Kent Island Fishing Report

I took my son and neighbor fishing on Kent Island last week when the kids had off from school.  My son initially wanted to go to Jonas Green Park in Annapolis, but I suggested we try something different, something that is out of his comfort zone.  He finally agreed and off we went.

A friend had suggested Matapeake Park and Romancoke Wharf County Park in Queen Anne's County on Kent Island.  (No, for those of you who went to Baltimore City Public Schools, Kent Island is not in Kent County).  I got to sleep in until 7:30am that morning. I got up early every day for the previous 4 days, so I needed a day to catch up.  And sadly 7:30am is sleeping in.

How many of you love driving over the Bay Bridge?  I wish someone could drive over the bridge for me so that I could hang my head out the window and look at everything and take pictures.  And what's with all those ships anchored just south of the bridge.  It seems like they've been there for years, but maybe they're different ships each time.

Once we got over the bridge, we exited on Maryland Route 8 and headed south.  Ever seen one of those dashboard cams where a car veers off of the road into a ditch, then the driver over-corrects, flies out of the ditch, back onto the roadway into the lane of the on-coming traffic, then jerks hard to the right again to regain control just short of a head-on collision with an oncoming car while a cloud of dirt blows across the road?  Yeah, we were that car with the dashboard cam.  Some young guys in an older Ford Explorer performed the stunt.  It  happened in about 4 seconds, but seemed to last an eternity.  I slowed to a crawl while my jaw dropped into my lap.  Fortunately, no one was hurt and they pulled off to the side of the road to change their underwear.

Once we gathered our sense, we continued down the road on our search for the park.  We finally found it, but were greeted with lots of signs, including this one with a glaring grammatical error. And $10 to park at a fishing pier???  Thanks, O'Malley.

Look at it closely:

1. Follow the instructions on the machine and it is screen.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.  And 2 rods per fisherman?  What is this, New Jersey???

Anyway, we caught a few striped bass, a bunch of croaker and spot, and a few white perch.  At lunch we decided to call it quits and head to Romancoke.

Here was our view from the Matapeake fishing pier.  Very beautiful.

Romancoke is about 15 minutes south of Matapeake State Park on the Eastern Bay side of Kent Island.  This is what we saw when we got there.  Pretty cool.  The shore on the other side that you see - yeah that's 7 miles away.  I measured it on Google Maps.  The Eastern Bay is HUGE.  And I get the feeling that it's not really that deep.

The next thing we saw once we got on the pier was this sea monster. I think it's a cow nose sting ray.  We fished there for about 7 hours and saw another 4 get caught.  These things are strong!!!

The Asian fishermen all wanted to keep them.  I once heard that people take cookie cutters to them and fraudulently sell them as scallops.  And not that it matters, but I think we were the only Caucasian fishermen there that day.  Most of them were Asian, with some Hispanics, African-Americans, and West Virginians.  Who says the Eastern Shore is not diverse???

We ended up catching a ton of striped bass there.  ALL were undersized.  This did not stop the other fishermen from keeping them, chopping them up, and using them as bait. This is VERY against the law.  Attention Maryland Natural Resource Police - go to Romancoke and arrest all of the fishermen!

Another guy caught a 17 inch red drum fish.  That was under-sized, too, but he kept it.  And another guy caught what he thought was a shad.  He was a pretty good size, but I didn't take a picture of it.

Altogether we fished for about 10 hours.  Then we had an hour and 15 minute drive home.  Good times.  But we caught a lot of fish and got to experience two new places.  It was fun.  And it may be our last big fishing trip of the season.  Booooo!

Oh, and you know I like fire trucks.  Here's the Romancoke Fire Department.

New to Eldersburg - CKCS Food Studio

I don't really know if CKCS Food Studio is entirely new to Eldersburg, but I just noticed this business recently.  And how was I not supposed to miss this?  Bright lime green?  This house is right on Route 26 Liberty Road and Walnut Avenue.  I hope someone got arrested for this.

When My Doctor Smokes....

When my doctor smokes he always chooses Marlboros.  I did a screen shot from a movie I was watching on Netflix on my laptop.  Funny how times change.

Martin O'Malley Appoints Extremely Moderately Qualified Person

When first elected as Governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley promised to hire competent individuals who were not married to the special interests or greedy corporations.  I'm not sure that he has appointed anyone in his tenure that meets any of those requirements.

