude on the Right
We are the champions!  We are the champions!  That's right, here in Chicago, we are the champions!  And I watched the game.  I was there with them at the beginning, when they were the Chicago Bruisers.  And I haven't been there for them since, until today, when I remembered that the Chicago Rush were in Arenabowl XX and it was on TV.  So I watched.  Yay!  I still remember Super Bowl XX, and how couldn't I, it was my first winter in Chicago, and the Chicago Bears won.  So how much of a weird twist of fate is it that Mike Ditka coached the Chicago Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX, and there he is, part owner of the Chicago Rush, with the Rush winning Arenabowl XX.  Coincidence or are the Football Gods just giving Mike Ditka his due?  Somehow, though, I don't think the Chicago Rush are going to get a parade. Anyway, the only thing that sort of kept bugging me was the continued talk of this being Chicago's first trip to the Arenabowl.  No, this is the first trip for the Chicago Rush to the Arenabowl.  The Bruisers, one of the original Arena Football teams, were there, in 1987, for Arenabowl II, where sadly they lost to the Detroit Drive.  In any case, we have Arena Football bragging rights for a year!  Hooray!!

On a different tangent, I have some movie issues to talk with Stu about during our weekend wrap-up podcast tomorrow, but one I also wanted to bounce off of you, the reading crowd.  The dilemma is simply this:  You're in a movie theater, and the couple sitting one seat away from you insists on jibber-jabbering back and forth during the movie.  They aren't that loud, but loud enough.  Do you nicely lean over and ask them to keep quiet?  Do you look in their direction and give them the "if you don't stop talking I'm going to do something" stare?  Do you give them that annoying "Shhh" sound?  Do you wait for the end of the movie and express your displeasure at them for their talking during the movie?  This is usually an easy answer, it's usually one of the listed responses, or you just go home upset.  But what if the couple were a couple of elderly ladies?  I knew I should have said something, maybe as I was leaving, but I wasn't up to a confrontation with a couple of blue-hairs.  I knew I could probably out-run them if I had to, but I enjoyed the movie, "A Prairie Home Companion," so much, that I just let it go.  I guess my question is really should they get a pass for talking during a movie because they are elderly?

And lastly I'm waiting to do my review of "The Omen" until I can go back and re-watch the original version and see if I really remember how it stacks up.  I will say this for now, that this 2006 version of "The Omen" seemed to drag a lot during the beginning half of the movie, and then when it got to the bad stuff, it was so over-the-top that I burst out laughing at times.  Don't get me wrong, the beheading in the 2006 was cool, but it will never stick with me like the beheading in the original.

And one last movie question, which I'm pretty sure I can guess Stu's answer if I remember to ask him, is this:  Should you bring your kid to see "The Omen" when you have to ask her, about five minutes before the film starts, "Do you have to go 'potty' before the movie starts?"  Ah, parents of today.

I suppose I'll get off my questioning soap box for now. 

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

Posted by Rightdude at 6:18 PM | Comments (0)

What's New? A Movie Review of "A Prairie Home Companion."

For this movie review of "A Prairie Home Companion," The Dude on the Right harkens back to a time when he was younger. He also gives a warning that even though he thought it was a 4 1/2 star movie, you might walk out half-way through.

Posted by Rightdude at 6:15 PM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2006

What's New? A Movie Review of "Cars."

For this movie review of "Cars," The Dude on the Right got a little weepy. What a puss.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:36 PM | Comments (0)

What's New? My Baseball Team Dilemma, Seeing The Omen with Kids, and Anna Nalick, back on the Charts.

For this podcast, The Dude on the Right wonders which baseball team to root for, wonders about parents, and wonders why he is again hearing Anna Nalick on the radio with a song from over a year ago.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 7, 2006

Your T.V. Shows are Lost for now, but at Least Gay Marriage isn't an Issue Anymore, yet..

