http://www.jbellows.net/musings Now With Febreeze! Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:55:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'm assuming this story is going to be all over ESPN and the talk radio circuit tomorrow (or later today depending on your perspective) so I figured I'd take a crack at it now. If you didn't click on the link, the Houston Astros' starting-turned-bullpen pitcher Shawn Chacon apparently ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/26/holy-crap-shawn/ One of the strange things I picked up during my time in Nashville was an affinity for hockey. Don't get me wrong, I still have no idea what's going on other than the vague idea that some guys on skates are trying to get some black thing into a ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/26/thanks-for-playing-tampa-or-the-death-of-hockey/ One of the interesting phenomenons of the past decade or so is the explosion of eBay and the appearance of idiots who try and sell random junk to make money. I've bought many an item of eBay, but nothing like the apple core on which Tiger Woods was munching ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/24/ebay-is-a-horrifying-place/ I'm sure most folks have read the accounts of Javon Walker being found unconcsious, robbed, and with a caved-in dome on the Las Vegas strip. (Yes, that Javon Walker.) Javon had earlier been in a Las Vegas club spraying 15 large worth of Dom Perignon over a crowd, ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/18/weekend-at-bernies-3-javons-night-out/ It would appear that the Chicago Bears have continued self-policing their roster by releasing RB Cedric Benson after his DUI bust this past weekend.  Observers will note that he picked up a boating DUI in the spring, and that Benson was clearly just continuing his life goal of getting a ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/10/see-you-cedric/ My brother and I have had a long understanding. Certain music absolutely drives us insane, and we should have the right to automatically turn off the stereo should one of our forbidden songs appear. We say that these songs are dead to us, and number one with bullet ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/09/dead-to-me-led-zeppelin-rock-and-roll/ Perhaps it's my fault for watching too much TV and listening to too much radio, but these freecreditreport.com commercials have got to stop.  These commercials have annoyed me on such a profound level that I have vowed to never, ever purchase their products.   And they're just a gigantic scam as ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/09/turns-out-f-r-e-e-spells-i-vow-i-will-never-purchase-your-product/ With the past weekend's CBS broadcast of an MMA fight and the subsequent mass reaction this week, I figured now would be a good a time as any to describe why I am, at best, suspicious of this new trend. Mixed Martial Arts fighting seemed to have popped up ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/03/my-mma-take/ I'm finally back in town, so let me start the summer rants off with some stored up thoughts from our recent travels through Boston, New York, DC, and Chicago. Couldn't You Have Found a Better Way to Say This? The first leg of our trip was spent in Boston, and after we ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/06/03/some-stored-up-tirades/ [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmeUuoxyt_E] While I certainly dislike many popular musicians today, there are some "artists" out there that have elevated themselves from "disliked" to "despised" in my eyes. One bright, shining example of a band that made this transition is Nickelback. I'm not entirely sure when they became popular, but ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/05/16/i-hate-nickelback-or-why-the-terrorists-hate-us/ [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUNalV4ughc] During the deluge of NHL Playoff, NBA Playoff, and MLB regular season games I've been watching, I've noticed this Mike's Hard Lemonade commercial come on more than its fair share of times. It basically says that putting soy into drinks is for wusses and Mike's Hard Lemonade is for ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/05/11/go-to-hell-mikes-hard-lemonade/ As an update, I'm traveling/moving until late May/early June.  Soooo expect a return to normal irrational tirades in a few weeks. http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/05/11/uppppdate/ I noticed a couple of days ago that Bronco's quarterback and Vanderbilt alum Jay Cutler was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. It's also been reported that his condition affected his performance in 2007. However I don't believe either of these revelations. This is clearly an attempt by ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/05/03/whatever-cutler-i-know-whats-going-on/ I stopped by a local sporting goods store today to pick up an air mattress, and while browsing the racks, I noticed a particularly disturbing selection. Coleman has apparently created an air mattress with "mp3 speakers" built in. That's right, you can hook up your iPod to your ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/05/03/a-nomination-for-worst-crossover-product-ever/ I made a tirade a few weeks ago about how much I dislike the "one-and-done" aspects of college basketball, and I wrote that I thought the rule made a mockery of the collegiate process. However while I certainly dislike the rule, I certainly don't think the current "student-athlete" academic ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/30/i-never-said/ I've always had a sort of strange fascination with urban design in other world cultures. That combined with an (un)healthy obsession with Google Earth has allowed me to explore the Ryugyoung Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, one of my favorite urban disasters, in much greater detail. I'd like ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/28/ryugyong-hotel/ I usually have a fairly high faith in the goodness of humanity. Maybe it's because I'm not as cynical or jaded as I should be, or maybe I'm just stupid. However I see a story like this and I just have to stop and sob for a bit. http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/25/my-faith-in-humanity-or-lack-thereof/ It seems like these folding camping chairs started appearing around 15 years ago or so (who knows how long they've been around), so whoever invented it is probably not dead, but his achievement should definitely be recognized. As an avid tailgater, griller, drinker, and sitter, I use these things ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/24/people-i-want-to-travel-back-in-time-and-shake-hands-with-the-inventor-of-the-camping-chair/ I feel like this post is more appropriate for a many-page essay, but here I go with a short blog-burst. I think most folks are well aware we're in an energy crunch. Sure we're a country obsessed with energy consumption, but right now I'm really not that worried about the ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/24/my-tirade-on-ethanol/ Maybe it's because I'm desperately trying to avoid studying for a final tomorrow, but it seems like YouTube has been ripe with above average content lately. This clip further proves that the NBA on TNT crew are the best sports studio commentators on TV, and I'm hoping TNT won't ... http://www.jbellows.net/musings/2008/04/24/kenny-smith-hyperdunks-or-so-much-youtube/