Under the Banner of the Wise County Messenger...

Well, well, well...Barry Green gets to spew forth his random liberal nonsense under the banner of the Wise County Messenger.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr. Green, he is a local attorney and law partner to Brock Smith. Barry was the District Attorney here before Mrs. Jones got the job. Somewhere along the line, as near as I can tell, Barry decided that any behavior was okay and no one was ever guilty of anything. Perhaps he fancies himself as a civil rights champion; I don't know.
Now I ask you...how can you publish anything without reference to any guiding rules or principles?
Don't you have to follow the principles that keep you out of court for libel or slander?
I can't wait for this: bad mouthing the police and military, talking about how it's okay for adult teachers to have sexual relations with minor students, blah, blah, blah.
I can hardly wait...
Note the appropriate symbolism of the photo in the paper. He is in the dark with his back toward us walking by a sewer hole. Hmmmm...

And to Rub Salt in the Wound...

According to Forbes.com, Bill Gates is no longer that richest man in the world. That goes to Warren Buffet of Berkshire-Hathaway.

Who cares?

All this does is increase my bitterness level.

Economics: Don't Shop at CVS

As you all know, the price of gasoline is going through the roof for a multitude of reasons. The worse part is (thanks to some mean spirited, ignominious paltroons) that I have to drive further than ever to get to work every day to make less money than I was making in 2006. If it weren't for carpooling, I would be in deep doo doo over buying gas.
So, what happens when costs rise mercurially, income remains static (the same)?
Some expenditures have to go to make room for more essential, unavoidable expenses.
As a result of this, I have decided to start removing certain expenditures from my household budget. This the "ripple effect" of the pillaging of consumer America. As costs of necessities rise at an alarming rate, the ability to pay other merchants for non-essential items is reduced. So far, I have cut $100 out of my monthly budget, and I am looking for other ways to cut more without hurting my family.
One way is to stop shopping at CVS. They charge double for many items over what Target charges. Prices for generic items at CVS are close to name brands at Target, and Target's prices for generic brands are way lower than CVS. CVS is a convenience store masquerading as a pharmacy; they certainly charge convenience store prices for merchandise.
Even Walgreen's is more reasonable than CVS. Sometimes I can get toiletries cheaper at Brookshires than CVS.
So...I am done with CVS.

"The Incredible Hulk" was Incredible!

We did go see "The Incredible Hulk" on Sunday. It was outstanding. I liked Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, and this Hulk was way better than the one a couple of years ago with Eric Bana. I like Bana as an actor, too, but actually this new one made the old Hulk look like a Marvel abomination (there were no hulk poodles or electric hulk daddies in this one). You always gotta like William Hurt in anything he does, but he was good in this. The battle between the two Hulks was amazing. I had difficulty with the fact that he apparently left the bad hulk creature alive. Why? If he wakes up, he'll start his bad shit all over again. Oh well, there are always unresolved issues. I loved the movie, and I will add it to the collection when it hits on DVD.

Gonna Go See "The Incredible Hulk"

It is not "COMING SOON", it is here now. Thanks for the comment, V. The kids and I are going to see it tomorrow. I pulled up the movie trailer on the computer, and I see where they list Robert Downey, Jr., as Tony Stark. Does Ironman make an appearance here, too?
(Okay, FYI: if you want to see Robert Downey, Sr., he appears as the police captain in "To Live and Die in L.A." with William Petersen and Willem Dafoe.)
I watched the last Hulk movie with Eric Bana and Nick Nolte again, and I enjoyed that one. We have the old Bruce Banner/David Banner issue. David Banner was the original Hulk, but he had a son named Bruce, who also became a Hulk. The She-Hulk was Betty Banner (Bruce Banner's wife later on). If I am wrong on this, please set me straight.
Needless to say, I am a Marvel fan, and I am a DC fan to some extent. I think I even have a few Dark Horse Comics lying around somewhere (they did things like "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer", among others.)
I read an article about this movie which pointed out an interesting issue about the lack of pre-release publicity this new Hulk movie had. Apparently, Edward Norton want to spend more of the movie on delving into the character of David Banner. They appeased him by shooting alot of film dealing with that, but then they edited out most of that in favor of more Hulk action. The story was that Norton was very unhappy and disappointed in the final product, but a contract is a contract. (Edward old buddy, I can think of worse things that being the star of the new Incredible Hulk movie. Your fans will love you for this. Hulk fans will love you for this. Marvel fans will love you for this. 'nuff said.)

