Bruce Littlefield's Life 101 » American Hype

Garage Sale – Find of the Week!

Bruce Littlefield — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:55:52 +0000

LeBron James pendant - Paid $5, worth $10,000

Yard saler Vaneisha Robinson thought she was buying costume jewelry when she paid $5 for this diamond studded pendant. When she had it appraised, she discovered it is worth almost $10,000. According to the AP, 20 year old Vaneisha said she used to wear the jersey-shaped pendant to high school until gemologist Jerry Ehrenwald appraised the 14-karat white gold pendant sports more than 2 carats of diamonds for a small fortune. The # 23 jersey says ‘King’ on the front and ‘James’ on the back. Maybe Lebron wants to buy it off Vaneisha as a good luck charm as he heads to Miami. Or… go to ebay and buy a tinfoil one.

American Icons – Marilyn’s Chest X-ray

Bruce Littlefield — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:22:38 +0000

A healthy priced x-ray!

Proving that there’s a buyer for everything… a 1954 x-ray taken of Marilyn Monroe’s chest sold for a whopping $45,000 in a heated auction at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas! The 1954 X-ray was estimated to have a maximum selling price of $1,200! According to the President/CEO of Julien’s Auction, then 28-year-old Monroe was supposedly pregnant at the time. Now, that’s a collector’s item! The unforeseen high price goes along with my theory that a unique story adds exponential value and all you need for a BIG $ale is two people who buy that story! In addition to the X-ray, the chair from Monroe’s last photo shoot went for $35,000! Hey, big spenders, somewhere I have the x-ray of my broken pinky…and boy, can I tell you a story!

Gossip! – The Green Lantern

Bruce Littlefield — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:55:08 +0000

Entertainment Weekly's 1st look at The Green Lantern

Entertainment Weekly has a sneak peek at Hollywood’s next superhero, Ryan Reynolds as The Green Lantern. If I were a betting man, I’d buy me some stock in Green Lantern on the Movie Futures Market. It’s got SMASH written all over it. With Ryan’s power ring (and his six-pack abs) I’ll go out on a limb and bet he’ll save the universe and bankroll the studio. In this week’s EW, Ryan talks about the frightful feat of being propelled at 60 feet a second on a wire to create the illusion of flying and admits, “The first time you do it, you’re deeply considering an adult diaper.” Ryan, keep the green suit. But who knew they make an adult swim diaper? Reminds me of a sign I saw as a kid at a South Carolina country club:
“OOL. (notice there’s no ‘P’ in our pool.)”

Dinner Party Talk – The Price Is Right

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:12:45 +0000

I always love stories about brilliant people who use their talents for weird things, and this Esquire feature about Terry Kniess doesn’t disappoint. Kniess has this talent for memorizing patterns, and he used his amazing brain to figure out patterns in the prices of items in the classic game show, The Price is Right. In the Showcase round of the game, his bids were exactly on target, making him the only person in the show’s 38 year history to make a perfect guess. My to-do list: 1. Start counting things more. 2. Become millionaire game show winner.

Gossip! – Lady Gaga Eyes

Bruce Littlefield — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:10:49 +0000

I love me some Alexander McQueen sparkly platforms and bubble dresses as much as the next Gaga fan, but I’m definitely not gaga over this new trend. Inspired by the singer’s creepy cartoon eyes in Bad Romance, teens across the globe are investing in circle contacts, contact lenses that extend past the pupils to cover the whites of the eyes, according to this CBS article. But wearing contacts that haven’t been fitted by a doc leads to infection, scratched corneas and, in some scary cases, blindless. Plus, her producers say Gaga wasn’t even wearing contacts in her video-her eyes were computer-enhanced. Just a little disturbing gossip to start your week right!

Dinner Party Talk – The Candwich

Bruce Littlefield — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:09:10 +0000

We’ve now reached a whole new funky fresh level of GROSS. Eater has the unbelievable, but true, story of The Candwich, a sandwich in a can that comes in three flavors: peanut butter and strawberry jam, peanut butter and grape jam, and, the most one that sends shivers down my spine: BBQ Chicken. But wait! There’s more. Plans for Pepperoni Pizza and French Toast Candwiches are in the works. The Candwich, of course, comes with its share of controversy. If anyone buys one, please tell us what exactly is the “Candy Surprise Inside.” Icky poo. No, thanks! I’ll just make a homemade PBJ and wrap it in a baggie. Here’s a funtastic musical recipe for peanut butter and jelly. Or, even better, check out the Peanut Butter Song from Inside out. “I’m peanut butter and you’re jelly and we’re so happy on our little piece of bread.” DEFINITELY worth a listen! Enjoy your uncanned dinner!

Life 101 – Braggin’ on Zappos

Bruce Littlefield — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:40:36 +0000

It is rare for customer service at any major retailer to be efficient and kind…but Zappos is both. After a recent transaction the retailer has gained a customer for life… me. The shoes I ordered were too small. I called Zappos to ask how to exchange. They sent me a return label via email and overnighted me a new pair…before I’d even sent back the old pair. A few days later I got a personal note in the mail from my customer service person, Michelle, which said, “Thank you for sharing your day with me.” I’ve learned that this kind of “put a smile in someone’s day” is company philosophy. Every customer service rep (hear this Verizon? Time Warner? AT&T?) should make Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose their go to guide. Zappos, I’ll be back.

Gossip! – The Internet is Over

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:15:08 +0000

Might as well trash my Macbook and iPhone, because according to Prince, the Internet is over. The pop star told the UK’s Daily Mirror that the Internet is like MTV-”At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated.” As for my now-outdated Macbook and iPhone (and the iPad…and iPhone 4…and all those other wonderful accessories), Prince has deemed digital gadgets “no good.” Seems a little hypocritical for someone whose Purple Rain video has gotten well over a million views on YouTube.

Gossip – Timberlake on Glee

Bruce Littlefield — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:48:13 +0000

Timberlake and Mr. Schuester - separated at birth?

For those of us already experiencing withdrawal since the season finale of Glee (I just finished it last night!), there’s chatter that Justin Timberlake may be joining the list of celebrities who will guest-star on the show’s 3rd season. The pop star is in talks to play the brother of teacher Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison). There’s an uncanny resemblance between the two (it must be the curly locks!) Also expected in the next season is British singer Leona Lewis. Who will be Bleeding Love?

Life 101 – BP Oil Crisis and Surfer Mag

Bruce Littlefield — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:27:09 +0000

While we’re hearing about BP and the oil spill on the news every night, I’m a little surprised the coverage hasn’t gone much beyond the politics and finger-pointing. Turns out I’m not the only one, and my friends at Surfer magazine just started a BP Oil Crisis blog. It’s equally refreshing as it is tear-jerking: stories and photographs from real people along the coast. Articles betray shock and emotion as the bloggers watch the tragedy unfold on their precious seas. Because after all, who loves the beach more than surfers? Kudos to Surfer mag for bringing some heartfelt media coverage to the crisis.