A Prank Call

I'd like to share with you the phone call I got today at work.

Me: Hello this is Antonio.
Mark: Yes I'd like to tell you how much I love black people . . . . . . . April Fools!!!!!!

Then he hung up on me. Rude. It's a good thing I can take a joke.

I Will Walk 6 Tenths Of A Mile

Well now that it has gotten warmer and lighter longer, I started walking again along the .6 mile driveway through Fort Ward Park here in beautiful Alexandria yesterday.

Dr. Oz says walk 30 minutes a day. I figure I can stick to that. Besides, not only is it good for your health, but I've discovered that it's good for the brain because it forces me to think. I also had the pleasure of Ryan's (formerly of Filmdom blog) company on my walk. Usually I walk by myself, but having a friend walk along can be a plus.

People! Turn off your televisions and get out there and walk.

Speaking of TV, don't forget to VOTE FOR SANJAYA tonight on American Idol.

Put Doooown The Remote

I watch too much TV.

Every day I have to get right home after work to watch the shows I recorded the night before on my DVR.

That needs to stop.

I'm finding that I'm so concerned with TV that I don't do anything else. I have books that I've been meaning to read. I have a magazine subscription that I'm about five months behind. Plus, I don't get out and walk like I used to.

Well, I've decided to cut down on my TV watching and get rid of a few shows that I really like. So I've done away with Survivor, Medium, Supernatural, Friday Night Lights, Grease (sorry Mark), and The Apprentice.

Now there are some shows that I just can't get rid of: Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Heroes, Jericho, Dirt, and yes Ghost Whisperer. Oh, and of course there's Sanjaya Idol. . . I mean American Idol.

Simon Says . . . . . . . . . . VOTE!

It's Tuesday. You know what that means. . . No Stephen R not that. It's time once again to vote for Sanjaya to stay on American Idol tonight. Come on. Join me and the folks over at Vote For The Worst. It'll be fun! Everyone's doing it.

Addictive Commercials

All I can say about this one is, "Wow!"

Sanjaya Must Stay

Vote for the Worst has shown me the light. Sanjaya must be put through to the next round. Hey, the judges brought him into the finals, they should have to deal with him. So I say, if he makes it through tonight, "Vote for Sanjaya" from now on.

Of course, make sure you save some votes for Melinda also. Yeah I know people are getting tired of the humble routine, but she's still the best singer on the show and should win.

Oh, and back to the Vote For The Worst website, there's an interesting page on it about the "behind the scenes" of the audition process. Some of the stuff on there I already knew, but there are some sneaky things on there that I didn't know. Check it out.

Scheduled Maintenance On My Wallet

Does anyone else experience anxiety at the auto mechanic.

I go in for a service that cost $35.
I sit in the waiting area.
Nervously I wait, knowing what's coming.
I hear an announcement on the loudspeaker.
I'm being paged to the service office.
My heart sinks.

Almost every time I go in for service, they find something else that needs fixing or replacing. So my service appointment turns into a $350 service.

I went to my dealership to get scheduled maintenance this past Friday. Believe it or not, they didn't page me in for more service. The service person came in with my ticket and said, "You're done." I couldn't believe.

Mrs. BruDog Haven

Alright, let me just say that I think I have found my future wife.

Melinda Doolittle!

The greatest thing to come out of American Idol since Kelly Clarkson.

She's perfect. She's 29, she was a music major in college, she hates to shop, she has obsessive quirks, and the girl can sang. That's right! I said SANG.

I was lying down watching the show tonight. Most of the girls sounded good. Then Melinda started to sing and I actually had to sit up because she sounded so good and just commanded the stage. For the third week in a row, I voted about ten times (I lost count at around seven) for her. I usually only vote on the finale.

By the way, why is that Antonella still on the show?

Chic-A-Bow-Wow!

So I go to the movies the other night to see "Breach" (good movie by the way). I pull into a parking space and turn off the car. I go to open my door and notice a couple going for it in the back seat of the car next to me. Chic-A-Bow-Wow! This time, unlike the time in Atlantic City where I pulled away and found another space, I didn't feel like moving. Hey if they have a problem with it, screw them (pun intended).

And now I'd like to end this chic-a-bow-wow post with a little nugget from the Tyra Show which, as I mentioned before, I occasionally watch.

Black History Month

I'm sorry I'm just getting around to posting this, but I've been thinking about this all month and wanted to make sure I worded it just right.

My friends who have known me for a while know that for years I would stress the whole "Black History Month" thing and would even have them research black history facts to "educate" each other. Well, I've kind of soured on the whole thing.

I feel like the whole idea of Black History Month makes us seem like some sort of special race. I don't mean special in a good way. I mean special in that all of our accomplishments have to be pointed out only during some special time of the year. And I think that it separates us from other races. At what point does "Black History" become just "History" without the implied asterisk.

Now don't get me wrong. I appreciate everything that my ancestors did. The struggles for freedom, the many important inventions, opening the doors for an average Joe. . . no . . . an average Tyrone like me to be able to express my opinions openly. This is just something that I've always had in the back of my head. Until recently, when I heard someone else mention the same thing, I thought I was the only one.

So that's the explanation Lori. And I'm sure that there are some who would disagree with me. But hey, this would be one boring world if everyone agreed with each other.