The Voices in Frank's Head

First, yes, I know it's been forever since I've updated this blog. I said it was possibly ending, but after a couple of years, I finally had something that I wanted to share. This simply seemed like the best vehicle for putting it out into the universe. With the help of some friends on Facebook, I managed to create at least the first draft of my bucket list. I will invariably add a few things to this as the years go on. However, I figured it was time to at least start one. Therefore, in no particular order, here are the items on my bucket list. Drive Route 66 from beginning to end; Visit Prague; Visit a random city and take a walk that only ends once I've taken a picture of every letter of the alphabet; Attend the Pierogi Festival in Whitting, Indiana; Visit the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa. This, by the way, is the house that Grant Wood posed his models in front of in his famous painting, American Gothic . Go to Chicago and re-enact Ferris Bueller...

I have just seen an amazing rack. And yes, I am talking about the pool balls that were racked in EyeHandy's latest instructional video, " How to Rack 9-Ball Pool with Savannah ." Or am I?

I came across the wonder of EyeHandy.com , which uses beautiful women in bikinis or lingerie to explain how to do certain things. Their most recent one introduces use the beautiful and talented Chelsea who shows us how to clean any mirror spotlessly  without any streaks, lint, or residue left behind. If you'll excuse me, thanks to Chelsea and the team at EyeHandy, I have a sudden desire to clean every mirror in my home. And for any raging feminist who happens to find this blog post, before you post any comments, I will simply ask: when was the last time you came across a bachelor who was suddenly motivated to do housework without any complaints?

I originally posted about this over on my neighborhood blog , but I wanted to mention it here as well on my personal one. I thought I would take you behind the scenes on my day job. I run a video production company and we were in Ypsilanti this past weekend to create a pilot for a reality television show called Club Cantina . We'll pitch the show to the various television networks. If that doesn't work, it is still has some great opportunities for an internet based show as well. I'll post more about the show later. For now, though, I wanted to give you a behind the scenes look at life on the set.

I was flipping through Entrepreneur  the other day and noticed an article about the dramatic profits that "breastaurants" are able to bring in . These, of course, are restaurants that are inspired by the Hooter's model of good food and attractive waitresses in skimpy outfits. Would You Like Fries With That? I'm convinced that if someone were to open a restaurant like this in downtown Detroit and give it a sports theme, it would be huge. The place would capitalize on all of the traffic from the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings games as well as any activity at Cobo, Hart Plaza, or elsewhere nearby. It would be huge. In fact, I remember a couple of years ago when Hooter's was fighting with the City of Troy (approximately 8 miles north of Detroit proper) for the right to open one of their restaurants there. Troy did not want them. When I saw the back and forth debate, I remember screaming at my television for them to forget about Troy and open downtown. Oh...

Kristin Cavallari in a Glass Bikini The folks at Diesel rolled out cobalt blue glass bikini for fashion week in Miami. Yes, it's a bikini that is made out of glass. I presume, of course, that they did this as a publicity stunt because, well, I can't really imagine any woman buying and wearing a bikini that's made out of glass. And it worked by the way. A quick check of Google shows that there are 41 million search results for "glass bikini." Almost all of those are for the bikini that Diesel showed in Miami. Now, I could make a wise crack about how it would take a diamond to cut a bikini like this. However,  Kristin Cavallari , the woman who modeled this glass bikini, just announced her engagement so that diamond wisecrack is just well... I won't go there any farther than I already did.

I really need to stop saying that I've seen it all. Every time I do, the universe comes up with some new way to surprise me. For example, while surfing the internet the other day, I came across a yacht that converts into a seaplane. Or a seaplane that converts into a yacht - depending on how one wants to look at it. Anyway, more information on this magnificent piece of technology - along with lots of photographs - is all available below. Flying yacht - OCTURI - Design & Interior, Fictional aircraft, Light

I've always thought that solar energy had a lot potential. However, I never thought I would see the day when an aircraft took off and flew an international voyage using nothing but solar energy to power itself. But it has happened. The top speed for this aircraft is only 50 m.p.h. It's not about to replace conventional aircraft engines anytime soon. However, the simple fact that it came this far shows that there is a lot more potential in solar energy than most people ever would have thought. More information on this, as well as video of the aircraft, is available via the link below. Solar Plane Takes Flight with First International Trip | Renewable Energy News Article

Today is Bastille Day , which is a French holiday to commemorate the storming of the Bastille  in Paris on July 14, 1789 and the founding of the modern French Republic. Since I happen to live in a former French colony, I thought I would take a moment to commemorate Bastille Day with a short video to showcase some of the greatness that France has given us, particularly French maids. Some very well find this inappropriate. The only consolation I can offer such people is that this is hardly the least inappropriate thing I have ever done. Happy Bastille Day from French maids everywhere!

