Celebrity Apprentice: Strawbery Shortcake

Week 3 of the Celebrity Apprentice. Both Rock Solid and Tenacity are plagued by problem children. Brett Michaels for the men and Cyndi Lauper for the women are misfits Brett is really a good worker, Cyndi is Cyndi, but both are wreaking havoc for their teams by asking silly questions. Not one, not two, but too many. I would not expect to see either of them around for the final, except maybe as entertainment.
This week's task was to create a four page Advertorial for Norton 360 and Lifelock. I had never heard of an advertorial, but could pretty much guess what it is. Neither teams really put their heads into it. Tenacity picked Sharon Osborn as their spokesperson which turned out to be a big mistake as she had to be bleeped during her presentation. What a surprise for someone who cannot string a thought together without a profanity. After a horrible presentation that included a power failure, the women actually won.
In each of the 3 seasons of Celebrity Aprentice, there is one person who decides they really don't want to be there. In this case it's Daryll Strawberry who says that he should be fired. Trump grants him that wish.

Healthcare Supporters Raise The Roof

A raucous crowd gathered in South Seattle today to show support of the newly passed healthcare legislation. Speakers included US Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Congressmen Brian Baird and Jay Inslee, and Governor Gregoire, but the show was stolen by 11 year old Marcelas Owens (above video), the Seattle resident who was pictured with President Obama when he signed the bill into law.

Walla Walla's Iconic Baker Boyer Bank

In an article about Banking struggles in the wake of new regulations, Baker Boyer's President Megan Clubb was photographed in front of the historical landmark on the cover of "Seattle Business" magazine.

Mariners Are Sexy Pick In 2010

After a massive improvement in 2009 from the last place finish in 2008, the Mariners made some well thought of moves in the off-season. Now some publications are predicting big things for this year's Ms. They are featured on the front page of the current ESPN Magazine as a top pick. In my opinion, they still have a little more rebuilding to do. I expect modest improvement in 2010 as they build their way to an eventual championship.

Senator Murray Receives Realtor's Endorsement

Local blogger David Goldstein reports that Washington Senator Patty Murray has received the endorsement of the Washington Association Of Realtors. The group is thought to be generally Conservative but seems to respect Murray's experience in the chamber. The endorsement is a blow to Dino Rossi, a former realtor who has talked about challenging Murray for the Senate seat this fall.

Celebrity Apprentice: Kodak Moment

The concept of this week's Celebrity Apprentice is for both teams to create a Kodak display in a storefront. This is really a rehash from the final task from last season, but who could remember that.
Rock Solid picks comedian Sinbad to be it's project manager. Sinbad is a funny guy but seems to have trouble matching his subject to his predicate. He states an idea and it doesn't seem to make sense, at least to me. Tenacity picks Maria, the wrestler. She came up with the idea of using children in her charity, The Make A Wish Foundation to pose in pictures with the celebs on her team. She sticks with her plan and despite power outages generated by printing pictures her concept flies well. The men (Rock Solid) don't use printers but give customers a web site. They seem disorganized and don't hand out the web site to some customers including secret shoppers.
Tenacity wins, so Rock Solid is sent to the boardroom. Sinbad makes a common project manager mistake of sending someone to the boardroom whom Trump feels doesn't belong, in this case Rod the governor. Trump can never seem to get past the fact and fires Sinbad even though he could have just as easily fired last week's winning project manager Brett Michaels.

Healthcare Legislation Passes House

It's been called the most significant legislation in 4 decades, as the house voted 219 to 212 to approve the Obama healthcare measure. President Lyndon Johnson signed sweeping civil right laws during his presidency, however his administration was eventually bogged down by the war in Viet Nam. One should not lose sight of the fact that we are currently involved in 2 wars, so it remains to be scene how that will play out in Obama's presidency.

Anyone remember this commercial?

Jessica Gottesman Named KIRO Anchor

According to Michael Hood's Blather Watch, KIRO's Jessica Gottesman has been named "Afternoon Anchor" for the Seattle FM station. The article did not say what that would mean as far as changing or expanding her duties with the station. For several months, Gottesman, who has broadcasting experience in the New York market, has been heard on local news reports in the afternoon.

Another Rock Legend Leaves Us

Alex Chilton,gravel voiced lead singer for the Box Tops during the late 60s and Big Star died Wednesday of an undisclosed illness. Chilton was 16 when the rock classic "The Letter" (performed above) was released.

Celebrity Apprentice Begins

Celebrity Apprentice began Sunday with something new...celebrities! Where in the past, the show attracted D-list personalities whom most of us have not heard of, this season or this year since I think it's only running once a year--the celebrities are C plus or something like that--I have heard of most of them one way or another. The list of participants is here
The teams were split with men on one team and women on the other. The Women took the name Tenacity--The men took the name Rock Solid.
The first task was to run a designated diner in New York City--whoever brought in the most money would win the task. The men, with the benefit of a celebrity chef (Curtis Stone) and a relatively competent project manager (Poison's Brett Michaels) won the task.
Tenacity's project manager, Cyndi Lauper was terrible and garnered little respect. She should have been fired, after all she brought up her friendship with Rosie O'Donnell in the boardroom in front of an angry Trump (Trump has been feuding with Rosie for years), however Trump realized that keeping Cindy around for a couple more weeks would be good for the show. Instead, he fired Carol Leifer.

