Bite me!

No, it's not another post about my undying affection for True Blood (though this season is rocking my socks off, BTW) - it's a show I discovered on the always entertaining Travel Channel.

It's called 'Bite Me with Dr. Mike' and it's so cool!

This dude (Dr. Mike) is a freakin' nutjob. A former motorcycle mechanic, he always had the travel bug (no pun intended) and decided to study virology - getting his PhD in that as well as molecular biology at Oxford University.

Now he's got his own show on the Travel Channel - which involves him traversing the globe, hunting down strange bugs, parasites, arachnids, and basically anything that bites - hence the title.

The show just started on June 24th, I believe.

I watched the first one, where he goes to Brazil.

He first searches for - and finds - fire ants.

Straightaway he gets bit (on purpose!) and ends up at some rinky dink hospital that is practically in the jungle with an anaphylactic reaction. Nice.

And that's in the first five minutes.

Here are some of the show-stoppers we meet:

The Candiru - the most feared fish in the Amazon River, even moreso than Pirhana.

Unfortunately, this slippery little sucker slides into any open orafice (most likely the penis!) and they have to be surgically removed.

Say it with me now folks - Ouch.

Vampire bats can carry rabies, of course. But the whole bloodsucking thing is equally as disturbing, right?

Brazillian Wandering Spider

(On the show, this guy was just hanging around on the sidewalks of the slums in Rio.)

Bullet Ants. Apparently the most painful sting of any insect. Thirty times as powerful as a wasp.

So. Not. Cool.

Schistosomes...parasitic worms that, from my understanding, burrow into the skin and lay eggs, causing a heapin' handful of other issues.

Man, I should have put this post on my horror blog. Seriously.

The lovely yet deadly Pirhana.
Nasty, nasty.

The common Mosquito - this one carries the nasty Dengue fever, otherwise known as 'Breakbone Fever'.

the Assassin Bug - some varieties of this bug are known for biting humans in their sleep, in places such as the eyelids and lips. Again, nice.

Bite Me with Dr. Mike airs on tuesdays at 10pm on the Travel Channel.

Check it out!

RIP - Michael Jackson

Wow , two icons - the other being the courageous Farrah Fawcett - died on the same day.
Much as I admired Farrah's battle with cancer (and hey, I watched Charlie's Angels, too!) - it was not her famous red swim suit poster I had hanging on my wall - it was this one:



(And no, it's not still hanging on any of my walls, but I probably have it rolled up somewhere in my attic, alongside my 'Thriller' album - yep, vinyl!!)

When I was in ..oh, probably 7th grade, this dude was a complete hottie and the most popular person on earth. I loved my 'Thriller' album and my mom can attest I played it almost as much as my Black Sabbath 'Paranoid' album (almost)..

So I was very sad to hear he passed away.
He's made such a farce and spectacle of his life in the last twenty years or so that it is hard to remember what a fantastic artist and performer he was.
When he moonwalked across that stage for the first time with his freaky glove - what a moment!

So I choose to keep my fond memories of that Michael Jackson.

RIP.

Michael Jackson/Wikipedia

Johnny Depp - part 4

My final week of Johnny Depp has me saying this:

Oh come on, what the hell else is there to say?

Can we move on now?

I sooooooo don't freakin' give a crap about this reality couple divorcing.
Will this go away now?



Jon and Kate plus 8 - who cares?
Ok, maybe I feel a little bad for the kids.
But hey, their lives were never gonna be normal anyway, right?

Obviously someone let fame (and seriously - why are they famous?) go to their head...

Maybe we can finally put them behind us and get back to the regular dumb ass crap I'm sick of, such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Ugh.

Give. Me. A. Break.

The darker side of celebrity

I'm sorry, but I think actually jumping and latching onto a celebrity while he is walking down the street borders on psychotic behavior.

Poor Robert Pattinson cannot even walk down the street in NYC without fans mobbing him.
I think this is rather frightening, actually.
I wonder how he even sleeps at night - I'd constantly be seeing these rabid fans attacking me when I closed my eyes.

How pathetic.
Is it not enough to just appreciate the work he does and let him live his life?
That goes for all celebrities.
Sure, they've got money and fame.... but also the constant worry that maybe - just maybe - someday someone will pull a Mark David Chapman and it will all be over.
Maybe it's not worth it.

When have things gone too far?
We've learned nothing from the Princess Diana thing. But hell, even the paparazzi don't jump the stars. Good thing Rob Patz has bodyguards or these fanatics might have taken him back to their lair - who's to say?

No wonder some stars become so ungracious and/or reclusive.
I really can't blame them when they hide away on their private island or don't come out of their homes for weeks on end.
I might do the same thing.
Fame can be a real cross to bear.

Hump Day Hottie - Johnny week 3

It's week 3 of Johnny Depp --
This time it's favorite movie roles...


I've seen everything he's done, and these are just a few of my favorites:


First off, his first movie role as a young hottie - the boyfriend of the lead character who ultimately meets his demise in bed - and not in a good way...


A Nightmare on Elm Street




As a recluse jilted writer in the thriller, 'Secret Window'

As a late 19th century detective trailing the infamous Jack the Ripper in 'From Hell'

As a sexy wandering gypsy in 'Chocolat'

As Icabod Crane in the famous story of the Headless Horseman in 'Sleepy Hollow'

As a vengeful, murdering barber in the musical "Sweeney Todd'

And in his most famous role to date - the pirate everyone loves, Jack Sparrow in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' trilogy (soon to be quadrilogy...)

I couldn't list all my favorites or we'd be here all day....

Suffice it to say, he's my favorite actor.

Hump Day Hottie - Johnny part 2

Week two of my ode to Johnny Depp...


Long hair, short hair - whatever!



This pic is my favorite of any I've seen of him.
It's just so...HIM.



He certainly does love hats... always seems to be sporting one.

The other Bird is the word!

An upset at Belmont!


photo: Rick Samuels/Blood Horse

Summer Bird, who went off at something like 11-1, has won the Belmont Stakes, stealing the victory from his half brother, Mine That Bird, and spoiling Calvin Borel's bid for a jockey Triple Crown.

Ridden tactfully by jockey Kent Desormeaux, Summer Bird was in the back of the pack in the early going (as was Mine That Bird) but came barreling up at the end to stomp rallying Dunkirk, MTB, and Charitable Man.
Summer Bird and Mine That Bird have the same father - Birdstone, who - coincidentally enough, won the Belmont in 2004 (to ruin Smarty Jones's Triple Crown bid).... Small world, even in horseracing.

Desormeaux, as most will remember, lost the Triple Crown last year when he pulled up Big Brown during the debacle that was last year's Belmont Stakes. He also had a heartbreaking by-a-nostril loss back in 1998 on Triple Crown candidate Real Quiet (a personal fave of mine), so this jockey was really really anxious to get his win. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2004, so he knows his way around a racetrack.

Summer Bird's trainer, Tim Ice, has only been training for one year, so it's quite an accomplishment for him to take a leg of the spring Classics.

I can honestly say (and my dad can back this up) that I had a bit of an inkling about Summer Bird - but I didn't bet him to win. I bet him in an exacta box with Mine That Bird. I was a wee bit psyched when there was an inquiry against the second place finisher Dunkirk... it would have placed Dunkirk fourth and moved Mine That Bird into second - and I would have hit my exacta.
Alas, the stewards held up the order of finish. But hey, the thought was there.

So how do I feel about Mine That Bird's loss? Disappointed, I guess, but only in small doses.
I can't help but be thrilled that he hit the board in all three Triple Crown races. (1st in Derby, 2nd in Preakness, 3rd today in the Belmont) It proves he is no fluke. I don't think we've seen the last of him yet. Matter of fact, we'll no doubt see alot of him - he's gelded, remember? No breeding career awaiting him...
And if memory serves (and it does) - another horse, just a few years ago, had a win-place-show combo as well. That horse's name? CURLIN.

Bird is the word

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Your Belmont Stakes favorite (2-1), Mine That Bird!


photo: Mathea Kelley/BloodHorse

If it weren't for the filly's win at Pimlico in the Preakness, Bird would be trying for a Triple Crown win.
As it is, for jockey Calvin Borel it could be a personal Triple Crown - if he wins on Saturday he will have won all three legs of the Crown, albeit on two different horses.
I think that would be really cool, and wish Borel all the luck in the world.

For me, I just want to see my winning Derby longshot show them he's the real deal.

Go, Bird Go!!!!

Ode to Johnny...

Well, folks. This is it.
The end of the Hump Day Hottie - It's run its course, and I now find I dislike the pressure of finding someone every tuesday night. I may do the occassional random hottie, maybe even once a month, we'll see.
But I've been waiting for this one...
So anyway - I leave you with the final, ULTIMATE hottie, in my humble opinion.
Anyone who knows me knows my exceedingly huge infatuation with Johnny Depp.
So, in honor of his birthday (6/9/63), I've decided to have four weeks of Mr. Depp as my final HDH. Here's week number one.
Forgive me for my obsession, and enjoy.



I've been watching Johnny Depp since his 21 Jump Street Days, and when he moved on to movies, he starred in one of my fave horror classics: A Nightmare on Elm Street, where he gets sucked into a bed in a bloodbath quite rightly.



There is so much written about him and so much info you can find online about him, it's really fruitless for me to take the time. Just google him and find approximately 16,800,000 results.
He's a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award winner, and has been nominated for Academy Awards three times.
He is one of the best (and most famous) actors of my generation.



And if I may be so bold, who cares what the hell he's doing on screen?
I'd watch him watch paint dry for two hours, and pay a premium price to do it.
Hot Hot Hot.
His next movie, Public Enemies, in which he plays the infamous John Dillinger, opens July 1st.



More to come next week.

Johnny Depp/Wikipedia

Hump Day Hottie

Michael Vartan is this week's HDH.



He is most famous for his role as Michael Vaughn on the tv show 'Alias' for five seasons.
And for dating co-star Jennifer Garner.



This fall he is set to star opposite Jada Pinkett-Smith in a tv show about a North Carolina hospital.
He recently starred in the Australian horror film 'Rogue' about a huge croc. It was actually a very good film, which I blogged about here.



He was born in a very good year - 1968!
Looks pretty good for 40.

Michael Vartan/Wikipedia

Lord Stanley awaits...

Congrats to the Penguins!

I'm not a big hockey fan or anything, but kudos to the Pittsburgh Penguins for making it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row.
After disposing of the Carolina Hurricanes with a four-game win streak, they are advancing to play either the Detroit Red Wings (most likely) or the Chicago Blackhawks.

Being a big Steelers fan, I can completely understand the Penguins fans' fervor and excitement over the sweep of Carolina. We were actually still able to catch some of the first three games because we were on vacation in North Carolina last week so it was on local stations there. How ironic.

Best of luck in the Finals!
Bring the Cup home to the Burgh... it's been a banner year so far, let's keep it up.

Outer Banks Pics - Part 1

Here are a few pics of vacation so far.
I've taken more since these but haven't loaded them into the computer yet.
So here goes.

This is our cottage "Sea Beyond" - we rented from Outer Beaches Realty (who we usually use and like very much)... it sits one lot back from the Atlantic Ocean and has really good views.

When we got here it had been raining on us for ten hours straight (definately the worst trip down we've ever had) but when we got to Hatteras Island, miraculously it stopped raining.
Which was super, considering we had all our crap to unload.

After unpacking we walked down to the beach (a very short walk from our cottage) and checked out the views. The ocean was a noisy, scary sumbitch on sunday afternoon.

The Avon Pier (above)







Mom and I on the beach the first day.
Yes, it was that windy & chilly.


Todd checking out the beach.



Currituck Lighthouse in Corolla, NC. (1875)

Corolla is way up at the northern end of the Outer Banks. It is about 77 miles north of where we stay in Avon. Takes about an hour & 50 minutes to get there. We generally only go up that far once during the week, as you can imagine.



Currituck Light is all red-brick, not painted.
Quite striking, it stands 158 feet high.


Todd climbed the light (214 steps) and took this picture halfway up.
I've went up before, so I stayed down on the ground with Mom.

Some aerial views from the top of the lighthouse:








There is a really nice nature path that leads to the sound on the lighthouse grounds, and these flowers grow wild all over the path.




Here's the beautiful Bodie Island Lighthouse (1872) just south of Nags Head.
It stands 156 feet high and is the exact same design as the Currituck Light, except for its wide black and white stripes, of course.

You cannot climb Bodie right now, but there are plans in motion to restore it to make it stable enough for climbing. It would have really unbelieveable views, and I hope someday we're able to see them.

Ok, that's all for right now.
We've also been to Ocracoke since, and are hitting the Cape Hatteras Light (only a few miles down the road from here) tommorrow.
More pics to come....