Clearing out the Clutter

Saturday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in.  I'm sorry we couldn't meet up yesterday.  Damn real world, getting in the way of our fun.  However, we're all here now, and that's what matters.  Big plans for the weekend?  The Boston Marathon is on Monday, so BDH, Little Buddha and I  plan on doing a lot of stretching and cardio today and tomorrow to make sure we're in peak watching condition.    Speaking of those two, they just made a fresh pot of coffee, so help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Saturday Clutter.

RIP, Jonathan Winters.  The comedic legend died yesterday at age 87.  My strongest memory of him is playing the son of Robin Williams on Mork and Mindy, and I also have this recollection of his discussing his mental health issues, which was something that didn't seem to happen that often in the 1980's.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino's health woes continue.  This time it's a broken leg suffered on Friday.  Here's to a speedy recovery and a long period before any new challenges surface.

It's interesting to hear that Twitter is developing its own music app.  Also, according to that story, Twitter has allowed music to be embedded in tweets since 2010?  I don't think I've ever seen one of those, but if that's the case, I'm going to be tweeting Van Halen songs on a daily basis.  My followers will love that, right?

Okay, if Kickstarter can help fund a Veronica Mars movie, what kind of project do you think Clutter could execute with it?  Send me your suggestions, Clutterheads.  I sense an opportunity for world domination here.

I'm sure this doesn't apply to any of you folks, but just in case you know someone who hasn't filed their taxes yet, you might want to remind them that their time is just about up.

San Diego Padres slugger Carlos Quentin only gets an eight-game suspension for breaking Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke's collarbone after being hit by a pitch?  That seems weak.  I know Major League Baseball can't just suspend him for as long as Greinke will be out (presumably several months), but the punishment doesn't seem to match the severity of the crime here.  It will also be interesting to see how future games between the two teams play out this year, because the Dodgers are not happy about this at all.

This isn't over.  (pic via foxsports.com)

Speaking of the Dodgers, I'm really looking forward to seeing 42, the new movie about Jackie Robinson, next Saturday.

Would it make me a bad person if I said I have no sympathy for Kobe Bryant if it turns out he has a ruptured Achilles tendon?  Not that I'm happy he's injured, but I can't seem to get up to a place of feeling bad for him.  Pretty sure it's connected to that whole him being a rapist thing.

Okay, it's Saturday, which means it's time for a new Doctor Who episode.  Like I mentioned earlier this week, tonight's story was written by Mark Gatiss, who has done a good job over the years, both with The Doctor and Sherlock, so here's hoping this is a recovery from last week's miss.

Hearing that Clutter favorite David Tennant is shy just makes me like him all the more.

I should know better, but there's a pretty good chance I'll be in the theater watching The Hangover Part III when it comes out.  Yeah, pretty good chance.

 

On the flip side,  I will not be watching any horrible remake of Point Break.  Come on, what's the point of that?  There's no one in Hollywood today who can match the power of Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah uttering the words, "I am a FBI agent!"  Add in the wonder of the late Patrick Sawyze as Zen surfer / bank robber Bodhi and Gary Busey doing his Busey thing as Keanu's partner?  No way, forget it.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  I think we'll let Jonathan Winters close things out with a routine from The Jack Paar Show from 1964.  After watching this bit,  it's easy to see how much Robin Williams learned from him.  Here's today's, "Clip of the Day."

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and make sure to come back again soon.  For now, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.

Friday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  Come on in, make yourself comfortable.  Before we get started, just answer me this - it is Friday, right?  Let's double-check.  Yes, it's Friday.  That's outstanding, because I am done with this week.  I think I was doing okay until it started snowing again yesterday.  It wasn't anything serious, but I saw those flurries, and I'm ready to leave for Fort Myers right now.   I still have to go over the house rules with BDH and Little Buddha, but I know they'll keep an eye on things.  Anyway, that's next week.  Let's focus on the here and now, so help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Friday Clutter.

Here's a trivia question you can use to win some money some night at the bar:  What's the connection between England's "Great Train Robbery" of 1963 and The Sopranos?

If you've ever been to London, you've probably heard the "mind the gap" warning when boarding the subway.  Apparently they stopped using it (which makes no sense to me, because it's like the most British thing ever), but they made an exception for the widow of the guy who made the recording.

In case you didn't know, Clutter is no conservative, but we can generally get behind this opinion piece about the idea of the GOP needing to become supportive of marriage equality, particularly the sentiment behind the closing paragraph:

Pro-marriage-freedom Republicans are on the right side of history and in time their courage and contributions will help erase the stain of bigotry that holds the conservative movement back and stops us from connecting to a rising generation of Americans.

The House narrowly passed Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, consisting of the same tired ideas as before:  Cut taxes for the top 1%, shred  the safety net, and kill ObamaCare.  In other words,  Ryan and the GOP are just going to stick their fingers in their ears and try to pretend like this agenda wasn't solidly defeated in last year's presidential election. 

Meanwhile, Representative Michele Bachmann is running around telling everyone she can find that ObamaCare "will literally kill people."  Just further evidence that our nation's mental health care system is in tatters.

Yesterday was Twitter's 7th birthday.  I still remember the first time I heard about it, which was when an ex-girlfriend told me I should "follow her."   I thought that made me sound like a stalker or a lovesick puppy, so I passed at the time, but then I eventually signed up and now it's hard to imagine not having it available as my daily newswire.  My feed is probably 40% politics, 20% Boston sports, 20% wrestlers/actors/musicians and 20% personal friends.  Who do you follow, Clutterheads?  In case you're not on this list already, if you follow me, I'll follow you.

I first thought this article about strippers having labor issues might be CNN.com using a sensationalized headline, but it's actually an interesting look at the problems they face by being labeled as independent contractors instead of regular employees, which is a major issue for pro wrestlers that I think is completely overlooked because decision-makers see them as "just wrestlers," but the strippers seem to be scoring some wins.

As a Coca-Cola shareholder, I'm disturbed to hear that the company is cutting 750 positions in the United States.

The legendary "Tuck Rule" that launched the New England Patriots dynasty is no more.  NFL owners almost unanimously voted to get rid of it, but don't listen to the haters.  As Chad Finn explains, the Pats were ready to rule anyway.

It looks like Derek Jeter could be the next member of the New York Yankees to go on the disabled list.  I have no ill will towards the man, but I still respond with, "that's a shame."  Jeter would  join teammates Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and A-Rod on the DL, which by my math is something like $60+ million  sitting on the shelf.  Again, that's a shame.

Wait, this kid asked supermodel Kate Upton to go to the prom with him, and she said yes?   Does this mean I should launch a YouTube campaign to win over Doctor Who co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman?  Or should it be Community's Alison Brie?   Who should I ask, and where should we go, Clutterheads?  Send me your ideas.

The next Mrs. Clutter.  (pic via contactmusic.com)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  As soon as we figure out which actress I'm going to ask out, we'll need to come up with the appropriate YouTube video to launch the campaign.  No matter what, though, don't we have to have Mumford & Sons provide the soundtrack for it with today's, "Song of the Day?"

 

Thanks for coming over, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Be good, try to stay out of trouble (unless there's too much fun to be had), and we'll see you back here again for more randomness soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.

Tuesday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  Come on in, make yourself comfortable.  I have to say, I'm loving the extra daylight in the evening, though I was a little thrown to be getting up in the dark again.  I had been waking up around 5:00 in the morning recently (though certainly not getting out of bed at that point) because it was so bright, but that problem has disappeared for the moment.  Speaking of waking up, I got up yesterday morning and was all set to text someone that it was nice to see them on Sunday.  Then I realized it was just a dream.  That would have been awkward.  I probably shouldn't be picking up my phone before I have a coffee anyway.  Speaking of which, help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Tuesday Clutter.

Sorry, though not surprised to hear that Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to cap sugary drinks at 16 ounces in New York City was struck down by a state judge.  I'd be curious to hear more about proposals like the "sugar sweetened beverage tax" mentioned in this article.  Obesity is a major public health problem in this country, and over-consumption of sugar is clearly a driving force.  We have to do something to reign in the amount of this toxic product that is taken in by Americans each year.

