Five Thoughts on a Friday –

Howdy folks. Here we are on yet another Friday. Looking at the calender I notice that this is my last opportunity to post a Christmas in July edition. Don’t worry though, I think I’m going to pass on that chance this year. Still, it’s been a busy week with a lot of funny things to choose from if you operate with the type of addled brain I do. So, let’s get this one going for the week and see where we land…..

1. Nascar team owner Jack Roush walked away from a  plane crash in Wisconsin this week. It’s his second plane crash in the past 8 years. Um… Mr. Roush? You appear to be very good at quite a few things, I hate to be the one to point it out, but flying planes (or specifically, landing them) doesn’t seem to be one of them. Surviving one plane crash is luck. A second crash? That’s a hint. Leave the piloting to someone else.
2. The biggest oil leak you’ve probably not even heard about is causing concerns that the oil make head into lake Michigan. Hey, isn’t that where those Asian carp are headed for too? What happens if the carp and oil meet up? Do we get a Godzilla like carp monster? Maybe Lake Michigan is the place to be this fall, but I don’t think that’s the type of tourism campaign Michigan wants to run.
3. I really, REALLY have to put this in the “This is news?” category. Yes, i understand Apple has taken a position of not wanting to offer adult oriented applications for it’s iPhone in it’s store. That’s all fine and good, and their choice. But really, did anyone not see this coming? If they didn’t, they obviously haven’t been on the internet in the last oh, 10-15 years. This is a surprise? Porn on a internet enabled phone? I’m shocked! Shocked I say! (No, I’m really not.)
4. I guess if your team is hovering around .500, you look for anything you can to light a fire under them and get them motivated. Some thing like Oh, I don’t know, complaining about the shoes the other team’s pitcher is wearing.
5. Every once in a while, you stumble across a topic that you don’t even have to add anything to. As soon as you see a headline that says “Power your building with a flush” you know that you’ve stumbled upon a ready made entry for that week’s list. I love the easy ones. Say it with me folks… Toilet Power!

Wow, we were really all over the map with this one today, weren’t we? I could play it up as needing a vacation (I do, but I always think I do) as a reason for closing with the video picked out for this week, but it isn’t. Turns out my co-blogger will be on vacation before I get a chance to go, but that isn’t the reason either. No, today’s reason for this particular video?

I heard on the radio on the drive in and thought it was kind of catchy. Pretty deep reasoning, huh?

Have a great weekend folks!
-Beer

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Save the Manuals

Now this is the type of campaign we can get behind here at the Beerbarrel.

The folks over at Autoblog picked it up, and it seems that Car and Driver has taken up the cause to “Save the Manuals”. That’s right folks, they’re out to save manual transmissions before it’s too late!

Being car guys, we here at the Beerbarrel are proud to support this cause!

Save the Manuals!

Later folks!
-Beer and the King

Five Thoughts on a Friday – The “Under Pressure” edition

Happy Friday everyone!

Looks like we’ve arrived on the verge of another weekend. So things can’t be all bad, right? We’re feeling a bit of pressure here at the Beerbarrel today.  Someone was kind enough this week to refer to our little endeavor as “funny” and specifically mentions this very Five Thoughts series as “great”. See, that’s the problem with praise… now we have to live up to it!

So with that in mind, let’s kick this one off and see where we land when it’s all over!

1. Folks, I need to put this one on the top. I just really do. Even if I happen to think it’s somewhat faulty logic, I can understand the appeal of those “Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign” bumper stickers. But folks… FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY… if you’re going to put one of those on your car, take the TWO MINUTES TO MAKE SURE YOUR CAR WASN’T BUILT IN ANOTHER COUNTRY! I mean, putting one of those on a car built in another country is ALMOST as bad as the “I work for Ford, I drive a Ford” license plate holder I saw… On a Cadillac. I honestly wish I was making that last part up, but I’m not.
2. Moving on… I have to put this one here just so I can use a gratuitous Jaws reference. They’re gonna need a bigger boat! (CNN had a video on this as well, and they even showed some Jaws footage. The didn’t use the bigger boat line. For shame, CNN! That’s a pop culture gimme right there!)
3. I’ve noticed a new ad from Kingsford Charcoal. It’s a new version of their “Slow down and grill” ad campaign. it’s for…. Match Light. The quick lighting charcoal. So…. we’re supposed to “Slow down and grill” with fast, easy lighting charcoal? Hmmm… maybe I’ll just fire up the gas grill while you work this one out, okay folks?  (For the record, I use a gas grill and charcoal. Although I use a chimney starter for the coals, no lighter fluid)
4. Now, I really don’t mean any offense to anyone who’s handicapped but this one needs to go into the “Are you kidding me?” file. The upper floor of the lifeguard building needs to be brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities act? They can’t get a waiver? So, there are a lot of disabled lifeguards out there? Yes, I know I’m being a bit harsh. But silly is silly, and that is most definitely silly.
5. Really BP? Who the heck is running your PR these days? You’re fighting one of the biggest PR battles in the history of the PR industry with this oil spill, and stuff like photoshopped pictures are being approved for publication? What in the world are you (not)thinking? For the record, I do hold a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations. So if you need some simple advice like oh, I don’t know… “you’ve got enough trouble, don’t go faking photos and make more for yourself. You already have a big enough mess to clean up!” just give us a shout. That first one was free. You’re welcome.

Ok folks. That’s five thoughts on a rainy Friday here. We’ve also got a Tropical Storm down in the gulf so stay tuned, because events like that almost always lead to some sort of amusing story. We’re out for the weekend! See you soon.

And because this is how I felt writing this one, like I mentioned in the opening….

Have a great weekend folks!
-Beer

Five thoughts on a Friday – the “Rocks can hurt you” edition

Howdy folks, and welcome to another edition of Five Thoughts on a Friday. We’re in no particular rush to get anywhere with this one today, so forgive us if it rambles around a bit. (Wow, got called into a meeting and suddenly it’s past the time of day I wanted to get this out by. Ok, now I *am* in a hurry!)

1. I had originally called the the <TBD> edition. Apparently the system thought the <> was code and didn’t like that. Meaning, it erased it. Sheesh! Even my own blog platform is a critic now!
2. California is considering changing it’s state rock. Apparently the state rock contains asbestos. I guess it even being PRESENT in a rock is enough to require a warning in California. This is, after all, the same state that warn you about eating fishing lures that contain lead since it can cause illness or birth defects. Funny how they never mention what the HOOKS on the lure would do to you. They’re just worried about the lead. Not like that state has any other issues to be working on, either. So, California? Don’t eat the state rocks. There, problem solved.
3. I admit I’m a little torn on this one. It seems this lady has a disproportionate share of trouble crossing the border. Ok, I’m not torn. She want’s the problem fixed. I understand that, I really do. But it seems to me that she also wants attention now. After all… “The head of New York’s Champlain crossing gave Nelson his cell phone number so she can call before crossings so he can help. She refuses to call ahead, reasoning that the government should be responsible for fixing its own problem.”  See that there? That’s a SOLUTION. It may not be ideal, or perfect. But for her particular situation, it’s a still a solution. It’s someone at least TRYING to help.
4. America’s Fastest road.  “the fastest drivers routinely reach speeds of 87 to 90 miles per hour” Pffft! Rookies. These people have obviously never had to make my morning drive. 80-85 mph is the average speed to keep from getting run off the road. And we’re four lanes wide. Why yes, I have totaled a brand new car this year. Why do you ask?
5. And y’all thought it was just the domestic auto industry that caused the “never buy a Friday car” talk, huh? Turns out the “July Effect” is real according to a new study. So there you go. Stay home and run our reader numbers up instead of getting surgery, you’ll be safer!

Ok, that’s five things for this Friday and I’m going to tear on out of here. It’s funny though. In looking back over some older posts recently, I came to realize how much longer this feature has gotten over the past year (And here I am running up the word count even more. How about that?). It’s true, go back and check out some of the older ones if you want. There where five thoughts in them still, but a lot less text. And no videos or pictures originally either. What do you think? Go back to the stripped down version, or stick with what we have now?

For today’s video… Stumbled across this while working on a new post. A little old school 80’s cheese.

Have a great weekend folks!
-Beer

Gersh gurndy morn-dee burn-dee

We here at Beerbarrel Productions make no bones about the fact that we hate recycled ideas in the entertainment world.  A-Team movie…dumb…. Dukes of Hazzard movie…dumber idea… and on and on and on.  Come on creative people, develop some original  thoughts and ideas.  We, as a buying, demanding population want original thoughts.  Well, I’m going to actually take a step back from our normal beliefs and flip flop here people.   Hold on, the one area I believe is ripe for a recycled project is…..are you ready….THE MUPPETS!!!  What, wait, is the King drunk or suffering his third concussion???  No people, listen to me.  You have to check out the Muppets Studio on YouTube.  It’s great!   I can’t help but smile….  So I’m leaving you with one of my favorites new videos….enjoy!!

About face! (That was fast…)

We’d love to take credit for it but I doubt they even noticed us.

An interesting thing though. Early today thought number one in Five Thoughts on a Friday dealt with Blizzard Entertainment and their “RealID” system that was going to display the real first and last name of players posting on their forums. (Say what you want about us but we get results, huh? I kid! I kid!)

We noted that the story had started to migrate out of game related blogs and forums and into the mainstream news cycle.

This afternoon Blizzard’s CEO took to the Warcraft forums to announce that users will NOT have to have their real identities shown when they post.

I’ll say this is a good move, a public fight in the media on a matter of privacy issue was a battle Blizzard would never win. They did the smart thing and avoided it, at least for now.

Have a great one folks!
-Beer

Five Thoughts on a Friday – “Hey, where did we go?” edition

Happy Friday again everyone. Yes, we’ve been sort of absent for the past week. I actually meant to get a post up Tuesday or Wednesday, but I just couldn’t get it worked out. The post was, ironically, about writer’s block. Still, it’s Friday and that means we’re back at it with our weekly “Five Thoughts”. And awaaaaay we go!

1. I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about this, but this morning I saw it on the front page of Yahoo!. If people didn’t know about it before, they will soon if the major news and web sites (as opposed to blogs and forums, no offense meant) start carrying the story. Blizzard Entertainment (The folks who make World of Warcraft) seem to be playing pretty fast and loose with people’s personal information. I’ll leave my personal thoughts on the sideline and say this… There is NO WAY Blizzard can win the PR battle on this one. None. If this story goes mainstream, the PR backlash they’ll get hit with will be unreal (And remember folks, PR doesn’t have to be logical or rational. You still have to deal with it, though). All they have to do is ask their friends at Facebook.
2. Let’s change gears here and deal with soccer (you know, the football the rest of the world plays). Seems there’s been an octopus in Germany that’s been correctly picking a lot of the games. Seems he correctly picked Spain to beat Germany. He got another one right – that’s good, right? Not so much. It appears some people in Germany now feel the octopus would be better off being dinner. Ouch. So much for being good at what you do.
3. Get out the tin foil hats! There’s a secret message embedded in the logo of the US Cyber Command’s logo! It might just be their motto, or it could be some message that they’re planning to take over the world! Or it could be someone saying that someone owes them a pizza because they actually put the code in the logo. Have fun with it, folks!
4. So LeBron made his choice, huh? I could say I watched it, but I would be lying. I could say I care, and I’d be telling you the truth. “Let me explain… no, there is no time, let me sum up.” I don’t follow basketball all that much. I do read the sports page though so I know what’s been going on. And I *do* care. I really do. I wanted him to hurry up and make his decision. So the story would GET OFF OF MY DAMNED SPORTS TICKER! See? There’s a reason for everything.
5. I don’t think I will ever understand this. You didn’t like the verdict and were upset about it, so you rioted. Ok, there’s almost some convoluted logic to that. Why then, when you’re celebrating your team winning the big game… you… riot? Go ahead, call me confused. I just don’t get it.

So there we go, this week’s Five Thoughts. Now that that’s done, can someone tell me if it’s time to start the weekend yet? No? Not yet? Damn.

This past Monday a legendary NHL tough guy passed away far too soon. Bob Probert passed away at age 45 after complaining of chest pains. His funeral is today in Windsor, Ontario Canada. Just across the Detroit river from Windsor sits Joe Louis Arena where he made his name with the Red Wings. He even helped name a band with one of his fights.  Five for Fighting took it’s name from the fight.

From John Ondrasik’s Twitter:
To clarify fff was named after a hockey fight between Bob Probert and Marty McSorley #f4f

Here’s the fight, it’s legendary:

Have a great weekend folks!
-Beer

Five Thoughts on a Friday… The “This will not end well” edition

Happy Friday again everyone! As we wind down a week leading into a long weekend for some of us, I find that my brain has already checked out (Heck, i don’t think it ever actually checked in today). As I go through the news of the week, I see that it appears to have been a widespread phenomenon. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at today’s Five Thoughts on a Friday.

1. Much like the rest of my age group, I used to watch the Jetsons, and just like the rest of the people who watched I’ve always wondered where the flying cars were. Now that I see it though, I’m thinking this may be a bad idea. I mean, I think it looks really cool. Then I stop and think about the ramifications of letting any fool off the street log just 20 hours of seat time, and licensing them to fly one of these things. Think about how many hours upon hours of wheel time the idiots you encounter on the road every day have. Then think of them flying over your house every day. Yup. This will not end well.
2. Let me get this straight…. Interpol catches someone they accuse of being a Russian spy. They arrest them. Then they let them go on BAIL? Now the alleged spy is missing. This is a surprise… how? Don’t these people watch spy movies? Did they think he was just going to sit around and wait? The spy always gets away!
3. Good news everyone! No, not really. Apple’s apparently figured out the reason behind the large signal strength drops in it’s new iPhone. The reason? Turns out you never had that strong a signal to begin with! The phones are erroneously reporting higher signal strength than they should have been. That’s the tagline I’d want for my new product’s PR campaign.
4. This just screams bad idea to me. I’m sorry, but it does. Then again, given the number of people who already don’t watch the road while driving…. Maybe we won’t really notice a difference if someone develops a car for the blind.
5. Good News Everybody! The hole in the ozone layer appears to be recovering! Nah, not really. Turns out that means there’s more ozone mixing into the air layers that we all breathe as a result, too. So we’re still all gonna die anyways. Smoke ’em if you got ’em. Me, I’ll pass on the smokes. Just hand me that bottle of bourbon over there.

Ok, that’s five things and I’m off to enjoy a nice long weekend complete with fireworks, barbecue, drinks and relaxation. I hope. It’ll probably be tons of work around the house, barbecue, and drinks. Which still may not be that bad, I guess. Maybe it will end well, after all.

And on our way out, let’s just go with this one today….

Have a great weekend folks!
– Beer