President Obama and Vice President Obama filling out their Nielsen Diaries saying they watch American Idol and Lost.

With the President’s State of ... Continue reading “As A Nation, We’re Lost.” Or, “What Would Reagan Do?”]]>

President Obama and Vice President Obama filling out their Nielsen Diaries saying they watch American Idol and Lost.

With the President’s State of the Union Address coming up, rumors started flying around the Internet that the speech would pre-empt the premier episode of the final season of the ABC television show, Lost. Fans of the show cried foul, mounted campaigns against pre-emption and in the end won.

The White House on Friday announced that President Obama’s speech will not be on the same night as the Lost premier. Stopping short of saying that the pressure from the public played a part in the decision, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs responded to a question by ABC reporter Ann Compton by saying, “I don’t foresee a scenario in which millions people who hope to finally get some conclusion with Lost are preempted by the president.”

Two Tuesday night dates were tossed around for the annual address, January 26th and February 2nd. January 26th as nixed because American Idol is on and we all know that even Obama won’t mess with Simon Cowell.

With American soldiers being killed everyday overseas, terrorist plots to attack the country are foiled, the economy in the toilet and unemployment rates at their highest point in recent history, I would think that every person in the U.S. would be wanting to hear the annual report from the prez. It’s a shame that a fictional television show is more important than the State of the Union.

This latest incident is one that makes me shake my head and wonder where this country is heading and where our priorities lie. I could only imagine what people in other countries of the world are thinking and saying.

It’s time that President Obama reaches in his pants, finds a set of balls and says, “I’m going on the air February 2nd. If you don’t like it, get Lost.”

The most famous ocean liner in the world, Titanic, now has a shrimp named after her.

When I saw Ted’s picture on the ... Continue reading “He Looks So Good.” Or, “In My Obituary Use a Current Photo.”]]> The obituary read like a small novel. Two large columns filled with Ted’s life long accomplishments. A father of three, a member of the greatest generation, a successful businessman. When he served his country he received medals for good conduct and marksmanship before being honorably discharged.

When I saw Ted’s picture on the obituary page, it struck me. Here’s a handsome man who was taken away from us at too young an age. At an age when the world is still yours to explore, chapters are yet to be written and decades of life and well-being are yours for the taking. But not for Ted. Ted died on October 15th.

Ted was 82.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why, when an obituary is placed in the paper, the family can’t come up with a recent photo of the deceased. Ted was 82 however, the accompanying photograph showed Ted about 60 years younger. I passed around the obit and asked several people in the office, how old they thought this man was, none of them got it right. A few said, “Why do people do that with photos?”

Chances are that nobody would recognize the Ted of yesterday when reading his obituary today. Was there not one single picture taken of Ted over the last 50 years? Sure, he may have looked great “back then,” but he died looking like he looked in 2009, not 1947.

I just don’t get it.

Wyoming Valley West School District Superintendant Chuck Suppon explaining how paper towels ignite on their own. Photo from the Citizens Voice.

I’ve been flying JetBlue a lot recently, and Tuesday night I was on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale, ... Continue reading Why can’t we all follow the rules?]]> As most of my readers know, I fly frequently. Actually, I fly a lot! I find that my best ideas for blog post come from my time spent in the sky, and this is no exception.

I’ve been flying JetBlue a lot recently, and Tuesday night I was on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Newburgh, NY. When I book my flights on JetBlue, I spend the extra $25 to get one of their “Even More Legroom (EML)” seats. These seats are found in the first few rows of the plane as well as the exit rows. If you ante up for one of these seats you get a few extra inches of legroom.

On this particular flight, after the cabin door was closed, a gentlemen (with an obnoxiously heavy New York accent) who was sitting in a non-EML seat, walked up and took a seat in the empty exit row across from me. The flight attendant saw his seat shuffle and proceeded to tell him that the seat he sat in is an EML seat and should he choose to sit there he would need to pay $25.

Well, this “gentlemen” turned nasty. He started carrying on about how many times he flies JetBlue, how he’s a good customer and how he should be allowed to sit there at no charge. Seeing this going on, I just had to chime in:

“Hey buddy, I had to pay twenty-five bucks to sit in this row, if you’re going to sit there, give me the $25 bucks I paid and I’ll keep my mouth shut, otherwise, move.”

