The Good, The Bad and The just plain ugly

Hi all you loyal readers who have waited since April 1 for this update. I had a busy summer workwise and it was all I could do to keep up with Twitter, Facebook, the now defunct HeroesARG(more on that later) and my personal life. Anyway, Thanks to Sheindie for plugging me enough to remind me to write a new post.

First the Good - Life is great, the little one started Kindergarten, the kids are back in school and doing well I may add, and work is busy! Apparently us lawyers are always needed no matter what the economy deals us. Some other things that made my last few months a little happier are 1) The high quality GN's produced by Oliver Grigsby, Jason Badower, Jim Miller, Denis Calero and the other fabulously talented staff at the Heroes headquarters. 2) Congrats to Oliver Grigsby and the Mighty Foz for getting married this summer (not to each other Mr. Literal.) and 3) Thank god for summer shows like Royal Pains and Wipeout which have gotten me through the past few months and 4) Wii Sports Resort. Anytime my 5 year old can beat me at a video game, I praise the programmers who have clearly made a game the entire family can enjoy. Abby is the best fencer this side of the WII verse.

Now the Bad - 1) Sadly HeroesARG, a wonderful fan website which also graciously allowed me to pontificate on graphic novels, post fan fiction, and write my one question column, has decided to close the site. I fully understand the demand the time of hosting a site has and I certainly don't blame them but I will miss it both from a writing standpoint and hearing about the various Heroes events and fans. I met some nice people on the site and hope that we will find a new place to exchange opinions and thoughts. I especially like that they were mostly spoiler free.
2) Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers doing the planned Home Run Bomb (he hits a home run, steps on home plate and the team which was gathered around home plate falls down like an explosion hit.) It was tactless, out of form with the spirit of the game and quite frankly I don't know what a middle of the pack team with no hopes of playoff appearances is doing getting all excited over a home run or a win. I might understand it if it was a big game or a rivalry or something but they beat the Giants who although in the wild card race, really isn't that big an accomplishment; 3) My in-laws still live with us and the place we thought we might buy for them jacked up the price (got a higher offer) which we couldn't match. Anyone know a cheap mobile home in southern california? and 4) My daughter's hip hop class plays the new version "Right Round" by Flo Rida. Ok this may be a good song to dance to but did the instructor listen to the lyrics? It is a class of 5 year olds for crying out loud!

Now the ugly - I admit I watch reality TV and am fascinated on what the internet did to turn average people into stars. Three examples have left bad tastes in my mouth. First 1) Perez Hilton v. Demi Moore. Perez Hilton is one of the people whose fame comes from being a flamboyant blogger and putting his version of the National Star into blog form. Some of it is true, some is speculation and some is carefully crafted. I personall agree with Demi Moore that Perez crossed the line with the butt cheek photo of her daughter and his comments thereon. I wouldn't go as far as she did in the titles she called him but he certainly showed that he has no taste, no morals and quite frankly no talent. He further aggravated things by threatening Demi Moore that she would hear from his lawyers. How ironic and brazen of Perez as a blogger who makes his living saying horrible things about people all the time without regard for truth would threaten to sue someone who blogged (or tweeted) something about him that he didn't like. Get over it and get a thicker skin. This is not the first time that Perez has pissed someone off with his diatribe and then acted like they were jerks for even being upset. Get a life Perez. 2) Tila Tequila v. Shawne Merriman - This is a true example of everything that is wrong with the internet. First it began when Tila Tequila aka Tila Nguyen, a self proclaimed artist decided that being half naked on myspace would get her fame and fortune. For this I applaud her as she showed her business accumen by turning her myspace page into a high rated website that landed her a bad, bad bad reality show "shot at love" and some other 15 minutes of fame. However, good internet doesn't always translate to a career since you actually have to have the talent, character and accumen to maintain a career. With her 15 minutes winding down, she had to go and use Twitter to make vague allegations and threats to Shawne Merriman over an incident which may or may not be true. If I were her attorney, I would have told her to be absolutely silent until the case was heard. This is not to say that Shawne Merriman is any better. His Twitter sins began earlier this year when he posted a video response to Chad Ochocinco's comments about him. I don't know about you but this video was like a thug threatening someone rather than a well thought out retort. Then the team bans tweeting from the clubhouse so he has to step outside the clubhouse to tweet. Finally, whether he is right about what happened or Tila is, he got involved with Tila. This is a millionaire football player and he picked the skanky Tila to be his girlfriend? There are so many better choices than someone who clearly has an eye for the press and would do anything to stay in the spotlight. bad choice Merriman. Prove yourself on the field this season and leave the off the field antics for others.

Ok, to end on a good note, i saved some good things for last. 1) Barenaked ladies' free show in Chicago at the Taste of Chicago was a kick ass show and restored my faith that they can carry on without Steve (although I missed him on a few of the songs). 2)The Taste of Chicago was wonderful (but fattening) and we had a great time. 3) Dinner at Hank's Steakhouse in Green Valley Ranch with old friends was awesome. There is no better steakhouse that compares with them in service, food quality, atmosphere and staff. Also, there may not be a hotter looking staff!

Thats all for now. In the immortal words of John Henson (wipeout) and my 5 year old, Good night, and Big Balls.