Funny Japanese Television

There are some crazy game shows in Japan. Check out this one, set in a library. The loser of each round has a punishment; watch the participants try to supress their laughter. I particularly like the slap machine:




Here's a clip from a prank show:

Some Of My YouTube Favorites

Two Chinese Boys lip sync to Jessica Simpson:




Clever ad for Nowegian Air:




The everpopular Ok Go treadmill video:

Top Chef

Right now I'd have to say that my favorite reality show is Top Chef, on Bravo. While I still watch the classics, Survivor and The Amazing Race (yes, I know it's oxymoronic to use the word "classics" in discussing reality television), I like the "newness" of this show. It does, however, follow the classic reality TV show format of collecting a cast of unusual characters to showcase (more so than the food being cooked is showcased). Let's see, there's "Ugly" Betty -- one minute she's smiling and gregarious, the next minute she's a shrill harpy. She's got a big fake smile, and she's a nodder, (You know what I mean; she's the type of person who nods nonestop in agreement while someone is talking to her, but you can tell she's not listening at all). Then there's Betty's arch-enemy, Marcel, the egotistical, socially inept young guy. We also have Sam, who alledgedly is the young stud chef. Personally, I think it's unappetizing to see a chef with five o'clock shadow and greasy hair. My favorites include Elia, a Mexican/Lebanese woman with a French-sounding accent (she likes to cook feeesh!) and Cliff (or as Elia would say, Cleeef!).

WaMu Sucks!

My mortgage is with Washington Mutual (or WaMu). I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone. They made the entire mortgage process as painful as possible, and gave me bad information along the way. I called many times to make sure that my file was in order. "Of course, everything is be in order, etc. etc". My file was turned over to new people all of the time, so I found myself sending in the same info. over and over as each new person (didn't) inherit my file. Then, a few days before my settlement, they said that they were missing some information, and my settlement was forced to be delayed by a week. And, when I went to lock in my interest rate, they said that I had already been locked in (at a rate 1/8 of a point higher than the current rate). Err, we had never discussed locking in prior to that. Why are you punishing me for your incompetence? WaMu sucks.

Blood Suckers

Have you ever been to a LabCorp, the McDonalds of medical testing? They are the place you go to when you need blood work for you annual physical, etc. I've been to them twice (two different locations), and both experiences were pretty bad. The first time, I got the form in the mail from the doctor's office. Fast for 12 hours, yada yada, and get your bloodwork done at least one week prior to your scheduled physical. I did my fast, went into the office, and had my bloodwork. A few days go by, and I get a message that they forgot to do one of the tests, and I needed to come back. It's a pain in the ass (fasting again, time off from work), but mistakes happen. A couple of years go by, and it's time for anothe physical. The form comes in the mail, and after fasting, off to LabCorp I go. This time, I decide to go to a different location (a bit closer to work). The woman at the desk was extremely rude, and berated me because my doctor had checked off a test to be run that LabCorp no longer does. (Uh, lady, I'm not the one that decides what tests that are to be performed, and, why was the test on YOUR form, if you don't perform it?) I hate this place.

My Banking Recommendation

I opened a checking account, oh about 20 years ago. That bank went bankrupt after I had the account for about 7 years, and bank #2 ending up buying my bank. Bank #2 was REALLY horrible, both from a customer service perspective, and from a fees perspective. They really worked hard to extract as much money from my account as possible. Now I'm pretty lazy, and shopping around for a new bank would normally not make it to the top of my "to do" list, but I had had it. I was getting close to pulling the plug and moving everything to a new bank, when I get a letter in the mail stating that my bank was being purchased by Citizens Bank. I decided to give them a try ... it's been a couple of years with Citizens, and they get my seal of approval. Good customer service, low fees, and good on-line banking services. I can whine and complain about companies/products that are bad, so it's only fair to give credit where credit is due...

Reality TV

I am a reality TV junkie. Actually, this hidden shame of mine has been fading of late. If your looking for a comprehensive website for updates on all of the latest in reality TV, including the latest goings-on from reality TV 'stars' from the past, check out the website Reality Blurred. There's lots of information, without being overwhelming:

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/

Here's Something I Like ...

As I promised, I don't just complain about products. I would also like to point out products that I have tried that deserve some praise.

I tried this soda at a local restaurant ...

http://www.wildfruitz.com/

(Their site calls it sparkling juice, rather than soda). Anyway, this stuff's tasty, but pretty hard to find.

The flavors are unusual ... I had the huckleberry/blueberry. If you can find it, give it a try.

Stores/Companies/Products I Hate ...

Pier 1 ... I bought a patio set from Pier 1 and had it delivered. The deliverymen left, and I sat on a chair, and noticed it was very uneven, creating a rocking affect. I checked it over, and noticed that the "foot" at the bottom of one of the legs had been snapped off, creating the uneven effect.
The next day, I stopped by the store to explain the problem and asked if they could order a replacement foot. Instead, the manager told me to take a foot off of the floor model. Well, the foot was firmly threaded in place, and was almost impossible to remove. The manager eventually saw me struggling with it, and generously went and got me pliers and walked away. After much struggling, I got my replacement part. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that I would need to remove the threaded part of the broken foot that was still stuck in the leg of my chair before installing the replacement part. ... Not gonna happen ... I couldn't remove the broken section despite my best efforts. I called Pier 1 and sent them e-mails requesting a replacement chair, and my requests were completely ignored. The lack of customer service at Pier 1 is beyond ridiculous. I advise against giving them your business.

More tales of woe to follow as well as some kudos to some great companies and products ...

It's In the Cards ...

Recently, a group of friends of mine decided to get together to play poker. One of the guys had never played before, but we reassured him that we would be able to teach him quickly. What surprised me was that he (approximately 50 years old) had never handled a deck of cards before. He didn't know what the face cards meant, etc. It turns out that he was raised in a very religious household, and cards were forbidden. We took turns shuffling the deck for him when it was his turn to deal, as he did not know how to do this. A few weeks later, I was at a family get-together, and part of the group decided to get a poker game going. The group included four kids ranging from age 11 to 15. Interestingly, the kids did not know how to shuffle the cards either! In this case, the kids explained that they had only played cards on computers, and had not actually played cards the old-fashioned way. For me, the simple (or not so simple) act of shuffling cards becomes a window into the way lifestyles change over time in ways that seem imperceptible.

Is it "Always Sunny in Philadelphia"?

Any fans of this show out there? How come I just found out about it? I had pretty much given up on sitcoms after Seinfeld went off the air. I happened to stumble upon this show a couple of weeks ago on the FX network. How long has this been on the air? What I've seen so far has been pretty entertaining, with a level of sophistication to the humor than you normally don't find these days on network tv (No cute kids, no smart wife with bumbling husband). I need to see more of this ...