blognetnews.com
» South Carolina
edited by: Patrick Phillips, South Carolina Editor

...by Jeff Tompkins

  • My Call is Very Important to Them

    Summary of a recent experience:In the era of automation, where nearly everything is done by computer or some other electronic device, even phone calls are answered by machines. All of this is to ensure that you, the consumer, receive more efficient customer service. Right?Wrong. Precious hours of our lives that [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: December 04, 2009, 12:02am EST

  • Stuff It! (I mean, Happy Thanksgiving!)

    Number of comments: 0
    It's time for Thanksgiving, a holiday in which we gather together with loved ones to give thanks for the blessings in life, such as owning a new fast laptop and being a fan of a college football team that has a pretty good shot at the conference championship. You know, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 25, 2009, 12:01am EST

  • Cool to be Kind

    Number of comments: 0
    If you are like me (and God help you if you are) you had no idea that Friday was World Kindness Day. I became aware of this in the middle of the day, so if anyone in charge of World Kindness Day happens to read this, please excuse me for [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 15, 2009, 12:06am EST

  • Halloween Safety Tips

    Number of comments: 0
    The consensus on the morning news shows is this: Halloween is a dangerous holiday that can get you seriously killed or at least injured.I haven't participated in Halloween in many years and apparently things have changed since I was a kid. Back then we dressed up as pretty much anything' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 31, 2009, 10:11am EDT

  • Must See TV? I'll be the Judge

    Number of comments: 0
    I have good news for The American People: If you think TV is bad now, hang in there just a little longer. In a few weeks, I will have a say in what should and should not be on TV. That's right—I will be a Nielsen Family. Contrary to popular [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:42am EDT

  • Reader Mail

    Number of comments: 1
    It's time once again for a bi-weekly installment of Reader Mail, in which I answer questions emailed to me by random Internet weirdoes. (Microsoft Word is telling me there is actually an "e" in the word "weirdoes." It doesn't look right to me, but I know Microsoft can't be wrong.)Two [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 12, 2009, 12:01am EDT

  • Web of Conceit

    Number of comments: 0
    It's October, and Halloween is coming, so it is in that spirit that I figured it's time to talk about The Spider Wars. Let me state here, right at the beginning, for anyone who may be inclined to denounce my actions described later in this post, that I respect spiders. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 05, 2009, 6:00am EDT

  • Virtual Decorating - Much Like Real Life

    Number of comments: 2
    Over the last several weeks I have spent an unjustifiable amount of time playing an online game called YoVille. It's described as a "virtual world," not "virtual reality," but I'm not quite sure what the difference is. I would look it up but seeing as how I'm having very little [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 28, 2009, 6:00am EDT

  • Virtual Decorating - Much Like Real Life

    Number of comments: 0
    Over the last several weeks I have spent an unjustifiable amount of time playing an online game called YoVille. It's described as a "virtual world," not "virtual reality," but I'm not quite sure what the difference is. I would look it up but seeing as how I'm having very little [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 27, 2009, 10:48pm EDT

  • South Carolina Turtle, Marriage Proposal and Crime Update

    Number of comments: 2
    Here in South Carolina, we're trying very hard to challenge south Florida for the title of Weirdest Place in the Country. You may be familiar with one of our recent efforts, wherein we deployed Representative Joe Wilson with orders to heckle the President during a joint session of Congress.Governor Sanford' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:25pm EDT

  • Free Legal Advice

    Number of comments: 6
    I have recently noticed that I get a lot of hits on this blog from people who are searching for an attorney named Jeff Tompkins. I've seen it all along, but over the last couple of months there are more of these showing up in the stats. So either this' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 18, 2009, 11:15am EDT

  • How Did I Get Here?

    Number of comments: 6
    After roughly two years of blogging, I probably should no longer be surprised when I see the odd search terms people use to find this site. But it never fails.I've posted about them before, such as: "bear grylls eats sheep eyeball," "bee ice cream," "skip snodgrass," "would a bear eat'" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 02, 2009, 12:35pm EDT

  • A Better View of America

    Of all the tributes to Ted Kennedy over the last few days, perhaps the most poignant, in terms of assessing where we are as a nation, was the tribute outside the Capitol Building this afternoon in Washington.Hundreds of staffers gathered on the steps, and many more thousands of citizens assembled [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 29, 2009, 5:21pm EDT

  • If you film it, they will come. Or will they?

    Number of comments: 0
    I read an article in yesterday's NYT, about how people in the movie industry are just astounded that recent movies with "A-listers" are tanking at the box office.A-list movie stars have long been measured by their ability to fill theaters on opening weekend. But never have so many failed to [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 21, 2009, 2:46pm EDT

  • John Hughes (two interviews)

    Enclosure: [download]
    Number of comments: 0
    The first interview is from a 1985 appearance at the American Film Institute. Hughes talks about making the transition from working for an ad agency to writing for the National Lampoon and then Hollywood, his writing and film-making process, how he deals with critics studio execs, and more, in this [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 16, 2009, 11:46am EDT

  • 'Seconds of knowing and remembering'

    Number of comments: 5
    Passage from the novel "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon:"We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the'" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 15, 2009, 1:28pm EDT

  • Man vs. Plastic

    Number of comments: 6
    The day started off like most others—roll out of bed and immediately start looking forward to rolling back into it later that night. Breakfast was good, the morning shower was refreshing, and when I got a chance to check outside I saw that the sky had not fallen despite some [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 14, 2009, 8:55pm EDT

  • "Sincerely, John Hughes"

    Number of comments: 4
    Yes, two John Hughes posts in a row. But this deserves more than just an update to the previous post. I won't attempt a summary of what you'll find at this link. Just read it.Then, check this out. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 08, 2009, 1:20am EDT

  • "Life moves pretty fast...."

    Number of comments: 5
    "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."- Ferris BuellerI had something else planned for today's post, but the news yesterday made me decide to put it off.If you grew up in the 1980s, you grew up with the movies [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 07, 2009, 4:17pm EDT

  • Pitching a Movie Idea

    Number of comments: 1
    Some of the best movies that have been made are ones that are based on actual events, such as Apollo 13 and King Kong.It is in that spirit that I decided to come up with a few movie ideas, all of them based on true stories, and pitch them to [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: August 03, 2009, 1:08pm EDT

  • Obama Admits to Liking the Devil

    Number of comments: 9
    In a stunning admission during his prime-time press conference last week, President Barack Obama said, "[E]ven though I don't like this devil, at least I know it, and I like that more than the devil I don't know."When reached for comment, White House officials attempted to explain that the President [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 30, 2009, 3:45pm EDT

  • Nothing to See Here, Move Along...

    Number of comments: 14
    Today I was going to write about what the new health care plan means for you, but as I was making some notes I realized that I frankly do not care what it means for you. So I had to decide on a new topic, an endeavor that turned out [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 25, 2009, 11:34am EDT

  • Made in the U.S.A.

    Number of comments: 1
    Bored with the old conspiracies like UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices used at KFC? Bore no more! You can join the literally tens of people who are obsessed with a relatively newer apparent clandestine plot.I am referring to a group [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 24, 2009, 10:50am EDT

  • Foiled Again

    Number of comments: 0
    Longtime readers of this blog may remember my mentioning a feud with the un-gloved deli employee. New readers probably aren't familiar with the story so I'm telling it again for two reasons: 1) I'm a sworn enemy of that gloveless weasel and I have a civic duty to warn local' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 21, 2009, 12:00am EDT

  • The "Moonwalk" That Mattered

    Number of comments: 6
    "We touched the face of another world and became a people without limits."- Andrew ChaikinOn October 29, 1998, I got to see the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was mission STS-95, the one that took John Glenn back into space for the first time since his 1962 flight [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:00am EDT

  • 'Bored to Death'

    Number of comments: 2
    With so much "reality TV" on the networks these days, it falls increasingly to the cable channels to bring us scripted shows.One that I'm looking forward to this fall is HBO's comedy, "Bored to Death." Jason Schwartzman stars as Jonathon, a thirty-something aspiring writer in NYC who spends a lot' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 19, 2009, 5:56pm EDT

  • RIP, Walter Cronkite

    Number of comments: 3
    The voice of the space program almost made it long enough to see the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. So close. Missed it by three days.I'm departing from the usual theme of this blog on Monday for a post about the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 lunar' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 17, 2009, 9:02pm EDT

  • Doing the People's Business

    Number of comments: 2
    Every once in a while it's good for Americans to stop and ask the following question: What, exactly, are our elected officials up to, other than sneaking off to Argentina for an illicit rendezvous or resigning from office because people are being mean or keeping the teleprompter industry afloat?In keeping [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 15, 2009, 1:13pm EDT

  • Twenty

    Number of comments: 0
    Recently a friend reminded me that our 20-year high-school reunion is coming up. My reaction was: Hmmm. Twenty years? It seems like just yesterday I was experiencing a lack of confidence when talking to girls and coming up with creative excuses for not doing what I was supposed to be [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 09, 2009, 1:06pm EDT

  • Turtles, Ghosts and a Side of Bacon

    Number of comments: 0
    Years ago, I was an avid viewer of The X-Files. If you're not familiar with the fictional series, it was basically about two people who investigate paranormal phenomena. If you did watch the series, you know it as the show that featured one of TV's greatest mysteries: How many years [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: July 02, 2009, 10:31am EDT

  • Remembering Michael Jackson (through Steve Martin)

    Number of comments: 0
    From 1983, Steve Martin performs "Billie Jean":



    Martin wrote a short piece about this for The New Yorker website on Friday. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 28, 2009, 12:45am EDT

  • News You Need to Know

    With all of the Michael Jackson coverage over the last couple of days, there's a good chance you're missing out on some important items in the news. As a public service, and in keeping with this blog's high ethical standards of reporting 100% factually correct news and information, here's a' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 27, 2009, 11:00am EDT

  • Pop Star Dies, Nation Returns to Priorities

    LOS ANGELES-- With the death of Michael Jackson Thursday afternoon, the nation was reminded of what really matters: celebrity news.

    All major news outlets, including the 24-hour cable channels, scrapped regular programming and dedicated hours to repeating the same twenty-five seconds of information.

    Viewers were [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 26, 2009, 12:01am EDT

  • Shades of Skink?

    If you haven't been following the story of our missing governor, here's a quick recap:

    --he disappeared from the governor's mansion last Thursday

    --his wife claimed she didn't know where he was, but said he needed time away from the kids (on Father's Day weekend, no less) to [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 24, 2009, 11:38am EDT

  • S.C. Governor Missing

    South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has been "missing" since Thursday, reports now confirm.

    Security officials report that Sanford hasn't been seen since he left the governor's mansion Thursday in a state-owned SUV, so, even though no one is coming out and saying it, he's also a car thief.
    [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 22, 2009, 4:53pm EDT

  • Thursday Miscellany

    Considering all the parallels between the current protests in Iran and the 1979 uprising that defeated the Shah, is that country headed for another revolution? I have no idea. Now that I've answered that, I'd like to get a few things out in the open:

    --Summer is approaching and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 18, 2009, 7:47pm EDT

  • Top Ten Offensive Jokes Told by David Letterman

    Last week David Letterman made a few jokes about Sarah Palin and her family, sparking outrage among people who think it's their job to tell others what is and is not acceptable speech. Governor Palin and her husband released a few statements (containing very few misspellings and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 15, 2009, 6:22pm EDT

  • Iran Election Report

    TEHRAN -- Hours after the polls closed in Iran, voters still do not know who their next president will be.

    Recent polling data showed challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi with a lead over current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, especially in polls that were taken when there were no heavily [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 12, 2009, 9:00pm EDT

  • Culture Update

    As the world faces the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea, as the nation prepares for a summer of historic Senate hearings for a Supreme Court nominee ("historic" because she will be the first to go through the hearings with a broken ankle), it is time once again to take [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 10, 2009, 1:44pm EDT

  • Basebore

    Lately I've been doing something I don't normally do: watching baseball. The sport is just too slow, much slower than my favorite sport, football. But I've been watching recently because the NCAA tournament is underway, wending its way through regional and "super regional" match-ups in college towns across the country.' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 05, 2009, 11:33am EDT

  • To fight or not to fight

    Here in South Carolina, where we are facing an 11.5 percent unemployment rate and we're among a handful of states rejecting stimulus funds, at least we can be sure that our legislature is not standing around doing nothing. They are hard at work on the golf course.

    No, seriously, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: June 01, 2009, 12:47pm EDT

  • What Luck!

    I don't mean to brag or make anyone jealous, but according to some very interesting emails I have recently received, well, let's just say I am a very lucky guy.

    First, I was informed by the Toyota company that I am among the winners of the "Toyota Car International [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 28, 2009, 1:40pm EDT

  • Not on Twitter? Here's What You're Missing

    People have been telling me I need to get on Twitter. "You're on Facebook," they say, "so you'll like it."

