The Rock will be hosting Wrestlemania on Pay per view.

A week or so ago he showed up on Raw. Here is the footage.

Here's a funny budlight commercial. The idea of the commercial is that some guys here that their coworker got fired and the boss gave him a case of Bud Light as his severance package. So the guys want budlight and are doing all this crazy stuff in order to get fired so they can get a Bud Light severance package (Not sure why they wouldn't prefer to keep their jobs and use their salaries to buy Bud Light.)

And here is a link to a blog that I found with other funny commercials from the recent superbowl.

Police in Colombia were chasing two Burglars. The Burglars were jumping from housetop to housetop and over walls, when they jumped the wrong wall and landed inside a prison setting off the alarm.

They were then caught, and if convicted, could end up staying in that same exact prison.

So recently the Boeing C-17 transport plane, used by the U.S. Military, flew it's 2 millionth flight hour (2 million for all planes totaled, not for one individual plane). This amounts to a distance that is equivalent to 2,360 trips to the moon and back.

Impressive.

Here's a story from 2007 that I remember seeing on tv back them.

A woman stole toilet paper and got arrested.

But the Kicker is her name.

Check the article to see more.

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/12/23/celebrating-christmas

Christmas of course is preeminently about remembering Christ's birth. Some sourpusses like to grouch, understandably, about the holiday's commercialization. But the globalization of Christmas, for all its kitschy faults, overall seems good for humanity. Even in its most vulgar forms, Christmas retains at least an echo of good cheer and generosity. The most despotic tyrannies typically do not like Christmas. Today, unsurprisingly, North Korea and Saudi Arabia actively suppress Christmas. But much of the rest of the world seems to have at least secular versions of the holiday. Although still officially communist, Chinese cities are more and more decorated with holiday trees and lights, partly reflecting the country's growing economic integration with the West, partly reflecting the growing Christian population. Much of the world's Christmas ornaments are now manufactured in China.

The old Soviet Union tried to displace Christmas by highlighting New Year's Day as the alternative Winter holiday.(In the Eastern Orthodox calendar, Christmas follows New Year's.) Of course, Christmas outlasted Soviet communism. East European communism collapsed in 1989 in time for Christmas. Romania's brutal tyrant Nicolae Ceauşescu and his equally brutish wife were tried and executed by the "people" on Christmas Day. Two years later, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned on Christmas Day, providentially ending the Soviet Union.

Less than two decades later, how easy to forget that the last century was dominated by totalitarian monster regimes like the Soviet Union. Soviet communism, Chinese communism, and German National Socialism together murdered more millions than all that century's wars combined. The Nazis usurped Christmas by emphasizing its supposed pre-Christian pagan origins. This Christmas, we can celebrate, among so much else, despite the world's current travails, that the great totalitarian murder machines are, for the most part, gone. It's a sad recollection that the Western democracies, at times, had to align with some of these tyrannies in struggles for preservation against the others, with Stalin against Hitler with Mao against the Soviets. Better that the Devil's followers should be divided against each other, but the moral compromises were often horrendous.

It's also a sad recollection that many in Christ's Church, through naiveté or betrayal of their faith, openly praised some of those monster regimes, despite their horrendous persecution of Christ's flock and countless other political undesirables, not to mention the suppression of Christmas. One brief but scandalous example comes from 1923 in the Soviet Union, when Lenin still lived, and before Stalin reigned. Despite the brutal Bolshevik police state, streams of useful dupes streamed in from the West. Among them was American Methodist Bishop Edgar Blake, who outrageously attended a 1923 Soviet church conference when the Bolsheviks were tormenting the official Russian Orthodox Patriarch and creating their own puppet "Living Church." The Methodist bishop gushed to his Soviet audience: "For the first time in human history a great nation is dedicating itself to do good for the masses of humanity and is striving to attain everything God-given for man."

