Grammy Awards ... errr, Whitney Awards

Seems like everyone is glorifying a drug addict who succumbed to the poison.  Why are we all so surprised at her passing?  And the better question is why is her death more important than Etta James'?  It's no comparison.

If you were to play a drinking game and take a shot for every time they said "Whitney", "Whitney Houston", or "Houston", you'd already be passed out in your own filth.

Rihanna and Coldplay are next.  I hope.  I am pretty sure they'll be joining the Foo Fighters as the only acts to actually sing thus far.  Chris Brown danced and didn't sing and Bruno Mars, well, I didn't watch him.

In sports, my heart and soul, Jeremy Lin has taken the NBA by storm.  And David Stern should pay him personally out of his pocket.  The kid is actually fun to watch, tries to play good defense, and has the Knicks believing they can compete.  He injected life into a team that has been stagnant for years even after the addition of Carmelo and Amare.  Good for Lin.  Linsanity.

OK, Lindsay is leaving for Pittsburgh tomorrow and coming home on Wednesday night.  Signing off.

Coldplay and Rihanna are on anyway.

Enjoy the week.  I'll be posting from LI.

CT News

- This guy couldn't possibly be guilty in the accidental shooting into a neighbors' apartment.  Hahahaha.

- Power was out for 75% of the UConn campus this morning.  It finally came back on.  The good news is that it wasn't because of a snowstorm.

- The Powerball jackpot is up to $310 million.  Needless to say, we will buy a few tickets and keep our fingers crossed.  Imagine that...

- Bob Lorenz, of YES Network, was charged with a DUI in Westport.  They found him slumped over the steering wheel.

That's the local news from today in Connecticut.

In the News

• Well have no fear world, if Jay-Z and Beyonce don't have the parenting thing down, Oprah will be there.  According to sources, which lately have been quite unreliable (see: Rob Lowe tweeting Peyton Manning's retirement; PSU newspaper falsely reporting Joe Paterno's death), Oprah Winfrey has been named the Blue Ivy's godmother. 
• SEAL Team 6, the same heroic group that took down Osama Bin Laden, were responsible for safely rescuing two hostages from Somalia.  The two had been held hostage since October.  Talk about heroes.

• Home sales have plummeted.  2011 was reportedly the worst year for new-home purchases.  I sure wish we had been one of those who had the opportunity to buy a home, but with a new job for my wife, relocation, having a baby, we had a lot of other things going on.  But in the future - hopefully the near future - we'll be in the market.  I have a feeling we'll be in Connecticut the rest of our lives.  I know a few people think this state sucks, but I enjoy living here.  It's not like living in the NYC area is any cheaper or better off for a couple not making $100,000 a year.
• Verizon Wireless has released it's newest version of the Droid Razr.  It was probably released a while ago, but I just stumbled upon it.  Looks like a pretty sweet phone, however, I plan on converting from Android to iPhone when my upgrade is available. 

• With that last point, surveys show 1 in 5 workers use Apple products.  If 1 in 5 Americans chose to eat an apple instead of a bag of fries, the country would be a lot healthier.  I guarantee this would help the obesity problem plaguing this country.

Have a great Thursday.  We're expecting rain and freezing rain here.  Awesome.

From the (S)news Desk; Beers-day

Want to know what's going on in the world around you?  Well, so far today here in the greater CT region, it's been a dreary, dismal day.  The Midwest is getting hammered with snow.  And the West coast is probably unaffected.

Some of the top news stories:

1. Mitt Romney has won both caucuses(??) - in Iowa and New Hampshire - meaning he is the President of those two states.  No, he isn't, but I guess South Carolina is next, so he might be expanding his reign of greatness and non-smiling.
2. King James once again failed miserably in the waning seconds of a game as the Clippers wound up beating the Heat in OT, 95-89.  LeChoke missed a few free throws towards the end of regulation - 8 for the game - and missed three straight shots in OT.  This cannot be surprising to anyone, as last year, a million and one jokes were made about his lack of "clutch" shooting.
3. Divers are searching for the missing 21-month old girl in Maine today but have yet to find her.  It is pretty chilly here, so I can only imagine what the waters are like in Maine, some 5 hours north of here.  The country is going crazy as more and more children are going missing.  Part of it, to me, is lack of quality parenting.  How is it that you can put your child to bed and then wake up to him/her missing?  I wake up to every noise throughout the night.  Scary to think about.
4. Hostess has filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday but insists it will still produce Ho Hos, Twinkies, Ding Dongs and the rest of the snack foods that are making this country obese.  NEWS FLASH:  These snacks are not meal replacements!

For my Beers-day installment, I did not drink today, but rather the other night, but the beer of choice is Flying Dog Brewery "Raging Bitch".  At 8.3% ABV, it packs quite a punch.  A quality craft brew with hints of grapefruit hop flavor, it's refreshing - but in moderation.  Six or so of these will certainly knock you on your ass.

Flying Dog Brewery Raging Bitch Belgian India Pale Ale


Heading out to give some lessons later on tonight, looking forward to getting out there again with a glove on my hand!

Say What?!?

• General Mills (not that General Mills) is planning on big things in 2012 for Cheerios.  How about some peanut-butter flavored Multi Grain Cheerios and Dulce de Leche Cheerios?  Sound good to you?  I think the PB ones will be good but not sure about the DdL. 
• It still boggles my mind trying to figure out how the entire population DPRK who attended the fun-eral of shithead leader Kim Jong-Il was weeping and/or crying uncontrollably.  They were ruled under an iron fist of a dictator that no one else will miss.  My guess is they were forced to show the emotions or else.  Pretty ridiculous - and comical.  I haven't seen acting that bad since the last Nicolas Cage movie came out - or in every Nicolas Cage movie ever!
• Alaska State Troopers is a show you should probably already be watching, if not for your preexisting interest in reality police shows for the video portraying the landscape and culture of the Great White North.  It's pretty damn amazing how some (read: most) of the population lives up there.  Definitely a place to go on my Bucket List.
• New York, Alaska, and Wisconsin charge the most for a pack of cigarettes in the United States.  NYers pay on average, $10 a pack while our counterparts in Alaska pony up, on average, $9.10 a pack.  In Cheese country, you're $9.00 lighter in the wallet after buying a pack.  Wanna know what $9 can buy you?
• This black New Balance shirt at 6pm.com - $8.99
• This sweet Ice Age t-shirt - $5
• A Marled Confetti Pom Beanie at Urban Outfitters to keep your head warm - $6.99
• For the ladies, a FULL TILT Printed Dress from tillys.com - $7.97
• Three of these neat appetizer plates from cb2.com - $2.95 each
• Metallica's new EP, Beyond Magnetic, on iTunes - $3.99
• The Islanders are the worst team in the Eastern Conference.  They've played 34 games and are last in goals scored (75), last in assists (133), and tied for last in shutouts (0). They do lead the league in something though, empty net goals allowed (10)

That's all the time I have today.  Hope your New Year's Eve plans are starting to materialize so that you're not staying home by yourself - again!