Congratulations to our friends Jason Woods and Kara Rothermel... actually, I should say Jason and Kara Woods since they got married today. Really nice ceremony (albeit Catholic, which still weirds me out). We had a lot of fun snapping photos with the Digicam at the reception. So if you are one of the interested parties, contact me and I can send you some of the shots. Unfortunately, I've been getting kinda used to wearing my suit. Don't like to do it, but Katie seems to like me in it. It's slate grey and I wore a black dress shirt with a black, grey, and maroon swirl-sort of tie. Katie was looking really damned nice in a black cocktail dress. Despite what she may say (and I'm used to women being paranoid about how they look -- all women are), she did look great in it. Congratulations again to both Jay-jay and Kay-kay.

Now for your latest scoop of Hollypoop (I think that's what I'll call this from now on - I may even create a special logo - yeah, right). Earlier in the week, I reported on my Prick Picks at the Oscars. The awards went to Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe for seemingly good reason. My choices, at least so far as Aussie-boy go, have been reinforced this week. Crowe is currently at Stanford University in New Jersey filming a new Ron Howard flick called A Beautiful Mind. Well, he's been pretty gracious about posing for photos and signing autographs which is more than I can say about many stars. However, when one girl took a picture of him from a dorm room, he flicked her off. Better yet, it was caught on film. There's grace. Also, if you recall at the Oscars, Steve Martin made a crack about how Ellen Burstyn was aged 10 years and put on 20 pounds for her role in Requiem For A Dream and Russell Crowe still hit on her. Remember that one? Well, Crowe has demanded an official apology from Steve Martin for that joke. Get a life Crowe. It's a joke. You're a star now. Jokes about you are going to be told until the day you die. Especially since you are an alleged homewrecker (I know Crowe and Meg Ryan claim otherwise, but that won't change the public perception). To be honest with you, I didn't quite jump on the bandwagon with Martin's comment. It wasn't one of his best of the night. If he wants to pick on anyone regarding age differences in a relationship, he should be jabbing at Alec Baldwin (age 42) and his possible new "love" interest Jennifer Love Hewitt (age 22) who have been seen out and about together. He has also been seen kissing the back of her neck, or, as the source I read put it, "slobbering on her neck." Funny thing is, I never really saw Alec as much more than a slobberer. Doesn't he strike you as the sort of person that would drool instead of kiss? My God, I've turned into a muckracker. I'm sorry. It's just fun.

I don't know why, but I kinda figured that what I'm about to tell you would be a lot more controversial than it appears to be. Excite.com's online poll today asked if you believe in the hypothesis that Jesus may have been of a darker skinned persuasion. Whether that "darker skinned persuasion" is black or just middle east is not specified. Honestly, I believe it is more likely than not that he is more olive skinned like many other people from around the Israel/Jerusalem/Jordan region. So I clicked "support." Apparently, a lot more people than I would have originally thought, support it as well. At the time that I voted, the tally was 63% in support, 20% oppose, and 16% unsure. I really thought there would be more "purists" out there who go with the traditional image of the white-skinned, brown-haired, long-bearded Christ of lore. Guess not. That or maybe the purists don't want to waste their time with an online poll. Cualquier.

A few months back, I was congratulating an old friend of mine and Katie's named Bob who was getting married to his girlfriend Colleen. Well, it's been a while since we've heard from him and Katie and I have been wanting to get together with the two of them so we could hang out and... well, we still haven't met Colleen. So, Katie gave Bob a call at work today to harass him since he doesn't do so well with replying to e-mails or returning phone messages. Katie got a shock. Colleen is pregnant. For those who know Bob, he has never had much luck with women. So hearing that he was getting married took a little time to get adjusted to. Now, he's wasting no time in making sure that his legacy (for lack of a better word) is ensured. Damn, Bob. I didn't even know you had swimmers. Apparently, you're much more capable that Shania Twain's hubby who took nearly seven years to procreate. I'm impressed to say the very least.