He proceeded to tell me that he is a frequently flyer and he earned the “right” to sit there. Well, that set me off even further.

“How frequent do you fly? I take this route two times a week on JetBlue, I’m Chairman’s Preferred on US Airways, Platinum on Continental, Elite on AirTran… and I paid the $25 for my EML seat… shall I continue?”

He still didn’t give in and continued to harass the flight attendant who finally called for the gate agent to come on board. Needless to say, our “frequent flyer” was relegated back to his middle seat in a non-EML row because he wouldn’t pay the $25.

I thanked the flight attendant and ordered a beer.

Today, I was on the flight from Newburgh, NY to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and once again I purchased an EML seat. I found it odd that there was someone in the middle seat in my row since I checked the seat map when I checked in an hour before the flight and it was available.

Thinking that the seat was sold at the last minute I kept my mouth shut and talked to the guy in that seat for the duration of the flight. It just so happened that Mr. 11B blew his cover at the end of the flight. He was stupid enough to say, “You paid extra for this seat didn’t you? I was back in row 20, saw this available and took it, I sat here for free, how does that make you feel?”

Since we were only minutes away from landing, I let it go. Otherwise I would have called a flight attendant over to report him. Instead I headed to the ticket counter immediately after deplaning.

I explained the situation to the agent who in turn got the supervisor on duty. He agreed with my frustration and said, “we’re working on doing a better job at making sure this doesn’t happen.” He told me that “there’s nothing I can do as far as a full or partial credit for the EML charge, but you can call 1-800-JETBLUE and see if they will do anything for you.” He ended the conversation by saying, “Let me know how you make out as I’m curious as to how they will handle it.”

Why does one flight crew enforce the rules and one doesn’t? Before takeoff, the crew counts the number of filled EML seats to ensure there’s no squatters. The sure counted the guy next to me today but didn’t do anything about it.

As passengers, we’re supposed to obey the rules.

As employees, they’re supposed to enforce the rules.

JetBlue, I want my $25 back for the EML seat today. I followed the rules, you broke them, now make good.

Home parties were popular not only with Tupperware but with Avon, Mary Kay and more and housewives across America were jumping at the chance to ... Continue reading Disney Reinvents the Tupperware Party]]> I remember back in the 70′s, my mother hosted “Tupperware Parties.” A gathering of chatty, middle-aged women, grazing on dip, “burping” colorful plastic containers and marveling over the Flavor Saver.

Home parties were popular not only with Tupperware but with Avon, Mary Kay and more and housewives across America were jumping at the chance to host one. Today, the pink Cadillacs are gone, but home parties are not. Companies like Pampered Chef rely heavily on home parties to get their product into the hands of consumers.

Having a party where you can showcase the latest kitchen gadgets is one thing, but having a home party to push cruises, well, only Disney can get away with it.

Tonight “The Sanfilippo Family” got an email from Disney Cruise Line:

As a veteran cruiser who has spent plenty of days at sea on lines such as Cunard, Crystal, Regent, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Disney and others, I don’t need to go to a house party to be sold a cruise. However, for the demographic that Disney is reaching for – families – the idea may just work.

Imagine the family of four returning from their Disney cruise with the memories of their Caribbean adventure fresh in their heads. They rush to share their experience with their Wisteria Lane neighbors and Saturday morning soccer pals. They get them interested in this vacation of a lifetime, and BINGO! A week later they get an invite to attend a Disney Cruise Line House Party.

When it’s all over, they’re going to walk out of the host’s home not with a Salad Spinner, but with a receipt for a 7-night vacation for the whole family.

This is going to be a very successful program for Disney. I can feel it. After all, the mouse did plenty of research in advance to see if house parties were the way to go to get their message, and product, out there. And Disney doesn’t fail.

I’ve often said that when it comes to marketing to today’s consumers, what was old is new again. Disney didn’t invent the house party, but you can count on them reinventing it.

Seriously.

I’m sitting here tonight and my cell phone rings, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hello.”

Him: “Hi, how are you?”

Me: “Good, what did you do tonight?”

Him: “Can I call you back?”

