For some strange reason, random people feel it’s necessary to come up to me and tell me which celebrity I resemble. I look at them and say.. thanks? I mean, what do they expect me to say? Yes, you got me… I’m him. Sometimes they too resemble a celebrity. It’s usually not someone very flattering so I don’t reply “Hey, you look exactly like Roseanne Barr”! “Wow, the resemblance is uncanny!”

Over the years the two celebrities that I’ve gotten I look like the most are either James Spader or Jeff Healy. I think I may have resembled both when I was younger but I still get tagged with both celebrities. James Spader is looking more like a junior William Shatner these days. I’ll take the Jeff Healy comparison any day.

A few years back I was in a bar in Key West and a couple came up to me and asked me if they could have a photo with me. I looked at them and asked “Why do you want a photo with me?” They said “Because you’re Jeff Healy!” I was honored but let them know that I wasn’t Jeff Healy. They didn’t believe me. I asked them if they knew that Jeff was blind. They replied “Of course we do.” They I said “Well, I’m clearly not blind and therefore I couldn’t possibly be Jeff Healy. They laughed and begged me to take a couple of photos with me. They were both taking photos with me. That seemed to draw a crowd. One woman whispered to her husband “Who is that?” “A celebrity?” The couple yelled out “It’s Jeff Healy.” The others looked puzzled. Apparantly they either didn’t know who Jeff Healy was or they thought this couple was nuts.

Sadly, guitar great Jeff Healy passed away earlier this week of lung cancer. He was 41. R.I.P. Jeff.

Above are a couple of photos from a visit to New Orleans back in 2003. Most of the shots were taken in and around Bourbon street.

One of my fondest memories was the dinner at Antoines. There were about twenty of us and we had the Rex room all to ourselves. The food and company were amazing. Antoines has been around since 1840. Now that’s some history.

Also see:
New Orleans 2003 Flickr set

Today, in the United States, it’s Martin Luther King Jr. day. A day or remembrance and reflection on a man whose words are as powerful today as the day he spoke them. One year after King’s famous “I have a dream” speech [28 August 1963], he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 1964. This is an excerpt from his acceptance speech:

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

Interesting that King graciously accepts the Nobel Peace Prize and at the same time asks why the prize is awarded to a struggle which has yet won the peace and brotherhood which is what the Nobel Prize is all about in the first place. King makes a strong point without disparaging the very award he is given. He merely wants the audience to understand that the movement is ongoing until peace + brotherhood is achieved.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today’s motor bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that We Shall overcome!

“I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.” This unto itself is a powerful and relevant statement for our time. Self-centered can be good or bad. It just depends on the focus. I like the positive spin he puts on self-centered. As if to say we can take that self-centered energy and focus it on something positive for all of humanity rather than the opposite. So it is on this day I reflect on King’s words and see so much relevance for today. Like all great leaders and prophets, Martin Luther King life was taken on April 4, 1968 by an assassin’s bullet in Memphis, Tennessee. He was only 39 years old.

Here is a mashup, from an earlier post, of King’s famous “Drum Major Speech.” I took the speech and added music and a female backing voice:

If you’ve received a gift over the holidays that you really dislike, you may consider regifting it. Regifting comes from the infamous Seinfeld episode “The Label Maker” which originally aired in January 1995. Hard to believe it’s been over ten years already. In this episode, Tim Whatley gives Jerry a label maker for Christmas which Elaine had previously given him. Thus Elaine dubs him the regifter. See a video clip here.

Here are a few rules of the road that I found on regiftable.com:

Is the gift regiftable?
Never regift handmade or one-of-a-kind items. Signed books and monogrammed items are off-limits. Do you have to be told not to regift free promotional items? Some gifts that are good candidates for regifting include good (unopened!) bottles of wine, new household items and inexpensive jewelry.

How is the condition?
Only new, unopened gifts in good condition should be considered for regifting. Never give partially used gift cards. Don’t give items that you have owned for a long time. A general rule of thumb: if you have to dust it off, it is not regiftable.

Is this going to work?
Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don’t return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

Do you have good intentions?
Don’t just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.

How does it look?
When it comes to gift-giving, go for show! While gift bags in good condition can be reused, wrapping paper is a one-time thing. Always spring for a new card or gift tag.

Can you handle it?
If you don’t plan to announce the gift as a regift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about regifting once you’ve done it.

Have you considered your options?
An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. It is also an option to suck it up and keep an unwanted gift—after all, it was a gift.

When jetBlue first rolled out in 2001, I was one of the early adopters. No first class, all leather seats, DirectTV… WHAT, TV on a plane? Why didn’t anyone think of that before. After watching television on a trip from Ft. Lauderdale to New York, I was hooked. How could I possibly fly any other airline. Why would I want to fly any other airline.

So there it is. JetBlue figured out what jet setters wanted and boy did they deliver. Did I care about the simple snacks served on jetBlue? Those terraBLUE chips. (Okay, I get it, I get it), those cookies, and all the other tasty morsels they offer. The snacks are unlimited and you can eat as many snacks as you wish. They even give you little bottles of water. Doesn’t this make sense on a plane. It sure beats those sad little cups of water those other airlines offer.

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From time to time I like to google my name – Stephen Chip. It’s not that common a name really. My grandfather, of Hungarian decent, shortened it from Chipkar when my father was a boy. He said it sounded more American and would be easier for people to pronounce. The funny thing is that anytime I give my last name, I always have to say “CHIP… C, H, I, P”. Most people will repeat ship, chips, etc. So, either way it requires some additional work on my part.

I googled my name and much to my amazement, I found this from the Old Bailey Proceedings, 25th April, 1688:

Stephen Chip , was Indicted for stealing from Ann Jennings of Branford in Middlesex, on the 7th of April, 1 Silver Porrenger value 20 s. 2 Silver Tasters value 8 s. 3 Jacobus pieces, Rings, 30 l. in Mony, and other things : It appeared that the Prisoner had been her Apprentice, and that he had left open the Windows whereby other Thieves had got into the House, and that she had lost the things at several times; but the Prosecutor not being positive as to the Prisoner, and other circumstances concurring, he was brought in not Guilty.

Wholly crap, I don’t remember jumping in a time machine and going back 319 years. Amazing there is even a record of it. The good news is THAT guy was found not guilty.

The other day a random conversation broke out about what it would be like to be a worker who cleans septic tanks. As you can imagine, the jokes ensued. A crappy job with crappy wages. What do you do? I work with crap all day, and you? So after about 5 minutes or so, all jokes were exhausted.

Speaking of crap, here is an ad that makes a point… I guess. I especially like the title “There are better ways to make career”. Click here to see different angles.

You would never be able to get away with anything like this in the states. Everyone is far too PC and uptight.

Why is it that every time the cheesy 80s movie “Can’t buy me love” is on TV, I get sucked into watching it. It seems as though I’ve watched it more than 10 times. Did I just admit to watching this cheese fest over 10 times?

Anyway, here’s the basic premise of “Can’t buy me Love”. Nerd Ronald Miller, who cuts lawns for extra money, makes a deal with the most popular girl in school to date him for a month so he can be cool. The popular girl, Cindy Mancini, wore her very expensive mother’s outfit to a party where some kid ruined it after he spilled wine on it. In a panic she heads back to the store to return the outfit. The man at the store gives her some bad news. He will not be able to take the dress back because it’s stained with wine. Wow, didn’t see that coming. Our nerd Ronald happens to be at the same mall across the way and is about to dump his entire lawn cutting earnings on a new telescope for $1000. When he looks through the telescope and spots poor old dress for her for $1,000 dollars (hmmm coincidental?) she must agree to date him for a month.

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I was in San Francisco two weeks ago when I came across a man groveling for cash. I briefly read his sign as I was passing. I had to take a double take. Here’s what the sign said:

I HAVE NO MONEY BECAUSE YOU ARE UNSING ENVELopes AND Rubberbands. fold THE CASH

I don’t exactly know what it means but apparantly it has caused this man much hardship. I questioned the man and he asked me if I saw him on television. I told him I was from out of town. He then mumbled something under his breath. I gave the man a dollar and asked if I could snap his photo. He seemed happy to oblige.

The sign was interesting but not as good as the one I saw last year in San Francisco. An African American man was holding a sign that read:

I am collecting money for the U.N.P.F.
(United Negro Pizza Fund)

As I walked by I stopped, did a double take, and laughed. He said “You like that?” “It’s worth something” he grinned. I agreed and promptly whipped out a buck. He said thanks and I went about my business.

I stopped by my local Starbucks for a Venti Chai Latte today. Upon entering the Starbucks I couldn’t help but notice ALL the ads for the movie “Akeelah and the Bee“. First I noticed all the signs on the windows. Each sign depicted a different winning spelling bee word from various years. They all had bright green backgrounds with large words reversed out like “shalloon” - winning word from the 1971 spelling bee. They had a travel edition of Scrabble that had “akeelah and the bee” spelled out on playing board. A very crafty ploy but perhaps a bit over the top. Okay, I get it. Starbucks is now shoveling movies down my throat. I guess it wasn’t it enough that I frequent the store to buy an overpriced tea or coffee. Now they need to make more money by putting advertising all over the place.

As I sauntered up to the counter to place my order, a lovely young girl asked if she could get a drink ready for me. I asked for a Venti Chai Latte. She asked my name so she could write it on the cup. I replied “Akeelah” She said “REALLY?” I said “No”. “With all the advertising about “Akeelah and the Bee, I thought it was only fitting to have a hand written advertisement.” So she says “great!” and proceeds to write my so-called-name on the cup.

When the barrista finished preparing my drink she announced “Akeelah?” “Akeelah?” I picked up my drink and noticed that the girl who had originally written the name on the cup actually SPELLED IT WRONG. Interestingly enough the movie is about a spelling bee. The wrapper that’s on the cup has the movie name on it. Funny enough, there are signs all over the store. How ironic that a movie about a spelling bee and that has signs and tons of advertising should be spelled wrong by a Starbucks employee! Nice attention to detail.

A more interesting movie may be Akeelah and the Bee and a Starbucks employee. Yeah, that’s a movie I would go to see.

I told you it was addictive!

So I’m cruising around the internet reading my blogs and such and I happen upon this cool little site called Strip Generator. It’s basically a Flash comic strip generator hence the name. They have a cast of characters pre-built and ready to use. I just started clicking and dragging. I didn’t know where I was going. It’s a interesting way to create. It’s very similiar to how I write music and lyrics. Give it a try…. It’s addictive. At least for some of us!

Strip Generator