Friday Odds 'n Ends

According to the local paper, today's high temp is forecast to be 76 degrees. Is this really February in Ohio? I can already hear endorsers of climate change screaming from the rooftops. For those people, I have one question: when the massive glaciers that covered North America melted away thousands of years ago, was that climate change also? Did mankind cause that event?

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Geico, the mega-insurance provider, is at it again. Their newest entry in the television advertising arena shows three thieves exiting an art museum with stolen loot; their getaway ride is an Uber vehicle which is late in arriving and, of course, they're apprehended by police. The rub?

All three of the criminals are portrayed by Caucasian males.

Geico joins ADT, Lifelock and a handful of other companies whose portrayal of criminals in ad spots are white dudes. Every time. No Hispanics, Chinese or African Americans....not even a female. As a retired police officer, I can assure you that not every single criminal is a white male. Another instance of political-correctness-gone-wild? Mind you, I'm not complaining...I just find it funny/ridiculous.

Then there's the commercial featuring a guy named Nick Bolton, dressed in a tan fatigue t-shirt and camo pants, endorsing a multi-function, high-intensity mini flashlight. In this entry, he even runs over the light in a Hummer and says that it is very similar to those lights that are used in 'tactical' situations. Here's a fact: even though his manner of dress and use of military/police jargon leads the average viewer to think so, Bolton never served in the military; he's a firefighter-turned-fitness model.

Then there's the commercial's allegation that the light will scare the beejeebies out of a burglar stealing your wife's jewelry or a guy lurking on a dark porch as if preparing to break in when the light is used in a rapidly-flashing strobe mode. Particularly ridiculous in this ad is the scene where the man of the house is awakened by his spouse, presumptively after hearing a noise in the darkened home. The guy sits up, grabs his Tac Lite and confronts the burglar, holding the light next to his head, staring sternly as if to say ( in his best Kurt Russell 'Tombstone' voice ) "YOU CALLED DOWN THE THUNDER, YOU GOT IT!!" Myself, I'd prefer to respond with the flashlight and my Smith & Wesson .40 cal ...you know, just in case the criminals aren't actually intimidated by the flashlight itself.

Both 'criminals' in the Tac Lite ad are, of course, white guys.


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I have discovered smooth jazz.

Particularly, smooth jazz bassists. Being a former bass player, I've always been attentive to bass tracks in any music I listen to, and find that the instrument is featured in a lot of jazz entries. Guys like Marcus Miller, Andre Berry, Frank Itt, Remco Hendrix ( absolutely no relation to Jimi )...these guys are in another bass-talent universe. If you want to sample some of their work, just enter those names in a YouTube search, then sit back and enjoy.

...and search Candy Dulfer, too. She's not a bassist, she's an amazing saxophonist.

And extremely gorgeous.

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Have a great weekend and MAKE TODAY COUNT!