CNN/You Tube GOP Debate

I am normally not the type of person who watches Presidential debates, but last night was an exception. Up to this point I haven't really found a Republican candidate that I really knew much about or really wanted to support. After watching the debate and doing some extensive online research I have come to a conclusion that America has one Republican candidate that they should vote for this next election year........................ Mike Huckabee. For some reason I don't trust Romney or Giuliani and Paul might just be crazy. Huckabee on the otherhand seems genuine and has some really great ideas on how to turn this country around. I recommend that everyone do your own research and find a candidate to support. Unless of course you are a democrat (nothing wrong with that), then please don't vote for Hillary!
Huckabee 08

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Kissing Santa Claus

I wonder if the kid who saw "momma kissing Santa Claus" is messed up for life? He not only saw the kiss, but he stayed there to see "momma tickle Santa Clause" too. It is kind of a perverted song if you think about it. Not really what Christmas is suppose to be about.

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Man vs Black Friday

I had a very strategic plan this past Black Friday. I knew what I wanted and nobody was going to get in my way. My first spot to hit the bargain trail was Sears at 5am. To my surprise there was only a line of about 20 people at the door in front of me when I got there. When the doors opened, people were civilized and walked in. I knew exactly where the stuff I needed was located and swiftly moved past all the people turning in circles looking for their items. I was able to snag a Digital Frame for $49.00, a nice $300 Christmas tree for $99, and a memory card for just $9.99. The store was jam packed but no injuries or chaos to speak of.

Next stop on the trail was Target at 6am. Both doors of Target had lines of about 60 people when I arrived. When the doors opened all hell broke loose. People began running in and grabbing carts. I needed to get over to the electronics department fast. It was crazy. Women were pushing carts into my legs, yelling, pushing and I even think I saw a woman bite another one. I was able to make my way over to the DVDs and find "Seinfeld: Season 8" for half price that I wanted. Although I did make it fine, my wife was not so lucky. Since she is just a little one (only 5' tall), she got lost in the crowd almost trampled. I finally found her and she had enough of the Black Friday fun.

Overall the 2007 Black Friday campaign was a success. I got everything I wanted and only ended up with a few bruises from crazy cart ladies. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend!

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Great Political Video

Living in Iowa, I am bombarded with Political Ads on television with the upcoming Caucus. A friend of mine posted this on his blog and I thought it was hilarious. It is great to see a funny and light hearted commercial. Check it out.

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New Review On My Book

Here is another new review on my book (The Brogan Book: Your Daily Blarney):

Have you ever watched 60 Minutes and Andy Rooney comes on and, curmudgeon that he is, rants in essay form about this or that inconsequential thing that gives him a gut ache that particular week?
Thomas Brogan's Daily Blarney is similar to that. But Mr. Brogan limits his rants and sarcasm.
Not that Thomas Brogan doesn't have a justifiable beef. He often does. And he sees things and relates them in unique ways. Like gift cards—nice to get because you don't have to wear “the purple sweater with a pear that grandma picked out.” But now Thomas has a problem. Without a gift card, he can find many things in a store he would like to get. But once he has a gift card (“free money to spend”), he can't find anything he really wants. Since he's impatient and has money to “burn,” he often feels he needs to use it right then—and gets something he really didn't want. Much like the unwanted gift that seemingly was avoided.
You'll be amazed, as Mr. Brogan was, that water can kill you! Yes, water intoxication, they call it. See, I told you dihydrogen monoxide was bad and ought to be banned!
The book is a riot to read. You may even find yourself laughing or even agreeing with some (or many) of Mr. Brogan's observations. Or give this book as a gift. It has to be better than that purple sweater with a pear you were planning on re-gifting!

Reviewed by: John L. Hoh, Jr. (BookIdeas.com) 4 out of 5 stars

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Crumbs in the Silverware Drawer

I just don't understand it. I put my silverware in the dishwasher and turn it on. Once it is finished I open it up and I have shiny, sparkling silverware. I carry my silverware over to the designated drawer and place them in their slot. So, to my knowledge, the silverware is clean. But somehow, the next time I open up the drawer full of clean silverware there are crumbs in the silverware tray......... Why? How can it be? Are there crumb gnomes that come and sprinkle the crumbs in there when I am gone? This has to be one of life's great mysteries.