Bishop Blake had proceeded to Moscow despite the Soviets having recently executed a Roman Catholic archbishop. A Methodist cohort of the bishop explained away the martyred bishop as a Polish "spy." Blake himself did not seem to see the big deal, later readily admitting the Soviets had already murdered 1,200 Orthodox bishops and priests. Blake's outrageous comments, globally reported in newspapers, prompted the Methodist bishops back home to panic into damage control, recalling Blake, and disavowing this unauthorized "personal opinion."

Heading home, Blake stopped in Paris, unhelpfully commenting about Bolshevik anti-church atrocities: "If the Soviet government dealt harshly with certain ecclesiastics it justified itself on the ground that it was fighting for its life." He chirped that Moscow probably had less crime than Chicago. While insisting he opposed dictatorship, Blake still declared: "With their social aims in so far as they seek to improve and uplift the masses who have for centuries been exploited and oppressed for the benefit of the few I am in accord as I believe every man who accepts the teachings of Jesus Christ must be."

The Washington Post editorialized against Bishop Blake's absurdities and against "other religious apologists for the Soviets," citing the Bolsheviks' "murder and terrorism." Prominent Methodist minister Frederick Harris, future pastor of Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. and future U.S. Senate chaplain, denounced Blake, saying Methodism is "no more in league with the seven devils who now occupy the Russian house than it was with the devil that has been cast out."

Once appearing before his fellow bishops, Blake was unapologetic: "I am not a Bolshevist and I am not a reactionary, thank God! I am a little of both." He urged Methodist support for the new Soviet-created "Living Church" that supposedly would displace traditional Orthodoxy. He told the assembled bishops, meeting in Brooklyn, that the new communist sanctioned church, to which he promised $50,000 from U.S. Methodism, was closer to Methodism by discouraging relics, hierarchy, and celibate clergy. In other words, the Soviets were simply Methodizing the Orthodox.

"I think we ought to sacrifice our denominationalism to save religion in Russia," Blake implored. "Methodism holds the destiny of Russia in its hands." He also claimed: "I think personal property is more secure in Moscow than in Brooklyn." One fellow left-wing bishop responded: "I take my stand at the side of the brother who saw 150 million people in need and struck out in their direction." The whole Board of Bishops more carefully avoided endorsing any support for the Soviet-backed church, instead politely commending Blake for "fidelity and devotion" in carrying out "a delicate mission."

Blake's travel colleague to Moscow, a prominent Methodist editor, was even more provocative than the bishop, hailing the attempted new Soviet puppet church as a "great religious reformation" comparable to Martin Luther's, "destined" to "revolutionize Christian thought" and "extend its beneficent influence to the uttermost parts of the earth." In fact, the attempted "Living Church" eventually collapsed, despite the infusion of Western money. The Soviets contented themselves instead to tightly control the existing Russian Orthodox Church, which managed to persevere.

Over the next 70 years there would be many more Bishop Blakes from many denominations in the West, identifying God's Kingdom among the Soviets, among the Maoists, in Castro's Cuba, in Sandinista Nicaragua, even in the killing fields of Southeast Asia. Their spiritually blind utterances discredited parts of the church, but never the faith itself, which continued to sustain persecuted millions.

Christmas is now celebrated, however imperfectly, in most lands where the worst tyrants tried to eradicate it and its celebrants. May the Christmas spirit spread and grow, sweeping away the despots and malevolent cranks who resent its good will and promise of transcendent hope.

1. Chest pain
"If patients were to become well versed in what I think of as the subtle language of the heart, many could avoid needless worry and expense," notes Arthur Agatston, MD, a preventive cardiologist. "Studies have found that women experience a wider range of heart attack symptoms than men do." In Agatston's experience, there are three good indicators that something isn't right, and they can occur in either gender. They are chest pain that doesn't go away, varied shortness of breath, and any upper body pain that hasn't occurred before. If you experience any of these symptoms, he says, you should call your doctor or 911 immediately.

28 days to a healthier heart

2. Severe head pain
Chances are, it's a migraine. But if it isn't accompanied by other migraine symptoms (such as a visual aura), sudden, severe head pain can signal a brain aneurysm. "A burst aneurysm can cause brain damage within minutes, so you need to call 911 immediately," advises Elsa-Grace Giardina, MD, a cardiologist and director of the Center for Women's Health at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Experiencing headaches on the weekends? Find out what your body is telling you.

