FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009
Friday, February 27th, 2009
THAT IS A FROGFISH… a new species of fish just found by scientists… it looks psychedelic and it spends its days bouncing up and down on the ocean floor… hey… I wonder how well that pays… I’ll have to see if they are hiring… fish story, click (here)…
WELCOME TO THE INTERNET HOME OF… THE BRIAN SMITH NEWS AND VARIETY SHOW… very recently, but now formerly, of WICC 600… and there was that other show with a few more sidekicks several years ago on WPLR…
SELF SERVE DEPT: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT… BRIAN SMITH… who is that pale man with the far off look in his puffy eyes?… Jill Dion of the Milford Mirror was able to transcribe and publish my mutterings… thank you Jill… click (here)…
WEATHER… today: rain comes in this afternoon 55F, tonight: clouds 35F, tomorrow: sun 45F, Saturday: sun 45F, Sunday: snow and rain 37F, Monday: snow showers 35F… Tuesday: sun 35F… for more weather information, visit Bill Jaquemine’s CTWeather.com
THE VOICE… has finally come to grips with the end of the football season… it wasn’t easy. It took a couple of weeks of watching recorded 
games on four televisions at once… outdoor hot dog and beer tailgate parties behind the Prognosticator Cafe during the coldest weather last week… and finally, two days ago… a five minute phone conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to finally confirm the season is over until next fall… this gets more difficult every year… The Voice still has his Charger’s jersey on behind the grill… and lucky for us… he has filled out yet another placemat with his predictions… baseball opening schedules… The NBA… NASCAR… boxing… cheerleaders… the economy… and even a little NFL news… read them all, click on “SPORTS PICKS” on the right, or just click (here)…
so… I applied for Unemployment Insurance yesterday… my first attempt was over the internet… I read everything carefully… I filled everything out carefully… and when I finally got to the last page and hit… “CONTINUE”… it went to a page that said… “Processing your…” and then… NOTHING…. I got the infamous “PAGE CANNOT BE FOUND” internet ghost page…
After multiple internet attempts with continued web failure, I gave up and used the phone instead… if this is in your future, be prepared for half hour waits or more… but, I do have to say the people I talked to were efficient and friendly… once I finally got to them….
Layoffs at Connecticut radio stations continue… here are the email addresses for a few of us… and thank you for all your emails…
Brian Smith: BrianSmithRadio and that is @yahoo.com
Tim Quinn: TRQuinn46 and that is @sbcglobal.net
David Smith: DSmithExchange and that is @aol.com
Marylee: Televina and that is at @aol.com
READ THE LATEST COMMENTS… from the Connecticut Post article on the radio layoffs… click (here)…
POWERBALL… no one won on Wednesday night, so Saturday night, it is worth… $173 MILLION
MEGAMILLIONS… no one won Tuesday night, so tonight it is worth $171 MILLION
CONNECTICUT LOTTERY WINNING NUMBERS… not a prediction… these are yesterday’s, click (here)…
and for today….
MORE UNEMPLOYMENT… NEWSPAPER DEMISE IN DENVER… ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS CLOSES AFTER 150 YEARS… another newspaper gone… see their “Final Edition” website…click (here)…
SPRING BREAK WARNING… State Department wants college students to be wary of going to Mexico because of drug-gang violence… click (here)…
SKULL COLLECTOR… a Georgia man has been fined $15,000 for collecting, among other things… the skulls of endangered wildlife… he had 45 of them… click (here)…
PATRIOT QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY GOT MARRIED… to his model-girlfriend… click (here)…
YANKEE DEREK JETER DATING… A 22 YEAR OLD COLLEGE STUDENT?… click (here)…
MANNY RAMIREZ SAYS “NO” TO DODGER’S $45 MILLION… they give up and dare him to find a better offer… click (here)…
LOCAL: FAKE TREE - REAL CELL TOWER COMING TO SHELTON… these things never blend in… why even try?… from the Connecticut Post, click (here)…
WHEEL OF OUTRAGE!… a Louisiana couple tries to trade two children for a bird and $175… does this have to be reported on their income tax?… for the story, click (here)… and for my personal outrage… because someone is stealing my act.. (read DAILY OUTRAGE), click (here)…
FRIDAY QUICKEES…
SEINFELD COMING BACK TO TV… it’s a reality series about marriage… click (here)…
MC HAMMER COMING BACK… TO TV… it’s a reality series about… MC HAMMER… really… click (here)…
MEATLOAF WILL BE A PATIENT ON FOX TV’S “HOUSE”… on March 30th… click (here)…
THE SIMPSONS… WILL NEVER LEAVE… the series has just been renewed for another two years… click (here)…
VIDEO: COMEDIAN LOUIS CK TALKS ABOUT “EVERYTHING’S AMAZING, NOBODY’S HAPPY”… he says we all complain too much about things we never had 20 years ago… … 4 minutes.. click (here)…