By: The Dude on the Right
Today was another win for a group of folks, but for most of the rest of us, it was a loss, because, well, we didn't make the call, write the letter, send the e-mail, to our elected officials, and that is unless, of course, you want your primetime TV to not reflect 2006.  And I, like you, you can blame me, because I did have a nice letter to my Senator, Barack Obama, opposing this thing, but I didn't realize this thing already went through and I never sent it.

First, let's get to the win because it's an easier argument.  It's an election year for a batch of government folks, and what better way to gain some votes in your conservative state than to support an amendment to our United States Constitution that would state "marriage" is only a union between a man and a woman.  Well, those supporting this amendment got their platform, but the Senate rejected the proposed amendment, so right now you won't see it on your ballot.  This one was easy for most folks on both sides because they know where their votes are coming from, and it lends to easy election ads.

Now the messed up vote, affecting a huge majority of us.  Today the House of Representatives voted to raise the fine for obscene or indecent programming on your TV screen or your radio to $325,000 from $32,500.  I don't know what the infatuation is with the 325 number is, but in any case, if you don't think this will affect you, just wait until you start watching your prime-time shows on the major networks, those being CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and the new CW, or listening to your radio.  No one in network land really knows how they can relate to the real world anymore, because there aren't any defined rules, and the FCC isn't helping.  A little while back some ABC folks asked the FCC if airing the uncut version of "Saving Private Ryan," complete with swear words (fuck and shit being the most of them), was going to get them fined.  The FCC folks told them, I think, something like "we can't determine what is finable until we get complaints."  Most of you don't realize that right now, 5, that's right, five, people, are given the power to decide what is obscene, indecent, and they are going to fine your ass because they, the 5, five, that's right, five fucking people, over this entire United States, have the authority to decide, what you, me, your friends, my friends, and their friends, should be able to see on TV or listen to on radio.

You can complain, bitch, and moan because your shows aren't edgy anymore, but you know what?  - It is yours and my fault.  Why?  Because we didn't send mention to our elected people that pretty much says the FCC folks shouldn't have "Indecency/Obscenity" authority.  A small number of folks are working to take away our freedoms, and those freedoms might be gay rights, or your right to watch TV that reflects society today, but if we don't work to be a voice, tomorrow might let us lose our voice.  Those on the side of restricting free speech are gaining ground, and those on the side of free speech are losing it.  If you don't think so, wait until the small number start pushing the agenda of censoring things on cable and satellite TV (i.e. The Sopranos), or on satellite radio (i.e. Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony).  I can give a bunch of Benjamin Franklin quotes, but right now this one seems most appropriate:  "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety."

Right now I can't really complain, but just worry, because I've become accustomed to a lot of cable TV channels and satellite radio, so FCC regulations aren't there.  And if they do get there, we have really crossed a wrong line.  A small group has been influencing our TV and radio listening, I suppose I just wonder if the real groups will get off their asses and make as much noise.

Sorry for this this sort of controversial blog, but these two things really hit me today.  Let's see how tomorrow goes.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 9:49 PM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2006

What's New? Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up: Stu Did Nothing, The Dude Saw "The Break-Up" and Posted 20 Movie Previews.

For this podcast, Stu and The Dude reminisce about their weekend. Stu didn't do much, but The Dude on the Right talks a lot about seeing the movie "The Break-Up" with Whammy, where Stu asks The Dude if he did the "popcorn trick." Their's also some "Sopranos" talk, and some movie preview talk since The Dude on the Right posted about 20 new movie previews.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 4, 2006

Going Through TV Withdrawals, and a Bitch at the Racetrack.

By: The Dude on the Right
We had pretty much a perfect weather weekend here in the Chicago area, and I'll talk to Stu about it during our podcast tomorrow.  So because I can't give you a synopsis about what I did this weekend, I'll just give you some ramblings off of my head.

