Nickelback vs the Pickle, Sea World employee becomes Sea FOOD, Misplaced Shame

 

 Layne Mitchell Show Podcast #53 [16:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here’s money well spent: A quarter-page ad in today’s Edmonson Sun reminding drivers to brush the snow off of their cars. As I post this message,  Gateway Boulevard is completely dry (as it has been for over a week) and the temperature is 6 degrees (plus 6).

I’ve been posting a bunch on the SONiC Facebook page and one thing I notice is that for about every 20 or 25 comments we get on any given post, regardless of subject, there’s at least one person who posts: who cares.

Sad about the earthquake in Haiti: who cares
The women’s hockey team is beating Finland: who cares

I understand; there are a lot of things I don’t care about. Beanie babies, James Blunt, Jersey Shore… did I mention James Blunt? Facebook is a social networking site; a tool for connecting with people with similar interests. So to spend your time trolling the internet looking for one more thing NOT to care about… is just sad.

I’m not coming down on people for saying who cares. Like I said, I get one of those for roughly every 20 comments. 5 percent don’t care, and that’s okay. But the sad truth is, if you don’t care, and you’re wasting your time trying to express your apathy to people who do, you’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with OTHER people who don’t care. Start a Who Cares Facebook group – your own personal forum to express your apathy on various subjects.

Yesterday I posted that Noel Gallagher from Oasis was one of the names tossed out as a potential replacement for Simon Cowell on American Idol.

I don’t watch the show, but even with the Olympics on TV, there are 18-million people who DO watch that show. Oasis is certainly not my favorite band, but they’ve sold more than 70-million records and the prospect of Noel becoming part of North America’s most popular television show is at very least a mildly entertaining prospect for some. Who cares?

Everybody but you.

If you’re on Facebook, you’ve likely received an invite by now to join a campaign to see if a pickle could collect more Facebook fans than the band Nickelback. The pickle is now officially winning with more than 1,414,000 fans, beating Nickelback’s followers by about 1,000.

Hating on Nickelback is SO passe. I can’t say they’re my favorite band, but they’ve sold 30-million albums. 30-million. For every 200 people on this planet… there is one Nickelback album.

Personally, I like trying something a little different. Not 3 theremin players tap-dancing under a black light in scuba gear different, but different, and maybe you do too. Not everybody makes music to be an artist. To some people music is a business.

If you opened a restaurant, you probably don’t want to be like every other restaurant, but if adding French fries to your menu doubles your clientele wouldn’t you give it a shot?

To some, music is the same way. If you developed a formula for writing songs that you knew would sell millions of copies as opposed to hundreds, wouldn’t you be inclined to stick with it just a little longer?

The irony of this whole thing is that hating on Nickelback, or Nickelbacklash as I called it back in 2003 when it was at least a somewhat original phenomenon is OLD. It’s been around for at least 6 or 7 years.

So really, the creators of this Facebook page are capitalizing on an overdone idea for the sake of shameless self-promotion… the very thing they’re claiming to hate… which is why I’ve created a Facebook group called, “Can this olive get more fans than the Pickle”.

… no, not really.

Long before Courtenay Cox and Cougartown, before Jennifer Aniston became the has-been with the disaterous love life the tabloids have made her into,  Friends was a prime-time TV staple; a sitcom about about a young group of friends: Monica, Chandler, Phoebie, Rachel & Joey. I came across this picture of Joey (Matt LeBlanc) today and it made me feel SO old.

The Olympics, too fat to fly, Tiger’s apology

 

 Layne Mitchell Show Podcast #52 [13:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Movie director Kevin Smith has kicked off a Southwest Air flight this week because the pilot claimed he was, in essence, too fat to fly. He’s been through Edmonton recently on speaking tours and there’s no denying that he’s a substantial fellow. But too fat to fly?

I can appreciate both sides of this argument. If you pay for a full seat on an airplane, are you not entitled to be comfortable? To enjoy your seat without somebody’s gut hanging over onto your lap? On the otherhand, personally I’m a little on the tall side; I’ve got big shoulders. I certainly take up more than MY share of the seat. I tuck my elbows tight against my sides and still I take up the armrests, which is equally unfair to my fellow passengers. I wouldn’t take kindly to being kicked off a plane because they don’t feel I conform to THEIR size standards.

The irony of this whole situation is airplane seats are getting smaller – people are getting bigger. Sure being large is a choice, but is it a choice that should limit your travel options?

I managed to snap a picture of this photo radar trap on my iPhone this morning. It was set up meters from the edge of the construction zone for the 23rd Ave overpass. While I haven’t had the pleasure of “Photo Robbery” in this location, I’ve passed it in a similar spot every day for the last 2 weeks.

This time it was located just meters from the construction ZONE, but almost 10 blocks away from the actual construction (where NO ONE was working by the way [note: you can’t even SEE the overpass from the picture]).  As you know, construction zones not only have reduced speed limits, the speed fines are double.

I hear a lot of people ragging on the Edmonton Police Service about this blatant cash-grab. However, as I understand it, these traps are set up by the Office of Traffic Safety NOT EPS.  If you’re as ashamed as I am of this embarrasement of justice, I strongly encourage you to voice your opinion in the form of an email the address below… or open your wallet and let the robbery continue — your call. 

Email trafficsafety@edmonton.ca

How are Photo Radar Enforcement sites selected?
All sites are selected pursuant to the guidelines set out by the Province of Alberta, in relation to high collision corridors, citizen complaints, school zones and construction zones.

Valentines Day, heart-shaped pancakes & the Olympics

 

 Layne Mitchell Show Podcast #51 [16:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I was at the gym this morning and I saw a girl with this massive tattoo across her back. It was text – English. The passage was SO long though, I couldn’t read it all. Partly because the bottom was obscured by her shirt and partly because I was only there for an hour and a half. I just simply didn’t have time to read it all.

I’m not against getting text tattoos; inspirational quotes, your own personal little mission statement – hell if you’ve got Alzheimer’s and you wanna tattoo your address across your forearm – fine. But entire paragraphs? That’s a little much. It was like the start of The Empire Strikes back – I lost interest.

It’s one thing if it’s somewhere where YOU can read it. But this woman would need 2 mirrors to see this thing. It’s in a place for others to read. It’s like someone wearing a funny t-shirt, you can’t help but try to read it, but I don’t wanna look like a creepo because you decided to tattoo the great American novel across your back. I think if you’re gonna get a tattoo like that, there should be a 20 word limit – or maybe like twitter, if you can’t express it in 140 characters or less, you shouldn’t be allowed to get it tattooed.