    Yes, I am on Facebook, but the least of the reasons I am on there is to read the status updates, such as: "[name of person] is taking [name [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 26, 2009, 11:19am EDT

  • Culture Update

    It is time once again to pause and reflect upon where we stand as a nation. This usually involves stories from around the country, and the news is usually rather bleak. But today, we have good news to go along with the bad. The good news is that when it [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 25, 2009, 5:03pm EDT

  • Humor Theory

    One of the oldest questions in human civilization (other than "Who was the first person to eat an egg, and why?") is: "What makes something funny?" Dictionaries offer many definitions of humor, one of them being: "The four fluids of the body: blood, phlegm, choler, and black bile." But that [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 21, 2009, 9:59am EDT

  • Reader Mail – Season 2, Episode 23

    It is time once again for responses to some of your comments and questions, a regular occurrence on this blog, adhering to a strict schedule, occurring every other Monday or some other weekday within six weeks of the first Monday of each month or at such times when there's nothing [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 19, 2009, 11:36am EDT

  • WARNING: Ignore at Your Own Peril

    It's time to start tracking the national IQ. This pressing need has nothing to do with the fact that many Americans are incapable of parking within the lines or because Regis is still on the air. It has to do with product warning labels. A few nights ago I was' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 15, 2009, 1:02pm EDT

  • Spitzer Returns to Spotlight; Seeks Advice from a Disgraced Former Politician

    WASHINGTON, D.C.— One year after leaving office because of a sex scandal, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is attempting to rebuild his public image.

    Spitzer broke his year-long silence this week, appearing on numerous talk shows. If the media tour looks familiar, it's because Spitzer [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 13, 2009, 1:14pm EDT

  • On Writing

    Enclosure: [download]
    Here’s a short video of one of the best newspaper columnists in the country, Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald, talking about the craft of writing.

    Some of the highlights:

    "Being a writer requires a certain amount of craziness. Crazy enough to have spent" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 12, 2009, 4:49pm EDT

  • Culture Update: Top Criminals

    Not everyone can be a Bernie Madoff. It's not easy to pull off a complex, illegal scheme and get away with it.

    For instance, if you are trying to purchase 50 cell phones with a forged cashier's check worth $2,359.45, it would be a good idea to spell "cashier's" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 11, 2009, 1:14pm EDT

  • A Visit from the 'Whimsical Fascist'

    For those of you who are not familiar with the philosophy of the Whimsical Fascistâ„¢, you can catch up here, where it first appeared on this blog. The basic idea: We should have very strict laws against annoying and stupid people.

    In this installment, we highlight a recent [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 07, 2009, 10:45am EDT

  • "These Kids Today…"

    I had always hoped I'd never become one of those people who reaches a certain age and starts saying things like, "These kids today, I swear." I am sorry to announce that I have become such a person. It's not the usual things like pointing out that their music consists [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: May 04, 2009, 11:38am EDT

  • Culture Update: Man and Nature

    As the world braces for another media hysteria pandemic, like Y2K, SARS, bird flu, mad cow disease, killer bees, followed by a bee shortage, "Summer of the Shark," "Summer of Kidnappings," terror alerts in election years (all actual news stories that never came to pass as predicted), it's important to [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 30, 2009, 1:25pm EDT

  • Weather Service Releases Findings; Shocks Nation

    WASHINGTON, D.C.— Officials at the National Weather Service today released the findings of a fourteen-year study involving hundreds of meteorologists and atmospheric scientists across the country.Dr. Ken Hayle, who oversaw the study, told reporters that the panel was able to come to a number of conclusions on meteorological matters that [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 28, 2009, 4:42pm EDT

  • Living the Double Life

    I have an update on the so-called "Craigslist Killer" case.

    UPDATE: Too many commentators are using the phrase "double life."

    Was alleged killer Philip Markoff leading a double life? Could he have been leading a double life? Do you think he was leading a double [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 24, 2009, 9:35am EDT

  • State of the Education System

    It's that time of year again. At least once a year, in accordance with federal law, the nation must engage in a debate over the state of education. The general public goes into a spasm over the state of the system, pointing out failures and demanding solutions. The education establishment' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 22, 2009, 9:00am EDT

  • Top 1 Reason to Watch '24'

    1. Hilarious dialogue

    Sure, there are plenty of other reasons, and even though there would theoretically be a #2 on the list, it really doesn't matter when you have quotes like the one I'm writing about here.

    A little background is necessary. I'll try my [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 20, 2009, 9:25pm EDT

  • What Susan Boyle Means to the World

    Number of comments: 28
    "Britain's Got Talent" star and Internet sensation Susan Boyle has captivated the world and taught us all a lesson: If you are so crass as to judge someone by their looks, well, you had just better think twice.

