Monday - June 15, 2009 -

Welcome to the Blog -

Whether we know it or not, each of us lives a life governed by an internalized code of conduct. Some call it morality, others call it religion. I call it “The Bro Code”. It’s my hope that, with a better understanding of the Code, Bros the world over can put aside their differences and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood. It is then, and only then, that we might work together as one to accomplish perhaps the most important challenge society faces – getting laid.

- Barney Stinson – The Bro Code –

THE BRO CODE – Article # 18

"Always allow a buffer zone at urinals and on couches."


ON THIS DAY –

On this date in 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta. The document gave barons more liberty. In fact, with the new freedom, that's when the Red Baron began making his pizzas.

In 1752... yep, this was the day that Ben Franklin discovered electricity with a kite, a key and string. It's also the day that the phrase was coined, "What's that nut doing out there?"

On this date in 1844, Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanizing rubber. I'll bet you had no idea that Goodyear was a Vulcan.

In 1844, Charles Goodyear managed to vulcanize rubber. It helped pave the way for years later, when Mr. Spock invented the vulcanized tire grip.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time ever at a church picnic on this date, back in 1956. The conversation went something like this:

John: "Hey, Jude!"Paul: "Good day, Sunshine!"John: "Do you want to know a secret?"Paul: "Any good Norwegian wood?"John: "I wanna hold your hand."Paul: "Get back. You've got to hide your love away!"John: "When I'm sixty-four!"Paul: "Hello, goodbye!"


TODAY IS –

Billy Martin from the band Good Charlotte celebrates his 28th birthday today. Out of habit, George Steinbrenner fired him.

Neil Patrick Harris celebrates his 36th birthday today. Needless to say, it's going to be legendary.

Courtney Cox celebrates #45 today. "Happy Botox to you, happy Botox to you..."


THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW -

What does American Idol Kris Allen think about runner-up Adam Lambert's admitted crush on him? "I'm flattered... and it's hilarious!"

Reese Witherspoon says she'll never do a nude scene. The "Rendition" actress told Fox News that it just wouldn't be appropriate for her to appear nude in a movie because of the effect it could have on her children.

Johnny Palermo and his girlfriend were killed in a car crash last week in North Hollywood. He was on "Everybody Hates Chris" and the Nickelodeon series, "Just for kicks."

The best food to eat after exercise is a bowl of cold cereal and skim milk. When it comes to recovery after exercise, whole grain cereal can be just as effective at a much lower cost than a carbohydrate-based sports drinks, according to researchers from the University of Texas at Austin.

A couple lately: Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner.

Political and social activist Chastity Bono -- the only child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono -- began undergoing a sex change shortly after her 40th birthday on March 4.

A court in Malawi has reversed an earlier lower court decision and Madonna has a big "yes" to her second adoption from that country.

New episodes of "Mad Men" start up August 16th.

The Michael Vick era in Atlanta is officially over. The Falcons relinquished its contractual rights to Vick on Friday, but he remains suspended by the NFL.

Commander Mark Polansky and the crew of the Space Shuttle that blasted off Saturday are heading to the International Space Station. Along the way, the Commander is going to Twitter. Astro_127 if you want to follow him.

Rihanna and Chris Brown were both at the Magic/Lakers game last Thursday night, but sitting at opposite ends of the same row.

You'll get to see even more of Heidi Montag in the September issue of Playboy magazine.


I LOVE MOVIES!!!


The best movie of all time is Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," according to a poll conducted by Empire magazine of 10,000 moviegoers, 150 Hollywood directors and 50 film critics. Based on the Mario Puzo novel of the same name, "The Godfather" starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton. Here's the top 10 best movies of all time, according to the magazine:

1. "The Godfather"
2. "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
3. "The Empire Strikes Back"
4. "The Shawshank Redemption"
5. "Jaws"
6. "Goodfellas"
7. "Apocalypse Now"
8. "Singin' in the Rain"
9. "Pulp Fiction"
10. "Fight Club"

Want more?

The latest Batman film, "The Dark Knight," was the only film from this century to make the top 20.

"Easy Rider," "The Sound of Music" and Oscar-winner "Shakespeare in Love" did not make the list at all.

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" came in at 471, the only film in the "Harry Potter" franchise to make the list.

