Canadian Erectile Dysfunction Medication Commercials…Funny!

What a crazy topic right? Well stick with me, it is surprisingly interesting. Maybe a little explanation as to how I came to enjoy these very specific commercials. Just this last week, I was spending some time in Buffalo NY. As many of you may know, I am a big hockey fan. During my time in Buffalo there were a few different hockey games I wanted to watch, and in one instance, one of the games was playing on a Canadian Tv Station.

So, I’m watching “Hockey Night in Canada” and having a good time about it already, because I love me a Canadian accent, I don’t know it just so innocent, and funny. AND Don Cherry was all over that bitch! Here in the Burgh our exposure to Don Cherry is so very limited which is clearly a blessing and a curse. Because, Don is like your a bit more than slightly tweaked grandfather, who just keeps going off and going off and no one wants to hear it.  Who keeps  yelling, and repeating the same thing over and over again, and sometimes the “same” thing changes slightly, and for some reason Pappy is wearing a suit that is made out of hideous curtain material.  FUN!

So, through all this great fun already then come the commercials, and let me tell you Canadian Commercials are different anyway, so If you are ever presented with a chance to watch yourself some Canadian TV do take the opportunity. But then I see this:

Pretty good right? Now give this one a ride:

Ok, so what have you noticed? Number one they use humor! Most of the U.S. commercials do not, typically they use fear of talking to your doctor, or laying in adjacent bathtubs, that are outside for some reason, to hawk their pills. But number 2 is why I love these commercials, they are like 30 second spots so there is no superfast talking at the end of the commercial, about the side effects and all that legal jargon they have to throw in. AND I suspect that in Canada they are not allowed to say the following words on TV, Penis, Erectile Dysfunction, Priapism, and all the other crazy shit that we get to hear 47 times a day.

I am and have always been against Censorship, and thank god everyday for our freedom of speech. Cause I mean really, if you know me, you know as well as I do, that with out that freedom of speech I would have been locked up or executed YEARS ago for the shit that comes flying out of my mouth.  But really, I have to give props to the Canucks for doing it this way. I mean it’s so wierd that in the U.S. those commercials play all the time, and you know kids are hearing all about how if you have a stiffy for more than 4 hours, it’s called a Priapism, and you best take your stiffy to the doctor about it. Do 7 years olds need to be discussing this? Does this really affect them?

Do I really need to see these commercials 47 times a day? No, but I understand why I do. I watch stuff that a large group of their target audience watches. Ok, but come on, you are already making these fantastic commercials for our neighbors to the North, PLUS they are shorter so less air time would cost less and increase profits!

I’m sure our Viagra and Cialis commercials will not be changing, and maybe its cruel of me to show these to you, because now you have a taste of what it could be like. But how awesome would it be, to be watching these instead of:

You know, I was going to post one here, but instead, just turn on the closest TV. You’ll see one in a few minutes.

Shutters WTF?

While some shutters are still useful, I have to pose the question why are exterior shutters that have zero functionality still the accepted norm? I mean what a racket the shutter people have going on here! So often in newer homes these shutters have no function at all except to hang there and look pretty. And it’s not just houses, the apartment building I live in has shutters all over the place.

The shutters hanging all over my Apartment building are freaking ponderous. First of all there are at least three different sized windows, and some of them are picture windows, but is there any variance of the size of shutters that they chose to hang? No, every shutter is the same size, which looks ridiculous because if these shutters were actually functional they would not even cover the entire window in most cases. But in the picture window case it’s not even freaking close.

So the only purpose they serve hanging on the building is to get blown down when its windy, and look stupid untill they get hung back up, which in my case at the apartment I live in, is not fast at all. And seriously it’s not like these things are cheap! They are like $100.00 a pair on up to hundreds of dollars per pair depending on what you want.

I mean if they are actually functional, I get it.  But the non-functional ones, I don’t know man, I’m not convinced.

They do look pretty though.

To Catch a Predator, remember that show?

I find myself on many Sunday nights watching MSNBC,  because they show reruns of the Dateline series “To Catch A Predator”. For those of you who have never seen this show or don’t remember it, Dateline NBC set up their cameras to catch these “predators” showing up at a house to meet a young (underage) teenage girl or boy.

