Whoa! Talk about serious vertigo...

Last week, I TiVo'd a three part series on the Discovery Channel called 2057, a special looking into what technology might look like in 50 years, and how it will integrate into every part of our daily lives. I've only gotten through the first episode dealing with the body, but I've got to say it's really cool (or quite scary if you're paranoid about Big Brother). Sensors built into everything from your clothing to even your toilet to monitor your health. Actual printers (yes, printers) that can essentially print you a new organ. Flying ambulances that pick you up in an emergency equipped with the ability to pull out all your blood and replace it with supercooled fluid to basically put you in suspended animation until you can be treated in the hospital.

The rest of the series deals with city life and the world--how we communicate, how we travel, etc. I'm actually looking forward to what they say about space elevators, because the idea of basically a ribbon of cable tethered to the ground and extending all the way into space seems so bizarre. This will make those romantic trips up some mountain in the Rockies down right tame. Just don't forget anything on the space station before you go back down.

I am how old, again? And are you an expert?

This last week I had the opportunity to open up my wallet and in return find out how old I am. I went through some physical tests that showed my true body age to be 34. Not too bad but it would be nicer if my body age was my actual chronological age. But then I was also told that I could achieve a body age of 22 by doing various things relating to my health. I can improve my weight, eating habits, and flexibility to name a few.

The tests measured all sorts of things, but was designed around telling you how many toxins you have in your body based on your excess water weight. It was all very convincing and scientific sounding. The quick rundown is that your body uses your liver to rid itself of toxins, but when the liver gets overworked it sends the toxins back into your body to be removed later. The toxins get stored around fat cells which then get surrounded by water to protect your body from the stored toxins. Essentially, those fat cells surrounded by water are there to stay until your liver can get back to normal functioning. This becomes weight that you cannot get rid of unless you rid yourself of the toxins in the liver. This is why you see the push for detox diets, foods, supplements, etc. in health stores today. I am inclined through my logic and scientific thinking that this is mostly believable.

We get these toxins from the air, food, water, medicines, stress, and skin. I can believe all of them, but the last one - skin - I at least have to question. I was told by the fitness "expert" that we absorb toxins through our skin. We get it from shampoo, lotions, sunblock, soap, etc. I can believe this, but I still have to raise the question, how much can our skin really absorb? Her take was that if you can sweat out toxins, then the other has to be true that you can absorb them?

I am not here to say that our skin cannot absorb stuff, but my fear is that so many people out there hear something like this and immediately believe it. If you think about how many personal trainers and fitness experts there are, it can be kind of scary to think how much misinformation they could spread. I cannot contract viruses through my skin can I? Can I absorb water through my skin? I could go on and on asking these sorts of questions.

I guess though that ultimately she was doing what she has been trained by the world to do - sell you the fear so she can sell you the product ... for only $308. I am glad I am not a sucker. Now let me get back to my detox green tea and my organic cereal and milk.

Have you guys ever seen this?

When you have nothing to lose, why not?

A true master having some fun...

I don't know if you all had a chance to see The Departed yet, but this little tidbit will make me go see it again for completely different reasons then the fact that it was the best movie of 2006.

First, I had no idea that Brian De Palma's Scarface starring Al Pacino was actually an updated remake of a film by the same name from the 1930's directed by Howard Hughes. As you can guess by Martin Scorcese's previous movie The Aviator, he's pretty intrigued by Howard Hughes, so much so that he incorporated X's throughout The Departed in homage to the original Scarface.

Read more here to find out more about the X's and to see more examples.

Frackity, frack, frack, frack!

I just had to comment about what a surprise last Sunday's episode of Battlestar Galactica was. I had actually gotten pretty tired of the whole Dee/Lee/Starbuck/Anders love rectangle storyline, and was not looking forward to this show as much as I typically do after seeing the previews. Then I saw "Directed by Edward James Olmos" during the opening credits, and thought, "Hmmm. This might actually be good."

The intercuts between Baltar's mental torture and Apollo battling his own inner conflict seemed to really work in a way that I wasn't expecting. About the only thing I didn't like about the show was all the "Frack, frack, frack" being yelled out. Not that I'm opposed to a little cussing, but sometimes I hear "frack" and kind of feel like a total science fiction nerd.

I don't know if any of you ever listen to Ronald D. Moore's podcast commentaries about each episode, but I usually download it to my iPod every week and listen to it on my way to and from work. Apparently, "Taking a Break From All Your Worries" was supposed to focus more on the bar and be kind of a light, comedic episode, as suggested by the title's reference to Cheers. Considering how dark this episode turned out, that's a huge shock.

I don't know why I, like, watch this show, but like, I do...

Normally, I secretly find some amusement in my wife's so-called chick shows. I don't object to watching Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, or even a few episodes from her complete Sex and the City DVD collection. But I thought I might have to draw the line at her most recent guilty pleasure, MTV's The Hills, a reality show following the trials and tribulations of Lauren Conrad and her friends as they struggle to "make it" in the real world environment of Teen Vogue and the Los Angeles social scene. Actually, "real world" is probably stretching things a bit, but I guess this is the harsh reality of life for some people--driving around in fancy cars, eating at fancy restauraunts, shopping at fancy stores, scmoozing at fancy clubs, living in fancy beach houses for the summer, and all the while struggling to understand why the world is so cruel because your boyfriend just doesn't, like, get you.

I sat next to her while she watched the season premiere thinking I'd be bored out of my mind. Then I laughed. And kept laughing. I'm not sure it's really good of me to be making fun of those with IQ's that border on mental retardation, but I swear this show fulfills every known stereotype you ever heard about blonde women. Then again, it could all be a hoax, and their IQ's are probably somewhere in the genius range, for all I know. Perhaps the best part of the show isn't the women at all, but the men they hook up with, and the things these guys get away with. They use some of the cheesiest pick up lines ever known, AND THEY WORK! I guess that's what the power of money can do.

Actually, I think this show should be required viewing for all teenage boys and girls on how not to be when they become young adults. Or perhaps I'm just jealous that lines like [using best So-Cal surfer dude accent], "There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be than with you, right here, right now, drinking the best margaritas at this table at my most favorite Mexican restaurant in the universe," don't seem to get my woman all hot and bothered.

Uh, I go there for the cappucinos. Honest. That's all...

Most of you know that I like my espresso. It's become a staple of my diet alongside bread and water, and I probably visit a cafe or coffee bar at least three times a week. At peak times during the morning, this can be a somewhat hectic ordeal, but having a pretty and flirty barista (or handsome and charming one, for the lady readers) to take your order can sometimes partially salvage what was going to be a really lousy experience.

Admitting that, I guess it's no surprise that in the cutthroat coffee competition that exists in Seattle, a few coffee shops would recognize this, turn it up a notch, and use a little sex appeal to sell a cup o' joe:

Hot is not the half of it. To stand apart from the hordes of drive-through espresso stands that clutter the Northwest's roadsides, commuter coffee stops such as Tukwila's Cowgirls Espresso are adding bodacious baristas, flirty service and ever more-revealing outfits to the menu.

At Port Orchard's Natté Latté, baristas sport hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops. Day-of-the-week theme outfits ranging from racy lingerie to "fetish" ensembles are the dress code at Moka Girls Espresso in Auburn and at several Cowgirls Espresso stands in the area. Bikini tops are the special at Café Lorraine on Highway 9 in Woodinville, and the women of The Sweet Spot in Shoreline pose provocatively in Playmate-style profiles on the stand's Web site.

I'm just wondering if the coffee is actually any good.

Hmmm, Let Me Get Out My Grading Key

Some of you may be happy to hear that I turned my eHarmony account back on and have been doing the do. So far (just a few days) it's like it used to be; I get a bunch of possibles, many of them so ugly that they could scare buzzards off a carcass. But lo and behold, this time I've gotten some good cards in the form of some cuties that aren't Scientologists or some other brand of mental illness. In fact, out of the top four likely candidates for the position of future Mrs. Scootypuff jr., there are three lawyers and a doctor. Score!

Now, as I mentioned so many moons ago, the process of eHarmony is you read a bio and hopefully see a picture. If the bio doesn't contain phrases such as "I blame the Jews" or the picture doesn't look like someone's snapshots from a day at the zoo, I send them five multiple choice questions and wait for a response. My battery of questions are:

1. Which of the following marriage issues do you fear most?

A) fear of growing apart
B) fear of marrying the wrong person
C) fear of becoming "your parents"
D) fear of being hurt

2. What best describes your parents' relationship towards each other:

A) married and loving
B) married but distant
C) divorced and civil
D) divorced and abusive

3. On Saturday night, would you rather go to:

A) ballet/theater/symphony
B) a professional sporting event
C) a popular new movie
D) the latest dance club
E) any of the above except for b

4. What style of dress do you prefer?

A) I like to get dressed up
B) I like to dress casual
C) I dress for the occasion
D) I wear whatever is clean

5. Do you consider yourself physically affectionate when involved in a relationship?

A) Sure, I love to hold hands, hug and give casual kisses.
B) I'm moderately affectionate. I like to hold hands and exchange hugs.
C) I do like a small amount of physical affection.
D) I don't consider myself a very physically affectionate person.

Now the correct answers - meaning the ones I most want to hear - are as follows:

1. Which of the following marriage issues do you fear most?

A) fear of growing apart
B) fear of marrying the wrong person
C) fear of becoming "your parents"
D) fear of being hurt

Why B you might ask? Because that's the mistake I made. I can accept C, although I don't really understand it. For anyone who answers A, they obviously don't understand that is something that people have complete control over if they married well. Anyone answering D gets closed. Go back to your Tiger Beat magazine, girly. I have no time for you.

2. What best describes your parents' relationship towards each other:

A) married and loving
B) married but distant
C) divorced and civil
D) divorced and abusive

The answer I hope to receive is of course A, though only D gives me pause.

3. On Saturday night, would you rather go to:

A) ballet/theater/symphony
B) a professional sporting event
C) a popular new movie
D) the latest dance club

I get B way too often. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it makes me knit my brow. Of the four choices presented, C is the best response, but with all questions one can write in an answer. This becomes important later in my report.

4. What style of dress do you prefer?

A) I like to get dressed up
B) I like to dress casual
C) I dress for the occasion
D) I wear whatever is clean

The only correct answer here is C. I make gas face at women who have to get all dolled up just to go out and get the mail, just as I do with women who wear sweat pants everywhere they go.

5. Do you consider yourself physically affectionate when involved in a relationship?

A) Sure, I love to hold hands, hug and give casual kisses.
B) I'm moderately affectionate. I like to hold hands and exchange hugs.
C) I do like a small amount of physical affection.
D) I don't consider myself a very physically affectionate person.

Again, the only correct answer here is A. Love me, rub me, kiss me, tickle me, and I’ll do the same to you. We won’t be making out at funerals, but if you flip out because we’re holding hands in public, I have no time for you.

So, having developed a well defined answer key, I was happy to receive this response from the cutest of the cute that I am currently e-wooing.

1. Which of the following marriage issues do you fear most?
B) fear of marrying the wrong person

2. What best describes your parents' relationship towards each other:
B) married but distant

3. On Saturday night, would you rather go to:
E) any of the above except for b

4. What style of dress do you prefer?
C) I dress for the occasion

5. Do you consider yourself physically affectionate when involved in a relationship?
A) Sure, I love to hold hands, hug and give casual kisses.

SCORE! Four out of five, and the one "wrong" answer was the least important. And even though I identified C) a popular new movie as the correct answer for question 3, the real answer is to write-in E) any of the above except for b. Holy cats! She answered the trick question correctly! Scootypuff jr. is pleased. Yes, very pleased indeed.

Watch this space for further updates.

Smokin' Aces

Tellulah and I went to see the film Smokin' Aces last night. It is violent, drug filled, obscenity laced, over the top, and one of the few films I've walked out of the theater thinking 'God, I wish I had written that.' Granted, with the choices of seeing any of the Oscar nominated films out there I haven't yet seen like Dream Girls, or The Queen, I chose instead a film filled with muzzle flashes says something about my character. But this film is on par with Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas in everyway. The soundtrack is great (already bought it and put it on my IPod) and Jeremy Pivens turns in the role of his career. He is incredible as the burnt out coked up hooker addicted magician mob crime boss turned states evidence. Ben Affleck, who I like but am not by any means crazy about, also turns in a strong, albiet short, performance. Alicia Keys is showing the career she will have to come, and it will be a good one. And Ryan Reynolds (who I've liked since the 'Two Guys A Girl And A Pizza Place' days) and Ray Liotta (who is one of my favorite actors) have great chemistry as two FBI Agent partners. My only complaint is that no trailer I've seen, or commercial on TV, has conveyed the depth, complexity, and nuances of the film. It has all of that and the three chainsaw weilding, red neck hit men called the Tremor Brothers, who as characters are so over the top, so violent, so larger then life, they are almost cartoony... And God I wish I had written them, too.

Bumper cars in the Middle East...

This is apparently a video of a typical day for American soldiers driving through the streets of Iraq in a Humvee. Sort of humorous, at first, but not so funny when you stop to think why they're in such a rush to get through the traffic.

I'm not trying to make you think back to those bad videos we had to watch in science class...

I still have flashbacks of having to draw all these things out for biology exams. Too bad I didn't have cool animations like this to study with:

All I need is a good woman with a big club..

