The Asbury Park Press ran a story this morning that talked about how vendors located on Asbury Park’s Cookman Avenue were gearing up for what they believe will be a very successful summer season. From the article:

For one thing, some new stores are coming as promised to his already active 600 block. Asbury Bark, the dog boutique, moved over from Bangs Avenue, and clothing shop Organic Style and a new bookstore are set to open in May.

For another, he said store and restaurant owners have banded together to create events such as concerts.

I used to work on the office at the old Harry’s Roadhouse located on the 600 block of Cookman Avenue. We had it all going on at that place including a special Christmas concert by Asbury Park’s own Bruce Springsteen! But our ownership was shoddy and didn’t like to pay the bills so we eventually shut down. I heard that there are new owners in that place and that there is a new wind blowing through Cookman Avenue. This area had a mini-resurgence some 5 years ago (around the time I was working in the area) and while most of the shops have remained open and in business over the last few years, there was always something odd about Cookman. That weird “oddness” is what made people stop shopping there. I really can’t put my finger on it, but it always felt more like people were walking around in a movie than on a city street shopping.

This concert series sounds interesting, though. I’ll be looking out for more information on these events!

Hard to believe that a story like this would surface in the year 2008, but here it is: Candidate speaks at Hitler birthday party. Come on. COME ON! You mean to tell me that the guy running for this Congressional seat - a guy named Tony Zirkle - walked into that room and thought, “Hey, this is a great idea!”??? I almost can’t believe it.

If you haven’t, please click on that link above and take a look at this ridiculous picture of this moron candidate standing in front of a picture of Adolf Hitler and huge swastika flags. I’m almost at a loss for words on this one. I just can’t believe this guy - who is (was) a legitimate candidate for this Congressional seat - walked into that room and told himself that it was completely okay to stand in front of that gathering, in front of Hitler, and talk about Jesus Christ. Believe me, my religion is all about evangelizing and spreading the good Word, but come on! If you’re running for office you CANNOT stand in front of Hitler in a room draped in Nazi regalia!

Where is the judgment these days? How is the public supposed to trust their political candidates when they make such stupid decisions? Again, I can sympathize with wanting to spread the good Word to even the most jaded constituencies, but this was not a bright move. In fact, it’s downright insulting. Had the candidate agreed to speak in a different room or in a manner such that he didn’t look like he was endorsing the neo-Nazis, I may have a different take on all of this. But what they say is true - a picture is worth a thousand words and the picture in that article speaks for itself.

Idiot.

Yahoo Mail recently upgraded its e-mail services so that you can now use a quasi-Microsoft Outlook type of screen to view your mail. There are many benefits to having this type of set-up, but one of the drawbacks is the automatic advertisements that are embedded in different areas of the screen. Alright, so they’re not SO bad, but this advertisement really pissed me off:

Take a good look at that advertisement. What type of support is superior? Personal support? No… Presonal support? Yes!

Presonal support? PRESONAL support?!? What the hell does PRESONAL mean? How the hell did something like this get published on the internet on one of the highest viewed web-based e-mail platforms?! If I was the owner of the company that purchased this advertisement, I’d be off my rocker with aggravation.

But I’m glad that these bozos actually had this pathetic advertisement printed. In reality, this type of shoddy workmanship is endemic in all areas of life and it is becoming more and more widespread as time goes on. What do we expect from younger generations that are completely fine with writing: hI R U up 2 nething kewl 2day??

It’s pathetic.

While trolling over the internet, I came across an excellent essay by George Leef that I had to share. For those of you with an interest in college life and higher education overall, you have to read this essay. It’s a great combination of interesting, biting truth regarding the end results that we expect from students at our universities and colleges. My favorite part of the essay:

The final bad answer Henrie discusses is the idea, derived from John Stuart Mill, that the purpose of college is to get students to challenge reigning beliefs. The trouble with this approach is that it tends to collapse into a universal skepticism. Students are conditioned to think that all our traditions and institutions must be defective if they can’t pass the test of rigorous rationality. Utopian reformers love this, since it creates a horde of young people who imagine themselves to be deep and “critical” thinkers, but who actually have very shallow minds.

Ha ha! You really have to read the entire essay to understand where Mr. Leef is coming from. How many of us know people who have ridiculous, anarchist views on government which they attribute to their college experience (* raises hand *)? How many of us know people who justify the use of drug use because it allows them to produce deeper thoughts (* raises hand again *)? I love this article!

And it’s so true, too. Many people might be able to recall a college experience where great time and effort was put into competing theories of government, for example. Then those competing theories were used to measure up against the American system (again, for example). But how many students or graduates can recall a class that talks about how the American system (or some other system) of government is the best, feasible working government? Not many.

Anyway, just sharing - I thought it was enlightening.

USA Today is reporting that new home sales have dropped - again - to their lowest point in some sixteen and a half years. Well…duh. Is anyone surprised by this news? We have a horrible economy and that certainly isn’t helping, but has anyone actually looked at the price of a new home these days? It’s outrageous! That is, of course, unless you want to live in the Ozarks somewhere or unless you have Mommy and Daddy money paying for the home.

Speaking for young adults in New Jersey, it is almost virtually impossible to buy any home (new or used) that is on the market. Property taxes, car insurance, student loans, groceries, gas, cell phone service, cable service - everything costs way too much money per month for anyone to buy a home. For a young, single guy like me bringing in a one-person income - forget about it! But I even know married couples who are having a hard time putting together enough money to buy a home in a place where they actually want to live in this state.

Times are tough and it sucks.

In the mean time, check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

MSNBC.com posted an article today that I found surprising and interesting. Apparently some of America’s highest-regarded institutes of higher learning are suggesting that graduating seniors take a year off before they start college. Fascinating! From the article:

It’s called a “gap year.” And while it’s been a common and popular rite of passage in Australia and the U.K. for decades, the concept is now starting to gain significant steam here in America.

A gap year, huh? Lump me into that portion of the American public who went to nursery school, then immediately to preschool, then immediately to grade school, then immediately to high school, then immediately to college, then immediately to graduate school, and then immediately into the full-time workforce. I started my education at 2 years old and I finished it (for the time being) at age 25. No “gap” year for me…or most of the people that I know, quite frankly. More from the article:

A growing number of high school seniors are balking at riding the academic conveyer belt from preschool all the way to university. They’re burnt out. Or not quite ready. Or they want to explore a few interests before deciding what to study in college. So instead of packing their bags in anticipation of freshman year, they’re volunteering in New Orleans or teaching in Thailand. They’re starting the great American novel, or interning to help figure out what they want to do with their lives.

I love it!

What a brilliant idea, if you can afford it. Using hindsight as 20/20, I would have loved to travel for a little bit before going to college or before going to graduate school. Of course, I couldn’t do that before graduate school because if you don’t go back to school, then you have to start paying back your loans. However, taking a year off before college to do something else would have been a good idea - especially this idea of trying to get an internship or two in the off year. Good thinking.

I would have loved that internship idea because honestly, at 27 years old, I’m not entirely sure that my current field is one that I want to stay in for the long-term. Anyway, this is an interesting idea and I wish that there was some data to show that taking a year off after high school provided a net benefit for the student. I’m also lured by the idea of a “gap” year where you have no “real world” responsibilities! I was just telling one of my roommates that once I pay off my student loans and all other major outstanding debts AND I put aside enough money to live a scant life off of the interest, it has always been my plan to either take a sabbatical from my job or leave the workforce for about a year. Again, I’ve never really had a “break” from school or athletics or work and I’m not willing to wait until I’m 67 for my first long-term vacation!

But I have to get there first… Wish me luck!

Although this post is a few days late, I just wanted to say congratulations to this year’s winner of NBC’s The Biggest Loser: Couples - Ali! In the end I wound up rooting for Kelley, but the transformations that the three finalists went through were absolutely amazing. And an extra congratulations to Ali for being the first female biggest loser. She managed to beat out Roger who lost some 164 pounds!

I’m glad that I got into watching this season of The Biggest Loser - the show definitely has a new fan in me.

This post may only be relevant to my fellow Catholics, but if you’ve been watching the Papal visit coverage anywhere on television, you likely have seen the rock star-like response that Benedict has received everywhere that he’s visited so far. I just watched him enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and not only did the people outside of the cathedral go bonkers when he stepped out of his car, but the priests, nuns, and bishops on the inside of the cathedral gave the man a prolonged standing ovation!

And true to Catholic form, the applause lasted until Benedict began to kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament - then it was like someone hit the “off” button because it was suddenly quiet.

Seeing the mania around Pope Benedict’s visit makes me wish that I had planned to go and see him in New York. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to make a trip to the Vatican for one of his masses there! Anyway, the response that Pope Benedict has received will hopefully accomplish two goals. First, I hope that it puts America further up the list for future visits by the Pope and second, I hope it helps to reignite Catholicism in America. Frankly, I think both goals have been accomplished!

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to watch this self-righteous loser’s show on HBO (a channel that my apartment will hopefully be canceling on May 1st), knows that Bill Maher is a jerk. He’s the type of arrogant, pompous prick who thinks that his thoughts are better than everyone else’s and that - because he’s smarter that you are - you should just take his “witty” barbs in jest. In case you haven’t heard, the New York Daily News can fill us in on what this dirtbag said about the Pope the other night:

“Whenever a cult leader sets himself up as God’s infallible wing man here on Earth, lock away the kids,” said Maher, comparing the Catholic Church to the polygamist cult authorities raided in Texas last week.

“I’d like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult,” Maher said. “Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats.”

After Maher said this, he flashed a picture of Pope Benedict XVI on the screen. Not only is this disturbing and disgusting, but it shows that Maher has a gross lack of understanding of reality. All this desperate-for-ratings-jerk had to do was listen to ONE comment that the Pope made since he arrived in America a few days ago to realize that he has reached out to the extreme minority of Catholics who have been abused by bastards who managed to make their way into the priesthood. All this loser had to do was open his ears (not even his mind, just his ears) and listen to the healing words spoken by the Pope. The Pope stopped and met with an inter-religious group the other night to let them know that we’re all in this thing together. The man has been the very height of religious professionalism and ecumenical evangelism since he assumed the Papacy and since he entered America.

Now, I know that this loser Maher said these disgusting, hurtful words because he wanted to get people like me to write posts like this. I also know that he wants to get people like me to watch his apology on his show tonight. Well, Maher proves once again that he knows nothing about our religion. If Maher is truly sorry for his words, then he has my forgiveness and the forgiveness of the Church. We don’t need to watch his stupid show to hear him say, “I’m sorry.” We are, however, also consumers of goods and as a consumer of HBO I choose to vote with my dollars and no longer have this channel on my lineup.

In the act of drawing a higher rating to his program, I hope that Bill Maher has set-off an Imus-like firestorm and eventually finds himself unemployed. He’s disgusting and should be shunned by all.

Mercifully, the powers that be at Sirius Satellite Radio and the Howard Stern Channels have decided to give us a better line-up of programming on Fridays on the Howard 101 channel. Although they will still be replaying the near-unlistened-to (and unlistenable) Mastertape Theatre on Howard 100, there will be live programming on Howard 101 starting at 7am and running through 2pm before Scott Ferrall comes back with a live show from 7pm to 11pm.

The new line-up looks something like this:

• 6AM-7AM: Howard 100 News Week in Review
• 7AM-10AM: Jay Thomas - Live
• 10AM-2PM: Bubba the Love Sponge - Live
• 2PM-3PM: Super Fan replay
• 3PM-7PM: Bubba the Love Sponge - replay of Friday morning show
• 7PM-11PM: Ferrall - Live

It’s somewhat annoying that the Howard Stern Show has not done a Friday Show in a long-time (over a year at this point) and that the “Friday Show” with Gary and John Hein was canceled (stupid decision). These shows brought much-needed and much-wanted live content to the airwaves. This is where part of the disconnect comes in between Howard and his contemporary audience comprised mostly of everyday people. Everyday people work on Fridays and they hate when their daily routine is goofed up…that includes what they listen to on their drive to the office!

Anyway, great move on the part of Sirius and the Howard Stern channels.