This one is kinda funny. Dr. Ted Aspes, a dentist in Smyrna, Georgia, made a promise 26 years ago that if any of his young patients went on in life to win any big awards, he would give every child in the city a free tube of toothpaste. The list of such awards included Grammys, Heisman Trophies, Rhodes Scholarships, and... Academy Awards. Well, one of his former patients is Julia Roberts. Heh. Well, he saw it coming and pre-ordered 10,000 tubes of mint-flavored Crest. His distributor was kinda confused by the order and asked if he had misplaced a comma in the order. Nope. He got it right. By early afternoon on Monday, he had already handed out a few hundred tubes of the toothpaste. At least he lives up to his word. Thought you might enjoy this one.

You wanna check out the newest addition to this website? Then check out the Wedding Pages (ed. note - the link has been removed since the wedding already occured). Yes, this is a website dedicated to Katie's and my upcoming wedding (did I write that joint possessive correctly - sounds weird, but I think it's right). So, please check it out. If you are one of the subjects on the wedding party page and would like to change some of your information, please let me know. If you see any problems or are having any difficulties viewing the pages, again, let me know. I can't know to make any changes if you don't tell me of problems on the page. Bear in mind that this page is not complete (you'll see what I mean when you check out the Wedding Party page). I will be making minor cosmetic changes as I go along. But, a vast majority of it is done and I figured this is as good a time as any to launch the prelim page for criticism (of the constructive variety, ideally). Hope to hear from you guys soon, one way or another.

A few more apartments today. Not really sure I would consider it The Great Apartment Hunt, Phase IV or not. Katie and I only really went to two places. Then we went home to watch the Oscars. Several non-surprises there. Julia got it, Russell got it, Benicio got it, Gladiator got it. However, I must say that I'm shocked about Marcia Gay Harden beating Kate Hudson for Best Supporting Actress. I also nearly had flipped when Steven Soderbergh beat out Ang Lee for Best Director. I'm not saying that Soderbergh didn't deserve it, but my thought was that the vote for him would be too split since he was nominated for two flicks and that Lee would edge right up in there just like at the Golden Globes. Oh, yeah, the "Prick of the Night" award goes to Ridley Scott who was looking pissed off at the entire world even when he was being thanked by others for being a part of his film. Runner up for "Prick of the Night" would be Scott's star Russell Crowe who wouldn't even crack a smile when Steve Martin poked fun at him. You're in the limelight, dingleberry, deal with it and smile and move on with life.

Today was my friend Jay's bachelor party. Had a bunch of fun considering there were so few of us at the party. We started at Hooters and chowed on a bunch of hot wings ("911", of course). From there we headed to Chord On Blues which is a blues bar in St. Charles. I had never been there before. However, after the fun I had there and the live music that was jamming on stage (big kudos to Carl Weathersby and his band), it will not be the last time I go there. That much is for damn sure. Tons o' fun. You really should check this place out if you like the blues. Even if you don't like the blues, check it out anyway. Tell them I sent you and they'll look at you funny.

What's in the news today? Way too much crap.

Kentucky lost to USC in the NCAA Tournament. Damn. I was pulling for the 'Cats.

Mir crashed down without problem in the south Pacific. Well, no reported problems thus far, that is.

Shania Twain is pregnant. Yeah, kinda makes you wonder what's wrong if her husband of seven years, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, hasn't been able to knock her up before now. Guess his swimmers are wearing floaties, eh?

Joseph Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera fame, died last night at the age of 90. Can't say he didn't live a full life. H-B is responsible for creating Tom & Jerry, Flintstones, Jetsons, among a host of others. I would have to personally thank him, though, for creating Scooby Doo. Greatest damn cartoon ever. Well, so long as the 'toon didn't include Scrappy or Scooby Dum. Rest in Peace, Mr. Hanna.

I don't know what part of this country (or other country) you, my dear reader, may live in. But, we here in northern Illinois, have been hammered by snow and plagued by cold weather since sometime in November. Behold, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. These last two days have been absolutely gorgeous. Bright sun, clear skies, birds chirping, squirrels frolicking (do squirrels frolic?), and snow melting. That is the key... snow melting. That is such a good thing. We actually got a bit of snow over the weekend. You can imagine how depressing that was. I thought we may never escape this reverse hell. Of course, now that I've said this, we're gonna get nailed with all kinds of crap, aren't we? Go fig.

Here's a fright and a half... Britain's Sun tabloid has reported that Whitney Houston is in talks to star as the next Bond girl with Pierce Brosnan. Wanna talk about ruining a franchise? This would do the trick. Well, I guess if the producers are looking for someone who is only going to be there once a week (if that) and is constantly hooked on some kind of drug, then they've got their girl. And what better marriage therapy could there be than to cast Bobby Brown as the lead bad guy? Now we're on some kinda roll, eh?

I don't know what part of this country (or other country) you, my dear reader, may live in. But, we here in northern Illinois, have been hammered by snow and plagued by cold weather since sometime in November. Behold, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. These last two days have been absolutely gorgeous. Bright sun, clear skies, birds chirping, squirrels frolicking (do squirrels frolic?), and snow melting. That is the key... snow melting. That is such a good thing. We actually got a bit of snow over the weekend. You can imagine how depressing that was. I thought we may never escape this reverse hell. Of course, now that I've said this, we're gonna get nailed with all kinds of crap, aren't we? Go fig.

Back in my February 25th edition, I talked about the Oscar nominations and who I felt should win and would win. I also spoke up about how Kate Hudson was likely to win for Almost Famous because "for some God-forsaken reason, [she] is a big Hollywood darling now." Yes, that was my quote. I spoke as though she didn't deserve it and I really believed that because she hasn't really done anything since this flick. Yes, she was in Dr. T and the Women, but that was actually filmed beforeAlmost Famous even though it was released afterwards. Nobody deserves any recognition for that flick (save for Farrah Fawcett) because it sucked big, hairy balls. This weekend, though, I finally did see the movie in question (Famous, not Dr. T). I loved it! The movie was perfect in so many ways I can't even begin to list them all. Yes, even Kate Hudson was very good and deserving of her nomination. I now recant my view on her... she not only will win, but she deserves it. Yes, I can admit when I am wrong. However, now that I've seen the film, I am even more convinced that the Academy is messed in the head. I feel that some major oversights were made in the lack of noms for Almost Famous in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director (Cameron Crowe) and Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman and/or Billy Crudup). Never can get it right, can they?

Drum roll, please... now for the "Great Apartment Hunt, Phase III." Yes, Katie and I had the daunting task of looking at more apartments today. God, I'm getting sick of this. Well, we went to about seven different apartment complexes today. For the most part, they were highly overpriced and underdeserving. We went into one model apartment that reeked of cat piss. How's that for impressing potential residents? Show them an apartment that has cat urine soaked into the carpets while telling them that management makes it a point to replace ruined carpeting. Good show. We did find one place that seemed pretty nice and affordable (2 bedroom cost less than some of the 1 bedroom apartments we've seen so far). We also have another one that we will check out next Sunday when a model is cleaned and ready to be shown. Yay, another day of apartment hunting. I really just want to be finished with it. Please.

As promised, I will now update you on how the whole "Millionaire" thing went today. To review, I was in Chicago tonight with Kate and MaryEllen to tryout for Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Interesting process, I must say. I went in and took a 30-question written exam. They were all formatted like the fastest finger questions on the show ("Put such and such in order..."). Then, after they took an hour grading the exams, they announced who got to move on to the second part of the tryout. Of the 125 people that started, only about 50 or so remained... I was one of them. Then we went up to a mock game show set in groups of four and they gave us a mini-quiz show. The answers to the questions didn't matter; they were testing us on our personality and how we handled the whole under-the-lights setting. Then they asked us personal questions. The contestants who were not taking part in the quiz show at that time were told to interact as it is a whole personality evaluation. So it was a lot of fun. Took three and a half hours overall, but still fun. I think I got a bit of a laugh with a little stunt I pulled. When the groups of four went to the front, we were supposed to hold cardboard pages with our names and contestant numbers up for the video camera to get on tape. Looked a lot like a police lineup... so I treated it as such. I wrote "Joliet State Penitentiary" across the top of my card and held it up. Then when I was done saying my name and my contestant number, I turned to the left for my profile shot. People got a kick out of that one. I think I did pretty good, but I'll have to wait to receive a postcard in the mail to find out if I qualified. Don't worry, I'll let you know as well.

Yet another sign that the apocalypse is nearly upon us... I was picking up some groceries in Dominick's last night when I found something a bit odd. You remember those quarter gumball machines when you were a kid where you could get little tiny toys or the green slime or football and baseball helmets? Well, I saw one of those machines at Dominick's with "Survivor Wear." Yes, "Survivor" as in the TV show. It was full of cheap, plastic-beaded necklaces and these funky little idols on strings. What the hell is that? You know that there's something wrong with the world when you see this sort of thing... in a gumball machine, no less.

For all you artsy fartsy people as well as RPGers (Roll Play Gamers), a new website to check out. This one is a series of what's known as "Isometric Screenshots", or, as it appears on screen, an overhead, angled look down on a scene. Well, the scenes in these screenshots are famous images known either through TV, magazines, movies, etc. They are all rendered to look like scenes from the game "Sims." If you've ever played Sims or SimCity or any of the dozens of others, you'll know what I mean. But all of these images are either fictional (scene from The Sound of Music) or historical (the ATF taking Elian Gonzalez from his relative's house in Miami). Some of these images are just downright disturbing. For example, check out the rendering of the cafeteria in Columbine High School as seen through the surveillance footage complete with both Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in the frame. Another one that's more abstract, but equally disturbing, is a shot of the wooden gate to which Matthew Shepard was tied and left for dead (he was the college student in Wyoming who was killed by two other guys his age just because he was gay). Not all of them are as easily identifiable as others, but see how you do with them.

This won't be news for anyone in the Chicago area as it's happened before, but, there are rumors swirling about in the mills that Michael Jordan may make another comeback. Yep, Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly stated in his most recent column that a "source very close to Jordan" has said that it is 90% likely he will return to play for the Washington Wizards next season. Would it be a good thing if he came back? More than likely. It sure would help sagging interest in the NBA. It would also make the Wizards worth watching. Another big plus is that it would give Chicago a team to root for (well, when the Wizards come to town that is). Will it happen? Not very likely in my mind. 1) Jordan would have to give up his ownership stake in the Wizards. The NBA does not allow owners to double as players. 2) Rick Reilly is a columnist that has dragged Jordan's name through the mud more than just once. If Jordan were actually going to make a comeback, why the hell would a "source very close to Jordan" give this scoop to a reporter that Jordan hates? Why not tell someone that you like? As Lin Brehmer (morning D.J. on WXRT 93.1 FM) stated this morning, it's likely that Jordan is trying to exact a little revenge on Reilly by giving him this "scoop" to make him look like a horse's ass. If this is the case, big snaps to Jordan. It's not often that a celebrity is given the opportunity to make a journalist look like an ass. But the opposite happens quite repeatedly. Go Mikey.

Let's talk Spy Kids. Why? Because I have nothing better to say today. For those who haven't seen the previews on TV, Spy Kids is a flick coming out on March 30th about kids who discover that their parents are spies. When their parents are captured by evil baddies (heh), the kids come to the rescue. Sounds like complete cheese, right? Normally I would have to agree. The typical crap that comes out geared towards kids but with some element that would make parents at least somewhat amenable to going with them. Let's just say that this flick looks like complete cornball fare. But, wait. I'm starting to really wonder about it. It's written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. He's the very same guy that wrote and directed El Mariachi, Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. It also stars, aside from the kids, Antonio Banderas (The 13th Warrior), Carla Gugino (Snake Eyes), Alan Cummings, Cheech Marin (Cheech and Chong), Tony Shalhoub (TV's "Wings") and Robert Patrick ("The X Files"). This sort of cast and crew really makes you wonder just how bad this could possibly be. What do you think about it? Should I stick by my gut reaction which tells me to treat it like the Bubonic plague? Should I give it somewhat of a chance (2nd run theater or video)? Or should I just deny all reasonability and accountability by going to it? I'm thinking the first or second option.

Here's an oddity for ya. A couple of weeks ago in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a 28-year-old woman named Sokhom told her father that she was about to die and would return as a bird. Just to let you know, Cambodians are very devout Buddhists who believe highly in reincarnation. Well, three days after she died on March 3, her father returned home from work to find a peacock sitting on his daughter's grave. He walked up to the peacock and said "Sokhom, if your soul is really in the peacock, please come to the bed where you used to sleep." The peacock got up, strutted in the house, and laid down on the girl's bed. No hesitation on the peacock's (or should I say "on Sokhom's") part... no urging or ushering on the father's part. He invited, Sokhom accepted. How do ya like dem apples? This I would've paid to see. Weird, but absolutely true.

Now for my Weekend in Review... Mike and Casey's wedding rocked. Lots of great music (not your standard wedding fare). Congratulations to them both. And I must compliment Mikey on his taste in wedding bands... it's almost exactly the same as the one that I've chosen for myself. Cool deal, eh? Also, on Friday, I called into Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? and I now have an in-studio audition at WLS-TV (ABC's Chicago affiliate) this coming Saturday. Way sweet. I will definitely let you know how that one goes. I'm supposed to take a 30-question written exam and then interview with several people. My qualification will be based on the exam and then on my on-screen personality. I guess I'd better pull out all the stops and become the ultimate "Cult of Personality," eh? Heh. We shall see.

So I'm writing this a day in advance. You should all know by now that I don't update regularly on weekends. I usually just wait until the next week and then make my changes. But, I would like to congratulate one of Katie's bosses Mikey who is getting married today to Casey (or is it "K.C.?"... dunno). Katie and I will be at the wedding bearing some semblance of a gift. God, this means I actually have to wear my suit again. I haven't worn this thing since I interviewed for my current job. How's that for scary? Yes, it still fits. In fact, I tried it on last night and it actually fits better (good news for me). So, yes Katie, you will get to see me in my suit. It doesn't happen often, so enjoy it. Next time you see me dressed up will probably be when I'm wearing my tux at our wedding. Knowing my love of getting dressed up, I hope that will be the next time. Gives me a chance to recover from the trauma of dressing up today.

Here's a step forward for you... Mayor Richard Daley (of Chicago, in case I actually have readers outside the area) has signed a new law that states that all new and remodeled buildings, from here on in, that can hold more than a hundred people must have twice as many women's restrooms as men's. Interesting, eh? The hope is that this will help alleviate the lines that you always see in women's restrooms in public places. We shall see. I honestly think that we'll just see twice as many lines as we did before. Maybe they won't be as long as they once were, but they'll still be there. Hey, at least, it's a step in the right direction. Good call, Daley.

The Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois voted yesterday to keep their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, who has come under fire in recent years because he is, supposedly, derogatory toward Native Americans. Honestly, I don't see how he could possibly be derogatory. The mascot is dressed in traditional garb and performs traditional dances at sporting events. How is that derogatory? It's not as though he is called a "Redskin" or has a cartoon Indian face or does the Tomahawk Chop when he performs. He has always been a very respectful mascot and, I always felt, very representative of the Illini tribal culture. Big old kudos go out to the U of I Board of Trustees. Way to go. 

Are you the sort of person who, like me, is really great about adhering to deadlines? I've always been good about it. I have all my work done on time and done well. Well, one of the students who writes for the Aurora Borealis student paper is always late with his articles. Constantly. I always know that when I'm close to being done laying out the paper in PageMaker, his articles will be the ones missing. I wish I could just say, "Hey Nick, you're late so piss off." But, I can't do that. He's our only sports writer. If I don't take his articles, then I can't even come close to filling the four whopping pages in our paper. I want to kill him. To top things off, his articles have been getting progressively shorter as the year has gone on. So, this week, I left the same amount of space as he had in the last issue figuring that I would have extra space to fill when all was said and done. What does he do? He writes an article that's double the length of his last one. Then he writes a second article. He also decides to introduce a new segment called "Faces in the Crowd" to the sports page that contains quotes about AU sports from students on campus. All this in addition to his regular sports snippets that line the left column. I couldn't believe it. Who the hell was writing all this? If not for the normal spelling and grammar errors, I'd swear that Kang and Kodos kidnapped Nick and replaced him with some superhuman (If you watch The Simpsons, you'll get this one). I just wish I could guarantee that this fervor will exist next term... but, I can't. Rrrrrr. Soapbox dismounted.