I read this and wondered if my own wife would have stuck around to fend off a mountain lion. Then again, I'm a cheetah, and a really cool cat--I should be able to protect myself. An excerpt from the story:

Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said. Nell Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.
"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,'" she said. "So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would." When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.

Ode to a Flaming Anus

Let's see...

Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon one night,
Hotwings and beer the next night,
And now I'm catching the jalapenos from my sub sandwich and stuffing them back in.
(Heaven forbid I deny myself any of Nature's Napalm.)

I must unconciously hate my own rectum.

I guess now I'll sit here as I must,
And wait for my butthole to spontaneously combust.

Maybe all those creepy guys wearing polyester suits in the 70's were on to something...

I think the majority of people are convinced that global warming is real. Even the President is promoting an increase in our use of alternative fuels. Although this is being touted as more of a national security issue to absolve our dependence on foreign oil, I'm beginning to think that even the most conservative of Republicans are seeing the weird fluctuations in the weather this winter, and wondering if perhaps this isn't just a natural cycle of the Earth.

An international committee of world science experts are planning to release an official statement next month saying that global warming may be even more catastrophic than previously estimated. As noted in the story, one UK expert says:

The really chilling thing about the IPCC report is that it is the work of several thousand climate experts who have widely differing views about how greenhouse gases will have their effect. Some think they will have a major impact, others a lesser role. Each paragraph of this report was therefore argued over and scrutinised intensely. Only points that were considered indisputable survived this process. This is a very conservative document - that's what makes it so scary.

So what is a country to do? Well, the current American strategy seems to be a promotion of alternative fuels. However, so far, this doesn't seem to be making much of a dent. Some believe that we should be taking an approach that hits everyone where it hurts to make them really understand the impact our stratospheric production of carbon emissions is making on the environment--a carbon tax. Considering the way that the recent jump in gasoline prices seemed to convince everyone over the past couple of years to drive a little less, I think this may make some sense. After all, the crash of GM and Ford in large part due to the lessening demand for SUVs and pickups, is probably more in part to the high price of gas rather than any actual concern about the environment.

Apparently, most of the rest of the industrialized world is doing their part to reduce carbon emissions. In fact, Sweden is apparently one of the world leaders in environmentally friendly industry practices. What strikes me as odd, though, is that this is the country that has brought us megastores like Ikea and H&M, a furniture store and clothing store, respectively, that pride themselves on providing consumers with cheap disposable products that allow you to just buy new things at low prices as trends change with time. How that jives with the environment, I'll never understand.

So what are we to do? If you believe this story from The New York Times, perhaps we should be wearing more polyester. The energy expenditures for a cotton shirt over its lifetime, when you include the electricity needed to wash and dry it, are much higher when you compare it to an equivalent polyester one. Who knew we could be reducing carbon emissions with just a simple change in our clothing material? Now I won't be sweating it out in polyester any time soon, but it does make you think.

Start petitioning now?

A few weeks ago, I read a rumor that Battlestar Galactica wasn't going to get renewed for a fourth season. Someone later posted that this wasn't true, but considering the low ratings it got in its new time slot on Sunday nights, I'm beginning to worry. Even Stargate SG-1 got a higher viewer share. Granted, I've never really watched that show with MacGyver running through interdimensional gateways, but I always got the impression that it sucked.

Hopefully, BSG can turn it around, and survive until the story is complete instead of having to resort to a fan-fueled outcry that finally brought Family Guy back to life. Speaking of which, I really underappreciated Family Guy, and am only now starting to watch it. I think it may even be better than The Simpsons, the new episodes anyway. Even the wife has gotten hooked on the exploits of Brian and Stewie. Sadly, I still cannot convince her to watch BSG. She'll watch cartoons, but not a live-action drama with Oscar-nominated actors and plotlines that speak to her Democrat ideals. Go figure.

How to look like a genius...

I wanted to test out this strategy to solve a Rubik's cube, but I don't know where my old one is.

The end of the Empire...

I didn't watch The State of the Union Address last night, but have read excerpts and summaries here and there on various news websites. Whatever Bush's intelligence is, it really perplexes me as to how the political discourse has become so volatile when the U.S. so needs to find some common ground to rally around. I don't know if this is just a reaction to getting news 24/7 from television and the Internet, or me getting older and paying more attention to what's going on. Regardless, I get the feeling that the State of our Union is really in some dire straits.

I don't know what to think about 20,000 extra troops going into Iraq. I want to feel like it would make a difference, like the U.S. can accomplish what it set out to do in the first place. But it's hard to argue when over half of our political leaders think it can't be done. And who can blame them? The Iraqi governement doesn't even seem to care anymore.

NPR aired a story yesterday about how foreign opinion about the United States is continuing to deteriorate. It seems only a few countries in Africa such as Nigeria and Kenya have any positive thoughts about America.

Anywho, my random thoughts for the day. I'll end with this. Wander wrote a post about Randy Newman, so I thought this op-ed piece in The New York Times by the perennial Oscar-nominated composer would be worth a read. Unfortunately, it seemed to ring too true, and made me quite sad:

The end of an empire is messy at best
And this empire is ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea
We’re adrift in the land of the brave
And the home of the free
Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

Cheer up. At least you can say you're smarter than the President. Oh, you already knew that...

Well, looks like George W. Bush isn't a retard, but he isn't that bright either, if you believe these estimations of Presidential IQ.

Keep in mind, though, that Jimmy Carter was the only one on the list who actually had his IQ formally tested and revealed to the public. I'm also a bit skeptical about the validity of this test, considering it was conducted in Scranton, PA. Heck, for all I know, Dwight Schrute was in charge of this.

If man was supposed to fly, we'd be born with wings...

As you all probably know, I hate flying. The long waits at the security checkpoint, the cramped seats in coach, the stale air--these are just some of the small nuisances involved in traveling by air these days. But what really bothers me about flying is the fact that I'm scared sh*tless everytime I'm in an airplane. Maybe it's my fear of heights, the roller coaster ride through bad turbulence, or the thought that the wings could just snap off in mid flight. I mean, if you've ever sat and watched the wings out the window as you fly, has anyone else noticed how much those things seem to bounce up and down? Frightening.

Then I watched a wing load test online done on the Boeing 777. I feel a little better now, although something seems flawed in the way they test wings like this. Seems like you'd need less force if you're making the wing flap up and down as it does in real flight and turbulence as opposed to just one force pulling up on it gradually. I know this isn't exactly civil engineering, but seems there should be some similar principle used in bridge making or something. Any of the engineers out there reading know?

There are aliens among us, and I think they reside in Hollywood...

I saw this picture of Gwen Stefani on some celebrity blog, and thought her choice in eyewear looked oddly familiar.

Then it hit me:


Remember V, that old sci-fi television show from the 80's? Hide your pet mice and parakeets.

Slip and slide...

