Simple Randomness

Movie Review: Enchanted

Ok, I know that I’m a little behind the times on this one, but I saw the movie Enchanted for the first time last night. And I must say, that was a pretty funny movie. Granted, I think that the cheesiness of it got a little out of hand at some points, but I think it’s great that Disney made fun of their own musical fairy tale movies!

Here’s what I thought were some great quotes from the movie:

Robert: Don’t sing. It’s OK, you know. Let’s just walk. Can we walk?

Prince Edward: [threatening Robert with his sword] Have you any last words before I dispatch you?
Robert: You have got to be kidding me!
Prince Edward: Strange words!

Well, those are a few highlights. Overall this was a pretty funny movie. Especially Prince Edward. They also took scenes from a bunch of the Disney movies and put them in scattered places, so make sure to watch for that if you see this movie. I give it a thumbs up!

Lame Oyster Joke

Ok, here’s a really really really lame oyster joke. I think that it fits with the Random theme of this blog, so here goes:

What did the girl oyster say to the boy oyster?

“You never open up to me.”

Can you say “Lame?” LOL, it seems like the kind of joke that you would see on a Laffy Taffy or something like that.

But speaking of oysters, I’ve never really eaten them but I understand that you have to be very careful when eating raw or undercooked oysters. If you like oysters or have considered eating Gulf oysters, you should check out BeOysterAware.com to find out more about the potential risks and things to be aware of before eating oysters.

And you know what? They also have some oyster recipes that look to be pretty good. So check it out!

What’s Up With the Easter Bunny Anyway?

I have to admit that ever since I found out that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and all the other characters we are led to believe in aren’t real, I was always most curious about the bunny. I mean c’mon…a bunny that lays eggs? Seems a little weird.

Or maybe what really happens is that the Easter Bunny steals the eggs from the Thanksgiving Turkey and hoards them until Easter. Maybe it’s some long standing vendetta they have against each other. Who knows.

Honestly though, who came up with the whole Easter Bunny idea? I mean, when you look at some of the other characters like Santa, they at least somewhat make sense. Even from a religious standpoint you can kinda see where Santa comes from, especially when you think of him as Saint Nicholas. But the Easter Bunny? What does a psycho egg laying bunny rabbit have to do with what Easter is really all about - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

It’s official…this one has me baffled. Any ideas?

Crazy Things in Vegas?

I know when most people talk about crazy things to do in Las Vegas they talk about the whole “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” type stuff. Well, I’m honestly not that kind of guy and so when I talk about crazy things in Vegas, some of you might think its a little boring.

So when I think back to the crazy things I’ve done in Vegas, I think mainly of the Stratosphere. That thing is NUTS! Sure, I’m all about going to amusement parks and what not, but on the top of a space needle? At this point the only one that I’ve been on was the Big Shot. It’s insane how high you are when you’re at the top of this thing.

Now they have this new ride called Insanity, and that’s exactly what it is. If you haven’t heard about this thing, basically its like one of those carnival swing rides that goes in circles, only you’re hanging out into empty space off the edge of the Stratosphere! Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing that one…

If you need some great family vacation ideas (like an Alcatraz tour), check out Trusted Tours & Attractions. You can even sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win an IPOD Nano! Offer ends Monday, March 31st, 2008. Put this at the end of the post.

I’d Rather Have a Target….

I’m not a fan of Wal-Mart. I understand that they have a place in the world, and I’m not one of these irrational people that hates Wal-Mart because they are big business or something like that. In fact, as a business model you have to somewhat admire them because they’ve done so well!

I don’t like Wal-Mart because I don’t like the way I feel when I shop there. I feel like a sheep. I feel like a zombie. I don’t feel like myself when I go to a Wal-Mart. I can’t really explain it, but for some reason every time I walk into a Wal-Mart I get depressed. Ok, not really, but at least a little bit.

Maybe it’s because the store is never entirely clean. Maybe because people honestly have no understanding of how to pay attention to what they’re doing when I’m in Wal-Mart (I always seem to almost get run over by someone either in the parking lot or in the store).

That’s why I’d rather go to Target. Similar concept when it comes to the store idea, but they seem to have a higher level of self respect. The store always seems to be cleaner, and for some reason the people seem to be nicer.

