Nothing going on, apparently

Because there is nothing to report today, we were provided weather reports from 2 years ago.

Thanks, Channel 11 and Channel 2.

 

I don’t think I could have gotten through my day without a recap of the weather report from Katrina’s landfall.

 

Just so you know, the West Loop is at a near standstill.  Maybe, just maybe, if you can get over the weather from 2 years ago you may be able to inform people that their drive to work is going to be twice as long because …  well, I’m not sure what’s causing the backup, but I know a category 4 (or 5) hurricane is hitting land just east of New Orleans 2 FREAKING YEARS AGO!!!!

 

Sigh.

Huh?

2 “Huh?” items:

 

1.  The thing about TIVO or DVRs is that you’re not always in the loop with television stuff… which isn’t always a bad thing.  So, I watch the America’s Got Talent finale last night (rather than “live” on Tuesday).  Wow.  America got it wrong.  Unbelievable.  Don’t get me wrong, the puppet master is good.  Real good.  Possibly Disney special good.  But I don’t think he was the best up there.  Of course, I was on the wrong side of America’s decision last year, too.  Oh well.  Life goes on.  I’ll tick off another item from my yard work “to do” list while listening to Woodbelly tonight.

 

2.  I find it a little ironic that Hillary Clinton is pushing the Iraqi parliament to pick a less divisive and more unifying prime minister while SIMULTANEOUSLY applying for president when the terms “unifier” and “non-divisive” have never, ever been assigned to her.  “Oh, hi Kettle, have you met Pot?  Yes, Kettle, this is the same Pot that has been calling you black.”

 

Goodness gracious.

 

If I get all of my yard work done, I may just go riding next weekend.  Yay!

Sigh... guilty pleasures

Ok, I admit it.  I watch America’s Got Talent.

I’m not proud of it, but it’s true.  I watch.

 

And now it’s down to the last 4, and tonight is the big showdown.

 

America (or the 6 people who read this), I hope you get it right.

 

A ventriloquist is NOT a million dollar act.  Cool?  Maybe, to some.  But not worth a mil.

A beat-box wizard is NOT a million dollar act.  Cool?  Definitely.  Fun to listen to?  Absolutely.  But not worth a mil.

The little country singer girl?  Not a million dollar act.  In a few years, with some voice training she’s Leann Rimes.  But not yet.

A fat guy with a guitar who is funky as all hell?  That’s a million dollar act, and then some.

 

Bottom line, I wouldn’t pay $20 to see any of the acts except the fat guy with a guitar.  I would make a special trip to a bar or club where he was playing.  I would go online and buy his music (in fact, I already have—www.woodbelly.com).  He’s worth the money.  The others?  I might watch the ventriloquist if he were playing in the theater of the cruise ship I was vacationing on, but I wouldn’t pay for a ticket to go to a theater to watch him.  In fact, when we went on our cruise there was a ventriloquist performing.  We watched the show, but it wasn’t even close to the best they offered.  Sorry, I’m just not that interested.

The little country girl is currently a good lounge act, but will become a great artist in the very near future—if she continues to grow her voice.  She has stage presence and an “aura” on stage.  Her presence is so great that it leads me to suspect that she’s done more than sing in her bedroom and she’s done some actual performing somewhere, if not she’s a straight up natural.

The beat-box wizard is a great accompaniment, but not the main event.  I would pay for something along the lines of “Will Smith, featuring Butterscotch!”, but not “Butterscotch!”.  I’m not convinced she can hold a show on her own.  She and the ventriloquist are the “Quick Change” of this season.  Good, impressive even, but I saw that act last week and I’m just not looking forward to you performing again. 

 

My reviews of their performances are basically:  Hurry up and finish so I can listen to some more Woodbelly!

 

Cas is the winner, hands down.  If it’s not a landslide then America is just stupid.

The weatherguy is a fear mongerer

I have mad respect for weathermen and meteorologists.  Their job is hard and it seems they’re wrong most of the time.  Houston is a big place and it can rain here and not there, and if the weather guy says it’ll be clear and only a chance of rain, here he’s wrong, there he’s right.  No doubt a ton of stress.

Plus, “when severe weather threatens” they literally hold lives in their hands.  “Get out now” versus “no problem, it’s just a minor inconvenience” can be the difference between lives lost and lives saved.

 

But when there is NO REASONABLE CHANCE that severe weather will hit, and therefore reasonable people will say that severe weather is not threatening, there is no good reason to induce panic among a populace.

 

The emergency weather team in Harris and Galveston counties are shutting down shop.  However, one certain weatherman who’s name rhymes with “Prank”—I’m picking on this guy because he’s on the news we tend to watch in the evenings—is warning that Hurricane Dean could still turn so be afraid, be very afraid.  Top off your tanks!!  Get supplies!!  RUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!!

Meanwhile, there is a low pressure area steering the storm well to the south of even the most southern point of the US.  All projections show the storm reasonably bypassing not only Houston, but all of Texas.  ALL REASONABLE PROJECTIONS.

 

But this particular weatherman refused to say we’re out of the woods.  Nope.  The only prognosis he would give is that the probability was high we would be missed, but the storm could still turn.

 

Sure.  Martians could land.  There COULD be an earthquake.  But we’re not running for the hills to avoid these highly unlikely events that COULD happen.

 

Sigh.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.  And buckle up for a long, annoying, blustery weather update.

At least it’ll take our minds off of important news that is actually happening.

Wall to wall

I love the fact that a tropical story that isn’t even hitting Houston is getting wall to wall coverage by the local news readers.

We’re getting [gasp] thunderstorms, so breathlessly cover it with “crews on the ground at the site of landfall!!!”

 

Puh

Lease.

Not in the cards this year, either

With school starting, I’m not going to be able to run the marathon.  Just not enough hours in the week to plan to train AND be a good dad.  I do, however, intend to run and/or ride in order to maintain some sanity.  I’m going to have to keep the body and brain in good shape.