JSIS: Democrats Behaving Poorly-- Just Mercy-- Congrats Kansas City

JSIS--  Just Some Interesting Stuff

1.  DEMOCRATS BEHAVING POORLY--  I watched the Presidential State of the Union Address, or should we have called it, "Democrats Behaving Poorly."  They hit a new low.  A bunch of petulant children.  Had they been in my classroom, especially the one sitting behind the President, they or she would have been sent to the principal's office.  And, both Liz and I did not vote for Donald Trump in the last election.  Maybe not this year, and we'd really like to vote against him again.

2.  "JUST MERCY"--  I just saw this movie this week and in my opinion should have had Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations.  This movie really moved me and perhaps there is something to Blacks saying they don't get proper credit in the film industry.

3.  CONGRATS KANSAS CITY CHIEFS--  What a game!  One of the best Super Bowls ever.  What a comeback!!  Liz and I were pulling for the Chiefs since they are Midwest and win about as often as Chicago.  Loved the Bill Murray Jeep commercial.  We also were pulling for the 49ers with the local connection of quarterback Tony Garappalo from local Arlington heights and EIU, Jimmie Ward from NIU and Robbie Gould from Da Bears.

Well Have to See.  --RoadDog

JSIS: The Snake At Sears-- Flip This-- Car Commercials

JSIS:  Just Some Interesting Stuff.

1.  THE SNAKE AT SEARS--  The situation at Sears just keeps getting deeper.  Something is mighty wrong there.  That owner is worthy of a Trump.  Wonder how many billions he's going to walk away with?

2.  FLIP THIS--  Listening to the Drive's A to Z, I am constantly insulted with the commercials to flip those houses and how rich you can get.  Truly another Sears person here as well.  I could tell them what to flip.

3.  CAR COMMERCIALS--  And speaking of commercials, I don't remember ever seeing so many cars with big ribbons on them as I have seen this holiday season.  But the one with Santa and his puppy is a fun one to watch.

--RoadDog

JSIS: Dempster's Parting-- Mayhem and Flo

JSIS--  Just Some Interesting Stuff


1.  DEMPSTER'S PARTING--  As we know, 2012 is to be yet another rebuilding year for the Cubs and they just traded pitcher Ryan Dempster to Texas (thanks a lot from us Sox fans), but Dempster was class as usual, and ran a full page ad in the August 3rd Chicago Tribune "Thank You Chicagoland."

His foundation will continue its work here in Chicago.  A real class act.


2.  MAYHEM AND FLO--  An article in the July 26th USA Today "The joke's in insurers" by Gary Strauss.  Even though insurance companies are spending more on advertising, it is not necessarily reflecting on profits.  I am a big fan of Flo for Progressive, the Geico gecko (expecially the new Road Runner one) and my favorite of all is Allstate's Mayhem.

I'd sure hate to see these companies take them off as I stop whatever I'm doing during commercials to watch.

Love That Mayhem.  --RoadDog


FUNNY HEADLINE:  Lawmen From Mexico Barbecue Guests.

Goodbye Creepy Burger King

Burger King has scrapped its creepy-looking plastic king. Good, he creeped me out. They could make a great horror show using his likeness.

he was the symbol of the hamburger fast-food restaurant since 2004.

According to Time Magazine, he joins some other dropped "mascots in that great greasy restaurant in the sky."

Do you remember these:

McDonald's Hamburglar

Arby's Oven Mitt (that was just plain dumb)

Quiznos Spongemonkey (I don't remember this one, but Quiznos is fairly new to our area.)

Domino's Noid (I liked this one.)

Taco Bell Chilhuahua (I'd really love to see come back. I really liked the one where he was going to catch Godzilla in a little box and after seeing the monster said, "I think I'm going to need a bigger box" with that great accent.

OK, so it wasn't for a restaurant, but I also liked the Frito Bandito.

Guess These Last Two Aren't Very PC These Days. --RoadDog


HOW'S THAT AGAIN? Between hay and grass...Not a child or an adult. Could it be a "Tween?

JSIS: iPhones-- College Trips-- Where's the Beef?

JSIS-- Just Some Interesting Stuff


1. iPHONES-- Evolution of Apple's iPhone. Yesterday I posted about the various iPhones, but later saw that I had the names wrong. According to the Chicago Tribune, it was: Original iPhone (2007) iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G (@008), iPhone 3GS (2009), iPhone4 (2010) and now the iPhone 5.

Do we really need to upgrade every year like that?


2. COLLEGE TRIPS-- Oct. 5th Chicago Tribune article on freshmen at Addison Trail High School outside Chicago taking a field trip to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to get them interested in college. Great idea, but I suggest the field trips be to Northern Illinois University in closer-by Dekalb.

This could get the students more fired up about their grades after seeing the payoff.

Parents should also take their high school children on visits to colleges.


3. WHERE'S THE BEEF?-- is back. Oct. 5th Chicago Tribune. The new commercial of the kid walking around with the vintage "Where's the Beef" tee shirt and looking amazed when every older folk calls it back to him is a fun trip back down memory lane for me.It was 27 years ago when Chicagoan Clara Peller made the famous quote pitching for Wendy's. She died a few years later in 1987.