Thaxton Blog Lives On Through A Colleague

Lloyd Thaxton died about a year and a half ago, but not before using the internet to connect with some of his old fans and make some new ones. Much like Lan Roberts, another icon who embraced the new media, Thaxton learned that the internet works in two different directions, He could do his schtick, and the readers could give their feedback.

Thaxton is gone now, but a dear friend of his who calls himself the "Rock Relic" has picked up the blog with the blessing of Lloyd's family.

King County Conservation District Election Tommorrow

It's not the "sexiest" election and it's not in the news. As a matter of fact, probably 95 per cent of the county will never know of this process. An election will take place tomorrow for a position on the King County Conservation District Board Of Supervisors. For some reason , you cannot vote absentee or by mail-in ballot. You need to show up in person. This entity has a budget of 6 million dollars. Remember that you need to show up to vote in person to participate.
For a list of polling places and hours of operation, click here. To find out about the candidates and what they stand for, click here. Although not formally endorsed, the 5th district Democrats strongly recommend Max Prinsen.

Did You Turn Your Clock Ahead?

Daylight Savings Time has started.

5th District Democrats Will Caucus Sunday

Democrats in the 5th Legislative District of the State of Washington will caucus Sunday March 14th at the Tahoma Junior High School. The school is located at 25600 Southeast Summit Landsburg Road Ravensdale, WA Registration will begin at 12 :00 pm with the actual caucus starting at 1:45. Delegates for the State Democratic Convention in Vancouver, Washington will be chosen from amongst the attendees. That convention will take place in June. Any registered voter in the 5th district who considers himself a Democrat may attend the Legislative Caucus. Remember to set your clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time before retiring this Saturday.

Read Jan Curran's Latest

" ACTIVE SENIOR LIVING was written by my cousin Jan Curran. Jan moved from the Palm Springs area to a senior living center near LA a couple of years ago to be near her kids as she was going through cancer treatments. Like the Golden Girls, the hit TV show of the 80, it deals with the various problems that come with aging. It is a tender book that will pull at your heartstrings, yet will also make you laugh out loud. You can order Active Senior Living by clicking here.

California Governor Edmond G "Pat" Brown

An old friend of mine posted on facebook that former California Governor Edmond G "Jerry" Brown was running for Governor of California again (after being out of the top state office for 30 years). His words were something like "Brown is going to clean up the mess that Governor Schwarzenegger had made" Putting Governor Brown and a mess in one phrase, reminds me of an incident that my Dad told about a meeting with the first Governor Brown, Jerry's Dad. You can read the account on his blog by clicking here or read on:

Well, Mike reminded me of an incident involving Jerry's dad, Governor Pat Brown and Mike's mother.Those were the days of our deep involvement in politics. We went to meetings and conventions and marched in rallies. It was an interesting time I being involved in the Democratic party and most of my customers and friends being committed Republicans.I think it was a fund raiser for Hubert Humphrey in Seattle. We were tromping through the Olympic Hotel sampling the food and drink in the various reception rooms. Deciding to move on we we approached the doorway. Coming toward us cocktail in hand was the California governor. He turned for a moment to comment to a member of his party and SLOSH iced, alcohol, and water down the front of Jeannie's party dress.Apologies and don't worries followed and I thought that was the end of it.A year later we attended Ann and Andy's wedding reception in Los Angeles. Only about 400 of their closest friend were there.Jeannie spotted Pat Brown across the room. She grabbed my hand saying I have to talk to him. As we approached she reminded him that she had been the victim in the spilled drink incident. I blanched but he took it in good spirits and we ended up having a conversation about the upcoming election that he eventually won while our Washington incumbent lost

4th In The State For Big Blue

My on-the-spot reporter in Walla Walla tells writes about Wa-Hi's fortunes in the state tournament.

A Barer Ran For State House In '64

Most people who know me, know of my thirst for politics,I've always said that it runs in the family.

In 1964, my dad's brother Arny (top picture) decided to run for the state legislature in Washington's 46th district, he had been practicing law for about 5years in Downtown Seattle, unfortunately, his opponent was another young lawyer named Slade Gorton (bottom picture). Although Lyndon Johnson was able to win the Presidency by a landslide that year, his coattails did not reach this state. Washington elected Republican Dan Evans to be Governor while Gorton beat my uncle for a position in the State House. Gorton would go on to represent Washington in the US Senate and Arny would become known for being a friend and confident to Wes Uhlman, who would serve as Seattle mayor during the late 60s and early 70s.   You can click here and scroll down to the 46th district, to see the voter results from his campaign.

I can remember my grandmother having all sorts of fliers from my uncle's campaign, I'll continue to look for any posted articles or such to put on this blog.

Ken Levine's Annual Oscar Review

In this humorous piece, Ken Levine explains why he reviews the Oscars. Click here.

This will take you back a few years!