Me: “I guess so,”

So I sit here waiting about three minutes and no call back, so I ... Continue reading Thank You, Please, You’re Welcome and Other Lost Arts of Politeness]]> What have we become as a society?

Seriously.

I’m sitting here tonight and my cell phone rings, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hello.”

Him: “Hi, how are you?”

Me: “Good, what did you do tonight?”

Him: “Can I call you back?”

Me: “I guess so,”

So I sit here waiting about three minutes and no call back, so I call him.

Me: “Um, did you want me?”

Him: “Yes, can I call you back?”

Sorry dude, you just struck out. Don’t call me and waste my time with this nonsense. I didn’t call you, have the courtesy of finishing your conversation with me before taking a call from someone else.

Dude! Nice ass!

I am beginning to think that as a society we have lost all respect for each other and manners and proper etiquette have been lost forever. Take today’s teenagers, or as I like to call them, street thugs and mall rats. They wear their pants halfway down their legs with their underwear hanging out and think this is acceptable dress. They drop the f-bomb more than I do in a day and have no respect for themselves or others around them who have to endure with their lurid behavior.

I come from a time where when you enter a building, you take your hat off. When you go out for dinner, you dress appropriately. When you’re at a table and a lady gets up to powder her nose, you stand up. You hold the door open for the person behind you and ladies go first. Sweat pants aren’t business casual and Megadeath t-shirts aren’t for casual Fridays.

As technology evolved and cell phones became mainstream, the lack of respect took a new turn. Now its perfectly acceptable to treat your dinner companions to your conversation when your phone rings. Turn signal levers should be taken out of cars, because you can’t steer with your right hand, hold the phone in your left, and signal a turn at the same time. I usually express my disdain with the turn-signal-less drivers with a blast of the horn. If you’re at dinner with me and your phone rings, I tell you to leave the table. And don’t think you’re going to break bread with me with a hat on.

I consider myself to be polite. Difficult, yes. But polite. Admittedly the f-bomb is part of my regular vocabulary much like it is on Saturday Night Live, but I’m cognisant of the company I’m with and will adjust my language as necessary. (Forgive me Father for I have sinned, it’s been about 27 years since my last confession. Do you have a few hours?) If my mother heard my language at times, I would have a mouth-full of soap, but I would have thanked her for doing that afterwords.

As a youngster, if I exhibited the behavior some young people exhibit today, my behind would be red and I would be waiting “for my father to come home” fully expecting a stern reprimand. I don’t know where in the course of history manners and etiquette took a left turn, but I’m hoping it gets back on the right track. After all, I don’t want to be watching our next President of the United States delivering his acceptance speech with his pants down around his knees and his underwear hanging out. Unless his last name is Clinton, then he’s excused.

Lauderdale, has ... Continue reading All Creatures Great and Small]]> Take a good look at this woman. This is 23-year old Cassandra Danielle Lauderdale and she ranks among the lowest of the low – the scum of the earth. What did she do to deserve these harsh words? She’s a cold-blooded murderer, but you won’t see her on trial anytime soon.

Lauderdale, has been charged with cruelty to animals after she brutally stabbed her dog to death in her bathtub as a house full of people listened in horror as the dog squealed in pain as it died a slow, painful death. A sheriff’s deputy was quoted as saying, Lauderdale said she killed the dog because “she had the right to kill [it] and it was no one’s business.”

These are the words and actions of a severely disturbed individual.

This poor, defenseless animal suffered intense pain at the hands of a woman who could very possibly become one of the nation’s next serial killers. Research has shown that people who abuse, torture and kill animals eventually “graduate” to doing these heinous actions on people. Lauderdale is probably next.

The sad part of this whole situation is obviously the death of the dog, but what’s even sadder is the fact that this degenerate has only been charged with cruelty to animals and been fined $2,500. I am a firm believer that in cases like this, the punishment fits the crime.

If you are pitiful enough to inflict torture and murder another living creature, you deserve to be met with the same fate. I certainly can’t be alone in my thinking. If you look at the newspaper’s website where this story is reported, nearly 100 readers have commented and expressed similar feelings.

Lauderdale is going to be given a slap on the wrist, a night or two in jail, and a fine which she probably can’t even afford to pay. In the mean time a dog is dead and a neighborhood may be harboring the next Jeffrey Dahmer.