Ten years ago, half of the entries in my address book were attorneys. Most of the people that I hung out with in college were pre-law and that fact was obvious in my post-college address book. Five years ago, the number of attorneys was surpassed by the number of reporters in my address book. For a number of reasons, I found myself doing an inordinate amount of public relations work for various non-profits in Detroit. I took a close look at my address book again today. It would appear that my life has taken another important turn. There are now more architects in my address book than reporters and more reporters than attorneys. I've been doing a lot of work with architects over the past couple of years. Organizing Pecha Kucha Night  in Detroit and working with various historic preservation groups has introduced me to a multitude of architects. Some of the those architects have commissioned me to do work for them, which has led me to meet even more architects. All of this makes...

This Bikini Charges Your Phone Andrew Schneider  is an inventor from New York and a certifiable genius, in my opinion. He has developed a solar-powered bikini that is capable of charging an iPod, iPhone, or any other standard USB device. I can simply imagine the pick-up lines that a woman will hear while wearing this one at the beach. Do we live in exciting times or what?

It happens every summer. I'll be out near a pool and one of my brothers or someone else will say, "It's too bad we can't play pool in  the pool." Well, now such a thing is possible. The folks at Opulent Items have introduced a waterproof pool table, which is perfect the ultimate summer activity. For the low, low price of only $6,500, one can finally play pool in a pool. Do we live in a great country or what?

I thought about using my mad video editing skills to create a video tribute to the men and women in America's armed forces. However, as any glance at YouTube will reveal, there is no shortage of such works. There really isn't anything left for me to contribute. Instead, I thought I would take a moment to honor the troops by showcasing some of the videos that they made themselves to deal with the monotony of life in a combat zone. The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing out of Al Dhafra Air Force Base in the United Arab Emirates handles air refueling, reconnaissance, and combat support for operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. More importantly, as this video below shows, the airmen of the 380th are very hot. The job of securing the personnel and equipment of the U.S. Air Force is done be a dedicated team of security policemen. These brave men and women are ready to handle any hostile force that approaches and, as this video below shows, they are clearly ready for American Idol ...

I get some of the most interesting things in my email. For example, did you know that it is actually possible to book a group of attractive women to come to your next party or event? Want to Play Polo? Yes, it's the Polo Girls Society . They are a group of five female professional polo players who are dedicated to bringing polo to the world. They will show up at any given party as well as corporate or charity events. They give polo clinics and demonstrations. Of course, if one prefers, they can simply act as promotional models for a given brand. I have to admit that I would never have thought to have people play polo at a party before today. However, now that I have seen this in my in-box, I simply cannot stop thinking about it. The Polo Girls Society: Coming to a party or event near you soon.

After watching this short video with Irina Shayk , I have this sudden desire to go buy a few cases of SoBe Lifewater . I can definitely use some more electrolytes. Or something.

My Own, Personal Robot I'm a man of very simple tastes. All that I really want is a robot that can go to boring meeting for me, like the new Anybots . It's a simple gadget, the next step in teleconferencing, if you will. My robot will see and hear everything that happens in said meeting and project a (possibly pre-recorded) video image of me on its screen. It delivers all of the benefits of being in a meeting without actually being in the meeting. Yes, I'm a man of very simple tastes. All I want is an Anybot. And a trampoline coffee table . And my own personal shark sub . And some of the great t-shirts from Think Geek and Snorgees . And a beer bottle cooler . And - well, you get the point.

Part Trampoline. All Coffee Table. I saw a trampoline coffee table this afternoon. It's perfect for those individuals who look at the middle of their coffee tables and think, "My God, I wish I could jump up and down on my coffee table." My life will never again be the same as it was this morning. The trampoline coffee table by Alberto Bonomi  is available here .

I found this photo on-line and all that I can say is, "Wow!"

I have lots of t-shirts already. However, I found one that I really, really want. Want it. Want it. Want it. Thank you to the folks at SnorgTees for coming up with this one.

I use Google News Alerts to keep up with the news that is important for me. And what was the first news alert that I received for 2011? Toronto-based artist Lisa J. Murphy   has released a book called Tactile Mind . It features raised, three-dimensional images of naked people and private parts that are sculpted into thermoform plastic, which is the material that is used for Braille. Some critics call this "porn for the blind". I, on the other hand, just call it awesome. The fact that this was my first news alert for 2011 tells me that this is going to be a very good year.