I can just hear Gomer Pyle saying "Sur-prize, sur-prize, sur-prize." VP Dick Cheney was readmitted to the hospital with chest pains. Standard fare problem with him. The man has had four heart attacks in as many years. His problems today stemmed from a heart attack he had four months ago during the presidential campaign. As much as I hate to say it, I really wonder how much longer he's gonna be around. So, if he dies, does the Bushmeister get to nominate another Veep or does the Speaker of the House automatically move on in? That would be kinda cool considering the Speaker is J. Dennis Hastert from here in Kendall County, Illinois. Pretty good guy from what I've been told. He used to be the baseball coach for the kids of one of my co-workers. Supposed to be an all-around family guy which would be a nice change in the White House considering the "Family Man" we had occupying it for the last eight years. Slurp. Oh, sorry... Monica didn't mean to let that one out.

Here's your warning. Vulgar soapbox about to be boarded. Dandy. I just read online that a lone student in Santee, California -- just northeast of San Diego -- opened fire in a hallway in Santana High School during passing period. So far, there have been no reported deaths. Only about 10 injuries. Thank God, only injuries. Why do people feel this sort of action will help them solve all the problems that have been occuring throughout their lives. Why are there those complete and utter dipshits in this world who, for some God-forsaken reason, idolize the likes of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris? Clue to the world... Klebold and Harris were two complete fucksticks who didn't have the patience nor the willpower to try to figure out their problems and, instead, decided to take out their frustration on innocent people around them. Hey, throughout grade school and junior high, I was teased, tormented, and picked on repeatedly. I got in fights nearly every other day when I lived in that shithole known as Bristol, Connecticut. Did I shoot anybody? NO. Did I ever think about shooting anybody? NO. I dealt with it. I moved on with my life realizing that these imbeciles would amount to not much more that a pile of cowshit. Guess what? I survived my adolescence and I'm not in jail... or dead. You know what? I'm getting really tired of having to talk about this sort of shit, but so long as this world has dumbasses... Soapbox dismounted. I apologize if anybody was offended by my use of language.

Update (as much as I hate to do it): One person was found dead inside the school and another person died at the hospital. Wounded tally is currently 13.

Today was a little different. Katie and I actually went out and officially registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The guy that helped us out was really cool and more than willing to do whatever he could to make the process easier. Snaps to Tom $ (that's what his nametag said... yes, that is a dollar sign). Got a bunch of stuff on our list there... hint, hint, clue, clue. Yes, the registry is also available online at their website. You should just be able to enter one of our names and find what we registered for. I can't wait to check this out. Pretty soon, we will also be registered at Target and Crate and Barrel. Stay tuned.

Sorry, the Great Apartment Hunt Phase II is not going to be as big a deal as I may have made it sound. Today, Katie and I went out with my mom and dad to check out some apartments. The real reason we wanted them along was because we wanted to show them the one apartment that we had found before that we really liked, but then we invited them along so we could get a free lunch. Hells yeah. We checked out two other places that weren't so bad except their location puts them about another twenty minutes further away from where I work and the water prices suck (as does the quality of it, from what I've heard). We still really like the other place we saw a little over a month ago because it didn't use gas at all. It may be a bit smaller than some of these other ones, but gas is expensive. Any little bit helps, right?

Hey Rodney Dangerfield. You wanna talk about gettin' no respect? Try talkin' to the now ex-Baltimore Ravens' quarterback Trent Dilfer. Despite the fact that Dilfer came in midseason last year to replace their injured starting QB, and the fact that he won 10 straight games, and the fact that he took them to the Super Bowl and won it with a pretty good offensive show (not to mention the defensive effort... but, hey, this rant is about the QB). Despite all this, the Ravens have cut him due to salary cap restrictions. C'mon, guys. You had other guys you could've gotten rid of instead. Dilfer was your offensive glue. That's pretty damned low if you ask me. Apparently, according to the article I read this morning in the Chicago Tribune, the Ravens feel they can "do better." Oh, I can't wait to see this. And... Katie will be here soon!! Woo hoo!! Sorry, just wanted to throw that in.

Wow. Seattle had a pretty bad earthquake yesterday. Dunno if you actually read anything about it or not, but they got nailed late yesterday morning by an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude. The actual epicenter of the quake was closer to Olympia where the Capitol building developed a very noticeable crack in the dome. And they thought the Puget Sound quake in 1995 was bad. It was a mere 6.5. Whadda bunch of whiners. Just kidding. This is some pretty serious stuff and they'll have a bit of a cleanup job ahead of them. If you wanna read some more about this quake or others, check out the U.S. Geological Service or the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC).