Merry Xmas

This is going to be a relatively short one for me, as i am setting off for a long 3 hour drive over the Muskegon in this not so nice weather.

Tomorrow is always a nice day, especially since my son is now old enough to understand what it all means, my ability to get a hold of a Santa Suit was a priceless bit of wealing and dealing.

So i will entertain the kids tomorrow for sure.

Following that its the big one..... Lakers v Boston, can Kobe, Bynum and Gasol stifle the former world champions or its it going to be another KG show. We will see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boxing Day brings the usual program of Premiership games which is always something to look forward to. I am going to go out on a limb and say Liverpool will again choke at home v Bolton, Chelsea will draw 1-1 v the Baggies and United will rape Stoke 5-0. Colorful huh.

Arsenal although i like them hugely are done for me, losing Fab for Four months isn't good at all and with the shocking sending off of MANU it looks like a very unhappy Xmas for the Wenger boys away to the inform VILLA.

All credit to Martin O'Neil and the boys from the Midlands, for me they will no finish 4Th or 3rd dependent on Liverpool's can we win the title or are we going to play Wimbledon style football and hoof it to Robbie Keane all season long attitude.

We will see.

Merry Christmas to you all and a wonderful New Year.

holiday shopping, Mad Men and off to alabama

So for our Holiday party at BIGGBY, we went to the Meridian Mall to shop. After finally pulling myself away from the bar at Ruby Tuesday’s, I stopped by Schuler’s to pick up a few things. Got the new sloan and Dandy Warhols albums. I’ve listened to the Dandy tracks online through their website but this will be a lot better.

Also picked up a hardcover version of the Watchmen. Will be reading that at the first of the year in preparation for the release of the movie. I grabbed a Denis Leary DVD with No Cure for Cancer and Locked ‘n Loaded, (Insert mancrush comments here), as well as Lewis Black Live at Carnegie Hall. I’ve listened to first disc and it’s great.

Finally I got Arrested Development, Season 1 and Sin City. I heard a rumor that they are doing an Arrested Development movie. Is that true? As for Sin City, the greatest comic adaptation ever and a kick ass ride too.



I also found time to watch the first season of Mad Men. The show was recommended to me by Dave and I admit, after the first show, I was not that impressed. But after the first disc, I was completely hooked and finished the rest in record time.

Great writing and acting, amazing depth in the characters and conflicts. An insightful contrast into selling happiness but not experiencing happiness. Add to that hints of mystery around the main character and you’ve got an amazing show.

A couple of aspects that they overplay (?) is the smoking, drinking and treatment of women. Every moment of every shot is someone smoking a cigarette or drinking alcohol of some sort. Is that really how it was? And were women really eyed and touched and ordered around like that? WOW!!

So I plan to get the second season as soon as possible and see how the story moves forward. Check it out.



As for the holidays, I’m off to Alabama tomorrow for a couple of days. I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing. College football doesn’t look that exciting so I’ll probably skip that maintain a tough regimen of playing online poker, looking for music and watching the first season of Chuck. I can’t wait.



I leave you with this great moment from Attack of the Show:

Some Yuletide Joy

So, I am bored with Facebook. It was nice at first, catching up with some old friends. Seeing the amazing power of the search engine at work. But, my personality is not to really be all that concerned with regular interaction with these people. I just don’t need it or overly desire it. So why else would I use Facebook? I have enjoyed some of the applications – Dungeons and Dragons, Mob Wars, Pro Football Pick ‘Em. But, after retiring 3 characters, and amassing mass amounts of land and experience I just don’t see the lure of it. Will I continue updating my status – probably as I like to be clever. Most likely I will just use it for pictures and videos as the easy interface has taken over my own personal website.

In regard to TV watching, I just finished up the first season of the Unit. It is really good. To be honest, at one time (in early middle school) I wanted to be a special operative. Then I realized that I don’t agree with killing people. So, military service is kind of out the question for me. Anyway, the worst part of the Unit is the whiney, stupid wives. Their storylines are contrived and seem just to be for filler than any real contribution to the overall picture. Season 2 is on tap with Season 3 waiting in the wings.

I have been watching a few sports lately and have been so frustrated by local coverage. It pisses me off. Last week in men’s college basketball Georgetown was playing someone (I forget but a top 10 team) and it went into overtime. Instead of staying with the game they went to the tip off of Kentucky v. Indiana. Now I know I am living in “Wildcat Country” but am I wrong in assuming that basketball fans supersede Wildcat fans? Couldn’t they just finish up the good game and then switch to two college basketball relics? And then, this week my CBS affiliate decided to show the NFL powerhouses of Cincinnati vs. Cleveland instead of those perennial losers Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh (sarcasm thoroughly employed in that last sentence). Apparently, deciding home field advantage is not as important as watching the crappy loser located near your city. It is not just because I have no care about either team. If the Lions or Colts (whom I follow) were involved in an unimportant game and there was another of greater overall significance, then I would say, “Broadcast the latter.”

Enough ranting. If these ramblings seem incoherent, I was up all last night at a lock in with my youth group. If things go well, that could have been my last one ever.

Oooh, me too, me too!

Yahoo! Who doesn't like Top Ten lists? My turn, and tv only--I just haven't seen enough of 2008's films to make a respectable top ten list. Also I should note that this list will include shows that may have been released/concluded prior to 2008, but were recent discoveries for me:

1) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Sad that it was only one season, but I ripped through these episodes on DVD, something about the behind the scenes of the SNL-like show really hooked me.  

2) Dexter - Love Michael C Hall from his days on Six Feet Under, and he's great in the good guy/bad guy role of Dexter.  

3) Extras - Taking awkward comedy to a whole new level, funnier, I think, than Gervais's original Office.  

4) 30 Rock - Everyone on this show is great, but I particularly enjoy Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey.  

5) So You Think You Can Dance - I think this is the best judged reality show on tv--it's clear they are experts and they offer true critiques of the performances, offering viewers a chance to learn. Oh, yeah, and the dancers are easy to look at.  

6) The Office - It may be a knock off, but it's a funny one, and has gone places the original never did.  

7) Entourage - Jeremy Piven's character, Ari, is the reason to watch this show, and his assistant Lloyd is a scene stealer. Plus the cameos are fun.  

8) Weeds - I thought this season was a bit off compared to previous seasons, but still funnier than most other shows out there.  

9) Californication - David Duchovny, I thought, was always funny on X-files, so it's great to see him in a comedy. It does live up do it's name, though, so be forewarned.  

10) Project Runway - Another reality show, which my wife is a fan of in general--this is another example of a reality show that has a lot to offer viewers, entertaining, but also educational.

Holiday Observations

** I seem to have one of those cars that was specifically designed to get stuck in the snow. You can argue that my circumstances are a result of short-sighted auto manufacturing, or you can argue that they are a result of my selection of this vehicle for purchase. I choose to champion the former of the two.

This morning I was fortunate to get out of my subdivision, of course none of the roads there had been plowed. This was at 1pm. I reveresed-overdrived my way down the street, getting stuck about 10 times and probably taking about 15 minutes to drive an eighth of a mile. Then I turned onto Willow, which was also largely untouched by the plows, and Elmwood, same story. You'd think at the very least I'd find smooth sailing when I hit Saginaw. But nope, pretty much all the way downtown it was just surfing through snowbanks that had been moved around all morning by passing trucks and buses.

Once I got here, I made my fatal mistake. Turning left onto Michigan from Capitol, I veered too far into what was the actual left turn lane, which contained about 15 inches of snow (again, no plowing on Capitol). Now I was STUCK. All four wheels were spinning with no ground to push against. I was like a turtle perched atop a mound of dirt, flailing my legs wildly but unable to gain any traction to move myself. I had to be pushed out by several kind passerbys.

The moral of the story is this: if you live in Michigan, sure, it is still un-green and energy-wasteful of you to own an SUV or F-150 just to drive around. But there are certain times of the year when it is also extremely practical and might even be worth the extra three or four thousand dollars (compounded annually).

** If you're like me, you appreciate a good "Carol of the Bells" as well as anybody, but the best iteration I've ever heard, and still look forward to listening to every year, is the acoustical composition that Steven Curtis Chapman put together on his "Music of Christmas" album back in 1995. Multiple guitars and strings, no lyrics, and just a really upbeat, awesome piece of music. Go find it on itunes.

