The Beer Bar

Melanie Amaro, the winner of the US X factor has released her new single today on iTunes. It's a high energy re-make of Aretha's "RESPECT". I'm lovin' it and note that she didn't have to get a bunch of rappers to perform in the song (unlike Madonna who is releasing a terrible song tomorrow on iTunes with rappers MIA and Nicki Minaj embedded in the song).

America's least favorite agency, the TSA, is admitting that one of its employees stole Ipads while searching travelers' luggage. He was caught after one victim used the tracking device to find that her Ipad was at the home of the employee, along with 7 other stolen Ipads: Those Lovable TSA Thieves

....Getting there, is our own personal journey.

The painfully slow business of bringing Cambodia's Khmer Rouge leaders to court has taken an inordinate amount of time. Comrade Duch, the warden of the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison where of more than 15,000 'convicts' who entered, only seven escaped the Killing Fields, was finally found guilty and imprisoned last year. Now the United Nations-backed trial of the three most senior surviving leaders has started in Phnom Penh. They are Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two - he was the right-hand man of supreme leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998, Khieu Samphan, the regime's former head-of-state, and Ieng Sary who was foreign minister and the international face of the mu…

I never quite understood their feud other than Joyce was upset about Suzanne leaving "Three's Company" and they finally got back together after 30 years. Watch here:

Facebook finally filed for IPO today. Read about it here: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/facebook-files-for-an-i-p-o/?hp Will you put Facebook in your stock portfolio? I think it might be a good short term play. But I am looking forward to reading the detail in the filing and then of course the first quarter results which will now have to be public. I want to fully understand their revenue model.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/business/american-airlines-proposes-20-cut-in-salaries.html?_r=1 Another airline is looking to drastically cut expenses and overhead. American Airlines announced today that they want to cut 13,000 jobs and cut pay by 20% in order to reduce overhead for their struggling airline as they progress through the bankruptcy process. Cost management is one of the most difficult jobs in management and the airlines have never gotten it right.

For those of you who are wondering, yes the rumors are true. I am pregnant! I know who the father is as well. I don't care that this man was green and 4 feet high..he was still my little "alien of joy". I know what some of you are thinking but the "probe" part of the experiment wasn't as unpleasant as I thought it would be. However I did draw the line when they wanted to use the BIGGER probe. Now some of ya are sayin, "Well that Gcursor has finally flipped out." I can't say for sure whether or not that has happened but I do know that I love this little alien baby growing inside of me. I am going to be responsible for a new LIFE in the world! There has been some rather un…

Did anyone else enjoy the Michael Jackson episode of GLEE as much as I did? I love it when most of the show is dedicated to musical numbers and this one was no exception. I was surprised that they did so many ballads, but what they did do was really good. My favorite number was "Smooth Criminal" at the mid point of the show and "Wanna Be Startin' Something" with Darren Criss on lead vocals. In case you missed the show, here is the entire episode for US audiences only: And here are my two favorite performances from YouTube (posts are coming down quick so watch quickly if interested): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vliRrj8XQ6U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi9O…

If so, I would think I would have noticed it by now. Surely some people don't like Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail. I think they suck. I would prefer to pay for an email company that let me filter my mail better than these people do. Junk, junk, and more junk, despite their claims that they are doing something about it.

I always hear about these things to late or they happen when I'm out of town, but tomorrow (Sunday the 9th) a bunch of streets downtown will be closed for the third CicLAvia. Past ones seemed to go very well, I'm looking forward to finally joining in!

I can't stand the current JCP commercial (J. C. PENNY'S for those of you not with it). It starts with a woman screaming and goes on and on and on with women screaming (you know for the NEW JCP). Makes me gag. What's commercial makes you sick?

In a full page ad in today's Straits Times in Singapore, Air Asia advertises a ton of flights stressing they include all fares, fuel surcharges and airport taxes. The small print then adds - So much for the airline advertising agency's proof-reading abilities!

Washington Gay Marriage: State Senate Approves Bill To Allow Same Sex Couples To Wed RACHEL LA CORTE 02/ 1/12 11:43 PM ET AP OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to approve it. Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the measure and has said she will sign it into law, though opponents have promised to challenge it at the ballot with a referendum. The packed public galleries burst into applause as the Senate passed the measure on a 28-21 vote Wednesday night a…

Years of watching stuff like Hometime and This Old House wasted, here's all I ever needed to know to equip a home workshop! Tools Explained DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!' SKIL SAW: A portable cu…

In the event you are interested, it was announced yesterday that Simon Cowell, Freemantle and Fox fired Steve Jones (host of US X Factor) and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul. While it was generally expected that Steve and Nicole would leave, it was shocking to see Paula Abdul on the termination list as well. This was shocking because Paula and Simon go way back to the beginning of American Idol. I suspect that Paula may show up as a regular judge on "So You Can Think You Can Dance". Rumors are that they are talking to Mariah Carey to join the judging panel for next year only. I would be very surprised if she does it, but since Jennifer Lopez has done it on …

According to a new study 75% of people use their smartphone while sitting on the toilet. You know they say reading or doing anything other than what you are supposed to do on the toilet is not healthy and may cause hemorrhoids etc. So I thought I'd do a quick poll. Here is the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/toilet-texting-study_n_1245290.html?ref=technology&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

This is the new music video released yesterday for the Top 5 hit "Turn Me On" by Nicki Minaj and David Guetta. My friend Chris Arona is the man dressed in metal in this video. Chris used to be a go go dancer in Weho and now he is a bartender at UltraSuede. Here is the video released yesterday: Here is a still from the photo shoot of Chris in the metal suit:

Alabama immigration crackdown costs state up to $11 bln: study By Verna Gates | Reuters BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's crackdown on illegal immigrants, widely seen as the toughest in the United States, has cost the state's economy up to $10.8 billion, according to a new study. The Alabama law, passed in June, requires police to detain people they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason, among other measures. The cost-benefit analysis by University of Alabama economist Samuel Addy estimated up to 80,000 jobs were vacated by illegal immigrants fleeing the crackdown, costing Alabama's econo…

technically all the words are spelled correctly. . .

Firefox 10 has been released. I do not notice any visual differences so I'm guessing most the update is under the hood. While I do like Chrome I feel Firefox is the more responsive browser. I also like that its built by a non-profit therefore no shareholders to appease... just customers. You guys notice any difference after you updated?

Anyone watch "The Voice" on NBC last summer? I actually enjoyed that singing contest. I generally hate all reality television. But I do love the singing competitions because for me it's just a new form of variety show which I miss on television. So I plan on watching this again this year. It debuts right after the Superbowl this year. The judges of "The Voice" made the cover of Rolling Stone this month. Here is the article: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-voice-doubles-down-on-celebrity-mentors-for-second-season-20120107

In the Los Angeles area top news is very different that in other parts of the country. And one of the big news items today is that Marc Cherry of "Desperate Housewives" and "Golden Girls" fame has had a new pilot picked up called "Devious Maids". In it, four Latina maids work and scheme in Beverly Hills, and like all great dramas, it's based on a telenovela. AfterElton suggested that it might be a result of the popularity of "The Help" also. I think this has potential. Here is the article about the pilots being picked up today. http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/marc-cherrys-devious-maids-michael-greens-gotham-get-green-light-at-abc/

I was wondering how expats vote in general elections and so I found this: http://www.fvap.gov/resources/media/2010vag.pdf I was going to vote again for Mr. Obama, but now I'm not so sure. In fact, what I may do instead is vote against all the incumbents. Nobody's doing a very good job. Guess what happens to any of us when we don't do our jobs? Missing from last night's campaign speech: