Coffeephoria

I read an interesting article on the lottery and offer an interesting perspective on this subject.  Have you imagined what it would be like to win the lottery?  Regardless of whether you’re the type who would go get yourself a Batmobile or give millions of dollars to charity, there’s another picture that you should consider.

There’s nothing wrong with having an abundance of money, as money is just a means to accomplish things.  When it comes to Lotto, though, we’re talking about a whole different beast.  Some people have problems dealing with instant financial success, so they end up may end up blowing their money by purchasing thousands of beanie babies from ebay or buying a house next to Bill Gates without considering the tax and mortgage. This is, as we will see, the least of our worries.

Once you win the Lotto, a picture of you with your big white teeth will be featured in the local paper along with an association with millions of money.  Your phone may ring more than usual as people try to get closer to you, and some friends may push you away because you’re out of their league.  Some may eye you like a materialistic pig even if it isn’t true.  This one guy who won the lottery had friends who borrow $50,000 and not return it, thinking what’s $50K to a multi-millionaire.  One lotto winner was so fed up that he ended up living in a trailer, living a life of solitude.  “I just want to be happy,” he says, “but it’s not goinna happen.  I can’t trust anybody”.  Basically you have to start filtering your friends to find out who’s genuine and who’s putting up a front, but the truth is, you may never know.

But the biggest concern you should have is dealing with the evil in this world.  constantly carried cash with him, went to a bar, got drugged, and then mugged.  Another one, Billie Bob Harrell, was found naked and dead in his master bedroom from a gunshot blast to the chest.  There were three suicide notes, but who knows?  Even if you’re not concerned about your own life, what about your family members?  For one lotto winner, Andrew Jackson Whittaker, his granddaughter was murdered shortly after he won.  No amount of money can bring her back to life.  Living your life in constant fear that one of your family members may be kidnapped for ransom can be pretty intense.

While most people think about what they can accomplish when winning the lotto, they don’t consider the consequences.  Over time, life becomes composed of distrust, seclusion, and fear.  Maybe that’s why one of the lotto winners actually said that he wish he had torned up the ticket the day he won, because it was “the worst thing that ever happened to him”.

Would you still like to win the lotto?

After 15 episodes of The Apprentice, it’s down to the final two, Tana and Kendra.  While my enthusiasm for Tana has abated a bit after last week’s bedazzler fiasco, I still find Tana fitting the role of Trump’s VP better than Kendra.  Tana has more polished and professional language than Kendra, who tends to use ambiguous words like “stuff”.  Tana, however, seems a bit lacking in the creative department lately.

In the last assignment, I couldn’t fathom why Kendra wasn’t at the meeting with Best Buy executives, leaving Danny the unfocused goofball in charge.  To her credit, she recovered gracefully.  Her biggest issue right now is the PS2 ballroom, err… I mean basement, so things don’t look rosey.  On Tana’s side, I cringed when she gave executive power to each of the Three Stooges for acting on her behalf.  That’s silly.  Sure, they can make decisions, but the Project Manager needs to oversee these decisions.  Judging from the preview, we should expect a fire drill as Brian takes his newfound anarchy too far and becomes out of control.

Tana’s stock has been dropping while Kendra’s has been rising, but neither candidate has it all.  If we combine the best of Tana, the professionalism, and the best of Kendra, the smarts, only then can we end up with the perfect apprentice…

… Kenna!

Scott’s departure this week from American Idol actually came as a total surprise to me.  Earlier this week I discovered the votefortheworst.com web site (which is currently down), and with the kind of publicity it gets, I assumed many people would vote for him just to throw the show a curveball.  I was at the verge of casting my 1500 for Scott, and it would have made good controversial blog material.  In the end, though, I weighted the emotions of the contestants, their family, their friends, their pets, etc. and just couldn’t pull the trigger.  Playing a practical joke on the producers at the expense of the dreams of these contestants made my moral compass go haywire.

Next elimination? Anthony.

Speaking of American Idol, that brings us to the primetime story on Corey Clark.  How convenient that after three years and shortly before releasing his CD that this story would surface?  During the interview, his parents seemed nonchalant at the whole situation.  Corey tried to play the innocent card, but if you observe the order of events carefully, it was Corey who first hugged and flirted with Paula.  Corey is an opportunistic wanton.  He first manipulates Paula during his competition, then gets booted for lying to the producers, and finally fabricates a story to promote his new CD.

If you even consider buying his CD, you might as well as buy all your music CDs in Hong Kong for 99 cents per burnt CD with poorly photocopied inserts.  Either way, you’re positively reinforcing deception.

Just say no.

Some say that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.  They’re wrong.  With the saturation of internet use and everyone rushing online to digest their daily share of random writing (like this one), the paradigm has shifted for the publishing industry.  Advertising revenues are declining for publications such as newspaper and magazines, and they need more subscribers.  By now you’re probably thinking, “That mumbo jumbo’s cool, James, but what do I care?”

Well, this is where you and I come in.  I, for one, am more than happy to aid these poor publication companies in securing their advertisers by subscribing to their magazines–for free.  Skeptical of this? Check out this anonymous quote from… uh… someone… “I’ve had so many free magazines sent to my door in the past year that I’m contemplating about cancelling some just to free up some real estate in my mailbox!”

If you’ve never received anything for free in life except junk mail, it’s time to break that cycle!  Check out techbargains.com’s free magazine section now! Most offers are for obscure magazines that need publicity, though, so patience may be a virtue here.

During tonight’s American Idol elimination, my jaw dropped to the floor as Constantine Maroulis was booted off the show.  I was so appalled that Scott wasn’t in the bottom three that I almost threw Karen’s little brown honey bear at the TV set!  While I must sheepishly admit I did not vote last night, it wouldn’t have made a difference as all 600 of my votes would have gone to Vonzelle.  Nevertheless, it was inconceivable for Constantine to get eliminated while Scott, whose voice has no lower register–or higher as witnessed by that whimpy falsetto today, continues to weazel his way to safety from week to week.  Okay, who voted for him?!!  Stop hiding in the corner of that dusty closet!  Come out and stand still while I slap you silly!

It never ceases to amaze me how much time people have on their hands.  Ever since the first Star Wars film, fans have dusted their trusty handycams and created fan films in their closet, bathroom, gazebo, you name it.

The best so far is Star Wars: Revelations. This is not your typical Star Wars Kid type of fan movie, but forty minutes of special effects virtually indistinguishable from production film.  I tip my hat to these folks that dedicated three years of their lives on this.  Impressive.

But my favorite is Sith Apprentice, a more comedic piece of work.  If you religiously watch The Apprentice, this film will have you rolling around hysterically on the dirty carpet picking up bits of cereal and cracker jacks.

Personally I have a few fan films up my sleeves, including a Nightmare on Carlota Street, where I was an elementary school student running away from Freddy Kreuger around the house.  Maybe I’ll post a video of it later.  😎