All three "Lord of the Rings" films were in the top 60


WEIRD NEWS -
Relationships: Bad For Your Weight! - This isn't good news. A new study to be published in the journal Obesity says that couples who marry or live together are more than twice as likely to become obese than those who stay single. And, the risk of obesity rises the longer people stay together. But there is an upside. Penny Gordon-Larsen, associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, found some positive health benefits to marriage, including decreased cigarette smoking and lower mortality. But she added: "We also see greater weight gain than in single people of the same age, and greater risk of obesity." So why is this? Gordon-Larsen speculates that people living together tended to eat meals together, possibly cooking bigger meals or eating out more often than they did when they were single. They were also more likely to watch television together instead of going to the gym or playing a sport. (Ananova)

Ump Ejects the Entire Crowd! - In West Burlington, Iowa, baseball umpire Don Briggs ejected the entire crowd of more than 100 fans for being unruly at the game between Winfield-Mount Union and West Burlington. Briggs said he had no problem with any of the student athletes during the game but it was the fans who were being unruly, yelling and arguing. But West Burlington Superintendent James Sleister said he didn't see any unusual behavior and said he thought the umpire overreacted. The game resumed after a 40-minute delay and West Burlington won 12-11. (myway.com)

Better Have a Better Lie Than This - Police in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, say a man has been charged with lying about his involvement in a hit-and-run accident. He told police it was his son who was driving the vehicle. But what makes that so hard to believe is the man's son is an infant. When police questioned the guy about who "normally" drives the car, our friend said it was his 19-year-old son who wasn't home at the time. The man told police he would have his son contact them. But the story kind of blew up in his face when officers were leaving the house and happened upon one of the neighbors and asked if they had seen the man's son driving the vehicle recently. The neighbor began laughing and told police that the son is still an infant. (Foster's Daily Democrat)

Dog Trippin'! - In Seattle, Jen Nestor Waddell's dog had an interesting afternoon. He got away from Jen while in Seward Park and somehow managed to find and eat some marijuana. And yes he got high as a kite. Jen said his 11-year-old black Lab mix named Jack was "just stoned" after they returned home from the park. The dog's eyes glossed over and he had trouble walking. The vet said Jack had swallowed a large amount of dried, harvested marijuana. After some medication to induce vomiting and a night of rest Jack was back to normal. Except he kept begging for those dang Beggin Strips! (KING-TV News)

I'll Meet You Under the Bridge! - In Columbia, South Carolina, drivers on the I-26 bridge called 911 after they witnessed what they thought was a suicide. Turns out it wasn't. Oh Lyle Silkwood did jump from the bridge into the Saluda River, but he wasn't trying to kill himself. He was just taking the shortest route to meet a passing friend in a boat after his truck ran out of gas. Firefighters, paramedics and rescue boats searched the river for more than an hour. Authorities finally figured out what was going on when they ran the license tag on the truck and called Silkwood's home. He answered and told them what happened. (myway.com)

Luckiest Couple Of the Week! - While you were busy trying to make it through another work week, Chuck and Karen Hill of Villa Rica, Georgia, were busy winning big on both of their scratch-off lottery tickets. Just one week after Chuck won $5,000 in the Georgia Lottery's Weekly WinFall drawing, his wife, Karen, bought a World Class Millions scratch-off ticket on her way to work and won $1 million! The couple has two children, ages 6 and 8 and said they plan to pay bills with the money. Pay bills?? You just won over $1 million!! Dang folks -- how much debt do you have? (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

If He Had Only Said Yes! - In Zephyr Cove, Nevada, a 53-year-old man really should have said yes instead of no. That's because the question he was being asked was, "Do you need us to help untie you?" And that question was being asked by a group of teenage high school students who found our friend naked and tied face down to a rock near Whittell High School. Unfortunately the guy told them, "no" so they called police who arrested the perv and charged him with indecent exposure and loitering on school grounds. (Tahoe Daily Tribune)

The Crook Who Bites Through Bars! - Police in China who solved a series of mysterious burglaries were shocked to find the crook was actually biting his way through steel window bars! Detectives in Nanjimen region, Chongqing, were puzzled by continuous reports of break-ins through barred windows and downright shocked to find the cut bars had deep tooth prints! Eventually, their inquiries led them to interview a man who said he was sharing a hotel room with a man who could crack walnuts with his teeth. Police then questioned his 23-year-old roommate who confessed that he was behind the burglaries. He said that he had turned to crime after failing to find a job and could not even remember how many houses he had broken into over the last two years. He also said he had developed strong, sharp teeth by using them to open the walnuts which grew in the mountains where he grew up. He added, "I never take other tools with me when breaking in. That's why I never got stopped by patrolling officers at night." (Ananova)


TOP FIVE SIGNS IT'S TIME TO GIVE UP COFFEE

Starbucks names it's next blend after you
You're trying to cut back to just 10 pots a day
The doctor just told you that your coffee tested positive for blood
You always have a bag of Columbian in the car... and it's coffee
You want to name your new son, "Yuban"


HUNTER'S HUMOR by Tim Hunter

North Korea appears to be preparing for another nuclear test. Intelligance reports say government officials were up late, drinking lots of energy drinks and ordering a pizza delivered.

