Metamorphosis of Life

Waiting for the Light Arisen

2007-10-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

One of the big debates out there right now is how the children of American (a mighty fine country I might add) should be taught how we got here. There are two camps -- intelligent design, a modernist-PC term for Creationism, and then there is Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. These two campus usually fall along political lines to...conservative christian republicans support the former while liberal left wing democrats support the latter. Where do forward thinking, educated, fairly-religious, middle-of-the line folks fall in line? I can tell you it isn't that easy.

Let's first look at Creationsim...err "intelligent design." This is what has pretty much been believe in for all of human civilization, minus the last 150 years. It doesn't matter if you are Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Native, etc, there is always some creation story. Most of these involve some sort of higher power(s) that made the earth and everything we see. The question becomes whether this higher power exists or not? Obviously it started years ago with primitive man trying to rationalize how we got here. They must of had vivid imaginations to come up with a lot of these things. What is great about it is that there is a lot of overlap to these stories in different cultures.

Religion is a popular thing throughout the world. Wars have been (and will be) fought over different beliefs. People die for it. It is a billion-dollar industry that influences elections, government officials, and anyone who wins an award (athletes and rappers particularly). I'm glad I have religion in my life. I try to go to church every week and I find it a positive thing in my life to believe in a higher power. Now do I follow the letter of the law? No, but not many people do. I'm also not one to push religion on people -- we all have our own beliefs & non-beliefs and I respect that.

So what I (like others) have been told from early on is that God created the earth, the stars, all the plants & animals, and created humans in his likeness. Ok, it's worth a shot, sounds good to a 6-yr old. Oh yeah, he did this in 7 days. He must be pretty darn good to do all that in 7 days! He must be good, he is God afterall. So this (with other creation stories) is what we've had for most of our existence. Not a problem. But where is the proof for this? Hmmm...puts a damper on things.

Well in the 1800s along comes this Darwin fella. He traveled around the world and studied animals, fossil records, and other anthropological stuff and started questioning this. He's pretty smart and says that instead of us being created by this ever-powerful God, we evolved. We evolved from monkeys! Ha! us, from monkeys? You cannot be serious?! But he provided evidence to support this. So we have a theory and we have evidence to prove it. Great! Or maybe not.

As mentioned, religion has always been important to homo sapiens. You go ahead and try to change a belief system that has been going on for thousands of years. Not that easy. It's been 150 years since "The Origin of Species" and the theory is still be challenged and people refuse to accept it. This is mainly because they live in a binary world -- creationism or evolution...there is no inbetween. If they let go a little maybe they would see that both theories can coexist and you can believe in both. Because you know what? Both are pretty convoluted if you ask me.

First there is this concept of God who created everything in seven days. If you think about all the intricacies to this world and how complex it is, not to mention that technology has shown us that there is potential for other worlds such as ours, and in consequence the possibility of life out there, it can be hard to fathom. There are also the fossil records that show that life on Earth has been around for quite a while, a lot longer then any religious book would tell you. You start thinking about it rationally and yeah, it can be pretty hard to digest.

So then you look into this evolution thing. Where did we come from? Monkeys, but where did they come from? Primitive primates, but where did they come from? Reptiles, but where did they come from? Amphibians, but where did they come from? Fish, but where did they come from? Single cell organisms. So over millions of years we started out as one-celled organism and have evolved into the most complex machine ever, homo sapiens. Before you grasp this idea of us evolving from a one-celled organism, you have to ask, how did that get here? Well if you subscribe to the Big Bang theory you get this: all mass in the universe (all planets, stars, universes, etc) were together. Not only were they together, this ball of stuff was so dense that it was infinitely small, but held all that stuff. Then at one moment (for whatever reason), it exploded and we got to where we are today. To accept the 2nd theory, a lot of things had to go exactly right for this to happen. A LOT.

So when you think about it both of these can be pretty hard to rationalize. Which one is true? Which one to believe in? A little of both or something else entirely? That is up to us to decide. There is one thing I do konw -- however we got here, it is quite a special place, and among all those billions of stars and galaxies, we are the only ones out there. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

I Dial it in from South of the Border

2007-10-10T20:57:00.000-04:00

It was quite a weekend as I took a very quick trip to Monterrey, Mexico to visit the OFOMOL. The journey began thursday night as I attempted to go to bed at 8:00 as I was waking up at 2:00 to drive the 2+ hours to the Pittsburgh airport to catch my first flight at 5:45. It was also the opening game of the ALDS and the Indians were off to a nice start. I decided to tune the game in on the radio to lull me to sleep. I got the game but I got a bonus too -- I had the tones of one Tom Hamilton coming through my radio 270 miles from the source signal. Gotta love the 50000 Watts of The Big One. I didn't end up falling asleep until 10 but did get to hear the Tribe pound the Yankees.

2:00 AM came too soon but with a Monster engergy drink I was ready to go. The drive was pretty easy and I can say that driving between 2:30 and 4:30 AM allows you to drive pretty fast with minimal traffic. I got to the airport and began my journey from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Houston to Monterrey. I cleared customs (guess they didn't find the drugs on me) and saw the OFOMOL. It was great to see her and we took a taxi to downtown and to our hotel and then checked out the city a little. It's a nice city. She's not enjoying it that much but coming from rural WV, it is just nice to be in a city with people and stuff to do. You know? We went to a nice little taqueria that was religious-themed. Religion is readily present among Latinos and it was fun to order the John Paul II/Juan Pablo II. It was quite tasty.

We then went out and met-up with her classmates. It was nice to meet the people she had been talking about as we had some drinks at a little bar. I was pushing being awake for 22 hours and was getting weary, even after 2 red bull & vodkas. The gang decided to hit up a club and we (OFOMOL & I) decided to only stay for a short time. We walk in and I hear "Bone" by the Killers. OK, good song, but the Killers are pretty popular so I'm not that surprised. We got our beers and I realized that the DJ was playing some kick-ass songs. The playlist was incredibly fulfilling and surprising as I wouldn't expect those songs in most clubs in the US, let alone Monterrey, Mexico. Some of the songs I remembered hearing:
Hot Hot Heat -- Talk to Me, Dance with Me
Radiohead -- Idioteque (live)
Morrissey -- First of the Gang to Die
The Strokes -- Last Night
Franz Ferndinand -- Take Me Out
The Smiths -- Bigmouth Strikes Again(?)
Blind Melon -- No Rain
Sublime -- One of their songs
Mika -- Love Today
Queen -- Bohemian Rhapsody

I was uber-impressed and if I ever end up back in Monterrey, I'll hit up that place again. What suprised me even more is that all the Mexicans were into the songs too and sang along to all of them. And the fact that they played both Morrissey and the Smiths in the short time we were there just confirms Latino's obsession with the Mozzer himself.

Saturday we had an opportunity to check out the city and spend time together. We had a nice mexican breakfast...no huevos racheros, but still good. We visited her campus and coincidentally there was a swim meet going on that weekend. It is a nice school and working in education, I like comparing campuses. We checked out the city -- the various buildings, museums, etc and took a walk on their new riverwalk. It was just nice to be with her and spend time together. We both realize how easier things are between us when we are physically together. Even though I was there for less then 48 hours, it was worth it and if I had the time and money I would do it again.

It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding

2007-09-14T19:53:00.000-04:00

The story so far: Our hero [that's me folks] has embarked on a 7-week trip to Germany in the summer of aught-seven to spend with his girlfriend of [now} 2-years, the OFOMOL. They have spent time in crappy Pforzheim and visited Strasbourg, France. They are back in Dresden.

We were invited to a wedding of a friend of the OFOMOL in Berlin. They were in the same undergraduate program and she was getting married to an American with the same name as me! Pretty crazy! So we took the train (have I mentioned how much I love travelling by train?) to Berlin. We had already done the tourist trip there last summer so we didn't need to see all the sights. While on the train, slightly before we arrived in Berlin, the OFOMOL asked if I needed to use the bathroom. The rational of this is that when we got to Berlin the bathrooms in the main station would charge to use the bathrooms. It has been documented here before how much I HATE this concept of paying for the bathroom. It ain't right! I didn't need to use the bathroom (at the time) and sat contently as we rolled into Berlin.

We arrive and we stop at the OFOMOL's favorite coffee shop, Starbucks. I am working (slowly but surely) on learning more German and I felt comfortable enough to order our drinks in German. I do this and feel proud of myself and then the barista says "seven eruos please." D'oh! I work hard to talk in German and she speaks English back to me! Not only that she asked for my name twice (for our order) and when it arrived they called out "Paul" (which certainly isn't my name). They were supposed to be two medium (no Starbucks sizes for me) vanilla lattes but I know my tasted like it was sans-vanilla. Oh well, we took the cups for Paul and were on our way.

Then (maybe it was the coffee, it is a diuretic) I realize that nature is calling and I will need to use said bathrooms in the main station. I mention this to my beautiful girlfriend and she says "oh no, I told you to go on the train!" and rightfully so, she raises her voice and tells me I am a little kid. Probably because she told me to go and I didn't and she knows how much I hate paying for the bathroom. OK Ok, she gets over it but tells me I have to pay for the bathroom. I get my money out and realize I don't have enough money and must borrow some from her to use the bathroom. Oh the irony!

So we make our way to one of the suburbs outside of Berlin to attend the Poltabend. I would say this is a bit analogous to the rehearsal dinner for American weddings, but it was so much more. Since the groom is American his family and some of his friends came over. After a couple of weeks in Germany it was nice to converse with Americans. The food was great! Fresh grilled wurst, steaks, all sorts of salads, and of course plenty of German beer! But that wasn't all! After dinner we gathered around near the door to the house. Everyone was supposed to bring some sort of ceramic plate/dishware. All the guests then throw the plates/etc on the ground near the door. The belief is that the noise of the glass breaking will scare away the ghosts (polt, ie poltergeist) the night (abend) before the wedding. The OFOMOL's mother gave us a stack of plates to take -- I thought it was excessive, that was until I broke a plate! It was pretty cool. I mean, really, how often do you get to break plates on purpose? Everyone had fun doing it. That is not all though as before the bride and groom get married, the have to clean up the glass into some container. Anyone, however, can go and dump the shards(sp?) of glass out at anytime. So as the bride and groom were shovelling the glass into a wheelbarrow a couple of times someone would go and flip it over and they had to start over again. There are stories of people dumping it out in the middle of the night and on the steps of the church so they have to clean it up before the ceremony! It was a really good time and it is something that can definitely be incorporated into an American Wedding.

The wedding itself was heald in a little vacation area. There was a lake, horseback riding and the place we were staying had unfinished wood. Gives it that cabin/rustic feel to it. The big difference between American and German weddings is that they have to be conducted by an offical person who does weddings. Church weddings are not recognized legally in Germany. While the ceremony was nice (it was outside), it had a bit of a regimented feel to it. The rest of the stuff was like any other wedding I've been to. Well there was a lot of crappy Euro/German-pop music -- even the natives complained about the song selection.

One aspect that is unique to German Weddings is the kidnapping of the bride. Since we were on a lake, a group of people took the bride out on a boat in the middle of the lake. The DJ started playing the music from Pirates of the Caribbean and the groom was like "hey! What's going on?" He promptly grabbed his best man (yet another American married to a German) and they rowed out to save his bride. Upon rescuing her and returning to shore he said "I saved the flag" as they had an American flag and then stated "and I found this girl." Hehe.

I know I've written a lot for tonight, but it was a fun time. As I mentioned before, I like experiencing these different cultural things. Since dating her, I've come to appreciate the differences we all have.

Take a Break Driver 8

2007-09-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

Chapter II where we find our hero and his girlfriend travelling to Strasbourg, France.

Being close to France we decided to take a day trip to Strasbourg. Now if you haven't been to Europe, trains are a great and efficient way to travel. Especially in Germany, the Deutsche Bahn does a great job. Now I've never ridden Amtrak but aside from the east coast, I believe that train travel in this country is a joke. After several experiences with the trains in Germany, I can say I enjoy train travel (must more over air) and wish we had a better system here.

Well we did run into a slight problem with the DB. Apparently the drivers/employees were on strike that week, well sort of. Instead of being on complete strike, they just refused to start working until 9am. Now I am no labor expert but I thought the point of a strike is to refuse to do your work until your demands are met. If you are providing a service (driving trucks, teaching kids, trains) and go on strike it disrupts yhe business and puts the employer in a corner to keep business going. Ergo, you are more likely to have your needs met. To me this seemed like a half-assed strike and only caused minor problems.

Because of this strike we were delayed for a good hour and a half and spent some quality time in Offenberg. Eventually we did make it to France. Unfortunately because of the EU, I did not get my passport stamped in France, oh well, c'est la vie. Strasbourg is a nice little city although it was a little chilly and we were faced with off & on rain throughout the day. We did see the cathedral. It is unique in that it should have two steeples, but they never finished the one side. So it looks a little funny and you can see where the 2nd steeple should go. Now all these cathedrals in Europe are great. They are huge and several hundreds years old and have a lot history to them. After seeing a few of them I can say that if you've seen one Gothic cathedral, you've seen them all. We were going to go to one of the art museums there but apparently it was closed on tuesdays. I should have known this as I took 3 years of French 12-14 years ago.

Instead of the museum we took a boat trip around the city. We got to see a lot of the historical sections and they took us past the European Parliament which is located in Strasbourg. As the weather was pretty crappy we did take the opportunity to go to the city museum. It had just reopened in the past week and featured a lot of interactive stuff. I enjoyed the museum as I have a soft side for all this historical stuff...never mind that I couldn't read anything. In the museum there was a little video session we saw, although since it was in French neither of us understood it and we wondered why we sat there for 10 min to watch the video.

Then we went to dinner. Since we were in France I had to try escargot. The snails were served with a very-garlic butter sauce. I wasn't too impressed and they were rather chewy. I would say they are similar to mussels, but not as good. Though the OFOMOL has had them before and said that the ones we had were not very good. I also had a beer from a brewery that was founded in the 11th century. The 11th century!!! We have no idea what the natives were doing here in the 11th century but in Europe they were brewing beer.

It was a nice experience. Yeah the weather could have been better but I can say that I have visited France. As a side note, the OFOMOL is travelling to Mexico tomorrow for a semester in Monterrey. Please wish her safe travels.

Coming Tomorrow: the joys of a German wedding

Far Away From West Virginia

2007-09-01T17:15:00.000-04:00

I am back in the states. I've been back for about two weeks but I've just found time to put up a new post. Hopefully all my readers are not totally kaput. I had a great summer spending 7 weeks in Germany/Europe. I can tell you that it was an amazing time. It isn't always easy being in an intercontinental long-distance relationship but we know that when we are together, we have a wonderful time and life is pretty much perfect. I can say without reservations that it was the best 7 weeks and the best summer I have ever had. We made lots of memories we will take with us for the rest of our lives. We did so much to include in one post, so I'll take the next couple of days to describe some of the experiences we had.

We spent the first 10 days or so in Pforzheim where she is in school. The OFOMOL doesn't think too highly of this city, but considering where I live, I had no problem with it. I flew into Frankfurt and had to take the train there. She met me in Karlsruhe and I had no idea where to find her. I got off the train and saw, out of the corner of my eye, someone running directly to me. What a great reunion it was.

I had a chance to meet most of her classmates. She is in an international business program so there are students from all over -- Germany (of course), Romania, USA, Belarus, Sudan, Taiwan, China, Mexico, Columbia, Turkey, and Lithuania. I think I got most of the countries. They are a nice group of people and I do appreciate being exposed to other cultures.

The first friday there I did do a 10K Race, the Citylauf Pforzheim. It has been quite awhile since I have run competitively and I thought I would be able to handle it but it kicked my ass. It was a 2K loop that we ran five times. I got passed by the top-guys during my 2nd loop (ie they were on their 3rd) and on my 3rd loop my legs were really starting to feel it. It became a battle of wanting to finish and keep my legs moving rather then try to do well. I finished with a stellar time of 52 minutes. Back in the day (18 months ago) I ran sub-36. But it was nice to get back into the running thing and I was treated to a very-tasty doner afterwards.

We also took a trip to the Daimler Benz Museum. That was pretty cool and I had a good time there. It is one of those interactive museums where you could spend hours in. There was a lot of history to the company. Some of the highlights include a Mercedes garbage truck in which I got to sit in and the Popemobile. As the Daimler Museum is in Stuttgart which is special in the fact that it has one of the American food places that the OFOMOL loves; that's right, Starbucks. Upon her insistence we stopped there for a coffee.

As Pforzheim is close to France, we did take a day trip to Strssbourg. The details of that trip will be addressed in the next post.

He's Going The Distance

2007-06-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

Well on tomorrow I deapart on my latest journey to Germany. I head to DC tomorrow where I'll stay the night with a friend and hopefully catch the Indians/Nationals game. Then monday I fly from DC to Charlotte and then I'll enjoy an 8-hour trip over the Atlantic to Frankfurt. After Frankfurt it is a 1.5 hour train ride to the OFOMOL. It is a lot of travelling but it is worth it. I'll be spending 7 weeks over there. We're both glad I have a job in which I can take the time to go see her.

We've been doing this long-distance thing for a year now. Long distance in the fact that it is an inter-continental relationship that involves a 6-hour time difference and trying to coordinate & afford various visits here and there. I get a certain reaction when I tell people that my girlfriend is German and she lives there. Even though they don't say it I know they are thinking "Are you serious? That will never last." And so on.

Well it isn't always easy. I think we would both agree to that. It takes a lot of hard work and prioritizing from both ends. Solving problems when you're thousands of miles away and only have the internet to communicate can be challenging at times. The thing is, however, we are both committed to making this relationship work. We have both learned and have grown during this year apart. A year ago at this time neither of us knew how we would deal with the distance and being apart. We've made it this far and I know we are both very happy that we have made it work and we are still together. We also realize that when we are together (as in being in the same physical place) we have a wonderful time together.

We've got at least (hopefully that is it) another year apart. Looking that far ahead and one can get lost. Taking it step-by-step has helped us stay close and committed to our relationship. The next 7 weeks will only help to strengthen our relationship as we head into our next year. We love each other and we want a future together. She's a very special woman and I'm continually finding new things about her to love. She is mein liebster schatz.

I'll try to update this every week or so to keep my faithful readers up to date on my travels in Europe.

As We Dance, We All Dance

2007-06-05T22:22:00.000-04:00

I'm keeping with the Cavalier-themed post and would like to wish a happy 32nd birthday to Zydrunas Ilgauskas! Big Z is the most senior member of the Cavaliers and (I just found this one out) has spent the most time with the team then any other player in team history. Here is a player that was injury prone (this is well-documented) during the first half of his career and figured to be a bust. He's been healthy the past 4-5 years and has been an all-star and a consistent contributor to the team. He's seen the low points of the team (2002-2003) and is now here in the NBA Finals. There is a reason LeBron hugged Big Z at the end of the game (at 1:00 of this video) -- LeBron recognized all the hard work that Z has put in and as much as the finals mean to LeBron, it means a lot more to Z.

Since it is his birthday I'll related a couple of Z-related anecdotes. I have met [sorta] Big Z on two occasions. The first was at the Kenilworth somewhere around 2002-2003. I was out with my buddy Teets and we were checking out the scene. He went into the 2nd room (pool table & darts) while I was getting drinks. He came back and said "dude, there's some crazy tall guy in there." I don't think anything of it. Later on, this big guy walks through and I'm like "You know who that is? Big Z!" The guy is huge! Add the fact that the Kenilworth has some short ceilings, he looked even bigger.
The second time was at the West End. He was with two friends and I was at the table next to them. Some girls kept asking his friends if "that was him" while they played it off and said "no, he just looks like him." Right, there are a lot of 7-foot-plus Lithuanians living in Cleveland.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Big Z, hope you can bring this city a title!

And I Stopped in San Antone

2007-06-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

For all I know, this is the only song that mentions both Cleveland and San Antonio, the two teams that are in the NBA Finals. It's quite amazing that our little Cavaliers...the Cavaliers of Ted Stepien (scroll down to "Ted Stepien and the James Worthy Rule" to the Shot to the late-90s Mike Fratello Cavs who couldn't decide if they wanted to be a lottery team or a playoff team to 2003 when somehow the ping-pong balls bounced our way and we got LeBron James and four years later are 4 wins away from a championship.

I'll equate this to 1995 when the Indians made it to their first World Series in 41 years. Yes they made it again in 1997, but we already knew how it felt to be there. The Cavs (the 3rd team in a Football-first, Baseball-second town) have been around for 37 years, most of which the team has wallowed in mediocrity. The late-80s, early-90s Cavs were a vastly underrated team who had the unfortunate opportunity to play against the Jordan-led Bulls. He would prevent a lot of players from seeing an NBA Championship (see: Barkley, Charles; Malone, Karl; Stockton, John). It's been 43 years since this city has last seen a major championship in this town, please forgive us when we celebrate a trip to the finals.

How about those videos? Downtown Cleveland looked like the place to be on saturday night. It makes me miss the city. Back in 1995 I was a junior in high school and may have tasted but a drip of alcohol. Nobody had blogs and the best columnists were not fans but the local ones. I remember driving around the 'Wood the night the Tribe clinched in Seattle (Lofton scoring from 2nd on a passed ball!) and everyone was honking their horns. It was a feeling of euphoria, happiness, and pride. Total strangers hugging, high-fiving, clapping-hands, and sharing in the success of an athletic team. I know if I was in town, I would have been down there celebrating with everyone else. Luckily I was able to watch the game with friends instead of alone in my apartment in WV.

It's a bit of an unreal feeling. I know we haven't won anything yet and the Spurs are heavily favored. The misery of Cleveland sports fans is well documented..the only city that may be worse off is Buffalo. But we handled the Pistons pretty convincingly. The two games we lost, we had legitimate chances of winning. After LeBron's performance in Game 5, I think most Detroit fans knew that they were not winning this series. Now we've got the Spurs, the NBA's premier franchise since 1999 who will be playing for their 4th NBA title since then. Yes we are happy to be here, but you know what? This team will surprise a lot of people. Our defense is significantly underlooked and LBJ has shown he can lead the team (by scoring and finding his teammates) to victory.

This team is playing with a lot of confidence right now. Yes they beat the Spurs twice this year...the analysts are going to point to this as a non-factor as it was early in the year and yadda yadda yadda. Yes the Spurs were not the same team then as now, but you know what? Neither are the Cavaliers. The team knows that they can hang with and beat the best in any arena. This series with Detroit was not a knock-down drag-out fight. The Cavs outplayed Detroit consistently throughout. Are the Cavs going to win the series? I don't know that. I do know that teams can come together and do remarkable things.

The Cavs need to have role players such as Boobie Gibson to consistently step-up and contribute. Talk about a break-out performance. I love that whenever he gets the ball, he's got this look on his face that he's not scared and he knows he can hit the shots. I love it! Has LeBron found the 2nd man he so desparately needs? As me in a year or two...a series does not dictate a career (see: Billups, Chauncey) but hopefully this is a start. I have an idea why he suddenly burst onto the scene: he was busy on his TV show the first half of the year. And his name is Boobie to boot! Coincidence? I think not!

Remember 2004? The Pistons were an upstart team going against the juggernaut Lakers. Guess what? The Pistons beat LA in 5 games. I do think this series is going at least 6 games. I do know that if somehow the Cavs end up winning this thing that I will be in Cleveland for it. This city just wants one championship, that's all. We don't need a dynasty, we just want that it is our team hoisting the trophy. Just once. Will it be this year? We'll find out in 2 weeks.

Hey Man, Slow Down, Slow Down

2007-06-03T21:12:00.000-04:00

I had a pleasant weekend as I was able to get out of rural WV and meet up with some friends for a camping trip in rural Ohio. We had a good time -- drinking, cooking out, throwing stuff into a fire, minimal sleep, and no showers. Good times, good times. As the majority of us were from Cleveland, we had a vested interest to see a little basketball game that was going on last night. Anyway, not content to listen to the game on the radio with a fuzzy signal, we found the closest watering hole and caught the 2nd half of the game.

Well, we were all in a great mood and headed back to the campground to further celebrate the victory and enjoy the 2nd night of the weekend. Well we pull into the campground and are stopped shortly by some of the people in charge of the place. They tell us we're driving too fast and we need to keep it under 10 MPH, which is the speed limit there. We've been told this constantly during the weekend. We haven't been driving fast, its just hard to drive that slow. Just putting the car into drive and letting the natural hills and valleys of the road can get you up to a blistering 15 mph. We tell the guy we understand and 30 seconds later (no joke), we're stopped again by another guy. He says we're driving too fast and that the owner is coming to tell us to leave. It is after midnight, there are 7 (out of 9) who are not sober, and they want us to leave. Needless to say, we were pissed off. They keep telling us that they've warned us and we need to leave and we get more pissed off.

The guy escorts us back to our campsite to wait for the owner to get there. They tell us they have sensors (on a gravel road in a campground...riiiiight) to detect the speed. Luckily even though we were pissed-off, we kept cool heads and sweet talked them into allowing us to stay. If we had gotten kicked out, it would not have been good for them. We would have woken up the whole campground as we packed our stuff up. Also if they sent us off, forcing drunk people to drive...well that wouldn't look so good on them.

The whole episode really made us sour. We were not driving that fast (really, 10 MPH is pretty slow, try it sometime) and we were good campers. I don't know if they were serious or just threatening us, but to make 9 people pack-up, leave, and put drunk people out on the street driving would not be cool.

Other then this, it was an en enjoyable weekend, though I am looking forward to a night of sleep in a level bed.

And about that game...more to come tomorrow.

I Am The King of All I See

2007-06-01T00:03:00.000-04:00

Wow! What a game! Is this Cavs team for real? Seriously. They were two plays away from sweeping the Pistons (they had legitimate shots in Games 1 & 2). They went home and he led them in games 3 & 4. Then there was tonight. What a performance! This was the performance I've been waiting for. Even though I didn't voice it, my main gripe in games 1 & 2 was that when the team is in a funk, he didn't put the team on his back to lead them. Well, he did that tonight. He was hitting shots he probably had no business taking, yet they found the net. Is this one of the greatest playoff performances of all time? I don't know. I think it is too early to judge that. Remember, they still need to win on saturday (or in game 7), to really validate Bron-Bron's superstar status. This game now means nothing if they don't win the series.

You know what I like about this team? They're incredibly resilient and I would say scrappy. They've been in every game. Even when they've been down 7-8 points, they find a way to get back and make a game of it. And you know what? They're not intimidated by Detroit. Last year Detroit was clearly the better team and the fact they took it to 7 games seemed to be a fluke. This year, they're playing a hell of a lot better then Detroit and they know it. The other thing is that the Cavs are playing incredible defense. Their defense has been steller all year, but this aspect seems to get over-looked. This team knows they can beat the Pistons, they just have to finish the deal. This series is not over and Game 6 still needs to be played. The Q will be rocking on saturday night. I'm going camping this weekend and hopefully we can get the game on the radio.

Speaking of the fans, is it just me or were the Detroit fans extremely unenthusiastic tonight? There was 1:30 remaining in one of the overtimes and the crowd was not making any noise. Come playoff time, a hostile crowd can make a difference. I didn't see that out of the Detroit fans. Even when the Pistons were up 7 in the 4th, which was the point where the crowd should have carried them to victory, but it was like they knew they were going to lose.

Like I said, we still have Game 6 to go. We were in this position last year and failed to seal the deal. Have the Cavs learned and will they make their first trip to the Finals or will C-town experience more late-game devastation? I hope for the former, but if the later occurs, we Cleveland fans are conditioned (the Drive, the Fumble, the Shot, Mesa)

It Doesn't Matter Much to Me

2007-05-20T21:55:00.000-04:00

Well this weekend was THE event. The one weekend of the year that the whole town drops what it is doing, joins in the festivities, and celebrates. That's right folks, it was the 66th Annual West Virginia Strawberry Festival.

This was my first Strawberry fest so I was intrigued. Everyone was telling me how great the festival was kept asking "are you going to the Strawberry Fest?" The hype factor was definitely high. With expectations that high, I was just hoping it would deliver.

Events were going on the whole week, I decided to check things out on Saturday as there was the "Grand Feature Parade." Saturday morning was a warning as to what I was about to get myself into as I was running errands and a typical 5-7 drive to Wal*Mart took a good 20+ minutes. There were cars everywhere and along Main Street [note: you know you live in a small down when the main street is called Main Street] at 10:30 am people had their chairs staked out to watch the parades. I finished my chores and headed out for a 20-min walk to "downtown."

As with all small-town festivals, there was a carnival and food vendors. I have no interest in carnies and getting ripped off so I skipped that. As it was lunch hour I did get a doner kebab to eat. Now these are all over Germany (due to a large Turkish immigrant population) and the OFOMOL has all but forbade me to have one, so here was my chance. The guy at the booth commented "ehh, you've been to europe?" I guess I ordered with a German accent...and we made small talk about all the doner places there. So I have five one-dollar bills in my hand and he says "that'll be $7." What? I'm already holding the doner in my hand and now I have to get more money? And $7 for this thing? I guess that's why there were no prices listed, if we knew how much they were charging we wouldn't buy them!

So I ate my doner while checking out the "Classic Car Parade." Now I'm no grease monkey but to me it seemed like they had quite a liberal definition of "Classic." to me, "Classic Car" implies lots of cars from the 30s-60s in good condition. Well there were some of those...but there were also plenty of cars in not good condition, plenty of cars from recent history, and plenty of custom jobbed modern cars. I mean when you see a mid-90s Mitsubishi Eclipse, you begin to question the cars. There were also plenty of trucks that had 3-4' of ground clearance including one that said "size matters" on the back. Ho hum! There's a saying that guys that put a lot into their cars have to make up for other inadequcies...I'm just saying. There was a couple behind me, who, upon seeing one of said trucks said, "it's great that you [the drivers] spend $3 to pull your car out of your driveway." Oh snap! No she didn't?!

