RIP Stephen Cannell, Goodbye Jimmy Johnson, The Karate Kid, and Organized Chaos!

By: The Dude on the Right

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As this podcast episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” kicks off, I play “Name That TV Theme Song” with Stu Gotz in homage to the passing of Stephen Cannell, TV series creator extraordinaire. And as I start with some TV talk, Stu kicks right into his wondering more about “The Event” and its likeness to “Flash Forward,” and not liking “Nikita” that much. Me, I’m sad that Jimmy Johnson got booted from “Survivor: Nicaragua,” but I’ll get over it as “The Real Housewives of D.C.” is finishing up and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” comes back.

On the movie front, Stu, for reasons I still don’t understand, watched the original “Karate Kid” via Netflix, while I give a 5 star rating to “The Social Network” and agree with all of the Oscar buzz that is beginning to float around for the movie. The Gotz Children learned about fire safety, I learned the value of organized chaos at Nordstrom’s shoe department, Stu questions the proper way to pay for a magazine subscription, and with the Chicago Bears’ loss, Stu is laughing his ass off while I’m just wondering why anyone would want to take a snap with that offense sucking so bad.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Fall TV Spectacular, Go Bears, Two Miles or Three, and Katy Perry has Boobs.

By: The Dude on the Right

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Even though Stu Gotz saw “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga”Hoole,” most of this edition of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast is about television and the return of the fall season. Yup, I’m all about “Chuck” and its various references to pop culture (Come on, who doesn’t like a Vandelay Industries or Drago from the Rocky movies reference?) as well as “Survivor: Nicaragua,” still cheering on Jimmy Johnson but glad the Shannon dude is gone, meanwhile Stu is nestling back in with “Medium” and “Hawaii 5.0,” sort of, while neither of us are buying into the hype of “The Event.”

Stu is proud of his little Gotz’s as one completed his black belt training and the other was a patient, little lad, and I’m proud of myself, patting me on the back for some cleaning I did on Saturday. And, oh yea, there is some wedding talk, this time about seating arrangements and how easy they are, and talk about Katy Perry and her boobs on Saturday Night Live. Lastly, sort of, Stu is addicted to the internet, and it’s not a porn site for a change – this time it’s some doodle cartoons on YouTube that have caught his fancy, and he tries to rope me in. But I’ll have none of it – I’ve got the Chicago Bears playing the Green Bay Packers on the TV tonight! Go Bears!

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Kid’s Parties, Parade Love, Butterflies, Survivor, but No Movies, sort of.

By: The Dude on the Right

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There could have been a wrinkle in my pristine reputation that I’ve been trying to build with my future in-laws, and during this episode of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I tell Stu how a South Park song could have ruined it all! Okay, my reputation isn’t that pristine, but Cartman singing about Kyle’s mom probably wouldn’t be song neither my future mom-in-law nor dad-in-law would ever listen to, and would have probably garnered some looks, but during a cleaning Saturday, it could have happened. Stu, though, diverting the topic from dirty songs, sings the praises of the structure of “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,” much to my agreement.

Meanwhile, as weekends go, Stu’s was chock full of excitement and analysis with:

  • A trip to Chuck E Cheese
  • A trip to a butterfly festival
  • Eating oysters for the first time
  • and getting ready for the fall TV season

As far as me, I dissect to Stu my weekend of:

  • Being loved at a parade
  • Loving the new season of “Survivor: Nicaragua” with Jimmy Johnson
  • and seeing a gallon jug full of something that was probably pee.

Stu didn’t see any movies, I didn’t see any movies, we might see “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” next weekend, and neither of us will probably ever see “Waiting for Superman” even though Oprah seems to endorse it and tweeted that only we can stop the downward spiral. And let’s not forget, that in our 20 minutes, we also discuss the conflicting stories that the various trailers for “Megamind” seem to be telling.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Movie Rental Mania, Bears Talk, Oprah Talk, Brad Pitt and Suits of Meat.

By: The Dude on the Right

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The Chicago Bears season opener came along, and during this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I give Stu Gotz my excuse as to why I missed the most magical game of the season, at least so far. Sure, I blame my BFF (Get well my Love!), but what man doesn’t?

Blame-game aside, we dissect the Bears’ win that should have really been a loss, and we also dissect the MTV Video Music Awards, or at least wonder about music these days and who might still be around in ten years. Stu’s Little Gotz made a little movie, “Prince of Persia” passes my BFF’s movie test, Stu’s RV is stored for the winter, and I may mock it, but part of me wishes I were in Oprah’s studio audience today because who wouldn’t want a free trip to Australia!

All of that, I’m looking forward to Jimmy Johnson on “Survivor: Nicaragua,” and did Mama Gotz ‘mile high club’ Brad Pitt? I think part of Stu hopes so because then he can search out Jessica Alba.

Thanks for listening! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Chicago Bears, Machete, Weddings, Parades, Loneliness, and Flipping Off the Devil.