They worked with a group called Perverted Justice, who set up profiles posing as young teenage (underage, typically 13-15) boys and girls in chat rooms online and waited for adults to contact them. After an adult contacted them looking for sexual activity with a minor, they would set up a meeting place with these adults and they would either show up or not. The ones that showed up were then filmed by Dateline, and the host Chris Hansen would ask the men (no women ever showed up on the show) questions, and present them information from the chat log that was recorded by Perverted Justice.

After the questions and speaking with these men, they were informed that they were talking Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC and they were doing a story on Online Predators, and that they were free to go. When they left the house they were promptly arrested by the local law enforcement officials, and taken to jail.

While this show creeps me out to a certain degree, I can’t help but enjoy watching it for a few different reasons. The first and most important reason is because these people who show up at these houses trying to have sex with a young teenage girl or boy, are disgusting. These messed up people deserve to go to jail, and I get a certain satisfaction from watching them get arrested.  Watching them get questioned by Law Enforcement Officials, and get taken to jail. Then at the end of the show find out what crimes they were charged with, and what their sentence was.

Another reason I enjoy watching this show, and I am almost ashamed to admit this, sometimes it is funny. Not in the funny ha-ha sense, but I find it amusing to watch these men twist in the wind. By that I mean when they get caught completely off guard, don’t know whats going on, and they think that this guy talking to them is the girl or boys father. So sometimes, they will start lying a little to try to get themselves out of this mess, and they will say “oh no, they said they were 18, and I never said anything about having sex with anyone”.

Then Chris Hansen busts out the chat log, and he says oh, well I have the chat log and right here, you ask how old they are and they said 14. Then you said this, this and that and then send a webcam Picture of your penis. What say you to that Senor Scumbag? The blank look of Oh MY God , I am so screwed is what I mean by twist in the wind, and I love it. Sometimes these people have seen previous shows, and are like “oh yeah I know who you are”.  You have to think that after a few of these shows it was a bit of a deterrent to some people. But, people kept showing up, and they would keep showing up today! One guy showed up twice! Two different shows!

What I find so disturbing about this short-lived series, is that it really opened my eyes and I hope hundreds of thousands of other peoples too, is just how many pedophiles, and predators there are out there. When I had thought about this issue in the past, I knew there were pedophiles and predators out there, but I really thought they were few and far between. This show proved that this is just not the case at all, there are so many people out there looking to take advantage of a young girl or boy, and it is shocking. Many of the men would show up with alcohol, many would show up with drugs, and one man showed up with rope. What the hell he was going to do with that rope we may never know. But it is not outside the realm of possibility that one or more of these men, considered killing the child as well.

While watching To Catch a Predator last night, I noticed that the one I was watching was filmed in 2006, and I  knew they didn’t make them anymore, but couldn’t remember why. After thinking about it for a few minutes I came to the conclusion that it must have had to do with Entrapment laws. But after I looked into it today I found out that part of the reason they do not make this show anymore has to do with a lawsuit that was filed by a woman, who claims her brother was driven to commit suicide because of the show.

She claimed in the lawsuit that her brother who was a Dallas prosecutor fatally shot himself after being accused of having a sexually explicit online conversation with (presumably one of the members of Perverted Justice) an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy. She also claimed that even though her brother did not show up at the house to meet the boy, NBC was insistent that police arrest him anyway. Apparently when the police came looking for him, he at that point fatally shot himself.

Now, I feel like this situation should not have happened. If this man did not show up at the house then NBC should have nothing to do with it, and clearly that is why they got sued. The judge in the case was quoted as saying that NBC  ”crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement.” And I tend to agree that a line was crossed in this instance, but I feel that it unfortunate that they opted to cross this line. Because I feel that this show was providing a great service to the community, they were rounding up 10-30 predators per show!

I know that larger Law Enforcement Agencies have a task force or a group that works on Online predators and things of this nature but this show was doing a good job of it too.  So, while I appreciate that my tax dollars are actually hard at work combatting this problem, I would love to see this show come back on the air. Last I checked this shows future was “uncertain” and unfortunately it has been for sometime now. But I am going on the record that I would love to see this show again, and please if by some miracle it does come back, Chris Hansen must host it. He is by far my favorite pervert buster ever.

John Cusack, I don’t really know why I love you.. but I do.

