So my quest for a new car has me checking out some pre-owned vehicles at Zimbrick Eastside.

I met up once again with Gerald Ayers at Zimbrick Eastside Hyundai..and he had some cool cars to show me.  I took a pre-owned Hyundai Certified Pre-owned Hyundai Elantra Touring out for a test ride. It only had 30-thousand miles on it..which means I would have 70-thousand miles left on the factory warranty. Incredible! And you wouldn’t believe all the extra hoops they have to go through to make sure it meets Hyundai’s strict expectations.  They inspect the body, the brakes, the belts, hoses,  wheel bearings..you name it!

Did you know Zimbrick Hyundai Eastside has other makes and models of used cars on the lot? Gerald showed me an all-wheel drive Subaru Forester.. which looked great, but was a little too big for me. He also put me behind the wheel of a Toyota Solara convertible! It was too cold to drive very far with the top down..but we went for a cruise and I was impressed that the top is a hard top..the back window was glass (not scratchy plastic), and that it even has front wheel drive. This is a convertible that could be driven year-round.

I got a chance to meet Zimbrick Eastside’s  Sales Manager David Masar, who showed me where the used cars are all rigorously checked out by their mechanics to make sure they meet their high expectations. He also explained that all used cars, even the ones that aren’t Hyundai certified come with a 3-month 3-thousand mile warranty. And a full tank of gas!

The Toyota Solara–sweet!

Dave Masar explaining the awesome warranties

Getting cars up to spec!

Wow.. we’re getting some excellent captions to the photo in yesterday’s ( Wednesday) blog.

here’s an example: 

you know you’d had waaay too much to drink when you wake up next to this guy….

Anyway… Here are the prizes this week: 

A CD from last week’s obsession, Brett Ryan!

A copy of Bill Leuder’s book on muckraking and rabblerousing,

AND.. Look at those stickers! They can be YOURS! I know… exciting, isn’t it!

Jonathan is so upset Life magazine chose Bucky Badger as one of the creepiest college mascots, he cannot write a blog today.  Two other mascots, Sammy the banana slug from UC Santa Cruz and Mr. Okra the Okra from Delta State University will write a blog defending Bucky.

Hi Badger fans!  It’s Sammy!  I’m the Banana Slug from UC Santa Cruz.  I can’t believe Life magazine picked my good friend Bucky as a creepy mascot.  Honestly, I’m much creepier.  Which would you rather have humping your leg?  A cute badger or a slug?  What’s that?  You’ve already had a slug try to hump your leg?  No, Kim Kardashian does not count as a slug.  Sorry.

I am an upstanding slug in the community, but there are some of my relatives who haven’t been as cool.  Here are a list of slugs mascots who have been much creepier then Bucky could ever be:

1. Charlie Sheen

2. John Edwards

3. Ben Rothlisberger

4. Bobby Knight

5. Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling

So keep your chin up, Bucky.  At least you have a chin.

Hello Wisconsin Badger fans.  My name is Mr. Okra and I’m the official mascot of Delta State University.  I’ve even appeared on the Food Network.  Luckily, the Barefoot Contessa was not able to get me in a bowl.  I can’t really understand what’s so creepy about Bucky?  I say nothing!  Me on the other hand, I’m creepy.  Read Wikipedia’s description of me:

The products of the plant result in the characteristic “goo” or slime when the seed pods are cooked. While many people enjoy okra cooked this way, others prefer to minimize sliminess; keeping the pods intact and cooking quickly help to achieve this.

Nasty and creepy.  I think it’s creepy to both me the eatee and you the eater.

Bucky as a creepy mascot?!  No way!  I’d write more, but the cook for the student cafeteria here at Delta State just texted me.  He wants to talk to me about something very important.  I’ve got to go meet him in the kitchen.  He told me to come alone.  It must be really important!

Madison’s very own “Funky Drummer” Clyde Stubblefield will lead a stellar lineup of musicians for an event called “Funk For Japan” this Sunday at High Noon Saloon.