Liz says a friend of hers worked on the set and had to hide behind the counter because Clara could not remember when to say her line. When it was time, he'd tug on her dress to cue her. That is why she always looked a bit shocked when she said it.

Now, companies seem to have learned that a little bit of humor, right Aflac duck and Mayhem, goes a long way. These are commercials I stop what I'm doing to watch.

That Was One Funny Commercial. --RoadDog

What's Your Favorite Insurance Commercial?

From the March 16th Chicago Tribune "After Aflac, other mascots" by Rob Manker.

It used to be that you had to look forward to beer commercials for humor when it came to boring TV commercials, but the insurance companies have really jumped into the fray.

Of course, there was the Gilbert Gottfried incident for Aflac after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which was the reason for this article.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE INSURANCE COMMERCIAL?

AFLAC-- the white duck
PROGRESSIVE-- Flo
GEICO-- the Gecko, Cavemen, Kash (the money clip), the Fake Rod Serling Guy
ALLSTATE-- Mayhem and Dennis Haysbert

Runnersup

STATE FARM-- Eddie Matos
NATIONWIDE-- Bob Wiltfong
METLIFE-- Snoopy

The last three aren't in the running at all with me.


MY PICKS

Overall, All State because of Mayhem. That guy is hilarious!!

Three Funniest individual commercials:

1. Geico's Woodchucks chucking wood.
2. Aflac's duck and Yogi Berra
3. AllState's Mayhem tree "Shakey, Shakey, Shakey"

I'll write more about these commercials, along with Facebook fans on my history blog at http://cootershistorything.blogspot.com.

How About Your Favorites? --RoadDog


YOU MIGHT BE FROM CHICAGO IF...Stores don't have sacks. They have bags.

JSIS: Funny Hats-- Bananaomics-- Empire Carpet Guy-- CEO GRBs-- 69%!!

JSIS: Just Some Interesting Stuff


From the May 16th Time Magazine.


1. FUNNY HATS-- Time had a two-page spread on the hats worn at the royal wedding last month. with 25 pictures. It was kind of like the Kentucky Derby. The caption said that "Women at the wedding adorned their heads with elaborate creations, from traditional hats to the fanciful headpieces known as fascinators." They asked readers to be the judge of the sublime to the ridiculous. And not a single baseball cap amongst them!!

2. BANANAOMICS-- I hadn't noticed, but evidently the cost of bananas has been going up as fast as the price of gas. I like bananas, but this very well may stop me from eating them.

3. EMPIRE CARPET GUY-- Elmer Hauldren,89, better known as the Empire Carpet Guy, died. How many times have I seen his commercials? It was strange to see the commercials in other parts of the country. What was that phone number again? "1-800- 5-8-8, 2-300, Em-pire." I imagine he suffered knee problems from getting up and down from the carpet all those years.


4. CEO GRBS-- CEO pay is rising again, a WHOLE LOT faster than what the rest of us are getting. In 2010, the average worker (you and me) pay went up 2%. CEOs went up 23%. Now, the average CEO pay of the top 200 companies is $11.4 million.


5. 69%!!--- No these aren't swear words, but probably should be. This is the increase in ExxonMobil's first quarter earnings from the same period the year before. That's $11 BILLION, making it one of their best quarterly profits ever.

I can hardly wait until second quarter profits come out at the end of this month.

CEOs and the Oil Axis of Evil, There Oughta Be a Law. --RoadDog


LIVING NEAR CHICAGO...First Ave., LaGrange Road, NW Highway all mysteriously change names as you cross intersections.

JSS: Not the Same-- "Yo Quiero Taco Bell"-- The Apple Tree

JSS-- Just Some Stuff


1. NOT THE SAME-- It just isn't the same this morning without checking on those baby robins and see what's up at the nest. However, I can live with ut the mommy-daddy fuss whenever they saw us, AND, I got to enjoy that side of the deck for the first time. Parting is such sweet sorrow.


2. "YO QUEIRO TACO BELL"-- Sorry to hear of the death, July 21st, of the Taco Bell Chihuahua, Gidget, at age 15. That was one FUNNY dog. Gidget became the chain's spokesdog in 1997 and the commercials ran to 2000.

The one where she was trying to trap Godzilla in a small box was the best. "Here Lizard, lizard, here lizard, lizard." Then, upon seeing the shadow of Godzilla, "I think I'm going to need a bigger box."


3. THE APPLE TREE-- For years, I had a tree growing on the west side of the house that I didn't know what it was. Last fall, I had buddy Trov come over to trim the trees. He trims and cuts down trees for a living. I asked him what it was, and he said, judging by the apples, an apple tree.

In my defense, there were only a couple and this was the first year they'd ever grown AND, I hadn't seen them.

I would have known this year, as it is covered by apples. However, those lousy Japanese beetles have developed a taste for the leaves, unfortunately. So that is a battle.

Here Lizard Lizard. --RoadDog