Here's a new one for me... I've been officially dubbed "The Prize Nazi" by Katie. A little background... as designer for the Aurora Borealis student newspaper, I've started a contest to find Puddles the Borealis Goat. Hidden somewhere within the last three issues is the image of a goat's head. Cute little bugger, too. I never made a big announcement about the contest. It's only mentioned in the bottom of the staff list on page 2 of each issue. I'm guessing no one has ever actually read our staff list as no one has called about the contest to claim any sort of prize. Obviously Katie knows about the contest, but I've never told her where the goat is hidden. But she still manages to find it each time. So she called me this morning saying, in her best little kid voice, "what's my prize? what's my prize?" Well, I can't give her the normal prize because I've already given her a few jars of Schingoethe Farms popcorn (too long a story to explain here). So I've come up with a new prize which I'm not gonna tell her because she'll have to wait till the weekend to get it (no, it's not me in a big gift bow). Since I won't give her the prize right now or tell her what it is, I've been dubbed the "Prize Nazi." Very much in line with Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" in case you didn't make the connection. What's next?

For the first time since we started dating, Katie and I were not able to watch the Super Bowl together. Yes, she was here this weekend. However, it started to snow after we went to see Save the Last Dance, so we felt it was better for her to go home before 1) the snow got too bad, or 2) the drunken, post-Super Bowl drivers started to hit the streets. She made it home okay. She missed the first quarter and a half, but, she didn't really miss that much... commercial-wise, that is. Much like last year, the commercials during the Super Bowl sucked donkeys. What's up with this? The commercials during the Super Bowl used to be such a highlight; the only reason I actually watch the stupid game. I've actually been looking forward to the game a lot more than the commercials lately. I even watched the halftime show this year for the first time ever. It was pretty good, surprisingly. For those who didn't see it, Aerosmith, N*SYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige performed Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" together on stage. Very impressive actually. Britney wasn't too bad either. First time I've ever seen anyone wear a tube sock on her arm and make it look sexy. Amazing what she can get away with.

Well, it snowed for the first time in nearly a month today. Very brief, yet my unobservant, clod-like self didn't bother to even notice that the white crap was falling all around me until I had been driving in it for nearly 20 minutes. Can you believe that? I drive in the snow for 20 minutes and I don't even notice it. All of a sudden, I look up and "Hey! It's snowing." You could probably even see the lightbulb of realization spark on above my head from the cars around me. Where was I this morning?

Here's some funny stuff for you Kevin Smith fans out there. As you probably know, he's filming his fifth movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back right now. Well, he filmed a scene at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles today that featured many of the original View Askew characters as themselves attending a screening of the movie-within-a-movie Bluntman and Chronic. For those not in the know, B & C are the comic book characters created by Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) in the movie Chasing Amy. Apparently, the movie version of B & C stars James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek") as Chronic/Jay and Jason Biggs (American Pie) as Bluntman/Silent Bob. They even have a movie poster of the two of them dressed up as Jay and Silent Bob. It's the funniest damn poster in the world. You can check out the images yourself at NewsAskew. Good stuff here.

Kung ayee fah chah to everyone out there! Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year -- the year of the snake. The garbled stuff at the beginning is the best way I could find to spell out how you say "Happy Chinese New Year" using the English alphabet. I wish I could type it using Chinese characters, but those don't always look good on English computers. Oh, well, I'm sure you all will find a way to deal with it and move on with your lives. But remember to show your love by ordering some Chinese food tonight or going into Chinatown (if you have one nearby) and checking out the celebrations. Should be pretty cool.

Would anybody like to talk about the joke that was the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award given during tonight's Golden Globe Awards show? Some really great actors were nominated for the award such as John Mahoney and David Hyde-Pierce from "Frasier" as well as my personal favorite Sean Hayes from "Will & Grace." However, despite this greatness, Robert Downey, Jr. won for his several-episode-long stint on "Ally McBeal." What the hell is that?! Can we say "sympathy"? I know he did pretty okay on the show, but I'm of the opinion that he would not have won if his cocaine addiction hadn't been such cover story news in the last few months. Is that how it is in Hollywood? Snort some blow, score a Golden Globe? Damn, if only I had known it was so easy. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a fan of Downey. I always hoped he would recover. Up until his third or fourth arrest, that is. Once you go beyond that point, you should realize that Downey (or whoever else may be the drug-addled subject -- Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry, etc.) is a hopeless addict who no longer deserves our compassion let alone the time-of-frickin'-day! C'mon people, wake up and smell the crack! Oh, wait, Downey's probably already done that for us. Soapbox dismounted.