The idea to put the benefit together came from Stubblefield, who traveled the world with James Brown, making friends in countries around the world, including Japan. He has friends who live in Sendai, a city which suffered severe damage to its coastal areas when the quake and tsunami hit March 11th.

That band that you hear every Friday at around 7:40 on 105.5 Triple M, the Gomers, will  be lending their considerable musical talent to the event, by hosting a special edition of Rock Star Gomeroke. Singers from Emmettville, The Tony Casteneda Latin Jazz Band, Primative Culture, Phat Phunktion, and Chick Singer have all agreed to sing a song or two..or perhaps three.  The Madison funk band The Mustache has also been added to the bill.

All proceeds will go the American Red Cross, Badger Chapter. Suggested donation: $10. This is a 21+ show.

Here’s the schedule:

6:00pm: The Funky Gomeroke Allstars

7:30pm: Clyde Stubblefield Band

9:00pm  The Mustache

More info here.

Hey I finally completed another item on my list of trying 50 new things before I’m 50.

Admittedly, it wasn’t too big of a stretch. I tried a new type of yogurt. I’d been hearing a lot about the benefits of Greek yogurt, and since I had a coupon I bought a couple containers.

I brought it into work today and tried it. And my first reaction was “yuck,” but I stuck it out to the end and I guess it’s okay.

I tried the strawberry fruit on the bottom variety. If it had more strawberries it would have been more palatable to me. And it might have been better if I hadn’t read the other ingredients in advance. The included less than 1% of corn starch, lemon juice concentrate, kosher gelatin and vegetable juice (for color). Apparently the strawberries weren’t strawberry colored enough on their own.

I have another container of the stuff at home. The next goal is to actually eat it before the expiration date.

By the way, I’m making this list up as I go along..so if you have any ideas for me, let me know!

Spring has almost sprung, I saw a robin, most of the snirt ( snow and dirt) piles have melted, so we think Easter. Yes, I know it’s not until April 24, but I have THE MOST PERFECT photo for you to caption.

Knowing how much you like the creepy guys, please give me your best caption for this photo:

 The winner will receive fabulous ( as determined by me) PRIZES! Who doesn’t like prizes?

Your deadline is Friday at 4 PM. Have fun, be creative, and, as always, play nice!

Tom Waits is a man of many talents, from his incredible music career to acting to composition, he has been involved with music for a long time.  So, it’s no surprise that he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week with this year’s class of musicians including Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Dr. John, Darlene Love and Leon Russel.

Waits was introduced by Neil Young and played a short set including songs “Make it Rain,” “Rain Dogs,” “House Where Nobody Lives” and “Get Behind The Mule.”  The last song included Neil Young and you can watch the video below:

I’ve decided to create a few new laws here in Wisconsin.  I’m not really sure if simply publishing them on a website works, but it apparently is working in the minds of the Republicans here in Wisconsin.

How is that possible?

Well, Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill is being held up in the courts, but it was posted on the Legislative Reference Bureau’s website so Republicans are saying it is now law.  Technically it is supposed to be published in the Wisconsin State Journal, but isn’t being published because of a court order.  Follow?   Me neither, but I think this may give me the opportunity to create some new laws.

I’m not sure if Triple M’s website holds as much weight as the Legislative Reference Bureau website, but we do list all the cool concerts coming to Madison and the Legislative Reference Bureau site does not.  That’s got to count for something, right?

Regardless, I’m going to make up a few “laws” here and hopefully people in Wisconsin will follow them.

1. Bear Down Law:  From this day forward let it be law that Packer fans can no longer hassle me for being a Chicago Bears fan while I’m shopping for groceries, cutting my lawn, going for a bike ride or a jog.  In fact, all the gloating after the Packers Super Bowl victory must stop  when talking to me.