VIDEO: COP PULLS OVER DRUNK GUY ON LAWNMOWER… tasers him… this was sent to me… I don’t know if it is real or acted out… click (here)…
and finally… do these pants make my butt look big?… click (here)…
thanks for listening… have a good weekend… -Brian
Another hello (and a tip of the ice tea) to John Galla and his associates on the other side of the pond at WRIV 1390 in Riverhead, Long Island… I shoulda said… John rocks no matter what kind of music he plays… they do a great job out there… conversation and music… and I have to be careful what I say about our Long Island friends or I’ll never have a chance of landing that job at the snack counter on the Port Jeff ferry this summer…
FIVE KEY STEPS AFTER A LAYOFF… some very practical and real advice… stay covered (medically), figure out your minimum expenses, count your cash on hand, look for other income, and look after your 401K… trust me, it does get… I’ll try to keep it clean here… hectic… when you have to have to deal with many things at once when the ax falls… from The Wall Street Journal, click (
CANINE STIMULUS… THE OBAMAS AGREE ON A DOG… the Obama kids will finally get their dog… and the winner is… a Portuguese Water Dog… click (
WORLD RECORD… MAN CATCHES 771 POUND STING RAY… it took 90 minutes and 13 men to haul it into the boat… click (
OF OUTRAGE!… TOPLESS COFFEE SHOP FOLLOW UP: Nachman and Skinny Pete got back from Maine late last night… they had so much coffee I don’t think they will sleep until April… it was all about that new topless coffee shop that just opened up this week… frankly, I thought the place would have a better sign out front than those peel-off letters you get at Staples… For the news video on the place, and it is safe for work… click (
A*ROD BOOED AT FIRST SPRING TRAINING GAME YESTERDAY… ANSWERS WITH A HOME RUN… click (
MANNY RAMIREZ OFFERED TWO YEAR CONTRACT FROM DODGERS… $25 million this year… $20 million next year… and it allows him to be a free agent after the first year if he chooses… for the story, click (
SPIDER-FINGERED GUITAR VIRTUOSO… Steve Howe from Yes plays a one minute acoustic version of their song “Roundabout” for an instructional video… click (
JET CRASH IN AMSTERDAM THIS MORNING… nine dead… click (
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER PLAYS… ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER… in Sylvester Stallone’s new movie… click (
A CROSSING GUARD AND HIS CRAZY HATS… in Littlestown, Pennsylvania… he’s a dad, a church pastor, and a crossing guard… and he wears crazy hats on the job… at first he was ordered to stop… click (
EMPLOYMENT RELATED INFO FIRST… as I write this from the unemployment campfire… right next to the train tracks… drinking coffee from a can…
PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAKS ON TV TONIGHT STARTING AT 9pm EST… coverage expected to last 90 minutes… it’s all about the economy… for more on tonight’s speech: for the details from the Associated Press, click (
LAUNCHED… AND LOST… THIS MORNING… $237 MILLION DOLLAR SATELLITE… *POOF*… it cost $237 million dollars and took eight years to build… it was supposed to study carbon dioxide and climate change… but it crashed three minutes after blast off this morning… hey, NASA… it happens to all of us once in a while… for the story, click (
NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA AT A QUALITY INN… THE NEXT MORNING… THE WIFE NOTICED LIGHT COMING IN THROUGH A PEEPHOLE IN THE DOOR… THREE FEET UP… SHE LOOKED THROUGH IT AND DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING… BUT WHEN SHE WENT OUTSIDE AND LOOKED IN… SHE COULD SEE EVERYTHING IN THE ROOM.. INCLUDING THE BATHROOM… FROM THE HALLWAY. THE HOTEL AGREED SOMEONE REVERSED THE PEEPHOLE… BUT THEY SAY… SECURITY VIDEOS OF THE HALLWAY SHOWED NO ONE LOOKED IN DURING THE NIGHT… LAWYERS SAY THE COUPLE DON’T HAVE A CASE… BUT THE WIFE SAYS SHE KNOWS NOW TO CHECK EVERYTHING… INCLUDING THE PEEPHOLE ON THE DOOR… NEXT TIME THEY STAY AT A HOTEL…. READ MORE ON THIS OUTRAGE… CLICK (
24TH TIME IS THE CHARM?… DATELINE: ANDERSON, INDIANA… A 67 YEAR OLD GRANDMOTHER HAS BEEN MARRIED A WORLD RECORD… 23 TIMES… AND SHE WOULD DO IT AGAIN. HER FIRST MARRIAGE WAS IN 1957… AND HER SHORTEST MARRIAGE WAS 36 HOURS… read her story, click (
OCTOPUS ACTION FILM… imagine James Bond or maybe Jack Bauer as an octopus… this is an animated short about two octopuses… (I looked it up… the dictionary says “octopi” is wrong)… anyway.. imagine an octopus film with romance and action… all the excitement of an episode of “24″ with a little bit of “Finding Nemo” mixed in… this is a 2 minute, 25 second Oscar-nominated short… give yourself a 2 minute, 25 second break… to watch Oktapodi, click (
today’s head cold tip #27: I find a roll of toilet paper much more useful that a box of Kleenex around the house when I have the drippy nose… it just seems much more efficient… and if you think you are the only one who rolls your tissues into nasal plugs and puts them in your nostrils… you aren’t… frankly, I’m surprised this topic of conversation comes up, and I’m surprised at how many people say “I do that, too”… even decent, employed people do it… and some call them nasal tampons… best thing for a consistent runny nose…
Please sit back a little from your computer… you may want to put on a hygienic mask before you go any further… I spent the whole weekend drinking tea and coughing. I only drink tea when I am sick. My coughing sounds like something you would hear rattling from the smoker’s wing of a tuberculosis hospital. I would prefer you not catch this bug…
A DALMATION RIDING A BICYCLE… this is why the internet is so important… click (
GOOD NEWS… IT’S MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS… keep up on the festivities… and see the new Obama float… click (
WORLD’S MOST PIERCED WOMAN ADDS ANOTHER… she now has 6,005 holes in her body… That’s even more than Sonny Corleone in The Godfather… click (
THE VOICE may be down, but he’s not out at the blue plate… he emailed his placemat predictions to us at BS Headquarters… word is former Baltimore Oriole turned rib cheff…Boog Powell… may fill in for The Voice behind the grill at the Prognosticator today… but you can still read everything The Voice has to say without fear of catching the bug… this week featuring baseball, NASCAR, football, boxing… and OSCAR AWARD ODDS… click on “SPORTS PICKS” on the right, or just click (
LONG LINES OF THE UNEMPLOYED… if you have lost your job, you know aren’t alone… see more, click (
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SALES ARE CRUMBLING… down 19% in some areas… not MY fault for this one… bring on the extras… for the story, click (
speaking of A*ROD… a reader of The New York Daily News named Robert Stone proposed this solution to the steroids problem: from Clark, N.J.: Any professional athlete in any sport who gets caught using banned substances should be forced to start all over again. All of the stats they amassed should be wiped clean and they should go back to a rookie salary and if they don’t agree to that then they should be banned from the sport for life.
RUNNING AWAY FROM THE CAMERA… here’s the website (blog) of a 
guy… in The Netherlands… who takes his camera to different locations… puts the timer on 2 seconds… and RUNS AWAY AS FAST AS HE CAN... really… see for yourself… click (
OLYMPIC SWIMMER MICHAEL PHELPS’ REASON FOR HANGING OUT AT STRIP BARS… it’s because… cameras aren’t allowed inside strip clubs… so he doesn’t have to worry being photographed… click (
GO BLOG YOURSELF… do you blog? do you blog daily?… what about the dream of writing a little something on the internet everyday and becoming richer than you ever dreamed possible?… sorry, not going to happen says a writer in Newsweek… and this guy had a blog that attracted millions of people… for the story, click (
AAAAAAAAH… A LITTLE QUIET TIME JUST FOR YOU… are you feeling just a bit stressed right now?… no one around to work out the kinks?… and you aren’t the type to pay for it?… how about 60 seconds worth of a sunset and some (allegedly) soothing music… put your feet up… and click (
ATTACK SPIDER… I’m guessing this is what you do when you have leftover Halloween items… you re-invent… but why woodpeckers???… you’ll see… click (
HACKING ALL DAY? BAD COUGH?… turn to the hunting world for a bit of silence for your coworkers… a cough silencer… seriously… you cough into this and it muffles the sound of your clogged lungs… good for big game hunting or a night in the movie theater (I would think)… a regular size version, click (
MICHAEL JACKSON IS SELLING 2000 PERSONAL ITEMS… including three suits of armor and the gates to his Neverland ranch… the auction is in April… read about it, click (
WELCOME TO THE EXCLUSIVE HOME OF… THE BRIAN SMITH NEWS AND VARIETY SHOW… formerly of WICC 600… and there was that show with a few more sidekicks several years ago on WPLR…
Protect yourself if you still have a job… read these tips, click (
CHIMPANZEE TRAGEDY IN STAMFORD… and what a tragedy all around in this story… from various reports today, Travis the 15-year-old chimpanzee was a celebrity in North Stamford… here is a paragraph from one of the news reports from WCBS-TV about Travis:
A-ROD PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY AT 1:30p EST… New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will give his show and tell on his steroids use in a press conference this afternoon… for the overview, click (
rich man and the other four contestants inside… drove off a cliff. CLICK (