Katie's family took us all ("all" being Katie, Scott, Steve and I) to a Milwaukee Brewers game today in their new stadium. I've seen my fair share of sports arenas, and, let me tell you, this was one of the most impressive I have ever seen. It's enormous. It seems like it should be able to fit the population of the entire state of Wisconsin within it's walls. Plus it has a retractable dome which I have not seen since I was in Toronto's Skydome about eight years ago. If you ever get the chance... I do recommend going. It's worth it. And while you're there, check out Geoff Jenkins. The Brewers' leftfielder has nailed a total of five homeruns over the last two days. We all had a blast. I think Katie and I will have to check out some more Brewers games this summer.

I dunno how many of you are diehard Napster users like myself. Well, if you are, I'm sure you've noticed that the usability of our beloved program has been rapidly going to hell in a handbasket. I guess this filtering software is finally being implemented. Damn. For example, Eric, the graphic designer in this office, was trying to find a song by U2. He typed in their name both with and without the song title. He even tried variant spellings of the name (Utwo, You2, Utoo, etc., ad infinitum). He couldn't find jack. So we've been finding alternate ways of obtaining our music fixes. I found a nice little program known as LimeWire which is a variation of Gnutella that works wonderfully. What makes it even better is that it searches not only for music but video and still images as well. Cool toy. If my connection hadn't been broken, I would've kept my computer running all weekend while it downloaded Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... in it's entirety. Cool shit there. My kind o' fun.

Everybody out there reading this who has spent time recently on a college campus should be accustomed to the concept of sidewalk advertising, right? Well, it's usually done by fraternities, sororities, various student organizations, and the like to promote upcoming events. It's very cheap (since it usually only requires chalk and manhours) and definitely noticeable. Have you ever heard of a major corporation using sidewalk advertising? Well, IBM decided to. In fact, they took their advertising one step further by spraypainting hearts, peace signs and penguins on sidewalks throughout Chicago. The efforts were meant to raise awareness of their "Peace, Love, and Linux" campaign. Chicago ain't none too happy about this one. They arrested the mad sprayer on the northside in mid-spurt. And cops in San Francisco have stopped IBM from advertising in the same method before they even started. What kind of bonehead goes out and spraypaints in public knowing there are fines and potential jailtime for defacement of public property regardless whether or not the paint is biodegradable? Duh.

How often do you walk into a theatre and see people in there who just don't belong in there? Happens to me all the time. I see kids who have snuck into an R-rated film when they purchased tickets to some other movie... and they get away with it. But, one thing that pisses me off even more than that is when I see parents bring their way underaged kids into a movie that they shouldn't be in. I realize that an R-rating means that children under 17 cannot be admitted without a parent. However, in some cases, kids shouldn't be allowed in the theatre even with their parents. A couple of weeks ago, Katie and I saw a mom with her two kids (roughly five and six-years-old each) inBridget Jones's Diary. I know it's not that bad a film, but it does get pretty raunchy sometimes and it's filled with sexual innuendo and swearing that's just not right for kids that age regardless of if they are with a parent or not. What in the hell was she thinking? What in the hell is any parent thinking when they do that? Hell, my parents screened Star Wars before they agreed to take me to it as a kid just to make sure it was something that I could handle at my tender age (I think I was three, so I don't even remember seeing it). I'm sure that's the sort of thing Katie and I will be doing when we're parents, as well. Oh, well... Soapbox dismounted.

We've got a ca-a-a-ke... We've got a ca-a-a-ke! And you don't got one... And you don't got one! You wanna know why? You on da wel-fare... you on da wel-fare. Sorry, got on a bit of an Eddie Murphy kick there. Well, if you haven't guessed, Katie and I and her mom have now picked out a cake for our wedding. We went to a place called Divine Desserts in Geneva yesterday and found a great cake and signed on the dotted line right there on the spot. First place we've been to. It was also the best wedding cake we've ever tasted (so long as her full-sized cake lives up to her samples). Yeah, we good. You on da wel-fare.

Okay, so we didn't get quite as trashed as I had originally let on. When MaryEllen came down to visit on Saturday, we did drink... just not a whole helluva lot. I was prodding both Mary and Katie to have some more and to remember the spirit in which we had decided to celebrate that evening. But, neither of them really wanted to drink more. I, myself, had a beer, a couple of wine coolers, a shot of AfterShock and nine melonball shots. Could've easily done more seeing as how I wasn't even buzzing, but nobody would drink them with me. Don't worry, next time it's beer pong. Scott, wanna help out with this one?

Straight from the "Darwinism Missed Me" file comes this little doozy... last night at my alma, Northern Illinois University, there was a stabbing in the lobby of Grant Towers South which is one of the dorms. Although nobody was quite sure exactly what caused the stabbing, some students near the dorm said they believed a spilled FruitWorks near an ATM may have started the altercation. In case you're not sure what it is, a FruitWorks is a PepsiCola fruit drink. I would seriously like to know how a spilled fruit drink caused a stabbing. That is disturbing. I told Katie about this story since we both graduated from NIU. Her response? "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You spilled my FruitWorks. Prepare to die." We couldn't stop laughing for five minutes. Sad when you think that a stabbing is what made my morning. 

What are your plans for the weekend? I dunno about you but Katie and I are getting together with our friend MaryEllen and getting blitzed. Yep, completely shitfaced. We are going to order some hotwings from Hooters, rent some movies, play some card games (or beer pong, whatever), and load up on all the essentials -- AfterShock, Jagrmeister, Corona, Dos Equis (XX), Melonball, all the vital shit. You know something... I hope there are no kids reading this column with their parents looming over their shoulders. Oh, well. If there are, they should know better by now. This column is rated PG-13. Guess I should advertise that more prominently. Heh.

I don't know how many of you recall my rant from last month about a guy named Nick who is the only sports writer for the school newspaper here. Well, I told you all how he shocked me nearly into an early grave by going above and beyond and writing a helluva lot more content for the final issue last semester. I also questioned whether or not he'd be able to keep it up. Well, my worries were very well-founded. He hasn't written dick this term. Maybe he forgot that he is a staff writer for the Aurora Borealis. Whatever. We've just finished our second issue and he hasn't given me a single article. This is the second time I've actually gone in and written sports scoops for the paper. To be honest, it's fun. I like writing about Chicago sports with a somewhat sarcastic tone in my writing. You should give it a shot if you have a school paper that is looking for writers. Try it... you may like it.

One of the pioneers of the modern punk music scene died yesterday. Joey Ramone of The Ramones was hospitalized last month with lymphoma and died at the age of 49. Granted The Ramones never really wrote any technically or audiologically superior music, they were the most well-known of all punk bands stemming from the 1970s. Hell, who hasn't heard "Psychotherapy" or "I Wanna Be Sedated." Classics. Keep on rockin', Joey.

Katie and I saw Bridget Jones' Diary this weekend. Pretty good flick. Renee Zellweger does pretty well and has a Brit accent down pretty cold which is a helluva lot more than I can say for Kevin Costner. However, while watching the flick, I saw a scene in which they incorporate the song "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison. Then they use the song again at the end of the movie. I swear I'm having flashbacks because it was the exact same song used in an almost-mirror-image scene at the end of the movie Someone Like You. If I ever have to hear that song in another movie... With my luck, it will be used in every movie I see until the end of the year just out of spite. Arrrr...

Yeah, one of my favorite days of the year... Friday the 13th! Woo hoo! Not only is it one of my fave days, but it also starts the official six-month countdown until Katie and I get married. I only wish it was sooner. This is killing me. Well, not literally. I'm actually in pretty good health. Just a figurative killing. That's all. We cool? Good. Talk about your "stream of consciousness" typing here.