I’m writing about this because they’re putting a Wal-Mart near my house. As soon as I heard this I was a little annoyed. Mainly because I’d so much rather have a Target nearby. Good thing there is one about 10 minutes away .

Simple Monetization of a Blog

If you haven’t noticed, the last couple of days I’ve been including a few sponsored posts. Hopefully you don’t find these annoying, and my intent is to still make them as entertaining and random as I can. But let’s face it, we all want to be able to monetize our blogs right? Well, one really easy way to do that is to sign up for paid posting programs like payperpost.

If any of you aren’t familiar with the idea behind paid posting, basically you sign up for their marketplace and each day you can go in and see what opportunities are available for you to write about. They tell you what you need to do and how much you’ll be paid. And as long as you meet the requirements, you’ll get paid for it. It’s a pretty simple way to monetize a blog.

My goal for this with SimpleRandomness is to use the paid postings to help fund other projects that I have going. Or hey, do a post or 3 and it could help pay for a date with my wife! That is, as soon as she is over her gallbladder surgery and RSV season is over so we feel comfortable leaving the newborn with a babysitter.

So if you have a blog and need to monetize it a little bit, consider giving payperpost a try!

Spring is HERE!!! Or at Least the Calendar Says So…

On a lighter note (compared to my last post), the calendar officially says that Spring is here!  Yes Winter has finally left the land and we can expect to hear all of the birds start to chirp and all of the flowers start to come out!

I wish it was that simple…

Seriously…who decided that you can just put a day on the calendar and say that it’s the first day of Spring?  Did someone expect that nature would just comply?  Well, obviously not.  Last I heard we’re supposed to get more snow in my area this week.  Not cool.

But then in other parts of the country I hear that the Spring floods have already started….oh goodie!

Yes, this is officially a Random Griping… I think that we should just judge the seasons by when they seem like the season is what it should be.  Maybe we can nominate an official ‘Season Declarer Man’ that will watch for the real signs of a season and make a national announcement.  Then again, scratch that idea.  The government is getting too big as it is ;-).

Is Debt Getting Out of Control?

Lately it seems like I hear all of the time how much debt people are in… and it’s really not a good thing. I don’t know if it is just uncontrolled spending or people just don’t know how to manage their finances. Maybe it’s a combination of the two.

Last year (or maybe it was the year before) my wife and I decided that we were going to really work towards getting out of debt. We’ve made some bad decisions in the past that had all gone on credit cards and we’ve taken steps to where we no longer have any credit card debt! The only debts we currently have is our mortgage, car loan, and student loans. Now its just a matter of paying those down, too.

Another problem that we’re hearing about all of the time these days is the housing industry and how a good number of people are loosing their homes because they can’t afford the adjusted rates. For any of you that are in this situation you might want to check out CountryWideCredit.com to find out more about getting a better mortgage rate and other credit related topics. Who knows, you might learn something to save yourself having to pay more than you should or even learn more about a refinance.

I really think its time that we all do what we need to do to get out of debt. Take the steps you need to so you can live a better life without debt.

Taking out Garfield….Funnier!

Ok, I mentioned in a post a long time ago that I firmly believe the Sunday Funnies aren’t as funny as they used to be (here’s the original post: The Sunday Funnies Aren’t So Funny Anymore. Well, what if you took one of the worst comics ever and took out the main character?

A friend of mine sent me a link to a site where they take Garfield out of the Garfield comics, and it’s actually pretty funny! It makes Jon look like he’s just insane, which makes sense. Here are a few that I thought were pretty good:

There are a bunch more that are pretty good, but check it out. Here’s the site: Garfield Minus Garfield

Las Vegas Golfing

I admit, I’m a fan of golfing. I also admit that I don’t do it very often which honestly is sad because I really do enjoy playing golf. I also don’t mind going to Las Vegas every now and then. Granted, I don’t gamble but sometimes it’s nice to go get some sun when you’re sick of winter (like I have been this year).

Here’s a really cool site that I came across for those of you that like golfing and Las Vegas: Las Vegas discount golf. One of the nice things about Las Vegas is you can usually get pretty good deals on things, and this site will help you get some great Vegas discounts for golf! This site is great for getting some good discount packages so you can enjoy the heat of Las Vegas. These are some really nice courses, so check it out!