Cheap booze, Snowstorms, and WD-40

I'll have to admit that as this snowy winter weather keeps us inside, it can become a bit trying to find enough to write about. Sure I can surf the web and find stuff (which I admit I already do), but I'm not getting out and about as much and actually experiencing things. Thus I can wind up feeling a bit like an armchair quarterback. However, given my desire to stave off boredom today, I think I'm gonna go cheap early and call this my Hollywood-tromp-through-the sewer edition.

1. The Competitor - Sports
2. Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
3. Your Ride - Cars
4. Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
5. Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
6. Tasty Licks - Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
7. Arguing - Politics
8. The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
9. WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
10. Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
11. Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
12. The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
13. Eye Candy

Greenbacks -  One thing it seems you can be sure of is that even when the economy sucks people are still gonna drink; probably even more so. All we do is shift to cheaper swill although I doubt stars with a known affection for Lady Alcohol, like Lindsay Lohan (shown enjoying herself at left) and Mel Gibson, are suffering the same fate. While I'm not a big drinker, I do enjoy a beer to two. Lately, I've ratcheted down a few notches in what I buy, trying to stretch that dollar a bit further. What I want to know is what are people doing to make cheap tequila sales jump, yes jump!, 21% from 2008 to 2009. All I can say is that I think we all know what kind of night to expect when that bottle of ta-kill-ya is cracked open.

Tasty Licks - OK. I found this article comparing Spike TV to Lifetime to be pretty dead on and funny. Spike is definitely guys TV. Thank God being a Balanced Guy doesn't mean being a pussy and not allowing yourself to watch stupid guy shows. Being a Balanced Guy means being able to do that AND being able to watch a Lifetime movie with your significant other while keeping both in perspective. It means a boys' night out getting maybe a bit rowdy and pushing the envelope after a day spent coaching your daughter's basketball team. Being a Balanced Guy also means at the end of the day admitting that you'd much rather watch Spike TV. 

Neil Genzlinger, the author, demonstrates his "Balanced Guy-liness" when he states "So, clearly, members of one sex are living in a sad, unrealistic fantasy world, trying in vain to compensate for the drabness of their day-to-day lives. Members of the other are living a rich life of the imagination, at peace with their self-image and excited by what the future might hold. Which is which goes without saying." Nuff said.

Sticking with entertainment, last week the nominations for both The Oscars and The Razzies came out. By far, those for The Razzies are a hell of a lot more entertaining to read through although the Oscar-worthy performances are certainly better to watch (unless maybe you're halfway through that bottle of cheap tequila). Although I'm not sure I agree with Land of the Lost garnering nominations for worst actor (Will Ferrell) worst supporting actor, worst director, worst screenplay, worst sequel/ripoff/remake. 

Granted, it's not Oscar material but it was a really funny movie...to me at least.  Mature; no. Juvenile; yes. Not sure it's meant for the kids mostly because they aren't gonna get a lot of the jokes and there is some fairly adult humor, albeit innuendo. Keeping in line with a lot of the 1970's-TV show-turned-movie genre of the last 10 years or so (The Brady Bunch, Scooby D00, Charlie's Angels, etc) it's very tongue-in-cheek with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. The scene with Will Ferrell dancing through the pterodactyl nest in his underwear is priceless.

Honeydew - As I write this the white stuff is falling from the sky and we're under a blizzard watch here in Central Jersey. This is the second big storm in a week. While I don't mind shoveling snow, this storm is worse than the last as far as shoveling is concerned because it's heavy and wet. It's not the weight of the snow that bugs me when pushing it around, it's the fact that it sticks to my shovel. Little trick of the trade for ya - before you start the process of throwing your back out or bringing on a heart attack (yes, shoveling snow can be dangerous to your health) try spraying some liquid duct tape on it. What is liquid duct tape you ask? WD-40 of course. It's like a miracle-in-a-can. To back this claim, know this: it's even got a Facebook fan page with almost 4,000 fans (just slightly more than The Balanced Guy's fan base on Facebook and Princeton Scoop is catching up fast). 

The great part is that everyday, WD-40 sprays a blurb with yet another use for this can-o'-magic much the way Princeton Scoop tosses you info about great deals and steals in the Central Jersey area. For example, yesterday's Use of the Day: Detangles jewelry, like tangled Mardi Gras beads used in celebratory dance on Bourbon St. And one from last week...Use of the Day: Cleans cell phone battery connections. And another one that is wholly appropriate for our current weather - Use of the Day: Spray wheel wells and underbody of autos to protect from corrosion due to road salt. (OK...I'm not too sure about the phrase "sprays a blurb" but I'll go with it...I was obviously trying to be witty but I'll toss a flag and call it a "fail".  So stock up on WD-40, find ever more exotic uses for it and enjoy shoveling that snow!

Speaking of "fail", if you're looking to possibly wet yourself laughing I highly suggest you go to Google images and simply type in the word "fail". You never know what you'll find. Words fail me as far this image goes....