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Special Holiday Sale: The Brogan Book

What makes the perfect stocking stuffer? The Brogan Book of course. Get your copy today at a special holiday price of $5.99. That's over half off the price at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Get your copy today!

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Pizza Delivery and Cops

Is there some sort of unwritten law, or a real law for that matter, that the public knows nothing about, that allows pizza delivery drivers to speed? Because I have to tell you I have noticed many cars with the pizza sign on them buzz past me doing at least 90mph on a 25mph street. Now granted I may not be the fastest driver in the world (my wife will tell you I drive like a grandpa), but come on! I never see those pizza cars pulled over. Do you? I think that the police department is getting some free pizza out of this deal. We make fun of cops for always wanting donuts, but the truth is that pizza is the number one addiction for them. This addiction allows 16 year old kids to cruise around town driving like maniacs in their old Dodge Neon with a pizza sign lit up on top. I mean come on. The light on top of the car even draws attention to the speeding cars and they still don't get pulled over. I challenge somebody to test my theory. Get a hold of one of these pizza signs and drive around town like a crazy person. Speed, hit garbage cans, run red lights, see if you get pulled over. My prediction..............you won't. And no I won't pay for your ticket if you get one. :)

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New Shoes: Paolo Nutini

I have been listening to Capital 106.3 a lot lately and they introduced me to a great new artist named Paolo Nutini. Here is a video of one of his songs. I highly recommend checking out his album!

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The Joy of Nature

It was a wonderful crisp November evening tonight. I was outside on my deck grilling out some burgers when I took a moment to embrace the beautiful evening in front of me. The sun was setting, the moon was already showing it's glow and a flock of Canadian geese were flying down into the pond in my backyard. Amazingly, the first thing that came to my mind was taking a shotgun and shooting down one of the unsuspecting geese. I pictured myself in a real life "Duck Hunt" (Old Nintendo video game for you young folks), just picking the ducks off left and right. Ahhhh, what a nice night.

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The Most Impersonal Gift Ever

Holiday shopping is upon us once again this year. For some of us this can be a good thing, while for others it is just pure hell. I really think the person you are buying for makes the experience good or bad. I have some people who will give me a list of gift ideas as tall as me (6'1 if your counting). Then there are some others who won't even give me one inkling of an idea of what to buy them. These are the people who end up getting the gift card.

Now, I have always said that the gift card is the most impersonal gift. It doesn't really take any thought or effort on the buyer's part. But this year it has gotten even worse. Now you can order gift cards online. This means you don't even have to drive to the store to get the card. Better yet... you can have the gift card delivered directly to the person. You don't even have to see them! Isn't that great! Thanks to the modern convenience of the Internet you don't even have to deal with the family on Christmas anymore. You can send your gift card to them, send out an email instead of a card and spend you time on Christmas day at the one bar that is open in town.

What has Christmas come to??????

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Just Close My Account and Shut Up

Sometimes trying to close an account over the phone is like pulling teeth. I had signed up for this monthly Credit Score Tracker service and decided after a few months that I didn't need it any more. I thought that I could simply call and cancel the membership....... I thought wrong. After punching in all my account information and listening to some classic 80's tunes turned into elevator music I was directed to a sales representative that I couldn't understand (go figure). I told the rep that I wanted to cancel my membership (number 1). That's when I had to hear about all the reasons I should keep the account. "I want to cancel my membership." (second time).

Sales Rep: "But, Mr. Brogan have I told you about all the advantages.....blah, blah, blah."

"Please cancel my membership." (number 3)

Sales Rep: "But, Mr. Brogan I can give you this special price just this once...blah, blah, blah."

"Please just cancel my membership now." (number 4)

It took me four times of asking and over 10 minutes to cancel my membership that should have taken 1 minute. Have you ever had this experience? It is just annoying!

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The New Miracle Pill in Liquid Form

This is so true..........and funny!

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Anti-War Movies

Okay Liberal Hollywood we get the point. You are against the war in the Middle East. Can you please stop making the same old anti-war movies? At the movies this past weekend it was depressing sitting through all the previews about war and terrorism. The worst part is that most of these movies make the U.S. look like the bad guy. It is fine that you might not agree, but don't put down your own country. If you don't like the country so much there are plenty of other places you could live..... Just a thought.

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Butt Marketing

I appreciate a good marketing idea. With that being said, what the heck is going on with messages on butts around the country? Do you know what I mean? You see sweatpants or jeans with little sayings like "Hottie", "Little Angel" or even "Bite Me" plastered right on the butt. It's bad enough that they make these pants for women. But they also have these for little girls. That is just messed up! What kind of pedophile thought of this idea? I would never buy my daughter a pair of these pants. What parent would want their child's butt being looked at by some old pervert? This is just another example of how this society is in a downward spiral.

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Smoker Dedication

I really have to hand it to smokers. They are so dedicated to their art. If I gave just 10 percent of their effort for smoking and used it towards working out I would look better than John Basedow (guy from annoying Fitness Made Simple commercials). Think about it.............. Smokers know all the horrible medical effects of smoking, but yet they will still stand outside in below freezing temperatures to puff away. Cigarette prices go up, no problem.... they drive miles upon miles to another state to buy cartons (referring to the new Iowa tax). When bars and restaurants start to go smoke free nationwide I am sure they will find an answer. They have that hunger and the desire for that nicotine and nothing will stop them. It is amazing! I wish I could bottle that up and use it towards my goals. I will have to look into that.

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Dan In Real Life

I went and saw "Dan in Real Life" this past weekend. With Steve Carell (The OFFICE) being the main character and with the trailers I had seen, I was expecting a slap-stick comedy that would bring me to tears from laughing. But, the movie ended up being a little bit more on the serious side. Carell's character, Dan, ends up meeting the woman of dreams at a book store right before he goes to visit his family for the week. The only problem is that the woman of his dreams ends up being his brother's girlfriend. Along with this, Dan must also deal with his 3 daughters and being a good dad. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of funny moments throughout the movie (Carell dancing), but the main theme is love and family throughout the movie. Carell turns in a great peformance and shows he is more than just a comedic performer.

So that was the good. Now, for the two bad things about this movie. First, Dan's family, is just way too perfect. The brothers, sisters, parents and kids get together for the week at a beautiful cabin in Rhode Island. They play games together, have dinners together and even have a family talent show. Now, admittedly my family is not perfect, but do any families really have this much fun together? It just wasn't believable. Second, this movie had many similarities to "The Family Stone", which was released in 2005. It almost seemed like the same movie with a few different twists.

Overall, not a bad movie. 3 out of 5 stars

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A Trip to the Dentist

Two times a year it happens. I have 363 days a year of freedom. But, then I get that little postcard in the mail. It reminds me that my 6 month checkup at the dentist is near and I get that sick feeling to my stomach. I don't know why I fear the dentist so much. There is just something medieval about having metal objects jammed into your mouth that doesn't make sense to me. Every time I picture myself at the dentist it reminds me of a scene from the movie "Hostel" and I am part of some torture fantasy of a rich U.S. businessman. I guess the most ironic thing is I have to pay for this service (okay my insurance does, but still ironic).

So I am laying there with a spotlight in my face. A sharp metal object is picking at the layer between my gums and my teeth. I try to find a happy place and focus on counting the dots on the ceiling. But then, the dentist feels the need to add insult to injury. They begin to ask you questions. You know normal questions that a person would ask you at work or if you ran into an old friend at the market. You know like "How's the family doing?". Of course, all I can answer is "mmmmmmmmm", because I have something wedged between my #3 molar and #4 molar. So you really know that the person doesn't care what you have to say, when they know they won't get a coherent answer back from you.

So I put up with the 45 minutes of hell. The positive spin on this...... still no cavities. :)

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