Was I the only one who really didn’t care for the Volkswagen Darth Vader commercial that was shown during the Super Bowl (and actually leaked beforehand?) For those that didn’t see it here it is.

I guess it’s a tad cute with the mini-me version of Vader but as I was watching the commercial I kept on thinking why is he trying to shoot lightning from his finger tips or deflect a blaster shot?  I just didn’t get it.  But everyone I know and the “whole” Internet is a buzz over how great the commercial was.  I guess I gotta go read some Star Wars fan sites to see what the rest of the clan are thinking.

• I wonder what they think about folks with last names in the middle of the alphabet?  Or what about folks with first names that are at the end of the alphabet?
• I actually thought that was what Hotmail was originally for … heh, a disposable email account.
• I really wished the US would follow the rest of the world and get out of this idea of tipping for service.  People should just do a good job when working.
• Two weeks old (I’m like _REALLY_ behind on stuff) and it was the Human Torch.  Figured it wouldn’t be Reed or Sue.  Sorta makes sense with the dude who plays the Human Torch is now Captain America.  Interesting enough Spidey is joining the team.

Even after watching Fast Food Nation I had a hunkering for a hamburger.  Both Chewy and I thought it was supposed to be a documentary but it really wasn’t.  Sure it talks about the endless cycle of food, people and life but I wouldn’t really call it a documentary.  Oh well.  One more movie down.  A few more to go…

• I now have a craving for some Snickers Peanut Butter Squares.
• Somebody has a ton of time on their hands … I mean a TON of time on their hands (See all those custom Junkions made out of Animated Prowl)
• hmmmmm Star Wars Cakes …
• OH NO!!!  I’ve been living my life as LIE!!!  What’s next?  Fortune Cookies are false?!?!?
• I particularly like that last line: He has not connected well with an African-American base. – WHAT!!!!

I think that’s the only thing I remember from the movie Highlander.  Recently a co-worker was wearing a T-shirt that he received as a Christmas gift.  Being the geeks we are we all think the shirt was hilarious and yet not.  Off the bat I could recognize most of them (who’s ever heard of skyOS?)

However, the shirt did make me remember how at my in-laws church someone had one of the original “COEXIST” bumper stickers on their car.   I’m sure there are plenty that believe that all religions should really just coexist.  But those of Christian faiths?  Really? Sure there are some that think we should because we are called to be “loving” and “accepting.”  But are we called to accept the beliefs that counter our own?  I believe there’s a difference between “accepting” and “respecting” other beliefs.  Semantics maybe but I can respect what someone else does even though I don’t accept their belief. 

If we believe that Christ is our Savior and yet another religion only see’s Christ as a “good” man what does that say about Christ overall?  We must hold firm in what we truly believe in and therefore it would seem that religions can’t coexist.  So yeah, I was somewhat surprised to see that bumper sticker at my in-laws church.  But then again knowing the church I wasn’t really.

• Don Brown is being kept!!!  That is good news.
• RIP Dick Winters …We all salute you and all the men who made the sacrifice for not just this country but also the world.  I feel the need to watch Band of Brothers again …
• How do you steal 40,000 pennies?  I guess it should be easy to spot the thief once they try and cash it at the local Coinstar.

Between a short period of time (7am to 9am) we apparently got an inch of snow.  I was still asleep and missed the actual falling of snow.  I’ve always found falling snow to have a certain peace of mind affect.  That is until I start figuring out if I actually have to travel through it and what those ramifications are.  Snow is a tricky beast that’s best enjoyed while you have nothing to do or no where to travel to.  I can still remember all the “almost” accidents that I’ve had while traveling while it was snowing. 

Over the past few weeks there seemed to be a few interesting sports tidbits that are worth noting that I didn’t have time to mention.

• The f-ing Caps beat the Pens to win the Winter Classic.  That was a great game to watch especially since the announcers kept on saying the rain would only last for 5 minutes but it rained throughout the whole third period.  
• The Orioles land two decent free agents: 1B Derrek Lee and reliever Kevin Gregg.
• Roberto “Spitting” Alomar was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame (he’s expected to be wearing a Blue Jays hat).  I still remember the rumors of him ending one season early so he could keep his batting average above .300.
• The Redskins beat the Jaguars for their 6th win of the season dropping them four spots in the 2011 NFL draft so now they have the 10th overall pick.  Good thing they didn’t beat the Giants.

Yesterday, the WSJ had a couple of articles on Chinese parents.  A ton of my friends have been posting about them.  All I gotta say is that all my repressed memories are coming back … (article 1 and article 2)

My Maryland Terrapins beat the East Carolina Pirates in the Military Bowl yesterday 51-20!  I always enjoy blow outs when my team is on the winning side.  That first half was a little iffy with Maryland not taking advantage of all those turnovers and knowing that East Carolina has the ability to score in bunches.  Either way, it was good that the Terps were able to give Friedgen a nice farewell game.  He did a lot for the program over the past 10 years and we all thank him for that.  The way he was forced out was bad but hopefully he rebounds from it finds a new job somewhere.

