Is that REALLY necessary??

I'm all about making statements -- really! I'm a huge fan of speaking your mind (albeit appropriately, sometimes) -- but last night on the way home -- I think I hit my limit. I was behind a beat up red generic sedan type car with a support ribbon for -- LAP DANCING.

Okay -- is that REALLY necessary?? Seriously?? Do you really need to have a magnetic ribbon on the back of your car telling everyone in the world that you are either a stripper or stripper addict??

So this morning -- it got me thinking (don't worry, I stretched first!) What else out there makes me say "Is that REALLY necessary??" And since I know you all want to know -- here my list!

1. The buzzword term "value added." Did we really need to come up with a fancy way to say valuable or beneficial? And if we did -- is this all we could come up with as a people?? Seriously?? I 100% HATE this term. It's one of the most over used buzzword jargon pieces of poo -- I promise I will hear it today before work is over.
2. A fourth judge on American Idol. True -- we all know that Paula Abdul is kuh-ray-zee -- but isn't that part of the fun?? Remember what happened to the Brady Bunch when they added "Oliver" -- it went bye-bye . . . although technically that wasn't a bad thing either. AND the best we could come up with was Kara DiGuardo?? I mean -- who?? I get that she's a successful songwriter -- but how about getting one that's iconic?? I'm sure Carole King would have been available and added much more credibility. (Admit it -- how many of you knew Kara DiGuardo co-wrote "Ain't No Other Man" for Christina Aguilera.....)
3. Pop up ads . . . um -- about as important as junk mail. Has anyone ever purchased anything from a pop up?
4. What is up with all the splicing of categories at the Grammy's?? Seriously!! You have so many 'genres' that sound the exact same. Take into account the following categories: (Bluegrass & Country), (R&B, HipHop, Rap), (Tejano & Mexican), (Heavy Metal, Rock, & Hard Rock) -- doesn't this all seem a bit like trying to decide what the difference is between a frappacino and iced coffee?
5. Serving sizes on drink mixes. Seriously -- you will be surprised! I am in love with Propel drink mixes b/c it's really adding flavor and electrolytes to water -- and it's just 20 calories per bottle of water you add it to. BUT -- if you look on the little drink packet, it tells you the serving size is HALF the damn packet!!! Are you kidding me?? Is someone really not going to buy it because it says one packet is 20 calories instead of 10 calories for half a packet?? I want to meet that person, so I can shoot them! Geez . . .
6. Digital tv conversion -- was this actually necessary?? Why did we mandate the switch from analog to digital?? I just don't get why this was important at all . . . I mean I love my HDTV -- don't get a girl wrong -- but did we really need to force Grandpa Jones on the back 40 to take his horse into town to visit the Wal-Marts (yes, the s is intentional -- and you know that if you've ever lived in the country) and buy a converter box? I'm a bit unclear on why this was at all needed . . .
7. Another 800 Billion dollar stimulus plan . . . because the first one did well, right?? Does anyone even remotely think that the economy (I know Claire) is going to immediately turn around because we keep throwing (now over a trillion) dollars at it?? Recession is a natural part of an economic cycle, and the longer you stave it off, the longer it will last when it comes. An economy can not grow for ever -- it has to contract before it grows again. Think of it as eating and pooping . . . and I'm not kidding on this. It's what my half baked ECON prof told us, and it was the only thing he said that made sense.
8. Blu-ray DVDs -- again, I love HD, BUT . . . I really don't want to see the size of the pores on Chris Evans' face . . .

I know it seems I've been ranting on this, but it actually took me a few weeks on this entry. I just would stumble across something and jot it down to use for later when I thought of it. I know there's tons more out there . . . so feel free to add your own in the comments section. What makes you think "Is that REALLY necessary?"