Massachusetts voters elected Elizabeth Warren to the U.S. Senate in large part because they believed she'd continue to challenge large financial institutions like she had throughout her career, and two months into the job, Senator Warren has not disappointed.  Take a moment to read that article folks, and think about what it means that the international bank HSBC only had to pay a fine for money-laundering for drug cartels.  Not only did no one go to jail for that, no one was even prosecuted.  Just because someone wears a nice suit doesn't mean they aren't a major criminal.   Cheers to Senator Warren for bringing a spotlight to these issues.  Hopefully her colleagues will eventually find the courage to join her.

A new study says your Facebook "likes" reveal a lot about you.  All I know is that if you like the Clearing out the Clutter Facebook page, it shows you to be a person with both an amazing sense of humor and interest in the world around you.  Basically, it's just further confirmation that you're a rock star.

The stock market continued to edge higher on Monday.  Clutter suspects there's a correction coming sooner rather than later, but Clutter knows better than to actually try to time the market, so we continue to press onwards, and we'll figure out our next steps later if it turns out we were right about that.

It's the end of an era as Boston University hockey coach Jack Parker announced his retirement after 40 years with the school.  894 wins and three national championships is a pretty impressive legacy.

David Lee Roth says Van Halen will conquor Europe later this year and then swing through the United States again in 2014.  It's always good to hear the band is hitting the road again.  My only question is, will they be supporting a new album?

Meanwhile, there's a surplus of riches coming soon on television.  First, we're less than three weeks away from the return of Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman on Doctor Who, and then Don Draper and the rest of the Mad Men crew, including Alison Brie, come back the week after that.  Oh, and then Don Orsillo, Jerry Remy, and Jenny Dell will be calling regular season Boston Red Sox games on NESN by that point.   Business is about to pick up.

 

Jenna Louise-Coleman (pic via trendfashion2013.com)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Let's have Alison Brie and her Community classmates take us out with some bloopers from Season 3 for today's, "Clip of the Day."  (What can I tell you?  It's just a bloopers kind of day.)  Enjoy:

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and we'll see you back here again for more fun and randomness soon.  For now, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.

Saturday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Clutter Headquarters.  How are you?  It's gorgeous out today, isn't it?   It's hard to believe it was such an ugly mess only 24 hours ago.  Of course, having said that, we probably have another blizzard coming tomorrow or something.  Oh well, we can't worry about that right now, not when we have so much work to do today.  Help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Saturday Clutter.

Oh!  We're moving the clocks forward an hour tonight?  Did you all remember that?  I totally lost track of when that was happening.   The young Clutter would have been disappointed about losing an hour of sleep, but the adult Clutter places much more value on gaining an extra hour of sunlight.

Doctor Who is having a three-day birthday party in November to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary?  I better get my passport renewed!  Oh, and we're also just three weeks away from the resumption of the current season, so yeah, that's pretty awesome.

Here's hoping that new Boston Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew doesn't miss too much time due to a mild concussion after being hit by a pitch Thursday night.  Meanwhile, everyone is wondering when David Ortiz will be able to start playing after recovering from his Achilles injury, but new manager John Farrell doesn't seem to be that worried yet.  I hope Big Papi is at least able to get a few at-bats by the time I get to Fort Myers on the 26th.

Hey, by the way, did I mention I'm going to see the Dropkick Murphys on Friday?  BDH and Little Buddha wanted to go too, but I explained to them that it was probably a better idea for them to stay here and keep an eye on things while I'm out. It was a Christmas present, and it should be a great way to kick off St. Patrick's Day weekend.   It might also take me the entire weekend to recover, we'll see.  I'll let you know how it goes!

The unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since the end of 2008, so of course now is when we should stop that momentum by imposing severe government spending cuts.  Yeah, that make sense.  We wouldn't want the economy to actually improve by having more people earning a paycheck now, would we?  Nah, that's just silly.

Is anyone surprised that House GOP members would try to take credit for the just-signed Violence Against Women Act that they opposed?

For the love of...which member of the Romney family is looking at running for office now?  I guess it could be worse.  I mean, it's not like former WWE CEO Linda McMahon is thinking about running for office for third time or anything.  Oh, come on.

No, no, no.  (pic via ctpost.com)

Best wishes to South African leader Nelson Mandela, who was just admitted to the hospital.  Hopefully everything is okay.

