Things I Learned This Week

1. I'm Not Quite Ready for Some Football
Slept through most of today's action, despite the fact that it was the opening weekend and I have five fantasy teams to keep tabs on.

Personally, I blame the first half of the Minnesota - Cleveland game and that unretiring bastard Brett Favre. Nothing exciting happened and the Vikes looked like they weren't planning on running the ball much, so I took a nap.

Wake up, AP has gone for 180 and three scores and I missed it all. I'll try to be more awake for next week.

2. Ryan Loco Has a Fitting Last Name
Most interviews I conduct last in the 15 - 20 minute range, stick to the script and leave me feeling like I did my job.

Talking to the star of The Loco Life took around an hour, went on several different tangents and left me feeling like I would have a couch to sleep on if I was ever stranded in Encinitas, California.

Oh... and the guy is totally off his rocker! When you've got 30 minutes to kill, go read the interview and get your daily dose of laughter.

3. Creativity is Dead in Hollywood
Confirmation came this week when I realized we're maybe a year away from their being nothing but remakes (Melrose Place, 90210) and multiple versions of the same show (CSI: Boise and NCIS: Wichita ... Coming Soon!) joining Reality TV left to watch.

Can no one come up with a decent, original idea these days? Do we really need to bring back Melrose Place?

Couldn't we have brought back something better?

4. August Promises Don't Pan Out in September
This should have come as no surprise, seeing as I was hired a year ago as a full-time bartender and have never had more than three shifts on the taps in a week, but the "we'll get you more shifts when so-and-so leaves" I heard in August have turned into two shifts a week for September.

Even better is that we keep bending over backwards and rewarding the people who need accommodating, while the guy who came in whenever he was called and does a good job 99 times out of 100 is no the Wednesday / Thursday day bartender.

Nothing like being able to make $40 over two days to help pay for a move...

5. Jay-Z is Still the Man
Don't believe me? Go out and get a hold of The Blueprint 3 or wait 'til Friday when "Run This Town" shows up in Soundtrack.

"D.O.A." stands for Death of Auto-Tune and is vintage Jay telling you what he thinks, whether it's what you want to hear or not.

Until he truly retires, Jay-Z is still the baddest MC in the game.