You can't really tell from the camera angle, but this apparently was taken on a hillside street in Portland, OR. Suddenly, the nice flat roads of West Texas don't seem that bad.

It doesn't take much to make me happy...

This article called "Some Bling for Your Blog" came up on The New York Times today. Who knew such widget libraries like Widgetbox existed? This whole time, I've been trying to fiddle with making my own.

Anywho, expect to find some new things appear and disappear on the sidebar as I experiment with this stuff. And feel free to let me know if you see a widget you'd like included on the blog.

Have you Googled yourself lately ...

There is nothing like having a steady workflow to sidetrack me into other things. Today I happened to be cleaning out a business card holder. The cards went way back to when Fandango was with that company in Naperville. Anyway, like my mind tends to do, I got caught up thinking about some other friends from high school whose cards I came across. So I Googled 'em. Some people showed up on Google's first page. Some didn't show up in the first three pages. I will have you know, though, that our very own Scooty not only showed up on the first page but was every link on the first page. Way to go Scooty!

Of course I didn't show up at all. It seems I might have some serious ninja skills like Swany.

As if taking over the top spot in overall car sales in North America wasn't enough...

Toyota is set to enter NASCAR competition next season with their own stock car based on the ever popular family-friendly sedan, the Camry. At first, I was going to say, "Yawn." But then, I figured this was a good reason for me to drive my Honda Accord wildly around town trying to emulate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. like in that Jay-Z Budweiser commercial/video. After all, if Toyota is successful on the stock car racing circuit, Honda can't be far behind.

Oh wait. He was in a Ferrari 430 getting schooled by Danica Patrick in her Pagani Zonda. Even he was bright enough to know that tooling around in a boring family sedan like a Chevy Monte Carlo isn't all that cool. Never mind. NASCAR still sucks.

Forget the gym! I'm getting a Wii!

Dooood! This guy, who did nothing more than play Nintendo Wii for 30 minutes a day, lost nine pounds and 2% body fat in six weeks! You can even see a plateau he hit around Christmas when he was probably eating more, then the weight loss continues once the holidays are over.

Well, as long as I remember that torture is bad...

I hope someone here caught the four hour season premiere of 24 over the past couple of nights. Kiefer Sutherland went all The Lost Boys nostalgic on us, and started chomping down on necks. And the end to last night's episode? Can you believe they actually...well, I shouldn't give anything away. You can read about it here.

The article above, though, mirrored some thoughts I had about 24 as I was watching it Sunday night. Is it really OK to be watching this as entertainment? This sort of plays into Wander's favorite hot button issue of late, video games and violence. Every living terrorist has probably already thought about how they could use the various devices shown in current and prior seasons of 24, so does it really give anyone any new ideas to show them on television? And does the fact that the show brings out relevant topics to discuss in the public discourse justification enough that I sort of get a twinge of satisfaction when a terrorist gives up major information as he's tortured with a knife being dug into his knee?

24 is an odd show. Republicans love it, as it seems to play into the fears of terrorism that are the highlights of the Fox News Channel, and almost seems to justify every preemptive action the United States has taken in the name of the war on terror. But surprisingly, Dems are watching it in droves, too. Shadow governments, clandestine organizations led by western oil interests pulling the strings on their bumbling puppet President--seems like all that Michael Moore paranoia isn't so far-fetched anymore.

Oh well. I'll keep watching. It's addictive. My only problem, though? Heroes is on at the same time! Crap. Thank goodness for those Friday Heroes reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel.

I tasted Kobe beef, at last!

As the wife and I really had no ties to keep us here in St. Louis for the holidays, we booked a dirt cheap rate on a fancy hotel using Priceline, and spent the Christmas weekend in Chicago last month. The majority of restaurants in the city were closed, as you can imagine, so we drove up to Koreatown to have a Christmas dinner at Chicago Kalbi.

Interestingly, the Chicago Kalbi Korean Restaurant seems to be run by Japanese people, at least, that's the impression I get from all the autographed pictures of Japanese baseball players lining the walls and the Sapporo beer on tap. This place seems to be a frequent stop of Asian ball players whenever they're in town to play the Cubs or the Sox. Considering all the animosity I've heard and read about between Japan and Korea, it's always seemed a bit strange to me that Korean food would be such a hit with the Japanese (or Japanese food being well liked by Koreans, for that matter).

Scootypuff, I'm sure, is well versed in Korean restaurants such as this place. For those of you who haven't been to a Korean BBQ, basically you order a bunch of marinated sliced meats such as beef ribeye, short ribs, pork, chicken or squid that they bring to your table raw. They then put a hot cauldron of burning coals to sit in the center of the table (or at other places, a propane-heated grill), and you cook up your meats to your liking. A huge exhaust fan hangs overhead to try and expel some of the grill smoke, although you'll come out smelling like a barbecue anyway.

Usually, we just order plain old beef in the form of bul-go-gi (marinated slices of ribeye) or kalbi (beef short ribs), but the word "Kobe" caught my eye this time around. I've mentioned the almost legendary properties of Japanese Kobe beef before. Raised in the Japanese region of Kobe, wagyu cattle are said to provide the most succulent form of beef in the world.


Whether it's their diet of high quality grain and beer, the frequent massages, or the baths of sake, the end product is an extremely well marbleized piece of meat that virtually melts in your mouth.
Since this was Christmas, and I've always wanted to actually taste firsthand a sample of Kobe beef to see what all the fuss was about, we decided it was OK to splurge a little, and get the Kobe beef. Unfortunately, the buildup of anticipation in my mind didn't quite live up to the end product. What I had imagined would be a sizable amount of meat, ended up being six wafer-thin slices of beef about the size of a Club cracker. Granted, you could see the marbled fat well distributed throughout each piece, but I thought I could almost put all six slices in my mouth without trouble, and call that one bite.


After searing quickly on the grill, though? Like butter in my mouth. You really don't even have to chew all that much--it's that tender. It wasn't much meat, but what little I got, sure was good. I'm still not quite sure I'm totally convinced it was worth the money, but as good as it tasted, I'll probably be tempted to get some Kobe beef again if I ever come across it in the future. I've seen Kobe beef hamburgers around, but I don't see how that would be any good, considering all the beautiful marbling of the fat would essentially be ground up. But a nice piece of steak? Mmmmmmm!

I'm catching up tomorrow.

I'm going to watch the complete Battlestar Galactic marathon tomorrow. I've even made sure not to schedule any job interviews. I think that might even work to my advantage though, as I've said "I won't be available at all Monday," which may sound like I have more interested parties than I really do.

But nope, I won't be going to the gym or walking the dog or scouring Monster. I'm going to be on the couch in my jammies all day long. If anyone tries to call me, it better be during a commercial.

After this I can stop closing my eyes and putting my hands over my ears whenever I get close to a spoiler.