I walked around more before the Grand Feature Parade started. A few observations:
Plenty of Confederate Flag, Git R Done, and NASCAR paraphanalia abound
All the people sitting in chairs for the parades would probably benefit from the extra metabolism it takes to stand.

So I stake my place on the sidewalk to watch the parade and soon see my friend Jason and his lady friend. They ask me if I am ready for a 3-hour parade. I do a double take and I'm like "what? you're kidding!" But no, they are not. This parade is really 3 hours long. Boy I wish they served alcohol here. Since none of us are native to the state we precede to rip on all the people in the parade and the whole festival itself. At one point there is a cowboy group (really, they were from Texas) on horses. Shortly behind them was a wagon with a guy who's job it was to SCOOP UP THE SHIT FROM THE HORSES!!! I kid you not. Now I don't know how he got assigned that job, but he must've done something really bad to draw that straw.

During the parade the conversation of Strawberries inevitably came up. One would think that they would sell Strawberries at the Strawberry Festival, but no, the only Strawberries to be found were in Strawberry Shortcake being sold. That was it. I thought that maybe Strawberries are a popular thing to farm in these parts, but I guess not. They just needed something to celebrate in this town.

The other amazing thing was the number of people in town! I don't know where everyone came from (out of the hills) but the place was crowded with overweight people wearing confederate flags who came to waste money on carnival games & overpriced food while watching a 3-hour long parade of people scooping up shit.

Residing in a Cardboard Box

2007-05-17T21:06:00.001-04:00

My older sister and I must have some sort of connection. Well we are siblings, so I guess it's not that unusual. Anyway she sent me a MySpace message and commented about how she saw an episode of Saved by the Bell this morning and how it should be a topic for a blog. I wake up between 7:30 and 8:00 and during my breakfast hour I watch SBTB on USA from 8-9. They actually have a two-hour long block from 7-9 every morning. I saw the same episode and agreed with her on the ridiculousness of the episode. In reality every episode is pretty ridiculous but it does hold a special place in the heart for a lot of us. So in what will hopefully become a regular feature on MoL, I give you Classic Episodes of Saved by the Bell.

Our first stop will be the two-parter Home For Christmas. This is the one that focuses on the gang in the mall during Christmas. Jessie is a bitchy santa's helper, Slater can't wrap a package to save his life, and Kelly is working at Moody's Store for Men. Zach meets a pretty girl [Laura] who ends up working with Kelly. Zach and Screech meet a homeless man in the mall who later on collapses at the mall. At the hospital they find out the guy is Laura's dad, which mean, bingo! Laura is homeless! What is Zach to do? See since it is Christmas, this is a "very special" episode of SBTB.

Where do I begin. Well first off, how did Slater ever get this job? Didn't they teach him how to properly wrap a gift? It's not that hard and the more you wrap, the better you get at it. But throughout the 2-part episode his wrapping doesn't get any better. And then at one point the homeless guy takes over. I can tell you if I was a customer and somone who doesn't work there had to come and help Slater wrap gifts, I would not be too happy. Of course I wrap my own gifts, so I wouldn't be dealing with gift wrap.

The mall puts on a performance of A Christmas Carol. This must be the super-condensed version as it takes all of 2 min to get through. The whole gang along with Zach's mom is taking part in the performance. You know what would make it better? If we get Laura, the homeless girl who is suddenly friends with everybody, to be in the play also. But grumpy Mr. Moody won't let her. Now the show takes place in SoCal. I've never been there but I've been told it is a different place, that California. It must be really different because a major store in the mall allows two of its employees to take the afternoon off to be in the play. I mean, where I come from the malls are pretty packed during the holidays...but this is California and like I said, it is a different world there. And then there is the litte fact that Laura is HOMELESS! Wouldn't she want to be working and making money instead of being in a play? I think that her and her dad, who has just been hospitalized without (one would assume) health insurance could use every little bit of cash.

And then we get to the end. Ahh yes, a classic Saved By the Bell moment. The gang is over at Zach's house (Laura and Dad included) to celebrate Christmas. Keep in mind that it has probably only been a few days (a week at most) since everyone met. The Morris family really takes the meaning of Christmas giving to heart as they decide to let Laura and her dad live with them until they get off their feet. In other words...they're going to let two people they just met and hardly know to live with them indefinitely! Oh yeah, that is completely normal. This episode ends with a warm musical number:

Like the majority of SBTB episodes this one ends on a high note and we're left to wonder what happened afterwards. Continuity is not a strong point of this show.

Questions to ponder:
What ever happened with Zach & Laura?
Did Laura's dad ever get a job?
How long did they live there?
How come we've never seen Zach's mom & dad in the same episode?
What was the charge of Laura's dad's time in the hospital?
Sadly, we may never know the answers to these questions. Feel free to speculate in the comments section.

And Now It's Been 10 Years

2007-05-16T20:16:00.000-04:00

Today's video has "Embedding Disabled" so here is the link to Underground by Ben Folds Fine. What a great song and my how young Mr. Folds looks!

One of my favorite blogs is DeadOn. It's a group effort over there and they've got a nice collection of folks who are purveyors of all things relating to Pop Culture. I really enjoy it. Mr. Yostal has a weekly column, Tied to the 90s where he discusses music-related happenings of the underrated decade of the 1990s. This decade holds a special place in my heart as I spent all of high school and half of college in this decade.

This week's column is on songs for those planning/attending a 10-year reunion this summer. As I graduated in '97 and my 10-year reunion is this summer, I take special interest in this column. Going over his list, it struck me that calendar years are not synchrynous with school years. Yeah I know, this isn't a big relevation but when you graduate high school and songs are either associate with HS or associated with college, it becomes significant. After looking over his list and comparing it to what I remember from 10-years ago, I've decided to come up with my own list of songs from 1997 that I fondly recall. In no particular order...

I'll Be Missing You -- Puff Daddy & The Family
I remember driving around with my boys on some spring evening in '97. We heard this song and it caused us mental anguish. This was one of the first big songs to use samples. It doesn't sound like a big deal now because EVERY popular Rap/R&B song uses sampling. But back then we hear this and think "oh we know this song...but wait we don't! Who is that singing? What's going on? What did they do with The Police." This song was everywhere that spring. It also ties into college as me and one of my roommates (and best buddies from college) use to sing it.

No Diggity -- Blackstreet
I still love this song 10 years later. Teddy Riley's backing track is what holds this song together. I'm also partial to the "mmm mmmm" that falls on the 4-beat.

Return of the Mack -- Mark Morrison
I had no idea who Mark Morrison was, or why he was returning to being a Mack. I associate this song with the valedictorian from HS. I remember her really liking this song and singing along to it.

One Headlight -- The Wallflowers
This song was everywhere in spring of 1997. It is one of those songs that should have been hated due to it being completely over-played but for me I still dig it. It is included on this list due to the fact that I associate it with my recruiting trip to CWRU.

Secret Garden -- Bruce Springsteen
Only included here due to the cheesiness that is the Jerry Maguire remix. This song goes with Eric Clapton's "Change the World" as former rockers gone soft. You had me at hello. Indeed!

The Freshman -- The Verve Pipe
I always put this together with One Headlight for whatever reason. I had to write a paper for English class and remember hearing this song about five times as I typed out the paper.

Semi-Charmed Life -- Third Eye Blind
This song holds a special place in my heart. I had a 5K open swim in the summer of '97 and for the hour that I was in the water this is what I was singing. It helped as I ended up winning the thing (out of about 10 people). Also, what 18 year old doesn't like a song the mentions Crystal Meth and oral sex.

Push -- Matchbox Twenty
Remember when no one knew about these guys? It was just this song that people took offense to as it talked about pushing around your girlfriend. They got famous, Rob Thomas got fat, he lost that weight then became more famous with Santana. Things have worked out pretty well for him, eh? I'm not ashamed to say that this album still sounds good 10 years later.

Tubthumping -- Chumbawumba
As we move into the College portion of this list we arrive at the anarchists from the UK. Their anarchist messages meant nothing to me then (or now) but definitely a great song to sing along to at the top of your lungs, sober or not.

I'm starting to lose steam here and Lost is almost on, so I'll do a quick couple more.

I Will Buy You a New Life -- Everclear
Do you remember the world before MP3s? Well arriving onto a highly technological campus in the fall of '97 I quickly found out the joys of this new music format and network sharing. This is one of the first (of many) songs that I remember getting as an MP3 file. As a note, I still have my 1997 era desktop (200 MHz and 4 Gig hard drive!) in hops that I will one day recover the thousands of MP3 files I have on there.

Getting Jiggy With It -- Will Smith
My coach had this personality quirk where he would find a song and play it incessantly, somtimes on repeat (Shimmer anyone?). Well in the fall of '97 this was it. This song indoctrinated me into the world of college swimming which pretty much led me to where I am today.

So there you have it. My 13 songs from ten years ago that I associate with the end of high school and the start of college. I have to hand it to Yostal and his weekly posts. These take a lot of effort and just doing this one is enough.

I Think I Smell A Rat

2007-05-14T21:05:00.000-04:00

Saturday May 12, 2007, 11:30
We find our hero settled into an evening of relaxation while watching television. He's already watched his beloved Cavaliers fall to those Nets from New Jersey. How a group of nylon stitching defeated a gang of swashbucklers remains a mystery. He's currently trying to find humor in the Molly Shannon-hosted episode of SNL but that humor is few and far between.

I hear some noise in the kitchen. Nothing big or anything and i attribute it to the wind. There are times, like we all do, that I imagine I have ghosts in my apartment. Not that this scares me or anything...its just a result of living alone in rural America. So I hear these noises and look into the kitchen and I catch something moving. I check it out a little more and what do I see? A mouse! Or Mus musculus for you scientifically oriented readers. I scare the little bugger and he retreats underneath the sink.

This means war. It is late and night and I think "well this can wait until tomorrow." Then I think about it some more and I really don't want to be asleep with thoughts of Mr. Mus musculus running around my apartment having his way with whatever he wants. So at midnight I head to Wal*Mart. Let it be known this is the first time in my life that I'm glad Wal*Mart is around and that it is open 24 hours.

Side note: Being in Wal*Mart at midnight can be interesting. The one thing that suprised me the most were the mothers who were there with their kids. I'm usually in bed by midnight...yet I saw at least 3 kids aged 8 or younger, including one [awake] baby. This can't be good for them.

So I search for traps and some reason they are in the same aisle as soap/detergent. Whowouldathunk? I then need to decide which kind to buy. I decide to go with the glue traps so that I'm not awoken by a snap of the traditional traps. I head home, set the traps, and head off to my slumber.

I awake in the morning and find my victim stuck in the trap. He's still alive and twitches every once in awhile, but I got the sucker. I dispose of him into the trash and revel in my victory. This is only one. While I am happy I got this guy, I don't know if he has reinforcements coming. The traps are still out but I haven't seen/heard any other mice. Hopefully this guy was just a scout. If he wasn't, my troops are armed and ready.

Take Me To Another Place

2007-05-09T20:41:00.000-04:00

I tried posting this the past two nights...we'll see if the third time is the charm. So I travelled down to Knoxville, TN for a family wedding this weekend. I had a nice time. I saw some cousins and relatives I haven't seen in years. It is nice to see how everyone is doing and come together in a happy occasion of a wedding.

At one point I intruduced myself to my cousin's husband. His reply was "Oh, you're fast cousin M---." I don't think I've ever had adjectives attached to my name...well none that I know of. For whatever reason there are people (good and bad) who we don't call by just their name, but their name and a descriptor. He's not Mike, but Smart Mike, not Chris, but Smelly Chris, not Joe Davola, but Crazy Joe Davola. You could say "I was out with Dave the other night..." and people will look at your funny, like they don't know Dave. Then you say "you know, Big Dave" and they know exactly who you are talking about. There are only a select few individuals who have this honor. How they get it? Beats me, but I'll chalk it up to some sociological phenomenon.

I know I blasted my little sister a bit on my last post. I did, however, stick up for her (like a good brother should) at the wedding. She was in front of me getting drinks and she was carded. OK, I understand there are underage drinkers out there and we, as a society, need to do everything we can to make sure they don't taste alcohol until they are 21...but at a wedding? Seriously? Who gets carded at a wedding? My little sister I guess. So she's running to get her ID and I make some comment to the bartender like "Oh, you're carding?" And in a smug retort she says "Yeah, the drinking age is 21." What? When did this happen? I never knew we had a drinking age, and 21 to boot! I go on talking about how I think it is stupid to card at a wedding. The bartender could have fun with it and say something like "Yeah...its a pain but it is my job and she looks young," but she decided to keep whatever it was stuck up her butt and infomed me again that the drinking age is 21. For the rest of the night I made sure to go to the other bartender whenever I got a drink.

Congrats to Butch and Maria. I wish you a wonderful life together.

Spring is Here Again

2007-04-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

I love this weather! Give me 75-80 with blue skies and I'll be a happy fella. Just a couple of random thoughts for the night.

My neighbors behind me have an inflatable above-ground pool. As the weather has gotten nicer, the thing has become inflated and filled with water. Everytime I go into my kitchen and look out the window I see the pool. And every time I look at it I just think about how much it is a cesspool of germs, bacteria, and what have you. And every time I look at it, the grossness factor increases. I feel like buying a Ibucket of chlorine and putting it in there for them.

I'm going to a wedding this weekend. My sister and I decided to share a hotel room (beats rooming with the rents). So I call her up yesterday to talk about how we want to pay for it -- I put it on my card and she pays me her half or vice versa. Well she says "can we go 60/40?" Now I've got a full-time salaried job that doesn't pay much and she's got a full-time (40 hrs/week) hourly job. I understand that she is figuring that since I have the "real" job I can pay a bit more. She lives with mom and dad so I ask the following questions: Do you pay rent? water? electrical? cable? internet? groceries? All which are answered with a resounding "No." Game/Set/Match to the older brother.

On a more serious note, I usually don't discuss personal things on here, but my grandmother recently had a stroke. She's doing alright but it has impaired her a good amount. For those church-going readers (or anyone for that matter), if you could say a nice prayer to St. Andrew Avellino or St. Wolgang, the family will appreciate it.

The Mighty Quinn

2007-04-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

Sitting here religiously watching the NFL Draft. With the 3rd pick I really thought we'd be getting Brady Quinn. The Browns surprised me and got Joe Thomas, the stud left tackle who would rather go fishing then be at the draft. Good for him. Then the cards fell (Ginn to Miami at 9??) and Savage pulled the strings to get Quinn at 22. At the start of the day any Browns fan would be happy to have one of these guys...to have both, I'm more then pleased.

Just a couple of side-thoughts. I love how the analysts keep talking about Quinn playing for his hometown team. Maybe they should check their map (Google Maps is the best/True that/DOUBLE TRUE) because Dublin is actually closer to Cincinnati then it is to Cleveland. I know it is a matter of perspective but 141 miles away is a pretty big hometown if you ask me. This also means were stuck with Chris Berman doing the highlights of Brady "The Mighty" Quinn and then while playing in December Brady Quinn "The Eskimo." *sigh* Well this is a good draft. Now, let's see these guys produce.

Advertising Looks and Chops a Must

2007-04-27T17:50:00.000-04:00

Great song from a great band that I, unfortunately, got into after they broke up. I did get to see Malkmus a few years ago on a solo jaunt. I can say that they put on a great show and wish I had a time machine to go back and see Pavement back in their hey-day.

So yeah, I got my haircut yesterday. Nothing special, but I'm not completely happy with it. She could have cut it shorter in the back. A haircut is one of those services where you cannot return what you bought and it is hard to get a refund. It did occur to me that I could try and go back and say something like "Could you take a little bit more off the back?" Do you think that would work? The good thing with hair is that (for most of us) it always grows back. This is my 3rd or 4th haircut since I moved her in august. Save from the one time when the OFOMOL was with me to tell her how to cut it, I've been less then happy with what I've received.

During the said cut, the woman cutting my hair asked me where I'm from and I tell her. This elicits the response of "ohhh, do you know Drew?" as in Drew Carey. Drew Carey is a funny guy and put Cleveland on the sitcom map...but most people I know (including myself) agree that the show is not that great. Yes it was nice to see all the C-town centric themes on the show, but other then that it did nothing for me.

More on my Cleveland kick. My buddy DRH commented on a new Cleveland blog, Hardaway Hates Pittsburgh. He's got a list of his Top 5 places to eat in C-Town. Not a bad list, but not the five I would choose. I still have to think about mine, but I'll be posting it soon. Keep your eyes open!

Cleveland Rocks!

2007-04-19T21:23:00.000-04:00

What a great episode of 30 Rock tonight! Yes I am biased due to the fact that Cleveland is my hometown. But this also confirms that this is one of the best comedies on TV right now. Of course there is not much competition these days, but still the show rocks. I feel it is a lot like Arrested Development. I would group The Office in there too in the fact that these are unconventional sitcoms. It takes a little more thinking to understand and appreciate the jokes. They also all have a devoted corps of fans. I also love the Tracy Jordan character. He is just so outrageous and over the top. I would compare him to G.O.B. from AD.

Then there is the Cleveland-centric theme to this episode. It was great! They mentioned my hometowm (the 'Wood) and had a little musical montage to the city. There were some errors that were either 1) done intentionally so us natives would only catch them and add to the genius of the show or 2) not researched to show the ignorance of the writers. I'll go with option #1. Higbee's hasn't been around in 15 years , no one shops on Euclid Ave, and the Flats are dead. There was also the obvious fact that the shots of C-Town (quoted by Tina Fey in the episode) all came from stock footage. I'm not complaining however. Any show that doesn't rip Cleveland a new one is fine by me.

Yeah most of the time the city gets pissed on. Its fair. I mean, we have our share of problems (river on fire? check! city in default? check! a history of losing teams? check! Kuchinich as our Rep? check!) but it makes us have thick skin. Being part of something that is so "bad" (really it's not) makes you proud to be part of it. I've been away for a couple years now. I do find I appreciate and enjoy it more when I go back to visit. It has its charm and there are plenty of things to do there. If you haven't been there, give Cleveland a chance, it's not as bad as you think, and you just may like it!

I Think I'll Go to Boston

2007-04-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to everyone that ran in today's Boston Marathon. I woke up this morning, looked at the weather forecase and immediately thought to myself "glad I'm not running it this year." I guess it has been raining all weekend, it was pretty cold, and there was a nasty wind. Three factors that are not very condusive to fast running. The results showed this as both winning times were the slowest in 20 years. The weather did seem to cooperate in the sense that the temperature was not as cold (low 50s) as anticipated. There was the wind that plagued the runners all day. Personally I don't mind wet conditions. When I run I try to embrace the elements and use it to my advantage. That being said, I've never run a full marathon in the rain and don't know how I would really respond to it.

I had the opportunity to run it last year. I haven't really run since then as I've had a foot problem I'm trying to shake. It looks to be getting better and I hope to be back out running this summer. I do know that I want to go back and run it again at some point. It is a special place, the runner's Mecca. If anyone does get a chance to run it (for whatever reason), I encourage you to. It will be an experience you never forget.

In The Company of Strangers

2007-04-14T21:48:00.000-04:00

I wish I had the 2001 SNL version of this song. NBC doesn't like SNL videos on YouTube for whatever reason. This version will do, however.

I just finished watching United 93 on HBO. I wasn't sure what to think going in, because of premise. I've always been skeptical of movies where you know what is going to happen (FYI, the Titanic sinks!) Since this movie was made only 5 years after 9/11 the event is still very real in our minds. I was also wary of the movie due to the fact that we don't know what really happened on the plane. We can agree that the passengers did do something, but to what degree, it is hard to say. I don't like when Hollywood embellishes these truths to increase the drama.

Well, this movie got to me. My heart was beating during most of the 2nd half of the movie. Even though the outcome was known, I was still pulling for the passengers to succeed. Whatever did happen up there, those passengers showed a tremendous amount of courage. I can't stop thinking about the fact that in a span of an hour, they went from being ordinary passengers, to passengers on a hijacked plane, to knowing they were going to die, and then doing something about it. It was all very...well...words can't do it justice.

If you have a chance to see this movie, I would reccommend it. It is a very intense and very moving film.

Cooking MCs Like a Pound of Bacon

2007-04-13T22:07:00.000-04:00

Oh yes, nothing like a little Vanilla Ice for this friday evening. A couple of random thoughts for the evening.

Lost
I've all but given up on this show. I was hooked in season 1. Last year I began to get a little frustrated in that the show was not giving us any answers, just opening more doors. I would say the first half of the 3rd season was less then par. I've really only been watching becaue I feel like I've invested a lot in this show, I'm going to hang on until the end, no matter how bad it gets. But then they gave us this gem of an episode on Wednesday and renewed my faith in the show. I really like the characters of The Others, particularly Ben and Juliet. They're both psychological mysteries and know how to manipulate people to gain what they want. Secondly, as fans of the show, we've been very sympathetic to the Losties. The Others have their own agenda and claim to be the good guys themselves. I think both Elizabeth Mitchell and Michael Emerson deserve Emmys for their portrayals of these characters. Hopefully this episode keeps the momentum going through the last part of the season.

Mmmmm...Bacon Popcorn

I was at the store tonight and the guy in front of me had three items: Old Spice Deodorant, a Lint Roller, and *drumroll please* a box of Tampax. Oh yes, he took the one step men in committed relationships have the hardest time with. Once you are able to do this, you've reached a new phase in your relationship. For the record, I have yet to purchase said items on my own, but I would not have a problem buying them for the OFOMOL.

R.I.P Kurt Vonnegut
I read Slaughterhouse Five back at the end of high school. I should probably re-read it as 10-years later I probably understand it a little better. It did bring into my psyche the Bombing of Dresden. Little did I know at the time that Dresden would now be an important part of my life and I've had the opportunity to visit it twice in the past year. Aside from 9/11, which is still minor in comparison, us as American's have little perspective on the destructions of war. Being in a city that was destroyed is very humbling. Even 60 years later, there are buildings that are still damaged. It is, however, a very beautiful city and if you have a chance to visit, I encourage you to.

Last note: I am soliciting requests to do a guest post. If you are interested send me an email: metaoflife at gmail dot com

Crab If You Need It

2007-04-04T18:15:00.000-04:00

OK, that is a bit of an obnoxious version of that song. Unfortunately it is the only version available (at this time) on YouTube. Anyway, one of my more favorite shows has it's premiere tonight. That's right! It's the drama and excitement of Alaskan crab fishermen on Deadliest Catch. The OFOMOL hates it and doesn't see the appeal, but I love it. I think it is due to the fact that I have a fascination with seeing how we can push our bodies physcially and mentally. The show also illustrates that in the 21st technology-driven era, there are still things that are done the way they have been for years.

A couple of new links I've added:
Pop Songs 07
This is a spin-off of Fluxblog. The curator of both, Matthew Perpetua is taking the time to analyze every song in the R.E.M. catalog. What a concept! It'll be interesting to get his take on some of the more obscure songs.

WaiterRant
This is an old one, but I just found it. As the title implies, it's a waiter ranting. But its not just him bitching all the time. He's got a nice writing style to his posts. He was in the priesthood at one point in his life which adds a touch of humanity and understanding to his posts. It serves as a guidebook for us, the consumers/customers, and how we should (or shouldn't) behave in a restaurant. Its one of those blogs that you can just waste a couple hours reading post after post. As we're approaching Good Friday, here is a nice post for all us guilt-ridden Catholics out there.

The Drop Dead Dream, The Chosen One

2007-03-28T21:21:00.000-04:00

I've been listening to this song a lot recently. I've had Sam's Town for awhile and I can tell you that I've enjoyed it. For whatever reason though (well, I saw the video) the song stuck with me.

A couple of new links I've added. Confessions of a Fanboy is a music blog I found earlier today. He recently wrote about the producer for R.E.M.'s new album and pretty much echos my feelings on what they've done in the post-Bill Berry era. It looks like he's got some good commentary over there. Second, I've added German Joys to the list because for some reason I have an inkling to all things German. Speaking of which, here is a list of 20 things to keep in mind while visiting Germany. These are pretty much dead-on.

Well for those swimming folks out there, the 12th Fina World Championships are happening right now. Since the US is so smitten with swimming, chances are you probably haven't missed the races since they're constantly being broadcast. (note: extreme sarcasm). Anyway the legend that is Michael Phelps continues to make his case as the Greatest of All Time. I've got two races below, the first his is 200 Free in which he beats the "unbeatable" record of one Ian "the Thorpedo" Thopre. Notice his fly kick off his walls -- he gains so much distance by just doing that. The second one is his 200 Butterfly in which he breaks his own world record by over a second and a half. Be sure to watch the "world record red line" on that one. Side note: I kinda like the non-English announcers

The last race I'm including is the Men's 400 Free final. Watch first and then I'll comment:

Park had an amazing last 50. I've never seen someone make up so much distance at that part in a race. It was crazy ridiculous.

Alright, time for Lost. Are they ever goign to get off this island/figure it all out? Seriously.

Let's Begin Again

2007-03-18T20:42:00.000-04:00

First off I must say a very nice birthday to the OFOMOL. Her birthday was yesterday and make a holiday I could care less about (St. Patrick's Day) something worth celebrating. Even though we're an ocean apart she's ever-present with me.

For whatever reason I wasn't very tired last night. It was around 1:15 and I was ready to kick it when I decided to click through the channels one more time. I flipped to VH1, saw Eddie Vedder and immediately knew what it was. Call it fate because I turned to the channel right as he was beginning his induction ceremony for R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. Needless to say I was psyched.

Mr. Vedder had some nice words to say about one of the most respected and influential bands of all time. Yes I am biased, but I believe this to be true. The band helped to user-in the age of college radio in the 1980s. They toured incessantly during their first five years (and albums) to establish a fan base that would help make them one of the biggest bands of the 1990s. They have always done things their way and, while earing millions of dollars, have had creative freedom to make the music they want.

Yes these guys are nearing (or in Peter's sake, have reached) 50 years old but they are still rocking. That is one thing that I've always enjoyed about them. The last time I saw them (2003) I was amazed at their enthusiasm and the energy they had I would expect from bands half their age. Most people know them from their Out of Time and Automatic for the People days. These albums are more subdued then earlier albums and causual fans peg them as the "Everybody Hurts" band. Both albums have some great songs, but are not indicative of their catalogue as a whole. They can play the quiet ballads but also can put energy into their up-tempo rockers. Its a nice dichotomy that few bands can do. One a side-note, it was really nice to see Bill up their with the band and he looked like he was really enjoying himself.

They were lucky enough to be inducted the same year at Patti Smith. Smith's Horses was one of the albums that had a major impact on young Peter Buck and Michael Stipe. Stipe and Smith have a tight friendship and she even sung on E-Bow The Letter (one of their most underrated songs) off of 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi. R.E.M. with Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye put on a great rendition of The Stooges Now I Wanna Be Your Dog. This was probably an endorsement of The Stooges to be inducted into the Hall. Be sure to check-out Peter at the end:

I'm happy for the band. Even though their last couple of albums (Up, Reveal, Around the Sun) have not done so well commercially or critically, the band is working on a new album. I believe that the band has one more blockbuster in them. Am I asking for an album that sells 10 million? No. I'd just like to see the band have mainstrem success one more time so that their music can be exposed to a new group of fans. After everything they've done for the music world, they deserve it. I'm also hoping for a "return to rock" album that strays away from the acoustic mindset from their last couple of albums.

In closing, I'll do my best to rank their albums. Everyone always asks me what my favorite is. I've always dodged this question because I've never wanted to pigeonhole myself, but I think it is about time to rank them.

First Tier
Murmur (1983)
Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
Automatic for the People (1992)
New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
These are all must-have albums. Murmur is the legend that started it all. LRP may be my favorite album as it has a nice ratio of rockers to ballads and initiated in the band's political messages via song. AFTP captures the band at their commercial and critical peak and is one of the few "perfect" albums of all-time. NAIHF is probably their most underrated album.

Second Tier
Reckoning (1984)
Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
Document (1987)
Monster (1994)
These albums lost a bit from the first tier. Each one has its moments, but each also has a song or two that just is a step below the rest of the album. Fables is an album that many folks would rank lower but beneath the surface the album offers a lot. Monster also gets a bad rep but an album I think has really endured in the 13 years since it has been released.

Tier 3
Green (1988)
Out Of Time (1991)
Around the Sun (2004)
These albums have songs that are great and memorable but contain a lot more of filler and throw-away songs. Initially I hated ATS but it has grown on me and I do like a fair amount of the songs on the album. The problem is the songs I don't like, I really don't like.

Tier 4
Up (1998)
Reveal (2001)
These two albums I listen to the least. They are difficult albums to listen to. They are also the first two albums in the post-Bill Berry era. The band has talked about how hard Up was and that they really rushed into recording it. They are not bad albums per se, but compared to the level of the previous 12 albums here...these are the low marks. That being said, below-average for R.E.M. is still better then a majority of the stuff out there.

I congratulate those who reached the end of this post. Most of my faitful readers are familiar with my fixation with R.E.M. and by enduring this post I promise that any future R.E.M.-related material will be considerably shorter.

Monday, I'm all High

2007-03-12T20:54:00.000-04:00

It's Monday. Not a whole lot going on but there are a couple of things on my mind:

DeadOn
My new favorite blog. They've got a lot of pop-culture over there. A fair amount is sports-related, but there is plenty of other valuable output. They've got a series of collaborators working on it and it is updated several times a day.

