Hey Since Nobody's Posting Anything

There is something new in the world of motivating your employees. They are called "Motivaids". A name no doubt derived from Motivational Aids. A Motivaid is a giant sized game board to set up your company sales incentive program. I used to make things like this for my sales people when I worked in the Apartment Industry. Games like these are hard to make when you are trying to make one for each of 40 properties. However, they are worth the trouble, because they work so well at motivating your sales or leasing people. However, at around $50 each, you can't afford the time and materials to make something like these.
One of the most interesting and clever parts of the games are what they call the "Prize Stops." The manager can set up prizes for the sales people to win along the route. These are hidden away by their patent pending "stick-on-scratch-off" which makes it easy to create and a whole lot of fun to motivate your employees.
These pre-made sales contests are created by a company called MVP Squared LLC, (Motivational, Visual, Performance Programs) which is located in Plano, Texas.
They have four designs, one is a race to climb a snowy mountain, called "King of the Mountain." Next is a game they call "Race to the Winner's Circle" which is a car race around a winding road. The third is "The Heat is On!" which is a race climbing up a thermostat that is getting hotter with each move. And the last one is a horse race, called "Ride to Victory." They can be found at Motivaids.com.
Here is a demo explaining how they work:

Welcome to The Hubbub!

Petrie Lane before it hits Lake Ontario - August 18, 2007.

This is The End.

Remember This Classic?

Original inaugural month post here.

Here's the never before seen outtake:

Star Trak, the 8mm Spock Spoof, NOW ON BLOGGER VIDEO!!

Star Trak (aka Fred's Yesterday Was Tomorrow Today):

The Outtakes:

Can we [go] back to just having fun now?

That question was asked in this Comment section a little over a year ago after a regrettable and rather ugly episode here on The Hubbub. In time we all discovered the answer. But what about our offline lives? When does the bottle or our other escapist addictions fail to provide the old answers? You're probably thinking "RIGHT NOW!"

Well, here's your new bottle.

Meeting Al Gore at Live Earth

Seven, seven, seven will go down as a magical day for me. It was the day that I met and shook the hand of Al Gore - twice.

Over the years I've strongly supported Al Gore and his green and progressive politics. I've also been somewhat of a Bon Jovi and Sting (Police) fan. So when Al Gore sends me an email telling me about his upcoming Live Earth Concert, of course I was interested to say the least.

We started off by tail gating in Giant Stadium around 12:30. The sun was really beating down, but we came well stocked with a lot of sunscreen and cold beer. Since we were going in two cars, (yes, gas guzzling SUV's) we had just a little hassle finding two parking spaces next to each other. The parking lot was packed with old school concert goers and green freaks. Mostly it looked like any other concert event with the presence of both old time and new rock and roll.

I had been misinformed that cameras were not allowed, so when I went inside I decided to leave my camera in the car. Unfortunately I didn't learn until I had already had my ticket scanned that I could have brought my Canon 30D with the 300 mil lens, if I hadn't just had my ticket scanned (you can't go out once you've entered.) I was really upset, because I really thought I'd get some good shots. Like the one I got of my friend Tia when she got to shake Al's hand above. I wish that she had a camera when I took my turn.

Oh let me tell you how we got the camera. My magic life intervened on my behalf.My buddy Mike is an English teacher in New Jersey and when he was walking to our seats in the second level, he meets a former student(now a big dog at Giant Stadium)who just so happens to have two floor tickets. Can you believe that FLOOR TICKETS TO LIVE EARTH. Mike being the great guy that he is, decided that we would all take turns watching our favorite performers. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave up watching Jon Bon Jovi to my wife. But I did stick the camera in her hand. She took some amazing pics.

For those of you who are fans, here is one of the pictures of Bon Jovi. If you are interested in more, contact me at ace@starry.com. I've got a few for sale.

Evolution

Is the Hubbub dead, has the Junto Pahdna become the homo sapiens of the cave man era blogsite Hubbub, what will become of this historic site..........

The Landlord

So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut

November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007

Everyone's Favorite Bunny for Easter

"I wanna an easter egg, I wanna an easter egg, I wanna an easter egg!"