Clutter might be guilty of a couple of these "10 smartphone habits you should avoid," but we're not admitting which ones.

Happy 15th Anniversary to The Big Lebowski."  After all this time, The Dude (or as some might say, "Dad Clutter") still abides.

Yeah man, it's been 15 years.  (pic via thatfilmguy.net)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  I think we'll let the Dropkick Murphys close things out for us with today's, "Song of the Day."

 

Thanks for stopping by, it was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day, and don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour tonight, otherwise you'll be late for our meeting tomorrow!  For now, that's today's Clutter, and the boys are back, but we are outta here.

Monday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  What's the plan for the week, anything exciting?  Help yourself to a nice fresh medium DD, because it's time to clear out the Monday Clutter.

It was disappointing that the Boston Red Sox weren't on TV again yesterday.  I don't really understand what the criteria is for games that are covered.  Do they all have to be at Fort Myers?  Seems like a Sunday game would do a decent rating on NESN.  Anyway, I'm sorry to miss any game, plus I would have liked to see Jon Lester's perfect two innings, as the Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3.  The bulk of this team's success this year depends on how Lester, John Lackey and Clay Buchholz perform, so yesterday's outing is an encouraging start to the year.  It would be particularly exciting if this is the year that Lester finally stops letting the little things distract him during a game and can keep his focus for an entire outing.

Ready to be a leader?  (pic via bostonherald.com)

With the Red Sox not on TV yesterday, I felt the need to satisfy my baseball craving, so I watched a few minutes of the New York Yankees vs the Toronto Blue Jays, and listened to the announcers talking about what a good move it was that Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson was moving to left field this season.  I changed the channel after that (it was the Yankees, after all) but it appears that this good move will have to wait, because Granderson broke his arm in the bottom of the 1st inning, after being hit by a pitch, and will be out for 10 weeks.  I have no personal animosity towards Granderson, and certainly wish him a speedy recovery, but you've got to think this loss is likely to help the Red Sox keep up with New York for at least the first few weeks of the season.

Here's the summary of the Daytona 500:  Jimmy Johnson won the race, and rapper 50 Cent tried to force himself on reporter Erin Andrews.  That about sums it up.

With sequestration now four days away, let's just be clear that President Obama has been consistent in calling for deficit reduction to occur via a combination of new revenue and spending cuts, no matter what journalist Bob Woodward and the GOP claim.  Let's also again be clear that the current obsession with the deficit has hurt economic growth in this country and what higher priority should there be than getting people back to work?

In shocking news, Mitt Romney's first post-election television interview will be on Fox News next week.  What are the odds of that?  Still waiting for Mittens 12.0 to come out and reveal himself to be a raging liberal this time.  He'll always remind me of a pro wrestler who switches between good guy and bad guy too many times and eventually loses fan interest because he's got no center core.

With employers consistently fighting against any increase in raging the minimum wage, which has grossly failed to keep up with inflation since the 1960's, it seems pretty clear that eliminating it altogether would result in a race to the bottom and would further exacerbate the income disparity in this country.

Mozilla, the company behind Firefox (the web browser endorsed by Clutter) is now moving into the phone game.  Is there any reason to be particularly excited about this?

Kids, I don't think that you'll ever have to worry about Clutter engaging in any "sleep posting," but our apologies ahead of time if that somehow happens.  BDH and Little Buddha both say very random things in their sleep, so who knows what we'd end up writing?

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  I saw that Sebastian Bach is going to open for Van Halen at their festival performance in Australia in April.  I wouldn't mind seeing that pairing in Boston at some point this year, but for now, let's have the former Skid Row front man close things out with today's, "Song of the Day."

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and make sure to come back soon, so we can do this all over again.  For now, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.

Saturday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Hey, welcome back!  Come on in, make yourself comfortable.  How are you?  What's the latest?  Sorry it's a little warm in here, the heat is on overdrive again.  BDH and Little Buddha will open up a window for you.  Yeah, that's better.  Okay, the coffee's ready, so help yourself to a nice fresh medium DD, and let's clear out a little Saturday Clutter.