In any case, last week I was in a funk.  I think I am going through TV withdrawals since all of my standard shows are done, except "The Sopranos" which concludes its season tonight.  I almost got sucked back into "So You Think You Can Dance," but baseball was on.  I didn't accomplish much for the web site, at least on the surface (or at least that you could see).  I accidentally made some huge errors during the animation process that has delayed our latest episode of "Stu & The Dude Reviewin' the Movies for You!", our review of "Over the Hedge," about a week.  I watched too much baseball, for some bizarre reason kept getting sucked into "Batman Begins" on cable, which I think is a fabulous film, even bought the DVD, but still haven't reviewed it (that's really got to be remedied soon), but I did accomplish something and you can now find some small accomplishments on the "Movie Preview" page.  So far there are fourteen new movie previews posted, with six more to come in the next day or so, and another six to ten ready for posting by next weekend, just in time for your summer "What the hell movie should we go see this weekend" questions.

And for some reason some of my thoughts also keep coming back to my trip to Arlington Park (a horse racetrack here in Illinois), and I don't really know why.  One thought was the fact that the one jockey won every race he was in, five races in all.  As someone always looking for easy money, and even though the horses he was riding weren't long shots, it would have been easy to double most of your betting money that afternoon, if only you would know.  But isn't that the thrill, and danger, of gambling, the fact that you never know?  I did come home with more money than I figured I would lose, so I still consider myself a winner on the gambling front.  The other thing that really struck me about that day was this bitch of a woman we encountered, and how I still wish I could be creative on my feet rather than thinking of things to say later in the day.

Anyway, it was still early in the afternoon and the six of us there grabbed some eats to get us through the afternoon.  Looking for a nice spot to eat our pulled pork sandwiches and corn on the cob, I think it was Trash who spotted a dude sitting by himself at a picnic table.  She nicely asked him if he was saving the picnic table, to which he replied that he was only waiting for one person, so if we wanted a spot to eat, to go ahead.  So half of us did.  Our intention was simply to eat our food and be on our merry way, and the dude seemed to truly understand that.  About halfway through our meal, the person he was waiting for showed up, a dudette, and she proceeded to start to chew him out a little bit for giving up part of the picnic table.  It wasn't a loud berating, but we could hear it, and it seemed bizarre, on the level, that for this picnic table, you wanted it all to yourself, just the two of you, where you could really be a lot more cozy on the lawn.  Anyway, I don't know if the dudette was his wife, girlfriend, sister, mistress, but at least he had the balls to pretty much say "Just shut up and sit down," knowing we would be leaving on our merry way soon.  Therein lies the "I wish I could have been quicker on my feet" thing.  How many options would there be?  Oh, the options are so many.  The first, and easiest, would have just been to sit there the rest of the day.  Let my friends go on their merry way betting and such, but just sit there, telling them "No, I like this spot, I think I'm going to camp out here all afternoon, maybe fake phoning them my bet for the next race."  Then there would be the "Pretend we are from out of town and make her look like a dumb-ass" move by putting on a fake, southern accent, and nicely go to the dude "Thank you so much for you hospitality, sir, and giving us a nice spot to eat.  I hope we didn't cause any problem between you and your misses" as we were leaving.  And so many other thoughts kept coming to mind, bending on the obnoxious to the making her look like a complete horse's ass (get it, we were at the horse races, horse's ass - oh man, I kill myself sometimes).

In any case, maybe getting that off my chest here in this blog will help me to move on, realize that "Big Brother" will be starting back up in a few weeks, and maybe I should use this time of lack of TV shows productively.

On tap this week for Entertainment Ave! hopefully will be our podcast of "Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up," more movie preview postings, movie reviews of "Cars," "The Omen," and "A Prairie Home Companion," and I really want to do some CD reviews of the new Dixie Chick's album, an album from Blue October, and I'll try like hell to get a DVD review of "Batman Begins" done.  I'd like to say I promise to get all of that done, but there is the season finale of "Deal or No Deal" that might eat into some of my reviewing time.  God I sometimes hate TV.

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

Posted by Rightdude at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)

What's New? A Movie Review of "The Break-Up."

For this movie review of "The Break-Up," The Dude on the Right generally liked the film, but was bummed that Jennifer Aniston's butt was blurry. He also wonders who is getting in trouble for having the wrong license plate on their car and where was "The Bean?"

Posted by Rightdude at 2:45 PM | Comments (0)