Things have been a tad busy lately but I hope to start getting back to putting my thoughts into word form again. 

Christmas has come and gone and I hope everyone had a wonderful day of remembrance of Christ’s birth with family and loved ones.    Ours was wonderful.  There were some 15 guests with one guest who has been spending Christmas alone since she has no family around.  I believe she had a nice time and was genuinely happy to be around other folks on Christmas. 

Hopefully we can all take time out to pray for those who are sad or lonely during this time.  Christmas, whether spent with large numbers or just with oneself should be a time of reflection of Christ and His redemptive nature.  Rejoice with joy and thanksgiving knowing that there is one above all the things in this world that can truly fill us with what we need.

• How they make Disney the “happiest place on earth”
• Manga University in Japan.  The things that made geeks oddballs are now embraced (at least by a few)

This is one of those items where you need a big place just so you can display stuff like this.  It’s a five foot Wampa throw rug where the head is even a pillow!  How awesome is that? 

First there was/is the Tauntaun sleeping bag and now this.  Talk about a themed room if I ever heard of one.  I always wanted to get a door sized poster or cardboard cutout of Han Solo in Carbonite just to make it the face of a door.  Granted all these of those things come from Empire Strikes Back so the theme room would still work.  A place to hang your lightsabers, R2-D2 trash can and R2-D2 phone (no not that R2 phone).

• What!?  But he likes puppies!  He’s the GOP resident foot-in-mouth politician sorta like Biden.  Ugh oh does that mean Steele for VP in 2012?  I can hear it now!  Palin / Steele 2012!!!
• Unknown missile launch near LA?  How do they not know anything about it?
• How can people hate Google?  Sure they may “accidentally” steal some of your information but they gonna give out free Wi-Fi on selected carriers during the holiday season!

With Bush’s new memoir coming out there’s been an onslaught of interesting nuggets coming out (granted I’m pulling most of these from WaPo).  There’s the 5 Myths about Bush which was actually interesting to read.  But the most blogged/commented about one is his worst moment of his Presidency which was when Kanye West called him a racist.  Some people are quick to point out that he should have said Katrina was the worst moment or 9/11 or the economic downturn (here or here).  But really should have those been?  Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and even the economic downturn were events that he could resolve and make the overall outcome be better than it currently was.  He did that for 9/11.  He listened to his advisers about the economic downturn and tried to put into place something that would help (and realistically it should have especially if they would have put some restrictions on what the banks were going to do with the money). 

What gets me is how people still blame Bush for Hurricane Katrina.  Yes, because the man can control the weather and brought the storm to the area.  Because it wasn’t the storm that killed so many it was the levy’s that failed and flooded the area.  Or because people were told to leave and they didn’t.  All those were his fault.  Please people get a clue.  Yes, the response was slow but it was because of a idiot who was in charge of FEMA.  Those in leadership positions know the decisions that can be made are only as good as the information you have.  Everything else is a guess.  Bush had little information because those handling the situation did a poor job.  Should he take responsibility for how things were handled?  Of course he should and he does. 

Yet the same people who bash Bush haven’t said a word about how terrible a job Obama handled the oil spill in the Gulf.  Sure, thousands of people may not have died but the environmental impact of waiting weeks to months and not doing anything has caused an undetermined amount of damage to the environment which could still impact the human race in some form. 

The haters will continue to hate because that’s all they see.  Should Katrina be the worst moment in Bush’s Presidency?  I still say no.  Should Kanye West calling him a racist be, well he says so.  It’s not like there was anything Bush could have done to reverse that or make what he said become undone.  Then again should he really care what West says?  He does have foot-in-mouth disease a lot of times.

• hmmmmm TOASTY!
• Another U.S. butterstick!
• How many pointy-haired bosses are out there?
• I think I had those stickers …

No, I’m not talking about the state of the midterm election results.  That in itself is all based upon the whims of the masses that if they are collectively in the same districts could actually affect change.  (You think Ehrlich has a chance to be Governor of Maryland again?  Don’t make me laugh.)  It’s not like that change is for anything political but more of a physical presence of a particular seat.  We know that the powers that be aren’t really proactive but totally reactionary to the given circumstances.  WAIT!  My seat is up for election?  I better go do something so I can keep my cushy job.

I’m actually talking about the National Football League!  What is going on?  The Chiefs are doing well.  The Raiders are doing well.  The Redskins work out JaMarcus Russell today!  If he’s signed we would essentially be trading quarterbacks with Oakland!  It’s nice to see Jason doing well over there these past few games.  Too bad McNabb is still having problems with getting the offense down.  Not that the O-line is helping him out or our receivers are anything but average.  Yeah, it’s terrible.

Then we have the Vikings waiving Randy Moss after four weeks.  Then there’s the Chargers waiving Shawne Merriman!  What happened to him?  Guess it’s “Lights out” for him.