Update from the insomnia front... I slept much better last night. I went to sleep shortly after reading some Archie cartoons from his most recent Double Digest (at least, I think it's the most recent, I could be wrong). This was about 9:45 p.m. and I woke up a little after 6:30 this morning. So I got nearly nine hours of sleep last night. However, after the lack of sleep I've been getting, this felt like too much so I'm still tired, actually. And to add to the agony, I feel sick as a dog. I've got a wonderfully throaty cough and every single muscle in my body aches beyond belief. Ever have that happen to you? It really sucks, doesn't it? Every move I make, I ache. (I'm a poet)

So, when was the last time you developed an intense enough addiction to something that you actually suffer withdrawal when you go without it? Well, it has happened to me this week. Allow me to elaborate. Every so often, I use NyQuil to help me get to sleep at night. I don't use it all the time, mind you. Just here and there. Okay, so it's more "here" than "there". This week, my allergies have been so bad that I've had to take Sudafed before I go to bed to clear my nose en lieu of taking my NyQuil. Suffice it to say that I ain't been sleepin' worth jack this week. I haven't had any more than four hours of sleep in one night since Saturday. Pretty sad, isn't it? It could be worse, I suppose. Could be an illegal drug or some kind of prescription narcotic that I am suffering withdrawal from, but, it isn't... thank God. I'll get over it eventually. Maybe I'll try Tylenol PM. Hey, hey, a new drug!

Oh, yeah. In postscript, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. was on the Aurora University campus today. He spoke about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. to kick off AU's MLK celebration. He was such a dynamic speaker that I would have voted for him as President. Then again, when a young politician such as him opens his speech by saying that he was born in 1965 and 35 is the minimum age at which a person can run for the presidency... well, you do the math. Just kidding. That implication wasn't created by me but by the interim provost of AU, Michael Sawdey. It's his fault if JJJ runs for President. Blame him.

Have you ever been following a website when they announce that they are undergoing a major design overhaul. Then, when the new design is presented, you feel extremely let down? That kinda happened today when we met with the firm that is helping us in the redesign of our website. They gave us a couple of design options that were pretty much just variations on a theme. So, effectively, we only have one option to choose from and it's nothing like what we had been expecting. I think it's time to sit down and refigure things out. Well, keep an eye out on the Aurora University website in the coming months. It will be redesigned and, ideally, it won't be a letdown. Let's hope.

I know it's been a while, but I really haven't had that much to write about nor have I had an Internet connection to post those thoughts with if I did have something to say. However, I will detail the apartment hunt for you. Starting this past Saturday, Katie and I started searching for some apartments. We went all over Aurora, North Aurora, Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles looking for anything worthwhile that wouldn't cost an entire paycheck. Needless to say the ones that cost less looked worse than my DeKalb apartment and the ones we really liked nearly required a loan from the bank. After that day, Katie and I were ready to throw in the towel. We were exhausted and just didn't want to bother anymore. But, we went out the next day and focused on the Fox Valley Mall area just to see. The first complex sucked. Not horrible, but it wasn't one of those places we would necessarily feel safe in. The second place wasn't bad despite being owned by the same company that owned one of the most overpriced complexes from the day before (not to mention being the one with the smallest available apartments). Our spirits started to lift a bit. Then we found the creme de la creme. I don't mean that it was the most beautiful apartment in the world, but it was very nice with a somewhat reasonable pricetag. Good layout, good location, good price, good amenities. Although I'm sure we'll look at more places just to compare, I'm sure this one will remain in the running for quite a while. Thus, Phase I of The Great Apartment Hunt.

If there is any one thing in the world that ticks me off more than most, it's when a computer craps out. I've got an old Mac desktop at work. Supposedly, it's an old PowerPC (86 series) that's been upgraded to a G3. However, it does not act like any G3 I've ever worked on before. This thing is only a 166 MHz processor and it doesn't take too well to many of the programs that we need here at work. Well, lately, its capability to operate properly has been going downhill... fast. Today, it got so bad that it wouldn't even load a ZIP disk when I put one in the drive. This is not a good thing. I've run all kinds of disk scans, rebuilt the desktop repeatedly, and even tried to run speed disk on it to optimize the hard drive. No go. I think the only option left is ritualistic, computer sacrifice. But, instead, we're gonna call in an outside "expert". We'll see how that goes. If not, I can get a gun.

Here's an interesting one for you. Apparently, Courtney Love -- actress, singer with the band Hole, and wife of the late Kurt Cobain -- has sent a request to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame requesting that all memorabilia of Kurt's be sent back to her. She is upset with the Hall for overlooking AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Patti Smyth for induction this year. Must be pretty damned upset. But, hey, to each their own.

So, do any of the two of you who read this page o' rants have an opinion about the upcoming FOX reality show "Temptation Island"? For those of you not in the know, the show takes four couples who are very serious but not yet engaged and sends them to an island with 26 "beautiful" single people. These singles exist solely to lure apart the couples and make them commit adultery, etc.The Kiss Morning Show on 92.5 FM (Chicago) had a whole debate about the morality of the show this morning. I'd have to agree with Jim the producer and Joni the traffic girl. I will not be watching the show because I think it's a really stupid, amoral idea and not worth me wasting my time. Much like I didn't feel "Survivor" was worth my time and, therefore, I, unlike the rest of America, did not watch it. My suggestion... stay the hell away.

I just want to say for the record (and I know that I've said this before)... damn, I'm good. Today, the Tennessee Titans played the Baltimore Ravens in one of several NFL Playoff Games. Everyone in the world picked the Titans to triumph despite the fact that the Titans and the Ravens are ranked first and second in many categories in the NFL right now. Each of the broadcasters in the pregame show predicted the Titans would win. Katie's two brothers picked the Titans as well. Now, call me a sucker for the underdog (and by many accounts, the Raven's weren't much of an underdog - unlike the Chicago Bears in just about every game this season) but I picked the Ravens to win. I just really dig on their defense this year. Funny thing was that Katie's brothers were teasing me after the Titans scored on their first possession in the first quarter of the game. I just looked at them and said "it's one touchdown in the first quarter." Obviously, that was all it turned out to be. The Ravens went on to crush the Titans 24-10. Katie and I both celebrated this little moral victory over her brothers. Hah! I'm good. That or maybe I'm just a sucker for all things Edgar Allan Poe. Either way, who cares? I picked the winner! But, unfortunately, I didn't put any money on it. Of all the times.

Here's a good one for you... apparently, a convicted rapist in a Brazilian prison decided to take the Bible to heart. He cut off his own penis and flushed it down a prison toilet. This guy's exact quote is "It is written in Bible that if a part of your body distances you from God, and makes you commit a sin, you should cut it off." Now that's penance.

Pretty soon, Katie and I are gonna start shopping around for an apartment for me to move into in May/June (Katie will move in after we're married). One of the places that we always wanted to live in was back in our old college town of DeKalb. We always loved being out there because it's relatively quiet and a pretty nice place overall. However, now it would seem that those feelings arose out of our desire to not graduate and move on into the real world. I say this because after being out of school for over a semester, neither of us has a desire to return to DeKalb for anything more than a casual visit. It's amazing how things can change, isn't it? Anybody else ever experience these sorts of feelings for their old college haunts?

I would like to give a shout out to another fallen actor, and a damn fine one at that. Ray Walston died today at the age of 86. You may know him better as Judge Henry Bone from TV's "Picket Fences" or as Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I, personally, prefer to think of him as the newspaper vendor from Johnny Dangerously who would either lose his sight, hearing, or memory depending on how a bundle of papers would hit him in the head. He was a great actor and will be missed. Is it just me, or does it seem like there have been an inordinate number of actors dying in recent weeks?

Howdy all and a Happy New Year/New Millennium/New Century to you all! Some may wonder why I am wishing a Happy New Millennium/Century because, supposedly, this already happened. Well, it didn't. Why, you may ask? Because 2001 is the official start of the new millennium and century. Yes, it may be hard to believe. But, just think about it and it will all make sense. When history started, was there a year "0"? No. History started on year "1". Believe it. That means that the first millennium was dated 1-1000 and the first century was 1-100. Each decade is actually 1-10. In other words, the 90s were actually 1991-2000. It sounds weird, but it's the truth. Deal with it. Accept it and join the ranks of educated people the world over. Soapbox dismounted.