Get outta my way Rudy!

The I Don't Get It feature is on the disabled list. Instead, here is a midweek list of some random musings, headlines, links and other tidbits.

Damn you Rudy Guliani! Is it because I included you in inaugural I Don't Get It along with Hannah Montana? After 37 hours of not eating, I was looking forward to (salivating for is more like it) an egg sandwich and French fries at our local Too Jay's restaurant. When we got there, though, it was impossible to get in. The deli was packed with Young (and Old) Republicans. Turns out Too Jay's was one of Rudy's stops in his Florida blitz. I listened to Rudy for a few minutes, lost my appetite, then went to a different Too Jay's several miles away. Since he's basically ignored all the previous primary states, I expect to see a lot of Rudy here in South Florida over the next several days.

Did you know that my egg sandwich choice was healthier than a bran muffin? It's true, according to a recent article in Men's Health -- Health Foods That Aren't. But here's some even better news. According to WebMD's Healthy Foods for Brain Power, coffee is good for your brain!

But if you do go for the egg sandwich, make sure you hold the bacon. I'm not saying this because I'm a vegetarian. You don't want to accidentally eat one of the famous Pigs in Literature.

Annoying cell phone users
How about those self-centered people with cell phones who continue on with their conversations, regardless of the people around them? I've seen it a lot lately at the gym, people on the treadmill or elliptic machine gabbing away as if there is wasn't anybody right next to them. At the supermarket the other day, one woman held a full conversation as the cashier checked her out. Never said hello. Never said thank you. I find these people incredibly rude. Just shut up for a few minutes. Be a decent person. I don't want to hear about your medical appointments, your argument with your sister, or your plans for later that night. Check out the great blog Jew Eat Yet? where Jeff Tweedy's brother-in-law kvetched about this recently.

Where's my Ricky Watters jersey?
Patriots and Giants in the Super Bowl? I can't root for either team. I guess there's hope for the Eagles if the Giants, just 8-8 a year ago, are in the Super Bowl. I still think the Giants are not that much better than the Birds. And though I hate to say, they've played well for the last few weeks, particularly Eli Manning.

In the meantime ... Did you ever spend mucho bucks on a shirt of someone on your team, then a year later find him either cut, traded or gone via free agency. What happens to all those jerseys? People still wear them, apparently. Spot the jerseys at this very funny Web site.

What I'm thankful for ...
Oh, I got my egg sandwich (sans bacon) eventually at a GOP-free Too Jay's. But that wasn't all. I topped off with a wonderful dessert. This week, I'm extremely thankful for the Too Jay's Banana Dream with its chocolate chips and walnuts and chocolate icing over rich banana cream.

I Don't Get it 2

For those of you who missed last week's edition, this is how this feature works: Basically, these are people, events, things that don't make much sense to me. Click on the link to get the full story, or in the case of the first item, a link to the podcast.

1. Charles Barkley. One of my favorite ex-Sixers is losing a round mound of his money gambling. And he doesn't seem to care. Barkley, who admittedly says a lot of stupid things, told Bob Costas on Now: "I love gambling. It's fun. It's exciting. I don't want to leave all the money to my free-loading family ... I want to be dead broke when I keel over." Not only stupid, but insensitive. Think of all the good things that Mr. Barkley could be doing with that money, instead of throwing it all away.


2. Mitt Romney. I really am trying to keep politics out of this blog. Honestly. But I couldn't let this go. I'm not a Romney fan at all, but I've really been disappointed with all the anti-Mormon sentiment out there since he announced his candidacy. So I looked to last week's speech on religion with anticipation. Would he address the issue as JFK did 40 years ago, by stressing tolerance? Would he defend his own faith? What would he say to those evangelicals, some of whom view his religion as a cult? Mr. Romney said a lot of good things, but in the end his speech became simply a plea to those same evangelicals -- just another step in his effort to capture Iowa. A chance to put the discussion of freedom of -- and, just as importantly, from -- religion was lost. Mitt, you are no JFK.



3. Tasteless Christmas decorations. Look, I can get as tacky as the next person. In fact, tacky is good when you embrace it as tacky. But this holiday season, I keep seeing more unknowingly tacky or tasteless Christmas decorations. On my way to work, I saw a yard that has a traditional nativity scene that is bordered by two inflatable penguins. Their cluelessness amazes me. I live on a great block that goes all-out for Christmas and I commend those who take the time to make our street such a wonderland. It really is beautiful. But if you're like me and haven't put out the lights yet, I suggest that consider the energy you can save by not doing it, then taking the money you saved and buy something for someone who isn't as well-off as you.

Think of it as the anti-Barkley action.

What do you think about this week's rants? Agree? Disagree? What do you not get? Drop in a comment and let me know.