I bet I can find Waldo...

[NOTE] This is a special announcement from my friend, Matt, who has organized a fantastic event at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. If you are in that area or know anyone there, spread the word -- You have the chance to do some good while being a part of history and setting a Guinness World Record!

Last year, Matt and more than 700 others set the Guinness World Record for most people dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This year, it's all about Waldo, and it won't be too hard to find him with potentially 1,800 people dressed as the stripey fellow. And hey, it's his 21st birthday this year!

Here are the details (ala Matt):

New Brunswick, NJ – On April 2, the Rutgers University Programming Association (RUPA) and Rutgers Student Life will attempt to break another Guinness World Record™. Over 1,500 Rutgers students, faculty, staff and community members are expected to overtake the historic State Theatre located in downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey, dressed as publishing phenomenon and pop culture icon, Where’s Waldo?

For an “entry fee,” each participant will be asked to bring at least one children’s book to donate to literacy efforts in the local New Brunswick School District. In addition to breaking the Guinness World Record™, the goal is to collect over 4,000 books. Candlewick Press, publisher of the best-selling “Where’s Waldo?” series, has also pledged to donate one book for every participant in attendance that evening.

The event will start at 8:00 p.m. with the doors of the State Theatre opening at approximately 7:00 p.m. Event participants are asked to wear blue jeans or pants and will be provided with Waldo’s iconic long-sleeved striped shirt, knit hat and glasses as stipulated in the official Guinness World Record™ requirements.

“The “Where’s Waldo? world record attempt is a truly unique charitable event,” said Matthew Ferguson, Assistant Director for Student Life and RUPA Advisor[ “The ‘double bottom line’ of collecting books for local schools and charities as well as attempting to break the Guinness World Record™ allows the members of our community to get involved with a philanthropic project while being a part of an exciting and memorable event.”

The event is a part of Entertainment Rights’ year-long 21^st birthday celebration for Waldo. Last summer, Waldo got his digital passport as he leapt off the pages of books, joining millions of other 20-somethings to travel the digital highway. An official Waldo online presence was established on key social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Waldo’s official online destination, www. findwaldo.com, launched in September, timed to his 21^st birthday.

In April of 2008, Rutgers University was successful in breaking the Guinness World Record™ for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Ninja Turtles.

This event is being co-sponsored by the Rutgers Center for Communication and Health Issues’ RU Sure? Campaign which debunks myths about alcohol-use on campus and encourages students to choose responsible alternatives. Barnes & Noble, the official campus bookstore of Rutgers University, is also a co-sponsor of the event.

Kinda makes you feel nostalgic, right? Thinking about your kiddie crusade to find Waldo amongst the pyramids and vikings. If you can, get out to RU and find/be Waldo! It's a great cause and is sure to get a lot of attention nationwide!

"PLEASE, let me be your Rock of Love..."

[NOTE] Leading up to this concert, I couldn't find many reviews -- mostly because this was only the third or fourth stop of this tour -- so I hope this helps people going to future concerts get an idea of what's in store.

As I mentioned last week, my girlfriends are fantastic for supporting my love of Bret Michaels and this weekend only elevated my irrational obsession of the "seasoned" rocker.

My four friends and I journeyed down to the House of Blues in Showboat Casino Friday night (March 20) for Bret's Atlantic City stop on the "Rock of Love Bus Tour."

We made it down in good time, but our 20-minute check-in and dimly lit hotel room made getting ready for the show a frantic mess of high heels, eyeliner and lingerie (What? Did you think we would show up to a Bret Michaels concert and not dress the part?).

Doors opened at 8 and the show was set to begin at 9, but we unfortunately got in there a little later than I had hoped and fans were jammed tight up to the stage. My friends and I scooted through the crowd and landed about 20-25 rows of people away from the stage. I wanted to get closer, but we were essentially stonewalled by people much larger than we. (Rachel would later say we were blocked by the "fat fortress.")

In my opinion, Bret brought the house down. His voice is a little gruffer than it used to be and he didn't play long (little more than an hour?), but his and the BMB's energy had the crowd -- hardcore Poison fans, Bret Michaels solo enthusiasts and reality television lovers alike -- dancing, jumping and unskinnybopping all over the place.

Bret was smiling the entire time, doing some dancing in his skintight jeans and repeatedly reaching out to the extended hands of fans pouring over the railings. He told mildly insightful stories about his songs (like writing "Every Rose" in a laundromat), reminded us that "ROL" has been the highest rated show on VH1 for three seasons and directed cameramen around the stage as they filmed segments for the channel.

The music was a mix of old Poison, new Bret Michaels Band and cover songs. He opened with the again-popular "Talk Dirty to Me" (for all the Guitar Hero fans in the room), ripped through the "oldest of the oldschool Poison" with "Look What the Cat Dragged In," ended with "Fallen Angel" and encored with "Nothing But a Good Time" (which I called from a mile away -- video below).

Bret also went oldschool with covers of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Of his newer material, he played the theme to his hit reality show, "Go That Far," the corny-but-catchy "Bittersweet" and --my favorite-- "Driven."

Looking back, I'm a little disappointed we didn't work to get backstage, and while I didn't get to meet Bret, my friends and I did manage to meet and get a hug from Chuck Fanslau, the drummer from the Bret Michaels Band (and who infamously kissed Beverly in ROLB ep. 4 -- pictured below)!

So, overall, Bret Michaels' solo concert was nothing but a good time and my friends and I are already planning to see Poison (with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick) in June when they kick off their tour in NJ in June -- whoo! And you can bet your extension-wearing, silicone-loving butt I'm going to be front row next time Bret comes to town ;)

Bret: 'Bus,' birthday and a book?

During my blogging sabbatical, lots of exciting and offbeat stories made it to the forefront of every imaginable news outlet (excluding, of course, The Jerc Store). Among these were the "Octo Mom," a violent chimp attack, a crashing plane miraculously landing in the Hudson and Chris Brown allegedly beating girlfriend Rhianna.

I'm over all of these stories, and --frankly-- too lazy to write about them, so let's move on to more important things, like Bret Michaels.

Today is his 46th birthday -- rarrr.

A big thanks to my girlfriends for dignifying my irrational love of the Poison front man: A group of us is going to see Bret in concert next weekend at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. (And we're buying appropriate "Rock of Love" attire, to boot.)

But what really prompted this Bret lovefest post is the announcement this week that he will be penning a "tell-all" autobiography called "Roses and Thorns: The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy to My Realty." Got a nice ring to it, eh?

The book, which hits shelves in June, will explore "every aspect" of Bret's life, including the sex, the drugs, the rock 'n' roll...and the diabetes? He'll also go into detail about his very public conflicts with Poison guitarist CeCe DeVille.

And speaking of the band, Poison will be touring with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick this summer. Hey, whaddya know? They kick off the tour June 23 in Camden. Hmm... Maybe I will get more miles out of my new hookerwear than I thought!

'Ew' does not even begin to describe this...

The bad news is that my laptop is still all virused-up, but the good news is that I've opted to completely wipe out the hard drive and start over. So until that's done, my posting will still be scarce, but I have to share this story I heard today -- And I thought my computer was sick!

From Philadelphia Daily News:
Dad had gone out to get coffee and breakfast. Mom was helping their 4-year-old son on the toilet. Their 9-year-old daughter was playing Nintendo.

That was how the morning of Jan. 3 played out for the Wolfe family of Massachusetts inside Room 142 of the Homewood Suites in Mount Laurel, Burlington County. Soon, the Wolfes would pack up and finish their long drive home from Florida.

But, wait: The couple's 22-month-old son was supposed to be on the hotel's pull-out sofa, watching TV. Instead, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week in New Jersey, the toddler was choking on a used condom that had been left in their room before they checked in.

When Amy Wolfe heard her youngest child chewing and choking on the condom, she rushed over to help him and retrieved it from his mouth, but according to the lawsuit, the boy already had "ingested the contents."

[I won't be offended if you just threw up in your mouth a bit. And actually, if you don't think that's gross, pretend like you're that child and consider it one more time... That would be disgusting if it were your own --'stuff'-- but you just ate a lustful night between anonymous people. That thing was hanging out for God knows how long in the rollaway couch in what you considered to be a "nice" hotel.

Now, I was shocked to hear that this happened in Mt. Laurel, the town next to mine. So I thought, "Hmm, let me check this place out" and went to its Web site. Lo and behold, I'VE STAYED THERE.
The Wolfe family's lawsuit contends that Homewood Suites and its subsidiaries, Hilton and Blackstone, put the child at risk by subjecting him to an increased risk of contracting a "sexually transmitted disease, including HIV or AIDS, or some other, potentially life threatening, potentially fatal illness."

I guess Hilton hotels are just as skanky as the heiress herself?

Plaxico durress

By now, you've probably heard about New York Giants wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, stupidly shooting himself in a New York nightclub this weekend. Not surprisingly, the Giants announced today that they're placing Plax on the reserve non-football injury list, which means he won't be back for the postseason, either.

This move comes a day after the wide receiver was charged with illegal weapons possession, for which he could receive between 3 and 1/2 to 15 years in prison if convicted. Burress is due back in court March 31, unless he reaches a plea agreement.

Burress shot himself in the right thigh in the VIP section of the nightclub about 1 a.m. Saturday, police said. He did not have a permit to carry a handgun in New York.

