Name that arena

Locally we just went through a scenario where our newly built sports arena was opened for business before the whole naming rights issue had been resolved. Now it's no longer Lucas County Arena but Huntington Center. Which really doesn't sound very arenaish as a name but? That's the only group willing to pay at least a small percentage of what they were originally seeking. In browsing some of the tickets for baseball and other events sold by www.ticketamerica.com a few of the names caught my attention.

Rose Garden Arena sounds like a nice place, you envision lots of roses with a garden type feel. Which may be funny if there were events like the circus or other events with not such a flowery aroma...

American Airlines Center - TX sounds more like a place to pick up your baggage than to watch baseball. Yet it is where acts like Lady Gaga are playing in 2011.

Thankfully Air Canada Centre is in Canada or that would be confusing. A bit closer to my home is the Palace Of Auburn Hills one of the places that our new arena is now competing with. Though, the Palace has some acts that are not coming here.

I do however wonder as a Diet Pepsi fan if the Pepsi Center would be the one entertainment venue that I could count on for sure as having only Pepsi products for sale....

Reverse psychology...

I don't know why, perhaps it's my general nature to rebel that creates a reverse psychological reaction for me when it comes to certain themes/products. If as an example, I see or hear a commercial against smoking or for an anti-smoking product, I have the urge to light up. If I see an ad recommending I buy apidexin or some other diet pill, I reach for a bag of potato chips...Which I just did, so the bag of Ruffles is open though I did at least temporarily pass on the chip dip...

:-)

Rand Paul underground electric fence idea

It's hard to take Rand Paul seriously, and with plans like this one that's getting some media attention, a billion dollar underground electric fence between the U.S. and Mexico is really hard to take seriously. As pointed out by several sources, including this one:

Rand Paul wants to bury a wire on the border and run electricity through it. As soon as somebody crosses the electric fence, choppers will be dispatched to dispatch the offending illegal back to whence they came.
Apparently Paul has a way to detect the difference between iguanas and other wildlife that is currently allowed to cross the borders unimpeded.
“My plans include an underground electric fence, with helicopter stations to respond quickly to breaches of the border,” state the Kentucky candidate for Senate on his website.
“I have not heard that. “Underground? What would happen? How would that work?” said National Republican Senate Committee Chair John Cornyn.

Marshmallows roasting on an open fire...

I'm surprised no one has done a satire set of lyrics based on the Christmas carol about roasting chestnuts on an open fire, especially with the growing popularity of the outdoor fireplace or fire pit. I decided to take a crack at the first few lines...

Marshmallows roasting on an open fire
Mosquitoes nipping at your nose
Crickets loud enough to be a choir
And men dressed up in speedos

I maybe on to something...

:-)

Deleting a campaign promise doesn't make it go away

During the primary in Kentucky Rand Paul stated he was not going to accept campaign donations from any senator who voted to support the financial bailouts. Now that he's made it past the primary it's being reported that he's take then pledge off of his campaign website, (link) and is soliciting donations from senators who voted for the financial bailout. He's obviously not concerned that voters will care about broken pledges and historically, few do.

The first-time candidate slammed his main primary opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, for taking campaign cash last year at a Washington fundraiser hosted by a number of senators who backed the bailout.
That was then, but now the Paul campaign is welcoming support from lawmakers it once shunned.
"We considered that the primary was a fight over the direction and the soul of the Republican Party," Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said this week. "By Rand taking that hard stance in the primary, we think that those ideas won."
Now that Paul is the nominee, "it is great to see so many leaders lining up behind" him, Benton said.
Paul's campaign anticipates that most of the Republican senators listed on the invitation will contribute, Benton said.
Paul's Democratic opponent, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, criticized the about-face.
"Rand Paul made a pledge when he needed to win the primary," said Conway spokeswoman Allison Haley. "But now that the bailout senators are offering him money, the pledge goes out the window."

Dropping poundage

We want everything fast these days, which is why many are attracted to quick and easy weight loss solutions. It's important to understand how the extra pounds were created, you didn't just wake up one morning with an extra 20 pounds - One pound of fat is equal to about 3500 calories.
That means that if you eat an extra 350 calories of food a day beyond what your body needs, you would gain an extra pound every 10 days. If you take in more than 350 calories a day beyond what your body needs you'd gain the extra weight even faster.

Best, most effective, preferred...

Marketing and advertising are about images and words, how a product is described is meant to draw your interest and appeal to you. If you read "least effective diet pill" or "completely untested wrinkle cream" you'd probably not be at all interested. However if you read, most effective diet pill or four out of five dentists prefer (fill in name) then you'd be more inclined to give a product a look. It's up to you as a consumer to do your homework and my standard advice before taking any diet or health supplement, check with your health care professional first.

78 year old Julian Heicklen still in jail...

Heicklen is a libertarian and jury rights advocate who was arrested on May 25 for the "crime" of attempting to distribute Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) fliers on public property in front of the US District Courthouse in Manhattan. The formal charges against the 78 year old man are "disorderly conduct" and "resisting arrest."

He is currently being held in the New York City Jail at Riker's Island awaiting a scheduled June 8 hearing though it appears when reading a blog that has been focusing on his case, (link) that there's some concern that the date might be extended. Normally you'd expect someone charged with that level of crime to be out on bail, however he is being held without bail.

When reading another site, jailed activists it's suggested that there was no bond in this case due to a prior failure to appear. I also recommend reading Heicklen's self bio...

What it's not Windex?

Ever since I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" along with many of my family members,it's hard for us to not suggest Windex as a solution for just about everything. Those who watched the movie will know what I'm talking about, the father, Gus, has using Windex as a solution for acne to swollen toes as well as it being suggested in the movie as one of the best acne treatments when a problematic pimple appears on both the bride and the groom. She opts for more traditional treatment, he reveals he put Windex on his...Not surprisingly, this is not the accepted method of treatment by some.

:-)

Here in Ohio - Swartz withdraws from Congressional race

In this week's Toledo Free Press, it's reported that Libertarian candidate Jeremy Swartz has withdrawn from the ninth congressional race where he would have faced incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur and Republican primary winner Richard Iott.

Swartz stated he was pulling out of the election due to a personal emergency but did not provide any additional details.

As the Toledo Free Press also reports, it's not clear at this time if the Libertarian Party of Ohio is going to nominate someone to run, or if it will be Joseph Jaffe who ran against Swartz in the primary.

American people think the president is everything to everybody

Interesting quote in the title of the post made by Ron Paul in his defense of President Obama as pointed out by several media sources, including The Hill:

Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican lawmaker from Texas, said that people were expecting too much from the president in his ability to react to the ongoing spill into the Gulf.

"I'm a pretty big critic of the president," Paul said during an appearance on "Imus in the Morning" on the Fox Business Network, "but I just don't see the justification for coming down hard on the president."

"I think it represents the idea that the American people think the president is everything to everybody that he should fix an oil leak," Paul added.

Some lawmakers, including many Republicans, have questioned the administration's responsiveness to the spill, as well as whether the administration has been aggressive enough in pushing BP to end the flow of oil from its damaged deepwater well.

But Paul suggested that there was little the president could do personally to end the spill, arguing that Obama could do more to help out with the spill and the cleanup by clearing out and waiving federal regulations so that governors of the states affected by the spill have more leeway in addressing cleanup efforts.