By: The Dude on the Right

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What a Labor Day weekend, and what better way to recap it than with a Stu & The Dude’s Weekend Wrap-Up! Podcast! Yup, my weekend was lonely, or rather spent many a time alone, while Stu was all over the place, and with people. Yup, my BFF had some things to take care of, so I tell Stu how I reverted to my old ways, catching a movie, by myself, namely this one being “Machete.” I let Stu know if it is any good (it was!), and how I was happy I went because it’s a movie my BFF would never watch.

Stu, meanwhile, loved “KickAss,” (as do I), but thought Cop Out sort of sucked. Also, the vacation destination that was set to rival the giant ball of twine, namely the teepee in Stu’s back yard, has come down following a summer of teepee-ness!

I’m looking forward to the Chicago Bears season opener for some reason, Stu liked a wedding with a brunch buffett, I forced my BFF to watch “The Fifth Element,” and Stu questions if it is okay for a preacher to flip the bird, if that bird flipping is aimed at the Devil.

All of that and more for this podcast, as we head into the fall, and wedding season!

Thanks for listening!

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

Allergies Abound, Sucked in at Sam’s Club, and a Smart, or maybe just big, Ass.

By: The Dude on the Right

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I got sucked into the sample folks at Sam’s Club, and during this podcast episode of our "Weekend Wrap-Up!", I tell Stu Gotz what me and the BFF came home with (it was yummy, and oversized)! Me, for the most part, had a non-eventful weekend, although I treated my BFF to a viewing of "Hot Tub Time Machine," and I let Stu know if he missed anything during last night’s Emmy Awards (How cool would it have been if they could have gotten Bruce Springsteen to show up?).

Stu, meanwhile, found out that he has a smart ass, or at least a big ass, and that story has nothing to do with the kicking shoes around at a Tae Kwon Do tournament. A lot of Stu’s weekend had to do with allergies, with his kicking his ass (I sense a theme), him wondering about the proliferation of allergies and kids, and him sounding a little disappointed in Mama Gotz who decided she wanted to bring nuts to a picnic where a lot of kids would be.

Stu is still stuck on Doctor Who and he saw "Casino Royale," I don’t think my BFF and I will be having a honeymoon under the sea, and I eagerly await Apple’s next media event on Wednesday where the rumors say they will announce a batch of new iPods and a new version of iLife, but we’ll find out later about that, and hey, I don’t really talk about it during the podcast, but I’m still always excited about an Apple event.

Thanks for listening!

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

A New iPhone App, SCUBA-ing, and Frontera Grill is Good.

By: The Dude on the Right

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As our latest episode of Stu & The Dude’s "Weekend Wrap-Up!" podcast starts, I give an explanation of time lords and doctors, and some other stuff about Doctor Who that Stu Gotz wondered, of which I have no clue what I’m talking about (Thanks Mystery Dude!). What I do know what I’m talking about, though, is that A) I made another iPhone app called the "Countdown Clockorrayter," and I’m getting marring in under two months!

So, I tell Stu how the wedding plans are coming along, about my BFF and I getting haircuts, and how Frontera Grill (a Rick Bayless restaurant in Chicago), is really good. Stu tried to film some stuff in 3-D while SCUBA-ing, took the little Gotz’s to "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and finally saw the ending of "Cool Hand Luke" and now understands how it relates to Cartman on South Park.

Stu likes the iPhone app "Plants vs Zombies," while I still like my "Clockorrayter," (and hey, since I’m shamelessly self-promoting, check out "Make Me Smile" as well), Stu’s camera survived because it has some special Bonica magic, and neither of us figure we will be seeing the movie "Takers."

Thanks for listening!

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

A Bachelor Party Weekend and Here Comes a Wedding!

By: The Dude on the Right

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So Stu Gotz is still tied up doing a crazy thing like work, which results in this “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast being a solo version, just me, telling some stories about my bachelor party weekend trip to Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Yup, that’s right, instead of the standard Las Vegas, I wanted to go to the Garden State, and a good time was had by all. Sure, I don’t tell any of the really good stories, because yes, what happens in New Jersey stays in New Jersey (okay, it doesn’t have the same ring as things staying in Vegas), but I did have an enjoyable weekend with some fraternity friends, they didn’t break me, and I met a lovely old couple who gave me some great advice for my upcoming wedding.

And yes, as I prepare for the wonderful event, some of this podcast is about how the wedding is coming together nicely, how I can’t wait, and how now that I’m a fiance that girls seem to want to talk to me, or are at least a lot more polite thinking your aren’t hitting on them.

The podcast has a small amount of talk about “The Other Guys” movie, no talk about “Eat Pray Love,” and I’m pretty sure I won’t be seeing “Pirahna 3D” this weekend unless The Dude on the Left, or should I call him “The Abyss,” wants to go with me to see it.

Thanks for listening!

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

I Don’t Have Too Many Eggs (I think), I Just Lost My Basket!