Today's Excite poll is one that I feel very strongly about. It dealt with whether assisted suicide and mercy killings should be legalized. Apparently, the Dutch government just approved a euthanasia bill despite extreme controversy (as would be expected). I am very much in favor of legal euthanasia. Why should someone have to suffer? The sad thing is that the people who are feeling the pain are not the ones given the right to declare if they should live or die. The people that are given the decision-making authority are the relatives of the dying who, while they may feel extreme emotional pain, know nothing about how the dying patient is suffering. I've always been a staunch supporter of Dr. Kevorkian and will remain as such. The man has the right idea. As it stands on the poll, 54% agree it should be legalized, 37% are against it and 8% don't know.

Somebody finally won the damn jackpot on Millionaire. It had been 118 tapings since the last winner, so the jackpot had been bumped up to $2.18 million dollars. The sad thing is that I knew pretty much all the answers. I wasn't positive on three of them, but that's the perfect amount for the lifelines. I knew the $125K, $250K, and the grand prize question without even flinching. Almost seemed too easy. Do you think they just really wanted someone to win so they could boost their ratings? Seems like it considering the final question was about engineering (Who designed the first mass produced helicopter... Igor Sikorsky) and the contestant was an engineer who likes to study engineering history. Hmmm...

This morning, another famous person died. Former Pittsburgh Pirate's Hall of Famer Willie Stargell died of a stroke at the age of 61. For several years now, he had been having kidney problems. Although I've never been much of a fan of the Pirates, I do remember when I first got into collecting baseball cards... the first two cards my dad ever bought for me were of Pirates Dave Parker and Willie Stargell. Kinda holds a special place in my heart. Rest in peace Willie.

Katie and I did something we swore we would not do again for a long time. Dammit. We looked at some more apartments. We didn't want to. We just kinda sorta saw a couple of cool looking ones listed in Elgin. I swear... it wasn't intentional. Please God, if I ever have to look at another apartment complex again... It's amazing how they all look the same after a while. Give it a try sometime and you'll see what I mean. Ick.

I know they always say that the book is better than the movie (I don't know "who" the "they" is... "they" just say it). Well, Katie and I saw Along Came A Spider today. As a stand-alone movie, it wasn't too bad. Had some pretty good twists and turns although they didn't do too much to build up the characters in the flick. You never really could identify with some of the people in the movie. However, I found myself sitting there trying to remember the book as I watched the movie and let me tell you, the only similarities were in the names of the characters. Pretty much everything about the movie was so far off from the book that I'm surprised they claimed it was "based on a novel by James Patterson." Why does Hollywood do that? Pretty sad that they have to doctor it all up so badly.

(Allow me to apologize in advance for the rather southern, hick-like turn my language is about to take) I guess I done taken a long enough break from writin' to y'all. Maybe I'll tell y'all the tale (or should I say "tail") of a little pygmy rattlesnake from down yonder in Hammond, Loozeeana (that's Louisiana to all you yanks). Well, this little snake from the swampland decided he wasn't gettin' 'nuff nutrishun eatin' on bugs and small animals. So he took hisself and all his venom and done transported hisself into a local Wal-Mart Supercenter where he done hid in some plants. Well, when one customer, goes by the name of Benjamin Threeton, started to get too durn close to this rattler's new home, he done got bit. Right in the finger. Poor little rattler got hisself a headache because this Threeton yokel done shook that snake till he fell off that thar finger. Fortunately, the headache was shortlived. Unfortunately, it was shortlived because he done get smashed by Threeton's boot. True story, folks. Poor little rattler. Rest in Pieces my scaly little friend.

Forgot to post one thing about what happened yesterday, Katie and I went out to dinner with our old friend Bob Walker and his new wife. Yeah, they're the "soon-to-be-parents" that I mentioned in this column some time last week. We all went out to Luigi's Italian Restaurant in Naperville and had a blast. It was really good to see them and reminisce about the old days out at NIU. Yes, even though Katie and I don't miss being there, you can get a bit nostalgic. C'est la vie.

Woo-hoo! I did the impossible! I survived 31 straight days of making sure this page was updated! And guess what... I'm never gonna do it again. Woo hoo! I think the thing I really hate is that when you update up until the final day of the month, the news from that day only gets posted on the main page for one day (if that). So, scan through the archives menu below this and check out the news of Jason and Kara's wedding. Total blast.