A side note: the amount of trivial information I have stored in my mind is frightening. I have information that is completely useless as far as earning a living or suviving a "Red Dawn" (starring Patrick Swayze and Powers Boothe) type Al Quaeda attack on the U.S., but it is there nonetheless. (Aaargh! too much information in my brain!)


I will give you my review after I see the movie tomorrow.
Movies we also are waiting to see:
1. The Happening
2. The Dark Knight

This movie going to have to go some to reach the heights they reached with Ironman. That surpassed Transformers as our favorite, and we really, really liked the Transformers. But if The Incredible Hulk looks as good as they advertise in the trailers, we are excited and ready to be entertained.

The New Hat

The new hat in here. I like it. I think it will work out real well.
However, my wife and my daughter don't like it.
Oh well...

Alli by GlaxoSmithKline

I never used Alli because of the TV advertisement. The ad says clearly that you are supposed to use this stuff with proper diet and exercise. For crying out loud, if you eat a proper diet and exercise, you're going to lose weight and be healthy unless you have a serious medical problem screwing up your metabolism. Besides, who needs "leakage" and "loose stools"? Bleah!
It's really a tough question. Do you want to be overweight or leave a trail of body ooze wherever you go?

From an AP article by Candice Choi as it appeared on the Verizon website:
"...The drug comes in "starter kits" containing a food journal, a healthy-eating guide and a fat and calorie reference guide. A 60-capsule kit costs about $50 while a 90-capsule pack costs about $60.
In clinical trials, the FDA says that people using alli lost an additional 2 to 3 pounds for every 5 pounds lost through diet and exercise. When taken with meals, the drug blocks the absorption of about one-quarter of any fat consumed. That fat - about 150 to 200 calories worth - is passed out of the body, potentially resulting in loose stools.
GlaxoSmithKline is betting alli will become a major moneymaker. At the time of the drug's launch, the company estimated it would eventually sell between 5 million and 6 million kits annually, translating to at least $1.5 billion in annual retail sales. This year, the company spent $150 million on marketing alli, making it one of the drug maker's biggest campaigns to date.
"As people meet their maintenance goals, they'll share their success stories and get new people to try it," Cadle said.
Another hurdle for Glaxo will be overcoming consumers' distaste for the drug's unpleasant side effects, such as leakages and oily discharges. Marketing material prior to the drug's launch stressed the importance of keeping meals under 15 grams of fat to avoid effects. Educational pamphlets even recommend people start the program when they have a few days off work, or to bring an extra pair of pants to the office. (emphasis added by KLH)
The warnings turned into fodder for late night comics.
Now Glaxo is focusing on telling people that side effects can be avoided if the drug is used properly.
"They really need to understand the (gastrointestinal) treatment effects are not automatic," Cadle said.
In fact, he said the side effects help some users by signaling when they're not eating right.
Being upfront about the side effects may provoke jokes in the media. Yet failing to do so could bring about a backlash from surprised consumers, as it did for the prescription version of the drug Xenical by Roche Holding. That drug contains twice the dosage of alli.
About half of patients in clinical trials for alli experienced similar gastrointestinal side effects.
Labeling indicates alli is appropriate for anybody who is overweight, or has a body mass index of 25 or higher. Two-thirds of the U.S. population is estimated to be overweight or obese. A body mass index over 30 is considered obese."