Heres Janie Parrish

I understand that a good amount of our US Army soldiers that are over in Afghanistan are spending some of their down time online playing games like Spades. I think that it is wonderful that they are able to be connected to the World Wide Web and are allowed to be entertained this way. Too bad that the Internet wasn’t available back in the Vietnam War days.

I’m sure there were playing cards available to them back then, but having the Internet at your disposal for card games such as Spades these days is a wonderful alternative that I’m glad that they have for their use. Spades has always been one of my favorite card games to play, but it isn’t always easy to find other people to play with. We are all so busy these days, trying to find the time that is convenient for several people isn’t always an easy task. So utilizing the Internet for these types of card games makes a lot of sense and I say “Go For It!”

Every year I get the Major League Baseball schedule and find out when St. Louis will be playing the Chicago Cubs at home. Those dates get circled on the calendar and my trip to Chicago and the Wrigleyville rental for the ball game starts getting planned. The great thing about going to Chicago is that Chicago is a fantastic town. You can go for the weekend or you can go for the day. Either way, it’s going to be great food and good times.

We used to drive to Chicago several times each year. It’s just over a half days’ drive to get there from Nashville. But then we found that buying an airline ticket in advance can get us to Chicago and back for under $100 and in just a little over an hour in the air. So now we fly to Chicago for the games and it works out great. After you land at either Chicago airport you can catch their subway and go right to the ball field. You don’t have to rent a car and deal with traffic or parking. Last year we discovered that you can rent seats at the Wrigley Field Rooftop Club and clearly see the game from across the street from the ball field, yet have the comforts of bathrooms, food and beverages right at hand. We will get our seats from their web site: www.wrigleyfieldrooftopclub.com and meet up with our friends at the next Cards vs. Cubs game this summer.

So do you go to use the bathroom during a nail biter game or do you go during a commercial and miss the “world’s best commercials”? In a tough, gut wrenching decision, I left during the commercials. Most of them sucked anyway. This year’s crop of “the best” was pretty pathetic. If this represents America’s best talent, then no wonder the economy is in the tank and everything has gone to hell this past year. If we can’t get our act together and put on some decent commercials, we should outsource the jobs to wherever the talent is, because it sure as hell isn’t here in New York or L.A.

I’d be willing to bet we could have a better set of commercials if you ran a contest on YouTube or let some college kids have a run at it. The people in those big expensive ad agencies sure didn’t earn their big salaries this year. I wasn’t all that impressed with last years either, come to think of it. Not a single one comes to mind, which is unusual. These commercials usually stay with us for years, sometimes decades! Throw them in with the bankers and Wall Street thieves as the biggest group of overpriced and overpaid frauds that need to prove their worth or get out.

I haven’t been in Las Vegas in so long, I under stand it has drastically changed in the last decade or so and I’d love to find out for myself one day. My parents took us all on a trip there many moons ago and we had a blast. So I can imagine how wonderful it would be now as an adult out on an adventure. There are so many more exciting Vegas Hotels to stay and enjoy, I think that I would have a hard time deciding on which one I’d want to actually stay at for the duration.

The shows that are now being produced in Vegas must be an amazing experience to behold. I’d love to see just about any of the many that are always being show cased. Whether it be Cher, The Blue Man, Chriss Angel or Bette Midler, I’m sure that they would be most entertaining and exciting with all of the special effects that technology has brought to that city that never sleeps!

I’m not all that much into the gambling scene, but if and when I make it out west to Vegas you can bet (no pun intended) that I’ll be playing a few choice games, within reasonable limit of course. I want to have fun spending my money on the many other fun activities while I’m there, not loose my butt and my pride.

One thing that I’d definitely like to do in Vegas is to see the Cirque du Soleil and to stay at The Signature at MGM Grand right off of the strip and is one class act, in a non smoking, gated entrance, land of luxury. And to be able to witness the magic that the Cirque du Soleil is so well known for would be an awesome experience. One that I’ve only been able to watch on TV throughout the years.

When the time comes I’m sure that the Internet will be a very useful tool in the planning of my quest for the west! I’ve been checking out some of the sites that are out there to help with the hotels, the shows, tours, nightlife, food, transportation and the like and I like what I see. One day………….

vegas

Didn’t get much sleep last night because I got totally into the opening ceremony that was being held in London, England for the 2012 Summer Olympics! Man that was quite a show, I think I heard that it cost like 43 billion dollars to put on. That’s some crazy stuff there folks. I know that London is making a huge profit on the whole kit and caboodle but image if that money was just given to the folks that really need it could do for the real people of England.

Anyway, it was an awesome show and I learned a few interesting facts about the Olympics, but I only got a few hours of sleep and I’m dragging big time today. Time for a nap before I have to fix dinner and get ready to watch more tonight but not all night.