Today O'Malley appointed Leonard J. Howie III as the head of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.  As noted in this article, Mr. Howie III has been deputy secretary for operations at the Maryland Department of Human Resources since November of 2011, a whopping 10 months.  Most people get promoted after only 10 months of service, right?

I did a little checking on Mr. Howie III, and unless there are multiple Howie the III's, then according to the Maryland Judiciary Case database that's online, Mr. Howie has several interesting court cases against him.

First, the State of Maryland has an active case against him for a tax lien or judgement.  I don't understand legal jargon, but I know what a tax lien or judgement is.  Someone ain't payin' their bills!

Second, there's a case detailed as Education vs. Howie with the plaintiff being the Education Resources Institute.  It's a contract case and it's closed, but I'm assuming (hopefully correctly) that when someone sues you on a contract case, it's because you didn't hold up your end of the contract.

There's another court case for Education vs. Howie, but it has a different case number and a later date.  Maybe they sued him again???

Finally, there's another case from 2004 for Capital One versus Howie.  It seems to be another contract case and it's closed.

It's amazing what you can find on the Internet, especially higher-profile people.

How many Martin O'Malley supporters does it take to change a light bulb?  None - they prefer to stay in the dark.

What Does Google Think of Martin O'Malley?

This is frickin' HYSTERICAL!!!!  And I found it by accident.  I was doing a Google search for recent news on Martin O'Malley and you know how Google will auto-fill your search with common search phrases?  Well, here's what it thinks I should be looking for.

First, he had an affair.  Second, he's president (or wants to be).  Third, he's governor (at least he's supposed to be).  Affair?!!!  Ha!!!  It just won't go away!

Martin O'Malley Running for Office in Iowa?

Martin Nomad O'Malley probably is not eligible to run for office in Iowa, being that he doesn't live there, but that hasn't stopped him from showing up for a fund raiser with Iowa Senator Tom Harkins.

Looking at the pictures from this article from the Des Moines Register, O'Malley squeezed into his skin-tight jeans and put on a short-sleeve shirt in an effort to look like a hard-working middle class American, which we all know he is not.  He was raised as an upper middle class family in Montgomery County and attended elitist and exclusive private schools.

You may not recall that O'Malley used to be the governor of Maryland, a position that requires him be in Maryland and help solve Maryland issues.  However, he is spending most of his time in North Carolina and Iowa and in foreign countries.  Someone else in Annapolis must be doing all of the heavy lifting in his absence, cuz it sure ain't him.

The article from Iowa is actually funny.  How many times did Martin O'Malley say, "Moving forward"?  At least four times.

1) He said he “looks forward” to helping Iowa elect a Democratic governor in 2014.

2) “Having spent some time in Iowa, I believe the people of Iowa when given a choice of moving forward or falling back, always choose to move forward,” O’Malley told reporters.

3) “And let us together, Iowa, move forward and not back..."

4) “We’ve got to keep moving forward, 

Dear Iowa- welcome to our world.  We sincerely apologize for O'Malley.  Not all Marylanders talk like this.  Some of us actually talk coherently and not in cliches.  He is an impostor.  He most likely knows nothing about farming and probably has never had his hands in dirt in his entire life.

P.S. Can you send someone from Iowa to govern Maryland in his absense?  Thank you.

A concerned citizen.

WBAL.com - Please Reread Your Own Stories!

I don't get paid to write this blog, so it doesn't matter matter if Make I errers.  However, if you work for a news organization that publishes the news online, you need to get it right.

Check out this article by Steve Fermier on WBAL.com.  "She was found on the found".  Good grief.

Woman Falls From Balcony In Ocean City

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Steve Fermier

Medical Examiner is looking into the details of the death of a woman who fell from a balcony in Ocean City this morning.
Police in Ocean City are not releasing her name.
The woman's body was found on the found at an apartment on North Canal Street.
Police said she had apparently fallen from the 3rd story.
The death happened around 3 this morning.
Police are investigating.

Shit Someone Says Part 1

Everyone has that someone in their life that just seems to be a little out there.  I am no exception.  If you cannot think of that person in your life, then it's you.

There is a person in my life that comes to my house now and then, starts conversations that are off the wall, then leaves.  I think the jargon is that these kinds of people are bomb droppers.  They drop a bomb, step back, and watch what happens.  Some do it intentionally.  Some do it because they don't know any better.  The person in my life does it because he does not know any better.

This person came to my house recently and we started talking about the Amish.  He then said that the rules for Amish have changed, most of them drive F-350's now.  I corrected him and said that he's probably talking about Mennonites.  He disagreed, then started talking about electricity.

Did you know that the Amish now have electricity?  In fact, they have to have electricity.  It's the law.  Did you know that it's illegal to not have electricity?  This is true because this person once decided to not pay his electric bill because he was short on money.  A few days later the sheriff's department showed up at his apartment and said that he would be arrested unless he had his electricity restored.  Okay.

Then this person mentioned that he had asked his mother for some money to buy a new bed.  I asked him how much he asked for and he said $180.  I told him that he wouldn't get much of a bed for $180.  I was corrected.  You can get a nice bed for $180.  I then asked if this meant just a frame on which you place the box spring and the mattress.  Nope.  This means the headboard, foot-board, mattress, AND box-spring.  I told him that a decent bed, box-spring, and mattress would cost a couple thousand dollars, if not more.  Oh, I was dreadfully wrong.

Then he starts telling me how he bought some new Hot Wheels from the 1970's still in the blister packs.  I still have many Hot Wheels in the blister pack, something that I fantasize will finance my retirement.  Anyway, he said he got 10 cars at $5 each.  I then said, "How much money did you ask from your mom for your bed?"  "Oh, $180."  Didn't miss a beat, he didn't catch on at all.

Then we jumped to the topic of poverty.  He told me he's in poverty.  I asked him how much money he makes.  He said about $50,000.  I told him that poverty is more like less than $20,000 per year.  He said that's crazy because he doesn't have any money, therefore he's in poverty.

Later that day he asked my son if he had fished lately.  A few fish stories changed hands, then I asked this person what the biggest fish is that he ever caught.  He said he once caught a 36" large mouth bass.  I looked up what a 36" large mouth bass would weigh.  According to this chart, any large mouth bass over 24.5" indicates that the person is a liar.  Fortunately, my son just smirked. After this person left, he went nuts.  "How does he think he caught a 36" bass!  That would be a world record!!"  My son tells no fish stories.

I have decided to compile these stories as they occur.  Stay tuned for more crazy stuff.

Closing in Randallstown - Aquarium Depot

It is with great sadness that inform you that the Aquarium Depot in Randallstown is closing.  The closing date has not yet been determined, but based on their current inventory, it will not be too long in coming.

You'll recall that a few months ago the Aquarium Depot moved from its larger location in the Randallstown Plaza to a smaller location right next door.  I can understand downsizing in this troubling economy that neither Barack Obama, nor Martin O'Malley seem to be able to solve.

I searched the news on Google to find the comments of disappointment and outrage from the elected officials in that jurisdiction.  I saw nothing from our state-wide elected Martin O'Malley, Ben Cardin, and Barbara Mikulski.  I guess they don't care that another small business in Maryland is closing.  Congressman Dutch Ruppersburger has made no statements.  He must be too busy eating.  State Senator Delores G. Kelley?  Yeah, right.  She doesn't give a crap about her district.  At least that the appearance that her website dictates as she hasn't updated any news since July.  Way to be in touch with your constituents!

State Delegate Emmett C. Burns?  He's too busy trying to silence Brendon Ayanbadejo and the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.  Apparently he hates gay people so much that he thinks the Ravens should tell Ayanbadejo to keep his support of gay marriage to himself.  Who knew that he hated Constitution so much?  And doesn't seem to care about his constituents?

State Delegate Adrienne A. Jones?  She doesn't even have a website!  Way to keep things 1977!!! Nor is there any news about her that I can find on the Internet.  I guess she's not concerned about the failing businesses in her district.

Let's hope State Delegate Shirley Nathan-Pulliam is concerned.  She has a website!  That's a start.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of broken links on her news page, so she must be out of touch right now.  She does, however, want her constituents to have "quality" healthcare.  Since she didn't specify good or bad quality healthcare (she's probably ignorant of the correct use of the term), I'll assume she wants her constituents to have bad quality healthcare.

Let's look at our Baltimore County politicians.  The Baltimore County Executive is Kevin Kamenetz.  Nope.  Though he is excited about the opening of the new Super Wal-Mart that is creating 350 minimum wage jobs.

Surely the Baltimore County Councilman Ken Oliver will be right there fighting for the local businesses.  Oh, no.  Ken Oliver is actually busy trying to STOP businesses from coming to his district!

Sadly for the owners and employees of the Aquarium Depot in Randallstown, none of their elected officials seem to care that they are closing.  It makes me sad.  And it makes me wonder why their constituents keep reelecting them.

Anyway, I went to the Aquarium Depot on Friday afternoon to pick up some more food for my convict cichlids.  I saw the sign on the door that they are closing and many items are 30-40% off.  I walked in and the guy that works there all the time saw me and I told him that it sucks that they're closing.  He replied, "Right?!!!"

I ended up getting 2 bags of food and large and medium sized filter replacements.  Might as well stock up and help them out in the mean time.  Where do we go now? PetSmart?  Are there any other high quality non-big box aquarium stores left?  I know of one in Glen Burnie, but I don't know of any others.

P.G. County Needs Cameras to Watch the Speed Cameras

In light of the recent vandalism against speed cameras throughout the state, Prince George's County announced that they will be installing cameras to watch the speed cameras. Their hope is that the new cameras will be able to catch the culprits who are causing all the mischief and costing the tax payers, or in Prince George's County, the tax-recipients, lots of money to repair the cameras.

This leads to an obvious question - how are they going to protect the cameras watching the speed cameras? Surely they will become targets of vandalism themselves.  Fortunately, the solution is simple.  Prince George's County can install new cameras to keep an eye on the cameras watching the cameras.  And not to outdo themselves, they might as well install cameras to watch those cameras, as well.  It's an endless cycle.  But logic dictates that the more cameras they have watching the other cameras, the less likely the other cameras will get vandalized.  I fully expect Prince George's County to request a formal name change to Oceania.

Prince George's County - paving the way of inefficiency in Maryland!

WBAL - No Awards for Writing

The writing at WBAL.com has always been atrocious.  They can read the news, but they can't write it.  And there's no way to contact them from the article to inform them of their errors.  So I'll blog about this one.

Steve Fermier wrote an article writing about the U.S. News and World Report ranking the colleges across the country.  He indicated that regional colleges in the north included Loyola of Maryland.  For the record, the college is named Loyola University Maryland from Loyola College in Maryland.  This is a change that occurred 4 years ago.  Ugh.

I had previously seen an article written by one of the newer journalists at WBAL, Phil Yacuboski.  I cannot remember the specific article, but it was riddled with errors.  It seemed as if he wrote one part of the article in the morning, edited in the afternoon, then submitted it in the evening, without ever reading through the article.  there were repeated words in a sentence, a stub sentence, and a change of thought mid-stream.  And this seems to be indicative of all of his work.

WBAL is a great source for news, but a terrible source for proper writing.

Wendy Rosen - The Candidate Who Took Vote Early Vote Often Literally

One of the key items on the Republican platform is to reduce voter fraud.  Republicans ask that simple measures be taken to have the voter identify themselves before they vote.  Democrats, on the other hand, say that this is racist and will suppress voter turnout of minorities.  Apparently minorities don't want you to know who they are.  Additionally, Democrats say that voter fraud is rare and should not be a concern. Well, we turned that on its head this week.

Maryland first district candidate Wendy Rosen had to withdraw her candidacy for Congresswoman as someone uncovered the fact that she has voted twice in previous elections in 2006 and 2008.  Each time she voted in both Florida and Maryland.

Does anyone else see the irony here?  This is probably the highest profile voter fraud event in recent history in Maryland and it was committed not only by a Democrat, but one running for Congress.  I suspect that Democrats will quickly cry that Republicans are now trying to suppress the female vote.  We all know Republicans hate vaginas and women and want to put everyone back in chains (thank you Crazy Ole Uncle Joe Biden for that soundbite!).

All indications are that the Democrats will quickly replace Rosen as the Democratic candidate in the 1st District, but odds are slim that whomever they choose will be able to defeat Republican incumbent Andy Harris.  Perhaps they will choose Frank Kratovil to run against Harris for a third time.

The Maryland Republican party released a statement that included this amusing statement:

 I'm sure this means they will join us in an effort to purge the rolls across Maryland of illegal immigrants, the deceased, and those otherwise unqualified to vote.

Everyone knows that Parris Glendening won the election for Governor by captures 100% of the dead vote in Baltimore City.  And Martin O'Malley loves illegal immigrants.  So we don't want to purge them from the voter registration logs.  Since the Glendening incident, the Maryland Republican party has been an advocate of voting reform.  Democrats, on the other hand, have pushed for changes that invite more opportunities for voter fraud.  We can now vote early and in districts that are not our own.  How does the Board of Elections monitor this?  No one seems to know.

So, given this recent event, do you think that requiring voters to identify themselves is a legitimate request?

Most Ridiculous Concept of the Year

I got this from a friend.  And she said it best, "This is too funny not to share."  And I agree.  This is too funny not to share.  Read the comments about a new "BIC pen for women" product on this link.  Why, in this day and age, would someone decide it necessary to create a product as ubiquitous as a pen geared towards women?  I mean, there are pens that are feminine in nature, but not specifically stated to be for women.

So check it out.  Funny stuff!

12 Hilarious Reviews Of A Pen Just For Women

 

 

Martin O'Malley and His Declining Reputation

I've been scouring the Internet for Martin O'Malley news since the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina last week.  Most of what I found is the same - he's a real dingle-hopper or, 'what the hell was that?'.

Martin O'Malley lost considerable credit with his rocko-bizzaro chanting and directionless speech.  He then followed it up with the biggest gaffe of his life, which he credited to video splicing.  He's spent the last few days searching the dark streets of main stream media looking for his reputation, which is nowhere to be found.

I found this article today from a blog called The Voice of Baltimore that was fairly funny, yet succinct.

I love this quote near the end of the article:

O’Malley simply talked fast, as if to squeeze in every word without running overtime. And of course he has yet to give the country — or even Maryland — a good reason for his candidacy, other than that it’s something he has always wanted to do. he has always wanted to do.

Total Discount Liquors Not Expanding - Booo!

When the Buffalo Wings & Beer restaurant closed in the Eldersburg Plaza earlier this year, many wondered what would replace it?  Another pool hall-type restaurant?  A sports bar?  Another nail salon?

 I recently heard a rumor that Total Discount Liquors, a former (and original? grocery store in Eldersburg) would expand into the space.  I took it to the source.  I asked one of the managers of TDL and she outright denied that TDL was expanding.  In fact, she said, by Carroll County law, they could not expand because their store was as large as a liquor store can be.

Therefore, something else will have to take the place of BWB.  Eldersburg Plaza has a lot of empty rent space, including the original Pure Fitness space, which slid down several spots to the vacated Tri-Star Martial Arts space, which moved to the former Hardee's building on Liberty Road.  Then Jams Music Store Closed.  I wouldn't be surprised if Arby's was next.  If it weren't for the weekend car washes, I don't think anyone would ever go there.  And while were on the topic, girls volleyball and girls cheerleading - lots of cars being washed.  Boys Science Club and Liberty Orchestra - no cars being washed.  You decide.

With Jams:

Without Jams:

VoteNoMalley Surpasses 90,000 Hits!

I checked my blog counter today and I passed the 90,000 mark.  That sounds awesome.  Until I realized that it's taken 6 years to get there.

That breaks down to:

• 15,000 hits per year
• 1,250 hits per month
• 41 hits per day

Yes, VoteNoMalley is not the Huffington Post, nor is it Holy Bullies and Headless Montsers (you owe me, Alvin!).  But it's not too bad.  And I have to state that over the past year or so, my average hit count has been closer to 100 per day.  Therefore, my early work was probably only viewed by me and Google as they crawl the web looking for content.  But you should go back and read some of my posts from the early days. There's some good stuff there!

My blog posts have been the watchdog of O'Malley from his time as mayor of Baltimore, the city leading the nation in crime, to his challenge of Ehrlich I, Ehrlich II, his presidential aspirations, many, many, many blunders, gaffs, and shocking statements.  My first post was intended to sell the bumper stickers I made.  I think I sold 10.  Since O'Malley hasn't given us enough to talk about all the time, I started including posts about work and family, such as my daughter's diagnosis of leukemia, which came after a 2 month hiatus, to as much humor as I could conjure.

I briefly was a contributing writer to Red Maryland, though the writers there are more serious and studious than I'll ever be and I ended up not writing much, so I was quietly removed.  I wasn't offended.  It's a great blog and you should read that, too, but only after you read VoteNoMalley first.  I was recruited for another right-leaning blog, but I think I fell much to the left of their intended audience, so I politely declined.  I also write occasionally on a collaborative blog (EatCharmCity) with a couple of friends to review restaurants, though none of us have posted much lately.  We can't afford big ticket restaurants and who wants to read reviews of Don Pablo's?

So here's to another 6 years of blogging.  Hopefully I'll be cheering about my 100,000th blog hit soon.  And hopefully I'll be blogging about how the Democratic Party dropped O'Malley from any serious consideration for President.  Stay tuned.

O'Malley Keynote Speech is a Major Bust

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley was given an opportunity of a life time on Monday as one of the keynote speakers on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  He is considered by many party bosses to be the Democratic Presidential candidate for the 2016 election.  So this was his opportunity to make himself known to the nation as a backer of Obama and as a viable candidate of the future.  It was his moment to shine.

So did he shine?  Nope.  Were there talks of the alabasters and reviving the true American values of service and sacrifice?  Not a peep.  Since the fire truck already left the station and left him behind, this dog took a dump on the podium.  Instead of rallying the fans and laying out his party's platform and firing up the base, he got all goofy and animated smiling and waiving at people in section 525 in the upper deck, then proceeded to lead a call and response of "Move Forward!".  Instead of taking advantage of the 12 minutes that he OWNED on prime-time national television, he gave it away to immature chicanery.

Who is Martin O'Malley?  Oh, he's that goof-ball that took the stage for a while and made a complete donkey of himself.

This isn't only my impression.  I Googled O'Malley Convention Speech and got very little news.  He's mostly being ignored.  The few articles that I did see said the same thing:  "What was that all about?"  O'Malley was upstaged by First Lady Michelle Obama, who is not nearly as condescending and much more personable, Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, who stayed on task, and even San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who focused on opportunity.

Martin O'Malley is getting to be so ubiquitous at this convention that he is starting to become a distraction.  I half expect him to start jamming with his band, get drunk, and then arrested for drunk and disorderly down in Dilworth just to get his name out there.  He's morphing into the Lindsay Lohan of politics.

But to his credit, Martin O'Malley did make it into the conversation of the national media on Tuesday night.  Too bad it was after the news.  He was spoofed by Jay Leno.  Check out the 2nd video at this link.  I think Leno lifted it from my previous blog post.  (Check out the 2nd paragraph from my blog post on Tuesday morning.)  Does Jay Leno read my blog???

So is Martin O'Malley the next savior of the party? Will he be the first real candidate for President from the state of Maryland?  (there have been none).   After this week, expect the Democrats to regroup and assign Martin O'Malley to some special projects to keep him quiet for the next few years.

If you're just learning about Martin O'Malley, welcome to our world in Maryland.

Top 10 Worst Actors of Modern Era

If you a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I keep a Top 10 list on the side bar.  I don't usually change it too much, but decided today to update it with something fun, and hopefully something controversial.

Who do you think the Top 10 Worst Actors of the modern era are?  Do you like my husband and wife combo?

I know you'll call out that I missed - Tom Cruise.  He fell in at #11, but I agree that his acting abilities are terrible.  His Top Gun co-star, Val Kilmer would be a Top 20 contender.

Demond Wilson, you ask?  That's Lemont from Sanford and Son.  He has got to be one of the worst television actors of all time.  How did he ever make it on that show?  His acting abilities are probably what sent Elizabeth to heaven.

Channing Tatum?  He's TERRIBLE!!!  And I don't even think he's that good looking of a dude.  He's got big muscles, but he just looks like an absolute dumbass.

Never could stand Ray Liotta and his moon crater face.

Star Wars fans will hate me for Mark Hamill, but you have to admit the guy couldn't act to save a tauntaun.

Nicolas cage?  If his uncle wasn't Franics Ford Coppola, he never would have been Brad's bud in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Top 10 Worst Actors

• Channing Tatum
• Kristen Stewart
• Matthew Broderick
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Nicolas Cage
• Demond Wilson
• Corey Feldman
• Tara Reid
• Mark Hamill
• Ray Liotta

O'Malley Flip-Flops on 'Four Years Ago' Comment

As you'll recall, this weekend Martin O'Malley unintentionally and shockingly criticized the Obama administration when he said that Americans (from the United States) are NOT better off than they were four years ago.  This comment made the entire blogsphere do a Tim Allen impression ('aRRRughhh???'). Eyebrows were raised from Pennsylvania Avenue to Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I can hear Michelle and Barack yelling at the television in the White House, "What the heck does that Paddy mean by that?"

Never fear.  After a solid beat-down from the machine, Martin O'Malley did his 1-2 impression of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and made his most notable flip-flop to date.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley was on CNN with Soledad O'Brien last night and she grilled him about how he could criticize CNN's candidate for President.  Martin O'Malley then back-tracked, reached into his wallet, and pulled out his 'Say this when you have nothing else better to say card' and said what he really meant was that we 'are moving forward'.

This embarrassing gaff by one of the rising stars of the Democratic party will certainly hit the fan this week.  O'Malley tried to cover his poop trail by blaming George Bush for all of the country's problems in every other sentence, doing his best to redirect the attention away from his blushing face and back at the Republicans.

It'll be interesting to see if O'Malley continues to be President Obama's surrogate, or if the White House will reconsider and find another member of the party that is more competent under pressure.  Martin O'Malley is proving to be an embarrassment to the Administration.  Does the Queen City and the DNC have the stomach for more of his nonsense?  ARRRughhh??

O'Malley Hates Lunch?

Either Martin O'Malley is grooming himself for the 2016 presidential campaign, or he really really likes breakfast foods.  According to the Washington Post, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley attended four breakfast events in Charlotte, North Carolina in one day.  This is a feat that not even I could accomplish - and I REALLY love breakfast foods.

In the article, O'Malley admitted that being Irish leaves him to distrust the British (my words).  This concerns me because if he becomes president, our relationship with our greatest ally may be strained because of O'Malley's outdated views on his heritage.

Additionally he said that he is from Baltimore.  A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that O'Malley is from Potomac, Maryland, which is one of the wealthiest areas of one of the wealthiest counties in the country: Montgomery County.  So much for his ability to associate with the middle class common working man.  Perhaps his public education exposed him to......what?  Oh, wait, that's right.  He attended expensive exclusive private schools his whole life.  Never mind.  He has no idea what it means to be a hard-working middle class person.

If Martin O'Malley doesn't slow down his perceived rapid ascendancy in the Democratic party, he's going to get really fat.  Marty - remember, the women voted for you because you're quite an attractive guy.  You were not elected because of your politics.  Breakfast - it does the body good, but only in moderation.

O'Malley: We're Not Better Than We Were Four Years Ago

Every politician since 1980 has been using this phrase to make themselves look like the hero of the day.  Ronald Reagan successfully used it against Jimmy Carter and crushed him in the election.  Now, thanks to its overuse, the term has become a trite cliché .

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley appeared on CBS's Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer on Sunday to cast his weekly blame on Republicans for all of the problems in the United States and take his turn in the overuse of this cliché.

O'Malley said the county is in no better position, without a doubt, than four years ago because of job losses and deficits from the Bush Administration.

I find this statement amusing on several points.  First, for two years the Democrats controlled the White House, the House of Representatives, AND the U.S. Senate and could have done anything they wanted to fix the economic problems of this country without any impact from Republicans.  Republicans lacked the votes to do anything about it.  Instead the Democrats used this time to institute more big-government programs that will cost tax-payers billions of dollars that will be funded by several future generations.  They increased the limit of money that the government could borrow to $16.4 TRILLION.  And they created a federal stimulus package of $831 BILLION on special government pet projects for the Congressmen and Senators' districts.  And the economy didn't get any better.

Secondly, while the Republicans regained control of the House by a narrow margin in the 2010 election, the Democrats still maintain control of the White House and the U.S. Senate.  They have a two-thirds majority of the three governing bodies of this country and they are blaming the Republicans for the country's problems???

That's like blaming the NRA for each of the 300 murders in Baltimore every year.  Take responsibility for the results of your administration!  I'm not saying that George W. Bush did not leave you a mess, but you promised to fix it and instead have done everything BUT fix the economy and continue to blame Bush for your lack of efforts to fix the problems.

I foresee this country 30 years from now and we'll still be blaming Bush for the country's problems.  I think in retaliation, the Republicans should blame unemployment on John F. Kennedy, our favorite womanizing drug-addicted president of all time.

Fortunately, Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan was quick to jump on O'Malley's obvious gaff by saying that even failed Maryland Governor O'Malley admits that President Obama's efforts to fix our economy have failed.

Martin O'Malley - thank you for providing material to keep this blog going.  Your gaffs are wonderful!

Upcoming Announcement About Carrolltown Center?

I have it from a couple of good sources that Carrolltown Center owner Black Oak Associates is going to make an announcement within the next few weeks about the future of the derelict mall.  Hopefully the announcement is inform us of upcoming changes to improve the mall rather than another canned announcement that the mall is still in the development stages and they are waiting for the economy to improve.  Because if they are waiting for that and Obama gets reelected, it's going to be years before this economy improves.

So what do you think will happen with the mall? I've thought long and hard about what the announcement might be and have created a speculation list.  Let me know what you think is the most likely outcome.

1) The most obvious announcement is that nothing will change.  Black Oak Associates will continue to seek low-rent tenants that sell retail clear-out items for low-income consumers.

2) Black Oak will announce a major demolition that will include regrading of the property and will include a new 6-screen cinema and several mid-to-large sized middle to upper middle class retailers, which more accurately reflects the demographics of South Carroll.

3) The mall will be gutted and filled with a weekend destination super flee market.

4) The mall will be demolished and low-income high-rises will be constructed that will provide excellent sight lines to thousands of homes that are now for sale.

5) The mall will be retrofitted with 22 brand new hair and nail salons.

6) The mall will be partially retrofitted and occupied by a giant Chuck E. Cheese.

7) The mall will be reconfigured and anchored by two new competing grocery stores - because Eldersburg does not have enough grocery stores.

8) A car dealer - think about it.  We only have one in Eldersburg.  Well, one NEW car dealer.  We have several mom and pop used car dealers.

9) An amusement park.  How awesome would that be?  I giant roller coaster the a tower overlooking the homes of the good folks in the Carrolltowne I and II neighborhoods.

10) A Super Wal-Mart.  We've all heard this rumor.  78% of rumors are facts.  And 85.4% of all statistics are made up on the spot.  This seems to be the most likely option.

11) My son's idea - a GIANT fishing store with a pond that you can use to go fishing.

12) A zoo.  Some may argue that the current facility is a zoo.

13) Government offices.  As the government is expected to grow rapidly during a second Obama administration, coupled with Martin O'Malley's desire for a super nanny state, more government office space will be required.

14) A prison.  We have large prisons in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, and Washington County.  I think it makes sense to have a big prison in Carroll County since it is close to Baltimore City.  With the ever-increasing incarceration rate of the residents of Baltimore City, more facilities are needed to house them.

15) And last but not least, a new sports arena to replace the fabulous Baltimore Arena.

Martin O'Malley Hates Professional Courtesy

You know your state's governor is a first-class jackass when he ignores all professional courtesy and conducts press conferences during the GOP convention right across the street from the Tampa convention center to pump up his own future bid for governor.

Yes, we are talking about Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley as he continues to prove why he is the most disrespectful governor in the United States and possibly the history of the known universe.  NASA recently reported that the Mars Rover was unable to find a governor on Mars who was more disrespected.

Last week, as you know, was the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida.  Rather than let the Republicans have their moment to determine their party's platform and choose their candidate, Martin O'Malley drops all pretenses of professional courtesy and crashed the party and bad-mouthed representatives of the party who are not named Mitt Romney, namely New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  Is O'Malley predicting that Chris Christie will be the Republican candidate in 2016, or is this a case of adult bullying on the playground?

O'Malley attacked all Republicans as being beholden to right-wing extremists, which is ironic, because O'Malley is beholden to left-wing extremists; people that hate the Constitution and unborn babies, but love murderers and illegal aliens, views that are logically flawed.

O'Malley, in his lame attempt at humor, continues to use the analogy about the dog chasing the fire truck.  This is coming from a governor of a state whose jurisdictions continue to close fire stations so that there is more money to give to illegal aliens in an effort to capture their illegal votes come election time.  I bet the men and women from the closed Truck 6 company on Fort Avenue in Baltimore do not think O'Malley's analogies are very funny.

The Democrats seem to be adopting the platform of hatred of firemen (and their dogs) and providing means for illegal aliens to skirt the laws.  We already know that their platform is anti-business, you know - those greedy evil companies that hire people and pay them money and provide health insurance.  Those bastards!  How dare they interfere with a government function!

The ever condescending Martin O'Malley seems set on political grandstanding, truth distortion, and shameless mud-slinging attacks to veer attention away from the problems of his own state.  He knows that if a Republican becomes President and tries to reduce the budget to spending levels that are realistic and more sustainable based on the tax base of the country, Maryland will suffer drastically as it relies on MEGA-government.  If O'Malley can put up enough smoke and mirrors, he thinks it will help his attempts to become the next President in 2016.  God help us.

And by the way, if during the Democratic convention, the Republicans do the same shameless acts that O'Malley performed, I will call them out for it, as well.