The Laker's Morning Drive

My pal David Fries will love this!! Book your trip to London David!!

ABBA members Anni-Frid Lyngstad (pronounced: Anna-Freed Lingstodd) and Bjorn Ulvaeus (pronounced: Byorn Ul-vayus) were on hand Wednesday night (January 27th) at the London premiere of Abba World. The multimedia interactive exhibition is currently running at London's Earl's Court, after having premiered in ABBA's native country Sweden. Abba World exposes fans to all things ABBA "from simple quiz machines to the chance to 'remix' ABBA tracks via digital consoles, although the core attraction, where members of the public can sing along with a 3-D holographic representation of the band." The $36 million "museum" also features a state-of-the-art replica of Polar Studio in Stockholm where ABBA recorded the majority of it's hits.

An office technician got a call from a computer user. The user told the tech that her computer was not working. She described the problem and the tech concluded that her computer needed to be brought in and serviced. He told her, "Unplug the power cord and bring it up here and I'll fix it for you." About ten minutes later she showed up at his door... with the electrical cord in her hand.

Apple showed off its much-anticipated tablet computer, a multimedia, Internet-enabled slate that could fuel the next leg of growth for the CE innovator. Dubbed the iPad, the tablet will be used to browse the web, read email, read books and play games. It’s positioned as something between a smartphone and laptop. The device will also work with the iTunes store.

Steve Jobs demonstrated how the iPad is used for surfing the Web with Apple's Safari browser. He typed an e-mail using an on-screen keyboard and flipped through photo albums by flicking his finger across the screen. Jobs said iPad will also be better for reading books, playing games and watching video than either a laptop or a smart phone.

The 16-gigabyte iPad will retail for $499, the 32-gigabyte version for $599 and the 64-gigabyte model for $699. With Wi-Fi and 3G, the 16-gigabyte tablet will sell for $629, the 32-gigabyte version for $749 and the 64-gigabyte model for $829.

What a great day ... nearly 30,000 bucks raised for the American Red Cross with Midwest Communications Haitian Crisis Day!

Here are 350 of those dollars... from my friend Chip Coenen and the crew at Lakeview Credit Union (still trying to convince Pat L. to change the name to Lakefield Credit Union! :))

Thanks to all who stopped by the Oshkosh Festival Store!! And all the folks who participated.

Avatar is officially number one. GossipCop.com reported that as of Tuesday (January 26th) morning, the sci-fi blockbuster surpassed Titanic's $1.8 billion worldwide haul -- making Avatar the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Domestically, Titanic is still at the top with $600.8 million, but Avatar is on pace to break that record as well.

Historically Avatar has now made the most money, but Gone with the Wind still holds the record for the most tickets sold. GWTW sold over 202 million; Avatar's sold just over 76 million.

The Bruce Springsteen Rock And Roll Hall of fame exhibit has been expanded and it's stay at the Cleveland museum extended through the end of 2010. Backstreets.com reported that the exhibit, called, From Asbury Park To the Promised Land, "has recently added several additional pieces to the exhibition, some from private collectors, and others from (Springsteen's) personal archive."

Moving over to the Cleveland exhibit from the now-closed New York Annex is Springsteen's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible -- which "The Boss" customized by "painting yellow and adding flames on the sides and dashboard." Also on exhibit will be his 1960 Corvette that he bought with his earnings from his breakthrough album Born To Run. Springsteen has donated several instruments including his Linn drum machine which was used during his legendary 1983 "Hollywood" home demos.

He has also loaned his 2002 Grammy Award for The Rising -- in the Best Rock Album category; his 2007 Grammy Award for "Radio Nowhere" -- in the Best Rock Song category; his 2009 Golden Globe Award for "The Wrestler; his 2009 Kennedy Center Honor -- as well as the coat he wore on the steps of the Lincoln memorial on January 18th at the concert leading up to the inauguration of President Obama.

A  truck driver was driving along on the freeway  and noticed a sign that read:  Low Bridge  Ahead.  Before he knows it, the bridge is  right in front of him and his truck gets wedged  under it.  Cars are backed up for  miles   Finally a police car comes  up.  The cop gets out of his car and walks  to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips  and says, 'Got stuck, huh?'     The truck driver says, 'No, I was delivering  this bridge and I ran out of  gas.'

Jon Bon Jovi is headed for NBC's 30 Rock. TV Guide magazine reports that the New Jersey rocker will make a guest appearance in 30 Rock's Valentine's Day episode, which shoots in New York City this week. Tina Fey, who plays Liz Lemon, spilled the news at the recent SAG Awards. The episode will find Fey reuniting with her ex-boyfriends and lovers, and one of them happens to be Bon Jovi.

Boost Mobile, part of the Sprint Prepaid Group, will air a 30-second spot during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLIV. Boost’s first-ever ad to run during the big game, titled ‘The Boost Mobile Shuffle’ will feature a parody of the iconic 1985 music video crew and reunite the original shufflers: Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, Willie Gault, Otis Wilson, Steve Fuller and Maury Buford.
The centerpiece of the ad is an off-beat re-creation of the 1985 music video using most of the players, the editing techniques and the same look as the iconic original. Legendary coach Mike Ditka also makes a special cameo appearance in the spot.

Bruce Springsteen along with Patti Scialfa and Southside Johnny Lyons took the stage on Saturday night (January 23rd) at Asbury Park, New Jersey's Stone Pony club for a benefit for Ranney School -- which all three of the Springsteen's kids have attended. The show also included NBC Nightly News anchor -- and longtime Springsteen die-hard -- Brian Williams and wife Jane who were guests of the Springsteen's, and joined the band for a rendition of the Jackie Wilson rave-up "Higher And Higher." Other highlights included Springsteen tackling covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary," Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)," Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," the Miracles' "You Really Got A Hold On Me," along with Patti's take on the Exciters' "Tell Him" and a duet with "The Boss" on the Ad-Libs' "The Boy From New York City."

From TMZ.COM this morning ... Steven Tyler treated a bunch of shoppers at a Home Depot to an impromptu concert this weekend -- by singing two of Aerosmith's biggest hits a cappella over the store's loudspeaker. Tyler randomly picked up the microphone on Saturday and belted out snippets of "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for all the Home Depot shoppers to enjoy. Tyler then took a hit from a helium machine and kept singing Bee Gees style while signing autographs for anyone who asked.

Over a remote Scottish island a helicopter lost power and was forced to make an emergency landing. Luckily there was a small cottage nearby. The pilot walked over to it and knocked on the door. “Is there a mechanic in the area?” he asked the woman who answered the door. She scratched her head and thought for a few seconds. “No,” she finally said, pointing down the road, “no mechanic... but we do have a McArdle and a McKay.”