    You should be more broad-minded and release yourself [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 19, 2009, 12:01am EDT

  • 2009 Teabagging Championships

    Number of comments: 16
    All across America Wednesday, viewers of a certain news channel named after an animal gathered to express their fervent belief that if you are angry about something, the best way to express that anger is to engage in group teabagging. If you're outraged, if you're mad as hell and you [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 17, 2009, 11:45am EDT

  • Transcript of Negotiations Between U.S. Navy and Somali Pirates

    Number of comments: 13
    Now that Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued by the U.S. Navy, the Defense Department has declassified a transcript of communications between the U.S.S. Bainbridge and the Somali pirates who were holding Phillips captive aboard a lifeboat.NAVY HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: This is the United States Navy. Are you prepared to negotiate?LEAD [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 14, 2009, 4:01pm EDT

  • Tea Party Protest F.A.Q.

    Number of comments: 19
    What is the tea party protest?
    A better name for them, credited to Andrew Sullivan, is "Tea Tantrums" because there is no clear reason why they're doing it. So basically people in various cities across the country who are still frustrated that their side lost the election will gather' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 12, 2009, 11:06am EDT

  • Googling Yourself

    Number of comments: 11
    Like many people, I have often wondered: What happens if you Google yourself and will it make you go blind? The answer to the first question depends on how common your name is; the answer to the second depends on how often you do it. I went to Google, typed [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 10, 2009, 12:07pm EDT

  • NCAA Tournament Final: The Click-4-pic Review

    Number of comments: 7
    Tonight in Detroit, the final two teams in the NCAA tournament met for the championship game. The Tarheels, who are from North Carolina, quickly built a substantial lead over the Spartans, who are from Michigan.UNC dominated throughout the game thanks largely to the powerhouse performance of Tyler Hansbrough who almost [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 07, 2009, 12:52am EDT

  • "Everything in life is luck"

    Number of comments: 5
    That's a quote often attributed to Donald Trump, who clearly was looking for a way to shrug off years of poor service at the barber shop.

    You might notice that "The Donald" did not specify bad luck or good luck, just luck. So it could go either way, as [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 06, 2009, 2:03pm EDT

  • Gone Country? Keep Going

    Number of comments: 6
    I try very hard to ignore country music. Really, I do. But sometimes when I'm changing channels on TV or radio and I hear someone singing like Larry the Cable Guy, I just can't help it. I have to listen. It's not that the songs are good and I want' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: April 02, 2009, 7:54pm EDT

  • A Very Sincere Apology

    Number of comments: 1
    A few days ago in this space I implied that the Republican Party is out of ideas, has no plans, and is offering nothing in the way of solutions. That made a few Republicans very angry and caused them to click on the "Contact" link at the top of the [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: March 26, 2009, 2:01pm EDT

  • Reader Mail – Episode XVCII

    Number of comments: 0
    It is time once again for the bi-weekly installment of Reader Mail, which occurs roughly every four months, in which I try to give the best answers (and advice, when needed) to questions sent in by random Internet weirdoes. (Microsoft Word is telling me there is actually [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: March 24, 2009, 1:27pm EDT

  • Obama Apologizes for All ‘Potentially Offensive’ Remarks; Sorry for ‘Green Thumb’ Comment

    Number of comments: 0
    WASHINGTON, DC— After making what some consider an offensive remark on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, President Obama issued an apology this afternoon.

    On last night's show, Leno asked the President about the White House bowling alley and the President responded by announcing that he [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: March 20, 2009, 2:53pm EDT

  • Great Taste! Need a Filling....

    Number of comments: 2
    I realize that I am going against popular opinion here and may risk offending the vast majority of people out there, but I hate going to the dentist. In fact, because I am a world-class hypochondriac, I don't like having to interact with anyone in the medical field.I don't know [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: March 05, 2009, 12:27pm EST

  • Take the Words Right Out of My Mouth, PLEASE

    Number of comments: 1
    I have been busy as a bee preparing this update from the front lines of the War on Clichés, and I finally had to choose just a few because I had too many irons in the fire. The selection process wasn't easy, so I decided to go for the low-hanging' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 26, 2009, 10:02am EST

  • "We" Aren't the Champions

    Number of comments: 0
    If there is one thing we Americans love, other than deep-fried food, it's competition. It's the basis of our civilization. We live by the cherished ideal that if two or more people are locked in a battle for first place—whether it's sports, business or American Idol—and one person puts in' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 19, 2009, 9:59am EST

  • Could I Get That In Writing?