John Cusack has acted in 56 movies according to IMDb. I doubt I could name more than 6 of them. He has been acting since the early 80′s and is still acting today. While some of his films have been really good, none of them have ever been blockbusters, save possibly 2012, which I didn’t see. Which is a shame because I believe him to be a good actor. There are a few that are well-known movies, but I feel like they are well-known due to other actors being in them, and not necessarily because Mr. Cusack was in them. A few examples: Being John Malkovich, Sixteen Candles, and even Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Let me just say, I really do love John Cusack, if I see that he is in something, I will give it extra consideration before blowing it off. I just wish he would pick a great script, so that he could get the notoriety he deserves. Work with me here John pick something good! I know he does act in some independent films, and I totally respect that.. keep doing that John.

But if its going to be a major motion picture then pick something good. Maybe this Hot Tub Time Machine is the one that’s going to do it for him, I don’t know. I gotta say when I first started seeing the commercials I thought “Really? Did they really make this movie? Or am I drunk?”.  Also, I though “Who the hell gave this hunk of stupid shit the green light”?

But, no they actually did make this movie, and shocker it’s getting good reviews. People are saying the movie is hilarious. Craziness! Now I think I might have to see this movie. I would have never guessed it. High Fidelity was a great movie, and I think actually did well in theaters.  But then he did some movies that weren’t very good and the spotlight faded again.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, great film, if you haven’t seen it, I really highly suggest it. It’s an interesting story, and is pretty well acted, of course John Cusack is in it, as well as Kevin Spacey. A little murder, some Southern charm perhaps even a touch of voodoo, AND The Lady Chablis! Enough to keep the attention, that’s for damned sure.  Good stuff, long movie, but totally worth watching if for no other reason, The Lady Chablis!

Also, if you haven’t seen Better Off Dead, it really has some 80′s movie charm. I feel like its kind of like watching a live action version of FML. This movie just has it all, well I guess for 1985. A deeply destroyed John Cusack after his Girlfriend dumps him, Suicide attempts, a French exchange student, and the coup de grâce  a Ski off!! It doesn’t get much more 80′s than a ski off folks.

As for 1408, I can tell you this.. I watched it, I think on HBO. I had hoped that this “horror” movie would actually be even just the tiniest bit scary, but no not so much. But, that could be because of me, I figure I am pretty damned de-sensitized by now, and maybe..no, I don’t think it was me. It just isn’t that scary. I think that the best message to take away from this movie is, if you are a paranormal investigator who writes books about the hauntings  you have investigated and debunked, AND you have a bad attitude about it AND you have a big ego, then you better watch your ass. Because the ghosts are getting pissed, and they are going to catch up with you at some point, AND they are going to KICK YOUR ASS. It’s just too bad they couldn’t kick his ass in a scarier way. One of the more redeeming qualities: Samuel L. Jackson ’nuff said.

One Crazy Summer also had some great 1980′s charm, and there was random animation in the movie, which I though was pretty funny. There is a young Demi Moore in there too, and after watching that movie probably 20 times over my lifetime, I am pretty sure she didn’t have any idea how to “act” while filming that movie. Don’t you wish all life’s problems could be solved by a boat race in the Nantucket Regatta? I know my life would be simpler if that was the case.

Anyway, I believe in you John, I think if you and your sister Joan could get Molly Ringwald, and a bunch of the other “Brat Pack” actors and actresses together in some kind of comedy movie that could really be something.  Working title Forty-seven Candles.

BB

Pittsburgh radio, I remember that you used to be cool. Part one

What a sad state of affairs the music radio situation has become in the Burgh, over the last few years. WAMO is gone, which while I didn’t listen to very often had a well deserved place on the airwaves, and was a pretty historic radio station. B94 died a second and some would say more brutal death this time around. Because it was not replaced with other kinds of music, but repetitive sports blather. Even the “Oldies” station 3WS doesn’t even play “oldies” anymore. Yes, there are still music stations in the Burgh that play decent music, but there is always some catch to go along with it. Either its hideously repetitive everyday you hear the same songs over and over again. Or its soft rock, or its hard rock or its alternative, or its indie, or its hip hop,or its country, thats about it, those are your choices… CONFORM IMMEDIATELY. What about all the other categories of music? There are so many that cross over, and in between that we just don’t get to hear on the radio anymore.

I think its sad, I also think that music is a very important part of life. It certainly has been in mine for as long as I can remember. Yet, somehow I feel that this generation, and future generations are going to be robbed of the importance of music. Yes, there are new ways to listen to music and acquire and own music which is fantastic in some really big ways. But, will they ever have the excitement of making a mix tape off the radio? Nope, that’s already dead and gone. Back in the day, when you bought a record, tape or CD you bought the whole album, and yeah, you bought the thing for one or two hit songs, but how many times did you get around to listening to the whole thing and find some fantastic gem on there that never got radio play? I know it has happened to me a hundred times. Alas, that happens less and less now.