** I took care of most of my Christmas responsibilities, but like everyone, there are a few names left to cross off on my shopping list. People that really wouldn't think twice about not receiving a gift from me, but who are so important to me that I really want to do something for them to show my appreciation. Which means a trip to the ^&$#@&! shopping mall this weekend, because I don't really have anything in particular in mind for them, and need browsing options.

I will inevitably wind up purchasing at least one item from the annual rip-off artists who run the kiosks down the middle of the great halls of the shopping mall, some piece of jewelry or all-in-1 video game or basket of cheeses from around the world. I will do this because I will be at a total loss at what to purchase for the last name or two on my list, because I will be lured by the bright lights and pretty product display, and because, hey, I know what they paid for those kiosks, and trust me, they need my business.

** Remember when we were kids, and the ONLY time you could ever get to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special was that one time a year when it was broadcast on TV? If you missed it, were out with your parents, the TV antenna wasn't working, power was out, too bad.... maybe next year. Then when I was around 12, VCR's got huge enough that my family could afford one, and I could try and record it on videotape.

Today? Well, you could purchase it on DVD, set your DVR to record it when it airs and then watch it all year round, pick it up on ITunes, or just go the illegal route and download the torrent. Truly, today's options are more convenient and allow for Charlie Brown enjoyment at any time, but why am I still somewhat wistful for the limited options and snowy-grained network broadcast of yore? Is it just because I'd like to be that young again?

Movies, TV, Premiership & El Classico

I shall begin with my favorite movie list that i watched in 2008. (in no particular order)

1. Batman "The Dark Knight"
2. Wanted
3. Quantum of Solace
4. Cars (animated movie)
5. Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
6. Untraceable
7. Vantage Point
8. The Bank Job
9. Street Kings
10. 88 Minutes
11. Hancock
12. Star Wars (The clone wars)

My favorite movie of the year has to be Batman, Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was mind blowing, he personified lunacy and just sheer brilliance, but overall the movie was excellent.

Untraceable was good, Ive always like Diane Lane, that was a twisted story line that left you on the seed of your pants from start to finish. Wanted was class, end to end fight scenes and Jolie is just Jolie sexy and riveting in one of her better female roles, anyone that like action movies check this one out.

Quantum of Solace has to be one of my all time favorite 007 movies, Daniel Craig has made the entrance as one of if not the best 007's off all time, excellent movie......

Next is my Favorite TV Shows of 2008. (again in no particular order)

1. House
2. Burn Notice
3. CSI Vegas
4. CSI Miami
5. Shark
6. The Unit
7. The Shield
8. Prison Break

Danny's Oscar Winners:

Best Actor in a Movie: got to be Heath Ledger for his role in Batman

Best Actress in a Movie: Angie Jolie in Wanted

Best Actor in a Drama: Hugh Laurie from House

Best Actress in a Drama: Sarah Wayne Callies aka Dr Sarah Tancredi from Prison Break

Premiership:

All the top four were appalling this weekend, Aston Villa will finish in 4th. Utd cant hit a barn door, Liverpool and Chelsea both choke at home and Arsenal well lets just say they won't win anything this year.

EL Classico:

Normally i am a Madrid fan in this game, but i found myself wanting Barca to win and they did, not a classic game, but Barca did enough for the win.

Casillas is world class by the way.

See ya

back in front of the TV

Last night I had my first Chuck experience. The show is OK. The Nerd Herd is by far the funniest part. Morgan is a smash up between Seth Green and Bud Bundy and makes for nice comic relief. The Chuck character is annoying at first, but I could see how it would grow on you. I plan to watch the first season over the holidays.



Watched Raising Arizona last week. First time I think I have seen it from start to finish. It’s not nearly as accomplished as the other films but you can see where the Coen Brothers were going. Amazing how William Forsythe can be such an absolute dork in this movie and so intimidating in others.



Last weekend was a big one in the world of football.

--The Big Four all drew. I watched Spurs v United. My instant response to the 0-0 draw is that United will not win anything this year unless they start finishing their chances. Liverpool again showedcthat they probably won’t win the title this year because they can’t step on opponent’s throats. And Chelsea? How can you keep dropping points at home? Arsenal. Done.


--El Classico was not a classic but still entertaining. Real really gave a go of it and had Valdes not come up huge, it could have been a very different outcome. Drenthe scores on that breakaway and then Barca’s nerves kick in and who knows? But what can be said about Casillas? Kept them in it for as long as possible. Messi, although fouled beyond belief, came good at the end. Don’t know if I agree with him switching with E’too in the second half, but in the end 2-0 to blaugrana.


--I was also able to see Juventus v AC Milan in the pouring rain. Great game. Very open which was surprising. De Ceglie came on for Nedved and was fantastic. Served the ball with a surging run for Amauri’s first goal and got Zambrotta sent off due to a bad challenge. Juve is only 6 points back but I just don’t see how they can catch Inter. Ibra is scoring ridiculous goals for fun. The only hope is that they can stay close (4-6 points) until the rematch on April 19. My guess is that Inter will be able to extend it further and a Juve win won’t really dent Inter’s title chase. But all credit to Ranieri and the team for turning it around. Hopefully they get a favorable draw on Friday in the Champions League.



I plan to go to the library this week to pick up the first season Mad Men. Has anyone out there seen it?

Any other recommendations for the holiday break?

Ta ta.

Zeitgiest

Google has released its Zeitgiest 2008 (spirit of the times): “As the year comes to a close, it's time to look at the big events, memorable moments and emerging trends that captivated us in 2008.” They do this trend study by charting the billions of searches that go through their servers. Though most things were to be expected, I found some interesting things of note. Here are the top 10 fastest rising searches from around the world:
1. sarah palin
2. beijing 2008
3. facebook login
4. tuenti (Spanish Facebook)
5. heath ledger
6. obama
7. nasza klasa (Social networking in Poland)
8. wer kennt wen (Social networking in Germany)
9. euro 2008
10. jonas brothers

Nothing terribly surprising there, except I am amazed that Heath Ledger beat out our next president. I also still fail to see the fascination with the Jonas Brothers.

In a similar vein, here are the top 5 image searches:
1. sarah palin
2. obama
3. twilight
4. miley cyrus
5. joker

I assume Miley made it with all the hubbub concerning her “sensually charged photos”. But how is the Joker in the top 5? Is it possible that a whole generation has no idea who this super criminal is or what he looks like? Bizzare.

In the sports category here are the top 5 searched clubs:
1. manchester united
2. chelsea
3. chivas
4. barcelona
5. arsenal

I was happy to see Man U and Arsenal, but somewhat surprised at Chelsea but no Liverpool. Also, Chivas? Really? And here is the most bizarre list I found – Mascot searches:
1. olympic mascot
2. georgia mascot
3. tennessee mascot
4. ohio state mascot
5. phillies mascot
6. auburn mascot
7. alabama mascot
8. stanford mascot
9. harvard mascot
10. notre dame mascot

I don’t know why these mascots were searched so often. Perhaps they are going into retirement, got fired, or quit and the spot is open to the public. Who knows, but of those listed Auburn, Alabama, Stanford and Harvard seem out of place. The rest are pretty well known but who cares about those 4? Apparently a lot of people – enough to make the list.

So, I end with the question, what thing, picture, concept have you searched for the most this year? I will admit that mine has revolved around celebrities – mostly because I don’t know who the hell these people are. I see something on TV or on the news about them and they are made out to be the biggest thing since Swatch Watches. But I have never heard of them. So, I have to Google them to placate my inquisitive nature. I know, I am just feeding the entertainment monster, but I can’t help my self.

Lost in My Hometown

I've been a reader since a was tiny--maybe why I got my first pair of glasses when I was in fricking pre-school.  Grew up with my nose in a book.  I specifically remember getting in trouble when I was maybe 10 or so, out camping with my dad and brother, on a hike, being chided for missing all that was around me, all the natural beauty, because I was reading as we walked.  Always with my nose in a book.  So much so that when I turned 16 and bought my first car that I couldn't find my way around Grand Rapids, where I had lived since I was born, because I always, and I mean always, brought a book with me in the car when Dad drove us around town.  

So I'm a lifelong reader, but just in the past year or so there have been a number of new developments in that world for me.  

1)  Graphic novels.  I read comic books a little when I was a kid, but never got real, real into them.  Always enjoyed Calvin and Hobbes and the Far Side back then as well, but that was as far as it went.  Well, my younger brother lead the way for me, and introduced me to graphic novels as an adult when he bought a couple books for me a year and a half or so, Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, a brilliant and in-depth look at the art of comics/graphic novels, told as a comic; and Watchmen, by Alan Moore, soon to be a major motion picture, blah blah blah.  Watchmen was a great read, for sure, and mostly felt like a comic book for grownups as it had superheros and all of that.  What really hooked me, though, was the first book I picked up on my own, Blankets, by Craig Thompson, a phenominal coming-of-age type autobiography where the author recounts his childhood growing up in a strictly religious household, school, falling in love for the first time, and coming to his own terms with his faith.  The whole picture-is-worth-a- thousand-words thing is kinda' true.  The illustrations of emotional states are lush and evocative and in particular are a good example of how the graphic novel medium can do things that "normal" books cannot.  Whether you go the route of the grownup comic books (the Fables series is excellent, as is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), memoir (David B's Epileptic, Marjane Satrapie's Persepolis, and many others), or other (Alan Moore's From Hell, a telling of the Jack the Ripper story/investigation), there's a lot to explore.  And p.s. the Capitol Area District Library has a HUGE selection.

2) Audiobooks.  I rent books on CD from the library, rip them to MP3 and then listen to them while going out for a walk, working around the house, and on the commute (25 min drive).  Most of the time I'm listening to one thing on audiobook and then reading a different book the old-fashioned way, but presently I'm reading and listening to the same book, A Clash of Kings, the second book in a fantasy series that was recommended to me, and it's 969 pages not counting the appendix (yes, it has an appendix), and it makes it a lot easier if I can pick up 60+ pages a day without even cracking the book.  

3) Goodreads.  Kinda' the Facebook of reading.  You can add books to your "library," rate and review them, check out reviews and ratings from your friends, joing book groups that talk about certain types of books (yep, I joined a group about which graphic novels to read), etc.  I'm digging it.  

Alright, time to go put out Christmas lights in the shrubbery in front of the house...I'm thinking it's about a 20-page-long project...

The Beautiful Game

Where do i start........... well lets begin at Old Trafford.

I watched the game with Austin as our kids ran riot, spilling popcorn.... you know the usual.

To be honest i was disgusted with Sunderland and i echo the same comments that Gary Neville did, Roy Keane would of been horrified at that showing from the Black Cats this weekend, their mentality was "how long will it be before United break us down" not lets go here and give a good account of ourselves and show the new manager what we are capable off"..... incidentally United struggled to break them down and when they did poor finishing was the issue.

Sunderland gave up right from the first whistle which to me and every other passionate soccer fan out there is disgraceful, i understand if you have to come and get to a difficult place for a point, but do it in a fashion that shows your supporting faithful that traveled 3 hours and sat in a blistering cold wind that you care, but they didn't not even close, their back line barely made it off the 18 yard line and Cisse might as well of played right back from the start. Mind blowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, much to my relief Vidic pops up in the 90Th minute to give us the 3 points we deserved to be honest, 3 points v Spurs on Saturday will set us up nicely for the slip up weekend while we are in Japan.

Arsenal v Liverpool
Everton v Chelsea

We will come back with 2 games in hand and hopefully Arsenal win and Everton draw with the scum from the bridge and we will be all set to turn it on over Christmas. Title #19 is coming home again in May!!!!!

Lets talk about Liverpool, well here is my take on them. "useless" the poor win at Blackburn was down to the fact that they were playing a team that is all over the place at the moment and is taking on more water than the falling Titanic. Liverpool are without Torres through injury and Keane..... well lets just say its 19million pounds not well spent. If Gerrard lands an injury Liverpool are done, expect them to start ab sailing down the table over Christmas.

Do you remember Fegie's comments at the start of the season regarding Chelsea, he said and I quote "Chelsea have quite a lot of older players that you wouldn't expect more improvement out of them" WOW was he right, i watched them Ballack and Deco get turned inside out last night against Cluj, but for a lucky goal from Kalou and stunning strike from Didier Drogba would of been embarrassed in a big way.
They just seem to lack that drive of youthfulness in the midfield, in fact i appreciate Frank Lampard that much more after watching Chelsea's midfield last night, but they still pose a threat i will give them that.

Arsenal are the complete opposite with young, vibrant youth, quality internationals and 5 or 6 players of immense experience, but they lack that team experience to challenge this year.
I really like Arsenal and if i was not such a die hard United fan and born and bread Mancunian, i'd watch more love games at the Emirates. They are so quick and there fast possession going forward reminds me so much of Barcelona right now.... well maybe not yet, but in the future.

As Austin said have you seen Barca play recently...... WOW is the word to describe it or OMG.

RM v Barca this weekend and my prediction is 5-0 can you guess which way?

Top Four Premier League at the end of May:
1: Manchester United (too much depth not to win it and we haven't reached 2ND gear yet)
2: Arsenal (they will surprise you all watch this space)
3: Chelsea (too much quality to finish below Liverpool)
4: Aston Villa (yes i have taken a jump off the deep end and gone out on a limb, but i like Martin O'Neil)

Semi Final of the Champions League:
Manchester United v Juventus
Inter Milan v Liverpool

Final:
Manchester United v Inter

Adios for now

another weekend watching sports

Did anyone see Dallas piss away the game at Pittsburgh? To dominate for three quarters and just implode. Wow. Can’t blame that one on Jessica Simpson.



I was able to catch moments of the SEC Championship. Before the game I thought Alabama would get absolutely destroyed, but they hung in there. In the end, Florida is the best team in the nation. Florida v Oklahoma should be an awesome game. Finally some one to stand up to the SEC instead of Ohio State going there and getting annihilated. This year the Buckeyes will get crushed by Texas. The game I’m really interested to see is Boise St. v TCU. That could be a high scoring classic.



In the soccer world, United tried to squander 2 points against Sunderland but scored at the very very end to win. Yes Sunderland parked the bus but United’s finishing was quite poor, as it has been for most of the season. Everton v Aston Villa was one of the craziest finishes this season. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.

And if you haven’t seen Barcelona, check them out IMMEDIATELY. 101greatgoals.com has a great highlight package of the Valencia game from the weekend. It really is amazing.



Danny and I were talking about a possible Champions League last four. The round of 16 will be one of the most competitive ever. Ever round could be very, very tight. I’ve got Barca, Inter, Liverpool and Villareal (depending on their draw), with the Champions League final being Barca v Inter. But a lot can change between now and March.




Last week I saw a movie called Ten. It was a movie about the Ten Commandments, each story having in some way to do with each commandment. Tons of well known actors and written by the guys from the State. My review, not good. Skip it.



That’s it for me. Off to the library to check out Raising Arizona and some more Led Zeppelin.

question: dream concert or event

Oasis is coming to the Palace next weekend. In the past, I would have been geeked to see them, but now, not so much. Maybe it is because I have seen them so many times in the past, or maybe it is because their output has diminished over time. Whatever the case, I'm not shelling out almost $100 to see them again.

So what about you? If you could go to one event or concert, what would it be?

Vacation, Thanksgiving, TV & Cristiano Ronaldo

My Vacation to "Marco Island" Florida was a timely break that one needed to recharge the batteries and kick back by the ocean, beautiful weather and beaming sunshine between 72 - 76 degrees was just a pleasant change from the cold weather forming in Michigan.

Spending time with my wife and son and family from England was fun, plus a trip to the movies to catch the new Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" that ultimately catapulted Daniel Craig as my favorite 007. The movie was breathtaking.... from insane car chases, in movie stunts that make you understand why one was killed during filming and the female cast was just riveting. A must see, but watch Casino Royal first..... it helps understand the plot of the 2nd Daniel Craig installment.

Thanksgiving was .....ehhhhh. I mean it really is to me a typical Sunday dinner in England, the only bonus is that sport is none stop all day. I watched the Titans maul the Lions and a very impressive Cowboys (Romo) display v the seahawks, its a shame that the 4 games Romo missed is more than likely going to cost the Stars a playoff birth, all in all Thanksgiving was just a good break from work... 4 days to relax and play with my son. Who in fact at the tender age of 3 years old is getting pretty good at table fusball. What a awesome sight it was seeing him score goals and make Rooney and Ronaldo like celebrations.... good times ahead i predict.

TV has gone sour now that The Shield has finished for good, i was very very disappointed at the series finale. I felt for sure that Vic was going to stick it to Claudette on last time, but instead now Vic is stuck behind a desk at ICE.
There has got to be a Movie with some sort of Ronnie v Vic type storyline after the strike team's former leader sent his best friend to the depths of Jail for all there past indiscretions.
I'm glad Shane blew his brains out, but was very surprised and kind of upset with FX that they aired Shane killing his family before putting one in his head, it sends the wrong message i feel.

Prison Break is still going strong, i really like it and those critics out there are starting to get on my nerves, this story line has had more twists and turns than the previous 3 series combined. The whole series has moved away from the Prison and has now become a manhunt for Micheal and Linc as they attempt to retrieve Sila from Agent Self. Keep watching something awesome is about to happen.

CSI Miami - Callie is hot that's about it
CSI Vegas - OK, not bad
CSI NY - Good
House - Absolute Class
The Unit - getting to be absolute class
Burn Notice - Can't wait for the new episodes
24 Redemption - I hope Season 7 is better than the 2hr crap they just aired

Thoughts?

And to the final topic: Ballon D'or Winner 2008 goes to Cristiano Ronaldo.

This is an honor to be named with such great past winners like: Zidane, Kaka, Best, Ronaldinho, Figo, Eusebio and so on, but i have to say that not one of them scored 42 goals in a single season and lifted the Premiership and European crown in the same season.

For all his critics Ronaldo has given United and the fans consistency and above all countless times of brilliance that leave you breathless and wanting more.

I agree that early in his career he was subject to more than 1 or 2 dives per game, but with maturity has got a lot better with this side of the game, yet still they hound him about diving. I'm sorry, but i don't understand what games these so called professional pundits are watching some of the time. Ronaldo gets kicked from pillar to post in every game, yes he complains, but he has a point. I realize he is a marked man and everyone wants a piece of him, but for god sake protect the player at least as he is one of the shining stars that make this beautiful game what it is today.

The poor kid is going to be seriously hurt if referees continue to let other pros get away with the manhandling they get away with.

On a final not, congratulations Ronnie i look forward to watching more brilliance and breathtaking performances that give this game the rich praise it deserves, because after all said and done and all the sports out there Football (soccer) is the worlds greatest sport.

Adios

long weekend with lots of media intake

My extended weekend was a glorious weekend of doing nothing. Had the best Thanksgiving ever. Hamburgers, chips, dip and beer. Watched Iron Man. Bed. AWESOME!!!

As for Iron Man, good but not great. Decent action sequences, but the movie was a touch unbelievable. Oh well, what are you going to do? Jeff Bridges going cueball was a very interesting look.




I spent a lot of the weekend watching the first season of Burn Notice. I’ll admit, after the pilot episode I was less than impressed. It grew on me as I moved forward. I found the narration both humorous and annoying. I think it’s the guy’s voice. Bruce Campbell is great. I would love to know how this is written. Experience? Research? The result of a Bond marathon? Bullshit? I’ll probably check out season two only to see what happens to the main protagonist. By the way, where has the lady from Cagney and Lacey been hanging out all this time?

Saturday was a big day spent in front of the boob tube. I watched Juve crush Reggina in the snow of Turin. A great set up from Del Piero to Nedved led to Camo’s opening goal and, after going behind two goals at halftime, Reggina just walked around and waited to get on the bus to get out of the freezing cold. A 4-0 victory for the old lady. Still six points behind Inter, and a member of the board came out today and said they won’t sign anyone in January. Their strategy is that the healed injuries at the first of the year will give them the depth they need to fight on several fronts. Problem is that these guys are on the Italian version of the AARP. Sign some youthful creativity, I’m begging you.




Watched the Bedlam game. The defense of Oklahoma St. just can’t stop anyone. They play a good team and give up 40+ points. Their offense just can’t keep up. They must improve the defense a ton if they want to compete with the big boys.

While watching the game, I got sucked into the 48 Hours Mystery. One of these wrongful convictions. They kept saying, stay tuned for the dramatic finale, which of course was just another summary and a new fact or two. It was like an American Idol final episode. Just tell me whether the guy was guilty or not so I can move on with my life. (He was innocent.)




Also, this weekend I saw the Thievery Corporation on Austin City Limits. They are officially my new favorite band. Check out the samples on their website and find their performance of the track “Lebanese Blond” on the Austin City Limits website. It will blow your mind.

Ta Ta for now.

Thanksgiving Wretching

Thanksgiving Break was good for me. Got to see some of the folks from my previous church and got to see Carrie’s Brother’s family for a while. Got a 7-Eleven Slurpee – Vanilla Cream flavored. Turkey was tasty – but no mashed potatoes. Also, I finished up a paper that was due on “The Development of Israelite Religion.” I know, enthralling stuff. Let me know if you want me to email you a copy.

The most startling experience of the week came during the Dallas-Seattle football game – a halftime performance by the Jonas Brothers. Now I have seen the Jonas Brothers everywhere. Girls seem to be going crazy for these guys. There is a bunch of swag out there. But I have never heard a song or seen a video by this familial trio. I have just seen public appearances that consisted of silly jabbering with the anchor person while teenage girls screamed in the background.

So imagine my delight when I found out that JB (apparently short for Jonas Brothers) were performing at half time. I know I am a cynical chap, but I was shocked and appalled. These guys sucked live. I mean beyond being terrible. It was like I was transported back to the 90s and was listening to Hanson – except without the talent. Even one of their songs (“Burning Love”) was only a note or two off from being the hook to “Umm Bop.” I am not exaggerating for effect – it was that close. Don’t believe me? I have the two songs below for your comparison.

Well, I can scratch them off my list of CDs that I want for Christmas. Which brings me to my rant. I know I complained about movies the other week. But music sucks too. It seems that anyone can get signed and promoted in such a way as to convince everyone that s/he has talent, when in fact it is all from the hand of the producer. Pandora has been nice in finding new and decent music, but good luck finding quality music in the mainstream.

So, if anyone has some recommendations for some good, new music, I am all ears. I particularly like rap and hip-hop that is similar to old school stuff, rock (both classic and of the grunge era).


"Burning Love" by Jonas Brothers



"Umm Bop" by Hanson (They would not let me embed, so just click on the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd0C_Us31kk

The Death of the High School Reunion

Last night I accompanied my wife to her 10 year high school reunion. It was the right thing to do. Now, keep in mind that I deliberately skipped my own reunion last year because I just don't have the taste for that sort of an event...awkward conversation, poor quality buffet type food, etc. But being the good husband that I try to be, I sucked it up and took one for the team.

It was exactly as I had imagined it. I mostly stood/sat in near silence as nearly all of the conversation focused around the good old days I was not a part of, not to mention it was extremely loud from the music (surprisingly not all pulled from this graduating class's high school years) so it was difficult to follow conversation most of the time. I swear I was not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I just really had nothing to say. No one asked me what I did, or anything else really, even when I would engage them and ask them about what they were into. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? I scratch your back if you scratch mine?

The upside was that they ended up being extremely liberal with the drink tickets as they must not have had as many people show up as what they were expecting, so we each got four tickets...yowza. Had they stocked any type of beer that I was interested in I may have been in trouble. Had a couple Sam Adams and a s-t-r-o-n-g gin & tonic and that was all I cared for.

Ended up at a brewpub where a friend of ours was playing (played a brilliant acoustic guitar version of Blackstreet's "No Diggity"), the Waldorff in Hastings...had a not-to-good porter and a decent stout, and that would have all perfectly redeemed the evening if I could have gotten a bite to eat but the kitchen had already closed...oh well.

Last thought: In a world of Facebook, My Space, Linked In, etc., what's the point of high school reunions?

30 rock rules, disappointing super saturday

I was watching a recent episode of EpicFu and heard the term “green collared jobs”. Really? Aren’t we going a little far with the green movement?



Moving on . . .

30 Rock, season 1. Quality entertainment. Makes fun of themselves, everybody and everything else. The characters are great and play off each other in hilarious ways. I’m surprised I liked Alec Baldwin so much. Can’t remember the last thing I liked him in? State and Main maybe? Before that Glengarry Glen Ross or Beetlejuice. I’m tracking down Season 2 and can’t wait to catch up. I would be willing to add this to my TV rotation.

Off of the rotation is House. I am so done with this show.

Media on demand is so the way to go. No commercials, blow through material instead of waiting for a designated time. How did we function before tivo and box sets?



I spent Saturday afternoon in front of the TV.

Man Utd v Aston Villa
Disappointing match. Rooney had a real chance to win it and blasted his shot into the crowd. Utd was definitely not at their best and look to be off the pace. Ji-sung Park works hard but almost never has the final touch: pass, cross or shot. On a day when they could have made some real ground on the leaders, Utd lacked the quality. Ronaldo really looks bad. Maybe it’s fitness, complacency or something else. It looks as if he is regressing instead of moving forward. Very disappointing.

