RIP Borders Books (1971 - 2011)

For some reason, all the Borders stores always seemed to have the absolute best customer service. I know things can be different at each individual store, but whenever I needed help finding something, Borders is where I would go.

In fact, this past weekend, I went out to the Borders in Rochester to buy the Reboot Complete Series DVD (I could only find it at that store, so down the road I went).

I also checked out the mythology & science sections. While looking, one of the employees told me about a couple DVD sets I might also be interested in. One wasn't for me, but "The Universe" was an awesome suggestion. It's a History Channel TV series I had never heard of.

I didn't buy the set that day as I was already spending a bit of money on Reboot, but I'll definitely be buying it in the near future. It would have been from that store eventually, since that's where the suggestion came from (I'm kind of fiercely loyal like that), but that probably won't happen now as I'm sure a lot of the good stuff will be gone quick.

When shopping online, maybe there would have been a suggestion on the page for it, but I wouldn't have paid attention to that. An actual person suggesting something holds far more weight.

That's one of the reasons I've worked at some of the Borders stores. I loved how they were run (on a store level that is - obviously there were some big troubles at the corporate level). I've worked at a Brentano's, Waldenbooks, and Borders (all owned by Borders Group).

So there goes another great specialty store. One with excellent customer service. I've always loved browsing and buying things at book stores (and CD / record stores as well). Sadly, the options are becoming fewer and fewer each year.

Star Studio Planking...

The planking craze has gone completely mainstream in the last month or so. So I felt there needed to be a Star Studio Planking.

If you're kind of in the dark on what exactly this planking thing is, here's a great news report that explains the "art form" that's actually been around since the 90's...



And here's a video with a bunch of plankings...

For those that eat their lunches during their shift in our immaculate Star studio, don't worry, I cleaned things back up after having my shoes on the counter. :)

Gummy Bear Bratwurst - mmmmmmm!

The next time I'm in Minnesota, I am definitely making time to try the Gummy Bear Bratwurst.

Here's how it came to be...



Later tonight, I'm also going to talk about the latest California State Fair food craze. But that one (and many of the others they're featuring this year) I won't even consider trying.

Here's a slideshow detailing some of the strange menu items they've got this year. It's the third picture that I know I could never stomach.

FIGHT!

This is one of the most epic & intense fights you'll ever see.

I'm not completely sure what it's about, but I think it might be about who said "no" to something first.

Oh, and it's between a three-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. They even start arguing about their ages at one point.

Start to finish, this is an instant YouTube classic...

The most awesome retirement home ever...

The residents at the Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently teamed up with students at a nearby university to create a YouTube masterpiece.

The residents are kind of lip-syncing to Michael Buble's "Feeling Good". But it goes way beyond that.

In a single take throughout the song, the camera moves all through the retirement community where different residents in various situations bring the song to life. And yes, at one point there's prune juice!!!

Another person made the comment under the video that if they ever end up in a retirement home, they want it to be this one. And I 100% agree. All retirement communities should be this cool!

The X Factor preview...

The best moments of American Idol were when Simon and Paula were at each other's throats. The singing just wasn't enough to keep my interest.

So when Paula left, I thought the show became unwatchable. But Simon and Paula will be reunited this fall on The X Factor. And it looks like they still can't agree on who's talented and who isn't.

A 2-1/2 minute preview for the show aired earlier this week on FOX during a baseball game. Had I been watching that, I would have been asleep before the first pitch and would have missed this anyways.

It's clever and it definitely sets the tone for the series...

Big Brother 13...

I wasn't going to watch this season - the show became stale in the last few years.

But it's looking like it's back to being good. As long as it doesn't focus on the Brendon / Rachel love fest. When those segments come on, I can't reach for the remote quick enough to fast forward through all that.

After week one, I'm rooting for Kalia and Dominick. If I had to pick one of the returning players to root for, I'd probably go with Daniele or Jordan. But I'd rather see a first time player get to the end.

So far, one thing I really like about this season is how the studio audience is a bit more vocal than in the past. The gasps of surprise and scattered laughter adds even more excitement to the live episodes.

And Julie Chen is of course always good. Not too many "but first"s in the first live episode, but there's plenty of time left in the summer for that.

The Phoenix, AZ sandstorm!