    Number of comments: 0
    Recently I have been interacting with a very large organization which I will not name here because they are in possession of many guns and bombs. Granted, most of those items are currently located on a different continent, being used against non-Americans, but I'm not taking any chances.Anyway, I've been [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 12, 2009, 11:04am EST

  • Blogging - What Is It Good For?

    Number of comments: 0
    I started a blog in 2001, back when I first heard about blogging and decided that I had something to say and, dammit, I was going to say it. That "something" was so important, just jumping right off my fingertips, that I had to put it in writing, post it [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 05, 2009, 1:06pm EST

  • Groundhog Day – Fifty Percent Chance of Weather

    Number of comments: 1
    Today is Groundhog Day, which is a special day commemorated each year when Bill Murray comes out of retirement and if he sees the shadow of at least one member of the paparazzi, America sighs and says, "Six more years of HIM?"I kid Bill Murray. Not actually in person, although [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 02, 2009, 11:42am EST

  • Reality TV Rescue

    Number of comments: 3
    If you watch TV these days you might get the impression that we probably aren't too far away from the day when all programming consists of dating shows and small-claims court shows. In fact, this may be the remedy for our current economic crisis. Since nearly everything we buy in' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: January 27, 2009, 11:39am EST

  • A Brand New Head for Christmas

    Number of comments: 4
    OK, not the whole head. Just part of it. The outside part, former residence of what used to be my hair.For Christmas I received a "professional hair-cutting kit," which is nice, except for the fact that I'm an amateur when it comes to cutting hair and the kit does not' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: December 29, 2008, 5:00pm EST

  • Merry Christmas From The Family

    Number of comments: 3
    Dear Friends,It's that time of year again! Time to send holiday greetings in the form of a letter updating you on all of the boring stuff that you don't care about when it happens, but that we believe, for some reason, you will find important enough during the hustle and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: December 22, 2008, 12:12pm EST

  • Election Wrap-up

    Number of comments: 4
    The major news is being covered thoroughly, so I thought I would cover some of the news that the mainstream media is ignoring.Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) lost last night, so for the first time in forty years, there will not be a Bush or Dole serving in national office. Mrs. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 05, 2008, 12:36pm EST

  • Campaign Update: The Final (Finally!) Presidential Debate (We Hope)

    Number of comments: 2
    Tonight the presidential candidates held the third and final debate of this general election. OK, it wasn't really the third. It was the fourth, if you count the vice-presidential debate. But it seems like more doesn't it?OK, so it was more. Forty-nine debates, to be exact, if you include all [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 15, 2008, 10:34pm EDT

  • Campaign Update: Presidential Candidates Debate, Sane People Watch Something Else

    Number of comments: 0
    I had planned to do "live blogging" during the debate, but changed my mind when I realized that it's too similar to sitting next to a person in a movie theater who keeps talking about what you're watching. "Don't go in there!" "Did you hear what she said?" "Why did'" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 07, 2008, 11:33pm EDT

  • You Can Say That Again! (But Please Don't)

    Number of comments: 5
    In the past I have been accused of going overboard in my literal interpretation and opposition to the use of clichés. So for a while I tried to remain as silent as a mouse when I heard one. It wasn't easy, and in fact it created so much anxiety that' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 29, 2008, 4:19pm EDT

  • Campaign 2008 Update: The Party Conventions

    Number of comments: 5
    The party conventions are over. It is safe to turn on your televisions again. Well, sort of. You'll still see political commercials informing you that the candidate who approves the ad is an honest, hard-working taxpayer who can "get the job done," while their opponent is quite possibly a sex-offender' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 05, 2008, 12:01am EDT
← The Politics of Jamie Sanderson ...by Jeff Tompkins : The World Itsel... →

Blog Info:
...by Jeff Tompkins

» http://jefftompkins.blogspot.com/

Categories

BNN Traffic Index

Alexa: 14,566,415
-7,907,762

Compete: No data
0

Quantcast: No data
2

BNN Traffic Index: -7,907,762

BNN Influence Index

Rank

This week: Not ranked this week.

Last week: Not ranked last week.

12-week Average:

BNN Authority Index

Technorati: 0

Google: 0

BNN Authority Index: No data

» Subscribe to the ...by Jeff Tompkins feed