March Madness
If you're living uder a rock you know that its that time of the year again. I've got a couple of brackets. In my experience, I do better when I don't think alot about the match-ups; I just go with my gut. I did win the annual CWRU Swimming pool last year, so i do have a title to defend. That victory is the only one I've had in Fantasy-related sports. I pretty much suck at all other Fantasy Sports. The one thing about this tourney that strikes me is that there is no clear-cut dominating team. I like how Kansas and OSU are playing right now. As an OSU fan I'd like to see a Buckeye/Gator rematch of the BCS game, but I don't see that happening. I do question some of the geographical choices the committe makes. They're supposed to reward the #1 seeds yet have OSU in the south and Florida in the Midwest...makes me scratch my head. As for my Spartans, they're a #8 seed with a potential 2nd-round game against UNC. They're not expected to get past this game so this means, of course, they'll beat UNC.

And I'll finish this off with a great headline:
OMG, Paul from the Wonder Years!

Deep in the Jeans She's Wearing

2007-03-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

The OFOMOL recently returned to her homeland after spending 5 weeks here in the states. While she was here she had a mission of buying a new pair of jeans. Jeans are one article of clothing that is very particular for men or women. A pair of jeans is part of your personality and need to both fit your body, make you feel comfortable, and look good on you. It can be a daunting process to find that right pair. Its an investment that will last a year or two and you want to make sure you make the right choice.

So we took a weekend trip to Pittsburgh. We were in a mall and went into Macy's to look for jeans. She found a couple of pairs and wanted to try them on. Being the good boyfriend, I was there to help her out. She wanted me to come into the dressing room to give my opinion. OK, no big deal, we've done this plenty of times before. I start walking into the dressing room area and some woman says something like "you're not supposed to be in here, its for women only." I replied saying I was just helping out my girlfriend but I guess that wasn't a good enough reason as after I sat down outside the dressing room a Macy's associate came over and told me men are not allowed in there. I commented rather loudly "I understand, but my girlfriend needed some help...its not like we were going to have sex in there."

Really, its not a big deal to me, I quickly got over it. But it got me thinking. First off, there was no sign saying it is for women only. What if the OFOMOL was handicapped or didn't speak English (this is entirely possible!)? What if I was a cross-dresser and didn't feel comfortable changing in the men's dressing rooms? And the last thing, which I think shows the double-standard at work here...if the roles were switched and she was coming into the men's dressing room, no one would have a problem with it. And if there was a woman in the men's area and I said something to them about it, they would laugh at me. There are lots of other stores that have central dressing rooms where everyone goes and no-one has a problem with it. Needless to say, we didn't buy jeans there.

She Doesn't Mention the Word Addiction

2007-01-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

The 2nd post in as many days. What's going on? Crazy, I know. This should be a short one for those of you who don't like my long posts (you know who you are).

There was a period in my life when I watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU. I'd frequently say stuff along the lines of "So I was watching Law and Order: SVU..." and it became a running gag with some of my friends. I still watch the show (the only L&O I watch) but my vices have moved on.

My current crutch is Wikipedia. I think the site is just wonderful and its THE online source that I turn to whenever I want to find something out. Because of the way it is set-up I usually end up finding out more information on other topics. I end up way off-topic from the original thing I wanted to look up. I think this sums it up pretty well.

I Can't Wait

2007-01-25T18:53:00.000-05:00

A little Paul Westerberg/The Replacements for you on this fine day. For those that are wondering, 21 days out.

Well, on Saturday the OFOMOL will be travelling across the sea (here are some asians playing that song) to spend time here in the states for 5 weeks. Its quite an exciting time. She's had quite a stressful semester and will enjoy time relaxing for the first part of her trip. Good thing, since there's NOTHING TO DO HERE!! Hehe. It's nice because we'll have a chance to experience what its like having a life together. Its little things like doing shopping, cooking, and cleaning together that I'm looking forward to.

The last time she was travelling to the states was over a year ago so its been while since I'm the one waiting for her. I've taken a couple trips there this past year so its a different dynamic. Travelling from where I am to where she lives is quite a chore. Its a 2-hr car trip to Pittsburgh, then there is a connector flight to bigger city to get an intercontinental flight for 8-9 hours, this lands in Germany and then there is another flight to Dresden. Yes, its not easy but you know what the best part is? You get to do it all again on the way back! Whoo!

When I was in Florida with my team this past December, it was one of my kids' first time flying. He was a bit excited to say the least. When we got back I asked him if he enjoyed it and he commented that it was kind of boring and not a big deal. I made a comment that its a lot of waiting, and that is exactly what it is. I don't care where you're travelling, but its all about waiting. You need to get to the airport ontime so you can wait in line to check-in. Then you wait to go through security. Once there, you have to wait at the gate until its time to board. Then you wait in the plane as it waits (kind of waiting squared there) to take-off. The time in the air is spent trying not to go crazy, especially if you're seated next to this guy. After you land you have to wait until it gets to the gate and then you have to wait to get off the plane. If you were oh-so-lucky to check baggage you have to wait at the baggage claim for it to come out. If you're travelling internationally, you've gotta wait as you go through customs and recheck your baggage. So yeah, this is air travel in a nutshell. We can all attest that its not the most efficient system out there.

When you have to go through all this and deal with the jet lag/time change, it can be hard to be excited about the travelling. Since all I have to do is drive 2 hours to Pittsburgh to pick her up, well, I'm very excited about seeing her. We're going to have a fun time. She'll be able to see my life down here and find out what rural America is like. And maybe she'll get a chance to do a guest-blog or two and address the "Mensch" issue from awhile back.

Don't Call it a Comeback

2007-01-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

*Tap Tap* Is this thing on?
Its been awhile but I'm still here. I thought it might be a good idea to do some catching up. I'll try to keep it short, but my most die-hard readers know this won't be the case. First things first, I'm starting something new. As the title for all my posts come from a song lyric, I thought I'd put up a video for that song. This may not always work as sometimes I use obscure songs, but I'll do my best. Today you are treated to LL Cool J. That's Ladies Love Cool James for my readers not in the know (ie Mom and Dad).

I survived my first training trip as a coach. This went as smoothly as I could have hoped. The weather, the pools, the hotel...all got thumbs-up from the athletes. Oh yeah, the kids also trained their butts off. I was more then pleased with everything. We all had a great time and I know we're looking forward to next year.

Sadly I had to return from Florida but then I spent 10 days in Germany with the OFOMOL for Christmas and New Years. We had a wonderful time together. The weather was a little colder then I expected so I had to pick up a new winter coat while I was there. Yeah, I'm the dumbass who didn't pack one. As my old winter coat was 5 years old, I was in the market for one. I was able to pick up a nice European jacket -- one with the removable fleece liner. Its also in orange and black, very apropos for my job. Of course the saleswoman immediately tried to get me to buy the one for 300 Euros. Nope, sorry. Anyway, we're in a nice department store in downtown Dresden and go to check out. Since I'm travelling I'm carrying limited cash and use my debit card for other expenses. Well, this store does not take credit cards. How does this happen? I mean, McDonald's takes plastic thesedays. But over in Europe, its a little different. How are you supposed to cater to travelers like myself? Fortunately the OFOMOL covered it and I owe her. Hopefully the dollar doesn't lose any more value to the euro.

We took a side trip to Prague between Christmas and New Year's. What a beautiful city! We had a nice hotel right off the metro. The great thing about Prague is that it wasn't destroyed during WWII so the buildings are still preserved in their original state. It's also pretty cheap. We had a couple of really nice meals. For example, for $30 (thats in US Dollars, not Czech Koruna) I had a shrimp cocktail, main course, cup of tea, and a sprite while she had two glasses of wine, and a main course. Quite a deal. I also enjoyed that they spoke english there, so I was able to order things and talk with the merchants. Speaking of merchants, there are all sorts of shops for tourists to spend money. A lot of these places are pretty small. But you know what you can do? You can use a debit/credit card to pay for stuff. Now there is a concept that other places could adopt! I got to try some Grog -- rum, hot water, and sugar. The Czechs like to put a lot of rum in there. As it is a hot drink, you want to keep it warm, but the level of alcohol can limit this. I took it like a man and drank it up. I doubt I'll be having one of those again.

The visit to Europe was great. This was my first Christmas away from my family and even though her family doesn't speak English, I had a great time with the OFOMOL and her family. They made it feel like home.

Monday was a both a good and bad day. tOSU played what is, IMHO, their worst game in the Jim Tressel era. It was the first time that he was out-coached. The team look flat, they fell behind and didn't know how to respond. Whatever game plan (offensively and defensively) they had didn't work and the team wasn't able to adjust to what Florida had schemed. Anyone who followed them realizes this game isn't indicative of their season. 12-1 with a 2nd trip the BCS Championship game in 5 years is quite an accomplishment. Tressel will be back and will be hosting a crystal ball yet again.

As for the good news, well guess which band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum? Yes, R.E.M.!!!!! Like it was ever a question. One of the cool things is that Patti Smith (who heavily influenced all members of the band) is being inducted too. The other inductees are Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash, and the Ronettes. I'm looking forward to the traditional all-star jam. That should be fun. Its also curious as to who will induct the band. I mean their influence is profound and there is a laundry list of artists who could induct them. As good of music as they put out, their influence is equally parallel. They were leaders of the 80s college-rock/indie circuit. They put out an album a year from 83-88 and supported this with constant touring. This lead to their superstar status of the early-mid 90s. Bands these days look at them both musically and what they stand for. Yes I am a biased opinion, but this is truly worthy of everything they've done over the past 27 years.

Alright, hopefully I can get back on the horse and be a little more regular in this new year.

We Could Be Married

2006-11-28T20:02:00.000-05:00

This was supposed to go up last night...stupid blogger.

A little rant to start off the night. I really wonder what part of the gene pool I'm living with. I'm in the unfortunate position of having to do all my shopping Wal-Mart. I really don't like giving money to the evil empire that is Wal-Mart. Among the items I get is some pickles (whole dills for me, none of those spears) and a bottle of wine (Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon). I'm checking out and the cashier puts these two items in the same bag. C'mon now! The only two fragile, glass, and not to mention heavy, items I have and she puts them in the same bag?! Mensch?!

Anyway after that I tune into one of the few programs (and only comedy) I habitually watch, How I Met Your Mother. I love this show. The characters gel, it is well-written, the humor isn't forced...it's a real treat if you haven't seen it. Last night's episode really got me. The star of the show is Barney Stinson (portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, aka Doogie Howser). Barney is a classic womanizer who's sole goal is to bed any and every woman he meets...oh yeah he's got his own catch-phrase. A very likeable and enjoyable character. Oh yeah, how sweet is it that NPH is gay and his character is the totally hetero-womanizer. Very cool.

Anyway last night's episode featured Barney's gay brother coming to visit. Its not the fact that his brother is gay which provided the fodder, but the fact that he's black (portrayed wonderfully by Wayne Brady). We see that Wayne is everyway the same as his brother and they have quite a bond where they each benefit from each other (I know there's some fancy word for this). Through the course of their night out trying to pick-up women/men, Barney discovers that his brother is in a relationship and they're going to get married. It's not gay marriage that bothers Barney...no, but the issue is MARRIAGE itself. Barney had visions of him and his brother as perpetual bachelors and living their lives to bed every man or woman available and the idea of his brother getting married destroys these visions. Of course Barney comes around when he finds out his brother and his partner are adopting a baby. Fast-forward to the wedding and we see Barney with his new nephew and soon-to-be apprentice. Side-note, Ted and Robin are currently dating, but during "old Ted's" (Bob Saget) voiceovers, he always refers to her as Aunt Robin -- ie we know they are not going to work-out. But at the wedding (a year? later) the appeared together. Although when Marshall and Lily leave they both state separately that they each want to stay longer but then are seen dancing together. Its nice to know that as viewers we don't have to worry about will-they or won't-they stay together (see: Ross and Rachel). Anyway, great episode and be sure to tune-in if you haven't.

As a college-educated, fairly intelligent (I guess), 20-something, I'm supposed to be on-top of politics and the latest issues that hit the homefront. One of these is gay marriage. People ask me, "MOL, what's your stance on this?" From what I've been told its a hot-button issue. First off, we've got much bigger things to worry about then who marries who. Second, if two men or two women want to get married, how is it going to affect me? It's not. Third, having gay friends, if they want to get married, I'm going to be all for it. So yeah, I have no problem with it...let's talk about social security (friends it won't be there when we're at retirement age), government fiscal responsibility, or the state of education in this country, now those are the things we should be talking about.

Another reason I'm in favor of gay marriage is the economic aspect. Think about it. Gay marriage means that florists, wedding-planners, caterers, DJs, etc will all have more business. Yes that also means more weddings to attend and more gifts that we as guests have to purchase. Then honeymoons and all the other associated costs and this means more money into the system. I'm not an economist, but this all seems like a good thing. Then, as it is the case with "traditional marriages" there will be gay divorces. Now again, there are lawyer fees and associated costs to deal with. More money into the system. All of these people are businessfolks -- they're all looking for new customers. Its a pretty easy concept to grasp. Of course where I'm currently living, I'm probably in the extreme minority here.

Let's Get Physical

2006-10-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

So it appears that schools are now starting to ban Tag. Tag. That's right, the game where basically you run around a lot and someone is "IT" and tries to tag the others. Pretty innocent game that we all played as a kid. But apparently "they" (ie administrators who think they know what is best for kids) say it singles out kids and reveals a hierarchy of the good and the bad. This is inline with schools banning dodge ball because "the strong prey on the weak." Also, these people think that there is the chance that someone might get hurt. Millions of school kids have grown up playing these games. I doubt any of them have had "severe mental trauma" due to them; likewise anything physical that happens are your ordinary bumps & bruises.

There are two things that really get me when these things happen. One is the fact that we, as a nation, are growing increasingly fatter. These games serve a simple purpose where the kinds run around and burn calories. Those of us in the industry would refer to this as "aerobic exercise." Its a basic tenet of living an active lifestyle. Kids these days (I can't wait until I'm a grumpy old man) come home, watch TV, hop on the internet, and play video games. There is no more just running around outside games. Then schools are cutting recess and phys ed...add to this the wonderful nutrition options, and it's no wonder kids and our society are fat. I'm not asking all kids to be in travel sports teams with overzealous parents (thats a topic for another day), but being active for 30 min a day can do wonders for a kid.

The other thing that bothers me is that one of the reasons they've banned these games is because these games result in a pecking-order of the best to the worst. They (the administrators) want the kids to know they are all equal and on a level field. One of the things in life is that we're all separated from best to worst in everything we do -- school, athletics, looks, income, jobs...nothing in life is equal and we're all on various parts of the Normal Curve with all these things. Yes, it's not fun for a little kid to lose, but if they find out at a young age how to deal with not being the best & losing, it'll serve them better later in life. It also helps to motivate them to find out what areas (sports, school) they are good at. Life is all about dealing with rejection in some way or the other. Whether its the girl you asked out, or getting turned down a bunch of times before you get a job, or applying for a mortgage...we find a way to deal with it. This reminds me of that South Park episode where they were putting on a Christmas show/pageant at school. In order to not offend ANYONE it went from a show about Christmas and Santa to this "interperative dance" number where everyone was dressed in black dancing to European techno music and it had NOTHING to do with Christmas. Its things like this that make me wonder if this country is really headed in the right direction.

I Was Never Cool in School

2006-10-16T20:17:00.000-04:00

A couple of updates...looks like FNL isn't getting the ratings NBC has hoped. It's a lot better then its competition of Dancing with the Stars (sorry sisters/mom). Tuesday at 8:00, give it a try. Other TV stuff, I'm a big fan of How I Met Your Mother, but The Class is just awful. That doesn't, however, stop me from watching it. It's one of those things where I know I'm not enjoying it, but I keep going anyway just to see if maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel. My conclusion -- it must be a very long tunnel or there is no light.

CFB...MSU got destroyed by OSU on saturday. Not a big surprise, however...John L is as good as gone. Of course this means a new coach that will bring in a new feelgood era of perpetual mediocrity. Whenever MSU plays OSU it gets me thinking about loyalty to a team. I was raised as a Buckeyes fan. Throughout the Cooper years where we'd be just good enough and then lose to Michigan and then to current Tressel-ball era which has resulted in 1 National Championship and one of the premier programs of the last 5 years...it's been fun. Two years ago, however, I entered Grad school at MSU and suddenly I'm a fan of a Big 10 school that I actually attend. So when MSU plays OSU, who do I cheer for? Well despite being an OSU fan, I have no ties to the school and actually attended MSU. That being said, I feel that after all these years I should cheer for OSU. I came to the decision that I'll cheer for OSU except when they play MSU. Of course MSU sucks so royally this year, the point is moot.

As a fan of OSU, I'm actually cheering for Michigan to win. I want that on November 18, there is a colossal matchup that surpasses all the hype that will surely precede it. Of course, UM has to survive the #2 jinx that has seen 4(?) #2's lose over the past month or so.

Well, I've had some requests to discuss a certain topic. Yes, I made my official competitive debut as a collegiate swim coach. It was a long weekend that involved 2.5 drive friday afternoon and then back that night. We got back at 12:15 and then had a 6am departure saturday morning for an 8:30 am meet. It was originally scheduled for 12:30 but for some reason that I don't understand, a top-10 football team is much more important then a swimming meet. There were some good swims, and I know where we need some work. It was a long weekend and the kids did a lot of swimming and were tired. That said, I was pleased with the last relay, although I have to get one of my swimmers to take his 100 out faster -- 25.0/25.7 were his splits. And yes, we do team warm-downs despite the complaints. It's good for them. I was pleased with how things went. I keep telling the kids -- we train for february. We use these meets and progress reports to let us know how the training is going and to work on little things like turns, breathing patterns, and stratergery. Then when we get to conferences, everything is cake.

It's Friday Night

2006-10-11T20:26:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to go up last night...we'll give it a try now.

Well no, it's only tuesday. But I'm sitting here watching the 2nd episode of "Friday Night Lights." I had no interest in it until a week or so ago and was hearing so many good things about it. I watched the first episode and color me impressed. I haven't read the book, but I saw the movie and thought it was so-so, nothing special. I wasn't giving it much of a shot so I tuned in and I think I'm hooked. It's one of those "inspired by" things where it is based on the book but the book is non-fiction so in all actuality the only things similar is the fact that it's about a town in Texas who live and die by how their high school football team does and the harmony/disharmony (racial or otherwise) that exists within the team and the town. Anyway, how many football shows have their been? Uh....Coach? Well that was a 1/2 hour comedy and didn't really focus on football itself. So its a TV show about football...big deal. But it's filmed like a documentary so it goes against the grain of the traditional drama. The big reason I like it is that in my new career as a coach I have a lot more perspective on the individual personalities on an athletic team. Being an athlete is one thing...but when you're a coach you have all the personalities to monitor and keep tabs on. The show also has a lot of subtle take-home mesages that, as a coach, I just eat up. If you haven't watched this show, give it a try, especially if you've ever been part of a team. It's pretty good stuff.

Other happenings...well I'm living in a state that has the oldest (I'm about 98% sure) senator in the nation and he's running for reelection this year. He was born in 1917, his name is all over EVERYTHING in this state...this means he'll be 95 by the time his term is up, providing he's still alive. Anyway, in the midst that is the mid-term elections we're all subject to those political ads. One has this senator talking about how he's proposed/pushing a bill to allow for silent prayer in school. HELLO?! McFly?! Seriously, do we need a bill for SILENT prayer? I'm pretty sure that this happens regardless if there is a law about it or not. I know for a fact that I've done this more then a fair share of time whenever I've had a test/exam/paper -- just asking for a little guidance and success. But really, a bill? C'mon, anyone else out there that finds this completely ridiculous?
................................................................

OK, it's Wednesday now. Overheard while walking home this evening:
Female co-ed "The best day ever was when I found out I could use my Old Navy card at Gap and Banana Republic!"

Continuing the theme of TV shows from above, I'm currently watching 30 Rock. You know NBC has two shows on the new schedule that are behind-the-scene views on a fictional late-night TV show...both based on SNL. One is a drama (Studio 60...) while 30 Rock is a comedy. I'm really digging 30 Rock right now. Tiny Fey is great...seeing Alec Baldwin as a smarmy (is that even the right word?) network exec is great...and Tracy Morgan was always underrated on SNL. He's playing the "wacky/outrageous/crazy movie star" and he may actually break-out on this role. Overall (for the time being) it seems that NBC has some quality shows on its network and may be coming back from the low point they were at a year or two ago.

An Island in the Sun

2006-10-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

The Lost premiere LiveBlog. Spoilers below!

9:01
Just like last year we open up with an unknown person (Julie v Desmond) while and old song playing (Downtown v Make Your Own Kind of Music). She's in a book club and there appears to be an earthquake. And its Henry Gale!!! Henry Gale flashback alert! And they see the plane go down!! Is this the island? Ethan is back! Wow! It looks like middle-America on the island! It's the others and what a beginning!

I'm really looking forward to the character development of Henry Gale/whatever his real name is. He's got the sinister bad guy look down pat.

9:07
Hula music playing and Jack is looking like an iggle and spying/stalking Carol Vescey...ooops his wife? Well she was having an affair...now he wakes up on the island in some sort of prison. Damn Others! There appears to be a glass/plexiglass barrier. Kate is awakened ina shower by it appears to be Zeke. Why are the Others so hostile? They did something to her as she has a bandage on her arm. Sawyer has that "I'm pissed off I'm in jail" look and starts talking to some kid. I bet he's a spy for the Others. And Sawyer just gets shocked? and flys across his cell. Jack meets Juliette...could she be the new love for him?

Promo for the new Clint Eastwood Iwo Jima movie...Flags of Our Fathers. We're starting to get into Oscar time. That one looks like a good one. Of course epic war movies usually due well.

9:19
Jack and Carol Vessey...er Sarah are meeting to settle their divorce and then head to Stuckeybowl with Ed and Phil and the gang. I keeed, I keeed. Back in the cell, I see flashbacks to his blonde ex and now there is another blonde in front of him who is being very nice with him. Yes, this is definitely his new love interest.

9:22
Kate showers and all her clothes are gone....with a locker that says "wear this." Hmmmm....it's a sundress and it appears to fit her to a T. Henry Gale looks to be wineing & dining miss Kake. For being on an island in the middle of nowhere, they certainly have some nice dishes and kitchen items. Ohhh he's threatening her with no coffee if she doesn't put on the handcuffs...and she listens to him! I don't think that's much of a threat, but apparently coffee is quite the commodity around here. Henry's playing psychological games with her...and the next two weeks are not going to be fun for her. I have a hard time believing that. Kate has shown that she just be the toughest of the Losties out there. She has quite the checkered past and I'm sure she can hold her own. I wonder if the Others know everything about her.

About halfway through and so far so good. Good stuff. Of course I'm not looking forward to the ending that answers one question, but opens up 3-5 more.

9:30
And it's Jack's dad who's having the affair with his wife?! Scandalous. No wonder Jack is so pissed off and everything. Jack hears something in his cell and it sounds like just what his dad said..."Give it up Jack." I'm a believer that Jack's dad is alive on the island. Yeah that's a little far-fetched but look what happened with Locke's legs. Juliette is being pretty friendly and gives Jack the 'ol "you can trust me" line. I definitely see these two getting together before the hiatus.

9:36
Sawyer is talking with the kid and I think he's convinced the guy is an Other....and somehow they escape. Run Sawyer Run1!!! And kind Julie shoots him with a stun gun and he's back where he started. I guess Julie isn't so sweet and innocent afterall.

9:47
I got a phone call and Jack has confronted his dad. And now there is a flood in the cell...and no one is going to die because you don't kill off main characters during the first episode. How where did the water come from? Julie packs one hell of a punch. Yeah these Others are some tough folks. I really wonder what happened with them.

Another promo for The Nine with some nice background music. Reminiscent of Sigur Ros or Godspeed You! Black Emporer or Explosions in the Sky but they were featured in Friday Night Lights last night

9:53
just a few more minutes left so that means get ready for the big ending. Sawyer is messing around in his cell and figures out the contraption and wins a fish biscuit! Whooo! Now he sees Kate in her dress and they both start feeling a little randy...no but these two are hooking up this year.

9:56
Jack realizes he's in an aquarium and underwater...in the Hydra station. Wow, they've got quite the dossier on Jack. How do they know all this stuff...she has his autopsy report? All with me now...WTF?
And Sarah gives us tonight's money line "It doesn't matter who he is, it's who you're not." That hurts.

And this is all part of their plan...because? Well it appears that Henry Gale's real name is Ben. i liked Henry Gale better.

Well, that was a good episode. It didn't have the "cliffhanger ending" which is nice because it's hard to be a fan and deal with that every week.

Why Don't You Quiet Down?

2006-10-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm...well, how do I put this...I can be unique at times. Call them personality traits, quirks, eccentricities (nah, I don't like that one), or whatever. We all have them, some may argue I have them more then others (I'd love your feedback on this). This is who I am and most of you seem to put up with it.

I started a new "project." Most of us have a jar (or something similar) where we put all our loose change. These jars seem to accumulate more change then they lose. For students they can be a blessing to save quarters for laundry and raid snack machines. At some point we're faced with the daunting task of trying to get rid of these coins and this usually entails going to the bank and making rolls of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Then the process begins again. It's a vicious cycle.

A couple months ago I made the decision to take matters into my own hand. I've been making a concerted effort to use change when paying with stuff. Yes it takes a couple of extra seconds to pull out the requisite coins...but I'm making progress. It's also nice to receive just bills as change rather then a handful of coins. Usually its the cashier who gives US the change...I'm giving THEM change.

The second part of my project is to give support to the penny. Yes, the good 'ol copper Lincoln penny. The coin which we all collect and seldom use. Its often seen as a nuisance and people (including lawmakers) want to get rid of it citing its lack of importance and cost to manufacture. The debate rages on. I believe in the penny. I believe we should all be using pennies in our cash transactions. I'd much rather get a nickel/dime/quarter back instead of 1-4 pennies. Plus there is the fact that so many people "horde" pennies and don't use them...by me (and others) actively pushing people to use the penny, they get back into circulation and the cost goes down. Yes I know I'm one lonely blogger and this is read mainly by my family and friends...but I encourage you to use the penny. Take the time to pull out 1-4 (or even more!) pennies out of your pocket and get them back into circulation. I make a habit of always having at least four pennies in my pocket for when I go shopping. This way I can ensure that I get non-pennies back. In the scope of my project, I try to take enough change to make sure I only get bills back.

I realize that at some point I'll be rid of all of my change. Then I'll just reach an equilibrium point where I've always have some change in my possession but I'll be constantly using it. In closing, I want you to use the penny and give it some love as it is a valuable part of our history and our culture.

That said, you can now commence making fun of me.

Come Gather 'Roud People

2006-09-30T19:29:00.000-04:00

So we here at MOL have a new look. I got a tip a couple days ago that the blog was looking a little...well off. So I decided to take some time and fix it. First thing you'll notice is the new colors. Really no reason for this. I was fooling around with the layouts when I was trying to fix the thing and ended with this one. I like it...of course if you like the old blue/grey template, lemme know. In the chaos that was my blog this past week, the links I had got lost. So I took the time to update them and revise the list a little. You'll notice that instead of arranging the links by group, they are all together. I also took a couple out that haven't been updated in awhile and added a couple more.

I'm sure some of you are awaiting my reaction to last week's Notre Dame/MSU game. If you want any single game to define the John L. Smith era in East Lansing, it's that one. A classic MSU meltdown. Having only followed the Spartans for the past couple of years, I'm not that in-tuned with the program...but in these 2-3 short years, there are a handful of games that follow the same path. MSU gets out to a lead and is dominating. Then we get to the 4th quarter and the team just implodes. Michigan 2 years ago, Michigan last year, OSU last year, and then this debacle. No no no, Notre Dame did not win the game -- MSU lost it. How do you give up 19 points in the 4th quarter, at home, at night, in a monsoon? It's rediculous! Some teams get to the 4th quarter and no matter if they are winning or losing, they are able to do what needs to be done. Sparty gets to the 4th quarter and one feeling sets in -- fear. Fear. They are afraid the no matter what kind of lead, they'll end up losing. And it comes down to the coaching. time to sign the petition, as John L. Smith will NOT be back next year (especially after the loss to Illinois...ILLINOIS!!!). Of course, this means we get to look at what other coaches will be out of a job and maybe, just maybe, we can get someone (yeah right) who will be able to lead the Green and White to the promised land. If you've got 15 minutes to spare, listen to this guy (via Deadspin). That gives you a good idea of how all us Spartan fans are doing. Sidenote: I'm still looking for a YouTube clip of John L. Smith's halftime interview from the OSU game last year. For those that didn't see it, MSU totally mismanaged the clock & their timeouts. What should have been an easy (well, our kickers sucked last year) 3-points resulted in a blocked-field goal returned for a TD. The sideline reporter got him right after that and what resulted is one of the all-time classic interviews. It is not often where you get a coach right after such a momentum-swinging play.

What else do I have to say? Well the OFOMOL (Official Female of Metamorphosis of Life aka my girlfriend) have been dating for one year now. Being in a long-distance (and inter-continental) relationship is not the easiest thing in the world. Luckily she's one of the most understanding and wonderful women in the world. We've got a great thing and we're both committed to making it work out. Even though we are thousands of miles apart, I wouldn't want to be with anyone else.

That's it for now. Time for some football.

Speaking in Tongues, Its Worth a Broken Lip

2006-09-10T15:46:00.002-04:00

OSU outplays and scores a convincing win over Texas.
I was thinking that Texas was going to pull it out, but I am happy with the result. I was surprised at how flat UT was. They are the defending national champs and for OSU to come into Austin and do what they did...I think it comes down to prep from the coaches. One thing you know from Tressel is that the team is always ready to go. Even in loses, the games are close and the kids are prepared. UT lacked that fire & intensity that we saw from them last year.

Elsewhere, Matt Trannon (if you didn't know, he plays basketball too!) caught 14 passes for 141 yards, scored 2 TDs, and threw a TD pass in MSU's rout of EMU. They head to Pitt next week and then take on the Fighting Irish in 2 weeks. There are two certainties when it comes to MSU football: 1) they are going to get your hopes up early only to be dashed in the 2nd half of the year and 2) they ALWAYS show up for the ND game. The Irish are currently #2 and (provided they beat UM next week) will be coming into the EL 3-0. For whatever reason (it boggles me), the Spartans always play well against ND and have actually beaten them consistenly over the past 5-10 years. I'm looking for an upset that will put the Irish (and their ardent followers) in their place. I even found a new shirt to buy for the occasion.

So I go to buy said shirt. Its 2006 and internet commerce has been going strong for the past 10 years. I've bought a fair share of items over the net and I've never had a problem. Put in your credit card and boom, you're on your way. Most portals allow you to ship items to addresses that do not match those on the credit card. This is great when you are send gifts. This also is convenient when you have recently moved. Such is the case with me. Not all the addresses on my various mailings have been changed, nor has my new ATM card come yet. Well I go to checkout at Spreadshirt, but I need matching addresses. Mensch! OK so then I go online to change my address for my VISA. Well my new address is a funny thing, as I live at a half-address, XX 1/2. Well, for whatever reason the code doesn't like the forward-slash and I can't put in the full address. I tried with a decimal point and I still get the message about how I can only use alpha-numerics. Maybe one of my computer saavy readers can fill me in on why this is the case. I was able to change Discover Card and Sports Illustrated addresses with no problem.

Frustrated, I decide to call customer service. This is always one of the things I look forward to least -- punching countless numbers and saying "yes" or "no" when prompted. Then being put on hold while listening to countless repeats of "Company X kisses your ass for being on hold for so long and cares about you." Usually if I'm on hold for longer then 5 minutes, I hang up. For whatever reason, I get taken care of quickly. OK, this is good. Until I hear the operator and realize my call has been outsourced to some unnamed foreign country (hint: it sounds a bit like the state west of where I'm from). And of course he speaks with a fairly-heavy accent. Heavy enough that I have to concentrate on what he is saying -- not a good thing when you are in "customer service." So I tell him I need to change my addy -- fairly simple, right? Well he asks me if I've filled out the proper paperwork.....paperwork? What are you talking about? I moved from point A to point B and I tried to change my address with your company but I couldn't. I told him no I hadn't and I had no idea what he was talking about. I then tell him my address with the infamous "half" in there. This sounded as it confused him and he asked "how do you write that?" Uhh...just like it sounds. Yes I know that a half address is not the most common thing, but its not the first time in my life I've encountered it. So then I tell him the rest of the address and we get to the state and I say "West Virginia" and he asks me how to spell "Virginia." Dude, you're in customer service for a US company, you should know how to spell things say like the 50 STATES! Even if he doesn't know how to spell it, shouldn't there be a drop-down menu to select "WV"? Ugh. There were a few times when I really had no idea what he was saying and asked him to repeat it. Then after we were done he tries to get me to enroll in some program sponsored by the credit card company. I say no and he issues the reply "Let me speak on experience..." and I say no again and like a horny male teenager he still doesn't get it and presses further when my third and final stern "No" takes care of him. Did I ever tell you I hate calling customer service peeps...

White Light, White Light Goin' Messin' Up My Mind

2006-08-31T20:28:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here watching the MTV VMAs...I'll try and do the 'live blog thing...of course no one is actually reading this right now so it'll be a "live blog read at a later time."

Opening
OK, Jack Black is a pretty cool guy and can be funny...but what was up with the opening? I realize that it was supposed to have all this excitement and fire and explosions and there were none. Right, I get it, it's ironic. But it wasn't funny. Not even on the ironic side. Then he intoduces The Raconteurs, whom not many people know. Add that Lou Reed is playing with them and most people are thinking "Hey, isn't that Jack White? Did the White Stripes break up? Where's Meg? That Jack White is kinda creepy. Who's that old guy and why doesn't he know the words? Must be a new song..." Yes, Lou Reed is rock & roll icon, but aside from musicphiles, the majority of people watching the VMAs have no idea who he is. The audience definitely gave a courtesy clap.

Lil' Kim
Boy, a year in jail really does a number on your boobs.

Best Hip Hop Video
*Crosses Fingers* No Black Eyed Peas, No Black Eyed Peas, No Black Eyed Peas....Dammit!
Two awards and Kanye is 0-2.

Ohhh Shakira featuring Wyclef. That's what makes the VMAs so special, all these people you'd never expect performing together. It's great.

Cast of Jackass
I love these guys. Can't wait for the next movie. Look it's Wee-man's wee-weenie.

Raconteurs are back sans Mr. Reed. I guess it's past his bedtime.

Commercial for some movie with Napolean Dynamite, Billy Bob Thorton, David Cross, Todd Louiso, Ben Stiller, Horation Sanz...School For Scoundrels, this looks good.

LL and 50
50 cent has 8 bullets in him and is still alive...figure that one out. Kelly Clarkson wins and LL & 50 accept for her. Another round of courtesy claps.

Lil Jon and some rapper I don't know...introduce Pharrell and some other rapper I don't know, although looks and sounds like Ludacris. If I don't get that one right, there goes my street cred.

Sarah Silverman...she's got that quasi-funny, semi-attractive thing going, but is overrated due to her relationship with Jimmy Kimmell...anyway she's talking about Lance Bass. Yeah I was gone for three weeks in Germany and find out Lance Bass is gay?! Didn't see that one coming...

Hey, Kyle from Tenacious D is there...isn't it funny how JB always has to intruduce KG as the other half of TD? Never fails. Now they riff on it. I hope they play later.

Jessica Simpson...isn't getting any more attractive. Anyway we get the best Dance video, I don't care about the Pussycat Dolls...they are talking to much, where is the orchestra?

Chris Brown...don't know who you are but he intro's OK Go who are doing a sweet treadmill-dance video thing. I know the bald guy is just the bass player, but he's the coolest. Nothing rocks more then four indie guys doing a choreographed dance routine. Jamiroqui, take that!

Paris Hilton...you know her song isn't that bad, I think that, because it's her, we all expect bad things. Did she get Jack Black introducing her as "a leading producer in independent film"?

Ohhh, Nicole Ritchie right after Paris, how scandalous! Anyway her and Nick Lachey do best pop? video. Madonna shouldn't be allowed to sample ABBA. No one should. And Pink wins, whoo hooo! Pink is one of the most manly women I've ever seen.

Snoop Dogg
You can never get enough Snoop, that is for sure. I hope he's still being Snoop when he's a geriatric. You know what? I don't know any of these rappers save 50. I'm so outta touch with what's cool.

I have no idea who is singing. Do you sense a theme here? Gosh, I suck.

Sarah Silverman, still not funny

Jared Leto and Amy Lee...can we get anymore pseudo-goth, dark, and disturbing than these two? And I'm just convinced that Jared Leto was talking with P. Diddy. That is the 2nd time a Moonman breaks. Is MTV having budget problems? And since when can people drink during/onstage?

"Hey this song sounds semi-familiar" thinks half the audience as the Raconteurs play "Steady as She Goes," their "hit."

Ringtone of the year
This is a category? Seriously? Again, no Black Eyed Peas, no Black Eyed Peas, no Black Eyed Peas...Yes! Oh wait, this guy is from Linkin Park? I get it now.

Panic at the Disco
I'm trying to figure out who these guys sound like. Or maybe they just sound like every other "emo" band. I do like their costumes, however.

Best New Artist
Oh no, not Fegie. Go back to Kids Incorporated and play a keytar. But who is this little girl? I like how Fregie can barely lift up her legs to dance because her dress is so short. Very classy, very classy. I have to be honest here and say that I do like that "Angels and Airwaves" song.

Jack White looks uncomfortable at the prospects of being in a band with Jack Black.

OMG OMG, Britney & K-Fed!!! OMG OMG!!!! You know, they actually look decent. I'm disappointed. Beyonce wins, good for her.

Kanye West...ohhh what is he going to say? Damn, nothing controversial. He just talks about Hype Williams receiving the Video Vanguard. The shiny suits were great, they defined late-90s Rap videos. Missy Elliot is having some car problems...I always like when live events don't go as planned. It's perfectly fine to show your blemishes.

Christina Aguilera...*yawn* is this over yet?

Again Lou Reed. Why is he on MTV? At least they are playing the one song of his that is the most popular. Ohhh, I think I'll grow my hair like the guys in AFI. One side short...one side long. And Lou Reed gets no props from the audience and awkwardly sunters to the rear of the stage. Poor guy. In 20 years no one will remember AFI but people will still [hopefully] remember Lou Reed.

Commercial break...hey it looks like Bob Dylan is doing a Gap commercial...sell-out. Oh wait, it's for Apple, so that doesn't make him a sell-out, right? right?

More Black Eyed Peas? Someone drop a bomob on them or something. What is KG doing back there? Who is Kyle Gass anyway? And I don't understand Jack Black's schtick. He's not really funny, of course as I write this him and KG do an awkward fat-man hug. And now Tenacious D sing.

Fallout Boy win Viewer's Choice. Whooo.

And it's Al Gore!!! Wow, what a surprise! Remember when the VMAs were uncool and had surpises at the end of the show like Guns & Roses playing a couple years ago?

And now the Raconteurs cover the Buggles and sing "Internet killed the radio star" How clever.

J. Lo comes out looking...I don't even know. And Panic at the Disco wins Video of the Year. Very anticlimatic. And some guy commandeers the microphone...now THAT's what I'm talking about! Anyway in 10 years people are going to look back and say "Panic at the Disco?" Who?

Hey speaking of Guns and Roses, it's Axl! Axl, Axl, when is Chinese Democracy coming out? And he introduces the Killers wh ile speaking about how he just met them and came out just to do this. Suuure. Anyway, the Killers are a nice guilty pleasure. I'll admit I dig them and I'll probably be buying their new record.

That's it. Finally it is over and I can go to bed. Thank you for all who made it through my first live blogging experience.

I'm Back to Save the Universe

2006-08-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

Hey gang, it's been awhile. I know you all have been checking in daily and anxiously awaiting my return. I bet a little smile even came across your face when you dropped on by and said "hey, a new post." Such is the life of my faithful readers. I appreciate it, I really do.

Thank you all for the feedback about various travels and experiences with pay-to-pee toilets throughout Europe. I was under the impression that it was just limited to Germany, but I was sadly mistaken. First time in my life, how about that? Of course I didn't even touch upon their hygiene habits and lack of using deodorant.

I know it seems like I've ripped on Europeans a lot, but really it was a couple of these small things that bugged me. I really had a wonderful time. A lot of people who know me well (read: the family) know I'm not that forthcoming with feelings when it comes to relationships. I can tell you that after my 3 weeks in Germany, the OFOMOL and I are as close as ever and we are both confident and committed to making this thing work.

One thing that I really liked about Europe was the SMART Car. I can be pretty jingoistic when it comes to my feelings about the country I live in. One area I certainly don't identify with is the culture of gas-guzzling, over-priced, accident-prone, bigger-is-better SUVs. As I've started a new (well my first "real") job, I'm looking to buy a car soon. I only have a couple of requirements when looking for a car -- within my budget, reliable, and gets good (great) gas mileage. But when I saw the SMART Car....whoa nellie! I think I've seen these somewhere, probably on some Discovery Channel/TLC/etc show that was filmed in Europe. But to see one up close and driving around, I was amazed! This thing is so anti-American it isn't even funny! I think that's why I like it, it is so different. How would we respond to this car in the US? Well, looks like we'll be finding out in a couple of years. It will be interesting. Both the New Beetle and the [new] Mini Cooper were hits when they were released in the past decade. But both of those were revised versions of classic cars. If I was living in a major metropolitan area, I would certainly entertain the idea of getting one. I could totally see this being a "trendy" car purchased by yuppies and indie-hipster (provided they have the income) types.

I found a neat little site over the weekend, Improv Everywhere. They are a group of people, headed up by Charlie Todd, who performs with the Upright Citizen's Brigade. He organizes public "gatherings" and kind of plays pranks on unsuspecting employees, shoppers, and random folks of the public. Go to their website and check it out. Just to give you an idea, one mission involved a group of people all dressing in khaki pants and blue shirts. They all went into Best Buy and stood at the end of an aisle. If asked by a customer about an item, they answered the question. Of course this provided amusement for employees and shoppers but management didn't like it. BTW, their page is down, so I can't put up links right now. Another mission they coordinated a multi-person 5-minute "skit" that was played out repeatedly over the course of an hour in Starbucks. Take some time to read their missions. If you appreciate this kind of humor, you'll get a kick out of it.

There Was a Checkpoint Charlie

2006-08-13T16:39:00.000-04:00

A fair warning to those faithful readers of mine who don't like to read: This may be my last update for awhile due to me travelling back to the states and then moving next weekend, so I plan on writing a lot.

Well I'm having a great time here in Germany. I've noticed a couple of cultural differences, however, that absolutly drive me crazy. The first and foremost is the fact that they make you pay to use bathrooms. Is this insane? It doesn't matter where you are -- public, private, museum, department store...there is someone's who's job it is to patrol the bathrooms and make sure that people pay the requisite 0.50€. Talk about a job that sucks! Going to the bathroom is a natural human process and they are charging us to take care of this multi-daily task? I don't think so! Being a man, it is a bit easier as we can just go wherever we want...but still. I mean, if someone is going to make me pay to go to the bathroom, I'm going to make sure I get my money's worth. I'll take Moby Dick in there or something and cozy up to do some reading. I think a great protest would be for a bunch of students (cause they love to protest) to go into bathrooms and just stand in front of the toilets. Do this all day to protest charging for bathrooms. Germany is the only country that does this.

The second gripe...well its not really a grip because it's not that big of a deal is German's adversion to crossing against a traffic light. What do us American's do? We come to a street, look to see if any traffic is coming, and as long as there is no traffic, we'll cross. We really don't care if the sign says "Don't Walk" or not...no traffic is a go for us. Germans on the otherhand will do their civic duty and wait for the sign to change. It is really something to see an empty street and a bunch of people on either side waiting for the walk sign to appear. Speaking of walk signs, being in the former GDR, I'm privy to a rather neat cultrual phenomenon, that of the Amplemannchen. The Amplemannchen is the crosswalk signal from the former GDR that is much more exciting than it's FRG counterpart, and a lot more exciting then the boring WALK/DON'T WALK we have in the US. Being in Dresden, I've also seen the female version Here is a pic of the Amplemannchen:

Other then these two things, Germany is great. One thing that Germany is known for is it's beer, and I'm more then happy to report that I've been drinking my fill. Radeberger and Feldschlößchen are the two regional beers I've been drinking the most of. Something that is really hard to get used to, as an American, is the lack of open container laws. Every day I see people having a beer walking down the road, riding the tram, or hanging out wherever...you can drink any place you like. It's great! And beer is usually one of the cheapest things on the menu, so why drink pop or water when a beer will be cheaper! I love it!

Yesterday I went to a European Soccer match. We went to the 1. FC Dynamo Dresden game. The Dynamo (procounced Du-Na-Mo btw) play in Germany's 3rd league, but it was still quite fun. I was quite impressed with the fan support. I mean I would equate this (any soccer snobs, please correct me) to attending a minor league baseball game. Small stadium, cheap seats, & a level of play below that of the Bundesliga. But the fans come out in droves! Colors of yellow, maroon, and black were everywhere! The fan section I would equate to the fan sections at NCAA Football and/or Basketball games. The fans stand the whole game and cheer and chant and yell and sing. It is great! I was patted down as I entered the stadium and I don't ever recall havind gone through that in the US. I was also told that people throw batteries onto the field at opposing players....hmmm, sounds familiar. I can only imagine what it would be like attending a game in the Bundesliga or the Premiership. Gotta put that one on life's to-do list.

We went to Berlin last weekend and that was quite something. Most of us remember the Wall coming down and what it meant...but there is a real history to the Wall and what it stood for that many of us don't know. It was real humbling and educational to read about it and how events played out. The thing that I never really thought about was that the Wall was around and containted the "free" West Germans while the "non-freee" East Germans could travel where they liked (except for West Berlin that is). The other thing that the OFOMOL told me is that East Berlin was a city where East Germans wanted to live because they could receive TV channels from the West and they had some of the best living situations; West Germans, on the other hand, didn't want to live in West Berlin (it was isolated, who could blame them?) and incentives were offered to get people to live and work there. Then in 1989 the Wall came down, David Hasselhoff came for a visit and Capitalism spread across the land. Now they make a buck by selling stuff from those by-gone days. Karl Marx must be rolling in his grave when he sees this:

OK, I fly back to the states on Wednesday. Hopefully I get home with the least of delays and there are no terrorists on my plane...if not, I'll do my best to take them down. I move down to the sticks on saturday. Look for details in the coming weeks about my place down there. I appreciate the comments, so keep them coming.

No One Else Would Know

2006-08-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

Second Radiohead lyric in the past three posts...oh well, OK Computer is very applicable to travelling.

Not being a native speaker and knowing all of 50 words in German, watching TV hasn't been that exciting. There is CNN International to watch, which is in English. Although I can only watch so much of the conflict in the Middle East. The other channel I've found interest in in Eurosport. Yes, everything is in German, but sports are pretty universal and I can figure out what is going on without knowing that the announcers are saying.

Without my knowledge I happen to be here during the European Swimming Championships. This is great as Eurosport is broadcasting them. It is not that they are just broadcasting the finals of each event...no, they are showing most of the preliminary heats, semifinals, and finals of all swimming and diving events. This is amazing! How often are we treated to swimming on TV in the states? I know they show the NCAA Division I National meet every year, but that is on tape delay a week or so after the competition takes place. Other then that, the only swimming on TV we get is every four years with the Olympic Trials and the Olympics. Not only is Eurosport showing everything, most of it is LIVE! None of this tape delay BS where, in the age of the internet, you know who has won. Its really great! I wake up in the morning and while we're eating breakfast, I get to watch prelims swims of events. Even with the distance events of the 800 and 1500, they show practically every length. I remember watching Olympics in years past where they would show the start and then the last 100 of the 1500. It was beautiful to watch the German women destroy the world record in the 800 Free Relay last night as the anchor brought it home in a blistering 1:55 and change.

Those of us that are involved in the sport of swimming often complain to the lack of attention our sport gets outside of the Olympics. This is because networks choose not to broadcast meets such as Nationals; if they do, it is on tape delay and takes away from the excitement of watching the event live. Part of the reason for this is ESPN's near monopoly on sports coverage. Yes there are other networks that cover sports, but ESPN is the only 24-hour sports network and is watched in more homes then any other network. How great would it be instead of watching a radio broadcast (yes, they actually film the inside of the radio booth...very exciting TV) of Mike & Mike in the morning, they broadcast live events such as swimming, track and field, or even the EPL. Instead of watching Skip Bayless and Woody Paige argue non-sensical points, we could actually be watching real sports events. What a concept! There are very few US events (well, those that ESPN covers) that take place during the day and based on the success of the 2006 World Cup, the EPL could do very well.

I've started to tire of ESPN and it only sucks because there really isn't a viable alternative. It reminds me of when MTV started broadcasting shows instead of videos. ESPN needs to broadcast sports, instead of another talking head. But keep PTI, that is one of the few shows that works.

Wir Fahr'n Fahr'n Fahr'n Auf Der Autobahn

2006-07-31T07:42:00.000-04:00

Spent the good portion of sunday sight-seeing and being a good little tourist. We started the day by going to church in downtown Dresden. I've been attending Catholic masses my whole life, but this was my first one in a foreign language. I knew the procedure and what was going on, but gosh if I had any idea what they were saying. If the church ever needed an argument for a return to Latin celebrations, this is it. It was a bit ironic that in an old historical church, they use electronic boards to indicate the number of the hymn. I'm pretty sure I've never seen THAT in any other church before. Of course I would have been happier had they spent a bit more money and put pads on the kneelers...I do not enjoy kneeling on just wooden kneelers.

Dresden is probably most famous for the firebombing that took place there at the end of World War II. The former GDR lacked money (one reason communism is maybe not so good) to rebuild many of the historical buildings in the city that were destroyed, so they remained in ruins until reunification. The city is still in the midst of rebuilding and renovating the buildings, but it is amazing what they have done so far. They've mixed old bricks that were salvagable with new ones to completely reconstruct these buildings. It is all pretty amazing. We certainly do not have historical buildings like that in the U.S.

One thing I do like to joke about with the OFOMOL is how I'm visiting a former Communist country. Growing up in the US (and the West) we have certain stereotypes about Eastern Bloc countries and how life was so bad there. Talking to her about it, and learning from her mom, life wasn't bad...it was just different. They were not lesser people. The citizens were not tortured or treated badlz. Some western Germans still think this, and that is a shame.

I have taken some pictures of Communist things -- some buildings and murals that still stand, and I even saw an old car from the GDR. Another reason that Communism may not be the best way of governance -- people had to wait 10+ years for a car. And tropical fruits were unavailble...they could only visit other Easter Bloc countries and even this was hard...although they did have "free elections" where the people could vote for whoever they wanted. Then there was the Stasi -- no one knew who was a member and they mointored for anti-government behavior. So yeah, Communsim was not a good thing. On a good note, I even touched one of the buildings and I am happy to report that I did not catch Communism.

It is nice to see all of these buildings and symbols as they remind all of us that History is filled with not-so-great moments. We should look back and learn from these things so that we can create a more better world.

Taking Off and Landing

2006-07-29T08:31:00.000-04:00

Well I made it safe and sound to Germany. I survived my first overseas plane flight. Before leaving C-town I got a bite to eat while watching the Tribe lose (damn they suck) at Max & Ermas. I got a turkey sandwhich and washed it down with a Sam Adams Summer Ale. While doing this I decided to do a little reading. My current book of choice is "Swimming Fastest" by Ernest Maglischo. An 800-page behemoth that details anything related to training swimmers. So here I am at the bar, enjoying a sandwhich and a brew, while reading & highlighting this book. The fellow next to me was a bit surprised and made some comment about the size of the book and its subject matter. During the rest of the trip whenever I brought it out, I received a couple of strange looks.

We were an hour or so late getting out of Detroit due to some inclimate weather. After taking off I quickly got comfortable and began watching movies, playing games, eating, drinking, and trying to sleep. I watched most of V for Vendetta and The Benchwarmers. I wasn't impressed with either movie. The last two hours of so of the flight seemed to take longer then it should have and we had to circle around Frankfort before we landed.

During my layover in Frankfort I noticed a couple of things. First off, people are allowed to smoke in the airport! This is pretty crazy as us Americans are pretty used to smokers not being able to light-up in most places. I got some coffee and it wasn't served in a styrofoam cup. No, I got an actual saucer and mug. What a concept! My flight to Dresden was about an hour late getting off the ground because we had to wait for the plane from London. Finally we took off and I arrived safely at my final destination, Dresden.

I went to get my luggage and waited to see my big blue suitcase. I waited. Then the belt stopped and I realized I had suffered the greatest of fates of an air traveller -- that of the lost luggage. So I went to the woman and asked "English?" and she spoke it! Yes! I told her where I was staying and would hopefully see the bag soon.

Then there was the moment of truth, the reason for my trip. It had been 7 weeks weeks since we last saw each other. I walked through the door and saw the OFOMOL looking as beautiful as I remember. That was a fantastic moment. We took the train and arrived at her place.

In order not to talk too long (ha!), I'll save my observations of European life until later.

It's the Eye of the Tiger

2006-07-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Tiger Woods wrapped up his 11th Major win by capturing his 3rd (repeating his victory from 2005) Open Championship. Here he is, 30 years old, now sitting tied for 2nd on the all-time list of victories in the Majors. The number to beat is 18, held by the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus. I am a big Tiger fan and enjoy watching him dominate the game. I have no love for Hefty, Els, or Vijay. I want to see Tiger, in his sunday red, give us yet another classic performance. We are used to the Tiger who pulls out driver and kills the ball for 300+ yards, often finding the rough. He's got a great all-around game that he is able to recover these shots. This weekend was different as he kept the driver in the bag and chose to tee-off with an iron most of the time. He sacrificed distance, but damn was he accurate. Every hole he was hitting it right down the fairway. This is a mature Tiger who played a smart game this weekend. Hefty could take some advice (see: Winged Foot, 2006 US Open)...but don't because I like seeing you suffer.

Anyway, #11 got me thinking. He's got 7 to tie Jack, 8 to surpass him. It seems pretty inevitable that he is going to do this. It is rare that in a lifetime you get to see someone achieve a major historical sports achievement. Baseball is a sport that is filled with hallowed records -- Babe Ruth's 714 and Henry Aaron's 756 immediately come to mind. Pete Rose's 4256 hits, Nolan Ryan's 7 No-nos, and Hack Wilson's 191 RBIs are some others. Football and basketball are less number-oriented. When someone throws for 30000+ yds or scores 30000+ points, it gets hard to relate to. Records with smaller numbers are perceived as bigger and we understand them.

I wasn't there for Aaron to pass Ruth...I can only listen to what the historians and folks from the Worldwide Leader tell me. I do know that Aaron, being a black man who was going to surpass the most significant sports record established by Babe Ruth, had to deal with racist comments and hate mail. There was also some media pressure on him...but the media circa 1974 was a different being then it is today. Now we have a black man (in a white man's sport) chasing the most hallowed record of the game. I would like to say that in the 21st century that Tiger will not be subjected to such racist commentary that Aaron was...but the cynic in me realizes that there are probably some folks out there who will not like the fact that Tiger take's Jack's record. Jack Nicklaus is the Babe Ruth of golf. Sure there was Arnie Palmer before him, and there were others before Ruth...but Babe Ruth is the name that defines baseball and Jack Nicklaus is the name that defines golf. It will be interesting to see how Tiger deals with the pressure, once he gets to 17. One thing that he excels at is playing under pressure. There is no one else who is cooler and more collected when the pressure is on him.

Tiger will surpass Jack, this much I know. Whether he ends up with 19, 21, or 24 majors, we don't know. But for this generation, Tiger passing Jack is our version of Aaron passing Ruth. Let us enjoy the ride, as these things happen only on a few occasions.

Just a Little Pinprick Please

2006-07-19T21:58:00.000-04:00

I gave blood today. 27th time I've done it. I also realized during the procedure that I've been giving for 10 years now -- that's 2.7 times a year. I try to give every 8 weeks, but last September was the last time I donated. Personally I feel it is one of the easiest and most valuable ways to "give back to the community." I save lives, I give blood.

Hey all you Spartans out there, this one is for you! The CWRU has announced/unveiled its new Spartan logo. Apparently their old logo was too similar to the Michigan State one. Hmmm, I never noticed the difference. Afterall the CWRU Spartan is facing left and the MSU Spartan is facing right. Side note, if you do a Google Image Search for "CWRU Spartans" the wise being that is Google ask's you "Did you mean MSU Spartans?" D'oh! As long as they don't use that damn square, I'm happy. Although the square has grown on me and I do prefer it to the old sunburst. There was a rumor floating around a couple of years ago (this was when the square was unveiled) that the school was thinking of changing its mascot and it was going to be something along the lines of the Rough Cats. Rough Cats was going to be an amalgamation of Red Cats from Western Reserve College and the Rough Riders of Case Institute of Technology. Here is a nice page on the mascot history of CIT/WRC/CWRU/Case. You don't know how many times I've seen a blue and white "Spartans" shirt here in EL and think "Hey, that just may be a CWRU shirt" and then realize that most of the folks here probably have no idea about CWRU. Although I was driving today and saw a window decal on a car with a blue and white spartan head. I'm convinced that car is a CWRU grad. So I don't leave her out, my little sister graduated from UNC Greensboro, who also just happen to be the Spartans. I'd love some comments on which logos are the best.

Most of my faithful readers (you guys rock) know about the recent developments in my professional life. It's official as my new place of employment has issued a press release about my hiring. It's pretty surreal to see your own name on an official release like this. Part of me is like "is this actually happening?" Since I'm paranoid about things I say on this here blog coming back to haunt me, I try to keep things pretty anonymous. Of course, it wouldn't take much work to figure out who I really am. Anyway, you, my faithful readers, are a smart bunch and I know you can find the press release on your own.

A week from now I'll be on my way to Germany.

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

2006-07-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

What is the over/under onto when Zidane becomes part of the vernacular? I.E. "You've just been Zidaned!" or "Watch it or I'll Zidane your ass!" Do you find it ironic that the best futbol player of the last 10 years is going to be known for his little headbutt more then his skills on the pitch?

Disclaimer: the following section contains adult content and reader discretion is advised (that's for you mom & dad)

As a native Clevelander, I have to weigh in on a little matter. For those who do not read Deadspin religiously, there is a certain fella by the name of Mike Cooper who has becomes somewhat of a legend there. Here is his story in a nutshell: he got caught pleasuring himself in the Berea library. Gonzo journalist Carl Monday confronted him and library about it. This resulted in a $500000 bond for Mr. Cooper. Cooper was sentenced on friday and guess who was there to report on the matters? Good 'ol Carl Monday. Of course neighter Coop nor his family wanted any part of it and hilarity ensues. Watch the videos...part of me wants to think it is some elborate sketch comedy show, but no, it is all too real. Really the fun from the whole episode(s) come from teh family's reaction.

Coop should have taken another tactic. Usually when confronted by folks such as Mr. Monday, the accused just want to hide. Usually this is justified as crimes such as cheating mechanics, money lauderers, and the like need to be taken care of. Mr. Cooper, while what he did was quite inappropriate, he wasn't hurting anyone (I'll let my readers complete any double entendres). He was doing something that we all (so they say) do, but he just chose a public library to do it. Anyway, Coop should have defended himself right there in front of Carl Monday. Monday wants that reaction, he wants to chase down people and embarass them. Cooper should have taken the offensive and said something like "Yes Carl, I masturbate. So what? I made the mistake in the place I chose to do it in, but I do it, and I'll continue to do it. Let me ask you something, when was the last time you jerked one off? Do you like to drive around in your newsvan, and then ask for some "alone time?" From the looks of it, you're not getting any at home. I peg you for a 3 times a day guy at least. Are you a righty or a lefty? Do you use oils or lotions?" And then if he really wanted to, he could just go on from there and make it extemely vulgar and start to involve his wife and kids. Afterall, Monday got Coop's parents on film. I think that if Coop had did this, Monday would have NO IDEA how to react. It would be especially great if Coop was a nice, conversational tone when speaking those lines. Coop could have even gotten a buddy to come running up with a videocamera and film Monday as he walks away. I'm sure Monday would be hella pissed. Then Coop could just yell "You've been served!"

I Know - Its Serious

2006-07-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

Just some random stuff today. I've been on a bit of Smiths kick the past couple of days. Unfortunately I only have the compilation, Louder Than Bombs which is lacking some of their essential tunes, namely, How Soon is Now?, The Queen is Dead, and Girlfriend in a Coma. Well I really wanted to hear the last song so I made a request to the Impact. That's one of the great things about college radio, they play your requests, and do it in a quick manner. Anyway the DJ announces she's playing this song for me and wondered why I was requesting it. Yeah the lyrics are a bit grim (hey, its the Smiths) and it would definitely be filed under Sad Bastard Music. Sometimes we want to hear a song for no reason more then we just want to hear the song, thats all. There was no meaning here, and I definitely do not want my girlfriend to be in a coma. BTW this is a great read about why the Smiths should never reunite.

Every once in awile I like to stop and thank all of you who read my drivel on a regular basis. There are millions of us bloggers out here just trying to get heard by anyone other then our friends and family. People actually write some good stuff; it does take a bit of time and effort to discover it. I'm continually updating my links over on the right as I discover more more blogs that I find value in. So I encourage you to check those out (and their links) and if there is something you like, leave a comment -- trust me, we love it when random folks leave comments.

For example, Tortured Fans put up a great video the other day that I commented on. Through other comments, I found thatchick who publishes two blogs: Dude, WTF and 9th Layer of Hell. Both of these link to other NEO-centric blogs. Reading some of the titles (BitterFans, Disappointment Zone, God Hates Cleveland Sports, The Burning River, and The DiaTribe) of the sports blogs, there is no reason not to believe that Cleveland sports fans are bitter, cynical individuals who want nothing more then a championshp. Side note, we just want one championship -- not a dynasty or anything like that, just one where we can say "Yup, we were on top." The I found Random Thoughts where I left a comment (if it appears) about the breakup of Weezer (it's about time!). So you see, blogging and commenting is the gift that keeps on giving, that is unless you are Mike Cooper.

Aside from the literary blogs, I'm all about the music blogs (audioblogs). Really that is how I discover new music. Check out some of those sites, and download some of the stuff they put up. You'd be surprised (or not) by the quality of stuff out there. And if you don't like the song, you can just delete it. Although I've kept everything I've downloaded in the past 18 months or so -- I'm at like 400+ songs all from the audioblogs you see on the right. And Pitchfork has even gotten into the act, launching their "Infinite Mixtape" earlier this week. There are a lot of keepers in there. Stop listening to the radio (if you haven't already) and start tuning-in to the bloggers.

If You're Gonna Play the Game, Boy, ya Gotta Learn to Play it Right

2006-07-13T09:35:00.000-04:00

The World Cup wrapped up thIs past weekend. Every 4 years the worLd comes tOgether like nothing elSe to celebraTe the Beautiful GAme. This is the one true sports competition where the world stops what it is doing to tune in. Sure there are the Olympics, but those are dominated by a few countries. The World Cup celeBrates the diversity of our planet. Futbol/Football/Soccer is one of the few sports that are played worldwide. It is a team sport that encourages teamwork, yEt also rewards individual expression. For one month every four years, the world stops to watch, listen, celebraTe, and party.

Watching the Italians win on Sunday and seeing the exuberance in the players' eyes and then the celebrations going on in Rome and throughout Italy got me thinking. We Americans are newcomers to this sport. It is rather surprising considering the "melting pot" of cultures that make up this wonderful country of ours. We can dominate in almost any other sport, but when it comes to Soccer, the rest of the world laughs at us.

Not this year...no not this year I said. The US was coming off a run to the quarter-finals and thanks to a non-call on a hand-ball in the box, would have made it to the semis in 2002. This year was supposed to be the coming out party for US Soccer. We had a maturing class of youngsters that was supposed to work with crafty veterans to have an even better 2006 World Cup. Not only were we supposed to be competitive, but we were going to knock off some perennial powers. I drank the Kool-Aid -- we were finally going to go from World Cup doormat to a contender and finally assert our superiority in the Beautiful Game.

Then disaster struck. We all know what happened to the US, so I don't have to repeat it. Although tying (albeit on an own-goal) the eventual champs has to count for something, right...right? I reflected on the World Cup and the egg laid by the US Squad. Well, we didn’t do so well, not at all. We didn't assert our superiority...no, the world asserted what they already knew -- we still have a long way to go until we can contend with the likes of France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. And maybe this country of ours, that I'm very patriotic towards, has room for improvement in more then just soccer. Yes we are the economic, political, and athletic leaders of the world, but that doesn't mean we are better then or superior then everyone else. We may have more opportunities throughout our lives, but that doesn't make us better. Its what we do with those opportunities that count.

If I Don't Get My Football Back

2006-07-09T15:38:00.000-04:00

Currently watching the World Cup final. I can't believe this has been going on for a month and I've barely commented on it. Few of you know that in my journey to athletic greatness (finishing 416 out of 20000+ at Boston is my idea of greatness, but really this is meant tongue-in-cheek) began back in 1st(?) grade when my parents told me I was playing soccer. I had no idea what this game was and the first year or two consisted of 15 or so elementary kids chasing a ball around aimlessly. Well as we grew in the game, the team improved and we became a respectable team. Most of the team was a grade above me (they did it by birthyear -- since I'm a December baby, I was one of the younger ones on the team), we didn't have a team after 7th grade. I went on to play middle-school football and then continue swimming through HS and college. Anyway, soccer holds a special place in my heart.

Watching the final game here, I notice that Italy are wearing Puma unis while France is wearing Adidas unis. I know I have shared this with some of you, but I thought I'd put it out here for everyone. The two companies share a rich history. Adi Dassler (founder of Adidas) started his company back in the mid-20th century in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Side note, the proper pronunciation of Adidas is with the accnet on the 3rd syllable, not the 2nd like us Americans do: a-di-DAS instead of a-DI-das. Anyway, Adidas was a family company run by Adi and his brother, Rudolf. At some point in the 1940s the brothers had a falling out. It was such a falling out that Rudolf moved across town and started his own company, Puma. To this day, no one knows what happened between the brothers, and it is likely we never will. There was an attempt in the 70s by Phil Knight (of Nike fame) to reunite the two families, but it didn't happen. Here is a nice article that explains it some more.

PS: The US tied Italy on an own-goal....does this do anything to change our crappy performance in the WC? i.e. "Well, we did TIE the champions...."

PPS: What was Zidane thinking? Sad way to see him go.

Mustache is Authority

2006-07-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

Well its official. I've booked my flight, and I'll be travelling to Germany to visit the OFOMOL for about three weeks at the end of July and beginning of August. There were some days when we didn't think it was going to happen, but due to some recent developments, I'm now able to go see her. This is great news and I really look forward to seeing her and Europe, since I've never been. Fear not my faithful readers, I will be taking my laptop with me so I will post occasionally when I'm there.

I was in the Land of Cleve last weekend for the 4th of July holiday. The weather was kinda wacky. Lots of on and off rain that produced plenty of morange. I did spend plenty of time with the niece and nephew. Maddy is quite a little swimmer and is already learning the basics of breaststroke. Needless to say, I'm quite a proud uncle. Elliot still insists that the OFOMOL is his girlfriend (sorry buddy) and took time to learn a little German: "Du bist susse."

I've decided to experiment a little...he he he. I've decided to grow a mustache over the next three weeks before I go to Germany. I got the idea from some guy I saw on Leno/Letterman/Conan a week or so ago. He challenged his buddies to grow a mustache for a month and made a documentary about it. There is part of me that would like the mustache to make a comeback. Personally I think there is way too much negative steretypes that go with it -- people think you lookelike a 70s porn star or a child molester. Time to put some positive spin on the above-the-lip facial hair!

No Woman Can Resist a Man Who Looks Good in a Speedo

2006-06-28T15:56:00.000-04:00

And with a title like that this post has to be good...right?

First off, I appreciated the feedback on the pet post. I have no problem with pets per se, its just when (like Mr/Ms Anonymous pointed out) folks care way more about the well-being of pets when there are plenty of humans out there that need help...that bothers me. Here is a nice editorial I found in USA Today yesterday.

So I went for a swim today. I've been doing this on a pretty regular (3-4 times a week) basis this summer. Luckily for me I get to swim outside in a SCY pool, which totally rocks my world. I get to be outside and I don't have to deal with a 50-meter pool. It's a six-lane pool, but they only have four lanes for workouts and the other two are for whatever (ie older kids to play in). This means that every once in awhile I have to deal with sharing a lane. The key to not sharing a lane is to swim down the middle and do lots of butterfly. Folks (recreational swimmers) get scared by this as butterfly is hard to do and go off in another lane. Anyway, I grab my toys and stand at the edge of the pool, getting ready to hop in. Then I notice a couple of boys (lets say 12-14 years of age) looking at me. They've got this look on their face that says "ewww, what's with the weird guy wearing a speedo." I've realized at that instance I've made them totally uncomfortable. Of course, I'm not the one that is uncomfortable. No no no no no. I've been swimming for a good 15 years...trust me fellas, I don't have a problem wearing a speedo. You guys are the ones that can't accept that young, non-European (sorry sweetie) guys wear these. And I'm not even wearing the traditional brief (well...I am, but that's underneath) as I've been donning the vastly underrated square-leg suit.

This leads to another concept that you swimming folks may appreciate. I'm involved with a group of young swimmers. I've noticed the proliferation of the jammer (that pic is for the ladies and my non-traditional male readers) as the suit of choice. No one wears the classic Speedo-style brief anymore. I get the fact that as a young swimmer starting off, wearing a Speedo is not the thing you want to do (we were all there fellas, right?). But gradually you accept this, deal with it, and then become comfortable with it. Then you realize that being a swimmer you have a pretty good body and don't mind wearing the Speedo outside of swim practice. Up until a few years ago, thats all we had, and we didn't mind. Now that jammers are out, these kids don't have to deal with the body image/confidence in wearing a suit that we did. Call me old-school, but I'll take a regular suit of a jammer any day, and I'm sure most of my swimming friends will too. The thing about the jammer is that at some point (as long as they stay with the sport) these guys are going to have to wear a real brief suit. It is much easier to wear one starting out then put it off and deal with it later. It's like asking a girl out -- the more you think about it and stress over it, the worse it will be. Just do it baby! Side note, I'm so used to wearing the Speedo-style suit that I actually feel weird wearing trunks/board shorts.

The other thing about the jammers and the boys I work with is that they wear them until they are too-stretched out. The point of wearing a real (not "trunks") swim suit (brief or jammer) is that it is tight to reduce the amount of drag on your body. These jammers have pretty much become trunks, they are that stretched out. The traditional jammer is only supposed to come down to the top of the knees. These suits are stretched so they come down below the knees and almost look like leg-suits. Of course the one high-schooler is ok in my book as he goes jammer-less with a square-leg suit.

I say down with the jammer and all wear square-legs!

Here In My Car

2006-06-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

A little while ago I was out and about doing some errands. I was at the Post Office and noticed a car with a bumper sticker that said "My cat is smarter then your honor student." Those that know me know I'm not a big animal person. I've seen other bumper stickers that say "My dog is smarter then your honor student." OK, we get it, you are a cat/dog person lets take a look at these accusations a bit further.

So you say your pet is smarter then my honor student? I beg to differ, lets take a closer look here. What is your pet's GPA? Have they averaged straight As for the duration of their education? How about AP tests -- have they taken several of these and received college credit for them? I think not! Honestly, I would think that if given an integral to solve the cat/dog would really have no idea what to do. OK, calculus is hard, so let's focus on English. How many of the classics has your pet read? Can it identify the imagery, symbolism, and themes in books such as The Scarlet Letter, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Great Gatsby? I'm guessing probably not. I bet your pet doesn't even know how to read! How about US History...can your pet defend several causes for the American Revolution? How about US Policy as it affected reconstruction of the south? Your pet has no idea, does it? OK, I'll give you one last chance, how'd your animal do on the SATs/ACTs? Now these are multiple choice tests so there is some statistical liklihood of the pet getting some questions correct but I'm willing to bet that even the folks who finish in the bottom 10% of a graduating class will score higher then your pet. So get over it. Your animal is not smarter then any human. It's just a dumb animal who you care way too much for.

That same day I was driving home and was behind a car that had a license boarder that said "I'd rather be at a Clay Aiken Concert." Clay Aiken? Forizzle? Seriously! Clay Aiken! does that guy get respect from anyone? What has he done lately besides finish 2nd in American Idol? Worse off, it was a guy who was driving and it was a Camaro! I guess that debunks the whole Camaro-driving stereotype (classifications --> Section 1 --> 02).

But things got worse later that night. My buddy Teets came up for a visit and we were at a local watering hole sitting outside, enjoying the summer evening and some fermented beverages. Shortly a couple sat down next to us. The guy started conversing with us (I don't know why) and said that I look like the aforementioned Aiken. Because I've got red hair and I'm white doesn't mean you should compare me to that no-talent ass clown. Then the guy wouldn't shut up. He's one of those people that'll talk to anyone but, unfortunately for him, he has nothing worthwhile to say, so it just becomes annoying and obnoxious. He was there with his wife who wasn't bad looking. He definitely got the better end of that deal. But we were wondering what she is doing with him as she seemed pretty normal. Luckily for us they didn't stay around too long and we continued our night in peace.

I Don't Know What's Wrong With These Kids Today

2006-06-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

In the lockerroom yesterday at the gym after I swam 5000 yards....

Kid 1: The guy missed the kick
Kid 2: The Czech goalie is really good
Kid 1: No, the guy missed the kick
Kid 2: No, no, the Czech goalie is REALLY GOOD
Kid 1: No, the guy just missed the kick
Kid 3: Jeez Mark....

Tis the Season

2006-06-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well it is that time of the year again. When Hollywood rolls out the hype machine for all the summber blockbuster movies. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have been overwrought with either sequels or remakes of a) movies that don't need to be redone/reinterpreted or b) crappy tv shows. It is getting harder and harder to find fresh new material on the silver screen. Factor in the cost of tickets and refreshments, it is likely you can spend upwards of $30 to sit there for two+ hours and see a complete work of trash. Instead of this happening to you, I encourage all my readers to use their money to support independent films. Chances are you'll get an original and entertaining story.

A couple weeks back, the OFOMOL and I decided to take a risk on a small, low-budget film, Michelagelo's Message. Chances are if you blinked, you missed it. It wasn't in theaters long and didn't do much. Of course that is not surprising since it was based on a book by the same name that sold very little. The author, David Black, was able to option his novel into a screenplay. This was a strategic move by him because the movie challenges the basis of Christianity and the Catholic Church.

The plot focuses on the paintings and works of the artist (not the mutant ninja turtle) Michelangelo, particularly the Sistine Chapel. The movie contends that this work (and others that he did) are more then merely objects of art. There is a system of messages encoded into these works. Whoever is able to "decode" these works will discover the secret of Christianity. The movie also talks about how Michelangelo was part of a Brotherhood of Secrecy. This brotherhood knew the true origins of Christianity and used this to gain leverage and money within the church.

So that is the basic premise of the movie. There is more but I won't bore you with the minutie, after all I'd like you to see the movie also. Now before seeing this movie, I had never heard of any of these things. It is amazing that we are first finding out about it. I'm not the best Catholic in the world (who is, but that's what confession is for) but I do go to church every week (mostly) and try to live by their teachings. I'm shocked that I've never heard any of this before. I knew the church is powerful, but to keep all this underwraps for 2000 years, kudos to you! Yes I know that this is a work of fiction, but the whole story is extremely believable. Some may argue that the connections are convoluted and that there are assumptions made everywhere that shouldn't be. But you know what? I'm convinced. I know that the author [David Black] has no historical religious educational background, but he's watched numerous specials on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, so I'm willing to accept what he's given us as fact. He's done his homework. It is a shame, however, that he hasn't been able to exploit his book/movie to fill his own coffers.

So I encourage you to read this book or see this movie. The more people that do, the more will be convinced, and we can start to put pressure on the church to reveal the truth behind their teachings. I never knew a movie could affect me so much, but this one has. I hope it has the same impact on you.

My Bed is Pulling Me

2006-06-10T01:08:00.000-04:00

It's 1am on a saturday. I'm working on a mix-CD for the OFOMOL. She moved back to Germany last sunday so I have nothing better to do then stay up, surf the net, and refuse to go to bed. So this will be a hodgepodge of stuff from me.

I was just checking some random webpages and decided to check one of the blogs I link to, Philalawyer. I was intro'd to this blog back in Jan/Feb of '05 by Anne. The anonymous author gained quite a following from its inception in late 2004 through the spring of 2005. Then, in an air of mystery, he was gone. Never to be hear from again...or so we thought. Well folks, he's back. He offers a glimpse into the world of lawyers and his many shenanigans during law school and as a practicing lawyer. He can be offensive at times, his posts have sexual tones to them, some may even call him misogynistic, and he is deeply cynical toward his job. His posts can get a little wordy, he goes off on tangents, and those of us not involved in law may not get all of the legalese. But he does write quite well and if you enjoy black humor, I encourage you to check it out.

Paul Lukas, the long-time writer of ESPN's Uni Watch column has started a daily Uni Watch Blog that I now link to. He covers any sports-related uniform news. He really goes in-depth into the minutia and subtleties of anything you can think of. As he's expanded, he's given props/criticisms to uniforms of high school and colleges. I'm still waiting, however, for him to analyze swimwear (yeah right) and offer up his opinion on the Kenyon Purple Fuzzy warm-ups.

Last, but not least, the World Cup has started. As soccer was the first sport I embraced as a youth, the game has a special place in my heart. It will be an exciting 4 weeks that should take more time out of my life then I'd prefer it to. Such is life. It is truly an event like no other. The Olympics have so many different sports to garner interest; American football, basketball, and baseball are not particularly global games -- basketball has really become a lot more international the past 10-20 years, and baseball is popular in the Americas and Japan. But the World Cup is the one event that is a global event. As for my predictions...well I'm not going to take any risks here and I'll predict a Brazil victory. The US is going to have a tough go-at-it, but I'm expecting them to get out of their group. I keep telling my European friends that sometime in the near (2010 or 2014) the US will win the World Cup. When that happens, the rest of the world will not know what to do. This is the one sport where they (the rest of the world) has been able to dominate us. When we win (it's going to happen, and sometime soon) it'll show the rest of the world that yes indeed, those yankees are as good as everyone else, if not better. Of course, when that does happen, I'd prefer that Bono does NOT do the voiceover.

Even Your Emotions Had an Echo

2006-06-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

This is for all of you who haven't heard this song or seen the video. This song is quickly on its way to becoming THE song of the summer. You know how it is. Every summer there is some song that just rises from the ether to be played everywhere and anywhere -- for good or for bad. This song, fortunately, has the benefit that it is enjoyed and appreciated by both the masses and the hipster critics. Of course in another month I'll probably tell you how sick I am of the song. But in 10 years when VH1 is doing "I Love the Aughts" you will hear this song and immediately be reminded of everything you did during the summer of aught-six. I am actually thinking of picking up the CD. I listened to most of the tracks the other day and Barnes and Noble. By "listening" I don't mean I stood there for 45 minutes and listened to the whole CD. Of course that would be cool. No, I listened to snippets of each song. They definitely have a winner there. And for those who are interested, here are the lyrics for the song.

Hipsters Unite

2006-06-02T12:07:00.000-04:00

Do You Have Hipsters? Thanks to my buddy Matt for this one.

You're Hanging From the Balcony Upon the Riverboat Glass

2006-05-30T20:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day so the OFOMOL and I decided to head to the Queen of American Watering Places, Cedar Point. We originally scheduled this trip for two weeks ago, then again this past friday, but both days were overrun with bad weather so we settled on the holiday yesterday. As it is quite a drive from the EL to the Point, we awoke at the ever-so-pleasant time of 6:30 to allow enough time for travelling. A quick stop at McDonald's for some coffee provided a prime chance for MOL to complain. Going through the drive-through, an order of two coffees and a OJ was ordered. We sat in line and got to the pay-window. We waited more and pulled up to the get-the-food window. I notice the minimum-paid worker just pouring the OJ then I see her making some coffee. She then mentions "I just had to make some more coffee. It is going to be a few minutes. Please pull up and I'll run it out to you." OK, this place is McDonalds. It is 7:30 A.M. and you are out of coffee? Didn't you foresee this coming? I mean, isn't it someone's sole job to make sure there is always hot coffee ready? C'mon folks! So then the coffee is a *bit* hot. By bit I mean, it was a solid (no joke) 45 minutes for the coffee to reach a temperature to drink.

Anyway, we took some crazy roundabout way to get there and didn't end up in the park until 11 or so. OFOMOL has never been here (well, duh), and the last time I was at CP was CWRU Senior Week 2002 (that was a fun time!). It's been a few years. The weather was hot and the sun was out. SPF 45 was applied liberally to prevent this poor redhead from looking like a lobster.

We started out with a ride on the ride that seems to get crappier every year, Disaster Transport. I liked this one a lot more when it was Avalanche Run. Then it was the first intense ride of the day, Wicked Twister. This is probably one of the underrated rides at the park. The linear induction motors provide quite the rush as you head straight up and down. We walked onto the Corkscrew for a nice ride going upside down a few times. After this we wound up close to Top Thrill Dragster. We stopped and watched in awe as the trains sped up and over the 420 ft hill. We checked the wait -- 1.5 hours max. After a bit of persuading, I convinced her to go on.

The line went fairly quickly, but the sun was bearing down on us. As we approached the platform, OFOMOL was getting a bit nervous about the extreme conditions we were about to undertake. The fact that the US Measurment System (yay English units!) means nothing to her, didn't help. I tried to do the conversions in my head and estimated the height at ~130 m and max speed of 200 km/h. The nervousness increased and repeat statements of "I'm not going to do this" were spoken. I did my best to reassure her -- the whole ride only lasts 17 seconds! We were next to ride when they had to release and re-do the lap bars 3 times on the riders prior to us. We got in and I told her I'd hold her hand and tried to distract her. She was not looking forward to this ride. Then it was our turn and the next thing now we were headed at 120 mph up the monster phallic tower and then back down. It was quite the rush and afterwards the OFOMOL mentioned how fun it was.

We took a break on Paddlewheel Excursions. This attraction is just an excuse for the workers to tell corny pun-filled jokes. The irony of it is that I remember hearing the same joke when I was 12 years old when I was there with my dad. No joke. Another walk-on ride at the Gemini. I notoriously lose on this ride, but OFOMOL chose the red train and we won! Yay! We pondered taking a break by hitting one of the water rides. Since White Water Landing has been removed for future expansion, our only choices were to get absolutely soaked by the ever-so-clean CP water. I talked OFOMOL out of it, and even though it was a hot day, we were much more comfortable not having to wear damp clothes the rest of the day. We hit Mean Streak and Wave Swinger in the back of the park.

Due to whatever reason, Millenium Force was not in operation yesterday so we rode the triumverate of Mantis (not the most fun on the legs/nether regions), Iron Dragon, and the Wildcat. Heading to the Wildcat, OFOMOL asks "isn't this a kid's ride?" I reassured her and as we rode it, she enjoyed it a bit. She enjoyed it so much in fact that we rode it a second time before we left for the night! OFOMOL was geting a bit overwhelmed. We took a break on Cedar Downs and the Turnpike Cars. She didn't realize she could actually steer the car! That was a fun time. The Blue Streak and Raptor were next before our dinner break.

It was around 6:30 or so and we were plum tired! I told her I wanted to ride Magnum (it's my favorite) before we left and we headed to that area of the park. You never have a bad time on that ride and she asked "why didn't we do this one earlier?" I recalled to her that we could have but she opted out of it. I rode the Witch's Wheel while she sat and we hit the Magnum again.

We headed to leave and she mentioned that I promised her to win something for her. You know those games. The workers make it look so easy. Then you dish over a couple bones to try. You get oh-so-close and convince yourself you can do it. The next thing you know, you've spent $20+ for your $5 mini Brian. I said a quick prayer as we headed to the games area. I chose an easy-looking bball game. $2 for a shot. Why not. I took two shots and made one -- got a mini basketball. Not necessarily what OFOMOL wants. So I forked over another Jefferson and nailed the shot. We upgraded to a pink stuffed dog -- her favorite color and animal ! The day was complete and we headed out right around 8.

The whole experience for OFOMOL was pretty intense. The parks over in Europe are not like this and there are maybe 4-5 rides to go on. Not the 13 (+2 repeats) that we did yesterday. She was amazed at the sheer height, speed, ups, downs, and twists of all the rides. She used a new english word that she learned to explain it -- megalomania. That was very apropos. I did explain to her that Cedar Point is not the typical amusement park. My analogy (that she understood quite well) was this: You can run 100 marathons, but none of them are as good or quite like Boston; You can visit 100 amusement parks, but none of them can measure up or compare to Cedar Point.

Coming soon: a discussion on milk!

Make Me a Witness

2006-05-18T13:58:00.000-04:00

This isn't supposed to be happening. No not to us. Cleveland sports fans are made with thick skin to survive the cold winters of discontent. Those years when the Browns finish at 7-9, the Cavs steeped in mediocrity of Mike Fratello teams that can't decide if they want to make the playoffs or the draft lottery, and all those years of Indians perpetually losing.We've endured the worst kinds of defeats that have defined HOF careers (The Drive, The Shot, The Catch); we've endured losing in the most spectacular of ways (The Fumble, 1997 World Series); and we've had one of the the most storied NFL franchises taken away from us. We're a tough bunch. More accustomed to losing then any Boston [hey, you had the Celtics and Pats (coached by whom?) to cheer for] or Chicago (those Bulls won a couple of rings, didn't they?) fan. These events have made us resilient to defeat. It has even made some of us (me) so cynical that even in the event of a major sports championship, we won't accept that something catastrophically bad hasn't fallen on the team.

But maybe things are changing. Three years ago the Cavs limped (with their awful uniforms) to the NBA draft lottery and somehow (SOMEHOW!) scored that magic ping-pong ball to secure #23 himself, LeBron James. Good things are not supposed to happen to Cleveland sports teams. Two seasons (and two coaches) falling just short of the playoffs ensue. Add to that new ownership who got off to quick a rocky start, and things aren't looking up. Then year three comes and the Cavs, playoff rookies for all intents and purposes, are picked to struggle with a "playoff experienced" Washington team. In six games, LBJ and Gilbert Arenas put on a magic offensive show. The young, upstart Cavs take the series 4-2.

Here we are in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs against the Detroit Pistons. The same Detroit Pistons who have gone to the past two NBA finals, winning in 2004. The same Detroit Pistons who's success had been defined by no superstar player but an emphasis on fundamentals and teamwork. Those same Detroit Pistons who were picked to beat the Cavs in 4 or 5 games. But what happened to those Detroit Pistons? Somewhere in game 2, the Cavs started beating the Pistons at their own game -- team work and defense. Yes, these games have been ugly and we're now lucky to see a game go into the 90s. But the Cavs have turned it up and are now in control of the series. Their bench has totally outplayed the Pistons bench (which consists of who else besides Antonio McDyess and Lindsay Hunter?) and players such has Anderson Varejao have given the team a spark. I was happy to have won one or two games -- a good 'ol moral victory but not anymore. This team, LeBron and company, can take this series. The pressure is all on Detroit now. Gund Arena is going to be INSANE friday night. Louder then any of us can imagine.

Comparison have been made to LBJ and MJ. Early in his career MJ had the foil in the Detroit Piston Bad Boys. We see the same thing with LeBron. But the difference? LeBron has a chance to beat Detroit the first time around. Yes we are all witnesses. We're not witnesses to the next Magic or the next Jordan. No, we're witnesses to the one and the only LeBron James.

I've added another Cleveland sports blog: Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times. Be sure to check it out as they've deciphered the Witness commercials and ID'd all the locations. They also go stat-crazy with their analyses.

Tomorrow is Game 6 in Cleveland. I'm thinking it is going to be a classic and hope everyone watches it. As I'm located in the heart of the mitten state, I've proudly been wearing my blue #32 Larry Hughes jersey. Now the question begs -- do I wear it out to the bar friday night and enter directly into enemy territory?

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head

2006-05-16T10:39:00.000-04:00

Spent the weekend in C-town for the sister's graduation. Looks like she got her Master's before me -- nice job Em, I'm proud of you. The OFOMOL and I had a nice time. We went to the West Side Market and the Botannical Gardens. Of course the weather was pretty uncooperative. We were planning on hitting Cedar Point yesterday but we wisely decided to reschedule it.

