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Happy Pie Day!!

2010-11-24T17:00:00.003-06:00

It is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and that means it's the day that I make pies. This year I only had three to get done, but one was apple which I have never done before.

I started with the pecan pie...

Then it was onto the apple. I spent the majority of the time peeling the apples and then I had the worries that it wouldn't all fit. But in the end it all seems as though it was for naught as it looks pretty yummy!

Then it was on to the old stand-by of the eggnog pie. Thank goodness it doesn't require any baking, but unwrapping those caramels sure is tedious.

Too bad that I won't be around to eat all of them as we're splitting the holiday with our families. I guess it just means that I'll have to make more pies later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Change in the air...

2010-10-19T05:40:00.006-05:00

I know it's fall when three things happen. The fresh local apples show up at the grocery store and are incredibly crisp. Pumpkin recipes are everywhere online. And I have the urge to make chicken noodle soup. This last weekend I did two of those three.

There's just something about homemade chicken noodle soup. I don't know if it's the flavor of the broth, the big chunks of everything that's in there, or the distinct lack of saltiness that I usually find in the canned stuff. I do know that it makes the whole house smell AMAZING! I mean, when you have a chicken broth make that looks like this...

you know that it will taste the best.

Then there's everything else that goes into it. It's surprisingly easy.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup
1 whole chicken
3 cans of chicken broth
2-3 cups of water (enough to cover it in the pot)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 whole bay leaves
cracked black pepper
pinch of salt
2 medium onions
1 lb carrots
1 stalk celery
24 ounce bag of thick egg noodles (I like the Kluski brand)

In a four quart stock pot, heat olive oil on medium high and then add the garlic. Once that has darkened slightly, place whole chicken on top of it breast side down until just browned. Flip the chicken so it's breast side up. (I also add a few chicken tenders or a couple of chicken breasts as I always have requests for more meat in recipes.) Let it brown for a minute or two and then add the chicken broth. If the meat is not covered, add enough water to just cover the chicken. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper and salt. Bring to slow boil and turn down heat and let it boil for an hour and a half.

While the chicken is boiling, cut up the onion, celery and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Don't make them too small or you'll made chicken mush instead of soup.
After the chicken has cooked, strain the broth through a colander and set the chicken aside to cool for a bit. Pour the broth back into the pot and add all of the vegetables. Again bring it to a slow boil and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
When the chicken has cooled enough to handle with your bare hands, remove the skin and shred it or cube it into one inch pieces. Add it back into the pot when the vegetables are just cooked. Let the whole thing simmer on the stove until you are ready to eat.
In a separate pot, boil the water to cook the egg noodles per the directions. Serve the soup over the noddles in each bowel.

Serves 6

I also made a chocolate chip pumpkin cake that always seems to go over well. Um!

Cleaning Out

2010-09-11T20:28:00.002-05:00

The last couple of months I've been cleaning things out to make life better. I've been thinking often about how much stuff I have and how much I could do without and still maintain my happy quality of life. So I now have a general rule. Six months without use and it's time to evaluate if I really want to have it. One year and it's off to Goodwill or to be sold. It's only been two months and I still have way more than I will ever use, but at least I've started trying to figure out how not to waste my space, my time or my money.

A Little Treat

2010-09-08T10:06:00.003-05:00

I found a recipe for a microwave chocolate cake not too long ago and was very sceptical about what it would taste like. But really, an individual(ish) size cake that would be ready to eat in less than ten minutes? I had to try it! I needed a little tweeking (the original was way too sweet) and so this is what I've come up with.

Quick Chocolate Cake
4 T all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
2 1/2 T cocoa powder
1/4 t baking powder
3 T milk (buttermilk works better)
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 t vanilla extract
1 egg
3 T mini-morsel chocolate chips (optional)
In large microwave-safe coffee mug (I found the wider the top the better) whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add the milk, oil, vanilla and egg and mix the batter until no lumps are left. Tap the cup on the counter a few times to get out the air bubbles. Pour the chocolate chips on the top of the mix but do not mix them in as they will work their way into batter.
Cook on HIGH for three (3) minutes in a 1000 watt microwave. Adjust the time or heat setting for your microwave strength. The cake will puff out the top of the cup as it cooks, but don't worry as it will fall back down when it's done cooking. Let the completed cake stand in the microwave for at least a minute before eating. Serve right in the mug!

This will real be good for two people, especially if you add a little ice cream. But let's be honest, who really wants to share chocolate cake?

Seeking Solace...

2010-07-23T00:44:00.004-05:00

I used to be a firm believer that I just needed to get through things, now I am a proponent of ice cream. So here are my five favorite ice cream flavors for when I need to go to my happy place:

5. Edy's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. For someone who loves to bake, that this one makes an appearance shouldn't be surprising. This one seems to have just the right balance of vanilla ice cream, cookie dough and chocolate chips.

4. Bryer's Chocolate. It's simple. It's not too chocolatey. It's creamy. Why mess up a good thing?

3. Oberwies Mint Chocolate Chip. This is one of those super-premium brands that's superbly creamy and it's got real chips! Plus the fact that it's the awesome mint green makes it the ultimate mint chocolate chip go-to.

2. Ben and Jerry's Neapolitan Dynamite. This is one of those half and half pints for those of us who can't decide between Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Why choose when you can have both?

1. Oberwies Chocolate Peanut Butter. This has been my favorite flavor of ice cream since I was five years old. It's super smooth chocolate ice cream with real hard smooth peanut butter ribbons (and globs) through out. It is what man was meant to create when we first combined chocolate and peanut butter. And my cone is always gone too soon.

I know my list is rather chocolate heavy, but if I was doing doing a list that excluded chocolate it would be far longer than five. I'll just have to continue testing the product!

Long Time Coming...

2010-07-21T22:34:00.002-05:00

So I need to think of something to say. I just really haven't had words to say what I've done in the last year.
Now all I've got to do is get through the latest move and I'll be happy. I just wish I had all my baking stuff in one place to get through the rough days!

Pics from the Day

2009-01-29T21:02:00.003-06:00

Here are just the main highlights from our jaunt to the Mall last week:

Me and Mr. Obama puppet stood in front of the Washington Monument.

The crowds lookings towards the Capitol and the jumbo-trons to hear and watch the speech. Like the rest of the world, the only way we were going to see it was televised.

One of the peaceful demonstrations of happiness in front of Constitution Hall.

Team McPhearson finally making it back to the Key Bridge after luncheoning in Georgetown.

Inauguration Day, in Brief

2009-01-21T07:14:00.003-06:00

Got up before the sun. Got to the Metro. Waited past crowded trains. Kathryn got a banana peel thrown at her. Met some cool people when we finally got on the train. McPherson Square! Walked. Crowds. Thought we were going to the parade. Walked. Crowds. Ended up at the Washington Monument. Stood. Crowds. Smiles. Pictures of crowds. Got to know Team McPherson Square better. Colder. Waited. Crowds. People we like an didn't like filling up the Capitol steps.

