Archive for January, 2010

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All hail the “Throwback”

Posted in Odd with tags , , , , , on January 28, 2010 by macmystery

Dew ... old school.

I’ll try and make this brief, because it’s ridiculous I’m writing about this … and even more ridiculous you’re reading it.***

In the spring of 2009 (May 31 to be exact) I published a blog post entitled Beware the Throwback. Pepsi had released it’s limited run of ‘Throwback” beverages, including Mountain Dew. While on a camping trip in Tennessee, I purchased a 12-pack.

Upon my first taste of the Throwback Dew, I determined something was amiss … and I wrote about it. The folks at Pepsi had re-introduced real sugar to Dew, but in the process they removed the orange juice, … a cost-cutting measure I would guess.

The result was what I thought to be a weak beverage. The kick was missing. So I wrote about it. The Throwback drinks ran their limited time in the stores and were gone.

Well, as several readers have told me, Pepsi has re-released the Throwback Pepsi and Mountain Dew. And this time, the OJ is back. I held off on writing this until I could actually find some (they’ve been out since Dec. 28) and try it. And it was near perfect. (I haven’t tried Pepsi since I’ve always disliked it, real sugar or not. I’m a Coke man.)

This time, according to Pepsi’s all-things-Throwback Web site, the limited run will last until Feb. 22.  Go get you some.

*** My original Beware the Throwback post has received 2,200-plus direct hits. In and of itself, that’s not a large number. But when you consider I average about two dozen blog hits a day, most from family and friends likely, 2,200 in eight months is a significant number of hits. Thanks for the business.

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A political columnist submits to 60 hours of hell

Posted in Journalism, TV with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2010 by macmystery

Last week, PoliticsDaily.com columnist Walter Shapiro, who is recovering from surgery on his leg, decided to commit to watching nothing but cable news networks for 12 hours a day for five straight days.

To some, that may sound not all that abnormal. But Shapiro, something of a dinosaur, gets his news from print media, and therefore is in no way acclimated to what he found on the boob tube.

Shapiro blogged each day for five days about his new experience with cable TV news. It’s pretty interesting.

Here are the five parts of his series:

Day 1: A New Survivor Show: Watching a Week of Cable News and Living to Tell

Day 2: The Cable News Patrol: Rounding Up the Usual Suspects and Subjects

Day 3: The Cable News Patrol: Sound Bite Skirmishing Silenced (Mostly) by Real Life Tragedy

Day 4: The Cable News Patrol: Glenn and Rachel Become My New Best Friends

Day 5: The Cable News Patrol: My Long National Nightmare Is Over!

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Church group reunited with orphanage in Haiti

Posted in Family, Journalism, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on January 15, 2010 by macmystery

In a photo from the MSNBC.com story, kids at the Rescue Children orphanage watch a generator-powered television on Friday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The group from a Pennsylvania church and an MSNBC.com news crew reached the Rescue Children orphanage in Haiti on Friday.

The orphanage is supported by Spratanburg, S.C.-based Rice Bowls, a world hunger ministry, for which my wife Brooke works.

Here’s the MSNBC.com story with information about the 11 kids, who are all safe and well, and where the orphanage expects to go from here. There’s a cool slideshow, as well.

Once again, for those who want to give to relief efforts, here’s a list of organizations already working in Haiti.

Again, for those interesting in helping immediately, simply text “HAITI” to “90999” and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

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Someone had to say it … way to go Keith

Posted in Journalism, Politics, Religion, TV with tags , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2010 by macmystery

That was Keith Olbermann’s Wednesday-night response to the asinine comments from Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson on the liberal-slanted MSNBC.com show Countdown.

I won’t go over what Limbaugh and Robertson had to say on Wednesday and Thursday about the earthquake and relief efforts in Haiti. I’ll just say they’re making Sarah Palin look smart.

Heck, you know you may be out of touch when well-known social commentator Roger Ebert, … yes, that Roger Ebert, the movie guy, go off on you in his movie blog.

Here’s Olbermann’s Thursday-night response to Limbaugh when he acted even less human on Thursday …

Once again, for those who want to give to relief efforts, here’s a list of organizations already working in Haiti.

Again, for those interesting in helping immediately, simply text “HAITI” to “90999” and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

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Rice Bowls and some good news from the earthquake in Haiti

Posted in Family, Journalism, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2010 by macmystery

Rice Bowls, the Spartanburg, S.C.-based world hunger ministry for which my wife Brooke works, supports an orphanage in Haiti.

In a bit of good news out of a country where the news only figures to get worse in the coming days, the 11 children Rice Bowls feeds are all alive and safe. (Read Thursday’s Herald-Journal story) Thank you God.

A group from the Pennsylvania church which runs the orphanage has traveled to Haiti with supplies with an MSNBC news crew in tow to chronicle their efforts. Here’s the initial story, when the safety of the children was still in question, and Thursday’s story telling of the group’s arrival in Hispaniola.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, had enough problems before this earthquake. More than 80 percent of the country lives in poverty and less than half have access to clean water. And that’s when things are going well.

My thoughts and prayers go out, not only to the Haitian victims of this earthquake, to those who have made their way to Haiti to help, those who are on the way, those who are giving to the relief efforts … but also to those who didn’t need an earthquake to try and make a difference in Haiti.

My wife, of whom I’m very proud, works for an organization that was already trying to make a better life for a handful of children in Haiti, among other places in the world. As a result of this catastrophe, their job has gotten a lot tougher. And a lot more important.

For those who want to help the orphans at the Rescue Children orphanage or help facilitate repairs to their home, donations can be made at www.ricebowls.org.

For those who want to give to other relief efforts, once again, here’s a list of organizations already working in the country.

Again, for those interesting in helping immediately, simply text “HAITI” to “90999” and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

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