Sidewalk Art

When it comes to art, I have no talent whatsoever. Can't draw, sculpt or paint. Heck, I had trouble coloring inside the lines when I was a kid! But I still enjoyed going outside with a pack of colored chalk and drawing odd-looking stick figures. And even in this Playstation and cable tv era, kids still enjoy drawing on the sidewalk. Who knows, one of them might be the next Julian Beever. He does sidewalk art that has depth. I'd like to see this in person, but you can see a lot of his work
here. No sidewalk coloring this weekend, however. Lots of rain on the way. Hope you have a good one anyway.

Snakes on a Plane

It could be a good movie after all, or maybe one of those supposed-to-be-scary but it's funny movies. But Snakes On a Plane is getting a lot of attention already and it doesn't come out until August. Entertainment Weekly has featured articles on it and discussions are popping up on the internet. All because of the blunt title and simple story. Well, mainly the title. Samuel L. Jackson stars in this movie originally called Pacific Air Flight 121 (doesn't have the same ring does it?) Basically it's about FBI agents transporting a witness for a trial. Evidently the mafia does not want this guy to arrive at the destination alive, so guess what they do? Yup...big, little, constricting, poisonous...out come the snakes! It's already a cult hit, so it will be interesting to see how it does at the box office. It should bring in more than the $30 million they spent on it. And the merchandising. Who wouldn't want a Snakes on a Plane t-shirt, hat or lunchbox? I'm just hoping there are no copycat crimes. Perhaps reptile detectors will become standard at all airports. Snakes on a Plane slithers into theaters August 18.

Earth Day

Tomorrow is Earth Day, but really we must think about the consequences our actions have on the Earth and future generations every day. While there is some debate about how bad the hole in the ozone is and exactly when global warming will get us, it seems to be common sense that pollutants are not something we want in our food, water and air. We also know that many of our natural resources are limited, so why not recycle? For most folks, that just means seperating aluminum, glass, paper, etc and putting it in your blue bin. Or you can set the items aside and take them to the recycling center. Heck, you get a few bucks for the cans too. Click
here for more ideas. And if we conserve gas, we not only help ourselves, we show those foreign oil types that they can't keep raising the prices on us. Happy Earth Day!

Beer

It's history goes back thousands of years. It was a vital part of ancient Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Inca cultures. There are more varieties than you can imagine. Ales, porters, pilsners...something for every taste. Some people even brew their own at home. And it's more than just a beverage. Beer is used in everything from beer bread to something called beer-can chicken. My friend Chris Murphy says you can't have a good Wisconsin brat without soaking it in beer. But I hope they haven't gone too far with the latest Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor, Black and Tan. There's cream stout and chocolate in it. It's intriguing and yes, I'll have to get a pint and see. Wonder if I could put a scoop of this in a glass of beer and have a beer float?

Goodbye Commander in Chief

I see ABC is bringing back "Commander in Chief" Thursday night. I give it another 3 weeks before we see something else in it's place. It's too bad really. The show started off with great ratings and interesting story lines about America's first female president. Geena Davis is great at balancing toughness with moral conviction. And Donald Sutherland is perfect as her nemesis, Speaker of the House Templeton. Why then do I think the show is doomed? Because it's been tinkered with by various writers and producers, endured a long layoff and now it's on a different night. It's one thing to have a big cliffhanger which keeps people holding on while a show is on hiatus, but what's happening here reeks of desperation. Maybe I'll be wrong but I predict they've lost most of their audience for good.

Time again to kiss the diets goodbye

Easter's coming and like most holidays, that means food! Besides the ham, turkey, hard boiled eggs and the like, there's all those peeps, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, etc. It's all very tasty and you really can't worry too much about calories. But in case you do, there's a website that will calculate how far you have to walk to burn them off.
Check it out.
Oh, and save some room for the "lamb cake."