Well...it looks like we've got a series here. The Cavs have pulled out two victories in C-town to draw even with the Pistons. I'll be honest, I wasn't giving them much of a chance at the beginning of the series -- probably one win. Now they've had two gritty victories over Detroit. We're all witnesses. The thing is, LeBron hasn't played that spectacularly. He's had too many turnovers, and hasn't dominated like he did versus Washington. Of course the Wizards have no defense and the Pistons' D is pretty tough so I'm not expecting him to put up 35+ every night. But somehow they've gotten it done. We'll see what happens tomorrow in Detroit. Now I'm a big LeBron fan, but has anyone else noticed that he whines too much after a call against him? Seriously. Every time there is a foul or turnover on him he has this look that says "What, me? No way! I did NOTHING wrong." There is one area he needs to mature in. For your benefit, I've included the Cavs theme song from way back when. I downloaded this over a year and a half ago so I can't tell you where I go it, but enjoy:

Come on Cavs

Since I like to give props on here to people and things that do stuff well, a friend of mine runs a fantasy football website. Mock drafts are now taking place every 10 minutes.

Thats all I've got for now.

Ohh May

2006-05-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

If you didn't know, the NFL Draft was this weekend. I'll share with you some of my thoughts:

Matt Leinart falling to 10th. This guy was the consensus #1 pick LAST year, instead he decided to stay in school and attempt to win another national championship (which he didn't), win another Heisman trophy (which he didn't), and enjoy the co-eds of SoCal (which I'm sure he did). Now he goes to the NFL graveyard that is the Arizona (nee Phoenix and St. Louis) Cardinals. Of course they have quite the potent offense and a sweet new stadium. They could be the NFL version of the new LA Clippers. But still, it's Arizona. Its surprising all the teams that passed on him -- will New York [Jets], Oakland, Buffalo, and Detroit be second-guessing themselves in a few years or is he really not that great?

Speaking of Buffalo -- Donte Whitner at #8? C'mon, you could've traded to the lower part of the 1st round and still would have gotten him plus a couple more draft picks. Or they could have had Matt Leinart.

Nobody drafted Marcus Vick. Suits him right. Jeremy Bloom goes to Philly. It'll be interesting to see what this guy does in the NFL. At least someone is giving him a shot.

Ohio State: I tell ya, Jim Tressel runs a good program there. 9 players drafted with 5 going in the first round. Not only is it one of the top programs in the country, but he produces quality NFL talent. Recruits look for two things coming out of high school: does this team win, and does the program prepare me to compete in the NFL. Sweater vest Tressel does both of these.

Now I give some analysis on the Cleveland Browns. You can never really judge a draft class until 4-5 years down the line. But I like what they did. Romeo Crennel's strength is defense. This was evident throughout the draft this weekend as the emphasis was on defense. Their free agent signings of Ted Washington and Willie McGinest give them two veterans to lead and teach these youngsters. Save from the Christmas Eve debacle that was the Pittsburgh game last year, the defense kept the team competitive in most games. I see the defense getting stronger and setting the tone for the team. Looking at the offense, there is a lot of potential in the receiving corps -- of course Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow are still unproven. Hopefully they stay healthy and we see what they can really do. The only weakness I see is the QB and RB position. Will it be Trent Dilfer or Charlie Frye leading the team? And what about Rueben Droughns/Lee Suggs/William Green? Who's going to be the lead guy and can the other two handle playing the role of backup. At least we didn't trade for Joey Harrington. Just what we need, a 3rd non-great QB to throw into the mix. We don't need a QB controversy and we don't need Tim Couch version 2.0. I'm predicting a 9-7 record next year. You heard it here first folks.

Is it me, or has ESPN kept increasing the "Insider" tag on its articles. Am I going to have to finally cave in and pay for this stuff? Yeah right!

For those that are interested here is a live action version of Super Mario Brothers. It is entertaining but gets old right around minute 3.

Know When To Hold Them

2006-04-28T23:57:00.000-04:00

Blogger has been a little b**** the last day. I had a long post to put up, but it ate it numerous times. For the time being, just help a brother out. (thanks Tom)

Teach Your Children Well

2006-04-22T14:03:00.000-04:00

I appreciated all the comments and feedback from my experience in Boston last weekend.

Moving onto another topic, however, I use this blog mainly as an outlet for my own thoughts/doings/etc. As much as I like to toot my own horn, every once in awhile I do like to promote others' activities. As my readership grows from close friends, to colleagues, to random folks I don't really know, I realize that I can give enhanced exposure to things.

Today's item is from an email I received from a friend. She's an art teacher in a public school system. As with most public schools, she has a limited amount of funding. She has taken the initiative to seek outside sources of funding through the website Donors Choose. Here, teachers can submit prject proposals with the amount of funding required. Members of the public can then choose how much they would like to donate to a given project(s). And donations are tax-deductible! So, here is a list of the projects she has submitted. I encourage you to browse them and consider a donation.

Check It Out! Art Supplies To Borrow And Return
What A Bunch of Knit-Wits! Knitting Needles for Art Class
Traveling Artists Need Drawing Boards
Draw…Erase…Save a Tree in Art Class!
Elementary Art Class Library-Part One
Elementary Art Class Library- Part Three

Philanthropy is important, we all know that. We can give in any way we can. Yes, a lot of us have limited incomes and can only donate so much, but something is better then nothing. Some folks choose to donate to large organizations such as those geared toward medical research. These are great organizations, but there are other areas that can be of equal importance. In these projects above, however, you can actually decide where your money is going and see the tangible result. One thing I've learned throughout the years is the importance of the nonacademic courses in school -- the art classes, the music classes, the gym & health classes. These are all important and crucial to developing well rounded students. When budget cuts come, these are the classes that are often the first to be reduced and eliminated. We need these classes to encourage creative output and living a healthy lifestyle. So again, I encourage you to check these projects (and others on the site) out and considering helping a friend of a friend out.

I Run the Marathon to the Very Last Mile

2006-04-18T20:06:00.000-04:00

Prologue
Circa 2003. I was a year out of college and it had been a year since I "retired" from 12 years as a competitive swimmer. During those years I achieved some modest success. For 12 months from February of 1995 to February of 1996 I held a school record (high school) in the 200 Freestyle Relay -- fancy that, me a sprinter! I was decent enough to swim at the NCAA Division III level. There I experienced days, nights, weeks, and months of putting my body through lot of intense training and mental anguish. At one point I was in the all-time top 5 in the 1650 at CWRU. Right now I'm unofficially 9th, but still good enought for top-10. The success I found in swimming at college was more through what the team did as a whole and not necessarily my individual achievements. I was fortunate enough to swim with some talented people and be part of a wonderful team. That is one thing I will never trade in.

So it was spring of 2003, a year out of college...no job...a little heavier...my life not headed in any sort of direction. I watched that years Boston Marathon and thought to myself "geez, just to qualify you have to average 7:14 a mile for 26.2 miles!! That's unbelieveable!!!" My dad had done some marathons back in the '80s and doing a marathon was always something I wanted to do as a life goal. You know those -- things you only want to do once, but it helps to complete your life by saying you did it. So I went to the library and got a book about how to do a marathon. Hal Higdon's Beginner 18-week training program maxed at 40 miles a week with one run of 20 miles all meant for you to complete a marathon. I went and ran Columbus in 2003 and finished with a very respectable debut of 3:25:46. Not bad.

With very little training and no speed/pace work, I thought that a BQ (Boston Qualifier) of 3:10 was within reach. This time around I stepped up the training, with Hal Higdon's Intermediate II program. This featured heavier mileage with some pace training. So I went out and ran the Detroit Marathon in the fall of 2004 and finished with my BQ of 3:04:42. Boston offers an 18-month window to qualify. This meant I could either run in the 2005 version or the 2006 version. I decided to put the training off for a year to fully rest my legs and be able to tackled the Michigan winter training with full steam and vigor.

The Training
For my 3rd marathon I wanted to step up the training even more. I bought this book and used the 18-week program that maxed out at 70 miles a week. Again, this training featured more speed work, more marathon pace training, and more and longer long-runs. Yes it was hard at times and not necessarily the most fun thing to go out and run 15-20 miles in the middle of the winter, but I did it. I did not miss any of the workouts and only dropped maybe 5-10 miles from the whole program. I had heard from people the success they had from his programs, so I was confident. The only drawback to the training was living in Michigan -- the place is pretty darn flat and I was unable to do any hill training -- a certain prerequisite for running Boston! A month or so before the race I had 17 miles scheduled with 14 @ marathon pace. The pace on this run equaled out to a 2:52 and change finishing time. This gave me confidence heading into my taper that going sub-2:50 was feasible.

The History
The term Boston Marathon is really a misnomer. This race is held in such high regard that just saying "I'm running Boston" is all that is needed. In the running world, the singular word "Boston" means the marathon. Name drop it that you ran/are running/are trying to qualify and others automatically give you added respect. This is the pinnacle of the marathon world. Certainly other races have more entrants, more hokey course entertainment, flashier medals, but this is the one that people put above all others. This race people come to year in and year out; others run to qualify for; and certainly there are thousands upon thousands of others that try year in and year out to qualify but fail. Its gut-wrenching but it is competition and it is life.

The Boston course is a unique one. Not only it is a point-to-point race, but it is famous for its hills. The race has an overall drop of ~480 feet but that is not gradual over the whole course. The first mile is the steepest drop and the first 16 miles are steady downhills. From mile 16-21, there are a series of four hills -- the fourth being the infamous Heartbreak Hill. From 21 to the end, the course runs downhill. Its not that the hills are especially bad, but it is their timing in the race and the downhills before them that make it tough. The Boston course is not a fast course, but it is a strategic and tactical course. Run it right and you can feel good; run it the wrong way and you are in for a load of hurt.

The city is swarmed upon with 20000 runners plus their families and friends. Everywhere you go you see runners -- svelt men and women with nary an upper body muscle to be found, but legs that can churn out miles and miles of consistent performance. People wearing jackets from their first Boston 20 years ago and those wide-eyed first-timers who just want to take everything in. Just being there a short time, I understood why people come back year in and year out. This is a special place.

The Weekend/Expo
The OFOMOL (for you new readers, this is the Official Female of Metamorphosis of Life, aka my girlfriend) and I arrived friday night and stayed with my buddy Miller in Cambridge. I hadn't seen him in almost 2 years and I've never met his fiancee so it was nice catching up. I had some work obligations at the Expo, so saturday was busy. OFOMOL and I were able to catch a quick lunch and browse at all the merchandise one can purchase there. Saturday night we attended an Indian cultural show that Miller and the missus were participating in. Sunday we hit church (btw it was Easter) and had a nice brunch before I headed back to the Expo. While there I schilled $110 for an official jacket (can't go home without one) and hat. I also picked up 2 race posters -- these posters have every entrants name on it, pretty cool stuff. Later that night I did the requisite carbo-loading. I had 2 dinner rolls, a side cesar salad, a full order of focaccia bread, and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I was feeling well fed. Then it was off to bed.

Prerace
I made my way over to Boston Common for departure to the start. For whatever reason I got a seat to myself and immersed myself in some Sudokus for the hour ride out to Hopkinton. Waiting at the start for 3 hours really was not that bad. The time went by pretty quickly. The weather was a bit cool and I wished I hadn't left my gloves at home. Despite the chill at Hopkinton, it was a PERFECT day to run. I was able to meet up with some forlks from the Runner's World Online Forums and we placed names with forum aliases. I then hopped in line for the next 50 minutes for the bathroom. After that it was time to head to the start. I changed into my race clothes -- red shorts, royal blue singlet, white long-sleeve t for the start, navy blue headband, my blue 26.2 mile racing socks, and my blue Brooks Axiom shoes. I made sure I had my Gu packets ready to go and dropped my bag off at the bus. I did a real minor warm-up. As I headed to the start I saw a little outcropping of bushes where guys were heeding to the call of nature. I watered the plants one last time and left to the sounds of a policeman yelling "those of you urinating in the bushes, we'll take your race number andyou'll be disqualified." I made sure to blend into the crowd to be on the safe side. I found my corral (#3), did some final stretches, lost the long-sleeved T, and headed in to join the throngs. I say a quick prayer to Saint Sebastian, and a few minutes later we were off.

The Race
My strategy was to run conservatively at the beginning -- especially that first mile where the course drops 140 feet. I don't want to go out too fast, get caught up in the excitement and pay for it at the end. I check the split -- 7:09...oops, a bit TOO conservative. I pick it up the 2nd mile and put up a solid 6:32. Mile two I also intake my first Gatorade of the day. I know from my training that 6:40 pace means that 3 miles = 20:00. Mile 3 is a 6:29. Great. I'm running in control and I'm feeling nice and relaxed. I'm not pushing it at all and I'm not letting the hills take me for a ride. Mile four comes in at 6:27 and at that time I'm right at the 6:40 pace of 26:39. This is alright, but not ideal for running a sub-2:50. I'm going to need to pick it up at some point. I also know that after mile 4, the course stays relatively flat with some rolling hills. This is where my true pace will come in. The disappearance of the downhill cost me a bit with a 6:38 in mile 5. I take my first Gu here and wash it down with some water. I notice that my stomach seems a bit full of water and I may want to monitor the liquid intake. From here on out I take a Gu washed down with water every 5 miles and a Gatorade 2 miles later. I didn't feel I needed anything more.
Miles 1-5 -- 33:17 (7:09/6:32/6:29/6:27/6:38)

During my training I got in the habit of counting my steps -- I'd count the number of single (right or left) footfalls in a 2-minute period. The optimal number is 90 footstrikes per minute so the goal was always 180. A couple miles into the race I would look for the 3:00 mark of the mile and count for the next 2 minutes. This proved useful as once I got to 5:00 I could start scanning the distance for the next mile marker. It was also around mile five or so that I made a friend. He was from some African country that started with a G -- he had a thick accent so I couldn't quite make it out. But searching the results I couldn't find him. He told me I was looking good and we were both shooting for 2:50 so we hooked onto each other. Miles 5-10 were pretty uneventful. I was staying controlled, but the pace was still a bit slower then I would have liked. 2:50 pace is averaging 6:30 per mile so I was going to have to start picking it up at some point...but not here. I was still content to hold my position and not push it. Those hills had scared me and I didn't want to bonk.
Miles 6-10 -- 32:58/1:06:15 (6:25/6:33/6:39/6:36/6:42)

My African buddy is still with me as we dodge racers, cups, and give random high-fives to spectators. That last mile of 6:42 I did not like and wanted to go faster. I was able to get in some of my faster miles of the day thus far and the pace was right at 6:30. Mile 13 presents a special part of the course. That is, the girls of Wellesley College. All they do is scream. Seriously. You hear them a half-mile before you get to them and it's like this wall of sound. It is quite invigorating as you run past them. Numerous girls hold "Kiss Me" signs. I refrained from that, but did provide plenty of high-fives. One of the guys near me pulled up his top -- I don't know if it was meant as to provide humor for them, or if he wanted to see them do it. It was also during the 13th mile that I looked over to my left (the girls were on the right) and noticed an African guy who was obviously hurting. I checked his bib -- #4. Yeah, they only give those bibs to the elite guys. I hit the halfway point with a split of 1:26:20. I'm gonna have to do some work to go under 2:50. I'll have to run 1:23:39 to do it. A long shot, but we'll see how it goes. The OFOMOL was getting my splits on my cell phone and this split failed to register. She later told me that when she did not receive it, she started looking for me at the medical vehicles as they passed by. Somewhere around miles 12/13 I lose my African guy.
Miles 11-15 -- 32:31/1:38:46 (6:32/6:26/6:27/6:27/6:36)

Mile 16 is the last downhill before the hills. The calm before the storm, if you will. I gather my troops and gain some momentum after the 16th mile. This is where I start working. I've brought my guns and we're ready to do battle. I know the stretch from 16-21 will be the toughest. I'm taking it a mile at a time and one hill by one hill. No sense in thinking about the end when I still have 10+ miles to cover. I keep it steady and I'm going strong up the hills and recovering during the downhills. I'm keeping my cadence check at minute 3 of every mile and this helps mentally. I'm right there at 180 up the hills so I'm in check. The crowds are giving you support as they know this is the toughest part of the course. I'm determined to beat these things to the ground. I stay with it, not cedeing any ground. Amazingly I'm only 3 seconds slower then the previous five miles.
Miles 16-20 -- 32:34/2:11:20 (6:25/6:37/6:36/6:27/6:36)

Mile 21. This is the infamous Heartbreak Hill. Yet today my friends, it was not my heart that was broken, but the hills. I owned this baby. As I'm heading to the summit, I pass the Hoyts. This is their 25th Boston -- a crowd favorite and certainly an inspiration to anyone. BTW, their fastest marathon was a 2:40, not too bad for someone pushing another someone in a wheelchair. This was my strategy -- ok, I'm feeling pretty good, I know HBH is not officially done until we hit the mile 21 marker; we'll see how I'm feeling once I get to 21. I'm feeling good and as I approach the marker I see the downhill of the course. I hit 21, take my last Gu, and I turn on the jets. The next miles are a blur. I'm running like there is no tomorrow and the legs are responding. I'm passing all sorts of people. For awhile another redhead tries to stay with me for about a half mile or so but again I leave him. I'm playing for the crowd, feeding off their energy. The drunk college kids who have nothing better to do. They're cheering but I feel as if they are cheering for me. Every once in awhile I hear someone say "Look at #3178." I keep it going. I calculate the splits...OK 2:50 is doable. Just keep going man. This is where those VO2 max training runs come in; this is why I did mid-week 15 mile runs; this is what I trained 4 months for.
Miles 21-25 -- 31:20/2:42:40 (6:36/6:08/6:12/6:03/6:09)

I hit the Citgo sign, 1 mile to go. From the last split I know I am right dead-on 2:50 finishing time. Pre-race, various split calculators had me at about a 1:18 for the last .2. This means I need a 6:00 last mile to do this thing. I'm burning along. I turn right onto Hereford, and then left onto Bolyston. I see it -- the yellow and blue of the finish line. Spectators are everywhere on both sides of the street. I'm pushing and pushing and then silence. Call it divine intervention, call it whatever you like but I turn my head and I see her, the OFOMOL, sticking out like a diamond among the throngs. I go crazy and this drives my adrenaline up. I'm racing to see either a 2:49.XX or a 2:50.XX and seeing her gives me the that last push I need to finish.
Last 1.2 miles -- 7:17. Final time of 2:49:56. Halfs of 1:26:20/1:23:36. I place 416th out of 20117 that started the race.

Post-Race
I roll in and I'm ecstatic. I'm about 99.99% sure that if I had see her right then, I would have hugged her and immediately would have burst into tears. I was that happy. I knew a 2:50 was doable and did it. Neve once did I doubt myself. I got my mylar blanket, the refreshments and made my way over to the family meeting area. I sat down on the curb to wait, afraid I wouldn't be able to get up. Then I saw her and immediately shot up to hug her. We made our way back to the apartment, showered, made some calls, and went out for a celebratory dinner.

Epilogue
Where do I go from here? Short term -- get a much needed break from running, get back in the pool, and relax. It turns out I'm a much better runner then I was a swimmer. Would I trade that in? No. Swimming is my true passion. That is the sport I know and love. I now run to see how fast I can get. I know I haven't tapped out my marathon potential. I know on a flat course I could have gone 2:48 or faster. I know with more training I can go faster. The question is, how fast? Tell the 2003 edition of myself that in 3 short years I'd be a sub-2:50 marathoner. that guy would have laughed. Is sub-2:40 out of the question? I certainly don't think so. I've done all my training alone...it would be nice to find a person or persons who are at that speed to push me during training. I also know the next logical step -- buy a bike. I think the triathlon world would like to see what I can do.

Post-script
I know this has been long winded (and emotional), but I wanted to share the joy I experienced yesterday with you folks. As hokey and stupid as this blog can be at times, I realize that you guys (the fam, the swimming alums, friends) do read this and pay attention. It meant a lot when I hopped online last night and saw all the comments during the race. You guys are great. I want to thank my parents -- I don't know where it came from, but whatever athletic genes you gave me, THANK YOU! My sisters for their support and interest and good luck to the OLSOMOL as she does her first 10K (trained by me!) in a month. I want to thank Miller for putting up with us for 4 days. We felt like we were imposing at times, but you were flexible with us. Lastly I want to thank OFOMOL for being understanding with me and my training -- getting up early on cold winter mornings, adjusting spring break schedules. You dealt with my athlete quirks and gave me all sorts of support. I love you with all of my heart.

Thats it for now. Whoever made it to the end of this...well give yourself a pat on the back.

Whoomp There It Is!

2006-04-17T17:12:00.000-04:00

In the 110th running of the Boston Marathon, I finished in 2:49:56.
I'll be following up tomorrow with a detailed (prepare to do some reading) report about the weekend. For those stats gurus out there, my 1/2 split (it didn't register on the mats) was approximately 1:26:20. So I negative split it like a madman.
I enjoyed all the commentary. It was a welcomed surprise and its nice to know you care. You guys rock!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2006-04-13T23:27:00.000-04:00

Did you know that I'm running the Boston Marathon on monday? Heading out friday morning. For those that have nothing to do, or want to waste time at work, you'll be able to follow my progress online. BTW, you can search for me by name or by bib number -- I'm lucky number 3178. It is being televised on OLN, but none of the cable systems I know (here, home) carry it. SOL. Here are some pertinent links:

BAA/Boston Marathon
Idiot's Guide to the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon Split Calculator

The last one calculates splits based on the variable terrain of the race. Feel free to play around with it. If you don't want to waste time at work, here are a range of splits that I will be in:

Pace	10K	Half	30K	Finish
6:40	41:25.5	1:27:20	2:04:16	2:54:48
6:30	40:23.4	1:25:09	2:01:10	2:50:25
6:20	39:21.2	1:22:58	1:58:03	2:46:03

Of course these splits are based on even splitting. I've negative-split my first two marathons and want to run a strategic race in Boston. The first part of the race features a significant downhill. People have a tendancy to run too fast and trash their quads. By the time they get to the hills from miles 16-21 they are paying for it and till the end they are in a world of hurt. I plan on running very conservatively (if that first mile was right aroun 6:45 I'd be VERY happy) at the beginning so that when the time comes I can attack.

I probably won't update this until I get back on tuesday -- look for a full-fledged, more then you can handle recap and race review.

Waiting is the Hardest Part.

2006-04-09T21:41:00.000-04:00

8 days out. I've finished up all of my hard workouts and now its all nice and easy until next monday. I'm feeling ok. The legs were a bit off today, but that's taper. I just want to run this damn thing. The weather is looking good, but we're still a week away. Taper, for those who do not follow the training habits of swimmers, runners, or triathletes is the gradual decrease of mileage during the last 3-4 weeks of training. You basically abuse your body for 3-4 months then use taper to rest up. It does sound a bit counter-intuitive to the everday lay person, but it is a proven training method. Your body feels wacky...pluse an increase in energy makes people behave in peculiar ways. Of course I need to adhere to the traditional taper guidelines...no eating after 10, watch what I eat so I don't put on a couple of extra pounds, no ending or beginning relationships, and all that stuff that tdc3 used to preach to us that I'll preach to my swimmers when I'm a coach.

How to cheat at Sudoku. Oh no I didn't!

A couple of things for those of you who pay attention to stuff like this. I've added some links, namely World's Most Tortured Fans which is a blog about all things Cleveland sports. Yes I think I've found someone who is more cynical about this subject then myself! And under Music Blogs, I've added Indoor Fireworks. Good stuff there. I also finally added a counter down at the bottom.

Deadliest Catch has returned for it's second season. This is about the only reality show where you might see someone die. Seriously, its that intense. These guys work their butts off in some extreme conditions all to make as much money in a few weeks to support them for the rest of the year.

Spring is Here Again

2006-03-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

This was supposed to go up last night, but blogger decided to eat the post. Twice. Grrrr. I'll try to remember what I discussed. Anyways, I should just bomb the blogosphere.

So spring has decided to arrive. Yesterday there were blue skies, in the 60s, and I was able to run in shorts & a sleeveless-T. Let's just hope we see no more snow...of course last year we got dumped on something like the 3rd or 4th weekend in April.

My buddy Tom has a blog. It's not that exciting, but he's a law student, so what do you expect?

I was in the shoe lab talking with some folks the other day about my plans for Boston (17 days out!!). The question came up about which shoes I'm going to run in. I made the comment that I have no shortage of shoes to choose from, but I think I'll be going with my Brooks Axioms. I then commented about how back in my swimming days our coach (tdc3 ya'll) always told us to put our suits, goggles, etc in our carry-on luggage in the event that our other luggage gets lost. Our IT guy pipped in that his XC coach said the same thing -- pack your uniform and spikes in your carry-on. I got a bit of a kick out of that.

In other swimming-related things...over spring break the OFOMOL and I decided to spend a couple of days in Canada. My parents had sent my birth certificate so I could travel to and from the country. Due to inefficiencies in the US Postal system our departure was delayed and I had doubts about whether we would be going or not. In my gloom, she offered up this nugget of wisdom: "what is it you always say? suck on the good."

Get Over It!

2006-03-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Who's been following the South Park/Isaac Hayes/Scientology ordeal? Personally I'm a big fan of the show. I think it is one of the few outlets which creatively spoofs and satires pretty much everything. And whenever you think they've done it all, they go one step beyond. But this is getting ridiculous. I identify with numerous groups that Matt & Trey have made fun of. Do I get pissed off? No. I realize that anything you identify with is not perfect and subject to ridicule and scrutinization. The fact that Isaac Hayes quit over this issue and Tom Cruise is being...well Tom Cruise, goes to show you that these people take themselves way too seriously.

I've noticed while driving around a diappropriate number of political stickers on cars left over from the 2004 campaign. For those of you still cursing/celebrating the election I have some words for you.

The Democrats
OK, we get it, you supported Kerry & Edwards. However, they lost. GET OVER IT! That sticker just shows that you still haven't accepted the victory of the GOP. Your party ran the wrong candidates, plain and simple. You had a prime opportunity to take over the White House from one of the most polarizing presidents in history and you screwed it up. This just shows the ineptitude of your party. Hopefully in 2008 you get it correct and can make amends for the past 10+ years slide into mediocrity.

The Republicans
OK, we get it, you supported George W Bush. The election is over and done with. GET OVER IT! Just because your party & candidate won, doesn't mean he's the best president ever. No, it is pretty obvious that he has made some mistakes. If you hope to keep control of Congress and the White House in 2008 you cannot sit on your laurels and assume the religious-right will carry you to victory. Remember those more moderate (and more sane) members of your party.

OK and another note. Remember all those people who were going to move to Canada in their post-2004 election sorrow? Doesn't that go against what we, as Americans, believe in? I've always been under the opinion that a defeat can lead to future victory. If you Democrats (presumably they are the ones that wanted to move to Canada) move, that just gives the GOP a better chance at victory next time. In all actuality, if you are displeased you should stay and organize and fight so that victory next time is yours. Seriously, this is one of the reasons the Democratic party has been in disarray the past couple of years.

28 Days for 13 Grand

2006-03-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

28 Days until Boston. The training is going well and I've got one more week of hard stuff until I officially start taper. I did a nice 8-mile time trial on sunday clocking in at 48:35 with half-splits of 24:30/24:05. Of course my legs were a bit fatigued but I still managed 7:30 pace. Ahh yes...taper. Quite the fun time of the training program. After all those weeks of hard work, the mileage cuts back and you to enjoy something you haven't had in a long time -- rest and recovery. Of course in the world of marathons there is only one distance in one discipline so hitting the taper isn't as hard as in the world of swimming. On the other side of things, there is no shaving down. :( As for my success in beantown...I'm thinking that sub-2:50 is entirely possible. As long as the weather cooperates and I stratergerize the hills, my training dictates that I can do this. One last thing...the bib numbers are up. I'm #3178. I was hoping to make it to the 2nd corral, but I'll be in number 3. I'll try to make sure to start up toward the front of it.

Quick side note. I was about 13 miles into my 18 mile run today when some guy running in the opposite direction says "hey." I stop and talk to him. I'm wearing a CWRU fleece hat and he asks if I went there. Turns out he graduated from Case in 1982 and is working in Lansing as an attorney. We talked a about the school and its lack of social opportunities. He lives near me so we may go out running together sometime. Small world.

Big 10 = Big Suck. Yeah the #1 RPI conference that sent 6 teams to the big dance failed to get one team in the Sweet 16. Lots of us took a bath on that one. The sad thing is all of the teams underachieved. Izzo has some work to do for next year. Also, in a nod to parity, all the Final Four teams from 2005 are gone -- MSU and UNC to GMU, Illinois to Washington, and Louisville didn't even make it. Of course we still have the team everyone loves to hate, Duke, and perennial contenders UConn. To borrow a phrase, I'm sucking on the good and have all four of my final four teams left in each of my 3 pools.

Anyone catch How I Met Your Mother tonight? It was an OK episode...hitting a bit close to home with the whole Ted's-girlfriend-is-now-living-in-Germany plot line...but it ended with Robin calling Ted at 2:00 am asking if he wants to come over. Yeahh.....wondering what will happen there.

Let's Dance

2006-03-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

The first round of the NCAA Tourney has come and gone and brackets are busted -- mainly due to Bradley (Kansas was a fairly popular Final Four pick) and Northwestern State (Iowa was overrated btw). Of course, my Spartans laid an egg to George Mason last night ending a pretty crappy season. A couple of number 1 seeds got some scares, but Memphis and UConn both moved on. Side note: statistics say that eventually we will get a #16 seed that beats a #1 seed. I'm not a betting man, but say like you put $10 on each number 1 seed each year -- $40 a year, not a big risk. Eventually that number 16 seed will pull it off and you will reap the rewards -- would it be a sound investment? I don't know Vegas-lines on the 16-1 match-ups and I don't want to do the math to see if it would be a feasible thing. Anyway it would be nice to say that you picked the #16 seed when they beat the #1

Now to the analysis of my brackets:
CWRU Swimming (Yahoo)
Currently in a 3-way tie for 7th place (out of 37). I like where I'm sitting. I've got all of my final four picks left -- Duke, UCLA, UConn, and BC. BC did give me a scare in the first round, but pulled it off. This is the most personal group, as I know most people involved in it. Its fun looking at everyone's picks and seeing who took it seriously and who not. My kudos to Ray for picking an All-Big 10 Final Four, but right now 2 of those teams are headed home.

Deadspin Pants Party (ESPN)
Awkward Moments are sitting in the 11.6th percentile. Stellar performance I must say. Already 2 of my elite eight teams (Kansas, MSU) are gone, but all Final Four teams remain -- Duke, Gonzaga, UConn, and Villanova.

Awkward Silences are apparently without a group. I meant to join the Daily Quickie group, but apparently I didn't. So this is a bracket just competing in the whole scheme of things. This one is doing a bit better then the Moments and are in the 61st percentile. All FF teams of Texas, UCLA, UConn, and Villanova are still left. Again, Kansas hurt me here.

We'll see how I'm sitting after the second round games. After seeing the Awkward Moments in the 4th percentile after thursdays games, I had a thought. Everyone plays to see how WELL they do in the brackets. They should start having brackets to see how BAD you pick. Of course the scoring and logistics would be a bit harder...but picking the teams that are going to lose is about the same challenge as picking which teams are going to win.

Awoken By Grief, Our Spirits Speak

2006-03-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

Its been a bit of a crazy last week for me. A week ago the OFOMOL and I headed up to Canada to enjoy the alloted time for spring break and get out of the EL for awhile. It was a very nice time and we both enjoyed it immensely. During our time away, my paternal grandmother passed away. So after returning to the EL, I rested a night and then drove back to C-town to pay my respects.

I guess I was being a bit prophetic when I discussed my aversion to funerals a couple months back. My grandmother was 88 and lived a healthy and fulfilling life -- 6 kids, 17 grandchildren, and 6? great-grandchildren. I don't ever recall her being sick or in the hospital -- I must get my immune system from her. I know I'll be more then happy to make it to 88 without a serious illness. She was quite an opinionated woman -- this got a chuckle out of the family when the priest was giving his eulogy. We will all miss her and she will be in our hearts.

March Madness is almost upon us -- it starts promptly tomorrow a bit after noon. Got your brackets filled out? I really don't know if the OFOMOL understands the extent of MM. She already complains that I watch too much sports...can she really figure out the complexity and excitement that is March Madness? To throw a wrench into my tv-viewing....MSU plays at 7:10 on friday night...friday is also St. Patrick's Day, but it is also her birthday. I'm sure I'll screw up in some fashion. I have been fiddling with my brackets and I'm in a very nicely organized group of CWRU swimming peeps. Right now we've got around 25 people, so it'll be fun. For those of you participating and who read this, I'll try to document results and progress.

33 days out: monday I did 17 miles with 14 @ marathon pace. Those 14 miles felt very solid and put me right on a 2:52 finish time. Could I go sub-2:50? That would just be bad-ass.

There's Dancing Behind Movie Scenes

2006-03-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

Had a nice dinner last night at a local Indian restaurant. This was my first foray into the world of Indian cuisine. It was recommended highly by the OFOMOL so I figured what the heck. The restaurant is decorated in traditional Indian stylings. I ordered a traditional Indian beer, Kingfisher. I thought it was pretty good -- a bit on the sweet side, but this didn't bother me. For the main course I ordered a type of lamb -- with almonds, peanuts, and raisins. I thought it was quite good. I know that Indian food has a tendency to be spicy, so I ordered the medium, but I could have handled the spicy. The food was all very good and I had a pleasant time. The kicker about this restaurant is that on the main wall they play Bollywood movies. Now I've never actually seen one of these, so this was the first time for me. They are something else, that is for sure! Lots of singing and dancing and it all seems pretty cheesy...but I guess it is supposed to be that way. I realized that they are just like American movies (minus the singing & dancing) in terms of plot and what not. It was all quite entertaining.

Some information about today's quote.

Watched the Oscars last night. Thought that Jon Stewart wasn't really appreciated. I did like his take on Three 6 Mafia's celebration and the fact they have one Oscar and Martin Scorcese has zero. I don't know about anyone else, but Diana Ossana, after winning for Best Adapted Screenplay, looked like she would have been happier anywhere else but there. Additionally she looked like she was drugged-up on something. No joke. In other Oscar-related news, I actually saw three of the main films, Crash, Munich, and Capote. Kudos to PSH on his best actor award.

I'll Be Back in Time

2006-03-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

Entertaining article in the NYTimes today about the influx of Brokeback Mountain spoofs on the web. I watched the Brokeback to the Future clip today and was amused. The clip is available on Youtube. If you are unaware, Youtube is the newest sensation burning across the interweb. It has plenty of video downloads and encourages sharing of the videos. It is streamed across the web and onto your computer screen free of charge. You folks with normal day jobs could probably waste the better part of the day watching videos like this and that. On the topic of videos, be sure to check out the new Jordan ad.

Let's see...there were some other things. Prompted by a friend, I signed-on to to Last.fm yesterday. Quite a neat little accessory. It's a plug-in for Winamp and other audio programs and tracks which songs & artists you listen to the most. Of course my #1 artist is going to be R.E.M. but does that surprise anyone?

Cut Like a Razor Blade

2006-02-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

OK OK, I guess I've gotten some backlash about my previous post complaining about the various charges and it sounded like I didn't have a good time. I did enjoy the concert...I think the small part of me that feels like it has any sort of indie cred is yelling "nooo...you can't like Coldplay." It's those damn fees that pissed me off -- and the official mother of MOL (OMOMOL....it even has MOM in there) agreed with me. I'll say it right now, Chris Martin rocks! Hard!

Anyway the OFOMOL and I did some shopping the other night. I took her to a few American legends of capitalism. Well first we went to World Market where she delighted in the selection of fine European food (mostly candy & chocolate). Then we headed to Krispy Kreme where we got some fresh hot doughnuts (or is it donut...). She was quite surprised at the quality of them and delighted in their confectionary goodness. Lastly we went to one of my most favorite~ stores, Wal-Mart. She had never gone before and kept begging me to go. So we get some stuff and I see a display for the new Gilette Fusion. Having screwed up the last time I bought razor blades (I got 2-blades instead of 3) I bit into the marketing and advertising blitz and bought one.

Saturday after my run I had the opportunity to test out the new toy. First though, the design of it is quite sublime. I am quite impressed with the handle although with all those damn blades, the blade itself is quite large and it looks like they've got a gazillon of those rubber "prep bands" beneath the blades. So anyway I test it out. Well I must point out that I didn't buy the Fusion shaving cream, so I probably deprived my face of the closest shaving possibility. I start shaving, and my first reaction is, wow this this is big. Seriously. It is quite unwieldy. I don't know what is going to happen when they have one with 10 blades. It feels like I'm operating a piece of heavy machinery. I finish shaving and it does feel closer...but I'm not sure it's any better then the 3 blades I'm used to. I did use the 6th blade to trim up my sideburns...but I don't know if it did something (but OFOMOL says it did). It does cost $14 for a 4-cartridge replacement...someday I'll calculate the per blade average and see which razor is best economically.

Money, Get Away

2006-02-24T11:06:00.000-05:00

My last post I mentioned that on wednesday night I took the OFOMOL to see Coldplay for her Christmas gift. Let see...where shall I start. Well before we left I stopped by th ATM to get some cash (for beer or whatever, and in case they charge for parking) and we head off. It's about an hour and 20 minute drive from the EL. Traffic not a big deal. So we get in and fight traffic to the Palace of Auburn Hills. We pull in and they're taking money for parking. Good thing I stopped at the ATM. So I pull up and I innocently ask how much...the guy says "$15." I'm shocked. Fifteen f****** dollars. I make a comment to the kid that this is ridiculous. Then I ask what would happen if I didn't have the money -- he said he would have to call his manager. So this really pisses me off. I mean Iunderstand $5 or $10 at most, but $15, c'mon now! I'm not pissed at the guy who took my money, he's just doing his job, he has nothing to do with the prices. They build these suburban arenas with plenty of parking with the *assumption* that parking is free. I mean, we never had to pay at the Richfield Coliseum. So my pockets $15 lighter we walk in and I'm still peeved so we buy two beers. Another $15 for two high-quality Bud Light's and we are outta cash. So before we get to the seats, we've spent well over $100 on this concert -- tickets were $36 (honestly not that bad)....with those oh-so-gracious "convenience" fees that tacked on another $25 to the tickets. Seriously, how much does it cost to print two tickets and pop them in the mail for $0.37? We make our way to the quality seats in section 212 and sit down. Since there were people in our row and no one in the row beneath ours, I introduced OFOMOL to the American concept of stepping on seats to get to our seats.

So we sit down and a minute or two later, Fiona Apple comes on. I was looking forward to seeing her, as she has some quality songs in her catalogue. She played for a good 45 minutes and played her two biggest "hits" (Shadowboxer and Criminal) back to back about 3-4 songs in. I like her voice and she's got a nice raspy female jazz singer quality to her. She did "scream" a bit too much and got on my nerves occasionally. The audience did seem to enjoy her set...better then most openers. Then we get the requisite intermission and stage set-up.

Right at 9:00 the boys of the moment come on. They actually enter via the rear of the stage and due to the location of our seats, we were able to see them before most of the rest of the crowd. The other three (the band should change its name to Chris Martin....and those three other guys) start playing while Mr. Martin hides behind the stage and makes his grand entrance. The band put on a good show. I was actually surprised at the number of the songs I recognized. They took a risk and played which is probably their biggest hit, "Yellow" right at the beginning (I think it was the third song) which I applaud them for. Halfway through the set, a bench was setup in the front of the stage for an "acoustic break." They played two songs in homage of Johnny Cash -- including "Ring of Fire." Chris Martin's vocals aren't really suited for that song (not as low as Mr. Cash's) but I commend the effort. The band finished the first set at 10:13 and left the stage for 2 minutes and then came back for the encore. A two-song encore with a sparkling "Fix You" as the closer and they were done. Let's go over the figures here...spent at minimum $125 and we get an hour and a half performance. Not cool. Not cool at all. Even OFOMOL who had a really good time complained. Then you see the folks they shelled out $35 for a t-shirt and you feel bad for them. Yes, we were able to see one of the biggest bands out there, but did we get our money's worth? Umm...no. I've seen plenty of other big-bands (R.E.M., U2, the Cure, Radiohead) play well over 2 hours...sometimes over 2.5 hours. Now that is getting your money's worth. Hopefully these guys learn that the audience expects more as their career goes on.

Keep Your Money in Your Shoes

2006-02-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

This was supposed to go up yesterday, but I was having some connection issues.

A very happy 23rd birthday to my younger sister, Christina. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Heading to the Palace at Auburn Hills tonight to see Coldplay. The OFOMOL (maybe I should change that to TOFOMOL) really likes Father Apple and company so I got tickets for her for Christmas. So in a way, we're celebrating Christmas tonight, two months too late. Oh well. Fiona Apple is opening, which means I won't be suffering too much. I shouldn't say that, I don't have anything against Coldplay...its just that the piano-driven moody brit rock is played out. Speaking of Coldplay, they remind me of the 40 Year Old Virgin and the scene where Cal and David are playing video games. Speaking of that movie, they had it on the movie channel here at school the other day and I just had to stop and watch part of it. For me, it is one of those movies that will never stop being funny. And it is consistenly funny for the duration of the film. It's hard to get that nowadays. I think that already this movie is one of the top-5 funniest movies. No doubt.

In running news, I've got 8 weeks left of training. I just came off a recovery week where I didn't work very hard. I wanted to give my legs and my body some time to recouperate so I can hit the next 5 weeks of training hard. Then its taper time and then time to race. I did break up the monotony of training by running a 5K on sunday. In all actuality I've never run a 5K before so it was a new experience. It was 16 out at race time, so a bit chilly, although that didn't prevent some guy from racing in just shorts and shoes...nothing else. The race was fun as I came in at 17:54 and took 3rd place. Of course I like to catch people and realized that in a 5K, that is pretty hard to do. It also felt like I had done nothing. I mean I was running hard, but 3 miles is a warm-up for me, so I barely had time to work.
If anyone is curious about my running, here is a list of shoes currently in rotation:
Asics GT-2090
Asics Gel-Nimbus
Brooks Axiom 3 (mine are latest version in royal blue)
Diadora Mythos
New Balance 719
Nike Air Zoom Hayward (grey with red trim...not the Oregon colors)
Puma Phasis III

Each Day is Valentine's Day

2006-02-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

A day late, but I hope everyone had an enjoyable St. Valentine's Day. You can find some information here or here on the fella who causes every man wincing in pain in having to succumb to societal ideals about giving gifts; and every woman pain over her beau screwing it up. Of course that is for traditional relationships. I'm sure it is easier for non-traditional relationships as those men don't give each other anything and the women know exactly what to give each other!

Anyway on monday I received a card from my parents. They are nice like that and send me cards for every relative holiday. It would be better if there was a couple of dollars in there, but the thought is what counts. So I open this card and in typical Valentine's Day fashion it is pink. It's got a pig (a pig...not sure what that has to do with V's Day) holding a heart and says "Hope your heart feels hugged" on the inside. It is also signed (in my mum's writing) "Love, Mom & Dad." OK, this is cool. Every card I get is signed like this. But for whatever reason this time around I start thinking about it. It says Mom & Dad. Mom....&... DAD. The DAD part is what pops out at me. Having both names implies that Dad helped pick out the card. I picture my parents at the store looking at the cards and my dad opining..."no...I like the pink one with the pig, I think my 27-year-old son will like that one...not the one with the bikini girls. Yup, the pig it is" I'm pretty sure my dad has NO CLUE I even got a card. If he did have a say I'd definitely be getting the bikini girls. I'd rather at least get a card that is signed something like "Love, Mom...your father is too lazy and men aren't suppose to share emotions with each other but he still cares about you." This is by no-means a slam on my parents. Just quit the charade that my dad actually helped with the card...have him actually sign it or send two.

So apparently there is something called the Olympics going on. Those involved in sports (especially some of my swimming buds) know that acronym DFL. For the uninitiated it stands for Dead.......Last. I have smart readers, you can fill in the blanks. Well DFL is keeping tabs on who finishes DFL in each event. (via Deadspin)

There was something else I wanted to post about...but can't remember. Oh well, it's floating off in cyberspace somewhere.

It's Friday Night....

2006-02-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

And I'm on duty for the weekend. Usually not an exciting time. But this weekend is an exception. As curator for the weekly Owen (my hall) movie nights last semester I got the idea of doing an International Film Festival. I figured I'd do it 1) in the winter when it is easier to stay inside, and 2) when I'm on duty so I don't "waste" a weekend. So this weekend is the first Owen International Film Festival (OIFF in my anacronym-filled world). Tonight is the official kick-off event which is the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies from Torino. Then tomorrow we're showing the following films:
The Piano -- New Zealand
Fireworks (Hana-bi) -- Japan
Open Your Eyes (Abres los ojos) -- Spain
Italian for Beginners (Italiensk for Begyndere) -- Demark

and on Sunday:
Good Bye Lenin! -- Germany
Shower (Xizao) -- China
Amelie (Le Fabuleaux destin d'Amelie Poulain) -- France
Amores Perros -- Mexico

Anyway I'm quite excited for this event. I'm lucky that I've got some great coworkers who are eager and helped with promotions and advertising. There is a good buzz...no there is a GREAT buzz! Not to get egotistical (ok, to get egotistical), I've seen plenty of people checking out the lineup and discussing which films they will see. Of course I've heard some complaints about "Why movie X" or "Why not movie Z from country Y?" As a wise sage once said, Suck on the Good. I'm just focusing on putting on a wonderful event.

Random Opening Ceremonies thoughts:
The dude hitting the anvil looks like Mega Man. No joke. It looks like the Stanford Tree made it. Cows on skates?! Moos? People dressed as cows?! I like the big skier of people. Yeah that is cool. Is that "Gonna Fly Now" they are playing? I don't think there is a better symbol then the Olympic Rings. For as good as he is, Bob Costas always seems a bit...pompous and arrogant. There must be some kick-backs going on for 70s music stars. So North and South Korea are marching together, but not competing, but may be in 2008. I think if I was a high-ranking official in S. Korea I would want nothing to do with Kim Jong-Il. Hey, there's Germany...I think I know someone from there :) Mrs. Blair and Mrs. Bush next to each other...awww. Is anyone else like me and ever thought of getting citizenship in some small country in order to go to the Olympics? So now we've got 80s music going and apparently Mongolia has troops helping us in Iraq. Really, Mongolia? B-Dubs knows his 80s music. And the US enters. Jeremy Bloom, now there is a guy who pretty much got screwed by a certain sports organization. Hey it's Hungary (but as BC let us know "Ungaria in Italian"), which is the only country of heritage I quasi-identify with. Although when people ask what I am I just say American.

Looks like the Cavs have a plan to keep LeBron. They better. Being the ultimate cynical Cleveland sports fan, I've often felt that getting that #1 pick for LeBron was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that we finally won something. Now it's not a championship but we got probably one of the best draft picks of all time, a team player, and a guy that is better then advertised. The cynic in me believes that after his 4/5 years in C-town, he will bolt for some team like the Knicks, or the Clippers, of some big-city team. Well after all the flack Dan Gilbert got a year ago when he took over the ownership, it looks like he is headed in the right direction. He knows the importance of LeBron to the team, the franchise, and the city. Hopefully this all works out. Of course us Cleveland fans will understand if it doesn't.

All you Case alums and others who've made it this far, the UAAs are underway. As I grow older, my contact with the team and knowledge of who can do what is limited, but they look to be having a decent meet. Of course I have no idea how the teams are doing as Emory isn't posting team scores! Or at least that I can't find.

Here We Go

2006-02-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it there was something resembling a football game on sunday. As any self-respecting Cleveland Brown's fan, I promptly cheered for Seattle. But congrats to my native Pittsburgh-area friends: Jess, Miller, BJ, and Bluemle (I hope I spelled that correctly). I know the game has been analyzed to death, I still feel compelled to let my feelings be known:
This was probably the worst-played SB I've ever watched.
Yes, the officials stunk it up. I'm not saying it was a conspiracy against Seattle, but I sincerely object the PI and Holding penalties. More so the PI -- this is the Super Bowl folks-- let them play for goodness sakes! The receiver barely touched the defender, c'mon now. And I'm still not convinced Big Ben scored.
Speaking of the wunderkid...a QB rating of 22.whatever....as TMQ let's us know, if every pass falls incomplete, the QB rating is 36.something. What were you thinking throwing that pass that was intercepted? I'm convinced BB is overrated and has been the beneficiary of having a wonderful supporting cast.
Bad clock management on Seattle's part. Apparently Mike Holmgren has already won a Super Bowl, but you wouldn't have known with the way he handled things at the end of each half.
Commercials: nothing wow'd me (do you sense a theme here) but I enjoyed the promo of the new ABC show "Sons and Daughters." Gillette now has a six-blade razor (5 on the main area, plus one on the back for sideburns and what-not) but I guess Hitatchi has a 10-blade one.

Onto other topics:
You can get your Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious t-shirt here. Join the minions of wanna-be-hipsters! I thought about 2 seconds about buying one and then my senses got the better of me.

Last week both Bonnaroo and Coachella announced their lineups. There are a lot of overlapping artists. Good bands at the 'Roo: Radiohead, Petty, Beck, Elvis Costello, Death Cab, Bright Eyes (hate to admit it), Ben Folds, Matisyahu (to see if he's all really just schtick), My Morning Jacket, Cat Power, Nickel Creek, Steve Earle, Malkmus!!!!!, Son Volt, Clap Your..., Rusted Root, Devandra Banhart, and Mike Doughty. At the 'Coach: Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, MMJ, TV on the Radio, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cat Power, Devandra Banhart, Massive Attack, Block Party, Oakenfold, Matisyahu (again to see...), Sleater-Kinney, Mogwai, James Blount, Ted Leo, Go! Team, Art Brut, Stellastarr*, Minus the Bear, and Youth Group. Having been a 'Roo veteran (2004 yeah!) I can testify to the wonderful organization behind that one and with a lineup that I'm more into this time around, I would be more than inclined to go (any takers?). After drooling for several years at the Coachella fest and wanting to travel to the desert of SoCal, I feel they are taking a step back this year. It is a bit of a financial commitment, but a multi-day music festival is some fun times. If you have a chance to go to either, I would encourage you to do so.

I mentioned a couple posts back about Pandora and the Music Genome Project. TMT has an interview up with the founder of MGP. Very insightful and sheds some light on how they do things. It is quite a complex process.

Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious

2006-02-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

My beautiful friend Greer urged me to finally include this on my blog, for the sake of the fans. She really cares y'all. In all actuality I've been meaning to post this for quite awhile. In case you don't feel like watching the Super Bore, here is a little video for you to ponder over. Its been quite the rage over this thing called the interweb.

Here's the Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia! So go to the SNL link, scroll onto videos and find the video. Or you can go to this link on YouTube .

In case you were wondering, here are the lyrics. And if you are interested, here is some background on the video. Be sure to watch the girl in the ticket booth, she can't keep a straight face. And what about the line " You can call us Aaron Burr from the way we're dropping Hamiltons" -- classic.

Dont forget about the the "More Cowbell" skit .

Its all about the Hamilton's baby!

I'm a Liar

2006-02-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

So on thursday I said I was going to have my Super Bowl XL preview/prediction up on friday....so I didn't get to it until today. I apologize to all of my faithful readers.

Before I get onto the matter at hand, a couple of associated thoughts. Since I know a substantial amount of international students I've been asking them if they are going to watch the Super Bowl or if they've ever seen it before. We always watch the game and hear about how there are millions and millions watching across the globe and how the Super Bowl is truly an international event. Nevermind the fact that this is a strictlyl American sport which is pretty much ignored anywhere else. Anyway, all these international students respond that no, they've never seen it. Steve Rushin offers more opinon in this week's SI.

What else? Oh yeah, there is that whole cliched-to-death opinon of "I just watch it for the commercials." Apparently there will be an ad with MacGyver/MacGyveresque (didja know his first name was Angus?) and the next shot will be fired in the razor-wars (click on Fusion).

Onto the game....so we have a #1 seed (the Seahawks) that has been playing terrific all year but is somehow the underdog versus a #6 seed (the Steelers). I'm sorry, how can a team that did not win it's division and have to win its final 5 games to make the playoffs be favored over a team that has been doing it all year? Not to mention that Seattle has NFL MVP, Shaun Alexander on their team. I'll take him over the combination of Bettis/Parker any day. What else...quarterbacks. Big Ben has gone from the anonymity of the MAC to the Super Bowl in 2 years; Matt Hasselbeck, better known as brother-in-law of Survivor alum hottie Elizabeth, certainly has the experience and the better numbers. Coaches -- gotta give props to the dual mustaches (when are those finally going to be trendy again?) but remember that this is Holmgren's 3rd SB in 10 years and he already has one ring...this is Cowher's 2nd in 11 years. Defenses.....Pittsburgh has the edge, but only by a few. For me it comes down to two things -- can Seattle put enough points on the board over the Pittsburg D? If they score over 27, then Big Ben & Co cannot keep up and the game will be a route. If the Pittsburgh D holds strong, then I see a game coming down to Special Teams with a FG deciding the game. I give the edge to Seattle here. Ok, so I guess it is pretty obvious that I'm picking Seattle (an unsexy pick btw) to win: Final Score: 27-17.

Oh yeah for those keeping track, two cities have never hosted or been in a Super Bowl -- Cleveland and Indianapolis.

The Armona, the Mean Scent

2006-02-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

Deadspin today has a nice post about Manute Bol and his work for his native Sudan. 99% of their posts are making fun of athletes, but here is a prime example of an athlete using their fame and celebrity for a good (and devastating) cause. Be sure to read the comments.

Punxsutawney Phil apparently saw his shadow indicating 6 more weeks of winter. Compared to last year, this winter has been quite mild which is quite fine for me and my running schedule. It is nice that every day I leave for swimming practice at 5:45 there is more and more sun. Nice.

So I think we've all seen those overtly obnoxious Axe Body Spray commercials. You know the ones, some average guy puts it on and then the women (his date's mother, girls in the library) around him are all over him. Pretty over the top and not very believeable, right? That is what I thought. I scoffed at these commercials. Then something funny happend. First, for whatever reason (I think I had to buy books) I picked up a free sample. Second, I ran out of traditional soap. So I used the Axe Shower Gel until I get a chance to go to the store and buy some more soap. The stuff smells pretty good and seems to get me clean -- I'm a traditional soap and washcloth guy so the gel stuff is a bit out of my element. Later on I'm spending time with OFOMOL (for those that asked it stands for: Official Female Of Metamorphosis Of Life) and she seems to be a bit (ok a lot) more affectionate then normal. I'm enjoying it and she's telling me how good I smell. So yeah, I'm sold. I guess there is truth in advertising.

For those that spend every waking moment of their free time checking this site to see when I update it, my Super Bowl predictions will be up tomorrow.

I Didn't Take No Shortcuts

2006-01-30T16:53:00.000-05:00

77 days out and I ran a nice 21 miles today in just under 2:40, averaging 7:37/mile. Nice. In BA news, the BAA announced a week or so ago that they are changing the start of the race to a wave start. This won't have any impact on me as I'll be in the first wave anyway. They also announced that they are changing the course toward the end which means another hill. If you know anything about the Boston Marathon, it is legendary for its hills. This is the part that worries me the most as the sprawling metropolis of Lansing, Mi is quite flat.

If you haven't ever been over to Deadspin, be sure to check it out.

Grandaddy have decided to split up. This saddens me as they are one of my favorite indie rock bands. They play a nice version of sunny california space rock. We'll see what Jason Lytle has cooking up in his post-Grandaddy days.

Music For Robots has an MP3 up of a song from the new forthcoming Belle and Sebastian album. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I'm sure it is some auditory goodness.

What else...oh yeah me and the OFOMOL went out and saw Munich over the weekend. It was a very good film and not what I expected. My only complaint is that during the opening credits we saw that wonderful misleading phrase of Inspired By True Events. This always gets me. It means that to some degree what happened in the movie is true, but there are other parts that are completely fictionalized. This is my worry with Flight 93.

OK it is off to dinner and then some coaching.

There are bitches in the living room gettin' it on...

2006-01-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

This is GREER the guest publisher. Teets is cool. Dont forget it.

Mark has on a tie-dye shirt. I havent seen a look like this since Dazed and Confused. Its coming back people, be prepared. Mark certainly is.

He has lots of men looking at him in his room. That includes Michael Stipe, 2X REM, Jack Kerouac, and a passion flower. Hey, to each their own. I do appreciate that theres a Franz Ferdinand CD taped to the wall.

I have yet to meet OFOMOL. Maybe shes hiding from my malternative. Can you blame her? But really, bring out the foreigner! I love foreigner (see: my BF is Icelandic). Laskey, I know you feel me yo.

Okay, I need to stop before Mark denies me publishing rights. Jenny was a friend of mine.

2006-01-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

I love mark I love mark!

What I Am is What I Am

2006-01-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

I got this from the Runner's World Forums. The ones that are in bold are then ones that I relate with.

