Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Val Kilmer. I recently watched Oliver Stone's The Doors for the first time. Even though this movie was your typically weird Oliver Stone film, it helped me learn about this band and also remember that Val Kilmer was the man in the 1990's. This realization prompted me to look back at Kilmer's career. You won't believe what one of the more questionable choices to play Batman is doing these days.

Yes, this is real. And yes, this is great acting. Visit the official Citizen Twain website for more details about this show. Kilmer's a great follow on Twitter too.

This week, I love watching Graham color. Graham's wonderful mommy goes to great lengths to make sure he stays entertained all day. He's recently taken a liking to coloring. It was never one of my favorite activities but I can't resist when he tugs on my hand to sit down and join him in a coloring session. He's mastered the basic scribble and can sorta say "blue" now. It's fun to watch him give it his best try. Sometimes he uses his left hand, sometimes he uses his right hand, sometimes he uses both hands annnnd sometimes he does this:

This week, I don't like John Calipari's recruiting success. In a past post, I mentioned the incredible achievement of Duke and Michigan to land four McDonald's All-Americans in the same recruiting class. Well, that number has now been eclipsed by John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. They managed to sign six All-American's in this year's class. Calipari has been the head coach at Kentucky since 2009. Each year he has recruited a stellar Freshman class and each year they all left school once the season concluded. This year will be no different. What really bugs me is that Kentucky was the preseason #1 ranked team in the country. I don't know how a bunch of unproven players that have yet to play in a college game can influence the polls like that. Don't get me wrong - Kentucky is good. But they've already lost a big-time game this season. All I can say is....GO DUKE.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Randy Johnson’s hobby. Randy Johnson retired from his job as a Major League Baseball pitcher in 2009. Since then, Randy’s passion for photography has filled his days. As he mentioned on his well-done website, Randy was a photojournalism major when he pitched at the University of Southern California and kept up his hobby through the course of his 20-year MLB career. I came across his website via his Twitter account and it appears that the man knows what he’s doing. This seems to show a softer side of Randy, who was known as one of baseball’s grumpiest players during his career. At 6’10”, he’s one of the tallest players in MLB history. He was a terrific pitcher...batters (and birds) feared him.

This week, I love the idea of ‘going Google’. I don’t have a laptop, but I would like one. When making purchases, brand loyalty often influences my decisions more than any other factor. Since I have an iPhone, I would naturally want to pair it with a MacBook, right? Actually, that’s not the case in this instance. I've been noticing what other companies are doing in the smartphone market – especially the phones that use the Android operating system (as compared to Apple’s iOS). Android is owned by Google and I’m a big fan of all things Google (YouTube, Google+, Google search, etc.). Can you see how my brand loyalty is sneaking back into the equation? So, I guess before I get a laptop, I will seriously consider getting something other than an iPhone – preferably a Samsung Galaxy S4. Then I could get something like a Chromebook. I really like Google’s Chrome browser and Google Drive’s ability to back up everything on a cloud service really appeals to me.

I don’t dislike my iPhone. But I’m very excited to see Apple’s competitive advantage shrinking by the day. Just like in any other industry, we - - the consumers - - win because healthy competition gives us the best products possible.

This week, I don’t like possums. I happened to look out a window the other night just in time to observe a possum emerging from beneath our ground-level deck. I knew exactly what this was creature was but my mind tried desperately to convince me that I was seeing a cat with a severely deformed head and shaved tail. Once it was fully out from underneath the deck, the possum paused in the yard to allow its eyes to adjust to our porch lights. That’s when I got a good, long look at this disgusting and vile animal. Who knows how long this…thing…has been residing so close to Graham’s little swimming pool? Who knows if this gross...thing...has drank from or even swam in Graham’s little pool? I don’t have the answer to these and many other questions but I do know that this possum must leave. A Google search informed me that possums aren't big fans of moth balls. Maybe that will work. I’ll keep you posted.

Not the possum at our house, but very similar in disgustingness.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like spring cleaning. It’s not quite spring but Julie and I have definitely been doing some cleaning. Julie has been doing a lot more on her own but she and I have tackled a few closets together. It’s amazing how admitting certain facts can impact my purging efforts. Like that I’ll never wear a particular shirt or never fit into a pair of slacks again. Julie is great about documenting all of our clothing donations for tax purposes and she has become a real pro at eBay, Craigslist and a local Facebook auction group. So far, we've cleaned out my closet, our utility closet and the laundry room. I enjoy spring cleaning but it’s even better with Julie! I can’t wait until we focus on her closet!!!

This week, I love Vine. From the Vine blog: Vine is “a new mobile service that lets you create and share beautiful, short looping videos.” It was developed by some of the folks involved with the creation of Twitter so, naturally, your Vine videos can be easily shared through your Twitter account. Vine is a program that works with your phone’s camera and allows you to film six seconds of video that tells a particular story. That’s the key point: your short video should tell a story. I’m still new to Vine but here’s a video I did to give viewers an idea of what our nightly routine with Graham is like.

To get the full experience, click here to go to my Vine page. Vine’s been called “Instagram for video”. I never got into Instagram but I’m really going to like Vine. Many people have taken a lot of time to craft very detailed videos but the best part of Vine is that you can be as sloppy as you want to be.

This week, I don’t like “Hulu Hangups”. As mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been enjoying Hulu Plus via our PlayStation 3. It’s a great service but more often than not, I’ll experience a “Hulu Hangup” when trying to watch a show. Hulu Plus has loads of great content and it’s all organized very well. But when trying to quickly drill down through different seasons of shows, the service sometimes just…goes blank. The only way to overcome this problem is to close out Hulu Plus all together and start over. I don’t think Julie has experienced this with her Roku device so maybe this is just a PS3 issue.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Downton Abbey. Julie and I have always tried to have a TV show that we both enjoy. Our relationship originated around LOST and we’re currently wrapped up with Revenge. But now we’ve got a new show: Downton Abbey. Julie suggested this show during some lazy time on our vacation last week. I knew the show had a lot of fans but I really didn’t think I would like it. The show doesn’t feature a topic that I would normally enjoy but the writers and actors do a really good job of pulling you in. Season 1 was great and we’ll start Season 2 soon.

Sidenote: The Downton Abbey theme is actually a remixed version of the X Files theme.

Downton Abbey Theme:

X Files Theme:

This week, I love going on vacation. Our first family vacation was so much fun! Our little alarm clock didn’t allow us to catch any extra Z’s but the time away was much appreciated. It was just nice to be somewhere different. I think Graham liked the change of scenery too. Julie’s coworker was nice enough to allow us to stay a few days in his family’s home on the lake in Pell City, complete with a swimming pool. I was worried that the pool water might be too chilly but Graham loved it. I think next summer will be a lot of fun with him in the water! We were so glad to spend some fun time together out of town and I think I found my new favorite spot in Alabama!

This week, I don’t like politics mixing with my entertainment. I have been so disappointed to have to unfollow some of my favorite actors and comedians on Twitter because of their liberal views. It’s happened so much lately that it seems in order to be a popular entertainer, one must showcase his or her allegiance to the Democrats with a vile Tweet about Mitt Romney. People like Seth Myers and Patton Oswalt…I don’t didn't follow you on Twitter because of your political views, OK? Why do more of these talented entertainers lean to the left and what makes them feel that they have to be so in-your-face about it anyway?  Apparently, there are NO entertainers out there that will be voting Republican this year either. Mark Cuban tweeted it best:

I'm amazed how far left politically the twitterverse is.It's just a matter of time before Fox News includes it as part of mainstream media
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 24, 2012

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like About.me. Everyone’s got multiple social media sites, blogs, etc. About.me lets you showcase them all at once. Don’t want to send friends, family members or potential employers on a wild goose chase across the Internet? This free service grants you a customizable webpage that “giftwraps” all of your sites in one spot. Best of all, you get a personalized URL that can be added to your business cards or email signatures. You can visit mine at http://About.me/NickBaggett

This week I love tomatoes. I may have declared my love for tomatoes in an older post. But I’m here to clarify my love. You should know that when I say “tomato”, I don’t mean the variety you get at Winn Dixie that has turned pink and hard from refrigeration and preservative chemicals. I’m talking about the red, juicy maters that come from the Black Belt region of Alabama. No, it’s not called that because of the high number of karate enthusiasts that live there. It’s referring to the dark, rich soil there that is known to make a successful gentleman farmer out of anyone with a shovel and some seeds. My parents gave us a big batch of tomatoes out of their garden during our recent visit to Camden and I can’t tell you how many BLTs Julie and I have devoured since then. Give me a tomato and a salt shaker and you and I can be friends. Add some Dukes mayonnaise, some lettuce and lots of bacon and you watch whatever you want to on my TV.

This week, I don’t like being without my keyless entry remote. The plastic case on my truck’s keyless entry remote broke. Since it’s no longer attached to my keychain, I’ve decided to leave it at home. Now, I’ve prepared myself for the day when the remote’s battery died by not allowing myself to use the “clicker” to unlock my door when standing less than 10 feet away from my truck. It kills me to see people walk up to their car door and use their remote rather than their key to unlock their door. But I seem to have my hands full more frequently these days and I’m really missing that remote. Those suckers are expensive and I thought I found an affordable replacement for the case online. But it was too good to be truck as the replacement case was not an exact match for my broken case. Oh well, guess I have to continue using the old fashion method.

Celebrity ReTweets 19-15

Hi there! Sorry for the delay but things have been busy…which is good! Here are the next entries in my “30 ReTweets in 30 Days” exercise.

Sunday, April 8th @bubbawatson

It was a nice Easter Sunday and we enjoyed watching the final round of the Masters with our great friends, the Branches. Bubba Watson hit an AMAZING shot on the second playoff hole to wrap up the green jacket. A nicer person couldn’t have won and hours after his victory, I congratulated Bubba via Twitter.

My Tweet: Very happy for @bubbawatson! #MastersChamp

Response Time: None

Why I think Bubba didn’t respond: Bubba was a slightly busy in the moments and days after his victory. It’s cool though. I don’t blame him.

Monday, April 9th @AUMensGolf

Auburn fields a great men’s AND women’s team this year. The day after Bubba’s big victory, I was still thinking about that tremendous shot and how no ordinary person could pull it off. I decided to ask the Auburn men’s golf team is they could duplicate the shot.

My Tweet: 153 yards, 40 yard hook, 53 degree wedge. I wonder if any of the guys on the @AUMensGolf team have got that shot!!

Response Time: None

Why I think the golf team didn’t respond: Not sure. Guess it’s obvious that none of the guys on the team can hit that shot!

Tuesday, April 10th @RutledgeWood

Rutledge Wood is one of the hosts of the American version of Top Gear, as seen on The History Channel. He’s a very knowledgeable car guy and has a twinge of Southernease in him (he was born in B’ham). I recently watched an episode of Top Gear in which the guys highlighted the worst cars ever assembled. Rutledge featured the Pontiac Aztec. Weirdly enough, I saw an Aztec on my way to work a few days later and had to let Rut know about it.

My Tweet: Hey @RutledgeWood – I saw and actual, functioning Aztec on my way to work this AM. Can I get an RT for that?

Response Time: Within 2 hours
Additional Comments: “hahaha nice! They’re out there!”

Very cool of Rut to acknowledge my Aztec sighting! He’s a very nice guy and a look at his Twitter feed shows that he interacts with lots of his followers. But I still felt special!

Wednesday, April 18th

I hate to disappoint but I didn’t work for a ReTweet on this date. It felt bad to end my streak but it was a long day at work. I’m really kicking myself for this!

Thursday, April 19th @RedLobster

It was “National Grill Cheese Day” and all of Twitter was abuzz with hashtags commemorating this stupid occasion. If I’m going to tweet about what food for which I was hankering, it would be Red Lobster. ReLo is probably the best restaurant ever and an easy pick when you need a romantic dining destination. Surely they would give me some retweet love for giving them a shout-out on Grill Cheese Day, right?

My Tweet: I don’t care if it is National Grill Cheese Day, I’d rather be at @redlobster! Can I get an RT?

Response Time: None

Why I think Red Lobster didn’t respond: This stupid Twitter account isn’t even verified. It’s probably not the official Red Lobster account. They wouldn’t recognize loyalty if it stepped on their butter-drenched tail!

Not bad but my percentage of receiving a retweet is starting to decline. Click here to see previous attempts and check back to see future Twitter begging!

Celebrity ReTweets 24-20

The retweet challenge continues! Here's attempts 24 through 20...

Tuesday, April 3rd. @TurnerSportsEJ

Ernie Johnson is the figurehead for Turner Sports. He does it all for them - from the NBA to major championship golf. He's best known for being the straight man for Inside the NBA on TNT, a studio show for which I professed my love recently. Side note: Johnson earned the nickname "Elevator Ernie" for his impressive leaping skills during a slam dunk contest back in the '80s.

My Tweet: Hey @TurnerSportsEJ can I please get an RT for wishing I had mad Elevator Ernie hops?

Response Time: Within 1 hour.

Additional comments: none

I think the mention of his athletic ability earned me the retweet. I was impressed with this one even though it appears that this act of kindness is something that Ernie practices frequently.

Wednesday, April 4th. @franknobilogc

It's the day before the Masters tournament begins and I can't get enough coverage. Earlier in the day, I was impressed with the reporting of Frank Nobilo, a former professional golfer from New Zealand who is now known better for his stylish beard and his outstanding analyst skills he puts on display for Golf Channel.  I happened to notice that I was sitting on 999 tweets.  So, I paid tribute to Frank with my next tweet.

My Tweet: I'm dedicating my 1000th to hardworking @FrankNobiloGC in hopes he'll retweet me from Augusta.

Response time: Within 15 minutes.

Additional comments: "Nick, any tweet like that guarantees a response. Cheers"

How cool is Frank Nobilo?!?!  I received a retweet from a widely-known analyst from the site of the best-known golf tournament! I was blown away with Frank's kindness!

Thursday, April 5th. @richthomaswsfa

Rich Thomas has been the lead meteorologist for WSFA in Montgomery for 162 years.  And he has not aged one day.  I was suffering from allergies and wished for a big rainstorm to wash away any remaining pollen. Any time I make weather wishes, I think about Rich Thomas.  So, I looked him up on Twitter.

My Tweet: My allergies have STILL got me down. A retweet from @richthomaswsfa would make me feel MUCH better!

Response Time: None.

Why I think Rich didn't respond: A look at Rich's timeline reveals that, just like in real life, he's strictly business.  He only communicates weather updates and reminders about his upcoming TV segments through his Twitter account.

Friday, April 6th. @TheRevAl

Al Sharpton has been in the news recently for the same reason he is always in the news: for playing the race card and not letting racism die in this country.  This was Good Friday and if there was any day that the good pastor could drop his defenses and actually do something positive, this would be the day.  It was late in the day but I was going to offer an olive branch via Twitter.

My Tweet: As Good Friday concludes, I ask for a retweet from @TheRevAl to improve race relations and mankind.

Response Time: None.

Why I think Reverend Sharpton didn't respond: He was probably too busy searching for his next opportunity to be on TV.  He's been doing that a long time, ya know. 

Saturday, April 7th. @HighlandParkAL

This one is a little questionable, but I'm going to count it.  Shortly after tweeting to Reverend Sharpton on the 6th, I tweeted that, on the following day, I would be playing a round of golf at Highland Park in Birmingham, which happens to have its own Twitter account. 

My Tweet: Playing @HighlandGolfAL with @Claymb tomorrow. #GoLow

Response Time: 15 hours

Additional comments: None.

When I received notification that Highland Park had retweeted me, my playing group was third in line to tee off on a very crowded tee box.  I felt this logjam was a product of the course's recent decision to require all carts to remain on the cartpaths.  I bit my cyber tongue at the time but did voice my disappointment after the round.

My Tweet: Had a good time at @HighlandGolfAL but wish they would rethink cartpath-only decision. Loooong round.

Would you believe that this comment also got a retweet?

Response Time: 2 days

Additional comments: "Glad u had a great time! Carts on path help keep our course in the best shape possible 4 our golfers. Hope 2 see u back soon!"

I will say that it's good of the Highland Park management staff to respond like this.  But it doesn't make me think that they'll be dropping their new rule anytime soon. 

Thanks again for reading.  This has been a very interesting experiment.  Check out 30-25 if you missed and and come back soon!

Celebrity ReTweets 30-25

Towards the end of March, I decided to send a retweet request to one random celebrity (or brand) each day for 30 days.  Unlike Facebook, Twitter allows everyday people the opportunity to interact with their favorite celebrities.  Celebrities can retweet, or share, humorous musings or calls to action from their followers.  Getting retweeted by a celebrity is considered the technological equivalent of a passing conversation on the street.

Retweets can also go very badly.  Ask Spike Lee.

I've detailed the first five of my 30 retweet requests below.

Thursday, March 29th. @RealJayWilliams

Jason Williams was one of the most talented Duke Blue Devils to ever play point guard.  An All-American and National Champion, he's best remembered for leading an unfathomable comeback against Maryland in 2001.  A motorcycle accident after college derailed his NBA career before it even started but Jason has found steady work covering college basketball for ESPN. 

My tweet: Can I get a RT to gain some followers? Your studio skills are making folks forget about your court skills!

Response time: Within 2 hours

Added comments: None

I was really stoked after this retweet!  This is going to be easy!

Friday, March 30th. @DocGooden16

Dwight Gooden was a rising star for the New York Mets in the 1980's before drugs and alcohol brought him back down to Earth.  But before his fall, Dr. K was the best and I wanted to reach out to him.

My tweet: Wishing you the best today! I'm a big fan of yours and 80's baseball. Can I get an RT?

Response Time: No response given

Why I think he didn't respond: Doc's not the most active Tweeter.  I don't imagine that he's savvy enough to know when he receives a mention on Twitter either.  This was actually a long shot, but at least I tried.

Saturday, March 31st. @JakeTrout

Peter Jacobsen is known for being a decent PGA Tour Player in his day but probably more identified as a great TV analyst these days.  He still plays on the Champions Tour and because of his popularlity and persona, he is endorsed by several top-shelf golf companies.  Srixon features Peter in their TV ads for their Q-Star ball, a ball geared toward amateur players.  After seeing this ad during a commercial break while watching a tournament, I decided to seek a retweet from Jake Trout.

My tweet: I'll run out right now and buy 2 dozen Q Stars if I can get a RT from you Jake!

Response Time: within 1 minute

Added comments: none

I was totally shocked at this quick response.  Spoiler alert - I did not go buy the golf balls.  I hate not keeping my word.  Maybe I'll buy some this summer. Peter is a new favorite of mine.

Sunday, April 1st. @Gatorade

I was not feeling particularly well on this date.  In an attempt to flush a virus from my body, I drank copeous amounts of this sugary, syrupy crap.  I thought that I could get a retweet for my efforts.

My tweet: Can I get an RT for drinking 128 ozs of @Gatorade today? #hydrate

Response Time: No response given

Why I think I got no response: As a brand, Gatorade really doesn't give out too many RTs unless you're some sappy runner who gives praise to Gatorade for providing the enzymes needed to complete a double marathon. Or they probably didn't believe that I really drank that much of their terrible product.

Monday, April 2nd. @MoesBBQBham

Moes BBQ in Birmingham serves the best BBQ'd meat in the area.  This is not a fib.  That's saying a lot considering that there's a BBQ joint on every corner here.  As a brand, they do a great job of communicating via Twitter.

My Tweet: Can I get an RT for convincing my friends that @MoesBBQBham is the best BBQ in Bham??!

Response Time: Within 1 hour.

Additional comments: "yes thanks!"

I may have sucked up to get this response, but it worked. It's true what I said - most of my friends are now convinced about Moe's BBQ.

I'll post the next 5 attempts at a celebrity retweet soon! Thanks for reading!