High gas prices

Those greedy oil tycoons and even the heads in the high authority of our wonderful nation will never understand the burdens of us everyday average people...no matter where we live, we all suffer. I used to live in Orlando, now I live in Chicago. It's the same thing everywhere. Prices expensive no matter where you are....AND already, we're struggling to keep everything together on everything else in this present economy.

Jaycee Badeaux of IDOL

SOOOOO...I'm an American Idol fan this season, go figure. LOL. Show's getting better. The focus are no longer on the crazy antics of the once-judges, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. It's better with Steven Tyler and J-Lo this time teaming up with Randy Jackson for Season 10.

The last few episodes, he was treated unfairly..I hated how a particular contestant (some dude in glasses now in the top 12 of guys) singled him out of the group in a group contest of IDOL. Jaycee was going through a lot of emotions and of course, it'd be hard for him to focus. I want him to be a wild card, definitely. The guy's got soul and a voice, rarely heard in music in such a long time. And for a kid his age - he's got it! To be honest with you, folks - and I know I'm gonna get some hate on this BUT, I think that maybe 2 or 3 of those guys that made it to the top 12 are not that any good...who knows, perhaps Jaycee doesn't need IDOL in this next round. A record company can be calling for him anytime. He'd be terrific on the gospel/christian sector... I salute you, Jaycee for being yourself out of that crowd and getting respect although the results weren't in your favor. Come back strong. Hope to see you in the limelight one day. You deserve your chance...I'll be rooting for mostly the ladies in this season of IDOL. They have the best talent over the guys right now (because I think they only have like 9 good ones out of the 12).

Random Thought For Today (2/18/11)

After looking at Green Day's '97 music video for "Good Riddance" (The Time Of Your Life), doesn't it make you think about where you are now in your life? Looks that way to me. Makes me wanna stare straight for a minute or a few seconds like what's happening to the individuals shown there.

Dwight Howard

He's a great personality on-and-off the court. You gotta love the guy for who he is. He's a clean-cut role model for all that smiles and laughs a lot with his teammates and even his opponents. Sure, he's been the target lately for committing a lot of technical fouls (but not like the way Rasheed Wallace does..lol) and trade rumors, but nothing sways Dwight Howard. His eyes are on the prize and that's winning the NBA championship with his team - The Orlando Magic. I can't wait to see Superman do his thing again in a future game to see when I visit Orlando and the Magic's new place - The Amway Center. I'm sure he'll be around for a while. I feel optimistic for as long as the Magic management are committed to building a strong unit with Dwight. Go Magic! Go Superman! You're my favorite!

Florida Blog Flashback: 'Watching My First Magic Game at the O-rena'

April 9,2008 ORLANDO, FL - "From the view you see here in this digital photograph (taken from my cell phone's camera), this is what $38.00 could bring you. That's how much a co-worker/friend paid for my ticket. It was very nice of him to have one of my dreams come true: to watch a live Orlando Magic basketball game at the O-rena (a/k/a Amway Arena). Originally, I was planning to save up some of my money to watch some home games for the next season ... Describing the picture itself, this was before the start of the game between the Magic (led by 2008 Slam Dunk Champion - Dwight Howard) and the Bulls (which featured Florida Univ alum - Joakim Noah). All the players were on-hand doing their usual warm-ups and stretches. The experience itself was awesome as it was the first time in a long time that I've seen an NBA game live. The last moment was an NBA exhibition game in Norfolk, VA when Hampton native Allen Iverson and the 76ers faced Norfolk native Joe Smith and the Golden State Warriors in 1998 ... The game itself was a thrill! I finally get to see several three pointers, slam dunks, and off-balance layups happen right before my very eyes without the use of a high def television. The Magic started off slowly in the first quarter and then later gained a sizeable lead as the game was drawing to a close. Final score 115-83."

Thank goodness for Facebook!

Everyone that knows me up close and personal - definitely can tell how much I love 'facebooking.' Its a great online hobby to some, like in my situation. For others that aren't into the social networking hype altogether, it may be considered as a waste of time. I was actually one of hundreds, maybe millions of users that were once addicted to the MySpace hype a few years back. But I did mine's for a valid reason, not just because a waitress/server from Hooters suggested me and the fellas (my friends Ray & Jim) to go on there. My purpose and aim was clear: to find old friends from the past as well as connecting with family and relatives that I never knew I've had. At first, everything seemed so weird because of my familiarity and proficiency with MySpace. But then as time went on, I got so used to it. I was able to post anything and everything that crossed my mind from random thoughts to pictures to my home videos and YouTube JAM OF THE DAY segments. All my friends/family there bought into the hype that I was putting on my profile. The success continues to this very day as I am manifesting from one friend to another. Make that 323 I have as of right now. The numbers could dwindle. It may go up. It may go down. But there's always room to forge a friendship with anyone at any given time. And as all of that is happening, the end-result is that this blog page has remained stationary over a course of time. There isn't that much activity going on here and I failed on my promise to hype up Jonnyroobs Central furthermore. So, it looks like I will do what I can (but it can't be a guarantee) to balance my time between blogging, tweeting, and facebooking. That sure is a lot of internet activity, isn't it? If done right, it'll allot time to do other things than just being on the computer. I can concentrate more on my offline life. Anyways, I shall get going out of this blog post and check out my Facebook posts now. Catch you all later!

First epic blizzard storm of 2011 lives up to the hype!

Sure was a big one last night! ... I was able to document some of this event on my YouTube channel filming video bits 1,2 and 3 out on my apartment's balcony. The conditions didn't seem to be as worse where we are in Aurora, IL (as many residents preferred to stay indoors when the blizzard ushered it's way through from the late afternoon to the late evening hours). However, it's a different story in Downtown Chicago. They had it bad. Several cars had to be abandoned on the famous Lake Shore Drive. Pieces of Wrigley Field's roof went down. Pedestrians were swept by 50+ mph winds. There was even a thunder and lightning show included. Feels like something out of movie, huh - say, uh - 'The Day After Tomorrow.' But it wasn't nothing of catastrophic proportions, thank goodness. Lives were spared (except for one that was lost at the Lake Michigan area). We all woke up to seeing more than a foot of snow outdoors. There were adults shoveling the snow away and the kids are enjoying their moments having snowball fights or making snow angels. And of course, the cleaning crew taking care of the roadways. I'm happy to know most of my friends and co-workers were safe from harm's way. It was good to see them document their photo & video highlights respectively on Facebook. It will take a while for everything to get back to normal ... Do I sense an early Spring happening as we rely on the prediction of a 125 yr old Groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil? Here's hoping he's right on the money. I really want Old Man Winter outta here and enjoy Chicago for what it is!