The Voices in Frank's Head

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann  was out in Iowa recently. She's considering a run for the White House and suggested changing to tax code; giving married couples a tax break at the expense of singles . My first thought when I read this was: Well, I suppose it's only fair to tax bachelors more. Married men already have a special tax to bear. It's called a "wife". Well, with thoughts like that running through my head, I guess it's no wonder why I'm still single.

The NFL lockout shows no sign of ending anytime soon. Luckily, there is an alternative. One that might actually be better than the NFL itself. There is the Lingerie Football League . It features football, played by women in their underwear. If one adds a beer and some nachos then this very well may be the perfect way to spend an afternoon. I'm just glad, though, that with the LFL putting beautiful women on the field to play football, they didn't decide to put guys on the sidelines in skimpy outfits as cheerleaders. I'm sure there are some folks out there would love to see that happen. I, however, am not one of them.

Rachel Maddow  talked about the budget situation in Michigan rather extensively. Her comments are well worth listening to, in my opinion, regardless of where you happen to live.

Today is the 100th International Women's Day - a special day dedicated to celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present and future. In order to celebrate this occasion in true international fashion, I have decided to ogle nothing but photos of women from outside the United States today. I wonder what kind of sandwich a Brazilian woman would make.

I've noticed several things over my years on this planet. One of them is that first person to stab you in the back or steal from you is usually the person who tells you repeatedly how honest he or she is. Truly honest people, at least in my personal experience, simply live up to their commitments and lead an honest life. They never feel a need to tell anyone how trustworthy they are. I came to this conclusion several years ago, after dealing with a certain former employer of mine who - I later discovered - was running a narcotics and prostitution ring on the side. I've been thinking about it a lot as of late while listening to a certain politician tell me for the eighth time in two years just how trustworthy he is, even though he hasn't kept most of his campaign promises.

I saw the illustration below on a friend's Facebook page and I had to steal it. I would like to thank whoever it was that invented the right mouse click; this person has given me so much.

Some rather strange things have come out of Germany, not the least of which is David Hasselhof's  popularity. Today, however, we something that is both strange and wonderful from Germany. Stare and Live Longer Researchers in Frankfurt, Germany have concluded that staring at women's breasts actually extends a man's lifespan by about five years. Their research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine . Unfortunately, they did not opine on whether or the breasts in question belong to their respective wives or some other random female. I suspect this study will prompt some curious discussions between couples. In the meantime, I'm downloading all of the photos I can of Jessica Alba , Katherine Hiegl ,  Paris Hilton ,  Sienna Miller ,  Rachel Nichols , and Hayden Panettierre . Heck, I might even throw a little Kirsten Haglund or Rima Fakih into the mix as well.

Frank Buckles - Enlistment Photo Frank Buckles  of West Virginia passed away earlier today as a result of natural causes. He was 110 years old. Mr. Buckles held the distinction of being the last American veteran of World War I. We, as a nation, have officially lost an important generation. His legacy, and the legacy of those who served with him, will live on for generations. The full obituary for Mr. Buckles is available here from the Associated Press.

I published my picks for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards earlier this month. I only made picks in 18 of the 24 categories. Of those, I was right with 10 of them. It wasn't my best year ever as far as Oscar picks go. However, getting 10 out of 18 right isn't too shabby either.

I was flipping through the wedding announcements in my local newspaper the other day. I was aghast when I saw one of the young women whose nuptials were published. I will spare the details since this blog is a public forum. Instead, I'll simply say this: some brides are seriously tempting fate by wearing white.

International Space Station The Space Shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station this afternoon as part of the STS-133 mission. This will be the last time that Discovery will dock at the station since the shuttle program is now being phased out. Discovery was the first shuttle to ever dock at the International Space Station and now it's time for her to retire. It has been an amazing 27 year long career for her.

There's a short video clip of a five year old little girl circulating the internet. In it, she emphatically explains that she won't get married until she has a job. Somewhere in the world, I suspect there is a little boy saying, "Your job is to shut up and gimme a sammich."

Once upon a time, when I was young and naive, the world made sense to me. Maybe if I drink enough, the world will once again make sense. Or least I won't care as much about all of the bloody nonsense. This is my random thought for the day.

She Googled Her Wedding Google launched Google Weddings recently. It's designed to use the existing free Google tools to simplify wedding planning. Google Docs  provides a budget template, Picasa provides photos albums , and so on. They even have partners like Boutiques.com to help find the perfect wedding dress and Google Googles for your smart phone to help brides get more details on things they see in print. Yes, Google Weddings really does do everything possible to simplify wedding planning. My first reaction is that this just seems a bit odd to use Google to plan a wedding. However, I'm also painfully aware of the fact that I'm a guy. As such, my first thoughts about weddings in general are to simplify them by running away as quickly as I possibly can. Unless, of course, there's a cool wedding cake at the reception along with lots and lots of booze. In which case, that's an all together different story. Mmm... Cake...

Books, Books, Books The Borders Bookstore near me is closing due to their recent bankruptcy filing. I swung by the place the other day, think I'd pick up something from their closing sale. The place was packed . There was a line to get into the store - their 4,000+ square foot store, I might add. All I could think was, "If the place was this busy before, they wouldn't have gone into bankruptcy."

Britney Spears  never really set any records for musical talent. However, she managed to set a new record for the most product placements in a music video . Britney Spears is such a national treasure.

Heidi Montag Stimulates Detroit The Detroit Free Press  is reporting that eight hospitals in southeastern Michigan are expected to hire 14,000 people between them over the coming months. This is expected to include everyone from doctors and nurses to chaplains, medical billing coders, and information technology specialists. Evidentially, Heidi Montag  is coming to Detroit for another round of plastic surgery.

Taylor Swift in the Bahamas Taylor Swift  was in the Bahamas recently. I'm not sure what the purpose of her visit was - whether it was a vacation or business - but I do know that I like this photo of her there. With this photo, Taylor Swift very well may be the new spokesperson for the Islands of the Bahamas. I know I certainly want to head there after seeing this photo. Thank you, Taylor Swift, for helping me make my vacation plans.

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.

I hate eHarmony. It's highly overrated, in my opinion. I think that's why I love the Super Harmony spoof of it so much. Super Harmony is definitely the best dating site around.