A witness reported hearing a popping sound before Burress' legs began to shake, according to a criminal complaint. It said the person saw a bloody pistol fall out of his pant leg and land on the floor before Burress said, "Take me to a hospital."

Apparently, Giants receiver Steve Smith also had a run-in with guns this weekend, but he was on the other end of it.

Police in Clifton, N.J., said Smith was robbed at gunpoint in the early hours of Nov. 25. The second-year receiver had returned to his townhouse in a chauffer-driven car when he was approached from behind by man who held a gun to his head, Clifton police Capt. Robert Rowan said. Smith turned over his jewelry and money and cell phone, the captai said, and the man is still being sought, he said.

Well...if Burress is out, I guess it's a good thing nothing happened to Steve Smith. Maybe if Smith had a gun, no one woulda messed with him, haaaa. Actually, I shouldn't joke about that. I don't want anything to screw up the tear the Giants are on right now.

Proposition 8 passing

NOTE: This is a special-guest feature from my coworker (and fellow blogger), Geoff, regarding the recent passing of Proposition 8. Check out his blog and visit often!

I've been asked to write this post about Proposition 8 passing in California not only because I have a super-awesome blog about facing anti-gay prejudice, but also, I suspect, because I seem to have picked up the "gay beat" at the office.

For those not in the know, Proposition 8 was a referendum passed this November in California by a margin of 52-48. It actively removes gay couples' previously legal right to marry under the state constitution, defeating a recent state Supreme Court decision saying that very constitution afforded us those rights.

The way in which it was done has brought about a lawsuit, something I plan to post about on my blog in the future. The proposition's passage was a surprise for many because early polls showed the "no" votes winning by a decent margin. A last-minute cash infusion from certain right-wing causes, notably the Church of Latter-Day Saints, helped the "yes" side air a great number of misleading ads and apparently pushed them to victory.

Although it passed along with similar referendums in Florida and Arizona (where it had previously failed), and an initiative in Arkansas (where gay marriage is already illegal) banning unmarried couples from adopting, Prop 8 is particularly unsettling for several reasons, mostly because it actively took rights away, using a document that's supposed to grant them. That sets a dangerous precedent that should scare us all.

Protesters across the nation demonstrated their displeasure with the passage of California's Proposition 8 on Saturday, and with any luck, gave the gay-rights movement some much-needed momentum. I know a number of people who were involved in the various demonstrations, and I've heard they were moving, massive, and momentous.

My friend Dima Otvertchenko called Saturday "a day to remember." He also took some great pictures of the rally in Los Angeles, and they make me feel all warm, fuzzy and empowered inside. Check 'em out:

You can see more of them here.

My friend Nori, above left, told me she wore her rainbow Batman shirt specifically for the march. "Though I suspect the 'Straight Against H8' sign Dima and I had broke a few hearts," she noted sagely. (Soon you'll be able to see her thoughts on marching over at her own blog.)

Sara Perle, a friend of mine who's a law student in New York City, says The New York Times underestimated the protest there with its guess of 4,000 people. She told me that a friend of hers who volunteered had a somewhat better view than she did and thought there were about 20,000 people there.

"I could only see a very small part of it because it was so packed I couldn't get around the corner!" Sara said. "They had traffic basically down to one lane on Broadway and people totally packed on either side of the street."

She also suggested you look up estimates of the turnout at the protest nearest you.

Another friend of mine posted a note on Facebook describing the rally in Santa Barbara, Calif. which he said featured speakers from all walks of life talking about why this is something we need to protest.

It all sounds very moving, and I'm sorry to have missed it, but it was my boyfriend's birthday this weekend, and he had to work on protest day. While I work a normal week, his days off are Thursday and Friday, and though he managed to get Sunday (his actual b-day) off, he had no such luck with that day in-between. I live in central New Jersey while he lives 2.5 hours north, outside of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., so seeing each other takes a bit of planning.

That means that while everyone was protesting, I was up in Fishkill, N.Y. doing laundry, grabbing a last-minute card and one final gift, and then going out to dinner.

I rationalized missing everything by deciding that celebrating him would be my own form of protest. While I didn't get them to do the birthday "gong parade" to our intimate table for two at O'Sho in Poughkeepsie, I did give him a pile of presents the next morning, making him a very happy 25-year-old.

So to all of you who protested, please accept my sincere thanks! And to you who voted for Prop 8, I say this:

Too bad! I still love him, and that's not something you can change with a poorly reasoned law.

I remain firmly convinced that history will be on our side, and that in our lifetime we'll be able to get a real, 100% legal and federally approved marriage. But I'm not about to sit around waiting for someone else to make it happen!

RELATED LINKS
Gay in Public

Bet on Brett the Jet, says the pet (ha, POET!)

It's another glorious evening of Thursday night football, and the New York Jets will battle the New England Patriots for first place atop the AFC East.

And you should probably bet on the Jets, not due to the plague of injuries the Patriots have faced this season, but because Princess the camel says so.

Princess, from Lacey Township, NJ, has correctly identified winners in each of this year's NFL weeks, standing at an impressive 10-0 going into tonight's game. Geez, I should call Popcorn Park Zoo for my Survivor Pool pick this week, no?

The owner of the zoo, John Bergmann, chooses a game at random each week and writes each team's name on each of his hands. He puts a graham cracker in both hands and whichever hand Princess eats out of it is her "pick" for the week. This week? It's the J-E-T-S: Jets! Jets! Jets!

The 2,600-pound Bactrian camel had a winning percentage of .647 last year, correctly calling 11 out of 17 games. She also reportedly predicted the Giants would defeat the Patriots in last year's Super Bowl showdown. Smart camel.

I'm sure now that I'm writing about Princess and her accuracy, the Jets will get squashed, Brett Favre will break his leg and the stadium will somehow catch fire (because that's just how my luck has been going these days), but hey, who doesn't love a football-game-winner-picking camel?

How to keep this headline PC, hmmm...

If you haven't heard about the enormous stray cat found in NJ this weekend, watch some morning television; the 44-pound cat will be on "Regis and Kelly" tomorrow and "Good Morning America" on Friday.

The cat, found Saturday without a collar in Voorhees, N.J., was nicknamed "Prince Chunk" by employees at the Camden County Animal Shelter where he is staying.

[UPDATE] The cat was formerly known as "Captain Chunk," but then referred to as "Princess Chunk" when workers thought he was a she. When it was later discovered that the cat was in fact a boy, his name was changed to Prince Chunk." So now not only will the cat have a complex about being fat, he's going through an identity crisis and his manhood was being called into question.

[UPDATE] Prince Chunk's 65-year-old owner said she is unable to afford the cat now that her home has been foreclosed. She is hoping the kitty--whose real name is Powder--will be placed in a loving home.

I can't believe this has become national news. Voorhees borders my hometown; I'm really glad this thing didn't waddle out onto Evesham Road because my car couldn't take the damage it might have caused on impact. Haaaa.

That picture is NOT doctored, by the way. That thing really does look like that. (And I thought Garfield was fat!)

Prince Chunk's owner has until Saturday to pick him up. If he is not claimed, the cat will be up for adoption.

The heaviest cat on record is a 46-pound tabby cat from Australia, but the Guinness Book of World Records has apparently dropped the record from its listing for fear that cat owners might harm the animals to set a record. Funny, because when we found out the shelter is putting the cat on a diet, my dad and I both said, "Screw that, go for the record." I guess that's why you wouldn't call us cat people.

You really have to be trying to lose a cat this big. How has Prince Chunk's owner not heard about the cat all over the news? Unless...Prince Chunk got a little too hungry one day, ate a small child and was banished from the household. I don't know. Just a guess.

Check out the "normal" sized cat next to Prince Chunk.

Guess who's back?

Sound the trumpets: I am back in New Jersey.

I'm thrilled. Really.

My cruise was fabulous and full of fun times on the Carnival Valor. I'll spare you the details, but some highlights include our grand transfer bus from Fort Lauderdale Airport catching on fire, shopping in Grand Cayman, glorious beach weather in Honduras, kayaking in Belize and swimming with dolphins in Cozumel.

Oh yeah, and there's the migrant Cubans we found floating next to our cruise ship. Hilarious!

Check out this news story out of Miami: Cruise ship encounters migrants at sea, and feel free to click the slideshow to see even more pictures of the Cubans. (I was trying to squeeze my camera between the other 3,000 people trying to take pictures on the one side of the ship). We're famous--whoo!

MIAMI -- Passengers aboard a Carnival cruise ship spotted seven Cuban migrants floating on a raft near Miami on Saturday.Two women were on the 10th floor of the ship "Valor" when they spotted the raft about 5:45 p.m. The ship was returning from a seven-day Caribbean cruise.The women said they were able to communicate with the group of six men and one woman by shouting. The Cubans gave the women a phone number to relatives in Miami, and asked them to let family members know they were alive.

Ship workers contacted the Coast Guard and provided the dehydrated Cubans bottled water, Carnival said. The ship stood by until a Coast Guard cutter arrived, then continued to Miami.Passengers took photos of the Cubans, who said they had been in the water for about five days.It is unlikely the migrants will be allowed to stay. The U.S. has a wet foot/dry foot policy regarding Cuban migrants. Those who reach U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay. Those intercepted at sea are returned to Cuba.