2. Pick a Damn Movie Already Law:  From this day forward when I’m going to the movie theatre the person in front of me buying tickets must at least have some sort of a vague concept of what movie he or she wants to see.  Standing in front the ticket window with a dumb look on your face and asking, “Is The King’s Speech any good?  I think that Colin somebody is in it?  Should we see that one?”  is no longer allowed.

3. Texting and Tweeting while Talking to Me Law:  I know you’re important, but it is no longer legal to have a long texting conversation with someone else when you’re pretending to talk to me.

4.  Snow law:  It is no longer legal for snow to accumulate on my driveway.

5. Grams of Fat Law:  My favorite food items such as brownies and chocolate cake will no longer have more than 1g of fat, but still taste just as good as before.

6.  Kitty Litter Law:  All felines living under my roof (currently 1 named Baxter) will clean kitty litter themselves.

7. Awesome Cell Phone Connection Law: My cell phone calls will never be dropped.  Actually, I can still hang up during a conversation if I’m bored, but the other person will be blamed for having a bad phone connection.

8. Salt and Pepper Law: My hair will stop graying now at the salt and pepper stage.

9. Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday Work Week Law:  The work week (for me) now starts on Tuesday and ends on Thursday.  However, after a while Tuesday will start to feel like Monday so work week will start on Wednesday.  When Wednesday starts to feel like Monday work week will begin on Thursday.  When Thursday begins to feel like Monday work week will be eliminated, but I will still receive pay as if I was working 5 full days.

Let it be know that on March 29, 2011 these Jonathan Laws are now in effect or is affect?  Wait, I forgot one…

10.  Spelling no longer counts.

The first album I ever owned!

When I was a younger lover of music, I pretty much refused to buy any album from any artist until they came out with a Greatest Hits package. More for the money, I thought.

Now this started to fade away when I got into my belated Beatlemania phase and my brother got me the silver “Rock and Roll” album I requested, and also got me “Sgt. Pepper” so I could hear the music the way it was intended.

So for what it’s worth..here’s a list of some of the Greatest Hits albums I had when I was junior high and high school (and a bit thereafter). Did you have any of these?

Elton John’s Greatest Hits (Vol. 1) Favorite song at the time: “Rocket Man.”"

Elton John’s Greatest Hits (Vol. 2) Favorite song at the time:  “Levon.” Least favorite: “Grow Some Funk of Your Own.” Just what was he singing about?

Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. Loved the slower songs. I like the song “Cecelia,” but didn’t like that it jolted me out of my relaxed mood at the end of side 2.

America’s Greatest Hits. I had to skip over “Muskrat Love.” Yuck.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young So Far (Greatest Hits). I loved “Ohio.” Brought out my protest-y side.

Queen’s Greatest Hits. I just liked kickin’ that can all over the place.

Jim Croce’s Greatest Hits. I can still all the words to all those great songs. Even “Roller Derby Queen” and “Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues.”

Loggins & Messina’s Greatest Hits. “You and me, we ain’t got money..I’m so in love with ya honey..and everything will bring a chain of love…”

Eagles’ Greatest Hits (Vol. 1). I always liked “Lyin’ Eyes,” and “Desperado.”

Cat Stevens’ Greatest Hits. Loved “Moonshadow.” Hated “Morning Has Broken.”

Bread’s Greatest Hits. Only listened to Side 1 of this one. Heartbreaking that the “Diary” he found under the tree wasn’t about him. Sniff. (There’s actually a great rocker on side 2 “Mother Freedom,” but I didn’t learn about that for years.)

Foreigner’s Greatest Hits. Loved that the album cover design looked like a juke box.

ELO’s Greatest Hits. Who doesn’t love “Evil Woman” or “Telephone Line”?

So, you think you’ve just had about enough of hearing about The Strokes?   Well, too late, because Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture said the band plans to work on their next album, starting as early as next month.

“We just were talking yesterday about when we would get back together and start working on writing for the next album,” Fraiture said in an interview, “which would be some point soon, I think around April — mid-April.”

You can listen to him hear: