Today, I went to Erwin to visit Grandmom. She has Alzheimer's and doesn't recognize any of us anymore. Even so, I felt bad about never visiting her, so today after work I drove down. One of the nurses there was really helpful, told me about how she was and who else had been to visit her. Granddad comes every Wednesday, and Aunt Joan, her mom, and Laura visit sometimes. Once the nurse told her that I was her oldest grandson and her third son's son, she seemed to vaguely recognize me. I was expecting the worst, her not being able to talk at all and not being able to eat. She did talk to me a bit, once she got used to my presence. The nurse said Grandmom trusted her enough to be fed by her, but earlier on, she didn't seem to eat. She also looked kinda sad, but the nurse said that was a stage of Alzheimer's. I think it'll be alright for now.

8.5/10. I agree with Marge on how those wife swap shows can be traumatic. I mean, in the off chance that happens to me, I'll give them the ratings booster of ratings boosters: I'd run away. Another noticeable part was the underwear burning. I didn't really get the gist of that one: is she just mean or obsessive-compulsive? Also, there's Ricky Gervais' musical extensions. He's not that bad, is he?

Weird Commercials II

OK, more weird commercials. Just this morining, I saw an ad for something called Westgate. There was some repetitive stuff about "You can't beat a Westgate deal" or something. So, what is Westgate? Well, if you have good eyes or good glasses, and you just happen to look at the bottom left corner of the screen, you'll make out that it's a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer. On the other hand, there are some car dealers around here that never let you forget what they're selling. For example: "HIFOLKSthisisTomSmithheretheundisputedpriceleaderCrossroadsFordinCAY-RY!" I don't mean to make fun of people with southern accents, but this guy is just asking for it. Then, there's Mark Jacobson, owner of a Toyota dealer in Durham. My Dad has a few words to describe him: "Jerky" (I think that's a bit harsh), "Over-the-top" (That works), and I thought "Garroulous/Garrolus/Garrulus/Whatever". I mean, he kinda reminds me of Michael Jackson, or possibly Marshie of Homestar Runner fame. Another car dealer in the area annoys me a different way. If you've read my Mom's blog, you'd know by now that you should never use an apostrophe to make a plural. Well, Leith Ford in Wendell didn't pay attention in class. They're trying to sell "Volvo's." Volvo's what? What does Volvo have? They're not the only ones. There's a billboard on I-95 South (mile 76) for South Of The Border that says "Kid's Rule." Kid Is Rule? Huh? Is it the Kid's rule to stop there? Next, there's Jersey Mike's in Clayton. "Kids eat free Tuesday's." For more grammar lessons, I direct you to Triangle Grammar Guide.

I guess I kinda rambled a bit here. Oh, well. Stay tuned, review of tonight's Simpsons coming up at about 8:45.

UPDATE, 4/4: Just last friday, Tom Smith left "Cay-ry" for Charleston, SC.

UPDATE, 7/6: Tom Smith came back, having bought his own dealership in Lillington.

Bart has two Mommies

Well... This one seemed to be mocking me a bit. I know a few kids whose parents can be like Ned (not naming names here), and I occasionally worry about how they'll handle the real world. I really liked the last part, with Maude in heaven, glad that Rod was growing up a bit. With all that aside, I consider this episode, with a beginning that had a role in the end for a change, an 8/10. As for last week, I wasn't feeling up for a review, but based on what I can remember about it, it was a 6.5/10.

Remember my post from Jan. 10? That was kind of a false alarm, but this is not: There are places around here that encourage murdering your lungs. See this N&O story. I really can't understand why anyone would be dumb enough to even try it after hearing how bad it is. I mean, there was a guy in my class who went through D.A.R.E and everything in fifth grade, 1998 and 1999. Summer of 2002, I meet up with him, he'd already taken it up at 14, following the lead of a college guy. Sadly, he didn't remember me. Meanwhile, over in Calabasas, CA, they've got harsh regulations on smoking anywhere in public. Why can't it be like that around here? Why did it take so long for people to realize they were all dying from something everyone was doing? Why can't we do anything about it?

Do you want to discover new music?

Check out Pandora. There's a link to it on the side. Pandora is the Music Genome project. Just type in an artist or song, and you get a custom-made audio stream, and you can give feedback. In my opinon, entering specific songs yields better results. Thanks, Dad.

Too far

I saw a campaign ad for Vernon Robinson, who is running for the 13th district here in NC. His ad, which mocked everything from separation of church and state to fair treatment of minorities, set me over the edge. I've been trying to ignore this for so long, but I can't anymore. I feel bad about living in the same state as these kinds of people who make all us southerners look like narrow-minded arch-fundamentalists. Jim Bakker, Vernon Robinson, and several others who shall remain nameless. What makes this even worse is the Electoral College, which is splitting the UNITED States into red states and blue states. That completely undermines democracy. There's no sense in voting if yours is meaningless. Consider this: If there was no Electoral College, Al Gore would be president. I don't know if that could prevent 9/11, but I think it's possible. And if there was no 9/11, there'd be no war in Iraq.

OK, speaking of too far, I may have gone too far here. I really didn't mean to offend anyone.

Crooksandliars has more information on Robinson, with a video of the ad that set me off.

You gotta see this!!

Seriously, this is cool!
It beats Numa Numa by a long shot.

Radio rage

Yeah, you know the deal, Bill O'Reilly once again proves that he's channeling Joe McCarthy and Keith Olbermann is channeling Edward R. Murrow. Time for me to channel... whoever had the nerve to crank call McCarthy. OK, as soon as I find out what number to call, I'll call The Radio Factor and when I get on the air, I'm gonna say "KeithOlbermannKeithOlbermannKeithOlbermannKeithOlbermann..." and so on until I invariably run out of breath, then laugh my rear end off. If I get through again, I'll place an order for 231,000 falafels. OK, I'm not really going to do this, but if anyone does this and it's not me, I'm gonna send the Jake Nelson What's On My Mind Security Department to your home. HAHA. Seriously though, don't steal my idea, man.

My first wreck

It was a stop-and-roll-constantly situation on US 70 Eastbound just outside of Garner at about 5:40 p.m. today. Either I let up on the brakes too soon or didn't step on the brakes fast enough, it was all a blur until I hit that van. I'm sill reliving the crash noise and the wipers flipping on for some reason. "Failure to decelerate to avoid collision, $50+$110 court costs." That's a crack in my nest egg. I was mostly OK, but after making sure that the guy I hit was OK and not mad at me, I realized the pain in my right shin that thrives to this moment. Luckily enough, no one was hurt, a highway patrolman just happened to be nearby, as was Lisa, former phone-answerer at the paper. The 1995 Chevrolet (as the NCHP tends to call it) is fine, already had a few dents. My shin hurts and all, but I think if I take some Tylenol, Aleve, or Equate Ibuprofen (whatever seems to work the best), I'll recover.