Take on the shut down

The government shutdown was averted with an 1-th hour emergency 45 day short term bill to keep the government open which will only secure we go through this same stupidity again in mid November, right as we get ready for Thanksgiving. This entire song and dance is so tired and lame at this point, it happens every few year and it always leads to the same crap. The only ones who win are the media companies who can literally run the same articles over and over again.

Take on the bus.

Pre Covid it would routinely take me an hour and 45 minutes to get into work with the misery that is the Lincoln Tunnel. You'd often have traffic starting before even getting through the tolls on the turnpike and it would carry all the way into Port Authority. Then with Covid the only positive thing was the fact commuting went from an endless slog to swift and easy but somehow a few years later we are back to a commute which routinely pushes two hours This is pure horror and it only seems like it's getting worse.

Take on the hole in the floor

Can somebody explain to me why in 2023 we still ask people to take a dump hovered over a hole with your pants dangling between your legs. I guess different cultures etc but I cannot believe that this is somehow easy on anybody's legs and there is no way your pants go unscathed either.

Take on the debate

Without Trump, nobody will cover the watch who isn't paid to cover it. The list of the guys left of the island are Trump wannabes and hangers on and needs to be culled quickly but I'm starting to think that although Trump is a horrible menace; Biden knows how to beat him and he might be the best opponent to save the republic

Take on Trumpidy Dumpidy Doo

The end has to be close, I mean, it just can't keep going and he can't keep getting away with it all for ever, right? Trump has been held liable for fraud and now may actually have some issues running their stupid business which makes the entire day palatable.
What we haven't figured out is why Trump is still waking free. He constantly is reminded to keep his trap shut and not try to influence witnesses and he continuously spews hatred at them.

Time to step up America and let's get serious.

Take on the end of the world as we know it

I can't believe the weather we've had already. From stifling heat to endless rain all in a matter of two weeks. You'd have to crazy to not recognize a cosmic change in the climate and the fact you can spend weeks on end without a nice day seems almost inevitable now. What in most shocked at is that as a developed country the only real steps we seem to be making towards any kind of actual change is that consumers are buying electric cars or solar panels. Nothing seems to ever be done on a national level to do anything about any of it. It's all window dressing

Take on the snack options

Your options at the airport for snacks are usually limited to whatever crap Hudson News offers, it's overpriced and loaded with sugar but desperate times call for it. The airport in China is somewhat similar especially at 10pm but instead of a crappy bag of regular M&M's, they give you some kind of fermented reptile foot that looks like it's about to stab you with its talon if you so much as open the package. I have no clue why this would seem to be a good dried food option but it does make you wish for that bag of M&M's, even if it's isn't the peanut flavor

Take on the Chinese express

Traveling through China, you see the most amazing things. From exponential growth, to giant infrastructure sitting next to something like the Great Wall. You also see wealth which years ago you didn't but you still see poverty and nothing is more apparent than a guy driving with what looks like a sedan worth of bottled cans on the back of us moped, going to collect a few RMB. Inflation in this country speaks to one thing..the cost of pork. It's like their most important metric and when inflation is high, many people go without meat. But this tells you that this metric isn't for all, this guy isn't eating meat today.

Take on parts unknown

The best thing about Asian travel is the fact you are sometimes serves a meal that looks so unappetizing that when they bring out a plate of beef cheek or jellyfish you are actually thrilled. I am not afraid of different food options and will channel my Anthony Bordain and just about anything but the idea of a dead duck hanging in a window at 80 degree weather is never one that makes me beg for more.
At least the jellyfish was delicious

Take on Onana

I don't watch European soccer but caught the highlights of the champions league game between Manchester United and Bayner Munich.

The goal keeper was being interviewed blaming himself for the 4-3 loss while CNN Worldsport kept showing a highlight of him making a futile attempt at a Leroy Sane's shot off a Harry Kane pass from the top of the box and if I didn't know better if certainly seemed like he was on the take. He either didn't see the ball or didn't react quickly enough but it sort of skirted through his hands in what can only be described as a complete brain fart. Not sure if Red Devil fans are conspiracy theorists but I'm sure the entire talk at Old Trafford will be about this one play

Take on the FM dial


I fell asleep with a transistor radio under my pillow for years, listening to the monotone of the AM Dial to listen to Sterling call a game or Summers schmooze some S-P-O-R-T-S. It was glorious to be able to listen anywhere o the eastern seaboard or in Cleveland on a cloudy night. When the move of the format went to the FM dial, it was a transition as the question was who the heck needs to hear Benigno in stereo (me, that's who). But right now the format seems to be retreating back to the AM dial and Michael Kay who has sucked most of his career will get booted back to radio purgatory. It's amazing how many of these FM stations can't keep a format, 98.7, 92.3, 95.5 have all recently changed Stations like 102.7 seemed to change every five minutes a decade ago. Back in the 90's I remember falling asleep to Bach and waking up to Sebastian Bach when 104.3 changed overnight

What it does to us it speaks to the power of Z100. They literally have not changed what they've done for my entire lifetime. They still have Elvis I think, they still do Jingleball and they still get a million teenagers to tune in every time.

Take on the thousand year egg

You travel nearly 30 hours door to door and the only food they offer is some weird soup concoction which tastes like clam infused bellow, your stopover is in an empty terminal with nothing open except one coffee place which won't take Amex. You get to the hotel so late that nothing is open and then spend the entire night craving anything edible.

Chinese cuisine is great, but it always takes some getting used to and day one is no exception. I can't complain about the fairly western themed breakfast but always confused as to why anybody would find the Thousand Year egg a delicacy. I mean the yolk is blacker than night, it smells like raw sewage and whether or not it's been sitting out for a week almost doesn't matter.

But at least they have this empanada thing which was amazing.

Take on Asia

It's been a few months since I last got onto an international flight to Asia and it's certainly a different experience. Long gone are the masks, restrictions and PCR tests replaced with miserable lines, miserable people and miserable food. Airplane lounges have gotten so crappy in their offerings, I've sat here for two hours and the pizza has been sitting out for at least that long, the cheese pieces looks like they are going to melt into one another and the beer offerings are lackluster. Worse is the fact they are so overcrowded you can't hope to find a seat anywhere

Anyway, hopefully the 15 hour flight is an improvement

Take on the shock.

Can somebody explain to me how this is normal?? In a time with record low unemployment levels, a strong market, with no foreign conflict and a completely scandal free term and incumbent is down?? But not down to anybody, down to a man who tried to take down our Union, a man who has no regard of the sanctity of the constitution, a man so morally corrupt, so ethically challenged and so unpatriotic that he would always choose his own name before ever considering the effect to the country.
What do they have against Biden?? His offspring is trashy and unethical, he himself is old as dirt and he has fake teeth. That's kind of it but it seems like its never enough to sink him.

Take on Evan and Tiki.

About three weeks into the Tike and Evan (or Evan and Tiki) experiment, I have to be honest and say it's not working. I tried listening a few times and it's dreadful, Evan is a form and Tiki is the one jock who won't shove him into a locker. I can't believe that this is the best they could come up with after Craig's left. Pay Benigno a million dollars, see if you can get Fatso back. This can't be the answer and the suits must know it. Please anybody help, I've actually started finding myself listening to the Kay show.

Take on the Wendy’s Nacho Burger

I decided to indulge in some good old American cuisine before embarking on an 8 day trip to China, so instead of a sale or wrap, went all in on this new Nacho burger from Wendy's. The pictures in the ads made this thing look amazing and the idea behind a TexMex burger explosion sounded too good to be true, so I dropped $6 and waited with anticipation.
Sadly, the Nacho Burger of my dreams didn't show up and instead I got a culinary nightmare. Instead of a crisp binned burger with nacho flavors I got this soggy bun, a sorry patty with cheese and sauce spilling all over the place. There wasn't any distinguishable burger taste as the nacho thing sort of overpowered the burger thing. The entire thing was like eating something with the consistency of a plate of nachos after somebody spilled a Diet Coke on them.

Oh well. Maybe the food in China will be better

Take on a delightful walk

I went for lunch the other day to this awesome little Italian joint on 9th avenue and like 37th street. Totally authentic feeling, great pizzas and pastas and not all that expensive. I ordered a veggie pizza with basil and mushrooms which was absolutely delightful.

Walking back to work, I got another view of NYC which is slightly less delightful. As I walk out of the restaurant a dude drops his pants and decides that the pizza he had earlier may not have been as delightful and needed to be expelled right then and there. Dude get sup and is standing there dropping a deuce at 1pm on a Tuesday wearing a These Colors Don't Run shirt.

Sadly for him he forgot to drop his drawers when he dropped his pants, so it seems most of it was sort of self contained but there certainly were some colors that were running.

Anybody want to meet for lunch next week??

Take on Rick Mirer II


The Jets will likely not pursue a big name QB and go with Rick Mirer after an injury to their veteran QB after an offseason with so much hype you could cut it with a knife. This is the Jets way, they get you all hot and bothered and then they throw cold water all over your face. Of course. I body could have predicted this, other than anybody who has followed this team. They won't win a championship in this decade, likely not in this lifetime.

Take on McDonalds

McDonalds is getting rid of the self serve coke machines which would have made the 17 year old Righetti cry I am guessing that fountain soda is in of their biggest money makers when you pay $4 for flavored water in a paper cup but when you a bunch of teenage boys basically guzzling the free refills so that they turn wider than they are tall, it's not good for anybody mainly because those dudes are going to be necessary to keep the business alive in the long run and I'd they drop dead, McDonalds will die along with it.

Take on Just End The Season part 30

When you are a Jets fan, the most you can hope for is a victory in June. You know that they will just disappoint you either by play, by stupidity or by injury but one way or another yiu will be left dissatisfied. Aaron Rodgers probably tore his Achilles, which would likely mean his Jet career spanned 4 plays and five episodes of Hard Knocks. At least Vinny T gave the fans a full season to get our hopes up, ARodge gave the fans five minutes.

Well there is always next year.

Take on the Gen Z photographer

When you want a photo of a scene which yiud be proud to show off, don't ask some old hag to stop walking to take a photo..ask a teenager. My vacation photos have so greatly improved the last few months mostly because whenever we need a family photo I now make sure that some Gen Z'er takes the photo unless you like a thumbprint in the family portrait in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Take on the thickness humidity

The last couple of days in NYC have been a couple of the worst days I can remember when it comes to weather. The air has been so thick, it's like you are walking through a soup. We've had a number of bad days but the last few have been so unpleasant that just waking through the streets breaks guy out into a sweat. Add that to the smell of the city in these conditions and I'm ready to move to Maine

Take on old politicians

Please god, tell me we can have some members of our government who aren't also collection social security benefits. Nancy Pelosi is running again which is about as exciting as hearing that Mitch McConnell or Chuck Schumer is running again.
Forget their politics or effectiveness but please god, move the hell over and give the next generation a shot…actually they need to skip a generation or two because the one after Pelosi is also old.

Take on the whitewashed article

Reading the Reuters article on the Masterson sentencing made me want to throw my phone out of the bus. The article goes into detail about his rapes of Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 and then delves into another accusation from former co-star on that stupid show. This is all fine but the last line in the article states that the multiple allegations against him have hurt his career. This may be a fact but it almost sounds like they are implying we should be playing a sympathy violin for him. Yeah, no thanks, rot in hell dickwad.

Take on the rat

The walls are closing in..the rats are running off of the ship and the fat lady is about to sing. We've been at this for a long time but the Special Counsel is starting to get people to flip and the more of that, the closer to putting Big Trump out of our lives forever. We have all knows he had bonafide godfather immunity but hopefully it's finally coming to and end although I have learned one thing and that is to never count out the fat man out

Take on diarrhea on the plane

A delta flight had to turn around because of a bad case of diarrhea and here I am on the eve of a 14 hour flight to Beijing.    I get the urgency of having

To go but not sure what the urgency of having to turn a plane of a few hundred people around.  I mean, I'm sure it stinks but it can't be that bad..right?

Sent from my iPhone

Take on the meeting

Kim Jong Un and Vlady Putin are getting together for a little low-wow which just seems like yet another provocation to the west from Papa Putin. We know there is no real political reason for this other than Russia doing it because they can. But the entire time I thought about this, the more I think how shameful it would be if somebody served those two guys one of those exploding cigars.

Take on Burning Man

There is no place on earth I'd want to be less than at Burning Man. I know nothing about it and it might actually be cool but the idea of a Woodstock type festival of influencers and Gen Z jackasses seems like hell on earth..and that is before the rains came.

Now they are investigating some death in a sweaty dessert and nobody can get out. No thanks

Take on the embarrassment

Everywhere I go, I feel like I'm driving around wearing a big red hat. I still believe in the electric car but having to feel like you support the sociopath leading the company. When he first sort of hit the greater cultural consciousness, it felt like the kind of visionary this country has needed but now you feel like everything his companies have accomplished are in spite of him. Either that or you have to take it all together

Take on government overreach

There are whispers that Texas Republicans are passing laws which would ban the use of local roads for somebody who is traveling out of state for an abortion. I'm not quite sure how this will be enforced as I often drive across state lines without even noticing it but to have a state trooper pulling cars over and giving a woman a full gynecological exam seems…intrusive. Are they going to have pregnancy tests like they do breathalyzers and make a woman walk a straight line and touch their bellies with their finger.

But even if they can somehow figure the logistics out, does this mean than any pregnant woman is not allowed to leave the state?? Seems a bit like government overreach.