kapgar

Wildcats, football... Wildcats, football...

There are pros and cons to having been subjected to the flu this past weekend.

• Pro #1: Without going into any details, I feel the thinnest I've felt in a couple years.

And, actually, that might be the only pro.

• Con #1: I was sick during Katie's first weekend after her classes ended. The weekend we should've been celebrating not only that she was done for the semester, but that she pulled in another 4.0 GPA. I'm ridiculously proud, but couldn't do much to celebrate.
• Con #2: My diet becomes Katie's diet. She's not a big fan of cooking for one. So she was eating the same bland crap I was. Chicken noodle soup, noodles, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with those foods, but, after a while, you kinda want a little more.
• Con #3: Missing one of her family Christmas parties. I guess we only have three this year instead of the normal four. But it still kinda sucks.

I'm not completely over it just yet. But hopefully soon.

Moving on...

I've got a third Five Questions to run through. This set comes from my neighbor to the north, Nat! Here is a link to her 5Q.

1. You recently shared a 10th anniversary with Katie. If you could give her anything in the world what would it be? (She's already had your hunka-hunka burning love.)
You realize Katie laughed her ass off when she read "hunka-hunka burning love," don't you? Thank you for that. I would give her a baby. Simply put. And we will, SJ. Fear not. Mini-Me will happen soon.

2. I have noticed (I could be misunderstanding) that you take it personally when specific Chicagoans or Americans do dumb things. I think "ashamed" was the word you use. Why do you think that is? (And weren't the Bush years just a bit brutal on you?)
You're not misunderstanding. Not in the slightest. I realize what a tenuous relationship the USA has with the world as a result of the Bush Administration. Although I'm not placing all the blame on him, his admin certainly does deserve a big chunk of finger pointing. So the reason why I feel so ashamed is because, even though I realize that stupid people are typically the minority of any population, they are the ones that achieve the headlines in the news. And, given the World Wide Web, these news stories circle the globe faster than the fallout from that meteor in the beginning of Armageddon. And, when that person receives such notoriety combined with the low expectations the world already has of us, it tends to reflect on the rest of the population of the USA as though we're all complicit. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but it's truly amazing how often you hear "stupid American" or "ignorant American" while having done nothing personally to deserve it. Know what I mean?

3. Football. I don't get it. I mean you get more people at college and high school games than we get at the Grey Cup. What's up with that?
As sung by Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Goldie Hawn, et al, in the movie Wildcats, "It's the sport of kings, better than diamond rings... football."

It's hard to explain the appeal of American football sometimes. It's even harder to understand why they use the word "football" to describe a sport where feet only touch the ball (or should only touch the ball) a grand total of a few seconds per game. But, in my mind's eye, it's a fantastically fun sport that requires a lot of strategy, balls, and luck. It's organized war. Their playbooks in the NFL are larger than those in a war room, I would imagine. And some people are fanatical about it. No different than football/soccer in the rest of the world. Both sports have equal levels of fanaticism. In fact, considering the movie Green Street Hooligans, I'd almost say that football/soccer has greater levels of fanaticism. I've never seen street gangs fighting and killing to support the Bears over the Packers. Seriously people. It's a freakin' game! Well, except maybe in Texas. But that's a whole other story.

4. I am toying with running the Chicago Marathon in 2009. Care to join me?
If by "join" you mean "stand on the sidelines and cheer like mad," then sure!

5. What one obscure film do you think everyone should see?
Oh, for you documentary buffs, I would highly recommend a little known, barely seen film called Barbed Wire Pioneers: Inventing a Community. Not sure where you'd obtain a copy in all honesty, but I would recommend it if you are creative enough to nab it. And, no, it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that I helped make it in grad school.

Want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): Oh great, I've lost Katie forever. Thanks a pantload, SJ.

Click on the image to be taken to this shirt on SJ's Zazzle storefront.

Bought it at the five and dime...

Considering my motivation to come up with original topics still seems to be using the bitterly cold Illinois weather as a justification for hybernation, I'm going to answer another 5Q challenge.

This one comes from my old bloggy friend, SJ. Since I know she's going to guilt me for my use of that word, I suppose I should qualify and say that I mean "old" only in that she's one of the first people I met in the blogosphere. Literally. She was my first commenter upon moving to Typepad, I believe. Wow, feels so long ago! Heh. Oh yeah, here's her 5Q.

So here you go...

1. When are you and Katie going to start making little Apgars?
Soon. Aligning stars be damned.

2. Who does your mom like better, you or Brian, and why (speculate if you don't know)?
Me. Duh. Everyone knows that. I'm the first born. Brian was the accident. Nobody has told him this yet. But he was. They were done after me. My parents knew they couldn't improve upon the perfection that is me so they weren't even going to bother. But, things happen. That "thing" being my brother. C'est la vie.

3. Why is your beloved grandmother nicknamed after an electronic device?
I think this question is misworded. It should read, why is an electronic device named after my grandmother. And the answer to that is because Apple needed something catchy and cool to market their product. They looked at my blog and saw how wicked cool my grandmother is and how universally loved she is and thought, "what better name to give to what is certain to be one of the wicked coolest and most universally loved electronic devices known to man!" Hence, the iPod Nano!

4. You are named Best Chicago-area Blogger, and offered a choice of prize: a Nikon D700 camera or an Ibanez JSBDG guitar. Which would you choose and why?
Tough question for a couple reasons. One, I did just get my new camera, not a Nikon D700, and I love it with a passion so I really don't need a camera. Two, as much as I love guitars and pine for my old Ibanez EX160, I question how much I would actually play. My attention span is pretty damn short with a lot of things. So I wonder how into playing guitar I would be sometimes. But if I were to just pick right here and now, it would be the JS BDG. That thing is pretty, isn't it?

5. Share with us who the top five people are on your "Bloggers I'd Love To Meet" list, and why.
There are a ton I want to meet, no question. And this is pretty cruel making me pick just five. Can I pick five areas I'd like to travel to, instead, and list the bloggers I want to meet in those areas? No? Fine.

So, in no particular order, and listed because I've been waiting the longest to meet them:

• SJ
• Hilly
  
• Sizzle
• Iron Fist
• Sandra

God this list could go on and on forever. I feel really bad answering this one. Please, forgive me if your name is not on here. These people have been on my must-meet list the longest and so many more have been added more recently. Ah hell, I'm gonna get flamed anyway.

If you’d like to play along, just follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. Be sure you link back to the original post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I think Katie's and my TV viewing is going to get really easy for a little while. Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone will soon be gone. Life on Mars is on hiatus, with a questionable return status, until the end of January. And there will be no new Chuck until February. What the heck?

It's weird. We dropped a lot of shows from last season either because we lost interest or they were canceled. I'd say we lost about 20-25% of our viewership of TV. That's a lot. And we only picked up on two new shows, Gary Unmarried (it's Jay Mohr... you can't say no to Jay Mohr) and Life on Mars, the latter of which is one only I watch.

So not cool. And the only thing coming up that can fill some time is the long-awaited return of 24. Jack had damn well better be good or I don't know what we're gonna do with ourselves. Oh wait, Psych and Burn Notice are back, aren't they?

I just want to fly...

I'm not sure who resurrected the Five Questions meme of yore, but it's been making the rounds in the blogosphere of late and I thought, oh what the hell, I'll play along... again.

Or maybe I was just too damned lazy to come up with an original post this fine, ugh, Monday morning.

Here are my five questions from the lovely DutchBitch. You can read her responses to someone else's five here. And, SJ, fear not. I'm still willing to answer the five from you. Actually, part of me wants to do a 5Q each day this week save for Snippet Wednesday. That's how unoriginal I'm feeling. So maybe I'll seek out a couple more to cover the extra couple of days this week. Hmm...

1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
NOOOOO!!! You can't make me grow up! I refuse to! I'm a Toys'r'us Kid! But if I must choose, I want to be a firefighting space cowboy! Or a crew member on board the Millennium Falcon or Serenity. Too fun! Or maybe a Muppet Wrangler. Is there such a job?

But, if any of my coworkers/boss are reading this... I want to be the best damn Web-dude I can be!

2. What would be your choice for a last meal if you were on death row and why? (Ok, so that is really 2 questions, STFU)
Such foul acronymical language! I don't know if I can continue.

But I shall... it would be Katie's beef stroganoff with a nice bottle of red wine. And if you could time the wine to arrive just before the execution, all the better.

3. If you could travel to Dutchyland today, what would be the first touristic site you would want to visit?
Well, I'd have to find "Dutchyland" on a map first. A search for it in Google Maps only comes up with a suggestion for "Germany." But, when I do find it, I hear one of the most famous tourist sites is DutchBitch Casa. However, the U.S. State Department warns that this could also be a hotbed of questionable shenanigans and a veritable tourist trap... SIGN ME UP!

4. Is that you that just let one rip?
I lit a match. Quit yer whining!

5. Whip or nippleclamps?
Are you talking Indiana Jones or a riding crop? Gator-toothed or straight-edged and rubber-coated? Ya gots to be more specific!

There you have it, my first 5Q. If you want to play along, leave me a comment in which you BEG to be interviewed. I mean it, I want begging.

In your post replying to my questions, link back to the original post of the person asking you the 5Q, which I did above!

You must also put the rules in your post:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me” or email me (addy in sidebar)
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): Katie and I decided on a whim to go see a movie yesterday. I hadn't seen one since Twilight came out and, to be honest, there isn't much showing right now that screams, "SEE ME!" But I had heard pretty decent reviews of Nothing Like the Holidays with Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Peña, and a bevy of other good actors, so we checked it out.

Simply put, a very enjoyable watch. Basically, it's the story of two generations of a Puerto Rican family (and their close friends) in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. Around Christmas, the stars align so that all of them can spend the holidays together at their parents' house (Molina and Peña). The reason why it would be so difficult otherwise is because their eldest son, Mauricio (John Leguizamo), is a lawyer in NYC married to a stock trader (Debra Messing) who doesn't feel she fits in with his family; their daughter, Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito), is a struggling actress in Hollywood; and their other son, Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez), is just arriving home after three years in Iraq. Everyone in the family has their issues both with each other and with their own station in life and all these issues boil to a head, as many things tend to, during what should be a happy holiday celebration.

It was a very well-acted film with great supporting roles played out by Luis Guzman, Jay Hernandez, and Melonie Diaz and one that deserves a bit more notice than it's receiving if the $3.5M it made in its first weekend is any indication.

C'mon people, see good movies. Skip that The Day the Earth Stood Still tripe!

I want money...

I was watching a little bit of the Oklahoma-Missouri football game (that's "American Football" to all you outside our borders, sorry), and I took issue with something that happened during halftime.

Dr. Pepper hosted a football throwing contest (the video is from an old contest for a bit more money). Two guys were pitted against each other in a not-so-to-the-death competition to lob footballs through a hole in the side of a giant Dr. Pepper can. The kid who got the most in the hole (heh heh) won the contest.

Fun? Sure. It would be cool to do this and have it aired on television. Then to have a bunch of college cheerleaders flank you when you won? Why the heck not.

However, Dr. Pepper took it more than just a bit further. The winner was granted a $100,000 college scholarship.

For throwing a football. Well, five of them to be exact in this particular contest, but still and all the same.

Katie and I have been taking out student loans to pay for grad school for her like so many other people in this world. With the ridiculously overinflated cost of college in this day and age, there are few that don't need help. And with the increasing numbers of people needing help to pay for college and the instability of modern U.S. financial institutions, there is less and less money available. 

So it just angers the hell out of me that some kid won a drawing, threw five footballs through a hole, and walks away with $100,000 when so many others are trying through legitimate methods to get much-needed money. Not to say these kids don't necessarily need the assistance as well, but why can't Dr. Pepper create a real scholarship fund with the money and make it available to everyone through proper application processes? Heck, that amount could even be split into two or three or more scholarships to help an even greater number of people. Sure it would fund less of the overall experience, but they'd be helping more people.

Right now, I look at this Dr. Pepper contest the same way I do Oprah giving cars to everyone in her audience or taking dozens of camera crews with her as she opens her school for girls in Africa... charity in exchange for popularity, ratings, exposure, etc. Not charity for the sake of charity. It's disgusting to me in so many ways.

Sorry, I should try to be a bit happier. We are in the holiday season overall. But I do feel good knowing I'm not the only one bothered by it.

So, in trying to keep the holiday spirit going (questionable if it's even truly started yet), I present you with a meme in the extended post.

All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me...

I usually hold memes for the extended post, but this is a long puppy so it's going to be my primary post for the day. If you don't like it, blame Sheila and LeSombre. It came from them. Even if you do like it, give them hell anyway. They probably deserve it for something or other.

