Here's how not to do it

I thought we could all use a laugh on this Monday afternoon. And here it is...a Milwaukee television station sent a crew out to cover a story and the station van, driving on a lake, broke through the ice. No injuries, but I bet they'll have trouble with the insurance company when they explain what happened to the van. Oh, the story they were covering...that the ice is thinner than usual!

Premonition

It's not Halloween is it? No, in fact Valentine's Day is coming. But there are some good creepy movies coming out. At least they look good. You can never tell based on the trailer or what you read on the internet. First there's "The Messengers" about a family with two kids who see frightening apparitions that no one else can see. Then there's Hannibal Rising, about the serial killer's formative years. This could be a great movie or just another excuse to keep the franchise going. Sandra Bullock stars in one called
Premonition. If nothing else, this one has a cool poster!

Go Bears!

Thankfully there's no song to go along with this year's SuperBowl-bound Bears. (Although it seemed cool at the time.) Great comeback win by the Colts Sunday but I don't think they'd be able to do that against the Bears defense. My prediction, Da Bears by 10.

Finally, a Keifer action figure

Are you a 24 addict? I am. The first 4 hours of the new season have me hooked (as I knew they would.) Mc Farlane Toys is coming out with a Jack Bauer action figure later this year. One may wonder, what took them so long? It's season 6 for cryin' out loud! Well, it turns out Keifer is the reason for the delay. Apparently the prototype of the figure was ready a few seasons ago and the Mc Farlane people gave it to him to get his approval. He had it with him on a bender apparently and thought it would be cool to set it on fire. I can only imagine the half-melted piece of plastic that was left. I want to meet this guy, between this and tackling the Christmas tree he seems like a hoot. Keifer, if you're ever in Springfield, let's go grab a beer.

Gee your tires smell terrific

As humans, we seem obsessed with smells. We put on deodorant and cologne. We have candles, plug-ins and bathroom spray cans of fragrance. Then there's the car air fresheners. The pine tree is the old standby, but there are many better choices out there too. But I think one company is taking it too far. Kumho tire company has developed scented tires. That's right, tires that have scented oils infused into the rubber! The Aroma Tire comes in jasmine, lavender and orange. Why? Who knows. When I'm buying tires I look at price and performance. Perhaps some people have been unhappy with the rubber smell and were hoping for this development. At $120 per tire, I think I'll pass, but they probably smell great when you're doing burn-outs. They'd be good for transporting that skunk too!

The Hitcher

The Hitcher is a new movie (actually a re-make) coming out this week. It's about some hitchhiker who ends up being a killer. Scary stuff. Almost as scary is a story about a skunk who needs a lift from Canada to California. It seems the animal stowed away in a transport truck and made the 2000 mile journey with no one discovering him until the truck arrived at its destination. Understandably, no one is willing to take him back and I guess it's against some regulation to transport wildlife into another country so he can't stay there. Wonder how much they're willing to pay? I mean I could drive fast with the windows down. Actually, I know someone who has no sense of smell. This is the perfect job for him!

Presidential Hopeful Appears Topless!

The new issue of People magazine (with Oprah on the cover) has a section called "Beach Babes." You will find Penelope Cruz, Jessica Alba, Catherine Zeta-Jones (shouldn't that be Zeta-Jones-Douglas?) Also appearing in swimwear...Barack Obama. Obama says he is embarrassed by the picture and not sure what beach it was taken at. Personally, I'll wait for the SI swimsuit issue, but this one's on the newsstands now if you're interested. By the way, in looking at the headline again, are you relieved it wasn't Hillary?

World Trade Center

I wasn't sure I wanted to see this movie. Wasn't sure I was ready to see it with the images of September 11, 2001 still in my mind. But my cousin Mark and several other people had recommended it, so I rented it. Wow, it packs an emotional wallup. But far from the depressing movie I was expecting, it is actually pretty uplifting. Director Oliver Stone says this is the love story he has been wanting to do. The story focuses on two Port Authority Policemen who are trapped in the rubble of the fallen towers. You get to know them, their families whose love keeps them going and the brave rescuers who put their lives on the line in an attempt to get them out. After you watch it, go back and watch it again with the commentary from the people who were there. You get a real perspective on what those hellish days were like. They sum it up best when they say September 11 showed us the worst human beings can do to each other, but also showed us the best we can be.

Snow for sale...

...And there's plenty more where that came from. The blizzards that dumped unbelievable amounts of snow on Colorado and the Plains have spawned some new E bay listings. You can buy bags of snow from various places in Colorado. Yes, authentic blizzard snow. Why would you want it? What would you do with it? Well, you could add syrup and make tasty snowcones, roll it into a small snowman (larger if you buy more bags,) or throw a blizzard ball at your neighbor's window. Just remember, if your genuine blizzard snow arrives and it's yellow, get your money back!