Carrie Prejean was removed as "Miss California" last week and replaced by Tami Farrell who also just said that marriage is "between a man and a woman." Here we go again!

Cher's daughter, Chastity, is undergoing a sex-change operation. Once completed, she plans to go into the studio and record a new song, "I got one, too, babe"!

"My Name is Earl" is NOT going to TBS. The show is history. But that doesn't mean it's going to the History Channel, either.

TV stations made the switch from standard broadcast to digital last Friday. But I thought it was cruel how they did it with two minutes left in the hockey game!

I miss analog TV.

I want to know: so who said it was OK for the oil companies to make billions in record profits again?


NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR –

- The Fox TV Network has a series in development called, "I Married a Stranger," about the stress and strain of going through with an awkward arranged marriage. First up, the U.S. government and General Motors...

- Tony Romo says Jessica Simpson is his "dream date" because she enjoys watching football with him. Really? Jessica Simpson enjoys sitting on a couch drinking beer while eating nachos and chicken wings? Looking at Jessica's thighs...I never would have guessed it! Knock me over with a deep-fried turkey-feather!!!

- Like the House did previously, the Senate last week passed a bill that will regulate the marketing, advertising and manufacturing of tobacco products. President Obama is expected to immediately sign the tobacco bill into law. It's the first time that a guy signing anti-tobacco legislation will leave a nicotine stain on the pen.


ON TO ROCK NEWS –


EDDIE VAN HALEN OPENS UP IN RARE INTERVIEW…Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen opened up in a rare interview with Spinner.com, saying that he's "re-learning" how to play the guitar ever since getting sober more than two years ago. When asked about his playing technique nowadays, the hugely influential axeman said, "It takes me a good hour to loosen up my fingers . . . after two and a half, three hours, you kind of get into a zone that I'm kind of relearning because I'm not drinking anymore. When I used to drink, it would get me there quicker. It's kind of the zone where you're not thinking."

Van Halen added that his riffs come from a divine source, explaining, "God's not gonna give you nothing if you don't practice or play. So after a couple, three hours, God says, 'OK, he's ready. I'll throw him a bone.' And God's got a sense of humor, too -- sometimes he gives me s***, 'cause not everything I do I like."

The guitarist also spoke about the public reaction to the band's 2007 reunion tour with David Lee Roth, which also featured Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. Eddie said, "It brought tears to my eyes . . . And now I got my son in the band and it makes it even more ... Alex (Van Halen, drums and Eddie's brother), Wolfie and I, it's a family thing. And by the end of the tour, Wolfie was just incredible. For a 16-year-old to get up there and play in front of these people, he pulled it off very, very good."

Following his upcoming wedding to Janie Liszewski and Wolfgang's graduation from high school, Van Halen reiterated plans to begin work on the band's first new album with Roth in 25 years: "I hope that after Janie and I get married in June and Wolfie graduates that we sit down and discuss recording new music, which I have tons of, if Dave's up for singing ... and then do another tour and just see where it takes us."

Van Halen concludes with some advice for younger musicians: "Do you want to be a rock star or do you want music to be your livelihood? If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you'll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually you'll get to where you want to be."


METALLICA PLAYING BENEFIT FOR ROCK MUSEUM EXHIBIT…Metallica will play a benefit concert for the Marin County Museum in San Rafael, California this September, according to the Contra Costa Times. The announcement was made by frontman James Hetfield in a video screened at a museum gala last week for the "Marin Rocks" exhibition, where attendees paid $200 a ticket to raise funds for the project. The Museum pulled the project from its original intended location in a downtown space owned by the local Masonic Lodge, citing concerns over the cost of renovating the space, its size, and the length of the lease that the Lodge was offering.

The Museum is now looking for a new and larger space for the exhibition, which will tentatively open next spring and showcase Marin Country's rich rock history.

Also appearing in the video with Hetfield was Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Hetfield and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich both live in Marin and send their children to local schools.