By: The Dude on the Right

As Stu Gotz couldn’t meet up with me today to do a podcast, rather than do a solo episode I decided to hold off the podcast for a day, especially since I know Stu is dying to find out how my bachelor party weekend went since he couldn’t make the trip to New Jersey.  So, that discussion will hit tomorrow. Instead I decided this might be a great time to do a blog – something I haven’t done for this site in quite some time.

Now I mention “this site,” because as I had some time away over the weekend, and have blogged on some other sites I have recently and neglecting this one, and as I’ve been pondering this for quite a while now, I started to look at all of the things I’ve got going, especially since I started developing iPhone apps, and I suppose getting married, and I guess having four Twitter accounts, and then there is my weight loss blog, and, okay…

So, yup, I’ve got a lot of things going on, and I tried to reflect on them.  I said to myself, “Self, why don’t you prioritize them and knock off a couple to free up some time/space in your mind?” I started to look at some of the projects I’ve got active (on life support in some cases), seeing if I really wanted to axe any of them, and I ended up with the following priority list, rating each thing individually on a scale of 1 to 10 in general importance to me/I love doing it/I miss doing it/I want to do more of it/and general 1 to 10-ness, with 1 being high and 10 being low.

  • My Wedding: Um, it’s a 1, duh.
  • My life with my BFF: 1
  • Other hobbies/things around the house/projects: 1

Yes, seriously, as I looked at my list, and there are a few things missing from the above list, there isn’t one of them that I don’t love doing, don’t get jazzed about when I do get around to working on, and yes, I agree, in actuality all of them should have a “2” next to them and “My life with my BFF” is actually the only “1,” but hey, I think even she understands.

The thing is, as I looked at this list, I pondered the idea of consolidating.  For example, do I really need four Twitter accounts? My contemplation on this is simply would my Twitter followers under whenismile actually care about the tweets that would be appropriate for drewdude, and would my general tweeting in dudeonright really be what those in myweightplan would want to read?  And then there is the fact that, right now, whenismile is a little more private, at least from some friends and family, so I can tweet things there without worrying about what they might say.  In fact, I’ve almost been confused about tweeting sometimes wondering which account to put it under, and if I posted the same tweet under all four accounts, thinking all of my followers would like to read it, and someone followed all four accounts, would they be pissed at getting the same tweet pretty much four times?

Then there are the blogs I have.  Yup, would Entertainment Ave!-land actually care that I have a blog about my attempt at losing weight?  When I Smile, which is geared towards things about my “Make Me Smile” app, really doesn’t seem to be the right place for Stu Gotz and our podcasts every now and then.  And I could go on an on.

I guess my pondering really centers about “To consolidate, or not to consolidate – That is the question!”  And if so, what is the best way to go about it?  Sure, I could leave everything under my Webventure Avenue company moniker, but that doesn’t seem to be right.  I’ve had Entertainment Ave! for over 15 years and hate to put that by the wayside.  I suppose Mostly Entertainment could get wrapped into the Entertainment Ave! site, but should it be separate?  Ugh!

I guess I need to let these thoughts bounce around in my head a little more, since, in coming to a final conclusion, if the answer is to “consolidate” then that creates another issue – total site-redesigns of everything I have to get them under one umbrella, or at least in one basket.  And even if I don’t consolidate, maybe I should actually use some of my organization skills/software/thoughts, to put things into little blocks, workable blocks, so that each project is it’s own little world, yet gets some attention every day, with the most, of course, being my BFF.

At least my wedding will be able to be taken off this list in two months – when the “I do”’s have been said, but I’m sure when that egg has been hatched I’m going to just lay another one – I just hope I can get that one to land in the basket I haven’t found yet.

And sure, if you’ve got any answers for the question “To consolidate or not to consolidate!”, I would love to hear them!

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

A Teepee, Crappy Movies, Broccoli, iPads, and Sushi.

By: The Dude on the Right

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I was worried that Stu Gotz was kicked out of the Gotz household, but during this edition of our “Weekend Wrap-Up!” podcast, I find out that Stu just wanted to build a teepee! Yup, Stu is getting in touch with his American Indian heritage, even though he has none, and he put up a big ol’ wigwam in the Gotz yard. The kids love it, but I worry he doesn’t see the future picture of Mama Gotz saying “You’re sleeping in the teepee tonight!”, especially with Stu not being that great at negotiating skills with his kids involving a piece of broccoli and an iPad.

Neither of us saw a movie in the theater, but that didn’t stop us from catching up on DVD stuff with Stu and Mama Gotz watching “2012” and “Heartbreak Kid,” while I watched “My Life in Ruins” with my BFF, and both of us thought it was all over the place, and kind of stupid, although in her world it still wasn’t that bad because it was under two hours with a happy ending.

I ate Sushi, a Little Gotz ate broccoli, Stu didn’t watch TV, and I’m recommending “The Real Housewives of Washington D.C.” What has happened to me?

And, yes, I realize “Deep Impact” was an asteroid movie. The movie I was thinking about was “Dante’s Peak.”

Thanks for listening!

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