3. A throbbing tooth
It's likely that the tooth's nerve has become damaged, probably because the surrounding pearly white enamel is cracked or rotting away. Unless you get it patched up quickly, bacteria in your mouth can invade the nerve. And you definitely don't want that breeding colony to spread throughout your body, says Kimberly Harms, DDS, a dentist outside St. Paul, Minnesota. If your tooth is already infected, you'll require a root canal, in which the tooth's bacteria-laden pulp is removed and replaced with plastic caulking material.

4. Sharp pain in your side
You may just need some Beano. But if you feel as if you're being skewered in your right side, and you're also nauseated and running a fever, you could have appendicitis. For women, another possibility is an ovarian cyst. Typically these fluid-filled sacs are harmless and disappear on their own. But if one twists or ruptures, it can cause terrible pain.

In both cases, you're looking at emergency surgery. "If you don't remove an inflamed appendix, it can burst," says Lin Chang, MD, a gastroenterologist and co-director of the Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women's Health at UCLA. A twisted cyst also needs to be removed right away, as it can block blood flow to the ovary within hours.

5. Abdominal discomfort with gas or bloating
For the past month, you've felt gassy and bloated more days than not, and it takes fewer slices of pizza to fill you up than it once did. If the symptoms are new, the worst-case scenario is ovarian cancer. In 2007, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation released the first national consensus on early symptoms of this form of cancer: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, and difficulty eating. If you start experiencing them almost daily for more than two or three weeks, consider it a red flag. Schedule an appointment with your ob-gyn to discuss your symptoms.

The 20 biggest health excuses that hold you back

6. Back pain with tingling toes
If you've just helped your cousin move into her new fourth-floor apartment, anti-inflammatories should banish the pain. But if they don't work, hobble to an orthopedist. "One of your discs (the spongy rings that cushion the bones in your spine) could be pressing on the spinal nerve," says Letha Griffin, MD, an orthopedist and sports medicine specialist in Atlanta. Without proper attention, you risk permanent nerve damage.

7. Leg pain with swelling
Your calf is extremely tender in one location, noticeably swollen, and red or warm to the touch. You might have deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), commonly known as a blood clot. Resist the urge to massage the area or to try walking off the pain. If the clot breaks free, it can travel through your veins up to your lungs and cut off your oxygen supply. Instead, see your doctor right away. He or she will do a CT scan or ultrasound to check for a DVT. If that's what you have, you'll need to take blood thinners--sometimes for up to a year--to dissolve it, says Suzanne Steinbaum, MD, director of women and heart disease for the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

So last week there was a big snowstorm that left about 30 inches of snow. The storm started late last Tuesday and lasted into Thursday. My parents both got work off on Wednesday and my sister got school cancelled that day (I'm still on Christmas break my semester doesn't start until Jan 25). On Thursday my father and sister got there school/work (my dad works at a school) cancelled, but my mom called her work and everyone was there, so she felt obligated to go even though our driveway wasn't plowed.

My uncle and his family live next door to ours and we share the first part of the driveway which leads from the road to a point where it forks into two driveways which lead to our respective houses. Anyway, my uncle had his driveway plowed, which meant that the part of the driveway that we all share was plowed, but my family's part above the fork was not.

So anyway, on Thursday,my mother called her job and told them about the driveway situation. Since my mother works for the police department (but is not a cop) they sent a cop to pick her up. He drove up the driveway to the fork and my mother walked down to him. The cop actually had to literally pick my mother up, because my uncle's plowguy when plowing had pushed some of the snow into a big pile near the fork that my mom got a little stuck in. The cop actually graduated from the high school where my dad works, as did his brothers, so my father kinda knows his family. Anyway the cop told my mom that his father owns a landscaping business and later he would get his father's truck and plow the driveway for cheap.

Anyway before my mother left for work, my father had tried to call his cousin Vinny(on my grandma's advice) who own's a plow. His wife answered and said that he was in the shower and doesn't plow any more. A bit later my dad tried to call him again, but the phone was on hook. So my dad called my grandma, who gave him Vinny's mom's number and then he called Vinny's mom and got Vinny's cell phone number from her. My dad called cousin Vinny and told him about it, but Vinny said that with this much snow he'd have to use his backhoe and would charge us $300!

We had also been considering this other guy (Gallito) that my other grandma recommended on Wednesday. Gallito was the guy who was gonna plow the driveway for my grandma's cousin and aunt(who live across the street from my grandma), and my grandma was supposed to ask him when he came to plow. We waited all day wednesday for him, but he couldn't come to my grandma's aunt's house, because their entire road still hadn't been plowed (we found this out at supper time). Gallito finally came on Thursday and talked to my grandma and said he'd call her when he got to our property to plow. But he never showed up.

We also considered having the guy who plowed my uncle's driveway plow ours. When we had my uncle contact him and see how much he'd charge, my uncle contacted him and called us to say he'd charge $120 (exactly what he charged my uncle, but he did my uncle's whole driveway three times), so we said forget him.

After the cop got out from work, my father called him and asked if he'd plow. THe officer said he couldn't plow then but he'd plow the day after because he had to take his dog to the vet to get neutered. But my dad didn't want to wait because he was afraid the snow would freeze during the night. So the cop said his father would plow for us.

The father came out with a crew of about 5 guys in two trucks. The used 3 snowblowers to make a path for the trucks and then plowed. THey even offered to shovel the sidewalks, but my dad had already shoveled them. My dad payed them $75 (he accidentally gave two $50 bills but then took one back and instead gave them $75).

Oh boy what a process.

Well today Connecticut is getting hit by a big Snowstorm. The Biggest in years as a matter of fact. My father saw on the news that we could get 24 inches of snow.

This puts us in a bit of a bind as we might actually have to pay someone to plow the driveway. Normally we just drive the car up and down to flatten out the snow.

I guess Col. Winter is acting up.

The picture by the way is a picture of Colonel Winter from the Movie "The Last Castle". Whoever, I have I feeling you're more likely to recognize him from a different role played by the same actor.

Anyway the technical name of the storm is Winter Storm Benedict. This is the second Winter Storm of this season, which means the storm immediately preceding Benedict had a name starting with an A (It would be ironic if it was named Winter Storm Arnold).

This storm might be as big as the Blizzard of '78. But it is merely a bit of flurries compared to the Great Blizzard of 1888 (and you know it had to be a big Blizzard if it's got "great" in its name).

The good news is that even though my cable is buried under the snow (and it's protective casing has come loose and fallen off), my tv picture hasn't been disrupted in any way.

Police have sent automated phone calls to the people in my town urging us to stay off the roads and to make sure that snow is not clogging our car exhaust system (which can lead to carbon monoxide build up).

Already someone in my town has taken advantage of the storm to rob a guy who's car was stuck in the snow. But the police were able to catch him, partially because they followed his tracks.

I know it's a bit late, since today is the 5th day in the Octave of Christmas, but Merry Christmas. I hope your Christmas went well.

I got some good gifts. For video games I got: GTA Episodes from Liberty City Complete Edition, Halo Reach and Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption is a new game, but my cousin and I thought the name sounded familiar, from years ago (i.e. During the ps2 era, I though I read it from a playstation magazine years ago), while writing this blog a didsome quick wikipedia research and it turns out Red Dead Redemption is modeled on Red Dead Revolver from 2004.

Anyone here is the Christmas Tree of the Day:

And if Christmas Tradition is maintained, this tree, like it's predecessors will probably be recycled into toys for poor kids. Guess that's better than throwing it in a dump.

And the Christmas Song of the Day is: Merry Christmas Baby by Ray Charles.

Background Info

And although I wasn't up when Santa arrived, I'm guessing he came down the chimney about half past three.