Juve v Inter. Not the greatest game on the eyes, but Inter’s power is something to behold. Juve were very lucky not to be 1-0 down after they turned it over to Ibra. Juve wasn’t very dangerous, but still created a handful of chances. Camo’s header at the end would have saved a point, but in the end Inter deserved to win. Typical Jose. Not fancy, just successful.
MLS Cup final. I watched the last 10 minutes of the final. The Home Depot Center looks like a nice venue and is a far cry from Foxboro, with the mammoth, non-occupied stands and the throwball lines. Columbus’ third goal showed great vision and effort.



Last night I finished Miller’s Crossing. I would say it’s good, not great. It seems to lose some its gusto towards the end as the double crossers double cross someone else and so on. The last shot of Byrne is a mystery but who am I to criticize?

Breakfast

Relieved to hear that we avoided making the list of the Worst Blogs on the Internet, I feel I can again surface to add a post to this fine community. Which I helped to launch, but have lately been a poor contributor.

I have lately become aware of so many more readers of this blog than I knew were out there. We don't keep a counter here, in part to avoid the temptation to write for an audience instead of ourselves (not that we can ever truly avoid that). So we don't know how often we are visited, and from where those visitors come. But I've just heard from a lot of people in the last few months who have noticed my absence and mentioned it. This inspires me to check in more often. Friends in the Dominican Republic, in England, our good friends in California, and so many others that I don't talk to enough. This one's for you.

In the last 3 months I've made some decent money at poker, almost ruined my car by not tightening my lugnuts, borrowed a nice laptop, purchased a nicer laptop, given up on the TV show Heroes, discovered the joy of a quiet breakfast alone with a newspaper, survived a cold, worked on my jump shot, won an election (as a campaign manager, not a candidate), experienced an economic downturn, experienced a historic American moment, and tonight, just tonight, watched the Michigan basketball team knock off the #4 ranked UCLA Bruins. It's been a great time.

So many good blog posts to be had there, but I think tonight I will focus on the breakfast. During the campaign I had to attend these county meetings for the Democratic party, and if that doesn't sound boring enough, they took place downtown at 7 in the morning. At first I hated it, but after a few I started to look forward to them. Because the meetings would let out at 9am, I had an hour of downtime before I had to open the comic book store, and so I would buy a paper, go to a nice coffee-and-eggs diner downtown, and take an hour to chill out and read the news.

I grew to love this time, so much that I now observe the ritual even though I don't have to go to the meetings anymore. Every Friday morning I try to get up an hour early (with middling success), get downtown early, and take some time for breakfast.

One of the things I really like about the diner are the patrons. It looks kind of like that place in the movie "City Hall", where John Cusak goes to meet with Danny Aiello over breakfast to discuss business. It has that feel to it. And there are a group of tables pushed together on one side of the restaraunt where the Guys get together, usually about 8-10 of them. I've never been able to discern if all of the Guys are retired, or only some of them, or if they are/were all in the same line of work.

What I know is that they're always there on Friday mornings, and I'm guessing on other days also, talking about sports, the news, jawing with the waitress, and just sitting around drinking coffee and enjoying an extended morning together. I like to imagine that they've all known each other for decades, that they've been coming to this diner for breakfast together for years, and that they'll all grow old together and always have this place to come to in the morning. They remind me that it's ok to relax, to take some things slow, enjoy your coffee, and that the world outside with it's long to-do lists and urgent matters doesn't necessarily have to be answered to Right This Second.

So that's my post. If you're lucky, I'll do another one next week. In the meantime, enjoy your coffee. Read the paper. You have time for it - you really do.

question: favorite new TV show

thought i would change things up. instead of a poll, which is not very dynamic or flexible, i will create a post that can be commented and discsussed. i believe that this is called a "thread."

anyway, what is your favorite new TV show so far? i came across an article on digg that bemoaned the lack of quality thus far.

let us know.

footy and movies

Thursday night I watched Juve v Genoa. What a display. Juve rode their luck and were clinical in front of goal to go ahead 2-0. The game finished 4-1, and it was one of the best performances I’ve seen this season. Very reminiscent of last season when they outworked their opponents and created chance after chance. I’m still not sure they can keep it up. At least they are playing Tiago now instead of Poulsen. Sissoko is still in the team, but I’m hoping Zanetti is fit soon. With the win, Juve was on top of the table for the first time since the calciopoli scandal. Inter won to back on top, but for one brief moment, Juve was back in their rightful place.



What a great weekend. Went to Art’s Bar and Grill on Friday night. It’s a local establishment on Kalamazoo St. that was filled with people, smoke and giant goblets of beer. Forget the Brewtus at Applebee’s. It took two hands to drink this bad boy. Ummm . . . beer.

Saturday, got up and watched Manchester United game. They absolutely destroyed Stoke. The final was 5-0 and could have been much worse. CR7 had two nice free kicks, but to be honest, the rest of the game he was crap. His moves weren’t coming off, his passing was atrocious and he was back to his diving. I thought Fletcher had a phenomenal game, and Wellbeck’s debut goal was stunning. Then I watched the second half of Arsenal and Villa. What a result for Villa. Arsenal was all over them, but couldn’t really create clear cut opportunities. Then one bad touch from Clichy and instead of grinding out a draw, Arsenal went to all out attack for the equalizer. That chance was destroyed by a devastating effort from Gabby, who shook off Captain Billy and slotted the second goal in. Consistency, Gunners. Look it up.

Then it was off to help the Vance’s move. Got that out of the way and it was back to the house for some Coen brothers.

Fargo. I had not seen this in forever. It is depressingly realistic. The dialogue and interaction is understated and not dynamic, but how many times in your life do you think, I’m living in a movie? The story was told, the story ends and life moves on. In essence, crime doesn’t pay.

Big Lebowski. What a great movie. Hilarious dialogue, fantastic characters, outrageous situations. The movie creates a world that is just slightly surreal and lets you in for an hour and a half. If you haven’t seen it, rent it TODAY!!

Planning on watching Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing in the next couple of weeks, hopefully before Burn After Reading comes out on DVD.



Sunday after church went to see Quantum of Solace. A great Bond film. Action sequences of breathtaking action and detail. Story was actually somewhat believable, which was a nice change of pace. The last sequence was a little over the top, but what are you going to do? Make sure you watch Casino Royale right before. I made the mistake of not doing that and missed out on certain elements of the plot. I can’t wait until it comes out on DVD and watch them back to back. I’m sure I’ll enjoy Quantum a lot more the second time.



Finally, I saw this link on digg.com:
11 lamest blogs http://www.pcworld.com/article/153615/top_11_lamest_blogs.html

I took the time to scan it. No need to worry, we are not on the list.



Ta Ta.

Movie Malaise

I am not a comic book geek anymore (unlike many of the contributors on this blog) and that is okay – both that they are and that I am not. In fact, I have been out of the loop for quite some time and have not seen many of the comic book movies that have come out in the last 5 years. I have not seen Iron Man, Fantastic 4, Spiderman 2, or even the newest Batman (though it is high on my list). Really, they don’t seem to be all that enthralling to me and typically the acting turns out to be a real let down. So, to say I am less than delighted to hear that there are 75 comics being made into films as we speak is an understatement. As I look down the list, I recognize very few of the comics (again going back to me being “out of the game”). No doubt few will actually make it on the big screen, but I am sure that even fewer of those will be worth watching.

The fact is, in my opinion, movies in general just suck these days. Nothing comes out that makes me turn to Carrie and say, “Let’s go through the hassle setting aside a night and getting a babysitter so we can go to the theatre and pay $7/person to see that movie.” It never happens. I saw the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy in the theatre, and Carrie likes to see the “Harry Potter” movies in the theatre. That’s it. Even after these movies come out on video, we don’t rent them. I am too busy and tired to sit through the drivel that passes for movies these days. I know there are exceptions, but by and large the plots show a lack of ingenuity, so producers try to make up for this deficiency with special effects or star power. Neither do it for me.

So I ask, “Can anyone give me a good reason why I should go to the theatre? Can anyone tell me why I should give my time and money to Hollywood anymore?” Because as it currently stands, I am pretty much done.

Soccer, The Unit & Other Shows

My weekend's soccer schedule didn't get off the best of starts as Arsenal beat Man Utd 2-1 in quite arguably the best game we have witnessed this season to date.