I'm not surprised that Scott Brown announced that he won't run for John Kerry's now-vacant Senate seat.  It doesn't seem like there are many reasons for him to do it.  He just lost a Senate race, by more than a hair, so what was his message going to be, "I'll give you another chance to get it right this time?"  He would have faced stiff competition and a state Democratic Party operation that was determined to never let him sneak by in a special election again.  His party is a mess at the national level, while President Obama has strong popularity ratings at the moment, so there was no sense of discontent for Brown to be able to tap into this time.  It makes much more sense for him to step out of the spotlight for now, make some money, and then consider his options next year when the governor's office will be up for grabs.  There's little doubt that Scott Brown will be back again at some point, but this really looked like an easy decision.

Maybe I could go back to being a model.  (pic via politico.com)

Now, as far as the Senate seat goes, I don't know who the Massachusetts GOP will find to run as a creditable candidate.  Clutter Headquarters has a deeper bench than they do.

A new poll shows that secession is an increasingly-popular idea in Texas.  I've been supportive of this idea for at least 20 years.  Good luck, and don't let anyone try to stop you.

This chart showing what the economy would look like if President Obama spent at Ronald Reagan's levels will probably send conservatives into seizures.   It's still remarkable that the "great Republican deity" wouldn't have a chance of being elected by today's GOP.

What do the Kansas City Chiefs, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, and Ben & Jerry's have in common?  They're all on the official NRA "Enemies" list.  This is not a story from The Onion.  See for yourself right here.

If Red Sox season ticket renewals have dropped 10% in the last year, maybe this is a good time for me to finally get on the waiting list.

As the Dow Jones touched a 6-year high on Friday, the question remains, is 14,000 a floor or a ceiling for the stock market?  No idea, but I'll certainly be interested if it spurs a large sell-off of any sort.  Clutter loves a sale.

Has Facebook lost its cache with today's kids?   

Twitter acknowledged that it was hacked earlier this week.  Clutterheads, do you assume you'll be hacked at some point in your lives, if you haven't already?  It just seems like it will be a given in the future that everyone will experience it at some point, given the continued growth of cyber-crimes. 

Kids, here are some tips on how to avoid putting on the pounds during tomorrow's big game.  Either follow these suggestions, or be prepared to live in your gym next week.

Former Doctor Who star / Clutter favorite David Tennant has a new gig lined up.  Meanwhile, it appears my next chance to watch him will be the BBC America debut of Spies of Warsaw, starting on April 3rd.  Excellent!

I wasn't a die-hard 30 Rock fan, but they did a nice job with their series finale on Thursday.  It was smart and funny to the end, and they wrapped up their story on a satisfying note.  Looking forward to seeing what Tina Fey comes up with next.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  I caught a little bit of the Eddie Murphy: One Night Only tribute last night, and the highlight was Eddie and Stevie Wonder singing together.  See for yourself with today's, "Song of the Day."

 

Thanks for coming, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Sorry it was so warm in here, but hopefully we'll have it under control by the next time you come back.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and we'll see you again real soon.  For now, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.

Wednesday Clutter

Hi everyone,

How are you?  How's your week going?  Things are a little nuts over here, but we're working our way through the craziness.  Well, BDH and Little Buddha are working their way through the craziness, I'm mostly just tagging along for the ride.  I guess it's supposed to be (unnaturally) warm out today, so help yourself to an iced coffee, if that's what you're in the mood for, and let's clear out a little Wednesday Clutter. 

Congratulations to Senator John Kerry, who was overwhelmingly confirmed as the next secretary of state yesterday.  Kerry's nomination was approved by a vote of 94-3 in the U.S. Senate, so clearly his first order of business will be to immediately impose sanctions on Texas and Oklahoma for having voted against him.  Seriously, it's a well-deserved appointment, and I have no doubt he'll do a terrific job of following the standard set by Hillary Clinton.   Now the big question is, who will Governor Patrick name as Kerry's interim replacement?  The announcement is expected later today.  I don't want to give away any secrets, but I'm keeping a careful eye on my phone.

Oh, and congratulations to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who know becomes the Massachusetts senior senator after about a month on the job.

Color me shocked that Alex Rodriguez is in the center of yet another performance-enhancing drug scandal.  A-Rod's star has fallen so far that I actually have some sympathy for the New York Yankees who are apparently trying to void the remainder of his contract.  Rodriguez will be out at least through the All Star break after having hip surgery, and at this point, maybe it's time he look for a way out of baseball, because really, it's only going to continue to get worse if he continues trying to play for the final five years of his deal.  I guess the biggest question at this point is, will A-Rod's girlfriend, former professional wrestler/fitness model Torrie Wilson stay with him through this scandal?

Busted. (pic via justjared.com)

A-Rod wasn't the only one accused of cheating yesterday, as Sports Illustrated claims Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis used a banned substance during his rehab from his torn triceps.  Can't imagine this story will last, even if it's true.  The guy obstructed justice in a murder investigation and didn't suffer any repercussions for it., so why should he sweat a little drug scandal?  I'm not excited for the Super Bowl at all, but I'll take the 49ers over Lewis and the rest of these thugs.

WHAT?  Reliever Scott Atchinson has left the Red Sox for the New York Mets?  Oh, what a bummer!  I really liked him.  He seemed to be at least 15 years older than everyone else on the team, would always be one of the last guys to make the roster, and he'd generally take care of business on the mound and walk off looking like he wanted to go hide in the clubhouse before anyone realized they'd made a mistake and he wasn't supposed to be there.  Damn it.  Well, best of luck to him.

I guess there's a big shake-up going on at CNN.  Not surprising, really.  Clearly they saw the writing on the wall after Clutter fired a shot across the bow, and have finally decided to take drastic measures.  Have no fear, Clutterheads, we're not changing our team.  BDH, Little Buddha and I all have long-term contracts, and we're not going anywhere.

Okay, it's time, let's see if the BlackBerry 10 can live up to the hype.  I'll stick with my BlackBerry 2 until it does on me, but it's good to know what else is going on out there.

The stock market is close to its all-time high.  It will be interesting to see if that triggers a new wave of optimism, or will it lead to a sell-off?  I guess it's also possible that nothing will come of it.  Clutter has no idea how to time the market, kids.  That's why we tune out the noise and just continue making our steady investments.

It's Little House on the Prairie meets thirtysomething, as actors Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield announced their engagement yesterday.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Dave Grohl directed the newest video by Soundgarden, so why don't we see how that turned out.  Here's today's, "Song of the Day."

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  I hope the rest of your day goes well, and you should definitely come back later if you want to hang out tonight.  I might be slightly comatose, but BDH and Little Buddha are always excited to hang out with you.  Until next time, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.  Later.

Tuesday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back, how are you?  I'm not feeling that great at the moment, but I'm hoping it's just a matter of being tired and not being sick.  BDH and Little Buddha are doing a great job, as usual, of keeping Clutter Headquarters humming while I try to take it easy for a bit.  I don't have time for this, so I'm just going to assume a little sleep will make everything alright.  There is one thing that's keeping my spirits up, but we'll get to that in a second.  For now, help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Tuesday Clutter.

Clutter will be hitting the road in a few weeks, my friends.  That's right, we're going back to Spring Training with Mom Clutter!  The reservations have been made, the game tickets have been ordered, and come late March, we'll be taking a plane back to sunny Fort Meyers, where the food is not good, but who cares, because the Red Sox are back!  We had a lot of fun during last year's trip, and this year should be just as entertaining.  Stay tuned for further details...

BBC America launched their celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who by airing a special that looked back at the first Doctor, played by William Hartnell, and then aired one of his adventures, called The Aztecs.  I was like a kid in the candy store for this.  First off, the special featured 10th Doctor/Clutter favorite David Tennant as one of the primary talking heads, and I could listen to him read the phone book.  Second, it was wild to watch The Aztecs and see how far the show has come since its early days.

Click on the link to get a full review of the show, but some of the key points for me were:

• The original version of the theme music was much creepier than it is today.
• It was jarring to see that The Doctor was not "the man" in the story, often deferring to one of his companions named Ian.
• William Hartnell spoke over William Russell (Ian) several times and also seemed to lose his place in the script once or twice.  Those would clearly have been redone today, but I'm sure they couldn't afford it back then.  Speaking of which, I don't know which amount was higher, the cost of this episode, or my grocery bill this week.  Doctor Who never had a significant budget until recently, but wow.
• On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say the story was about a 4-6 as far as racism goes.  The Aztec characters were mostly portrayed as savages by British actors who were wearing some odd makeup.  That would never fly now.
• 50 years later, and the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing remains a classic.

It was a kick to see this, and I can't wait for next month's adventure featuring the Second Doctor, who was played by Patrick Troughton.

Okay, what else have we got today...

Big news as the Boy Scouts of America are considering ending their national policy that excludes gays and lesbians.  The local chapters would be able to decide if they still want to discriminate, so it's not perfect by any means, but it still seems like a significant step forward.

Yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.  It's amazing, it still seems like that was just yesterday.

It's almost show time, as the election to fill John Kerry's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat will be held on June 25th.

Barnes and Noble announced that they plan to close about 1/3rd of their stores over the next decade.  I remember when there used to be a Barnes and Noble and a Borders in downtown Boston.  I had so much fun hanging out there and checking out all of the books and magazines.  In retrospect, I probably should have bought more stuff too.

Wait, a new video product on the Internet has been hijacked by porn?  What were the odds of that?

Bad news for the Boston Celtics, as they learned that guard Rajon Rondo will likely miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL.  Does this mean that it's over for the C's this year?  That would be an extra disappointment because Dad Clutter is coming to town next week because I got him Celtics/Lakers tickets for his birthday last year.  Damn it!

Which goof called President Obama "Coach" on Monday and then followed that up with, "Prez?"

Model Kate Upton is back with a new Super Bowl commercial?  I have no problem with that.  No problem at all.

Already likely to be the highlight of Sunday.  (pic via wallpaperpassion.com)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.   Let's have Alien Ant Farm (remember them?) take us out with their version of Michael Jackson's, "Smooth Criminal."  Why, you ask?  First, I think it's a good cover.  Second, I have no idea what's going on in this video, but it makes me smile, so I give you today's, "Song of the Day."

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, and feel free to come back again later if you want to hang out some more.  Otherwise, be good, and you've been hit by, you've been struck by, some Clearing out the Clutter.  Later.

Thursday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  Is it just me, or does this week feel like one big game of dodgeball?  The craziness comes from all angles, and you're lucky if you don't pull a muscle trying to get out of the way.  I don't know what the hell is going on, but here's what I do know:  Grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out a little Thursday Clutter.

I'll be floored if this isn't the single weirdest thing we talk about all year here, but the sports world is buzzing over the story of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and his imaginary dead girlfriend.  I had a boss years ago who was a pathological liar.  He really couldn't help himself, and he'd start telling fibs about the most random things.  I can only imagine how Te'o started down this path, but it sounds like he's having trouble changing directions now that he's been caught.  Apparently he's a good player, so at the end of the day, some NFL team will draft him, but I can't wait to see how his press conferences go.

Before we go on, BDH, Little Buddha and I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that we are real, and that Clutter is not a figment of your imagination, just in case there was any doubt.

President Obama came out swinging against the NRA and other gun zealots, with a comprehensive package of gun control proposals and executive orders, which include calls for background checks, assault weapon bans, increased funding for mental health services, among other things.  The NRA reacted in its typically understated manner and basically said, "The government is coming to steal your guns. The apocalypse is here.  Time to lock and load!"  So you know they're eager to work on common sense measures that would be supported by a majority of the country.  By the way, I keep hearing the NRA brag about having 4 million members.  Last I checked, that's a small percentage of the country's total population, and the organization's leadership is even more extreme than some of their members, so how about we stop treating them like the most powerful force in DC?  There are more of us than there are of them, and we want the gun violence reduced in this country.

It's always nice to hear that Boston's economy grew last year.  It would be nice to have it be at a stronger rate, but moderate growth sure beats strong contraction any day of the week.

Is Facebook becoming the next AOL, and is that a good or bad thing?

The good news is that pitcher John Lackey sold his place in Boston.  The bad news is that he's still expected to pitch for the Red Sox this year.

In other Red Sox news, the Mike Napoli saga still hasn't been resolved, but yesterday's major announcement was that madman reliever Vicente Padilla will be pitching in Japan this season and not returning to the club.  That's a shame.  That dude had to be the scariest player the Sox have had since Carl Everett.

Try not to kill anyone.  (pic via cbssports.com)

Does Boston.Com's Chad Finn think the New England Patriots can beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday without tight end Rob Gronkowski?  What do you think, Clutterheads, will losing Gronk lead to New England's downfall against Ray Lewis and company, or will they be just fine?

RIP, Conrad Bain.  The actor, probably best known for playing Mr. Drummond on Different Strokes, died yesterday at age 89.

 

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We're going to turn on the way-back machine today and have Duran Duran close things out with today's, "Song of the Day."  Enjoy, and try not to focus on the fact that this tune came out about 30 years ago.  Enjoy:

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and make sure to come back again soon for the next round of randomness.  Until then, that's today's Clutter, and don't save a prayer for us now, because we are outta here. 

Wednesday Clutter

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Clutter Headquarters, my friends.  Come on in, make yourself comfortable.  How are you?  The craziness is clearly teed up for the week, but so far, so good on this end.  BDH and Little Buddha are a little cranky that Good Housekeeping has stolen the top Google search result for "Clearing out the Clutter," but we will not be intimidated.  We are a small shop going against a huge company with vast resources, but we've got two things they don't have:  Clutterheads and a lot of coffee!  There's no stopping us, kids.  We will regain the number one spot with your help.  So, let's get the show on the road.  Help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out a little Wednesday Clutter.

I'm so annoyed, I'm definitely going to have to buy Terry Francona's upcoming book about his time with the Boston Red Sox.  I have no problem supporting Tito, but why did he have to have Dan Shaughnessy as his co-writer?  I hate the idea of giving that fraud a penny of my money, but I have to know Francona's perspective about his time here.  Damn you, Shaughnessy!

What else do you have for us, Tito?  (pic via boston.com)

In more positive news, we have the latest sign that the 2013 baseball season will soon be upon us, as the Red Sox announced that most of their tickets will go on sale later this month.

This is new:  A former mob boss claims to know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.    What is it about this case that keeps us all interested?  We all agree that he is dead, right?  It's not like people are saying they spotted him hanging out with Elvis somewhere.  Won't it be a huge let-down at this point if the former union leader's body is found at this point?

Every once in a while I feel a pang of sympathy for right-wingers who honestly believe that President Obama, or the government in general, really have any intention of banning all guns.  That fear and paranoia must dominate every aspect of their lives, and really, that's just sad.  As for the rest of them, like former Attorney General Edwin Meese who claim Obama would seriously consider doing something that could get him impeached, I have to assume that's just delusional visions talking.

It's not some bad joke from The Onion:  The House really did have to defeat an amendment to offset the disaster relief funds for Hurricane Sandy.   The utter lack of basic compassion and decency that runs through the Republican party continues to amaze.

What is Facebook's big new feature, and will it do anything to improve your online privacy?  (Here's a hint:  No, it will not.)

It was interesting to see Senator John Kerry sitting behind Robert Kraft in the owner's suite during last Sunday's New England Patriots - Houston Texans game, but the senator's staff says he paid fair market value for the ticket.

Let the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who begin!  Where are five versions of The Doctor coming together this year, and do I need to get in on this?

I know, I sound like a broken record, but How I Met Your Mother, is stressing me out.  Monday's new episode was a solid bit of story-telling on multiple fronts.  The internal conflicts rang true, and we learned just a little bit more about "Your Mother."  However, it still feels like everything is timed to come to a close within 10 episodes or so (and to do so nicely), but it seems like they'd be likely to miss their mark if they come back for another year.  The money drives the decisions at the end of the day, but so few television shows come to a satisfying conclusion, I'd just hate to see this group stay a hair too long.

Let's meet mom.  (pic via fanpop.com)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Like I said, I don't think we're done with the craziness for this week, but the important thing is to just keep smiling and moving forward.  Today's, "Clip of the Day," featuring three puppies doing what looks like a choreographed routine, should help with that.

 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, make sure you come back for more fun soon, and don't forget to bring your friends so we can take down those bastards at Good Housekeeping!  Until next time, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.