The radio stations aren’t going to take the chance on playing something that isn’t a hit because that business gets worse and worse every year. And hey, they have to make money too. Don’t even get me started on Music Videos, in the 1990′s, they became an art form, and now what? It just isn’t a viable cost for a record label, yes there are still videos, but nothing like we used to have. Oh MTV I will reserve my disdain for you, for another day.

Where have all the “oldies” gone? I think it is a terrible shame that there is no way what so ever for me to turn on the radio and hear Frank Sinatra.  The crazy thing is that this crappy state of radio in the Burgh has totally changed my radio listening habits. I don’t know when this happened, but some how I have gotten to the point where 99% of the time, I am listening to talk radio, news radio, or NPR. Don’t get me wrong, I love talk radio and NPR and knowing whats happening around me and in the world. But I gotta say, if you would have asked me 10 years ago if I thought there was any chance I would spend almost all of my time in the car listening to talk radio, and news, I would have said “uh, no dumbass, I’ll be listening to music”.

I guess I will just have to put my Sirius back in my car, they have a whole Frank Sinatra station.

BB      

Ben Roethlisberger: Hapless Victim, or Dumb as a sack of Hammers?

So, I had decided last night that my first really topical post was going to be about Ben Roethlisberger. How lucky am I that today a third accuser has stepped forward?

Ok, so here it is.. It is POSSIBLE that Ben has actually done nothing wrong. It would not be unheard of that these now 3 accusers are looking for a payday, or got rejected by Ben, or something. It is POSSIBLE.

But is it really possible that this man, is actually this stupid? I mean yes, you do not have to be a member of Mensa to be a quarterback. But he did go to school and even college, so in all this time on Earth could he really not pick up a modicum of common sense? We do know that he has done stupid things before, including the motorcycle crash without wearing a helmet. Yep, that’s kind of dumb. But who knew it wouldn’t  even be CLOSE to the stupidest thing he’s ever done?

Maybe he just doesn’t care,the truth is there are members of the Steelers in trouble all the time. And for years not much has happened when these players get in trouble, so I think in this time over the years the line in the sand has gotten really blurred. So to many of the players, I’m sure “The Steeler Code” is one of the last things they are worried about.  So now they are going to send a message by trading Santonio Holmes, the message is “You assholes are making us look bad, and now we have to react.. good job! I mean really, if they were upholding “The Steeler Code” they would have never even taken Santonio because he was in trouble when we got him, or shortly thereafter, or both, I honestly don’t remember.  Now we must react, and swiftly, but not against the Superbowl winning Quarterback, so don’t worry Ben fans. He’s not going anywhere, though many of us think he should.

Don’t get me wrong;  it is a step in the right direction, as this has seemed to snowball on them in a way. All of a sudden they have a ton of hooligans playing Steeler football, and they should send a strong message that this type of behavior (fighting, smashing towel dispensers, gun charges, domestic violence, assault) is fully unacceptable.

Obviously they are sending a message to the players, and I say good, send a message that you won’t tolerate this kind of bullshit. Honestly, send a bigger one, get rid of Ben. If he is really this stupid then he is not going to suddenly learn to keep himself out of trouble. If he is actually doing what his accusers are saying then I don’t even want him in the city.

I am sure people will disagree with me, but really, if he is actually assaulting women, is that who you want your son looking up to? Or your daughter watching play football?

GET RID OF HIM, one way or the other, proven guilty or not. I am sick of his face.

Go Pens!
BB

Introduction to The Burgh Bitch

Hello,
First I feel compelled to tell you a few truths about me, so that we can all understand where I am coming from. Number one, I am one opinionated bitch, that being said I am by no means one of those people that have an opinion and in no way can discuss something that conflicts with their own opinion, or someone who can not see both sides of the story. I can, and will make every effort to see the other side of the story in every case.

Number 2, I AM A PITTSBURGHER, and that through and through. I believe in Pittsburghese, I believe in Parking Chairs, and I believe that Pittsburgh is a great town.

Next, I’ll talk about anything with anyone, I feel like you will notice that as a theme on this blog, it’s all open for discussion.

Lastly, Lets Go Pens!    

BB