soundboard de cheevo

They are just dead wrong ... obviously! Watch the sperminator break it down while in the studio.

For all the news buzz that was the Olympics, it didn't touch the loud roaring buzz that has become American Idol 5. I guess no one should be surprised that curling and the biathlon didn't do it for the Nielsons like the three, yes count 'em, three nights of Idol did last week. The show is as riveting as ever and sometimes painful to watch as there is clearly much weeding out to do. Last week's ladies' night lowlight was the brunette Barbie twin Becky O'Donahue's horrific rendition of "Because the Night." Note to Idol constestants: Don't do Patti Smith songs. Only Patti Smith can get away with them with the occasional exception (i.e. 10,000 Maniancs - Unplugged). Bobby Bennett was equally bad with the drunken karaoke version of "Copa Cabana". In so many ways it's all about song choice as the judges continue to point out. I am glad again to see another Birmingham contestant showing some promise and class. I don't think we will s...

Above: Mardi Gras beads are thrown from a float to screaming parade goers during the the Bacchus Parade in New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006. Mardi Gras, the first since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, is in full swing. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Right: Chris Sitz of New Orleans walks down St. Charles Ave. holding a sign before the Bacchus Parade in New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Okay, I know the Cheney shooting is a played out topic, but so was the Lewinsky scandal after a while, but the jokes just kept on coming so let them come again. I knew I could count on "The Daily Show" for their excellent and hilarious take on the story and they delivered brilliantly. A friend e-mailed me the transcript of one of their segments that I thought was worth posting. Again, it's a little scary how parody reflects reality. The White House, Bush and Cheney once again come off on the defensive and make no apologies for any aspect of how they handled the incident, not that we should be surprised. The follow-up story that reported Harry Whittingon, the man shot, apologizing to Cheney for the VP having shot him full of lead pellets was the extra sickening cherry on the sundae of this PR mess. The late night comics have had a field day with this story, but there is no wit and sarcasm as good as The Daily Show. Jon Stewart: "I'm joined now by our own vice-pr...

Fred shows off his bandaged paw where his IV is located. He has fluid coming in a tube and going out a tube and will basically be a pee factory for the next two days. Dr. Harris said they really had to make sure he was flushed out before he went home.

Here is Fred in his unfashionable Elizabethan collar. He hates this thing for obvious reasons, but it has to stay on until Monday. He was still able to enjoy a scratch under the chin and some sweet talking to.

We know Fred is okay because he still able to enjoy his favorite hobby -- eating. They are giving him two types of special food and he seems pretty happy with his temporary environs. I think he knows he traded in one of his lives last night.

Fred was a happy with a break from the Elizabethan collar. He was surprisingly in a good mood despite being hooked up to two different bags and in a strange place with lots of barking dogs.

Poor Freddie, the gray tabby cat, wound up with a urinary tract infection this week that turned into a full on urinary blockage late last night. The poor cat would sit in the box for 10 minutes trying to get even a drop out and nothing would happen. Male cats have a tendency to form crystals in their urinary tract and Fred is more succeptable to them than any other cat I have known. I talked to two vet techs who said take him to the emergency vet immediately. As K said, of course the cat would have to wait until our regular vet is closed. The emergency vet is incredibly expensive, but last night was turning into a life or death situation. Had the urine continued to back up, it would have eventually gotten into Fred's blood stream and the toxins would slowly kill him. Fred ain't going out like that. To unblock Fred's uretha, the vets put him under air anethesia and inserted a catheter along with an IV to flush him out. We stayed their for what seemed like a lifetime waiting ...

He is all about his dad right now, can sit up and has a great laugh.

Papa Jason with the little nugget

When I got my first digital camera and realized I could shoot video, I had some fun capturing a day in the life of two of our furry creatures. We got Miles and Freddie in August 2001 not knowing that you are supposed to get cats in pairs so they will bond. Despite the aggressive appearance of the following three videos, this is play at its very best and is always fun to watch. Sometimes K tries to break them up, but I just let them go at it. I think its good exercise and healthy as long as no blood is shead. Please excuse the super white trash naked mattress, but notice the tail wagging -- at one time in unison.

In case anyone is reading this that has recently lost a tooth filling -- don't wait around like I did. Sometime last fall I noticed a very obvious hole on one of my molars where a filling used to be. I kept saying I would make a dentist appointment ... next week ... and then the next week and low and behold, it didn't freaking happen. Flash forward to last week. I was minding my own business enjoying some dinner and BAM! -- pain like an electric shock starting in my jaw and working its way down my neck. The next two days were pure hell of ice packs and whatever pain killers I could scrounge. I knew I had waited too long and was in trouble and the fact that hole in my molar had turned gray, didn't make me feel much better. K got out the yellow pages and I was surprised to see so many walk-in emergency dentists. I chose the one with the biggest display ad that was closest to home and wound up in Southside next to Rocky's Pizza (how I much rather have gone to Rocky's!...

Cartoon by Glen McCoy - - I guess we should be glad this week that we live in a country where cartoons like these are par for the course (and plentiful). Cheney and the Bush administration have all the lashings coming to them for being so secretive about this event. It makes a person wonder what was going on in those 24 hours between the shooting and the news release that didn't come from the White House, but from a member of the hunting party. If this was the accident that they are claiming it was, then why the delay and the secrecy? Can this administration not even handle an accident without a public relations pitfall? I suppose not.

My sentiments exactly!

The last time it snowed in Alabama was December 2001 so when the white stuff started swirling in the sky Saturday afternoon, it was pretty exciting. Karen took Andi out in it and she loved it. Of course it didn't stick because the ground temperature was so warm, but it was pretty to look at. Saturday night it got down to 22 degrees with the wind chill. I don't expect any sympathy from my Montana friends and family who will have weather colder than this until May, but that wind was blowing through us on the way home from Valentine Dine at Workplay.

This is the plate I did for Birmingham AIDS Outreach 's February fundraiser called Valentine Dine. It's a painting of my cat Koko. I did one last year of Miles and the same couple that bought that plate bought this one. The final silent auction price was $165 which is much less than the plate from last year went for, but like any other art auction, it's all subjective. Considering that the plate, glazes and firings were all donated, even $50 would have been worth the effort.

A train depot is basked in the after glow of the sun Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, in West Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/The Laramie Boomerang, Barbara J. Perenic) - - - Not a whole lot to report from the soundboard this week. The winter blahs are in full effect with this week's polar blast of weather that has caused all four-legged animals in our house to hibernate and has caused the two-legged animals to wish they could. I can't even imagine what life would be like to have weather like this all winter long. I am already ready for spring, getting outside and working in the yard.

This upcropping of the '80's slogan t-shirts gives me major "Meatballs" flashbacks (and other camp-related movies of the decade). The real joy is actually finding one of these in the thrift store and not paying $20 for it online.