INAUGURATION!

Smiles on all our faces. A pretty song. A pretty poem. Walked. Crowds. Dude with mega-phone telling us all to repent. O-BA-MA cheer drowning him out. Crowds. Team McPherson2 sticking together. Shuffling past the White House. Almost getting run over by a police officer. Walking again. Crowds. Finally made it to Pennsylvania Avenue. No room at the Parade! Oh well. Walk to Georgetown. Must find a bathroom. Then we'll find some lunch. Team McPherson2 walking over the Key Bridge to Rosslyn. Metro still too crowded, so keep walking all the way back to Courthouse.

Phew!

I'll post some pics later.

Day of Service and Honoring the Past

2009-01-19T16:42:00.005-06:00

Our President-Elect had declared today a National Day of Service and so Kathryn and I had tried to sign-up like a month ago to participate in one of the service projects that are happening in the DC area today, but like many of the things she got us on the waiting list of 500 people. So needless to say our plans for today did not start out with us participating in any service projects. We were on our way to the National Archives and the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery and when the first was crowded beyond belief and the second wasn't open yet, I suggested that we walk over to the MLK Library to see what was going on there to see what was going on today. What we found was this:

We got to participate in a service project after all! Thanks to the Morehouse College fraternities to organized such a great project. We met some really nice people and got to participate a little bit in the Feeding America program. So many people had showed up (some from as far as California) that we were only needed for about an hour. We rotated through and let everyone else have a turn.

Going through musuems is nice, but this was WAY better!

We didn't stick around for too long though as the big entertainment was going to Josh Groben and after the concert yesterday I'd had my fill. So it was off to the Portrait Gallery which was finally open and saw the pictures of all the presidents. I think that the presidents who turned out to struggle the most with their time in office have the most unusual portraits.

Then we went to wait in the line at the National Archives to see those documents that are the most important to us in this country. Fortunately I was able to take a few pictures before so many people used their flash and all cameras were put away.

Very few things move me, but the phrase at the beginning of the Constitution really is so powerful to me.

On our way back we walked through the Mall to see what was happening and to see the set up for tomorrow. It is a crazy place already! And the worst part was when we walked by the MSNBC booth, who should be there, but my new best friend Josh Groben. we really need work on scheduling our events at different times.

Concert at Lincoln Memorial

2009-01-19T07:53:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I went to probably the best concert I have ever had the pleasure of going to, even if Josh Groben was one of the performers.

Kathryn and I arrived at 9:30 in the morning and we could have gotten a bit closer than we were, but decided that we wanted to have a good view of the screens and from our vantage point we could still see the stage, although the performers looked like wee little bugs dancing about while their voices were broadcast across the front long.

I'd never heard 300,000 people singing the Star Spangled Banner before and it really was a moving sound. Definately worth the five hour wait to hear the concert and our President-Elect speak!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:19:00.003-06:00

May your days be merry and bright! And may all your days be bright!

PS 26 days to go. Does anyone have any suggestions where on the Mall we should stand to participate in the inauguration?

Let It Snow!

2008-12-23T14:10:00.003-06:00

I really did try to make it early to work today. Honestly I did, but then I remembered what happened last time I did.

And then it started to snow.

And now it won't stop snowing.

And I'm certain it's going to keep on snowoing until Easter.

Also...28 days!

The Count-down Begins!

2008-12-22T20:29:00.003-06:00

Yes, only three more days until Christmas! But that is not what I'm looking forward to this year.

Like 2008 year, my Big Event will be happening in January 2009! So today I've decided to officially start my Inauguration Day count-down at 29.

29 Days until I will be freezing my butt off on the Mall with 2 million other people to watch, listen, or breathe air molecules in the same vicinity in the 44th president. Maybe if the Secret Service and the Capitol police let us get that close.

Maybe.

Being Well Shod

2008-11-26T22:38:00.002-06:00

I am a firm believer in shoes. Ask anyone who knows me. I love shoes. One of my greatest joys is to go shoe shopping. One of my second greatest joys is to look at my favorite shoes. (Hello! Christian Louboutins have red the color of Chanel nail polish on the bottom! How amazingly fabulously beautiful shoeiness can you get?)

Anyway, I really want to make sure every day when I leave the house that I am well shod.

Today though I had to leave way earlier for work than I normally do and of course I was running late and of course I was thinking about my busy day ahead (alright, I was really thinking about the pies). I was very proud that I had left close-ish to on time and I was really warm in my car for such a cool day. Then I realized why I was so warm and toasty. I had left with my slippers on. I really don't do mornings well.

Pie Night

2008-11-26T22:26:00.005-06:00

The thing I like most about Thanksgiving doesn't actually happen on the fourth Thursday of November. It's the fourth Wednesday I look forward to making pies! I'm sitting in my mom's kitchen right now smelling the cherry and apple pies finishing their time in the oven. The peacan and pumkin have finished and are cooling on the counters.

Mom and I have really gone to town this year. We even made the cherry pie filling from scratch. That means that I get to eat all the left overs. This year I'm thankful for cherry pie filling from scratch. Bakers Square doesn't have anything on us. Marie Calander who? I still have two more to make tomorrow morning. Thank goodness for a large family who likes desserts and who is willing to try new pies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Perfecto!

2008-11-17T20:09:00.004-06:00

What makes the perfect book? Is it the story that's well told? What about the beautiful language the author uses to describe the events that unfold? What about unforgettable characters? Does it require all of these things and then more?

I've read many books in my life. Some of them I've glanced through (Twilight anyone?) and some I've had to savor and go back and re-read time and again just so I understand what it is the author is trying to tell me. Some I really do love. Some I consider brain candy. Each serves their own purpose, and yet I've never learned what the perfect book is. Does it only apply to fiction or can non-fiction works join the ranks of their novel brothers and sisters? How will I know when I come upon that one work that changes me forever?

This weekend I saw some of the earliest writings of civilizations at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago (I'll post more about that later in the week), and it really got me thinking about how important the written language is to the development of civilization. What will be the surviving written language of our generation? Our contribution? Texting?

Top 5 Book for Last 5(ish) Years:
Suite Francaise by Irene Nairovsky
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Some Serious TV Time...

2008-11-12T20:04:00.005-06:00

I have been watching some of my favorite shows as usual this fall and here are a few thoughts on what I've seen this far...

Pushing Dasies
Oh, if every show could just bundle all of the funny and procedural and snark and happiness into one 43 minute show, it would be this one narrorated by the supurb Jim Dale. I want to help Emerson and the gang each week solve the crime. I'm glad that they've moved off the story of Chuck and her aunts this season (altough I am missing seeing Swoozie Kurtz in her eye patch) to delve more into the relationships amoung the four main characters. The more I've gotten to know each of the characters this season and their zany problems, the more I want to know! This show might be on the chopping block though and everyone should watch it to keep it going.

30 Rock
I cannot say how much I love this show. It's only been back for one episode, but it hit out of the park. I just always love them all. Who doesn't want to watch a black man dress as a white woman with monster claws? Plus Oprah!

Heroes
I really love the concepts of this show and I always really love the commitment the actors bring to it. But it's all too...earnest. This season see all of the characters finding new ways of becoming villans and we've seen other characters we thought were villans turn to the light. I want to like it, but I find myself waiting longer and longer before I launch the DVR to play each episode.

The Office
Again this season this show has been a bit uneven. I was so excited to see Michael growing as a person in his relationship with Holly but as most shows do, their investment has to be protected so Michael is back to his sad self...but hopefully not back to Jan. On the Jim and Pam front, I'm glad to see that their relationship has now turned towards the engagement, but I'm not sure what's going on with her in New York. Will Jim be following her? Erm, I have a feeling that Jim might have bigger fish to fry in New York. I am kinda sad though that Andy has become Dwights foil. I liked Jim and Dwight together because Jim never actually means to harm Dwight. This one can only end in a bad place.

Life
I love this show for the character of Charlie Crews. If this show were just his character walking down the street, I would watch it all the time. (Besides Damien Lewis has been on my list as my favorite red head since watching Band of Brothers over and over again.) I wish that they would get back more to the arc story, less of the procedurals, and WAY less of that stupid stero-type of a boss that they're forcing upon Crews' partner, Dani Reese. Plus more Ted. I mean, who doesn't like Adam Arkin? And who doesn't like Adam Arkin with Christina Hendricks playing Crews' new stepmom Olivia?

Ugly Betty
Favorite part of this new season? THEY'RE FILMING IN NEW YORK! I always love to see people filming on location and loving the locations. Least favorite thing about this season? Pretty much everything else. I feel like Betty (the show and the character) have reached the point that she needs to figure out how to move up and on so we can too.

Dancing with the Stars
So this isn't a show you so much watch and let it go through you like a $1.50 burrito at Taco Bell on a Saturday night after you've been drinking too much. It's only tolerable if you fast forward past Samantha. No one has really grabed my attention this season. The new pros that have lasted are whiney (Lacey) and I think the game is now rigged that Brooke is a shoe-in (or foot-in) to win.

I know all of those are shows that have either been on for a while or returned from last season, but I did try a few new shows this fall too...no mixed results there.

Kath and Kim
Avoid this like the STD that these ladies are probably carring. Seriously not funny. Just sad.

Curose
I wanted another island adventure to hold me over until Lost comes back Januauary 21, but this was not to be even with all the manly beauty.

Fringe
Even the furrows of Joshua Jackson's eyebrows were not deep enought to suck me into this show. It just kindda sucked.

My Own Worst Enemy
I was hoping it'd be a fun spy show like Chuck. It is a spy show, just not fun.

To sum up...I will not be watching any new shows this fall. I cannot wait for the mid-season replacements! That's when Dollhouse comes out. Although from what I understand we won't be able to see it until February.

So what it comes down to is that I have to wait until January for the continuing saga that has become Lost. And of course I'm just waiting for January 16 so I can get some closure on Battlestar Galactica. I don't know how I'll get past March when it all ends.

But in the mean time, I have to content myself with rememberences of Mad Men. In honor of that I'm including the link to the Mad Men Live Revue.

Honorable Mention
House
Bones
Stargate: Atlantis
Graham Norton

Veterans' Day, Part Deux

2008-11-12T18:48:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure how to approach this...but what I'm about to post is what happens when people's intentions to honor our soldiers meets Americana at its, erm best.

I salute you! But is this really how we see our military?

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T10:39:00.003-06:00

Love love living in this country of ours and I'm especially greatful for those who have fought to make it what it is. Especially you, Mike. I'm very proud of you. I feel a great deal of indebtedness to those who have done something that I know that I'll never do, but I can remember them.

So even though I'm not from our great 51 state...erm I mean Canada I really love the following poem and it means a lot to mean on today for the 11th hour of the 11th month.

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the the crosses, row on row,
That mark the place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up your quarrel with the foe:
To you from falling hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
-Lt. Col. John McCrae

The Monday Blahs

2008-11-10T18:12:00.002-06:00

I've decided that I really should not do Mondays.

That goes double for Monday mornings.

I should just not do anything for them. Stay at home, in bed, preferably asleep.

I'll have to figure out how I feel about Tuesdays tomorrow, but I don't think that the future looks very bright for them.

Where Were You When...

2008-11-05T17:46:00.003-06:00

That's the question we all asked our parents about certain big events in history that have shaped our lives.

Last night I was doing something about those events. I was voting for the 44th President of the United States of America.

I'm one of probably thousands of people across this country who can say that we've met Mr. Obama on a campain stop. I've voted for him in every primary and every general election I could because I not only agree with his politics, but I genuinely believe he represents what he said about America last night in his acceptance speech. We are the change that can be wrought in the world, not because we want to force our ideals on anyone else or because we have the greatest and the best. We are that hope of building on our past towards a better future. "Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow." That's what our President-Elect told us last night. That's what he's been telling us for the last 21 months. That's why voter turn out was the highest it's been in 40 years. That's why I fell in love with the political process again and contributed.

Thank you Mr. Obama for inspiring us to particiate these last two years. Thank you for letting us know that it was what we can do on an indiviual basis that swells our numbers to that large crowd we saw last night in Grant Park.

Now let's go be the change.

My Halloween Costume

2008-10-30T17:29:00.003-05:00

I think that change for change's sake can be good. For example yesterday, I had hair that was longer...today, my hair is far shorter. Much shorter. People at work didn't recognize me. I'm in cognito. How should I top it tomorrow?

About Last Night...

2008-10-25T15:33:00.004-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days that you wake up and immediately think, "Can't it be tomorrow?" That was my yesterday. It was crazy busy and I felt like I was going from one thing to another and I really needed to and wanted to do everything I had on my schedule, but I still didn't have enough hours in the day to complete all my tasks.

But then came the two hours that made my whole day worth it. My sister and I (along with 200 of our closest Nerdfighter frieds) got to spend two hours at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL with John Green in celebration of the release of his newest book PaperTowns. Like many people, I didn't start reading his books until after I was introduced (by my sister Kathryn who loves all great YA lit) to his and his brother Hank's vlog Brotherhood 2.0 early last year, but I really respect what he has to say. It was fun and relaxing and really a good time to be able to spend with someone who has something interesting to say. Although it did get a little dicey when John decided to stand on the swivel chair on wheels to speak to all of us. I've never been to a book signing/author talk where the author has been so aware of his audience and that he really does a responsibility towards them. Thanks John!

Congratulations to Kathryn for finishing her book!!! I'm so proud of you!

Getting Away While Not Away

2008-10-20T19:57:00.006-05:00

Today I had a bad day and so it made me want to get away from it all. That made me think about getting away when I can't get away. As my mortgage company is one of the few left in the country that's still solvent, I can't just up and leave my job to crash-land on some crazy island or run away from my family and go back to my original identity. Never fear for my mental health! I have a happy place I go to when I'm feeling down...

Yes, nothing can take me away from all my worries like $2.19 worth of chocolate frozen custard. Eaten in the parking lot. Usually before I've pulled away from the drive-through window. That way I can dispose of the evidence before I get home. It's like the calories never really happened. Right?

Did I mention that I've recently had to start shopping for new pants? (They look better on her than they do on me.)

A Little While Longer...

2008-10-18T14:58:00.004-05:00

The reason I haven't posted is because I've spent the last six weeks in Laos saving children from Malaria and because of my intese dedication to that cause...okay, so really I've just been too wrapped up in my own life to think about it.

I did spend one weekend in Louisville with William and Liahni to see thier nephew Nolan Chandler and the Cardinal Men play a great soccer game at University of Louisville. Go Cards! They are now ranked 11th in the nation and I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that I attended one game this season. I'm always so impressed by the caliber and intensity that it takes to play at that level. All I can say is that I hope never to have run that much in my life. I understand why they get so sweaty.

We also learned about the Derby--Southern style. Thank goodenss I went to the museum so I know how to properly bet on the ponies next time I'm at the track. We spent most of our time coming up with names for our horses. I think mine would have to be something about shoes, maybe like Pair of Heels or Stilletos or something like that.

We did eat at this totally fun place called Lynn's Paradise Cafe where I ate part of two of the greatest blueberry pancakes ever put on plates before me. I think William enjoyed his meal too as he said he wanted to lick the sauce off his plate if he could have.

For me though the best part was when we went to 5th street. It really wasn't that much fun down there (it was late and I was tired and it was much cooler up on Bardstown Rd and more localish--as in fewer out of towners) and everyone was so drunk by the time we got there that no one was cool to talk to. But on the way in I got carded. It's been a while since that happened. In fact last time I went to a club about a year ago, I tried to show ID, but they just waved me through. Then, I was a bit put off. Now, I was happy to get carded. Let me just bask in that for a moment more...

The last two days I've spent on the couch trying to recover from being sick. I hate getting sick. But it does let me catch up on the television time; and with the new fall shows ahveing started, the DVR does get quite full. I was very happy to see one of my favorite actors back on Ugly Betty this week! Thank you Freddy Rodriguez for making me feel better on a Thrusday night when I was ready to die. If Gio and Betty aren't going to get together this season (what's going to happen with the neighbor across the hall?) I'll be more than happy to help out!

Olympic Wrap-up

2008-08-29T13:34:00.002-05:00

Now that I've had a bit of time to reflect on the XXIX Olympiad from Beijing, I've come to a few conclusions:
1. Bob Costas is actually not aging. I think he's put into some sort of stasis pod in between broadcast events and he will never age. Either that or he's now been replaced by an android.
2. The Olympics are no longer about athletic achievements, it's about all the other stuff (read money) that happens around it.
3. I was genuinely happy for the American men's indoor volleyball team for winning the gold medal. That was probably my favorite story of the entire games. Although I was a big sucker for the off-key singing of the women's 8-man row team as they sang the National Anthem at the top of their lungs.
4. No athlete can sing the first couple of lines of their national anthem during the medal ceremony. For the Americans, they can normally come back in during the "rocket's red glare" and can finish from there. Except for the Spaniards, whose anthem does not have any words at all.
5. Did you know if Michael Phelps was at the games? I wasn't sure if he showed up or not as the media coverage on him was kinda spotty.

From China, With Love

2008-08-09T20:41:00.003-05:00

Last night I stayed up too late to watch the opening ceremonies of the XXIX Olympics and I realized a few things:
1. I am a complete sucker for pageantry and lots of dancers in a stadium with lots of music.
2. Sarah Brightman is not Chinese.
3. I am so afraid of heights that when the dude running around the stadium's top had his wire drop, my first thought was that he was going to fall to his death. I then practically held my breath until the torch relay was all done. It was a tense few minutes for me. I really hope I don't fall to my death.
4. Yao Ming is either really tall, or that little boy from the earthquake is smaller than any 9 year old than I have ever met. I think the Chinese might be breeding a new race of giant basketball players.
5. I think the Chinese were telling me that American culture is no longer going to be the dominate force in the world. I might need to learn Mandarin.

2000 and counting

2008-07-22T17:52:00.003-05:00

I went the the White Sox game on Sunday with my brother and his friend and got to see Jim Thome hit his 2,000th...erm hit of his career. I'm not sure why I thought I'd share that. All I got out of the game was a loss to the Royals and a sun-burn in some unusual spots. And my annual baseball game with my brother.

Seriously, have you ever gotten a sun-burn on just your earlobes? I had enough sunscreen on the rest of me, but somehow I missed my left earlobe? At least my right one is just fine and dandy!

Paris on the Side

2008-07-17T18:51:00.002-05:00

After my jaunt down to Springfield, I was thinking about some of my other travels that I've taken over the last few years and reviewing some of my pictures and home movies. That lead me to the following video of the Eiffel Tower that I took on a trip to Paris a couple of years ago. Sadly, it hasn't been doctored at all. I'm really that stupid to make my videos look like they're falling down.

Geek-out in Land of Lincoln Day 2

2008-07-12T21:52:00.005-05:00

Today was all Abe all the time! In case we got lost, we had these helpful signs to get us back on track to the sights. Of course we could only go to Lincoln sights and Springfield is only made of one-way streets, so we had to go in circles. I even began to wonder at some points if Springfield ever had any other politicians in it. Oh, yeah…it did, but many of them have ended up in prison.

I love the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. I was geek-tastic for the three and a half hours that we spent there. Of course the best part for me though was the gift shop. Forget the moving words of Lincoln and the totally awesome hologram presentations when I can buy a cheap Lincoln head! Presents for those who couldn’t come with me.

We also went to the Lincoln home. I have once piece of advice. Even if you tremble with excitement at the prospect of visiting historical sites or plan a three hour detour into Pennsylvania to visit Gettysburg for the fourth time, if you’re offered a special presentation at the National Park site at the Lincoln Home before going through the house…RUN. Seriously, I got out my cell phone I was so bored and sent text messages instead. Yawn!

But then we went to the cemetery. Of course it poured and it was under construction, so I don’t have any pictures, just lovely memories of the tomb. So I leave you with a song.

Geek-out in Land of Lincoln Day 1

2008-07-11T21:51:00.009-05:00

I have taken a little trip this weekend to the state capital in the Land of Lincoln. Every once in a while I feel the urge to totally geek out over my love all things historical about Civil War history. So, I’m planning a totally Abe-gasmic visit to all the sites here in Springfield. I mean this is where his awesome career started, so everything should be all about Lincoln. My license plates have always told me that it is his land (on a side note, not I was shocked to find out that Illinois is the only state that seems to have dedicated the entire state to one person via car registration, not even England does that for the Queen). Only, when I got to the state capital, I was a little confused as to exactly who’s land I live in. Certainly it started out just fine. I mean we have the great young Abe to greet us as we come up step to the entrance:

And I even get the nice picture of the Little Giant, Stephen Douglas that Lincoln famously debated up and down the state in the 1858 senate race. Sorry, just a Geek-out moment.

Then I saw all the other statues around the building. How did Illinois do without a poor replica of the Liberty Bell?

Wait, I know! We should celebrate the white man’s dominance and superiority of the native peoples of the state by erecting a condescending and inaccurate portrayal of someone that is unidentified.

But then here’s a collection of random parts of statues that I like to think are well-intentioned, but poorly executed tributes to state heroes who just aren’t as cool as good old Honest Abe.

Shy John Palmer

Some Awesome Chair Griffens

Everett Dirksen got something on his pants!

I just hope that tomorrow I get to Geek-out a bit more about Abe and and a bit less about Everett Dirksen's pants.

Happy 9th of July!

2008-07-09T16:55:00.002-05:00

Today I would like to mark the day that Argentina marks its independence from the tyrannical oppression it felt being a colony of Spain. Actually, I know nothing about the Argentine Independence Day, but I hope that it involves a lot of back yard picnics, crazy uncles making inappropriate comments while slightly (or more than slightly) inebriated, and pyrotechnic displays celebrating the technological superiority of the Chinese. Then I'd know that the American proliferation of "democracy" that President Bush has spoken about so much in the last few years might still have a chance.

Go! Go! Go! White Sox!

2008-06-20T14:41:00.001-05:00

One of the many things I have grown up loving is the Chicago White Sox and this weekend is the first of two of cross town series against those bitter rivals the Cubs. I mean the bitter Cubs fans. I on the other hand have enjoyed the relative success of my team. I’ll admit that two visits to the World Series in the life time of most currently living fans isn’t much to brag about, but it’s much more than no visits to the World Series in…the last 100 years. And we blame our lack of success on piss-poor management, not some poor goat.
Oh, and there’s the glee that every Cubs fan seems to take in the fact that their team has the best record in baseball right now. To be honest, I’m really quite happy for them, but I’ll be happier for my White Sox at the end of the season when they have the better record as they normally do.
Sure last year the Sox lost the six game series 1-5 and were even swept at home, but last year in inter-league play the Sox were like 4-28. I mean come on, the Sox have won the last three and the Cubs got swept for the first time all season coming into today’s game. Past performance and statistics don’t mean a thing.
Enjoy this weekend’s games and…
Go! Go! Go! White Sox!

Prince of What?

2008-06-19T21:30:00.001-05:00

I went and saw Prince Caspian and was overall pleased with the movie because I felt that it was a huge improvement over the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe with one glaring exception.
They turned the end of the Susan’s time into a tween movie!
After seeing Tilda Swinton rule the screen in her all too brief appearance as the White Witch. After the performance of the actor playing Edmund made me love and respect the character. After an inventive and cool battle scene. After even a bizarre explanation of Caspian’s heritage.
Then it turned into another Disney tween movie. I thought for a moment that Zack Effron and Vanessa Hudgens were going to come on the screen singing about the woes of high school. I really wanted to like the entire movie. I loved everything else about it.
Why couldn’t it just have everything?

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

2008-06-18T20:09:00.004-05:00

I just heard a news story today that's made me feel great about myself. It made me realize that have something in common with Tiger Woods. You might ask yourself what could we two have in common?

Is it our athletic prowess?

Ummm…….not in this world.

How about our competitive natures?

I let little kids beat me at Go Fish when we play.

How about our lucrative endorsement deals that net us our millions?

Hah!

What about our knee injuries?

Yes! Both Tiger Woods and I have captured the world’s attention by tearing ligaments in our left knees and fracturing the bones as well. Although I must say – here’s where I can up the athlete – I’ve torn both ACLs! I don’t think that Tiger tore his in any unfortunate trampoline incidents or broke his leg in any crazy limbo accidents. I think those titles also belong to me as well.

Let Tiger keep his accolades and his money and his fame and his endorsement deals and his talent and his beautiful family and his…

Geeze! Now I feel like a total looser.

A Few of my Favorite Things

2008-06-11T20:03:00.007-05:00

I recently had an epiphany. Yes, indeed, lightning struck me to my very soul when I realized that I had forgotten what my favorite things in life are. I have become so out of touch with the things that make me smile, laugh, or sigh with delight that here in no particular order are a few of my favorite things:

Going out to dinner with friends and spending the entire night. You know the kind of night where your group gets the dirty looks from the other tables because you’re laughing too loudly and you end up as the last group in the restaurant. And then as you are all leaving you decide that the party needs to continue back at someone’s apartment/bar/hangout. So you go, and before you know it it’s 5:00 AM and you had one of the most memorable nights of your life.

Discovering a new (to me) youtube video because someone else thought that I might like it. Check this out that someone at work recommended.

Chocolate. The rich, dark kind that makes you want to eat it so slowly, but fast enough that it won’t melt in your hand.

Pictures that children take that are amazing. Like this one here:

French movies.

Books that make me want to be more than what I am right now or what I will be 5 minutes from now. Or 5 minutes after that.

The new Battlestar Galactica. Nothing else on television today makes me smile as consistently as does that one hour – well I guess its actually 43 minutes when you take out the commercials. I almost wish I was a Cylon.

The White Sox. Even when those guys are breaking my heart, they are making me so happy. Nothing in this world is better than going to a game and seeing the win. I’m so happy I get to see them win consistently.

Ummm...

2008-05-22T21:35:00.001-05:00

Lack of focus.
I need to focus at the task at hand.
My brain is a million miles away right now.
I really should get down to the business at hand.
Jump from one thing to another to another.
I have things that I need to accomplish.
I can’t remember why I was doing.

I think that’s why I have trouble reading only one book at a time. I don’t remember the last time that I’ve only been reading only one. It’s not because I don’t like the book that I’m reading now, it’s because I have so many other things that I want to do at the same time.

So much to do, so little time.

My Summer Movie Picks

2008-05-16T17:09:00.002-05:00

The summer movie season has now started. I know it’s an odd thing to think about in the middle of May; but, despite what I pay at the theater, studios are having a harder time making ends meet today and so they think – like hockey – all they need to do expand their season to bring in more money. In all reality, I couldn’t care less about that. What I really care about is if there’s movies that I really want to see. And this year, like every other year, I’ve made my list.

My list is the list of movies that I think that I want to see based on the plot synopsis that I can find and the list of actor all from www.imdb.com. It doesn’t mean that I’ll actually see it in the theater. In fact I rarely make it a quarter of the movies on the list and not all of them even end up in my Netflix queue. Some of my picks are incredibly dorky, but aren’t we sometimes just in the mood for something different? I do like to be entertained and after the doldrums of the winter movies that are released and the last few really years of truly terrible movies, I think that there might be some hope this year. Maybe. Kindda.

May
Iron Man (5/2)
Speed Racer (5/9)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (5/16)
Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (5/22)
Sex and the City: the Movie (5/30)

June
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (6/6)
The Happening (6/13)
Get Smart (6/20)
Wall•E (6/27)
Wanted (6/27)
Hancock (7/4)
The Dark Knight (7/18)
Mamma Mia! (7/18)
X-Files: I Want to Believe (7/25)

August
The Rocker (8/1)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (8/8)
Tropic Thunder (8/15)
Hamlet 2 (8/22)

Rememberence of Things Lost

2008-04-14T17:42:00.002-05:00

Sadly this is not about the television show.

I have started to play the piano again. It's been a long time. A VERY long time. To be honest, until two years ago, I never thought that one day I wouldn't be able to do something that I could do at one time. It would be easy to say that I'm just as good as I used to be and just muddle through on the songs that I've always known, but that would be a horrible lie. I'm really not that good anymore.

I'm also working on running again. Well not so much the running thing as the walking thing for right now. Doc said last week that I can't really do any running for a while yet. After the first knee surgery, I never really got back into the groove. Now all I want to do is to build back into that runners high again.

I wonder what it will take to become that person again?

I'm in love with a girl...

2008-04-02T18:07:00.002-05:00

I am secretly in love with a girl. Her name is Kara Thrace and I’ll get to see her again on Friday night for the first time in more than a year. I first met her and immediately was drawn to her energy, just like all the other really hot men around her. Ours has been a rocky relationship, she even died at one point and I thought my heart was going to break.

She walks that line. You know which one I’m talking about that thin line between genius and disaster. She almost always wins; and when she doesn’t, I’m just as surprised as she is. She is the heart of those around her, but she refuses to acknowledge that she has one for fear that she might get hers broken.

I don’t want to be with Kara, I want to be Kara. That is the beauty of Battlestar Galactica, the greatest show on television right now. My love for Starbuck is not my only love. I’m just like she is; I’m a faithless whore. I love them all: the Chief, Adama, Laura, Baltar, Gaeta, Tigh, Helo, even whiney little Cally. And especially Head-case Six—some day I’ll be able to get inside a guy’s head just like her. And all the rest of them. Except for Apollo. I’m can’t stand his self-righteous assiness.

My love for Starbuck goes so far that I’ve been looking at my DVR all week just to build the anticipation. (I believe in some relationships it's called foreplay)

My love for Starbuck goes so far that I’ve stayed completely spoiler-free. (Relationship experts tell me that this is refered to as the "spice".)

I know it's old but...

2008-03-16T11:13:00.002-05:00

I know it's been out on youtube for a long time, but I really love this video so as it's been a while since I've posted I thought I'd add one of my favorite things. Enjoy!

Who am I?

2008-02-03T19:49:00.000-06:00

I think I'm addicted to those personality tests and so when a friend sent me one that combined two of my favorite things: personality tests and The Office, I of course had to jump at my chance to take it. My results are below and to the left. I'm Pam? Although I do have a streak in me that does play the pranks on people as well. I must say I was a but suprised as I never saw myself as the nice one. I guess that's what happens when you're away from work for several weeks at a time and have to watch puppies on TV.

BTW, my friend who sent it to me said she was a combination of Dwight and Jim. What an odd combination. All I could picture was one of those pics from Connan O'Brian of the love child of two famous people. I wonder if anyone has done of those. I looked for one online and didn't find any. Oh well.

Just so you know, I'm also Wonder Woman.

Super Bowl Play by Play

2008-02-03T19:13:00.000-06:00

I heard that the game was today. I know two teams were playing, but I have no idea which two were actually facing each other. Although I understand that one of the QB's is supposed to be beyond hot and that he'd gotten some actress preggers and then dumpped her for a super model from Brazil. That's all I know about what happed during the Super Bowl today.

Thank goodness that as this is considered public domain I don't owe the NFL any money for using the phrase Super Bowl over and over again. Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl

I think I'll go watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet now.

Chicago 2016

2008-01-22T12:09:00.000-06:00

For the last couple of years the Mayor (around these parts that title refers to Mayor Daly even if you don’t live in Chicago proper) has launched his campaign to bring the Summer Olympics to Chicago. I’ve followed some of the media coverage for it and have even popped over to the official website http://www.chicago2016.org/ to see what they have to present.

Now, I am probably one of the biggest proponents of telling people of how great a city Chicago is and why everyone should come for a visit, but I wouldn’t even drive the 42 miles from my house based on the information that is provided on the videos. Here’s the most recent one from YouTube:

Where’s the mention of the culture of the city? Why does it only mention the diversity in passing? What about the neighborhoods?

Some of the cities that Chicago is competing against (Madrid and Rio de Janeiro) both present themselves as fun cosmopolitan cities. Chicago branded itself as having huge parks?! I love the parks and I think the lakefront is a fantastic feature of the city, but why make that the way to brand ourselves? We are an international city and we want to host an international event so why don’t we recognize the fact that we have much more to offer than just the lakefront and its amenities. That was fine for the USOC, but we need to let the rest of the world know what Chicago is about: the diversity of its people, the neighborhoods, the culture of the museums, the theater, the festivals, and yes even the parks.

It's Been a While

2008-01-21T13:41:00.000-06:00

So I have a really good excuse. I was resently cut open and then screwed back together. For the second time. Last time I didn't record any of the experience so this time I made sure to take a couple of pitures of my drug-induced haze. Although I must admit that I'm doing much better this go around than I did last time. I'm even posting a lovely picture for everyone to see the awsomeness of the bruising after two weeks. And I thought that the ACL was on the inside of my knee.

Right now all I have to concentrate on is the whole walking thing (really, who would have thought that bending and straightening your leg could lead to so much trouble) and of course the up coming special elections in my congressional district.

I've been under the excellent care of my parents since the surgery and they being the excellent members of their political party have been recieving phone calls from a canidate who is running to replace the former Speaker of the House of Represetatives. None of us like him as he is shall we say...a biggot. Unfortunately I'm afraid that he will win the nomination of his party and that means that he will most likely go on to win the special election to be held shortly thereafter.

I'll post some more pictures in the next couple of days of me at physical therapy. It should be interesting. Overall I'm healing really well.

Secrets? Me?

2007-12-13T23:39:00.000-06:00

Every year it seems that without fail, I am the keeper of the secrets around the family holiday surprises and 2007 has turned out to be no different. I always know who’s getting what gifts or what everyone else should expect on Christmas morning.

Except this year, it was WAY BIGGER!

My brother who is in the Navy was not going to be home for the holidays at all for the second year in a row. To make matters worse, it looks this will be the last year we will all have the chance to be in Chicago together for a while.

Last week my parents were out of town and I got a phone call from my brother who sounded a bit worried. He told me that he unexpectedly had been given a week of leave while his ship was going out of port and was coming home, but he couldn’t get a hold of Mom and Dad to tell them. I said, “Well, they’re out of the country and as they’ll only be getting back two days before you’ll be coming home, I think we shouldn’t tell them you’re coming.” (I think I had a couple of little giggles in there as well.) This was going to be the most awesome surprise ever.

So we didn’t so much tell my parents that my brother wasn’t going to be home for Christmas as much as failed to mention that he would be.

Last night I picked my brother up at the airport and then drove him to my parents house under the guise of picking up something that I needed to ship to him. As we snuck upstairs, it was all I could do to contain my anticipation. I had to wake up my parents and told them that I wasn’t taking the package for my brother. Now keep in mind they were just being awoken out of a sound sleep and I don’t normally wake them up for anything unless it’s an emergency. Once they were assured that all was right in the world. I repeated that I wasn’t sending anything to my brother because instead he was right there.

That was one of those moments that will always get extra special time in my mind when I play back the happy moments in my life that I’ve been able to give a good thing to someone else. And it cost less than $20.

Spirit of Giving

2007-12-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

So this year for Christmas I've set limits on myself. The type of limits that make me challange two of the the things that I like to do: shop and give gifts. I decided that I don't want to spend more than $20 on any Christmas gift this year. Instead, I'm spending my time putting the thought and energy into getting the gifts together. Not a homemade Christmas, but a thoughtful Christmas.

What thoughts are you putting into it this year?

You Know It's Trouble When...

2007-11-13T18:43:00.000-06:00

I’ve messed up my knees. There’s no other way of putting it. I wish I have some fantastic story to tell how I did it like base jumping into the Grand Canyon, but it’s really quite sad how it all happened. The first time, it involved New Years Eve, me, a trampoline, a skilled surgeon and many hours (I can’t say countless because my insurance company has kept track of all of them) of physical therapy. I had so many questions and I was never sure exactly what to expect or how far I could push myself. I am now so amazed at the limits to which the human body can be pushed and still recover.

That was the first time. This time, it’s a little less complex, but a whole lot more embarrassing. I didn’t realize how much until this weekend.

I was involved in a community play with people at church, many of whom I did not know and was meeting for the first time. As we would go on stage people of course would say, “Break a leg,” and I would laugh about how I really shouldn’t try that as I recently did that. Once gentleman asked how I had broken my leg. I replied that I had done the other leg a couple years ago and went for the matching set and it was a bit of an embarrassing story. He then proceeded to talk about how a friend of his daughter had told them about a girl who had broken her leg doing the limbo and that my story couldn’t any worse than that. "Besides," he told me, "no one could really break their leg doing the limbo."

I was standing there listening aghast as a total stranger told me the story of how I had broken my leg. I had to confirm to him that someone could indeed break their leg doing the limbo as I was the girl in the story. And now I’ll get to do a second knee surgery.

The Power of the Visual

2007-11-12T22:40:00.000-06:00

I was on my way into work this morning when I noticed something that I had seen hundreds of times before, but I had not realized. Every day I pass by the offices of a major energy (mostly electricity) corporation that has it's logo on the building as most companies do, but what got me thinking is that the logo for this company has almost the exact same elements as a blog that has the exact opposite aim as the corporation.

First, here's the corporation's logo:

The style is modern in the font. It's sans serif, so it's designed to be seen in large typeface. It's made of of blue and green colors so it indicates a harmony with the enviorment and the "o" is designed to look like the on switch of most consumer electronics so that would indicate it has to do with power.

Now here's the logo of the blog:

Again, it has the modern font as it has a modern mode of communication. The colors, while not an exact match, are simularly themed. Even the design schemes are simular with the on switch. Only this time, it's not the name of the company that's turning on the message, but rather the enviorment.

I'm always amazed at what groups come up with when they have the same message (in this case to tell the consumer that they each only want what's best for the enviorment) but and exact opposite way of viewing it. Isn't spin wonderful?

Where am I exactly?

2007-11-10T11:09:00.000-06:00

When I went and visted my sister in Salt Lake a couple of weeks ago, she told me that we were going to a fund raiser in Peru. Now, I lived in Utah and I had never heard of Peru, UT but I was just going to go with what she said. When we got out there and actually got in the car to go to the dinner, imagine my suprise when we only drove a few blocks to East High. It was a dinner and silent auction for http://eagle-condor.org/ and we also got to enjoy the talents of some authentic Peruvian dancers. I even got some pictures.

When I got home I showed my pictures to some of my co-workers who asked where I was over the weekend as I said that I was in Salt Lake City. You see they all thought that because the pictures were taken at East High from High School Musical that I had gone to Peru, via New Mexico, via Salt Lake. All in all, it was a very busy weekend.

Have Terror, Will Travel...

2007-11-04T13:16:00.000-06:00

Every time I fly on a plane, I reflect on how exactly my life has been affected by all of the changes that have come into the world since September 11, 2001. It can be just the little things like being dehydrated after a flight or knowing that the government is more interested in reading my emails.

Sometimes though, the terrorism threats feel very real and they hit close to home. What follows is a story as I related it to friends and family in an email in July 2004.

"I just wanted to notify you all of a very dangerous situation that occurred to me last week while doing my daily commute home from work. Because of security risks that have been happening, all commuter trains have been on a heightened state of alert and so many of the passengers and railroad personnel have done an excellent job of making sure of our safety. Before you go on, I just want to ensure you of it's truthfulness and that it really did happen to me.
"Last Friday evening, a bomb scare shut down the commuter rail line that runs from Chicago to the western suburbs because of a suspicious package that was on the 4:44 train. We were stuck on our train in the train yard for 30 minutes and then were forced to walk the last half mile to our cars. Others had to wait more than an hour for buses to get to their train station during rush hour and then sit on a bus to get home. The fire department sent out the bomb squad, the immediate area of the station was evacuated, and all emergency personnel were put on alert. "The immediate area around the package was quarantined and stabilized, but the package itself began to move. After and exhaustive attempt to defuse the situation without putting any of the brave personnel in uniform in any undue rink, the suspect package was found to contain a hamster.
"Just so you know, I was neither hurt nor terrorized during this incident. I was actually rather amused.
"P.S. The hamster found a very happy home with one of the fire fighters."

Despite the lightness of that incident, I know that in many ways the order of things post 9/11 is very different than it was before that day. Like so many social changes that happen, most of them didn’t occur right after the terror attacks happened in 2001 but it was a more gradual shift so that we could become more used to the idea.

I didn’t fly after 9/11 for six weeks, but at that time we still had National Guard personnel manning the security checkpoints at airports with automatic weapon. That was uncomfortable. That has since changed. When I went to the Louvre in 2006, the military presence at the entrance there was also heavily armed and I imagine they could use their weapons just as easily as those who were at the US airports in 2001. But there it didn’t feel as out of place because as an American, the threat of terrorism has always felt like a faraway or foreign problem. Every once in a while we have moments like the great hamster episode that remind us that even here we are vulnerable, but I’m not ready yet to allow the automatic weapons to patrol the grounds around the Museum Campus just yet.

The King of What?

2007-10-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

Some friends and I were out the other night at an arcade and as we went up to the Skee Ball machines we came upon a middle-aged man who had a video camera set up on a tri-pod and a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "King of Skee Ball 1998" across the back. My first thought was, "I really hope I don't end up on camera tonight because I was at work today and I look really tired," but my second thought was How does one become the King of Skee Ball?

A brief google of skee ball champions and I discovered two things about the man that I met and confirmed something I already suspected. The two things I learned are: first of all skee ball takes almost no skill and secondly it is usually done comparatively by a bunch of drunken frat boys. What was confirmed for me is if you're still bragging about being the King of Skee Ball nine years later, your rule has been usurped and the palace china has probably been sold for more pot or some other magical substance.

I did find something really remarkable though about this man in what he was doing. Every time he played he stood in the exact same spot and did the exact same movements and he got exactly the same two results: 100 points or 10 points. He had learned that the movements that would garner him the greatest reward also have the greatest risk for the lowest scores. How can anyone do the same thing over and over again and vacillate between the two extremes? Do we really need a new King of Skee Ball each year?

Reaction to a newscast

2007-10-12T15:20:00.000-05:00

I hate anything that even catches the whiff of political perspiration and what is below reeks like a eighth grader coming out of gym class…

A few days ago, I was listening to a story on the radio that’s given me a lot to think about. The story I was listening to was just another one about how another town outside of Bagdad has been effected by the troop “surge.” We all know how those stories usually go, troops move in, the bad guys are there, the towns people leave. What I was particularly impressed with in this story though was an interview that was done with one on the soldier assigned to the post that had been set up in the town. It wasn’t even so much about the fact as to weather or not the soldier believed in what he was there fighter for or not. He knew that the people of the village had given up. In fact, from the sound of it, they didn’t even want the fight in the first place. I have to trust that no one in the village has shed a single tear over the fact that Saddam Hussein was forced from power in their country, but did they really want the United States to be the ones to fight for it? We’ve given the Iraqis no other option but now they either have to fight against the outside wall of insurgents or they have to just give up.

Why do people fight for freedom? It’s not because someone comes into your country and says that it’s time for change, people will only fight for something when their backs are against the wall. When someone else has put your back up against the wall, who are you going to fight against, the wall or the person who put you against it in the first place?

To listen to the story, use the following link and the part I reference above is about 5 minutes into the report, but it’s worth the wait:
http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/popup.php?id=14761413&type=1&date=27-Sep-2007&au=1&pid=24325522&random=4625112025&guid=0000F158C86805561B7B507261626364&uaType=WM,RM&aaType=RM,WM&upf=Win32&topicName=News&subtopicName=Iraq&prgCode=ME&hubId=-1&thingId=14761434&ssid=&tableModifier=&mtype=WM

Good Reads Updates

2007-10-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

So I've added a new feature...I've added a link to my currently reading list over at http://www.goodreads.com/ so that I can keep track of what I'm reading and so can you!

New website...

2007-09-27T00:41:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me to my new favorite website www.goodreads.com that lets you network with people what books you've read, what books you're reading, and what books you plan on reading next...or soon...or eventually if you're me. I'm one of those people that is always asked, "So what should I read now?" And usually people expect me to come up with a suggestion right on the spot for them. Unfortunately I’m not always that good and sometimes I have like seven suggestions so it’s really hard to give them one, especially if I really don’t know what they’re looking for in a book. So this website is a listing of pretty much all of the books that I care to let people know that I’ve read (yes, I do read some books that I’m too embarrassed to tell others about) so it should help to lower the whole, “Hey, what should I read?”

Tonight was the premier of The Office, which along with 30 Rock and Scrubs makes for the funniest time on television. It only becomes less funny when I realize that I actually know people at work who were like the people on the show. Although I can’t say that I know anyone at work who would actually try to euthanize a cat by putting it in the freezer, running it over with a car, but not in the freezer.

Question of the day…What television character do you most identify with?

My First Offering...

2007-09-27T00:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass in the His Dark Materials trilogy. When I bought the book I wasn’t expecting very much to be honest, but as the movie is coming out later this year and as a general rule I like to read the book before I watch the movie, I picked up The Golden Compass a couple of months ago. Back to the book…I had a business trip the last two days (more about that in a bit) and I took it to read. It was far more than I expected to find.

Brief plot synopsis is that a young girl Lyra Belaqua lives in an alternate version of late Victorian Earth where the Church rules all and where the United States doesn’t exist, but many technologies of that era are coming in to common use. She’s been raised by the scholars at Jordan Collage at Oxford University where her uncle Lord Asriel has left her while he does his exploring in the Artic. He returns with fantastic proof of Dust and convinces Oxford to sponsor another expedition just as roomers of a dark threat begins to threaten Lyra.

I found the story engrossing and the narrative really kept a really good pace the entire time and I genuinely found the characters engaging and sympathetic. But what is the real driving force behind at least this first book (haven’t even looked that the other two yet) is the concepts that form the frame-work in which the story is set. Pullman set up Lyra’s world as an alternate Earth to our own that we live in and by the end, I was expecting to hear of strange invaders from the Arctic. I loved the subtlety that the book uses. I know it was written for a young adult audience, but it really is about consequences for everyone and choices that we all make in our lives. Unfortunately we don’t have alternate worlds to relive our lives, but we just have to make the most out of the ones we currently do have and try to live the live we’ve got the best we can.

So I promised to say something about my business trip. It’s not so much about my trip as it is about where I stayed. I was at a large chain business class hotel where they put me on a “Quiet Floor.” When I got off the elevator they even had a sign that told me so. It even had the following words:
The hotel promises that the following will not be staying on your floor
· Tour groups
· Bands
· Circus animals
Now as far as needing my sleep, I really appreciated the first two. But when I got to the third line, my thought was, “I’ve stayed at this hotel before and not been on a quiet floor. Was there a chance I was sleeping next to a tiger?” Seriously! I had no idea that circus animals actually stay IN the hotel. Don’t they have like—trailers or something. I mean even the “celebrities” on Dancing with the Stars get one and they’re almost the same, right? So next time I stay at a hotel, I’m for sure going to ask about their circus animal policy when I check in. Cause I sure as heck don’t want any camels crashing through the walls in the middle of the night.

That makes me wonder about what sort of things people really bring into hotels that they would never bring into their own homes. I did watch Welcome to the Parker on Brovo and I know people will do things like have really drunk ping-pong tournaments and ruin Gene Autry's house, but I’m not really the adventurous type in that way at all because I’m usually way too tired by the time I get back to my room because all my adventures usually happen outside of the hotel room.

Why would someone really need to bring their 500 pound gorilla with them on a business trip? Would the baby elephant really need to stay on the pull-out couch and watch the television all night? Do the dancing poodles really need to have access to the mini-bar? Okay, for the last one, I’d had to give it a definite yes because even this bitch needs a kings size Snicker's bar at 2 am sometimes.