An American in Jordan

I am writing this post from my iPod Touch using the free Wordpress application for iPhone. I feel so cool right now…in a geeky way.

The Olympics are over. Bummer!

There’s always something magical about the Olympics. Sure it comes with the good and bad, but the essential and prevailing feeling that exists is one of sportsmanship, brotherhood, human triumph and achievement. This year on American television there were a couple of outstanding commercials that portrayed those same qualities. Top billing this year in my mind goes to Nike who captures the overall Olympic (and athletic) spirit through a series of fast-paced images and a killer [sic] song by The Killers.

A bit more calm but just as powerful goes to Visa with their Go World series of commercials, narrated by the great Morgan Freemon.

I love it when an advertisement makes you feel good to be alive.

Some of my favorite Newsdroppings from this week:

• Delta and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge, thus creating the world’s largest producer of waiting.
• McCain and Clinton are now both calling Obama “elitist.” Obama plans a retort, as soon as his manservant Godfrey can come up with one.
• The Western Wall in Israel was cleared of the many personal notes left by worshippers, and now no one in Israel knows when to pick up the kids from soccer practice or what to bring home for dinner.
• More than two-thirds of Generation X-ers think they’ll never be able to stop working . Boomers, on the other hand, think Gen X-ers will never be able to start working.

Here are a couple of my favorite Newsdroppings from Shoebox:

• Starbucks has been ordered to repay baristas more than $100 million in tips. Wow, that comes to…almost 1,000 grande lattes!
• Some British guy who wrote a book about a life dedicated to sex, drugs and high fashion has been denied permission to visit New York on grounds of “moral turpitude.” That would be the same New York where the governor hired call girls, and the new governor had affairs, right? Just checking.
• One of the moons of Saturn may have an underground ocean. When asked to comment, a government spokesperson said, “It’s not oil, so who gives a rip?”
• The 6th Harry Potter movie is on the way! It’s called Harry Potter And The Something Or Other and it’s about magic and robes and stuff.

It’s a rare thing when a remake of a classic song outdoes the original. The temptation for most artists is to take a hit classic and then “customize” with their own style it to the point where it’s hardly recognizable. It takes a lot of artistic restraint and talent to add just enough to a personal flavor to a song in order to re-energize it in a new and modern way.

Listed below are some of my favorite classic covers by some fantastic bands.

“Come Together” by Aerosmith (originally popularized by The Beatles)

“Life is a Highway” by Rascall Flatts (originally popularized by Tom Cochrane)

“Route 66″ by John Mayer (originally popularized by Chuck Berry or The Rolling Stones)

“Give a Little Bit” by The Goo Goo Dolls (originally popularized by Supertramp)

“American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz (originally popularized by The Guess Who)

“Oh, Pretty Woman” by Van Halen (originally popularized by Roy Orbison)

“20th Century Boy” by Def Leppard (originally popularized by T. Rex)