Prison Thriller

With the passing of Michael Jackson this week, there is a ton of Jackson's stuff showing up online or was hidden at one time and is now showing up again in popularity.

I don't know how I missed this one over the years but this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. And when you consider the fact that the performers are actually prisoners in a Philippines prison courtyard, it's all the more awesome.

A few years back the 1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines got together and choreographed their own version of the Michael Jackson video Thriller and famous dance sequence. Below is the result.

By the way, they have also produced other shows to the music of Queen's Radio Ga Ga, Jump by the Pointer Sisters and many others. I guess that's one way to pass the time behind the walls. Somehow I can't see the same thing happening in a U.S. or Canadian prison.

The King Of Pop Is Dead

Shock, disbelief, sadness.

These are three of the words that came mind to describe what went through my mind earlier this evening when I was informed that Michael Jackson had passed away.

I can't add much more to all of the comments and reports heard tonight on news channels about his career, change in appearance over the years and legal issues. It's all be talked about ad nauseum.

From a personal stand point I can say that I have no problem putting aside all of the controversy that surrounded him over the years. To me, he was a musical and entertainment genius. Quite simply he was the Elvis Presley of my generation. I am proud to admit I was, am and always will be a Michael Jackson fan.

You may disagree but when I think of true musical legends and icons, three names come to mind...Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

From wearing the single sequined glove to the first time we saw him moonwalk in 1983 during the Motown 25 performance of Billie Jean, he was one of a kind.

Here are the two music videos from Jackson and the legendary Thriller album that I believe changed pop music forever.

Billie Jean

Thriller

Obama Saves The Day

He's been in office for almost five months and the Barrack Obama "Love In" appears to be going strong still. We'll see in a couple of years if that remains the case.

In the meantime, the folks at Jib Jab have come out with a new video that you might get a kick out of. Even those of you who aren't Obama fans should see some humour in it.

If you find the video to be too small, just click on the second button from the right to make it full screen. Also, due to JibJab flexing their copyright muscles...the only version now available is there's with a 1 minute advertisement tacked on at the end. You can watch the ad if you like or just hit pause to stop it after the good part.

Enjoy!

Happy 71st Dad!

My dad is celebrating is 71st Birthday today.

I was thinking about what his perfect birthday would include and although I'm sure all of these things won't happen, I hope he can enjoy a few of them.

A good birthday would include spending time with his wife and family, seeing his grandson, reading a good book by Clive Cussler or Stephen King, stuffing himself with macaroni and cheese and making a sandwich.

He's a man of simple pleasures and that's one of the many reasons why I love the young fella so much.

Have a wonderful birthday dad!

Women Drivers...Lord Help Us!

If the title of this posting hasn't peeved off all of the women reading already then what I have to say next might just do the trick.

I hate women drivers!

OK guys, it's just us left now.

I love women for everything else (that I can think of) but the fact remains, in my experience, they are the worst drivers on the road. The only thing worse than a woman driver is senior citizen women drivers. Sorry mom.

I was reading elsewhere that statistically, women are lower insurance risks than men. I think this stat was calculated in 1957 because there are probably five times as many women on the roads now than there were when they came up with that load of B.S.

Boy, I'm really digging a hole here. I haven't had time for a good posting or rant in a while and now I'm going to have all of the lovely ladies looking to force me off the road...if they haven't already.

Of course I'm not just saying this to get a rise out of people. I'm only telling you what I've experienced while out on the roads.

Before I go any further I'll admit I have a bit of a lead foot at times but I usually only speed by 5 or 10 kilometres at most and never in a residential area...only on main highways. Aside from that I consider myself to be among the cream of the vehicular crop.

So the real question you're probably asking is, "what has made me feel this way?"

Where do I begin?

I could name dozens of examples but I'll try and keep this short.

Let me start with the basics...

Mirrors...Believe it or not ladies, the mirrors on your car are not there for decoration or for checking your make-up...especially when you're traveling at 90 km/h. The mirrors are there to assist you when backing up or changing lanes. It was quite obvious that the woman who backed out of her parking spot into the side of my car last summer failed to use the mirrors or she would have easily seen me. Luckily her insurance company took care of removing the dents in my fender. I was fuming on the inside but being the gentle soul I am I kept my composure and was polite. No doubt her ears were ringing after she left though.

Speeding...It is a well known fact and no woman can argue this point, the ladies love to put the pedal to the metal. I have family members who drive that way and they'll even agree with me that women have a need for speed. I would say easily 8 times out of 10 when I'm driving on the 401 it's a woman who will pass me. I'm 10 km/h over and they go by me like I'm standing still. The only way they'll get caught is if a female cop is on the road driving even faster.

Cell Phones...This is not an accessory to be worn against your ear non-stop. Believe it or not you have to pay attention to your driving for a little bit of the trip. I used to think the yet to arrive cell phone ban in Ontario would be a bad thing but after witnessing how some of these women drive while chatting or texting I don't think it can happen soon enough.

Tailgating...Just yesterday I was driving along nicely with no cars around me...or so I thought. This woman comes flying up behind me and I'm sure if I'd popped the trunk she would have driven right in. She couldn't have been more than three feet away from my bumper and we were doing at least 85 km/h. It's safe to say this "woman" never would have had a chance if I had to jam on the brakes for some reason. Once she was able to get by me she proceeded to slalom in and out of traffic without signaling once. But I'm sure it was worth it to nearly cause six accidents just so she could get to her destination 2 minutes sooner.

There are so many other things...like driving in the passing lane, not pulling into the turning lane before slowing down to make their turn, moving the car to the left (almost into the oncoming lane) before turning right like they're driving a tractor trailer and burning my retinas because they have to have the high beam headlights on all the time.

I could go on but honestly, what's the point since these women are going to continue being bad drivers because in their fantasy world they're all Danica Patrick.

Now for those of you thinking that men will do all or most of these things as well I will agree. It just doesn't happen as often or to the point that I fear for my life.

Safe driving everyone!