You Know You're A Marathoner When…

o Your "easy" runs top the weekly mileage of 95% of the general population.
o You eat like a 400 lb. man, and look like you're starving.
o You've got a great looking set of legs, but if you were ever able to get into a fashion magazine, they'd show nothing from the waist up.
o Getting up early to get a weekend long run in actually sounds better than sleeping in, even if you've only had 15 hours of sleep all week.
o You miss a run and you're irritable and pissy all day and evening, as well as the next day.
o People avoid you when you're tapering.
o Your friends gag when they catch a glimpse of your toes.
o You roll your eyes when people talk about low carb diets.
o "18 weeks" becomes your most important unit of time.
o You start debating about Galloway.
o You'd rather run a marathon than go on a "real" holiday.
o You no longer think people who run marathons are crazy.
o After finishing a really tough 26.2-mile run, your first thought is: "Next race, I'm going to...."
o You have a pile of shoes in your closet because you feel like you have to have new running shoes every 400 miles.
o Any run less than 16 miles feels like an easy workout.
o You spend too much time on the Internet reading about other peoples' workouts.
o You say you're going out for a short run and come back two hours later.
o You've been busted up forever, can't really run and you go out and buy a Camelback Rogue for the long runs that you can't do.
o You think high 40s/low 50s and overcast sounds like perfect weather.
o You think it's completely normal to put band-aids on your nipples.
o When someone mentions that they live in another city, you immediately think, "Oh, I hear that's a good running city" or "Good God! I couldn't live there! Their marathon is cruddy and there's nowhere to run!"
o You start to lobby elected officials to revoke "right turn on red" laws. You don't understand why everyone in your office thinks that's crazy.
o You get up earlier on weekends than you do during the work week.
o You hate math but you do this equation in your head: T2 = T1 x (D2/D1)^1.06.
o You've heard the joke "You can say 'fartlek' with a straight face' so often that you don't remember when you laughed at it.
o You shower about 12 times a week.
o You try to negative split mowing your lawn.
o You wonder if you can get your business suits made out of Coolmax.
o Every time you see a runner when your driving you feel like you too should be running, even if you ran 15 miles earlier in the day.
o Your favorite shorts, singlet, socks and shoes cost three times as much as the clothes you got married in.
o All you get is running stuff on those gift giving occasions.
o You tell your wife you want a marathon entry as a birthday present.
o You think 40 miles is an easy week.
o Your wife wonders why you don't run 20 miles every weekend.
o When you go away for a weekend (or week) your most consuming thoughts are how you are going to get your runs in.
o When you're driving somewhere and you see a distance to next town sign and automatically calculate how long it would take to run there.
o You plan your vacations around your training schedule. A trip to Colorado is an opportunity to get some great hill work in. You could never imagine going on a cruise or a small Caribbean island. Trying to map out a 20 miler would be too hard.
o Your sons refer to you as chicken feet or ****atoo toes cause your feet are so beat up.
o You do more laundry than a family of four.
o You eat constantly and look anemic.
o Getting up Sunday mornings at 6 am is something you get excited about.
o Actually thought about Power gel as a dessert topping.
o When someone asks you how far you are planning to run, you say "I'm ONLY doing 10 today".
o When your non-running friends stop calling you to hang out the night before you do your long runs.
o You spend more time on the marathon forum than the company's intranet.
o Your friends don't understand why you'd rather get up at 4:30 and run 20 miles than get blitzed the night before and sleep in.
o You start planning your training for the next marathon before you finish the one your training for now.
o You get new shoes every "200" miles because you've gotten to know the Adidas rep personally.
o Someone asks your 4-year old whether her mom is a lawyer and she says "No. She's a runner!"
o You know what "Galloway" is all about and you have an opinion on it.
o You plan your vacations around marathons so your training turns out OK
o You actually think twice when your significant other invites you back to bed before you actually get out the door for your run.
o You have a dozen pairs of pretty nice looking running shoes that are no good for running anymore.
o You wear more electronics on a run than are in the dash of your car.
o You have spreadsheets for every variable that could explain or affect your running.
o You know every mile-landmark for a ten mile radius around your house.
o You are excited about an upcoming birthday because it will bump you up to a new age group and make it easier to get into Boston.
o You start buying GU or PowerGels in bulk from RRS.
o You realize you have more than six pairs of old running shoes that are relegated to "lawn mowing detail".
o You tell non-runners you ran 5 miles when you really ran 15. Just so you won't have to sit through the "Wow, that's far!" conversation.
o You put off having lunch with a good friend to get in 6 miles instead.
o A 5k is considered speedwork
o You spend hours on RRS reading shoe reviews.
o Every time your mother sees you, she says "You're too skinny!!"
o Even though you burn twice as many calories a day as a normal person, you feel guilty eating junk food.
o You daydream about Sunday morning's LR all week.
o You actually begin to enjoy the taste of powerbars and cliffbars.
o Missing a day of running depresses the &*#@ out of you, even if you're sick or injured.
o You use the phrase "and foot massages shall be administered..." in your wedding vows.
o You can't cuddle with you husband at night because you have ice on your knees, or your shins, or ....
o You walk into your laundry room to find coolmax running clothes hanging on everything to dry.
o You gasp when you see someone running in everyday gym socks.
o Your friends and coworkers introduce you as "this is Heather, she runs marathons".
o People no longer great you with "hi how are you", they now greet you with "hi, how many miles today?"
o You buy gels that aren't for your hair.
o You speak of clydesdales and penguins and aren't referring to animals.
o Your recycling bin at home is filled with Gatorade and water bottles.
o After you finish a race they wrap you up like a pop-tart.
o You never get around to wearing your 10k T-shirts.
o You lie about how long you'll be gone for your run.
o The Fartlek joke was never funny.
o You have a hawk's eye for seeing running trails in the distance.
o You schedule pregnancies around marathons.
o It seems like fun!
o When you plan to move to a new town you make sure it has running trails and a track nearby.
o You go home early on weekend nights so you can wake up and do you long weekend run.
o By the time everyone else is waking up on the weekend you have already completed about 15 miles
o You set the trip odometer everywhere you drive to measure potential running routes.
o You use old running shoes as flower pots.
o Your best watch is a Timex.
o You're no longer embarrassed to be seen in tights.
o You recognize everyone in your neighborhood who leaves for work before 6 A.M.
o You understand what is meant by BQ,CIM,MCM, etc.
o You can drink from a cup while running and don't mind that half goes on your chest.
o Your car smells a little sweaty from your running shoes in the back seat.
o You have cardboard boxes full of T-shirts.
o You get excited until you realize that the Nickelodeon Marathon is just a whole bunch of cartoons.
o You don't think Professional Basketball players are really in very good condition.
o Your alarm clock is set for three hours before you leave for work.
o You have lots of safety pins in your glove compartment.
o All of your running t-shirts have two Vaseline stains on the chest.
o You get nothing done around the house in the evening, if a running magazine came in the mail that day.
o You are sitting in a waiting room while your daughter is having out-patient surgery (minor), and you look desperately around for someone in running shoes and a marathon t-shirt to chat with.
o You'd much, much rather run a full marathon than a 5K.
o Your friends and co-workers always ask you how far it is from one place to another -anywhere in the town - because you just know.
o Complete strangers come up to you and say "I saw you running the other day..."
o Another complete stranger will say the exact same thing on the same day, except she saw you running on the opposite side of town.
o GU is a diet staple, and you've eaten so many bananas you feel closer to monkeys than you ought to.
o The phrase "you're crazy" or "how can you possibly run that far" doesn't even warrant a response any more.
o You have friends that tell you "I don't even drive 26 miles without packing a lunch."
o You see the pasta salad bar as the self service gas station for your body.
o Buy more jars of Vaseline than when you had 2 babies.
o When the best conversation time with your friends is when they are all sweat and smell bad after the long run.
o You do not have a boyfriend or significant other in your life unless they run.
o If they do not run they cannot spend the night so you don't feel guilty getting up early heading out for a nice beach run.
o You continually look at the odometer reading in your car to calculate a new route.
o You continue running despite the distance covered and never think .. Gee I might have to run BACK at some point.
o All your friends are runners too.
o You eat huge desserts with no feelings of guilt.
o Your partner/wife/husband asks if you "want to get an early night?" and your reaction is "great, I'll be more rested for my long run in the morning".
o You have more running shoes than work shoes.
o You have a harder time deciding which running clothes to wear than you do deciding what to wear to go out for dinner.
o You never go out for dinner anyway because you "have to get up early to run".
o You do LESS laundry since you had kids.
o You've run more miles than you've driven so far this year.
o You wish work was closer, even though it would take longer to get there.
o You can calculate splits and finish time predictions in your head but you can't calculate change at the store.
o The customer support people at RRS recognize your voice.
o You think ultra runners are only slightly crazy.
o At 5kms, the race is shorter than the warm up.
o You miss the award ceremony because you were on a 3 mile cool down.
o The only paper in your office desk draw is the wrappers on the dozen energy bars in there.
o Your cookie jars are full of medals.
o You've never seen the 10 o'clock news.
o You always get asked directions in cities you're visiting for the first time.
o You ask for directions to the nearest running trail BEFORE checking into the hotel.
o Your work desk is cluttered with running photos, trophies and water bottles.
o You don't have running web sites bookmarked - you know the URLs by heart.
o The biggest file on your PC is your running log spreadsheet.
o A pre-requisite for a new job is showers at the office and a nearby trail.
o Next up - training, training and more training.
o You moved 6,000 miles to get a better training environment.
o Your knowledge of geography is limited to places you've raced. i.e. as you meet people
o You instantly connect with "yeah, i once did a race there..."
o House hunting is further complicated because you MUST live near trails/track.
o Your friends realize they can't threaten you with "I'll kick you out of the car right here" because they know you can make it home, and you might actually enjoy the challenge.
o You can throw around words like "Fartlek" without thinking twice about it.
o You go somewhere with your S.O. and you bring your running gear thinking you can get in a good LSD running home.
o Your password is PR time in a marathon.
o When someone say the word WALL and you have memories of your worse marathon.
o When all your marathon finisher T shirts are the most expensive clothing you have.
o Little kids say "he's in a hurry" when you run by.
o You're convinced, dog owner or not, that retractable leashes are the worst idea that people have come up with.
o It's okay to have a mistake and run an extra mile, but if you realize you shorted yourself .2 miles on any run, you freak out.
o Your list of favorite restaurants sounds something like Noodles & Co., Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, Einstein Bagels, (stick your other pasta/bagel/high carb restaurant here).
o You only learned to use Excel or a database so you could make a log and geek out over your running numbers.
o All your non-running co-workers avoid asking you "how was your weekend"?
o 2 litres (quarts) of ice cream isn't dessert for 6, it's a meal replacement.
o You think running shoes are business attire.
o You work out the difference in distance between running in lane 1 and running in lane 4.
o You have a permanent rash on your upper ribcage from wearing your heart rate monitor.
o You know who Pheidippides is.
o You know the story of why the marathon is precisely 26 miles 385 yards (42,195 metres).
o Even if you love cycling, you really do it as cross training for marathons.
o You are on the banned list at every all you eat restaurant in your home town.
o Your colleagues at work rush to the exercise room as soon as the bell goes, because they know they'll NEVER get the treadmill if they don't.
o Your colleagues at work complain/make jokes about getting to the exercise room too late.
o Your colleagues at work are glad when the second treadmill is fixed.
o but, when they run at your cadence, next to you, they keep asking if theirs is still broken, because yours shows 4 miles when theirs shows 3
o Before going to someone's house for dinner who doesn't know you run, you have a plate of rice, salad, two baked potatoes, and bring some energy bars for carbo short-change emergency.
o You've heard the following phrases after describing a long run to an outsider:
o I don't even like to DRIVE that far."
o "Was anyone chasing you?"
o "Did you do it all at once?"
o You feel a little insulted when you tell someone you've just run a marathon and they ask, "Did you finish?"
o NASA calls you regularly for orders of 'Space Blankets'.

It's Our Anniversary

2006-01-25T16:31:00.000-05:00

January 25, 2005
Spending some down time between class in the computer lab, in a combination of boredom and inspiration from Greer, I launch said blog and provide the interweb with entertaining quips from my ordinary life. Observational humor some may call it, or just commenting on everyday situations I find myself in...I've attracted a strong (um...10-20?) following consisting of friends, family members, and spammers. I hope you've enjoyed our time together so far and I look forward to spending more quality time together in the future. As a present to you, my dear readers, on the 1st anniversary of MoL, I was going to give to you some of the more enjoyable posts from the past year to enjoy....but as I was going through them, the only one that really struck me as particularly insightful (and that is a stretch) was this classic gem from August. But if you want to waste some time, feel free to surf through the annals and rediscover your friend/family member/random internet guy.

Since the internet is all about poaching from each other (I'm pretty convinced monkeys make the majority of stuff here) here are some things:
Blagg Blogg has a nice satirical Coachella-esque poster for a music fest featuring every crappy band you've ever heard of. In addition he has a link to the live action Punch Out (you gotta see this!).

Pandora. Check it out, its my new internet-based-listening-pleasure.

Did anyone see Lost tonight? I settled in to watch it but for dumb reason the local ABC channel preempted Lost for the MSU/UM basketball game, which MSU lost btw. This pissed me off, especially since the game could be found 4 channels up. *sigh* Will someone let me know what happened? I'll end up checking Flight815 and other sites, but I'd like to hear it from someone I know and may love.

Last comment for the night. During winter break I gave the OFOMOL some shorts and tshirts to sleep in as a way to stay close to me despite being an ocean and more apart. Anyway I was in her room the other day and commented "hey, I was wondering where that shirt went" as I forgot which shirts I had given her. I commented that it is one of my favorite swimming shirts and the oldest one I have in my collection. She looks at the year (it is from 1999, my sophomore year in college) and she promptly replies, "I was in 9th grade then." I'm like "great, thats exactly what I wanted to hear."

Bang Bang, On the Door Baby

2006-01-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

So in my current living situation I am in a college dorm. Yes, here I am a 27-year old male and still living in a dorm. You have all the rights to make fun of me. The setup is where each pair of rooms shares a bathroom. Most of the time this is not a problem. You go in, turn on the light, do your business, and be gone. There is a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor so seeing the light on is a dead giveaway that someone is in there. Even if, a slight knock is polite just to check. Well apparantely my suitemates don't think like this. There have been several times in the recent past that I am sitting there, taking care of business while enjoying an article in SI that the one of the suitemates (there are 2 brothers next door) fails to knock and just opens the door. I really don't get this. I mean, how hard is it to 1) look for the light and 2) knock. After the most recent episode, I decided to take longer then necessary just to spite them. I have also gotten to turning on the faucet and letting it run so there is an audio cue that someone is in there. At this point, who is it more embarassing for -- me who is just sitting there or the neighbor who continually makes this mistake? Then this morning I was brushing my teeth. I like to multi-taks and walk around when I brush. I was in my room and I heard them open the door. Geez! Can't you wait until you see the light off? And speaking of lights, the neighbors, for whatever reason, like to leave the light on in the bathroom even when they are not in there so I knock regardless to make sure the facilities are empty.

Death or Glory?

2006-01-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

R.I.P. Erik Namesnik
I apologize for not getting this up yesterday, but for those of us in the swimming community, it has been a sad past couple of days. Erik Namesnik made his name at the University of Michigan and won two silver medals in the 400 IM at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Like many former swimmers he moved into the coaching ranks and was establishing himself. The weather this past in Michigan was scary to say the least. Ice pretty much covered everything and this made driving extremely difficult. Namesnik was involved in a crash, was put on life support, and died yesterday. It's a tragic thing...

This leads me to something I've been thinking about for awhile: Death.
Not a particularly fun topic, but one that I'm not very familiar with. Here I am 27 years old and I have not lost anyone near and dear to me. I've been to very few wakes in my life (um...2?). The two family members I have lost (my grandfathers) died when I was very young -- I don't remember when my paternal grandfather died and my maternal grandfather died when I was, 7? 8? Certainly not at the age where I could comprehend what was going on. Some say I am lucky. Yeah, I am lucky that I haven't lost anyone yet. But it also scares me. I afraid I'm going to have no idea how to respond when someone does die. One of the unevitable truths to life is that we will die -- this is about the only thing we are guaranteed of. And the way I see it is that death is just a natural progression of life. I can be a pretty unemotional guy. Bad things happen and I have a tendency to say "oh well, that's life, that is what happens." I am deftly scared that when one of my close family members does die I will go on living like nothing has happened. I really see myself as someone who doesn't mourn until sometime after the fact when I realize what has happened.

I think about my own death. I'm one of those people who think (however statistically slim) that I could die every day -- from some freak accident, to food poisoning, to whatever. and you know what? This doesn't bother me. Seriously. I am quite happy with the way my life has turned out and when I day I can honestly say that I led a full and successful life. I also like the idea of the living funeral. I got this from when I read Tuesdays with Morrie and he had a living funeral where, before he died, he invited all his friends over to celebrate his life. And since I'm on the topic of death, when I do die, I don't want people mourning and crying and wearing black. I beg you and implore you that when I go, wear colors. Hawaiian prints. R.E.M. shirts. Come in skimpy running shorts, or Speedos even! Seriously. And I want you to play R.E.M. songs such as "It's the End of the World as We Know it (And I Feel Fine)"; not that sad stuff like Everybody Hurts, cause that song just sucks. Funerals should be about celebrating what that person was, what they embodied, and everything that person stood for. You may think I'm joking or being facetious here, but no. This is how I feel. Funerals should be about celebrations and not mourning.

Bernie Bernie Ohh Baby, Super Bowl!

2006-01-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

For those that remember that classic song, here is a link.

Today is a Browns-centric post. First off, I was flipping through the channels last night with the Offical Female of MOL (or OFOMOL for short) and we (well I) happened to stop on ESPN2 and they were showing a classic football game. For any Cleveland Browns fan there is one game and one game that defines the futility of the franchise. Thats right, the 1987 AFC Championship game that featured John Elway's now infamous "The Drive." BTW curses to the person that did that Wikipedia entry. So anyway I had to explain to OFOMOL the heartache that we as Browns fans suffered that day and everyday when they show the clip of Elway's TD pass or any sportscaster references that. Ditto to MJ's shot over Ehlo in '89. I also explained the concept of the Dawgs and the Dawg Pound. This was back in the day of Municipal Stadium when the Dawg Pound was truly the Dawg Pound. They would throw dog biscuits and batteries at opponents. Sam Wyche hated our fans and we made sure to show it. The current Dawg Pound was purely fabricated with tax-money and has lost any resemblance to the Dawg Pound that existed at old Municipal Stadium.

So then I happen onto ESPN today and Page 2 has done a "Misery Index" for NFL teams and you know who tops off at #1? Yup, you guessed it, our beloved Cleveland Browns. Look at the comments for #31, the New England Patriots reference to Cleveland. There was not even a mention about how one of our worst coaches ever (Bill Belicheck) went on to become the current genius coach of the league. In conjunction with the Misery Index, they have the Top-25 Miserable Moments which, again, is topped by the Browns. These article only reinforce my opinion that Cleveland fans are by far the worst-suffering fans in all of sports -- to be detailed on here in the future. Here is to futility (and not being a Lions fan!) folks!

Won't You Follow Me Down to the Rose Parade?

2006-01-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

BCS Championship game: Texas 41 - USC 38
Wow, what a game! I guess I was a bit wrong predicting a USC victory, but I am quite happy with Texas winning. Vince Young was truly amazing. He pretty much put the team on his back on those last two drives and said "we're gonna win this thing." In the BCS-era, this game is right up there (but slightly behind) the 2003 Fiesta Bowl (OSU beating Miami in 2 OT). Any game that is decided in the final minutes is a classic. All in all, the 4 BCS games were probably the best 4 we've seen since the BCS's inception. All games were close (you could argue the Fiesta was closer then it should've been) at the end and each featured dramatic endings -- Pittman's TD run, the WV fake punt, the 3 OTs featuring multiple missed-kicks, then the Vince Young show. Kudos to the BCS this year. First time they got it completely right.

Some thoughts on the game itself -- I love teams deferring to the 2nd half. In the Fiesta Bowl OSU deferred...they scored towards the end of the 1st half and got the ball back to start the 2nd half -- this is one of my favorite "moral killers" in football. Same thing happened last night. Props to Mack Brown for having confidence in his defense to start the game. Reggie Bush -- what were you thinking on the option/lateral? I mean c'mon! This is the Championship game, no need to get fancy. Yes, Vince Young did the same thing shortly later, but he's a QB and his team was expecting it. After that Bush seemed to have mentally checked-out. I wonder if this might put some flags up on his draft status, or if it was just a one-time mistake? Speaking of the draft, Vince Young better come out for it. I doubt his stock will be higher next year then it is right now -- he could very well be the #1 pick over Reggie Bush. The Texans (sorry David Carr) or Saints would both be better off with him. I am one of the one's questioning Pete Carroll's going for it on 4th and 2. Being an OSU fan & having been drilled in the head with "field position and special teams wins games" philosophy of Tressel, a punt is the only thing to do in this situation. Although then I got thinking -- a punt would still be appropriate, but what Carroll should have really done is pull a page from WV and do the fake punt. That would have been exciting and sealed the game.

One more reason I liked Texas's win -- it put the whole kibosh on how the 2005 USC Trojans rank in football history and their run to a three-peat. First off, anyone who's watched ESPN in the past month knows they've been doing a series on how the 2005 incarceration of USC ranks among the all-time greats...finally coming in at #2. The problem was 1) USC hadn't won the title yet, and 2) they gave NOTHING to Texas. They pretty much assumed that USC would win and go on to their 3rd championship in a row. If they had won, the 3-peat would have only been in the AP poll. In the past 4 years USC has won the same number of BCS titles as Ohio State, LSU, and Texas -- ONE. 2 years ago there was a split title -- LSU won the BCS while USC was #1 on the AP poll. So even if USC had won, it would have been more like a 2.5-peat.

Anyway with Leinhart, Bush, and probably Lendale White going pro for USC and Vince Young for Texas, OSU could very well be #1 preseason next year. Of course that could be a curse (see 1998). We've got 7 months to wait and see. Now it's on to basketball season :) -- MSU at Illinois tonight. Should be a good game. Go Spartans.

Spiderman is Having Me for Dinner Tonight

2006-01-03T13:49:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile. Here are some amusing links to keep you busy

Got 8 minutes to spare? From Russia, with love.

This one is for my mom but anyone who watches ABC's broadcast's of college football should appreciate it. (Thanks to SI for this). Be sure to read the comments down at the bottom.

Good thing you have your college education to fall back on.

Watched the Fiesta Bowl last night. Gotta say I'm pleased. Since I'm up here a few days early, campus is pretty much dead. I traversed to B-dubs solo to watch the game. I grabbed a seat
at the bar in time to watch the end of the Capital One Bowl. OSU pretty much dominated ND. The crowd was about 60/40 in favor of OSU, but there were a few genuine Buckeye fans. Aside from Michigan, Notre Dame is the most vilified school in these parts so people were not necessarily cheering for OSU, just against ND. Things look good for the 'Bucks next year. Now if only John L. could get his players to play in big games like Tressel does...

The Orange Bowl tonight should be a snoozer as the combined age for the coaches is 154. Seriously, how did FSU get in this game? Penn State should win in a walk-over. As for tomorrow...I really want to go with Texas but I think USC has way too much fire power for UT to overcome.

Better Run, Run, Run, Run, Run

2005-12-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

122 days out.

I officially started training for the 2006 Boston Marathon this week. I say officially because I am on an 18-week training schedule and this is week 1. Of course since in week 1 I'll be doing 53 miles, I've been building my base so my body can handle this load. I'm substantially stepping-up my mileage this time around. For Columbus 2003 my highest week was 40 miles....for Detroit 2004 I hit 50...this time around I'll be hitting 70 a couple of times. If you look over to the right I have a link to my running log where you can follow my progress if you so choose. I'll probably be commenting periodically here too. Most training plans start on monday and, traditionally, sunday is the long day -- anywhere from 13-22 miles. Being the anal-retentive person that I am, and the fact that the Boston Marathon is on a monday, my training weeks go from tuesday-monday so all runs will be on monday -- just like I'll be doing in April. The first day I had a great run -- 8 miles nice and steady with all splits between 7:09 and 7:15. I'll take that. :)

In conjunction with the running, I've started lifting again. The main goal is to strengthen my leg muscles so I can 1) handle the training I'll be doing, and 2) handle the hills that are infamous in Boston. After a few days of lifting again, I feel incredibly weak! Not that I've ever been a no-neck meathead, but even when I was lifting consistently 2 years ago I was able to put up a lot of weight. I just want some definition to an upper-body that has gone to pot with all of my running.

Birthday Parties, Cheescake

2005-12-12T10:11:00.000-05:00

OK, this is a day late, but that is alright. A very happy 6th birthday to my neice Madelyn. She's a sweetie...a bit of a drama queen at times, but she's wonderful nonetheless. She's in kindergarten and learning a lot. She is also a budding swimmer which, of course, makes me happy.

There is something about the first week or so of December and birthdays. It seems like everyone and their mother has a birthday this week. Seriously. Here is a short list of people I know who've had birthdays in the past week: Myself, Darrell, Gabor, Jaime, Grandma, Dan, Brian, Sarah, Meghan, Angela, Madelyn, Liz, Roman, Stanley...I'm sure I"m forgetting some there too. I said there must be something about December...no I take that back: there must be something about March. I guess spring arrives, the weather gets a little warmer, and parents feel the need to procreate.

Then there is the whole concept of the December birthday -- of course as you get closer to Christmas there is the aura of getting screwed out of gifts. I never thought this was a rational way of thinking. Let's take two brothers, Aaron and Bart. Aaron has a birthday in June while Bart has one in December (close to Christmas). The parents spend $50 on Aaron for his birthday and then another $50 on him for Christmas -- $100 total. The same amount should be spent on Bart, regardless of when his birthday is. If his birthday is on Christmas, then he will get $100 in presents, while Aaron gets only $50. Yes, there is the perception of favoritism/spending more, but when you bring Aaron's birthday into the picture it's an even deal.

I Get My Kicks Above the Waistline, Sunshine

2005-12-08T23:24:00.000-05:00

I watched the Knights of the South Bronx the other night. No particular reason why I watched it other then I saw a very-gray (or is it grey?) Ted Danson and thought he looked strikingly like some other no-name actor. Anyway in one scene a couple of neighborhood bullies confront Walt from Lost (new theory: the Others are really a street gang from the Bronx) and the one guy says "I thought you were gonna do me a solid" or something like that. Nothing special really, just ordinary dialogue...or maybe it is a devout Seinfeld fan such as myself who wrote this line. Yes. Way back in the day in the infancy of what is one of the greatest TV shows of all time, the one known as Kramer uttered such a line in an early episode regarding a suede coat and Elaine's Dad. Thanks the the enhancements on the DVDs, it was an early catch-phrase of Kramer's that never...erm...caught. I've used it myself on occasion and have gotten blank stares. So much for getting it into the vernacular. In the world of Seinfeldisms, I am also a fan of saying "You're sooo good looking" when someone sneezes. Try that and the world will be a better place.

I was at Best Buy awhile back and noticed that they are selling Seasons 1-3 of Seinfeld in a special edition box set. This box set comes with such things as pepper & salt shakers from Mort's and a copy of an early script. At that time I had a moment like many Star Wars fans do. George Lucas, being the egomaniac that he is, is constantly re-releasing new editions of his epic saga. First there was the original trilogy...then the original enhanced trilogy...then the special edition enhanced trilogy...then the directors cut special edition enhanced trilogy...you get the idea. Anyway, Star Wars fans are so fanatic about their movie that they will buy each one of these as they are realeased. Afterall, you're not a true fan if you don't have EVERYTHING. So yeah, I basically thought "Oh, I'll rebuy seasons 1-3 just so I can get the extra stuff." In other news, a couple days later I was seriously contemplating paying $45 for an R.E.M. mug at the R&RHOF&M.

We're One But We're Not the Same

2005-12-07T03:05:00.000-05:00

Rest of U2 Perfectly Fine with Africans Starving
Gotta love the Onion. I remember awhile back when I was reading the Onion when the offical female of MoL looked over my shoulder and mistook it for real news! I told her about the nature of American humor. Anyway, is it too late for me to get on the Bono backlash wagon? He just gets to be too much for me most of the time. Yes it is nice that you want to help people out, but do you have to be so vocal about it? I think I would agree with it more if he went about saving Africa in a more quite, behind-the-scenes way. Worry about your coif and making over-indulgant records. I was at home for Thanksgiving and was reading Time Magazine. They asked previous recipients of "Person of the Year" who should get it this year and someone mentioned Bono. C'mon now, not him! I could think of many people who would be more deserving then him. As someone brought up, how about Mother Nature? That would be a real good choice for Person of the Year.

Speaking of satirlical news forums...I'm really enjoying The Colbert Report. I'm digging it so much that I've given up watching the first half-hour of Leno so I can hear Stephen run his mouth on current events and politics. My only criticism is the theme music -- sounds too much like The Daily Show. He does a great amalgamation of Bill O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough, Rush Limbaugh, etc. I love it.

I'm Special, So Special

2005-12-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

I'm the Geburtstagskind!

Not a whole lot to report here today, except to make sure to check out what Greer put up today.

I spent most of the weekend working on a paper and presentation. I was ready to go today, but due to time constraints, I got push-backed till wednesday. It is OK, though, as it appears I will be giving another kick-ass presentation.

I posted about this awhile back when I first found out about the blog, but if you haven't visited or heard about PostSecret, go do so now. The book just came out and looks to be one of the best-selling books for the Christmas shopping season. If you need to buy someone something I suggest this book. The images and writings can be extremely powerful and once you read one, you want to read them all.

Questionable Content
I first discovered this webcomic last january. I proceeded to start from the beginning and read them all in order to catch-up. Last week was the first time the action got pretty heavy. The author writes the comic full-time and makes money by selling t-shirts and other items. The comic is especially entertaining for 20-something hipsters who can identify with the topics in the comic.

Make it Charged With Controversy

2005-12-02T23:31:00.000-05:00

Congress to look into BCS mess?
Ok, I don't mind Congress getting involved into sports when things such as...um...steroids and performance enhancing drugs are being abused. But getting into the whole BCS debate. C'mon folks, don't you have better things to do like figuring out Health Care or Tax Reform.

I've been thinking about weighing in on the whole BCS debate for awhile. Up until this year I was a firm anti-BCS critic and felt that a playoff would be the best way to decide the national champ. I am now sold on the BCS. With the BCS you get two things. First, the whole season acts as a de facto playoff. In order to guarantee a spot in the BCS title game, a team has to run the table. This means each week is essentially a win-or-go-home scenario. If you are to lose, you want to lose early and then hope for help along the way. In a playoff scenario, a loss (or even two, see Ohio State, Notre Dame this year) does not hurt you as much. Secondly, the BCS has people talking about the pros and cons of the system. Every week it seems there is talk about if the BCS should stay or if it should go. You know that phrase "any publicity is good publicity" -- thats what I'm talking about. Also, since this year it is pretty much guaranteed that the Rose Bowl will be USC vs Texas, if there was a playoff, how many analysts would be chiming in about who shold play in the Fiesta Bowl? Side note, if either of these two teams lose this weekend, I would still support USC/Texas Rose Bowl -- these teams are that good. Even with a playoff -- 4 teams or 8 teams, there will be teams saying "we should be in there," so what point does it serve? If there is a change to be made, I would support a selection committe, much akin to one the NCAA uses for March Madness, to decide who plays in each of the 4 BCS Bowls. A selection committee is much more valid then using an ultra-complicated equation that is constantly being changed each year.