Arsenal obviously still reeling from their defeat to Stoke the previous weekend and the poor Champions League performance in midweek were well up for this game against the Champions of the English Premier League and European Champions.

It was a classic, Sir Alex called it "playground stuff" "you attack, we attack, you attack" it really was breathtaking at times.

My opinion at half time was "I can't believe we are 1-0 down" the scoreline didn't really reflect what i just witnessed..........................The game should of been 3-3 at half.

I expected United to come out blazing in the second half, but it was just the opposite.... well for 5 minutes at least as Nasri scored their second with some great build up play.

Enter United, they showed why they are the best attacking team in the world, they pounded Arsenal's back four, had our finishing been better we would of won the game.

Ronaldo had a great chance 30 seconds after Arsenal's second to put us right back in the game, but he fired inches wide and i mean inches.

United came forward with such pace it astonished even me... a die hard Red Devil, but our final pass or ultimate finish was very poor in front of goal.
Rooney himself in the first half on another day would be taking the game ball at half time due to the fact he should of scored 3.

In the end United scored in the 90th minute through the young Rafael DaSilva who in my mind is better than Neville and Brown combined, what an impact he made for only being on the field 15 minutes, he tore Clichy to bits and i think Gael is quality.

I am going to hold my hands up and agree with Sir Alex "if you're going to get beat it might as well be against someone that plays good football" that game was a classic, but disappointing to be on the losing end of it..... i really like Arsenal and Wenger to be honest i will be watching more of thier games.

As Liverpool and scabby Chelsea both won the gap is now 8 points with a game in hand for the Red Devils.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal still have to come to OT and take points of one another so to say its over for us is mindless and quite uttlerly stupid from some people.

Can United close the gap as Chelsea did last season? Who knows, but the news that Ronnie is signing a new contract is great news, the bad news is that Hargreaves is in Colorado having surgery by the world renowned Dr Steadman, he is out for the season as was Keane when he had knee issues, but he came back a stronger better player which i expect Owen to do also.

TV is great at the minute.........
24 season 7 is almost upon us with the 24 2 hour "redemption" special soon to air on the 23rd of this month i am excited to see what Jack has in store for us as this season is being billed as "the best 24 ever"..... we will see.

The Unit is hotting up, we are half way threw a 2 part special that sees Betsy Blaine (Jonas's daughter) kidnapped by Syrians. Colonel Ryan goes with the crew to rescue her, but Ryan has bigger problems in that Mac knows he had an affair with his wife. The punishment for breaking The Unit code of conduct is "death" will the rest of the team follow through on the code or will Ryan escape with his life......... watch Sunday 9pm CBS.

The Shield is just awesome, right now Macky has turned in his badge as he hunts for Shane, Travecki is on desk duty at The Barn and Corin has turned on Vic and is helping Dutch and Collette find Vic to put him away for good.
I love this show and i expect a few twists in the final 2 episodes, what is in store for Vic????

House is House, class personified enough said, i think this show would never get old in my book much like ER, but you have to bring Cameron, Chase and Foreman back into the team and fire the rest as they lack House esk persona. I am really looking forward to future episodes.

Thats all for me, i will be in Florida next week sunning it up so enjoy the cold, wet and snowy weather. I will bring you back a story or two.

football, movies, football, tv

Saturday I was treated to an interesting game between Alabama v LSU. I wouldn’t rate it as a classic. Only time will tell if the LSU QB matures into a solid performer or continues in a shame spiral resulting in a transfer or riding the bench as an upperclassman as the next great thing takes over.

Then it was off to BW3’s to watch Oklahoma St v Texas Tech. OSU just couldn’t keep up with Tech’s offense. I’m not sure anybody can. If Tech can beat OU, they can’t choke in the Big 12 Championship game.

The season is shaping up for an Alabama v Texas Tech championship game, although it’s way, way too early. My guess is that it will be Florida v Texas, which should be an awesome game.



Sunday I watched Vantage Point. Bear with me. I’ve never seen “24”, but I imagine that this would be similar. An agent outside the box who wins the day in an intense and unbelievable situation. I don’t know how Kiefer Sutherland sells it, but Dennis Quaid doesn’t. I’m trying to remember a movie he is actually good in. Hold on a sec, let me check imdb.com . . . Well I just realized I haven’t seen 90% of his movies. He was ok in Traffic and terrible in Any Given Sunday. And he’s in a GI Joe movie? How are they making a movie about that?

Anyway, back to Vantage Point. The movie starts and then rewinds 5 or 6 times, which was ok. Each perspective gave you more information and allowed you to fill in the gaps. I liked that.

****Spoiler alert****

Just when it was time for another rewind, they go on a 10 minute car chase. Like the one in the Matrix Reloaded, that just goes on and on and on. Quaid gets THREE times, including getting pinned between a garbage truck and a building, and yet he gets up and gets the bad guys. They spent way too much time on the car chase and not enough on the motivation of the terrorists or the background of characters.
****Spoiler alert over****

In the end, promising but terrible finish. As usual.



Soccer. Juve continued their revival. Now only three points off the lead. Inter is up in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I don’t see the old soldiers keeping this up for the entire season. I imagine Juventus will fade after the new year.

United lost to Arsenal. Something is missing. Maybe United will make a run as they have done so many times this season, but I see Chelsea grinding out a title, with Liverpool trying to manufacture a winning mentality.

Barcelona. Just youtube their last 5 league games. Ridiculous. Sexy football of epic proportions.



Finally, I watched the entire series of The Job. Leary’s character and cast from Rescue Me, but set in a cop precinct instead of a firehouse. It was funny how one episode of The Job was based on Leary’s comedy routine from No Cure for Cancer re: cough syrup and alcoholics. The end of the series wanders into the extremely uncomfortable situations as his life spirals out of control. Imagine Larry David as a smoking, swearing, alcoholic adulterer in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and you’re getting close. If you haven’t seen Rescue Me, watch a couple of episodes of The Job to prepare yourself for the glory of Rescue Me. If you have seen Rescue Me, you have seen a better version of this show. You can definitely see the origin and direction of Leary’s vision, but it is executed so much better on Rescue Me.


Remember if women don’t find you handsome, they should at least handy.

Observations from the Election

The following are random thoughts that passed through my head some time during the election process:

I suppose I shouldn’t, but I really question why people voted for the various candidates. Leading up to the election and even after the election it seemed that people just wanted to talk about how “historic” it was going to be. And of course it is historic. But should that fact influence the way we vote? Should we vote for or against the McCain/Palin ticket because we want a woman in the White House or because we think she can reenergize the curmudgeonly Republican party? Should we vote for or against Obama because he is an African-American or because we think he can actually enact change in Washington?

It just seems to me that some people voted not based on credentials but based on physical characteristics. After Obama had preliminarily won, and people were interviewed, they seemed more excited to get an African-American in office rather than the candidate that most lined up with their political, social, and religious beliefs. Am I glad we have broken the race barrier on the highest level? Of course I am. But I wonder if Obama is the right guy to do it? Time will tell.


I am sick of Christians and sometimes wish they were seen and not heard. Leading up to the election I heard the following via interaction with church members, Facebook statuses, blog posts, and other information:
“If Obama gets elected it will be then end of the world.”
“Obama as president will inaugurate the last days.”
And on and on it went with these doom and gloom scenarios based on Obama getting elected. Then, the day after he was, it all changed to, “It’s okay. God is in control. God can bring good from bad. God has instituted the authorities. Blah blah.”
It just seems disingenuous and flip-floppy. Though appropriate for politics, I found it completely inappropriate for God’s people.

Then of course are the doomsday prophecies about what Obama will do in the next 4 years. Since he is apparently pro-abortion, anti-guns, and a socialist, the Religious Right are up in arms. Of course, last I checked Obama’s top 5 things to get accomplished don’t include killing babies, ruining hunting season, and instituting Marxism. He has a few bigger problems to deal with. So why don’t you all calm down at least for a year.

I also don’t understand how our democratic society has forgotten about checks and balances. From what I have heard it is like everyone thinks Obama can enact any change he wants without opposition. I am pretty sure we elected a president as opposed to a totalitarianistic dictator. He has to jump through the hoops too.

Speaking of systems, can someone tell me why California gets 55 Electoral College votes? I know it is based on California having the densest population, but it doesn’t deserve 20 more electoral votes especially when it is guaranteed to vote liberal every time. Basically, the democrats are already 1/5th of the way there each election. I say this not as a Republican, but as a middle independent who would like to see a fairer system.