The Metallica show will be the first in the county by the group, who are likely to play at the 2,000-seat Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

Museum executive director Merry Alberigi said, "Metallica very much supports the 'Marin Rocks' project, and especially the educational programs to be offered for our youth. They have kids in school here in Marin County and they want to give back."

Metallica is currently touring in Europe but will launch a North American trek in September.


CHEAP TRICK BRINGING 'SGT. PEPPER' TO LAS VEGAS…Sgt. Pepper is finally coming to Las Vegas in September courtesy of Rockford, Illinois' favorite sons -- Cheap Trick. The Associated Press reported that the crown princes of power pop will perform the Beatles' 1967 classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in its entirety with a full symphony orchestra during a nine-date stand at the Las Vegas Hilton. The Beatles' legendary engineer Geoff Emerick will be in charge of the audio production for the show, which is dubbed Sgt. Pepper Live.

Cheap Trick first performed Sgt. Pepper in its entirety back in 2007 with special guests at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl. Rick Neilsen said that he had to get in gear to learn the various guitar parts: "I quit practicing and learning tunes, in a way, in the late '60s, 'cause I started writing songs. I knew the songs from Sgt. Pepper but I never played them. Years before, I had the nice stereo and I put the needle down on the track and figure out how to do a solo or whatever. So I knew the music, but I didn't know it to play it. And you can't really jam a solo (laughs) on a Beatles song in front of 38,000 people. Y'know, you gotta really know your stuff."

Sgt. Pepper Live will run on September 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

Cheap Trick will next perform on June 23rd with Def Leppard in Camden, New Jersey at Susquehanna Bank Center.


BEATLES NEWS ROUNDUP…George Harrison's widow Olivia says that George would've taken part in a Beatles reunion if Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had agreed upon it. Olivia, who's promoting the new compilation Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison -- which is out tomorrow (June 16th) -- told The Sun that Harrison would be on board to team up again with his Beatles bandmates, "I think so, yes, I do, because he had great love for the others. He really did. As you get older, you value and treasure your friends so much more. I don't even want to think about what it would have been like. Very often there are times I think, 'Oh, I wish George were here for that.' He became more and more loving towards everything. He came to appreciate his friends so much more."

The full track list for Let It Roll: The Songs Of George Harrison is: "Got My Mind Set On You," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)," "The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)," "My Sweet Lord," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live)," "All Things Must Pass," "Any Road," "This Is Love," "All Those Years Ago," "Marwa Blues," "What Is Life," "Rising Sun," "When We Was Fab," "Something (Live)," "Blow Away," "Cheer Down," "Here Comes The Sun (Live)," "I Don't Want To Do It," "Isn't It A Pity."

Britain's The Sun reports that Paul McCartney took the advice of daughter Stella and has hired Kate Moss' former nanny Jade Davidson to help him look after five-year-old daughter Beatrice. A source close to McCartney said that, "Paul wants Bea in the company of a young, energetic woman who can run after her, climb, play games and generally muster up a lot of energy. He feels he needs the extra spark because he is getting a bit older and is aware he needs a younger influence around."

McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills had initiated the hiring of the nanny, with the source adding "Heather felt Paul's circle of pals were a bit old for a little girl to be hanging around."


FLASHBACK: BOB DYLAN RECORDS 'LIKE A ROLLING STONE…It was 44 years ago today (June 15th, 1965) that Bob Dylan recorded "Like A Rolling Stone." The song not only revolutionized the way lyrics were written and sung, but ultimately pushed the boundaries of how long a hit single could actually be. "Like A Rolling Stone," which clocked in at 6:06, would end up being printed as 5:59 on the 45's label in an effort to fool Top 40 disc jockeys into playing the single.

The session for the song began at 1:20 p.m. at Columbia Records studios in New York City, with Dylan performing the song on the piano as a waltz. By dawn the song had taken shape as one of the all time greatest rock and roll singles. Producer and friend Paul Rothchild remembered visiting the session in the early hours of June 16th in Bob Spitz' Bob Dylan: A Biography recalling that, "They told me they had played it 25 times before I got there. Dylan just sat in a chair with a smile plastered on his face and his leg going a mile-a-minute. He was grooving on the knowledge that he'd made a great record."

Dylan recalled writing the song in the liner notes to his 1985 box set Biograph revealing that, "My wife and I lived in a little cabin in Woodstock, New York, which we rented. I wrote the song there... It just came, you know it started with that 'La Bamba' riff."


That’s it for now, as always, if you can’t be good, be good at it and don’t get caught!!

Jonathan