Oh and I hate that I not only stole the title of this post from Sheila but that it's an Ashlee Simpson song. But it works too well. So tough noogies.

This meme reminds me of the onion layer vs. parfait layer argument in Shrek. That was a funny scene.

LAYER ONE:

• Name: Kevin
• Birthdate: December 5, 1974
• Birthplace: Upstate New York
• Current location: Geneva, Illinois
• Eye color: Brown
• Hair color: When it existed, brown
• Height: 6'0" or 6'1" depending on how straight my spine is
• Righty or lefty: righty
• Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

LAYER TWO:

• Your heritage: German, British, Irish, and Ukrainian
• The shoes you wore today: I'm barefoot
• Your weakness: Katie
• Your fears: Falling, spiders, and unenclosed heights
• Your perfect pizza: One of ours
• Goal you’d like to achieve: debt free and card shredded

LAYER THREE:

• Your most overused phrase on AIM: people still use AIM?
• Your first waking thoughts: Why God? Why?
• Your best physical feature: I'm not sure I have one
• Your most missed memory: Katie and I in San Francisco

LAYER FOUR:

• Pepsi or Coke: Whatever's on sale
• McDonald’s or Burger King: McD's
• Single or group dates: Single because they seem to happen so rarely, but group can be fun too
• Adidas or Nike: Adidas because Nike are too damn narrow for my feet
• Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Neither
• Chocolate or vanilla: Depends on my mood
• Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

LAYER FIVE:

• Smoke: Nope
• Cuss: Like a trucker
• Sing: Only in the car or when I'm trying to drive Katie crazy
• Take a shower everyday: Yep
• Do you think you’ve been in love: I certainly hope so
• Want to go to college: Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt
• Liked high school: To some degree
• Want to get married: Been there, done that, no T-shirt
• Believe in yourself: I question it
• Get motion sickness: Only twice - once on a plane and once on a boat during a whale watch
• Think you’re attractive: No
• Think you’re a health freak: Should be more of one
• Get along with your parent(s): Yep
• Like thunderstorms: Love 'em!
• Play an instrument: Used to play electric and acoustic guitar and upright bass

LAYER SIX: In the past month…

• Drank alcohol: Yep
• Smoked: A cigar, only the second one I've had in seven years
• Done a drug: Nope, unless you count alcohol or tobacco
• Made out: Yep
• Gone on a date: Yep
• Gone to the mall: Unfortunately, yes
• Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Nope
• Eaten sushi: You betcha and I'd do it more often if it were less expensive
• Been on stage: Nope
• Been dumped: Nope
• Gone skating: Not in the past month
• Made homemade cookies: Yep
• Gone skinny dipping: Yep, only to have a dolphin swim up near me; that was embarrassing; actually this was back in May, but I'll count it anyway
• Dyed your hair: I have none to dye
• Stolen Anything: Nope

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…

• Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yep
• Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yep
• Been caught “doing something”: Nope
• Been called a tease: Yep
• Gotten beaten up: Yep
• Shoplifted: Yep
• Changed who you were to fit in: Yep

LAYER EIGHT:

• Age you hope to be married: Already done that and I was 26
• Numbers and names of children: None
• Describe your dream wedding: Oh it will be on a beach and I'll be barefoot and then the sun will setting and oooohhhhhhhh... JK; I dug on how ours turned out
• How do you want to die: Not alone, preferably
• Where you want to go to college: Or where I went? NIU
• What do you want to be when you grow up: AN ASTRONAUT! or A COWBOY!
• What country would you most like to visit: Ireland and Italy

LAYER NINE:

• Number of drugs taken illegally: None, seriously
• Number of people I could trust with my life: One or two
• Number of CDs that I own: More than I realized, 70
• Number of piercings: By professionals - 0; By accident - A couple, or more
• Number of tattoos: One, and I'd like another, but I have to figure out what first
• Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Several and not in the police blotter either
• Number of scars on my body: More than I can count
• Number of things in my past that I regret: I try to learn from them as opposed to regretting them, so I'd say none

As always, steal at will.

I feel fine and I feel good, I'm feeling like I never should...

Hey all.

Sorry, I really thought I'd have something more meaningful to say than "hey all," but I suddenly realized, late last night, that I messed up the importing of about two dozen CDs into iTunes. I had the import functionality set to MP3 format at 128 Mbps (very low quality for you non-techies) because I was creating ringtones some weeks back. And for a few hours, I've been trying to reimport some CDs I still have at better quality, lossless settings (yes, MP3s can actually lose quality over time if reimported or moved around or otherwise messed with enough times).

Thankfully this doesn't affect what I've purchased off iTunes and Amazon.

I've found about a half dozen of the CDs, but I've had to go on the library Web site and re-request a ton that I have already checked out. That won't raise any eyebrows amongst the librarians, will it?

Anyway.

So I'm leaving you with a video. File this under "How in the name of all that's holy did I miss this one when it came out earlier in the month?" I just cannot forgive myself.

Thank you to Funny Or Die for the embed code that the original Huffington Post did not provide.

Oh, and I have a meme for you in the extended post.

But what it don't get I can't use...

I was having trouble figuring out what to post today. Not so much having trouble writing as I wrote what I feel to be a pretty good post, but I just don't feel quite ready to make it public yet. I'm thinking possibly Friday on that one. You may soon figure out why.

However, then I received a forward from my dad. A man who never sends forwards. Hell, I've questioned whether he knows how to use e-mail... or read books that aren't technical manuals or work-related catalogs... or cook something other than a bologna sandwich...

But, I love him all the same. And this was too good to not post. So here is my Tuesday post as contributed by my father.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have $49 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you would have $33 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you would have $0 today.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you would have received $214.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily and recycle. It is called the 401-Keg.

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon! Makes you proud to be an American!

Are you investing wisely?

While I can say I currently invest conservatively, I think it may be time to be a bit more aggressive with the market. What are shares of Guinness going for these days?

I do have a meme for you in the extended post, though.

Nothing compares...

This bummed us out to no end.

On Friday, Katie and I decided to go out for a very traditional dinner and a movie date. Since the movie started earlier, that was where we started. And Nights in Rodanthe it was (that is how much I love my wife).

Afterwards, we were going downtown to a nice sit-down pizza place called Sanfratello's. We've been there before and enjoyed it, so we thought we'd go again. When we pulled up, we saw it was kinda empty, but there were still some people milling about so clearly it was open.

However, when we got inside, we saw a band setting up. Meh, no big deal. We'd sit in the bar area where the volume would be a bit less (we're soooo old). However, when we got up to the front counter and asked for a table for two, the guy told us that the kitchen was closed.

Closed???? WTF???? The restaurant wasn't closing, according to the sign on the front door, for another hour! This was complete and utter crap. I am fine with having a band play at your place. If customers don't want to hear it and you provided fair warning, then the onus is on them to leave. But don't push everybody out, period, by closing the kitchen! You run a delivery service as well, for chrissake! Did you tell all the phone-in people you were closed, too? How many of them do you think are going to bother coming back after being spurned during normal hours of operation?

Asshats.

We went elsewhere. To a pizza joint that had no problem staying open a bit later than their posted hours to make a couple hungry customers happy. Thank you, Antonio's!

Got a semi-, demi-, quasi-, pseudo-meme in the extended post for ya...

Don't let the sun go down on me...

Well, apparently sunlight doesn't suck enough to not shine down on me right now thanks to Winter over Sunlight Sucks. She hit me up with the "I Love Your Blog" award.

Winter and I are pretty new to each other. We've both heard of each other for some time either from other bloggers in our circle talking about one of us or by reading the comments that each of us has left on some other blog. Why we didn't hook up (in a purely platonic blog reader sense, of course!) sooner is beyond both of us. But, hey, we're reading now and that's what matters. And I've made enough of an impact to merit one of these bad boys! So that's pretty swank.

However, like any blog award, there are rules. The blogosphere is, of course, a pay it forward kinda community. So here are the rules:

• The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
• Link the person you received your award from.
• Nominate at least seven other blogs
• Put links of those blogs on yours.
• Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

Just seven?? Okay fine, I'll try. And I'm going to stick to blogs that are all relatively new reads for me. I also hope to be giving this out to people that haven't already received this from someone else. Or at least they haven't posted about it yet. Who knows if they've already received it, right? Can't read every post out there. ;-)

• BlondeBlogger of So a Blonde Walks Into a Blog
• Jeff of View from the Cloud
• Marie of Marie's Blog Cafe
• Memarie of Memarie Lane
• Sue of Beggar's Shot Glass
• Sybil of Sybil Law
• whall of the blog of whall

Of course there are many more of you out there and just because I didn't list you doesn't mean you're not great. Honestly. No B.S. (for once in my life).

Hey, got a meme for you in the extended post.

And you may ask yourself, how did I get here...

To be filed under "How the hell did that get there?" Despite earlier protestations that I couldn't get Breathe Right Strips to stick, I have managed to make them work and they work well.

When they stay in place, anyway.

I woke up yesterday morning and went into the bathroom to get ready for my shower. As I'm wont to do in the morning, I began scratching at my chest at some imaginary itch. Dunno why. That's when I felt it. My Breathe Right Strip was stuck to my chest. I have no freakin' clue how, but it was there. Pretty firmly stuck, too.

I sure hope my pec slept well.

Got a meme for you in the extended post.

Take a walk on the wild side...

In an age where portable devices are becoming more and more prevalent, you knew that legislation would follow. Some states are banning the use of cellphones without headsets while driving. Some are banning text messaging while driving. Some are just passing legislation for younger drivers.

In all, I agree with all of them. Anything to make these hellish roads safer.

But this one is a little odd. Some politicos in Chicago are pushing to make the use of wireless devices while walking illegal.

Upon first read, this sounds ridiculous. Then you hear that it's actually only for those people in crosswalks. That's when it starts to make more sense. People don't pay attention anymore, period. Now we have the attention paid to handheld devices making it even worse.

However, I have to ask, exactly what will be banned? It sounds like it's just texting, but I've seen enough idiots talking on the phone and strolling out into traffic as though all cars should stop for them. Will they ban talking on the phone as well? Must you then use a hands-free headset to talk? Will my fear of a world full of cyborgs with machinery sticking out the sides of the skulls be realized? What about Web browsing or scrolling through a playlist on an iPod? Sure an iPod isn't "wireless" in the same sense that a cell phone is, but it can be just as distracting.

Well, one thing's for sure... the Chicago Police Department will finally have legitimate justification for their fleet of Segways.

Hey, got a meme for you in the extended post. Enjoy.

Runaway train, never comin' back...

This should be fun... tonight marks the first official meeting of what Kim has dubbed the "Chicago Bloggers Social Club" or CBSC for short. A few of us bloggers will be getting together in Chicago to just hang at -- in Dave's honor -- Hard Rock Cafe. It's a small group right now with just Kim, Nilsa and myself along with our first honorary member, Beth.

Other members, who won't be able to make it tonight, include Wafelenbak and Tori. There are several others we might include down the line as well and some I intended to invite this go-round but just slipped up (so don't hate me!), but I'm hoping to keep it relatively small. You'll understand why as you read the TUA on this post.

If you take anything from this post, it's clearly that all single male bloggers need to move to Chicago. I'm the only guy in this bunch.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): A week or so ago, Wafelenbak tagged me with a meme. Oh tagging, how I hate thee. Well, not only will she pay with her life, but now I must respond. It's taken me some time, but here goes.

Basically, I need to detail six quirky things about me. It's hard to say, for sure, what I've talked about before and what I haven't, but I'm going to run with these six anyway as I'm sure it will be new to someone.

1. I'm a Chicago public transit neophyte. As much as I love and support public transit, I know nothing about it's use in Chicago aside from Metra, the commuter train system. I know nothing about taxis, buses, water taxis, or the El and have only used each twice, once, zero, and once, respectively. But I'll take Metra any chance I get to go to Chicago. Once downtown, though, I tend to walk everywhere. And that's a large friggin' city to walk.
2. I hate clowns. Nothing new about this. But a part of me actually was happy when I read yesterday that Larry Harmon, who helped popularize Bozo the Clown, had died. Sick, aren't I? The dude's a friggin' Chicago institution and I hate him for it.
3. I hate crowds. Well, I should be more specific, I hate having to participate in crowded situations. If I have to go shopping in crowded places, I hate it. But if I can just sit back and watch, I'm fine. My cutoff is about a dozen people before I become severely uncomfortable. If there are smaller blister groups within a larger group, not so bad. This is probably why I'm not too keen on attending a TequilaCon... too many people. In these situations, I tend to either clam up or crack inappropriate jokes. And when people at TC would look at these jokes as "inappropriate," you know they must be bad.
4. I'm a writing newbie. It wasn't until grad school that I actually started to enjoy writing. It was always a pain in the ass otherwise. It was one particular project, too, that did it for me. A professor was pre-grading our semester research projects and told me, the day before it was officially due, that mine was very disjointed and read awkwardly. I had to rewrite a 20-page overnight as a result. I stayed up all night and did it and he told me afterwards that the result was one of the best, and most fluid, papers he had ever read in his 30+ years of teaching. I've been hooked ever since. Damn him.
5. I have a deep-rooted love of Grape Crush. I don't know why, but I do. I bought a two liter over the weekend and poured myself a glass of that grapey goodness and Katie thought I was going to die of bliss. I don't drink it too often simply because I don't want to taint my love of it. Maybe once a year or less often.
6. If it's possible to have low-grade OCD, I have it. I do have a pattern for doing many things and don't like to see my methods ruined by somebody stepping in the middle of it. But I'm also not controlled by these methods. I can break them and do things differently, but it has to be on my terms and be my own conscious decision. There are other things that some people swear I'm OCD about, but I think it's mostly just me playing up to their expectations. I'm really not Adrian Monk about where things go on, say, my desktop. Seriously.

Did you learn something about me? Yes? Good. No? Oh well. Sorry. I tried. No, I'm not tagging anyone. You know I never do. Except I may now tag Wafelenbak with every single meme I receive just to screw with her. Heh. I'm evil.

Fly to the angels...

Before I start, I need to send some love to the family of comedian George Carlin who died last night at the age of 71. I'm not going to say too much about this other than I was a fan of his stand-up routines as well as his many movie appearances. In a world rife with stale comedy, he was a God. And now he's up there cracking up his God as well. There is a really cool tribute to the man over at Shiny's Takeout.

[Just as a warning, I have a meme coming up next. If you're not a fan, skip through to the end as I have photos and a contest down there.]

This is a new meme that was started by Avitable (with bait taken by Brandon) based on an article he read in EW listing the top 100 movies of the last 25 years. Apparently it isn't enough that AFI puts out a Top 100 list and revised it just recently, now EW has to get in on the action. C'est la vie, eh?

According to the rules set by Adam, you must bold the titles of the movies you've seen and asterisk the ones you liked. For me, because a movie isn't asterisked doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it. It could just mean that my forgetful ass doesn't even remember what it was all about other than to say I do remember seeing it. Such is life at the advanced age of 33.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994) **
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03) **
3. Titanic (1997) **
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995) **
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998) **
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) **
9. Die Hard (1988) **
10. Moulin Rouge (2001) **
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) **
12. The Matrix (1999) **
13. GoodFellas (1990) **
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990) **
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996) **
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006) **
20. The Lion King (1994) **
21. Schindler's List (1993) **
22. Rushmore (1998) **
23. Memento (2001) **
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001) **
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986) **
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) **
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989) **
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005) **
32. Fight Club (1999) **
33. The Breakfast Club (1985) **
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004) **
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004) **
37. Pretty Woman (1990) **
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) **
39. The Sixth Sense (1999) **
40. Speed (1994) **
41. Dazed and Confused (1993) **
42. Clueless (1995) **
43. Gladiator (2000) **
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988) **
46. Children of Men (2006) **
47. Men in Black (1997) **
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) **
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988) **
53. The Truman Show (1998) **
54. Fatal Attraction (1987) **
55. Risky Business (1983) **
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984) **
59. L.A. Confidential (1997) **
60. Scream (1996) **
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988) **
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994) **
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985) **
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999) **
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006) **
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003) **
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) **
84. Sideways (2004) **
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) **
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996) **
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) **
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) **
91. Back to the Future (1985) **
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994) **
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987) **
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002) **
97. Glory (1989) **
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) **
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

83? Not too shabby. I did think I was going to do better as I had only missed out on four films up through #50. But then I hit that mark and it seemed to all be downhill from there. Oh well.

Oh hey, got some photos that I took from Swedish Days in Geneva this past weekend. You will have to click through to see the presentation applet. Sorry about that. I have no idea why it won't show in most readers (well, maybe it works in some readers, but certainly not in Google Reader).

They had a pretty sweet 20-odd kiosk set up of Wii Fit that we were all able to try out. My mom and I are hooked. Plus they were handing out some nifty Wii Fit ankle socks with the rubber nubbies on them. We managed to snag about nine pairs and are going to give away three pairs of them to the people (one pair to each person) who can come up with what we deem to be the most creative description of why they need them in 25 words or less. Katie and I will both be judging. This contest is open until my post goes live on Monday, June 30 and the winner will be announced during Snippet Wednesday on July 2. All replies should be left in the comments. No e-mails, please.

Have fun. Lie through your teeth if you feel the need. But, make it good, okay?

Picture pages, picture pages...

I'm really too busy dealing with trying to dress nice for work today to be mentally creative. Besides, yesterday's inaugural Wednesday Snippets was pretty damn long... epically long. So I'm going to let Adena, Brandon, and Karl be creative for me. Thanks y'all!

The concept:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

Here we have my results...

1. Classic KG: Kevin Garnett, 2. Creamy Three Cheese Macaroni, 3. Warrior (ironically, it's me!), 4. When I'm sleeping, I slow down my breathing...Living in dreams, dreams that come true...thinking of the color blue... ZZZzzzzzz..., 5. Joss Stone, 6. Anyone for Guinness?, 7. Kisumu - Lake Victoria, 8. 14th August 2007 / Day 226, 9. Retired homeless fisherman, 10. Katie in the sky with diamonds, 11. {wayward}, 12. October anniversary

Remember, tomorrow is my smallish celebratory contest. If you want to be able to play, you need to have left a comment sometime in my three years of blogging. So have at it!

Campaign slogans, election year...

So I was reading some headlines this morning and I found out that Hillary Clinton secured the Puerto Rico primary. This led to a rather shocking revelation on my part...

Puerto Ricans can vote?

I know that Puerto Rico is a protectorate of the U.S. or a territory or whatever the hell is going on down there. I also know that Puerto Ricans have no desire to become a U.S. state whatsoever. Well, I'm sure someone down there might like to see it happen, but I think, for the most part, they want nothing to do with us in an official capacity. And, yet, they get to vote?

This lack of statehood, of course, also means they don't have to pay taxes to the United States. Dang, how'd they get the best of both worlds?

Nice gig, eh?

Does anybody else feel like, during this campaign season, they've learned more about American politics than they ever wanted to know? Yeah, that's my hand flailing wildly back and forth.

Oh, I'm depressing myself again. I need happy thoughts. How about a Wayne's World reunion a la the 2008 MTV Movie Awards? Classic stuff here!

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

For the record, I've never embedded an MTV video before, so if it doesn't work, blame them and click over to their site to view it. Totally worth it.

I think I may just increase the happy factor even more with a meme in the extended post. Sound good by you?

And in a big country...

Quick sidebar: Don't forget to sign up for the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign! We currently have nearly two dozen participants and we've extended the sign-up deadline to April 15. Head on over and blog for a cause!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Why do I sometimes feel like I'm obligated to like some movies that are released? It's almost as though some movies receive so much acclaim, be it from critics or fans, that I almost think I have to like them even when I don't. And then, if I don't like them, I feel bad about it and go back and try to create reasons to like it anyway. How twisted and wrong is that?

Well, I'm done making excuses for movies I don't like. It's my opinion and I'm sticking by it. After all, isn't that what entertainment is all about? Watching or hearing something and letting it "hit you" in that special way so it leaves an indelible mark on your psyche?

So that's what I'm doing from here on out. No more forcing myself to like something. Forget that. It's not worth my time. If I don't like, I don't like it. And there's little to nothing that anybody can do about it.

Here I go... No Country For Old Men... sucked. And, for some reason, I think Katie and I are going to be the only two people in the world who feel this way.

Seriously, though, it was painfully boring and slowwwwww. Dear Christ, each minute was laborious. I think that if I were to time a minute of that movie, it would've equaled 120 seconds of real time, it was that slow.

Sure, Javier Bardem was good in an incredible creepy and menacing way and he had one heckuva cool gun, but that wasn't enough to save it.

The ending was painful and I felt no allegiance to any character in the film. It almost struck me that all of them deserved what they got.

Oh, and what is up with Netflix's timing service? Or maybe it's the movie studio that is to blame, but the envelope from Netflix listed this movie as being two hours and 22 minutes. So when the film cut to black at 1:57, I was left hanging. I thought there was going to be more. Some sort of resolution to the whole thing. But I got nothing. Nothing but credits. And I felt empty as a result.

Blech.

I have a meme for you in the extended post. So keep reading!

Tonight there's gonna be trouble...

This is just such a blah sorta day. I woke up not feeling "it," you know what I mean? That indescribable thing that motivates you to get up and start your day? This, of course, meant I had no idea what to write about today. No clue whatsoever.

So I turned to Metalmom. She used the meme that I tried out yesterday saying that she was thankful to not have to think up a topic of her own. So I challenged her gratitude and asked for an idea for today in return. What she gave me was pretty interesting. It came from Darned to Heck. Basically, you take the phrase "what's more important..." and pit two things against each other.

Oh, now this opens up a ton of possibilities. The odd thing was that most of the pseudo-contestants I came up with referred back to my childhood. Star Wars vs. Star Trek, G.I. Joe vs. Transformers? Lego vs. Erector Sets? Kickball vs. Dodgeball? Halloween vs. Christmas?

That last one got me thinking... what's more important, Santa Claus or his elves?

This almost becomes a bit of a chicken or the egg argument as both are pretty codependent. 

Santa Claus delivers the toys. But the elves have to make them. Without the elves, Santa has nothing.

On the reverse side, though, without Santa, the elvish creations never see the light of day; they'd be unemployed.

Santa is the face of Christmas, but you can almost argue that he's just a figurehead with the real power belonging to the elves. The Parliament to his Queen of England.

Could the elves replace Santa easier than Santa could replace the elves?

Perhaps the elves would hire a consultant to help them develop some sort of delivery center model like an Amazon.com? Should they unionize? Would they find a new figurehead or keep using Santa's portly image? Would they have to pay royalties to the Claus family to keep using his image or has he been around long enough to have outlived trademarking?

Should Santa upgrade his facilities and use a robot-driven assembly line? Maybe he should just subcontract through other toy manufacturers and save himself the development costs inherent in his current business model. Just slap a "Santa Approved!" sticker on their packaging.

You'll notice I still haven't decided which is more important. That's where you come in. Let's argue this one out, all of us. Throw in your two cents.

Okay, this is pretty stupid, admittedly. But I'm feeling really weird right about now.

For those not in the argumentative mood, I've got another meme in the extended post.

I will eat your soul...

Recently, while watching some show on E!, Katie and I saw a newsbit in the crawl that tends to run along the bottom of every E! show about how MTV has opted to not play the new Gnarls Barkley video for the song "Run" because it has strobing lights in it that have been known to induce epileptic seizures.

An interesting decision, to be sure, but it's MTV's right to make it. But then I got to thinking... MTV turned away a music video? That implies they still play music videos.

But I'm not here to lambast MTV again about how they've turned tail and run from the artform that made them who they are.

I am here, however, to ask for your help. I love music videos and am truly desperate to watch some again. I used to have a disc I burned years ago that contained some spectacular videos including Björk, some edgier (I hate that word) Madonna bits, Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin, and a couple others, but I can't find the disc anywhere. I'm going to try to find those online, but I want some other suggestions as well. I really dig on creative stuff and would like to find some good videos or sites dedicated to music videos that have substance beyond what Top 40 radio declares is the hit du jour.

What are some of your favorite music videos? Can they be found on the Web in a downloadable format that I can convert so I can watch them on my iPod?

Oh yeah, here's one of my personal faves. Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy," which remains one of the most terrifying videos I've ever seen. I can't explain why other than the faces. Oh God, the faces.

Oh, and I've got the latest viral meme in the extended post for ya.

Do you want to play...

I got this from the faboo Miss Sizzle who got it from multiple other sources and, me being the movie buff, I had to do it myself!

Here’s how it works, should you decide to participate:

• Pick 15 of your favorite movies
• Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie or quote from memory
• Post them on your blog for everyone to guess
• Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed

These are your rules to play:

• No Googling or using IMDB search functions (Don’t cheat!)
• Leave your answer(s) in the comments

Some are tough, some are obvious.

Update: I have placed correctly guessed answers and the names of the first person to correctly guess it in parentheses.

1. "It belongs in a museum!" (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, kilax)
2. "Bend over." "Ben? Nice to meet you! Victor Hugo." (Fletch Lives, Dave2)
3. "When someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" (Ghostbusters, sizzle/Fella)
4. "There aren't enough scoundrels in your life." (The Empire Strikes Back, claire - suze missed it by three years)
5. "I hope the Pacific Ocean is as blue as it has been in my dreams." (The Shawshank Redemption, SJ)
6. "Oh, did I stutter? Everybody gone all quiet and shit? About a minute ago it was like an evening at the Apollo up in this motherfucker, now all of a sudden it's quiet as a church." (Poolhall Junkies, allison)
7. "Then tell it right, COB. Pavarotti is a tenor, Paganini was a composer." (The Hunt for Red October, SJ's Bret)
8. "And I'm from Mattel. Well, actually I'm from a smaller company that was purchased by Mattel in a leveraged buyout." (Toy Story, Hilly)
9. "Although I cried at the end of The Dirty Dozen." "Who didn't?" (Sleepless in Seattle, sizzle/Fella)
10. "But wouldn't it be great if number one this Christmas wasn't some smug teenager but an old ex-heroin addict searching for a comeback at any price?" (Love Actually, suze w/ help from SJ)
11. "All right, what about this guy? Ask yourself, why has he got his hat pulled down like that?" "He's fuck-ugly." "Or, he doesn't want you to see his face." "'Cause he's fuck-ugly." (Hot Fuzz, sizzle/Fella)
    
12. "Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law." (Robocop, sizzle/Fella)
13. "What about that time I found you naked with a bowl of Jello?" (Real Genius, diane)
14. "Out! Back to the sixties! Back! There's no place for you here in the future! Get back while you still can!" (Field of Dreams, Lisa)
15. "They wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and in turn, gave them a shiny bomb-casing full of used pinball machine parts!" (Back to the Future, sizzle/Fella)

Still one left!!

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...

Today should be interesting. We leave Nano's place pretty soon to head back down to Orlando to check in for our stay at the Coronado Springs Resort on the Disney properties. I've been to Disney parks many times, but never stayed at one.

But tonight is when it gets really interesting... Katie and I are getting together for a mini blogger meet up with Karl, Miss Britt, and Avitable. We're going to take the Webby acronym BFF and give it a whole new meaning... Bloggers Fucking up Florida.

As I said, should be interesting.

Got a meme for you in the extended post.

Wish it were a Sunday...

Ajooja did this one, claiming that it "looks harmless enough." Oh yeah? It's 50 friggin' questions long. Harmless my ass (speaking of "harm" and "ass"...). But, seeing as how I've got nothing else and it's getting pretty late in the day, I'm going to tackle it anyway.

(On a side note: I did post the pictures from NIU on Flickr. Check 'em out if you get a chance.)

1. Do you like blue cheese?
Love it with a passion. Katie hates it. She won't come near it or eat anything that's even touched it.

2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
Can you? I thought you injected heroin. But that's how hip to drug culture I am. I did see a full crack vial on the streets of New Orleans once, though. That's about the closest I've come to anything DEA-worthy.

3. Do you own a gun?
Nope. But I am quite adept at firing them as my dad owns several and taught both my brother and me how to properly use guns. Don't own one, though.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Never been to Sonic.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor's appointments?
Yes, especially when I know I'm going to be checked, er, there by a cute nurse. Not good. And you wonder why my heart rate was high.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Yummy.

7. Favorite Christmas song?
God will strike me down for this, but Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas." I'm a sucker for it. Don't like anything else she's done save for that song.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Depends on if I remember to drink anything at all. I do really like orange juice and red grapefruit juice.

9. Can you do push ups?
Yes, but not very well. Not at all.

10. What do you order at Starbucks?
Green tea. Their coffee can be a bit strong.

11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
I have a wedding ring and a Livestrong bracelet. My fave, of course, being the wedding ring.

12. Favorite hobby?
Blogging and photography.

13. How do you eat your eggs?
Any number of ways... scrambled, fried, soft boiled, hard boiled, omelette, etc.

14. Do you have A.D.D.?
Not likely. OCD? To some degree. Anal retentiveness to the nth degree.

15. What’s one trait you hate about yourself?
My weight. I'm trying, though. Really I am.

16. Your eye color?
I defer to ajooja's answer as I get the same damn comment that he does. I feel your pain, brother!

17. Name three thoughts at this exact moment?
NIU, Florida (be there in a couple weeks), and getting the damn walls done (touch up work).

18. Name three things you bought yesterday?
Beef fried rice, egg rolls, and General Tso's chicken, among other Chinese food favorites.

19. Three drinks you regularly drink?
Orange juice, coffee, hot tea (usually green, but I'm digging darjeeling lately)

20. Current worry right now?
Prying myself away from the computer and working on the walls.

21. Current hate right now?
Snow.

22. Favorite place to be?
San Francisco.

23. How did you bring in the New Years?
Half-dressed snow angels!

24. Where would you like to go?
Some place with sun and no snow.

25. Name three people who will complete this?
No clue whatsoever.

26. Do you own slippers?
I usually wear sandals like my Birkenstocks or my Adidas sport sandals. I think I may own slippers, but I don't know where they are.

27. What shirt are you wearing?
My workout shirt. It's an Aurora University Fit-4-U Weeks of Wellness shirt. God this thing is old.

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
I don't think I ever have. We use "sateen" sheets, which are pretty nice.

29. Can you whistle?
Three different ways... the traditional purse-lipped whistle both on exhale and inhale as well as a more loose-lipped, smile whistle so it doesn't look like you are doing it. The last one requires more of the whistle soundmaking be done with your tongue than your lips.

30. Favorite color?
Blue.

31. Would you be a pirate?
I prefer ninja! But a bit of plundering might be fun every once in a while.

32. What songs do you sing in the shower?
What don't I sing in the shower. Just depends on what's in my head.

33. Favorite girl’s name?
Katie. If I divulge any others, we'd be giving away names for our future kiddies.

34. Favorite boy’s name?
Kevin. Duh. Seriously, though, I'm not sure. I've got several and they could wind up as kids' names, too.

35. What’s in your pocket right now?
Nothing. The pockets in my warm-up pants are pretty shallow.

36. Last thing that made you laugh?
An e-mail conversation with a coworker that involved the word "ballin'."

37. Most frequently dialed phone number?
Wife's cell.

38. Worst injury you’ve ever had?
My lower back a few times now. I hate reinjuring that one.

39. Do you love where you live?
Not when it snows like it has been lately.

40. How many TVs do you have?
Two.

41. Who is your loudest friend?
MadIrishMan. Let's see if he reads this.

42. How many dogs do you have?
None. Yet.

43. What are you thrilled about right now?
Similar to ajooja, yet again, our trip to Orlando in two weeks. Got a conference that the job is sending me to and Katie's tagging along. We're staying at Coronado in Disney World. NICE!

44. Do you have a crush on someone?
My wife. Always have and pray I always will.

45. What is your favorite book?
Oh, good choice, ajooja! But mine is still Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I harp on that one a lot, but it's sooo worth it.

46. What is your favorite candy?
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Necco Wafers.

47. Favorite Sports Team?
Chicago Bears.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral?
I'm not sure I want a song played at my funeral. If someone is a fan, the sudden association with my death would ruin the song for them forever.

49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
Sleeping.

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
What the hell am I doing up at this hour?

As always, steal at will!

I feel pretty...

Can pure, unadulterated sexual lust come in an aluminum case?

Before yesterday, I would've thought not.

Now, though, behold! The MacBook Air.

I'm sure many of you have already read yourselves to death about this new laptop from the geniuses at Apple. Sorry, but if you stick around here, you'll have to read some more. But I've got a meme at the end of the post if it will justify your sticking around a bit.

Of course, like any new technology, it's upsides (the sheer lack of bulk, form factor, Mac OS and not Windows, etc.) do require you giving up a bit (Dave and TUAW do a pretty good job of detailing the downsides). But, dayamn! This is one fine looking computer and one that I want desperately. However, with the price tag it currently bears (starting at $1,800), it will be some time before that happens.

I just don't get how designers and developers at Apple can so consistently get it right and so few Windows PC developers and designers cannot.

If this doesn't make Dustin and Hilly convert, nothing will.

Now, as promised for you non-computer lovers, a meme!

Breaking the habit...

Ecopacks... oh how I loathe thee.

In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, I'm referring to how some companies package CDs and DVDs in what they consider to be environmentally friendly packaging made mostly of cardboard and using little to no plastic molding in them whatsoever.

These can take on any number of forms from a simple, pliable paper slipsleeve to very elaborate cardboard configurations that would leave NASA engineers scratching their heads.

The latest villain in the Ecopack struggle is the new two CD/one DVD collection from Led Zeppelin called Mothership. It is a truly fantastic collection of studio audio recordings and live video clips. Even the artwork on the set is pretty sweet.

But you just try to find a way to get those damn discs out of there easily.

In the case of this set, the box opens like a book. Then each half of the opened "book" opens yet again. The result is a four-panel gatefold sort of approach much like vinyl albums of yore (I remember vinyl, do you?).

In instances such as a gatefold presentation, the disc sleeves themselves typically have part of the upper part of the opening cut back in a concave shape so you knew where from where to slide out the disc. Not so with Mothership. I opened the double gate and looked and saw nothing. I started flipping the packaging around in my hands and finally discovered that panels 2, 3, and 4 had slits in the top which were obviously meant to be the openings.

The other problem is that the CDs fit into the sleeves like a hand into a glove... I take that back, more like OJ Simpson's hand into the glove. Just way too tightly and probably shouldn't fit at all. I looked on the packaging to see if there was some other special way of opening the sleeves and nada. I then tried to reach in and my fingers wouldn't fit in the openings without stretching them to the point of tearing. I tried shaking the packaging upside down and there was no give. I finally just bit the bullet and stuck my not-so-stubby and not-so-little fingers in there. They pulled out but it was a struggle and I think I heard the packaging cry out in pain.

Thankfully I never have to use the CDs again since I ripped them to iTunes already, but I'm going to have to find alternate packaging for the DVD so I can watch it without ruining the case.

So, really, is ecopackaging truly that great if it results in such headaches for users?

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I know you're not supposed to drink alcohol before noon on a given day lest you be considered an alcoholic, right? Save for mamosas and Bloody Marys, of course. So, will you forgive me the Jack Daniel's flavored coffee I brewed up this morning? I hope so because I also have a package of Southern Comfort flavored coffee I'm looking forward to and I'd hate to let you all down more than I normally do.

More sweet than bitter...

Some snippets here for ya!

Huckachuck
Did anyone else watch the coverage of the winners' and concession speeches for the Iowa Caucuses on the news last night? Am I the only one who was left completely flabbergasted by seeing Mike Huckabee giving his "I love Iowa" speech with Chuck Norris standing over his right shoulder?

Ummm...

Monster'd
One of my favorite bands when I was going through college was a Colorado band named Big Head Todd and the Monsters. I was a big fan. Just some very smooth and rather melodic indie rock in an era when everything was still very grunge based. I could listen for hours to tracks like "Bittersweet" and "Broken Hearted Savior."

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Ticketmaster that they're coming to town at the end of March. I think I have to go and I want to take Katie with me. Anyone else? Scott? Becca? If you want to hear what they sound like, click through to the songs I linked above and hear the samples. Otherwise, go to their Web site. It turns out their new album, All the Love You Need, is available for download absolutely free. The band believes that their popularity and, thus, their money comes from performing live. The best way to get people to your shows is to familiarize them with your music by getting your studio recordings out to as many people as possible. What better way to do that than to give it away? After all, who doesn't like free music? So, if you haven't heard them before, check out BHTM FOR FREE! (note: the All the Love link is the free one; the individual song links are to iTunes and are not free -- just a head's up).

Legos
A couple nights ago, I saw a commercial on TV for a new Lego theme... INDIANA JONES!!! I was so excited and I was going to blog about it immediately, but it wasn't quite going to fit in with what I blogged yesterday. So I held off a day. And, of course, Dave beats me to it. Not only beats me to it, but writes something much better than I could ever hope to. Sometimes, I hate/envy him. *sniffle*

As cool as they are, I think the only set I really want is the Motorcycle Chase one because then I get figures for Indy and his dad (Sean Connery) as well as a couple of really bitchin' motorcycles (these are certainly not the same ol' Lego two wheelers that we had as kids).

Speaking of cool Legos, check out the custom sets at Gizmodo. I particularly love Iron Man, the iPhone, the iPod dock, the candy catapult, and the medieval pinball machine. Too awesome!

Got a meme for you in the extended post...