All in all it was an interesting process. I went from thinking both candidates were great during the Primaries to thinking both were shams during the debates. Here’s to another four years of failed promises!

Okay, so I'm a Wii-nie

My wife and I managed to get our hands on a Wii Fit this week, which I'm pretty excited about.  I'd been trying to pick one up from Best Buy or Gamestop, but they have been consistently selling out the same day the arrive.  I tried Amazon instead...they have been out of stock there as well, but they offer a service where you can get a text message when they arrive.  Sure enough, on Thursday I got a text, rushed to the website...and nothing.  Still out of stock.  Refresh.  Nothing.  Refresh.  Nothing.  Confused cursing.  Refresh.  Bingo! 

We got it the following day (yesterday), and I've now "played" with it twice, so here's the review:

First thing up, you get weighed in, which I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that I've lost about 10-15 pounds since starting my daily-ish walking routine.  It also calculates your BMI, gives you a balance test, and then assigns you a Wii Fit Age...mine was 41.  I am 29.  Not cool, you guys. 

Then you're in and you can chooose between four categories:  yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games.  Each category starts with a handful of activities you can choose from, with many more that need to be unlocked. In each activity you get rated in some way, most often for how well balanced you are.  It keeps track of your total amount of activity and you continue to unlock new activities or expanded versions of the activities, such as a longer track for running, more reps for the strength activities, etc. 

I'm excited for the opportunities the board provides--I'm a competitive person, and being able to be ranked and unlock activities is a good, compelling feature, and being weighed on a daily basis as part of the program I think will also help to keep me focused. 

The only downside that I can see is that at this point, at least, it doesn't seem that you can put together a workout with it, where you could string multiple activites back-to-back-to-back rather than having to every 2 minutes use the remote to pick the next activity...it's a little distracting. 

More on this later, I'm sure. 

Jekyll, Texas blows it, music reviews

So this weekend was pretty low impact. Watched some TV, played a little FIFA, hung out with Larry. Should have raked leaves and cleaned the gutters, but I can do a two for one next fall.



Saturday afternoon I finished the BBC mini-series “Jekyll”. After the first couple of shows, I was hooked. To be fair, the dialogue bordered on the completely absurd at times, which took away from a great story idea.
The show fades after a blistering beginning as a ridiculous conspiracy element takes over. The ending felt rushed and wasted. The last sequence reveals the missing piece for those of us too stupid to figure out and then . . . credits. As always, great idea, poor execution. Definitely sets up for a sequel at a later date.



Saturday night I watched Texas v Texas Tech. When I turned on the TV, it was 19-0 Tech and I thought, just my luck. So I was in and out of the game, and when Tech went up by 14 in the second half, I almost put in a movie. But I was a trooper and stayed with it. I was rewarded by dramatic idiocy. Texas scores to go ahead and then completely crapped their pants. Poor kickoff coverage, then they let Tech march down the field after they had been stopped in their tracks in the second half. As always, the prevent defense prevents you from winning. When the Texas defender dropped a sure interception, you knew the Longhorns were in trouble. To top it off, the Tech QB then throws a prayer to the sideline and all the defender has to do is knock the receiver out of bounds. God forbid he knocks the ball down. He makes some sort of pansy tackle that we would make in the backyard and Crabtree walks into the endzone. Game over. And what was the safety doing? Very frustrating. Yes, that is why college sports are so much better than pro. Scholarship athletes.



Music I’ve checked out:

Travis (The Invisible Band): The album title says it all. Most of it is pussy rock. Airy songs, falsetto voices. Not what I’m looking for.

VonBondies (Pawn Shoppe Heart): Fever, now that’s what I’m talking about. The rest of the album is ok, Kinda punky, which I’ve never been into, but like to dabble in from time to time.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Take them On, On your own): decent album overall, probably better than Howl. They have this sound and they nail it.

Velvet Underground and Nico: Recently I’ve seen movies that have used their music, so I decided to give them a try. I already knew Heroin (Basketball Diaries) and Venus in Furs (Brick), but I really liked a track called I’m Waiting for the Man. Also Sunday Morning could easily fit into a movie like Little Miss Sunshine or Eternal Sunshine.



By next week, I hope to have finished The Job, a show Denis Leary did before Rescue Me. Also have more Travis on hold, as well as Woodstock 25th anniversary collection. Ta ta for now.

My Political Platform

JDs Halloween post kindled many thoughts in me. And in this time of voting and change being on the horizon, if I am accepted onto the Halloween Holiday Board I will take immediate action to improve our current situation. As I read over JD’s costume list, I noticed that it reflected much of what I saw from recent Halloweens - WEAK outfits. I remember my mom spending hours sewing up such classic costumes as Yoda and a California Raisin. It is like the parents aren't even trying anymore. Or maybe the kids don't have any imaginations or think that some costumes are too infantile, and thus unworthy. I saw one kid with normal clothes, some white face paint, and some red lines that I supposed were supposed to represent lacerations. I asked him what he was, and he just held out his basket and shrugged. Whatever the case, I think many have forgotten that looking cool is the reason for the season.

I understand that we don’t need to be flushing future college tuition down the drain just for a costume, but come on! Give me something. So I recommend putting more power into the hands of the candy giver. If the kids are just throwing on some shoddy costume just to get candy, then take their very incentive out of their baskets. If you don't approve of the costume (for whatever reason – crappy, no imagination, offensive, etc.) then you don’t hand out candy. It will only take a year or two of this system to increase costume thoughtfulness. Granted, you open yourself to a house and car egging later in the evening, but it is time to make people earn the individually wrapped candy we worked so hard to purchase.

I propose we candy be dolled out according to merit. This socialistic candy distribution to everyone is not working. It has removed any impetus for excelling. Seriously, should the beautifully adorned princess get the same amount of candy as the kid who threw on some work clothes? I ask you - are these the principles that founded America? I don't think so! So here is the breakdown of the candy distribution that makes sense and puts more candy in to the hands that deserve it:

Regular clothes/haphazardly thrown together costume - 0 Pieces
Costume with little imagination - 1 Piece
Costume that is thoughtful, just not over the top - 2 Pieces
Costume reflecting a parent with too much time - 3 Pieces
Costume straight out of Hollywood - 4 Pieces(or a King Size)

This is the year for change. So let’s begin with something near and dear to all of us. After all, if the effort displayed at Halloween is any indication of our economic status, then we are indeed in a crisis.

3 Bags of Candy, 10 Trick-or-Treaters, and 1 Bad TV Show

So last night was the first Halloween for my wife and I in our house (last year we were in an apartment) and we were suitably excited for the glut of trick-or-treaters we were expecting.  So we bought candy, yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.  The Take Five bars didn't make it through the week (licking my lips at the memory of them) but otherwise we had a very full bowl of candy for the crowds of children that would be passing through.

It didn't occur to me, until the drive home last night, that we don't have a sidewalk on our side of the road, a rather-busy-for-Portland road.  Bummer.  So I worried we wouldn't get any t.o.t.s. and was proven correct, until 7:30, after which they came in a few small crowds.  We ended up with ten total.  Here's the list:

1) A somewhat dowdy princess

2) A tiiiiny little cop who struggled with the 2 front steps

3) An under-achieving pumpkin (just a pumpkin t-shirt--not even a jack-o-lantern)

4) A girl in greenface (zombie?  seasick?)

5) A weaponless ninja

6) A mongol-style barbarian, complete with pointy helmet and beard

7) A princess of a more gypsy persuasion

8) An infant in an MSU hat--is this a costume?  I think he was being pimped by mom for candy

9) A zombie-ape, I think...scary mask, fur, etc.

10) A mystical butterfly, pushing the upper limits of age-appropriateness for trick-or-treating

Presently struggling through another episode of True Blood, from HBO.  Seems like an interesting concept, vampires walk among us following the invention of a synthetic blood that they can drink, preventing their need to feed on humans or animals, and struggle as a minority group for mainstream acceptance, etc.  It just hasn't really worked for me yet--just occasional interest-piquing moments and then a LOT of bad acting.  I don't know if it's the Southern accent that's pulling everyone down, or the weak scripts, but it's rough!  Even William Sanderson, who was superb in Deadwood (perhaps the best television show ever) as E.B. Farnum, the hotel-owner and mayor, is just awful in this.  If you haven't watched it, just stay away, go rent Deadwood instead.  

of Dreams and Drooling Dogs and Fun Size Snickers Bars

I have weird dreams, almost all the time. This is pretty normal for me. Lately, 6am finds my alarm going off right in the middle of a dream cycle. It makes waking up pretty difficult.