The Pagan Origins of Easter (or Happy Ishtar)

Ever wonder what bunnies and ham and colored eggs have to have to with Easter? Like many Christian holidays and traditions, it owes origins to the pagans.

The story begins with a Babylonian King named Nimrod (I am not making this up, although you'll see why this is a term of derision today in a bit), great-grandson of Noah, and builder of the Tower of Babel.

After his father is killed in battle, Nimrod becomes King and marries the Queen, his own mother. Despite this really creepy behavior, Nimrod becomes a powerful King. In the eyes of his people, Nimrod becomes a man-god, and Semiramis, his wife and mother, becomes a powerful Queen.

According to the legend, Nimrod is eventually killed by an enemy in battle, his body is cut into pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom. Semiramis has all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found. The missing part was his penis (the term nimrod today essentially means "dick-less one"). Semiramis claims that Nimrod can not come back to life without it and tells the people of Babylon that Nimrod has ascended to the sun and is now the sun god.

Not satisfied to just be married to a god, Semiramis begins to set herself up as a god as well. She claims that she was immaculately conceived (hmmm, have we heard that one before). She teaches the Babylonians that the moon is a goddess that goes through a 28 day cycle and ovulates when full. Semiramis herself had come down from the moon in a giant egg that fell into the Euphrates River during the first full moon following the spring equinox.

In her goddess incarnation, Semiramis takes the name "Ishtar" (actually pronounced Easter, or so I am told, I could never understand Babel). When Ishtar becomes pregnant she claims that it was the rays of the sun-god (her ex-) that caused her to conceive. The resulting son is Tammuz.

Tammuz is supposed to have been especially fond of rabbits, and rabbits become sacred throughout Babylon (hah! bunnies!). Unfortunately, one day while out hunting, Tammuz is killed by a wild pig.

The queen tells her worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a new, full tree overnight. This makes the evergreen tree sacred (yep, even ol' Tannenbaum doesn't have anything to do with Jesus, but that other son of a god and a mortal woman of immaculate conception, Tammuz).

She proclaims a forty day period of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz. During this time, no meat is to be eaten. Worshippers are to meditate and to make the sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they pray. They also are to eat sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.

Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration is made, Ishtar's Sunday, with rabbits and eggs. Ishtar also proclaims that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, a pig must be eaten on that Sunday (mmmm, ham).

Thus Easter (and Good Friday which should be the day after first night of Passover since the last supper was Passover Seder, after all) can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover. Instead, Easter, pagan holiday that it is, is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Interestingly, the only time the word "Easter" appears in the the Bible is in Acts, chapter 12, when we are told that it was the evil King Herod, and not the Christians, who was planning to celebrate Easter.

So there you have it, the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns, the Easter ham, the sign of the cross, the christmas tree and perhaps even the mythology of the birth of Jesus, owe their origins to the ancient pagan religion of Babylon.

So enjoy your holiday, PAGAN IDOLATERS!

Is anyone reading or censoring anymore?

Happy Easter to all Christians and registered Republicans, may the Lord of Peace bless you all. Happy Passover to our Jewish Friends and uh...hooray for the muslims too? Was this PC enough for the Hubub Police Dept?

One

There comes a time
when Nature in all
its glory
cannot console.

Yesterday-
comfort came with her beauty;
loneliness gave way
to adoration.

Today - emptiness,
longing - remindings
of life that was.

God, restore your comfort.

-Olga Laird Hinckley
________________________________________________________
Today is The Hubbub's one year anniversary.
What happened?

Three Card Monte

A gang know as the Cracker Parker three-card monte mob worked this con in the early 1950's until the late seventies. The three card monte has been in use on the streets of major cities for decades. It is also common to magicians demonstrating the effect of switching the cards unbeknownst to the audience members. If you should come across anyone playing this game and asking you to bet, just keep walking. This video shows some well qualified magicians recreating how the scam is actually run. It a re-creation of the Cracker Parker script, with the parts of the various shills highlighted. Whit Haydn as "the Mark," Gazzo as "the Dealer," and Billy McComb as "the Smoother." Notice his pick-pocketing routine in the end. The magians playing the shills are: R. Paul Wilson, Jeff Thomas, Zach Dubnoff, Chef Anton, and Adam Schiff. This is an out-take from the "School for Scoundrels DVD on Three-Card Monte."

Nothing New Under the Sun

All things come and go and then come around again. It is the way of things as I have been enlightened at the Punxatwaney Nittikharabi Temple under Master Chattapadhyayhyay. It appears the Hubbub is passing as well, do not fear it will return in the cycle.

Swami Kelldog

What Movies From The Last 10 Years Would You Add To The Top 100 of All Time?

In doing a little pre-Oscar research on Martin Scorsese last night (I was trying to see how many Top 100 movies he had), I discovered that the American Film Institute (AFI) is doing a 10th anniversary update to it's 100 Years...100 Movies list.



You can download AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition ballot HERE.

The question is, what movies from the last 10 years would you add to the top 100 of all time?

My nominees are (in no particular order):
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Sexy Beast
The Lord of the Rings (all three as one 12-hour long, director's cut entry)
Rushmore
Memento
Magnolia
Mystic River
Saving Private Ryan
American Beauty
Y Tu Mamá También

and I almost forgot, Marty's fourth addition to the list, The Departed

Dear Swami Kelldog: Will Martin Scorsese Finally Get His Oscar Tonight?

Is 2007 the year when the great ones finally get their trophies?

Peyton Manning got his Super Bowl.










Does Marty finally get his trophy?

Ron and Fez: Big Ass Night Of Fights IV

As you Ron and Fez (of XM Radio and FreeFM fame) fans know, Friday February 23rd is the Big Ass Night Of Fights IV: Eastside Dave versus The Midnight Rider. An event not to be missed.

Any fans of the show who are interested in attending, let me know, I have two extra tickets. It's at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, show starts at 6PM.

Ask the Swami Kelldog...

Hullo,
I am Swami Kelldog and i am offering my deepest insight and opinions into your worldy concerns and worries, i fulfill the needs to all seekers of truth. Swami Kelldog is a recent graduate of the Punxatawney Nittikwanyakabharat Temple and has studied under the wise one Swami par excellence Chattophadhyayhyay. Please feel free to ask the Swami today. Since I dont eat cows, I had Mrs. Chicken Pants in a Curry Rice dish for lunch.

Simplistic Movies!

Enjoy a movie on me!

http://simplisticsmovielinks.blogspot.com/

Darkness Drops Again

Darkness drops again
On the once great mighty beast
Slumbering now in the desolate void
A cacophonous tumult now deceased

But this night marks the final hour
Of a vexed and listless life
It rises slowly, sadly
And slouches towards the east

One More Reason to Quit

Wanna Smooch?

Hillarys Boy?

These 2 sure make a cute couple. Lets hope the voting machines are rigged again this time, yikes..

Alrighty Then! Let's Get Right Into The Politics Now, Shan't We?

Hillary Clinton is to be presented as America's Margaret Thatcher as she tries to become the first woman to win the White House. Let's compare:

There Is Only One True Religion...

"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."

L. Ron Hubbard
Creator, Church of Scientology

Cruise is the Christ of Scientology.

Sunday Afternoon Haiku...

Seven Sorrows

When he was just, but one year old, brought on His presentation day

An old man there, named Simeon, prophetic words fulfilled that day.

The words he spoke, would pierce her heart, that this child would be king

and suffer much, and be the fall and be the rise of many men.

Herod had heard the spreading word, that a great leader had been born,

Joseph the guardian, of the child, to His protection was he sworn.

He took his wife, and fled that night, to save his child from the sword

Down to Egypt, a long hard trek, another sorrow was fulfilled.

They looked three days, in every place, and then she found her child there,

the Temple of Old Israel, and the teachers with him there.

"What have you done, did you not know, we have searched you for 3 days"

"Oh, mother where, else would I be, but right here in My Fathers place."

His mission done, yet just begun, after the trial He was scourged,

then crowned with thorns and mocked and scorned, for all the sin that must be purged.

While on His way, to Calvary, He met His mother on the road,

the tears she cried, her only son, this was as Simeon foretold.

They nailed Him down, then raised Him up, to all men this sign is shown

The Lamb of God, laid down to die, the seeds of truth have all been sown,

He cried out loud, in dying voice, "Father, forgive them what they do, accept my Spirit, unto your hands, I offer all of this to you."

As he lay dead, they pierce His heart, the precious blood and water ran,

His body down and placed into, His weeping mothers loving hands.

She holds her child, who would be king, and suffer much to make atone,

Oh, how she cried, oh how He died, her broken heart left all alone.

A follower, of her son, a man named Joseph gave his tomb

the body of her broken child, was laid to rest in that small room.

As Mary watched the burial, of her only son Jesus,

a rock is rolled, across the face, and guards are stationed at that place.

Saddam's Cat...

An overly delayed response to Kelldog's New Year's Eve post.
(Sorry, didn't mean to leave you all hanging.)

Hubbub Question Of The Week: Man Versus Nature

How many unarmed men would it take to bring down a grizzly bear?


Grizzly Bear
Strengths:
The grizzly bear can weigh up to 1,800 pounds. The grizzly is able to stand on its hind feet. When he stands up he can be as tall as 12 feet high. The grizzly bear is very strong. He can kill a human with one swipe of his claw.

Weaknesses:
Grizzly bears do not see very well. Functionally illiterate.




Man
Strengths:
Intelligence. Ability to work in well coordinated teams. Strong fashion sense.

Weaknesses:
Lack of any natural defense mechanisms. Existential angst. Meaty aroma.

Waiting For The Posts...

Godot, posts on The Hubbub, sex with Morgan Fairchild. Same thing.

Sunday Night Haiku

The Birds lose again,

Perhaps the Saints deserve it,

Katrina and all.

Has the Hub lost its Bub?

Where have all the postings gone....long time passing.
Whers have all the postings gone, long time ago...

They've gone to The Hullabaloo??

Boise State #1

Okay all you naysayers (and you know who you are) Boise pulled off the big win. And if you missed the Fiesta Bowl you should kick yourself in the $#@!. It had all the trappings of great football; the early lead, the great comeback, the poorly timed touchdown interception, the greater comeback by hook and ladder, overtime touchdown, overtime fourth down comeback touchdown, followed by no-guts-no-glory two point conversion on the ol' statue of liberty play.

And wait did I mention that immediately after the game the running back proposed to the head cheerleader and of course she accepted. Now you can't even find that kind of drama in reality TV.

By the way announcers, it's pronounced "boycee" not "boyzee." This was perhaps the best bowl game of all time, certainly the best college game of century (even though the announcers didn't know BSU's background well enough to correctly pronounce the Idaho capital's name.) They'll remember the name for some time to come.

I can't decide if it was better than the Texas vs. USC championship, but wait, I just decided... it was! Now I know, you Rutgers fans have a lot to cheer about, winning your Texas (what the hell is that?) Bowl. I was in Houston at the time and two friends of mine at dinner had tickets to the game. You'll want to kill me for this, but they couldn't give them away. No spin here.

Oh yeah, I haven't been able to post, because Blogger hadn't moved me to the new format until today. I look forward to and wish a healthy and happy new year for all you Hubbubers.

Happy New Year 2007!

Some of us are just hanging around and hoping to make it big with the virgins this New Years Eve. To all Hububbers Merry New Years and a Happy Kwaanza Too! Oh yeah, a joyful Ramadan as well.

Switch to New Blogger. NOW!

And if you're wondering what your #1 New Year's resolution should be, look closely at the gun barrel. Think. THINK!

September

White lights cavorting
'mid domed islands, yellow
with goldenrod.
Trees, stark, gray, dead,
still punctuate the waters,
Telling that the pools
are young.

One lone duck swims, suns,
dives, surfaces.
'Tis a day that foretells winter kindly.

Red, the symbol of danger?
Ah, say not so!
Gaze on the sumach's
flaming beacon,
signalling from yonder hillside;
yon fiery maple filling the air
with crimson banners;
the sun, God's scarlet signal
of departing day.

Say rather,
"Red, the sign of God's
omnipotence."

-Olga Laird Hinckley

The orginal poem.
______________________________

Now I think I'll go out and get a tall Christmas Blend Starbucks. The one with the whip cream and red and green sprinkles. Hope they're still making them.

Trifecta Revisited...

all the people living life trash-free.

No smoking allowed. Chelsea Market Photo Gallery, Dec 26, 2006.

Seven people dead on a South Dakota farm. Six videos.
[Speaking of videos, Smelly missed this early fall video contest.]

Trifecta context here, here and here.

Sectarian Strife Explained...

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
"Well, there's so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Well...are you religious?"
He said yes. I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915." I said, "Die, heretic scum," and pushed him off.
____________________________________________

What it's like to jump off an 876 foot high bridge.
Care for an additional adrenaline rush?
How about a photo of someone you know jumping out of a hot air balloon?
Or video of someone you don't jumping off a downtown NYC building?
How about actual video of a guy who fell 12,000 feet after his parachute didn't open...and he lived?!

It's A Wonderful Life (the full version online)...

Watch 101 Classic Christmas Videos Online!
Also includes The Simpsons, The Flinstones and Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, among many others.

[This is absolutely my last Christmas-related post.]

I Don't Feel Good...

Christmas morning. James Brown. Dead at 73.

Merry Christmas Monkeys!

"Merry Christmas to all six billion of you (regardless of your personal belief system) and to all a good night! And in case you're wondering, that was not a small lump of coal I deposited in your stocking. Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Merry Christmas...And Oh Yeah, We Discovered Proof Of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent Life

Disclosure Project - Steven M. Greer - SETI Makes Alien Contact

A Friedrich Nietzsche Christmas...

This short video is beyond good and evil.

Backworldsmen...

Weariness, which seeketh to get to the ultimate with one leap, with a death-leap; a poor ignorant weariness, unwilling even to will any longer: that created all gods and backworlds.

Source: Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

You Heard It Here First...

Jesus was born on September 11th and three wise men came to see what The Hubbub was all about. Or were they...

three Neitzsche-reading monkeys?

In Search of Historic Jesus: Christmas Is Actually September 11

From http://petragrail.tripod.com/page5.html

"Jesus was born within a few minutes of 6:30-7:30 pm on the evening of September 11th, 3 BC."

"How can we know the exact day--and nearly the hour--of the birth of Jesus? In his second chapter, Luke tells what happened the day Mary came to the Temple for purification 40 days after the birth of Jesus. All one has to know is what day this was. And Luke plainly names the day. In fact, he includes three statements identifying the day. So what day was this? Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. The 10th day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar."

"In Luke's time, Yom Kippur was called three things: The day of the "Fast," the day
of the "Purification,"and the day of "Redemption." Luke uses all three to identify the day Jesus was brought to the Temple. And he even quotes the Torah rule that mandates the 40-day period for the mother to wait after the child's birth [Lk 2:22-38]."

"And if there were any doubt that it was Yom Kippur, Luke tells of a woman named
Anna who had been in the Temple for a "night and day" without leaving. There was
ONLY ONE DAY A YEAR when a person could pray overnight in the Temple: Yom
Kippur. All other days, the Temple was locked at sundown."

"This shows the 40th day of Mary's Purification had begun at the end of Yom Kippur, the end of the 10th day of the 7th month, because we know the Purification was done at the earliest opportunity--at the beginning of the 40th day after birth. And since the 6th month normally had only 29 days, simple arithmetic shows Mary's 39 days of Purification had to have begun around sundown on the 1st day of the 6th month, called Elul."

"The Hebrew lunar calendar dates vary with respect to our solar calendar. So the 1st of Elul was September 11th in 3 BC, but began on August 22 in 1998. The same was true in the days of the early church, of course. In a given year, the 1st of Elul could have fallen on September 8th, for example."

"We can also tell from Luke's Gospel that Jesus had been born in early evening, for
Luke says the shepherds were keeping watch by night, but still had time to go into town and tell the people what they had seen earlier that evening. People rose early with the sun in those days, and would have been asleep by 9 or 10 pm. Therefore, the birth had taken place no later than 8 pm, and probably before 7 pm. Yet Luke says it happened at night, which means after sunset--surely after 6 pm in September. Hence, it follows that Jesus was born within a few minutes of 6:30-7:30 pm on the evening of September 11th, 3 BC."

Peace On Earth...

An important video message of unity this Holiday season from Religion of Peace spokesperson Ayman al-Zawahiri.