When I lived in California (and at one point in the Mojave Desert), the sand did a number on my poor car engine. Sand made a mess of everything whenever I'd venture through the desert.

So I can't imagine what a nightmare this was for cars, eyes, computer equipment, etc. It's video from the massive sandstorm that hit Phoenix a few days ago.

The third video with a POV shot of driving into the sandstorm is insane!

The Worst Driver In The Netherlands...

Yes, that's an actual reality show. I don't know how I've missed this, but a version of it apparently aired on The Travel Channel last summer.

A contestant on the Netherland's version was so awful, he ran over the host of the show and a cameraperson during a recent taping!

Amazingly, no one was killed, but the host of the show did end up in the hospital.

The fact that video of this exists isn't a surprise since it was being taped. The shock to me is that the video got out and is now all over the place online.

The video is mostly from inside the car and focuses on the driver and the passengers, so you don't see too clearly who and what he hits. But because of a few other brief camera angles, it is kind of disturbing. So for that reason, I'm not going to embed it here.

Check out AutoBlog to see the video and read more a little more on this.

Coldplay's new music video...

The video for Coldplay's latest song "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" features tons of special effects, lots of glow-in-the-dark paint, and non-stop stop-motion visuals.

It's the next best thing to a new video from OK Go (which I'm hoping happens soon)...

Last weekend at Sylvan Beach...

Sylvan Beach Amusement Park is a small park and beach a little east of Syracuse, NY.

It's my favorite kind of park. It's got classic rides and a boardwalk feel. The Rock-O-Plane & G-Force Rotor (Devil's Hole) are both similar to rides that used to be at Martin's Fantasy Island. They've also got a Tip Top where you can go spin crazy. Here's my nephew Mason, my Dad, and my niece Makenna on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Thanks to a group called The Atmostheatre Players wandering around, you almost feel like you're at the amusement park in the 1940's! They'll be performing at the park Thursdays - Sundays throughout the summer. Click on the picture to the right to see a short video of their work.

Mason made it about five minutes before he finally burst out the secret to the magic trick lol. And Makenna got to take part in a faux movie with one of the actors later in the day.

It was my brother's birthday that day and he was supposed to ride the Rock-O-Plane with me, but chickened out. I can't blame him. Anyone who knows me is well aware that if you go on a spin ride that I can control, you will most likely end up sick.

But I did get at least one of his kids on the Laffland ride (a classic ride from 1954). Me and Christine didn't remember it being so dark though! Poor Mason was a little freaked out. Here's video of him at the end of the ride. Christine says his eyes were closed throughout all of it - oops. But I wasn't staying with the kids that night, so any nightmares wouldn't have affected my sleep. :)

America's Got Talent - Vegas standby acts...

Uh-oh. I can already see this coming. Another singer is going to win America's Got Talent.

Tuesday night, I agreed with most of the judges decisions. Tonight (with the Vegas standby acts finding out their fates), definitely not.

Four acts went through tonight that I thought were terrible or boring and never should have even made it to the Vegas round, let alone been accepted for the Hollywood rounds.

The worst was Sam B, the guy who just jumped around the stage like he was trying to dance or having a heart attack. What kind of act was that?! He could barely breathe when he was done. Awful - and not even in a funny way.

Almost equally as bad was the Ricky Martin wannabe (Mauricio Herrera) who sang Bee Gees' falsetto poorly.

The other two that shouldn't have gone through were the kiddie groups Avery & The Calico Hearts (the young girls that sang like Alvin & The Chipmunks) and the SH'Boss Boys (young dance act). All the kids are definitely talented, but not entertaining enough for this competition. Especially after seeing some of the acts that didn't get through.

The one that really should have gone to Hollywood was the guy that had auditioned twice before, but was always rejected (Leonid). His crazy quick-change act last week and then strange dance routine this week was entertaining and everything a Vegas act should be. I even liked the end of the performance this week where no one was sure what was happening. Leonid and his dance partner were just laying on the floor while everyone wondered if they were hurt or something. It was insane, unexpected, weird, and exactly what I thought this show is about.

His meltdown after being sent home did make it hard to root for him anymore. But despite that, I still think his act was far superior to the four I mentioned above.

And I'm hoping those four are the first to go home when America starts voting next week (followed closely after by all the singers).