A couple weeks ago I had a dream that I was playing midwife to my friend Sarah who was giving birth to twins. I was also watching her 2 year old son Troy. Except that in real life Troy is my friend Cory's son where Sarah's son is named Seth.

Anyway, last night I had my first nightmare in a long time. Like an adult nightmare, not x-rated, but adult. When I was a kid my nightmares were about aliens and ghosts and possessed dolls and such (my parents let me watch Poltergeist way too young). This dream was one of those things that are extra scarey because it could actually happen. Obviously it's a very slim chance, but a chance none the less.

My dream was that Ben got on a game show in LA and was down there for the weekend filming. I was excited and talking about it to everyone and getting impatient waiting for Ben to call and tell me how he did. When he did call I was hoping to hear that he had won lots of money. Instead it was Ben, but Ben mumbling and sounding like he was in pain.
He said, "I hurt". He was trying to tell me something but mumbling and half groaning in pain. He sounded confused and upset. He's telling me something about trying to go somewhere and do something and I'm trying to talk to him and get him to tell me what's going on and then he said "he had a gun...he had a gun...I hurt" and then there's nothing. The line doesn't go dead, he just stops talking.

What really woke me up at that point I believe was the actual fear of living through that moment, even if it was just a dream. I can't imagine being more helpless than being on the phone with your husband hundreds of miles away who may or may not be dying in a gutter somewhere and you have no idea what exactly is going on. Ben doesn't always understand why I'm "hogging the bed", sometimes it's a reason to touch him and make sure he's still alive.

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Speaking of drooling dogs? Who's talking about drooling dogs? I AM!
Jodee got taken to the vet today for what we thought was a teeth cleaning and tooth extraction, 2 teeth to be precise. When I got off work I talked to the vet and was told some shocking news. He said that every single tooth had periodontal disease and they ended up extracting, not two, but 28 teeth! That's over half! My stomach dropped!

I ended up going in later and having a 20 minute talk with him about how it got this bad, she had a cleaning less than two years ago and they gave her a clean bill of health! He said technicians usually clean and unless they alert the doctor to some need, the doctor doesn't actually check them. It could also be that her immune system is not working as well as she gets older and can't fight off bacteria. Thus she is now on antibiotics to hopefully fight off disease in the rest of her teeth and see if we can save some of them. He also said her teeth were incredibly easy to extract as there was hardly any root left holding them in place. So hopefully we can stop this thing before it claims any more of her teeth, but in the end they say it's better for her to have no teeth (which won't stop her from eating) so that disease does not get into her blood system.

When I got her home she was still a little doped up but apparently very hungry, she wasn't allowed to eat before the proceedure that morning and by 3 she still hadn't eaten. So she was antsy and prancing around because she was hungry, but prancing like a drunken sailor since she was still doped up. It's was pretty funny. I really need a video camera.

So currently the dog is on what the vet tech calls "doggie vicodin". Which she seems to be enjoying since at 6pm she was wimpering a little and now she is laying next to me and not blinking, she's been like that for about an hour now....she's alive.....yeah, her eyebrows are still moving so she's alive, she's just extra mellow. She's also been licking and smacking her mouth alot, trying to get used to the new feeling in her mouth although thankfully the vet kept her until he felt she had stopped most of the drooling.

Poor little Jodee, say good bye to your tasty tasty carrots. :(

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Halloween in California? I don't think it exists!
We saw no kids, no costumes, and have a full bowl of candy sitting on the end table. I've been really doing well watching what I eat. I saw myself eat 3 mini snickers so far. Dang you fun size! How can I resist you!

Love/Hate for Drudge

How did the Drudge Report become one of the most popular news websites on the internet? I think in terms of actual hits, it was the 3rd-most visited news site on the web last month, behind Yahoo and MSNBC. From a design standpoint, its layout is a disaster, completely unattractive, nothing but 3 columns of type and varying fonts. Very few pictures or altering colors to catch the eye, almost NO original content (every link just takes you to a news story from some other website). This guy (Matt Drudge) now has his own radio show and is probably RAKING in the cash from the hits on his website, and to this day it looks like something I could throw together in about an hour with Microsoft Word.

And yet, I visit it every day. I've come to appreciate it for its simplicity, quick loading, and there are usually headlines there that the major sites, with their other vested interests, won't touch. I love it for the links to websites like this, a listing of some of the more bizarre offerings on craigslist for girls (and guys) trying to score tickets to Obama's rally in Chicago on election Tuesday. This was my favorite:

"Are you in need of an extra kidney? Know of someone who needs one? I have 2 good kidneys which is a little excessive. Ill give you one of them for two tickets to tonight’s speech. I live in Denver and tried to get tickets the minute they were announced. Somehow the first come first serve registration did not work since I was put on the waitlist. So, I need two tickets for me and my girlfriend. I have an extra kidney. You take said organ, I take 2 tickets for this historic speech."



Since I have mostly voted conservative over the last few elections, I've never noticed as much of the bias that is obviously there, though. Having a more independent eye this year, I can tell pretty easily who Drudge is pulling for in the next election. His huge-font headline this morning was about how Obama "threw off" three journalists from his plane, all from papers that had endorsed McCain. Of course no mention of the conservative writers that McCain has also excised from HIS plane in the last couple weeks. There's also the fact that coming down to the wire, requests for space on Obama's plane are overtaking the number of seats, and it seems natural that in the last week before the election, he would probably want to engineer as much positive coverage as possible.

house improvements and media intake

So I’m done with House. I’ll probably finish out the season, but after that I’ll probably find something else to watch. Moving into the fifth season, the formula of being wrong, commercial, being wrong, commercial, being wrong, commercial, moment of clarity and miraculous save, has grown tiresome. How much of a genius can he and his team be, if they nearly kill a person 2-4 times before “saving” them?

The dynamic of Wilson and the P.I. has been a fun change for this season, but it hasn’t been enough to save the show. Last week’s episode re: the sexuality and issues of 13 was interesting but got lost in the confusion of the patient’s condition and the firing, rogue work by 13, rehire.

Next week looks ridiculous. The woman having the baby that Cuddy is adopting has a medical emergency and only House can save her? Really? Is that the direction you want to go?

Obviously I’m fed up with the show, however, I think it could be saved with the following suggestions (ie, mandatory changes):

They need to work in House being involved in clinic duty. It worked so well in the early seasons. He gets to wow normal patients and have interesting dialogue with them that can reveal more about his character. Remember that’s how he found his underage, psycho stalker with the red thong.

How about solving the case on the first try? Now that wouldn’t make it that much of a medical mystery, but for all the times they are wrong, who is to say they wouldn’t get it right out of the gate? You know if a billion monkeys had a billion typewriters . . . .

How about a road trip to some infectious disease conference? New environment, let the hair down (except in the case of Taub) and have real personal interaction.

And if all else fails, have a Road Rules/Amazing Race type event between the old team and the new team. Face it, reality TV is here to say and you had might as well accept it

In short, I would move away from the medical mystery aspect of the show. Based on what I’ve read on politedissent.com, most of the diagnoses and treatments vary from a little outrageous to absolutely wrong. This show is about the characters. Focus on that.



Moving on . . .


I read the first trade of a comic series called “The Losers.” Quite good. Sort of a darkly comic A-Team if you can imagine that. Based on the first story arc, I could easily see this being made into a movie. There’s revenge, backstabbing, ridiculous action scenes. I wonder if anyone in Hollywood has picked this up.



Over the weekend I watched The Science of Sleep. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t even describe it. I’ll just say that the beginning was very interesting as you saw a person’s dreamworld and reality blend together, but then it got sort of weird, as if Terry Gilliam took over as director, and I sorta fell asleep, didn’t care. I don’t even know if I can recommend it.



Last night I started the British mini-series Jekyll, which I guess My Own Worst Enemy is trying to copy. The first show was AMAZING!! Super intense and I have no idea how they are going to wrap it up in 6 episodes, but I can’t wait to finish.



Finally, I have caught up with The Mentalist. It is quite fun to watch him toy with people. I really enjoy the show and if they got rid of ‘roided up agent and the tight ass lead agent, I think I would enjoy it even more. Hopefully they keep the cases interesting (even though are they are completely absurd from a jurisdiction perspective) and keep digging into Jane’s background, motivations and history.