Sometimes, it's the simple things in life that bring you the most joy...

Some guys at Christmas got high definition widescreen plasma televisions, much sought after Playstation 3's or Nintendo Wii's, razor thin cellphones, luxurious cashmere sweaters, socks.

But for my holiday gift last season, my wife picked me up this ingenious marvel of wood and physics demonstrating the laws of energy, momentum, and gravity. So simple, yet so mesmerizing. Watch it and weep, men. Your Christmas presents pale in comparison:

And just like that, he made North Korea disappear again...

Topics of discussion have seemed kind of tame lately, which surprises me considering the hot button issue of George W. Bush, the masterful illusionist that's been all over the news this week.

As I was driving home, I listened to a brief commentary from Ted Koppel on NPR about President Bush's recent address to the nation regarding his latest "strategy" to provide a surge of American troops into Iraq. Buried about two-thirds of the way into the address are plans to place Patriot missiles and an extra aircraft carrier in the region, which in the context of other statements in the speech about how Iran is undermining the efforts towards a stable government in Iraq, Koppel suggested might be interpreted as early signs that the current administration is laying the groundwork for a war with Iran at some point in the near future.

Considering some of the recent crackdowns on Iranians within Iraq recently, I'm not sure whether to call Ted Koppel brilliant or paranoid.

Beeswax, None Of Yours Incorporated

The Office continues to get better and better every week, as last nights episode well proved. I think the talent they have pulled together both in front of and behind the cameras is magical. And the writing is the best on television right now, in my opinion. But, that's what I would expect from Executive Producer Greg Daniels, who is still considered by many to be the best writer The Simpsons ever had (and he penned my top 3 favorite Simpsons episodes, so I tend to agree). But despite all the utter goodness coming at us week after week, I guess they still had to up the ante. I thought Swany and Willie, in particular, would find this article interesting.

January 11, 2007 - Around Christmas, word spread that none other than J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias and Lost, and director of Mission: Impossible III, would be directing an episode of The Office. This past week, an additional rumor surfaced, saying that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator Joss Whedon would also be directing an episode of the critically acclaimed comedy. Entertainment Weekly have now reported on their website, ew.com, that their own Dan Snierson has received confirmation from NBC Universal (The Office is of course an NBC show) that the speculation about both Abrams and Whedon is indeed true. Apparently both Abrams' and Whedon's episodes will air "around late February", making them part of the February sweeps period. Already this season, Harold Ramis, director of feature films like Vacation and Groundhog Day, directed an episode of The Office, so apparently there are plenty of big name people in Hollywood interested in working on the series. While developing the new Star Trek film, Abrams continues to produce Lost and What About Brian, but this will be the first television project from Whedon since Angel went off the air in 2004. In fact, it will be Whedon's first non-comic book work of any sort since Serenity, the 2005 movie version of Whedon's television series Firefly.

Hey, Wander! Look what's coming your way in '08...

The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be in Denver.

That's all I had to say.

Thank you. Have a pleasant afternoon.

He's bending it Stateside...

I haven't heard much from Fandango in awhile, so maybe a little soccer news will bring him out of hiding.

Looks like Major League Soccer is going to get a major boost in its star appeal with the signing of David Beckham to the L.A. Galaxy. I'm not exactly sure how exciting his play will actually be, considering he's been benched most of the season on his current team, Real Madrid, but I'm sure his presence will put some extra people in the seats. I mean, c'mon--not even Pele or Maradona had a movie named after them.

Oddly, I've never really followed MLS, but I feel intrigued enough to consider buying a couple of tickets to some Galaxy games. Damn, the marketing is working already!

This Sums Me Up

Swany will give you the lowdown, and I’ll give you my sum up. Although I confess to drooling over Mac desktops at the local Apple store while Christmas shopping for IPod accessories for Tellulah's IPod, which she uses like an emphysema patient uses those air tanks they wheel around with them, constantly and needfully, I do not plan on buying said Mac desktops until there is a more open gaming market for them, which will likely not happen now that Windows Vistas is being released aimed directly at PC Gamers and engineered almost in its entirety to make pc gaming better and faster and brighter and cooler, and advertising for the new OS centered around the updated gaming application up to and including Windows Vistas PC Gaming Kiosks along the line of the Xbox 360 demo stations coming to a store near you, but the IPhone? As Morrissey of The Smiths sang... Please, Please, Please Let Me, Let Me, Let Me Get What I Want This Time.

I ache in a vaguely naughty way to possess this holiest of grails.

I really do feel sorry, though, for the handful that purchased the Zune in an orgiastic fervor and belief in Microsoft understanding what consumers need and want in a handheld music player. Their understanding of these things, compared to Apple’s? Let’s say Microsoft is Insane Clown Posse, and we’ll say Apple is Fleetwood Mac. There is a distinct group of people who believe IPC is the end all of music, but they will eventually grow up and burn out on it, and end up listening to Fleetwood Mac when they realize that Fleetwood Mac really did have what they wanted all along but in a much more pleasant and user friendly package, and the IPC listeners will realize they were really just trying to be different and going through a phase.

But if Apple figures out how to get the gaming audience? They will truly be the lone rebel who brings down the mighty overlord, just like the '1984' inspired commercials for the Apple IIC so long ago. A prophecy fulfilled? By a company named after the fruit who was both mankinds downfall and and eviction notice from Eden? Maybe the touch screen is the easier, more seductive path that leads to the dark side. And if it is?

Apple is my dark master now.

They are tyring to get our cheese

EQUALS

A new espionage threat? Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside. The mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.

I know the picture is of an American dollar coin, but it was the associated picture in the AP article. I am always leery of our "friends" to the north. Watch your cheese. That is the real reason for the espionage. They are trying to find weaknesses in our cheese defenses. Just look at where Canada borders. While I am sure the location of Canada is not their fault, it has given them an overwhelming appetite for our cheese. Wisconsin, New York, Vermont - Watch your Cheddars!

"I write comic books with naughty words in them"

I know that myself or Swany have mentioned the blog Pop Candy by Whitney Matheson, and I am referencing it again. She listed a link to Comic-book writer -- Brian K. Vaughan ("Y - The Last Man") MySpace page where he posted advise about how to break into comics. I know that there are some great ideas in us all, and some that Scooty and Wander have been working on for years. Anyway, I found the advice solid and refreshing. He also provides a link that lists every small to midlevel publisher out there that accepts unsolicited submissions, even if there's no artist attached to the project: http://comiccreatorservices.blogspot.com/.

Brian is also going to be writing for Lost in the future.

A historic achievement...

With all the bad news happening in my own life, I thought I'd talk about the new Apple iPhone to get my mind off things.

This truly does appear to be revolutionary. As Steve Jobs stated in his Macworld keynote address, many companies such as Palm, RIM Blackberry, and Nokia have tried to come up with the ultimate smartphone, but have yet to blend all the ingredients together into the perfect device. As feature packed as my Blackberry Pearl is, it still doesn't play music/video all that easily, the browser is limited and somewhat slow, and it takes a bit of learning curve to figure out how to navigate through the whole thing.

Time magazine has a feature about the development of the iPhone that started almost three years ago as an experiment into tablet PCs. It's a testament to Steve Jobs' intuition that he saw the emerging product could be so much more by essentially packing a minicomputer into a phone.

Some of the truly unique features of the iPhone that made me want to get up and applaud:

• The touchscreen interface: This maybe the first step into consumer interfaces like you'd see in movies like Minority Report. The iPhone only requires the use of any of your 10 fingers, and allows intuitive gestures of pinching or spreading two fingers to zoom in or out. They even came up with a new screen material so your greasy mitts don't dirty it up too much. When you think about it, Apple really has been behind some of the most revolutionary interfaces in recent history. The mouse and the first Macintosh, touchscreens using styluses with their short-lived Newton, the scroll wheel of the iPod...it's amazing that other companies with endless buckets of cash like Microsoft have never come up with similar ideas. Unlike them, Apple always seems to start with the interface on their devices, and makes the technological features run from there. Seems to be a great development model.
  
• OS X: A full featured operating system within a handheld device? I'm still trying to figure out how they fit that in this thing. Unlike other smartphones, the iPhone's inclusion of OS X allows it to run native applications and internet browsers. Who needs a tablet PC when you've got this? It even allows for the use of Cover Flow in iTunes on the device.
  
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor: Apple somehow incorporated an accelerometer into the phone which detects whether you've got it propped upright or sideways, and automatically adjusts pictures to display in portrait or landscape mode. And once you actually get a call, a sensor detects when it's close to your ear and turns off the screen both to save batteries and to make sure you don't inadvertently touch a virtual button with your face. Just another two examples of features that probably no one ever thought of, but makes life all that much easier.
• Virtual voice mail: Apple has earned some major respect, so much so that Cingular partnered up with them sight unseen, and allowed them to configure a new way to look at voice mail. Instead of having to listen to all of your messages in sequential order, you can now see what messages you have, and pick the ones you want to listen to individually. The way Apple was able to get Cingular to cater to their needs rather than the other way around may change the entire relationship between cell phone makers and service providers forever.
  
• Overall design: As typical of any Apple device, the iPhone is minimalistic and pretty. I've yet to understand why no other company seems to get this. Apple always pays attention to even the most minute details.
  

My only gripes:

• Their partnership with Cingular is a bit limited by the fact that they rely on an EDGE network for data transmission, which is far inferior in speed compared to the 3G networks of Verizon and Sprint. And considering the pace that new iPods seem to come out at, having to lock into a 2 year contract seems to put you at risk of being behind the curve when updates get released.
  
• 4GB and 8 GB are OK for music, but it doesn't look like the introductory models will carry enough storage to have a lot of TV shows or movies stored on them. That said, flash memory continues to grow by leaps and bounds, so its conceivable that a 30 GB+ models will some out in the future.
  

When you watch Steve Jobs run through a demo of this thing, it looks like the most easy and intuitive device I've ever seen. Every year, when a new smartphone or PDA comes out, I pull out my wish list for the ultimate handheld device and find the latest gadgets still lacking. This may be the first time I can't say that. I truly am giddy just thinking about the iPhone and can't wait to see one in the flesh when it's released in June.

Wow! I haven't thought about my personal woes for the entire time I was writing this. I love my blog.

Short People Got No Reason

One of my earliest memories, and most vivid, is seeing Mr. Randy Newman perform 'Short People' on Saturday Night Live in 1978. It was my parents favorite tv show, and really the only thing besides sports my Dad would watch so I always stayed up with them to watch too. I must have gone crazy for the song because my Mother bought me the lp the song is on, 'Little Criminals'. It and the Star Wars soundtrack didn't leave my record player in my room for years after that, and I firmly believe it was exposure to that album that spurned the pure passion for music I have today. No doubt, it helped create my near fetishist love of keyboards and pianos. I still love Randy today, and have an Ipod full of his music. He has always been in my top 5 list of people I want to see perform live. And last night, that dream came true. It was just Randy, his piano, a nearly 40 year long song archive for him to choose from, and Tellulah and I about 12 feet away. It was not only one of the best concerts I've ever seen, but I'll list it as the funniest. The man is known for his sense of humour, and he fills the spaces inbetween songs with stories and anecdotes about his career and life. It was great. My favorite thing he talked about; how upset he was that a beautiful ballad he wrote for Toy Story was never used when Pixar decided to cut the love scene between Buzz and Woody. Hilarious! And besides, how can I not like the man who co-wrote 'Three Amigos' and was the voice of the Singing Bush!

Even better than a Kraft Easy Mac...

As a kid, probably a quarter of my diet was made up of ramen noodles. My mother would buy a huge box from the Asian market that would have dozens and dozens of ramen bricks available to make an easy meal that even a little 10 year old could cook up. And even when I was too lazy to boil up some water, they often were pretty tasty just eating them dry. Ramen was perhaps the only thing that my dad ever figured out how to prepare in the kitchen. In fact, I think he subsisted on ramen noodles mixed up with an egg for almost a month straight when my mother left to go visit her family. Now as an adult, my own cupboards are still filled with bricks, and are still the go-to food when hunger's got me in a corner.

So it was sad to read that the inventor of the modern ramen noodle, Momofuku Ando, died last Friday. Truly a great loss to the world and modern civilization as we know it.

Man, I should really be working, but this is SO exciting...

Sometimes I wonder if Bill Gates left his post at Microsoft not because he wanted to help save the world from poverty, hunger, and disease, but more to hide the fact that Steve Jobs was kicking his ass in the innovation department. I'm currently following live coverage of MacWorld 2007 where Steve Jobs just announced the iPhone during his keynote address. I'm pretty flabbergasted by what's packed into this little thing so far, and I'm sure I'll be posting more details about this breakthrough device soon. iPod, mobile phone, and internet browser in one with a full touchscreen that uses finger touches and gestures rather than a stylus. They even fit Bluetooth AND wi-fi into one small little package. This is like everything I dreamed about having in a device ever since I bought my first PDA from the now defunct Handspring company nine years ago. Makes me regret committing to a two year contract for my most recent Blackberry Pearl. Ugh.

To think Microsoft had such high hopes for the Zune. This thing makes the Zune look about as technologically behind the curve as my old Sony Walkman that played tapes. I think they should stick to software.



Update: HOLY COW!! The iPhone and demonstrations of all its features are now up on the Apple website. Hope everyone bought some Apple stock prior to this.

That was uglier than a lard bucket full of armpits...

I'm forgetting the football movie where the quarterback is running around in the backfield for dear life as he wimpers to the referee "Blow the whistle! Blow the whistle!", but Troy Smith kind of looked like that during the entire BCS Championship Game tonight. Talk about a dominating defense--I think the Gators literally ate the Buckeyes for dinner. OSU only managed 74 yards of TOTAL offense?!! It's been a long time since I've seen a team get schooled like that. This was even uglier than those blowout romps you typically see at the beginning of the year when some powerhouse team gets matched up against some lowly Division II school.

I think the entire city of Columbus is in danger of being set on fire.

[Note: I found the country slang in the title doing a quick Google search.]

I was nothing until the day I graduated from the Handsome Boy Modeling School.

So I was looking for O Fortuna, Imperatix from Carmina Burana and for some inexplicable reason Yahoo! music presented a song called If it wasn't for you, from a band named Handsome Boy Modeling School. Of course the band name had me rolling, so I gave the song a chance. After listening to it four or five times in a row, I downloaded the whole album, White People, which is pretty damn good. This is the kind of hip-hop that I like, something not afraid to experiment with the music and has subject matter other than drive-bys and big booty bitches. That and it has vocal cameos by Father Guido Sarducci and Tim Meadows doing the Ladies Man, Leon Phelps. What's not to like about that?

Check it out, I'm betting that most of you will like it.

Isnt' CGI technology wonderful?

I've been pretty 'eh' on the whole Fantastic Four movie franchise, although Michael Chiklis is a good Thing. I just caught this trailer for the next movie. This looks sweeeeet.



Yep, Silver Surfer. The best thing to ever come out of the Fantastic Four.

Can the voters call a mulligan on their Pro Bowl selections?

Just when it seemed like the glory days might be slowly creeping back to Big D, the Cowboys perfect their skills as choke artists, losing in a complete shocker to the Seattle Seahawks by a point.

I had been reserving my judgement on Tony Romo, but after tonight, I will now adopt the most un-PC name for him--Tony Homo. In fact, a blog of this title written by benched quarterback Drew Bledsoe already exists (and is quite funny).

Disclaimer: My apologies to the gay and lesbian community for grouping Tony Homo in with you all by using the term "homo" in such a derogatory manner. But let's face it--today, Romo really is a Homo.

Swany's Top 10 Movies of 2006

It's a new year, so I tried thinking back trying to compile my top ten list of movies for 2006. I seem to remember this being a good year for film, but I actually had a hard time coming up with ten movies that were really worth mentioning. Actually, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't come up with a better list. I know we all like movies, though, so I'm hoping this will spark a little discussion in the comments board:

1. The Departed - Great plot, great acting, and Scorsese doing what he does best. Who knew Leonardo DiCaprio would develop into such a good actor?
   
2. Casino Royale - Less preposterous gadgets, plots, and villains. More action. More soul. The future of Her Majesty's Secret Service on the big screen looks bright.
   
3. Superman Returns - One of the best superhero films, in my opinion.
   
4. Mission Impossible: III - Sure, it was a two hour episode of Alias starring Tom Cruise, but why is that necessarily a bad thing? Boycotting Tom Cruise is just silly. Who cares about his Scientology beliefs? Heck, half of Hollywood doesn't believe in anything. No one is as dependable for good high-octane entertainment at the movies than Tom.
   
5. United 93 - Almost made me want to throw up, it was that powerful. I normally see movies to escape the real world. Scary that this one was grounded (no pun intended) fully in reality.
   
6. The Painted Veil - I'm a sucker for a romance, and this one was painfully truthful.
   
7. Hard Candy - It's an odd film that actually manages to create a tiny amount of sympathy for a pedophile. It's a fleeting moment, but a moment, nonetheless.
   
8. An Inconvenient Truth - May be the first time I actually kind of admired Al Gore. With the wacky winter we're having, perhaps he's on to something. You have to kind of wonder whether this side of him would have ever gotten out had he become President.
   
9. Miami Vice - Not perfect, but still very Michael Mann.
   
10. The Science of Sleep - Another love story, albeit a very trippy love story. I'm such a sissy.
    

Notable movies I missed (that very well could have ended up on my top 10):

• Down in the Valley
• The Illusionist
• Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima
• Borat
• Half Nelson
• The Fountain
• Apocolypto
• Blood Diamond
• Stranger Than Fiction
• The Good Shepard
  

Movies I didn't get, but seemed to end up on a lot of people's top ten lists:

• Babel - The more I think about this movie, the more I think I get it. Still, I'll need to view it again at some point to elevate it's status in my mind.
  
• Little Miss Sunshine - A funny movie, but not as heart-grabbing as I was led to believe.
  

There's frugal, and then there's really frugal...

It's been awhile since any of us poked a little fun at Wild Willie's frugal nature. But for some reason, after reading this article about hypermilers, I sat and wondered if Willie ever had an inkling to go to these extremes to get just that little bit more out of a gallon of gas. Seems like a different way to motivate one's self to succeed in that New Year's Resolution to lose weight:

What can't be jettisoned is Wayne himself, who at 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds looks too big to fit into this tin can two-seater. ("I would love to lose 60 pounds," he tells me, "because it would help my mileage.") In Wayne's world, fuel efficiency is not about the car. It's about the driver. Wayne doesn't get high mpg marks by tinkering with engines or using funky fuels or even, most days, by driving a hybrid. He gets them by driving consciously—hyperconsciously. He takes out his wallet and his keys. Then he removes his sneakers.

I know we've all pushed our cars to the limits of empty, running solely on fumes and adrenaline that we can make it just a little bit farther till the tank really runs out of gas. But when you start ditching clothing in the name of saving weight? Man, I think Willie has met his match.

What would life have been had we all became comic book artists?

Marvel Girl by Matt Kindt

Last night, the wife and I went to the opening of an art exhibit at the Mad Art Gallery here in St. Louis. Called Famous Fictional: Portraits from Comics and Fiction, a number of artists were asked to submit a character from literature and one from comic books in painted, illustrated, or sculpted form.

I've never actually attended an exhibition opening, but was glad to have caught this one, especially with it's interest in comics. My favorite piece (shown above) was actually not shown in the gallery, but rather was commissioned as an advertisement for the exhibition printed in St. Louis Magazine. At my wife's coaxing, I actually was able to meet the artist, Matt Kindt, who explained that he actually drew the picture while on a book signing tour in Paris. The scene is from his vantage point sitting in the bookstore, if I'm not mistaken. He couldn't decide on a comic book character to incorporate into the picture, but decided on Marvel Girl upon the suggestion of the Mad Art Gallery owner. The image is small, but notice the levitating book she's reading, as well as Cyclops pushing Professor X in his wheelchair in the background--very cool! Cyclops and Marvel Girl basically got me started on comics after I picked up my first copy of X-Factor at the local Safeway (or was it already a Homeland by then) with Scootypuff back in the day. Needless to say, I had to get a signed copy of this picture which is now hanging on my wall.

Give Matt Kindt's website a perusal in your free time. He seemed like a friendly guy (which I sometimes find unusual in this city) and he's got a nice free online comic called Super Spy that's worth a read. I've never really given alternative comics a shot--perhaps I'll try reading some now.

And my thanks to my beautiful and thoughtful wife who told me about this exhibit in the first place!

I know I shouldn't like it, but I do...

In response to Wild Willie's question:


After my comments to Wander's last post about video game violence, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I really enjoy watching Entourage (at least what I've been able to see of it for free on the internet--makes me feel doubly naughty). Prevalent marijuana use, sexual promiscuity complete with plenty of one night stands with smoking hot babes and a menage-a-trois, gluttonous shopping sprees for exotic Italian cars and other extravagant toys--heck, I could probably name an example of all seven of the deadly sins in any episode. This certainly can't be good for my perceptions of what's righteous in this world. But I guess we all sort of find a voyeuristic entertainment value in watching things that we can't really experience ourselves. I guess sin is supposed to feel good at some base level--it wouldn't take so much self discipline not to fall into those temptations if they weren't.

At the center of the show, though, is genuine friendship. Despite all the craziness of Hollywood life, Entourage still manages to find some heart watching these four young men bond, and does it in some pretty amusing ways. You get the sense that even if all the money and fame dried up, these guys would still be best buddies for life, kinda how I feel about you guys in the Gang. Perhaps this is why Entourage connects with guys in the same way Sex and the City caught on with so many women--we all just want to have that core group of friends we know we can depend on.

Remember Ricky?

Ricky Williams will try and return to the NFL next season and resume his position with the Miami Dolphins at running back.

I guess it's easy to forget the accomplishments of Ricky Williams given his two suspensions for marijuana use and his somewhat odd persona. In light of the recent Vince-anity over the past year, I had forgotten he crossed over the border to play for the Argonauts this season. He seems to be an interesting guy, though, when you stop and think about what exactly has been driving him all these years.

I've read a few stories about Ricky Williams. This story in Esquire came out a couple of years ago after his first NFL suspension where the author found him pretty much on walk-a-bout on the beaches of Australia after wandering around the world. Other stories seem to portray him in a similar light as a guy disillusioned by the fame and fortune brought on by his natural athletic gifts, and just looking for the meaning of life. Interestingly, this reminded me of another Texas alum who's been blindsided by the spotlight, Matthew McConaughey. He's also known for these odd trips to exotic locales and even stranger behavior. Lucky for him, weed is pretty prevalent and cool amongst the Hollywood crowd (at least, that's what I've deduced from watching reruns of Entourage on the internet).

Anywho, other than the marijuana, he hasn't really hurt anyone. He hasn't shot anyone, raped anyone, killed anyone. Well, I guess he hasn't killed anyone intentionally. This excerpt from the Esquire article was amusing:

...and for Samoa, where he saw some boys playing with a ball on the beach, and because Ricky is led by instinct, he took the ball and began running with it until a 110-pound kid stood in front of him, and because Ricky is led by instinct, laid the kid out.

Hate to have been that kid.

The Coming Teenage Apocalypse... Apperently

Now I'm not this first to stumble across this ACTUAL!!! movie trailer. And I'm not the first, nor I can assure you with every fiber of my soul, will I be the last to point out what kind of sensationalistic crap in the name of furthering political careers this is. It actually made me ill seeing this. And, as I have blogged on this wonderful free speech site on this very subject before, I thought I would share it. I won't even go into the different games they chose to identify as violence causing... but I will point out that City Of Heroes, Scooty and my's entertainment of choice, whose very essence is to uphold good, justice, and ARREST not kill, criminals, is prominently featured as one of the violent digitized brainwashing timebombs that will assuredly create a thousand new Columbines. I live near Columbine. I have had Columbine survivors work for me. I can say unequivocally there is not a single Columbine survivor who blame the video games the two teenage gunmen played. All the survivors I've spoken to blame the parents who never noticed thier sons had flags of the swastika hanging over their beds, or that their sons spent lazy afternoons building pipebombs in the garage. The same garage the parents parked in. Daily.
I won't even go into the real nausea I felt when they blame the video game industry for 9/11. I don't like to talk about 9/11. There are two things I know for sure about 9/11, the rest I won't even pretend to understand. But those two things I do know: The videogame industry had NOTHING to do with 9/11, and Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a shower after watching this. And possibly write a letter or two to some politicians.

Alternatives to water...

For 2007, I've been trying to decrease my alcohol consumption and drink more water (now successful for a whole four days), although I keep coming across new articles like this one from New York magazine rating a number of lesser known ales that sound mighty tasty. Sadly, Wankmaster Scratch will be disappointed to read that his beloved PBR got the big thumbs down. Don't feel bad, though, because the Saison Dupont that I seem to recall you and your lady raving about was well received. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a bottle in my neck of the woods. :-(

Nice...

Vince Young is the new AP Offensive Rookie of the Year!

NEW YORK (AP) -- Tennessee quarterback Vince Young won The Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and Houston linebacker DeMeco Ryans was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award on Wednesday.

Young did it in the same fashion he turned around the Titans' season -- running away from the rest of the field.

Young, who led Texas to the 2005 national championship and was the third overall pick in last April's draft, overwhelmed one of the strongest rookie classes in NFL history. He received 23 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league.

(More...)

Pretty darn impressive considering the caliber of rookies he was up against. I think it's time for him to break out that personalized logo to the masses.

Love hurts...

Fairy tales about love at first sight, falling in love, and living happily ever after make for a good romantic story, but never tell the whole truth. We all have our faults which are well hidden in the passions of budding love and in our hopes of who the other is and what they'll become. To most of us, genuine romance is only found after enduring a lot of pain, forgiveness, and acceptance. The Painted Veil, a new film based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, develops this less than idealistic view of love using the relationship of Walter and Kitty Fane as they struggle to find love and forgiveness in a marriage that probably shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Walter (Edward Norton), an English bacteriologist posted in Shanghai who is used to understanding things from observation rather than interaction, falls in love with Kitty from afar during a trip back to London. Kitty, being immature and naive, accepts a hasty marriage proposal to escape from her mother and societal pressure of being a single woman during that time, and is subsequently whisked away to Shanghai. Walter's inability to show his affections combined with his ignorance of what real intimacy is leads Kitty to embark in an affair that she mistakes for true love. Instead, she is heartbroken, and is forced to join Walter in rural China where he volunteers to help fight a deadly epidemic of cholera. It is in this backdrop of poverty, death, and disease where the heart of this film takes place, as Walter and Kitty mature and grow to genuinely love each other. We also learn a bit about China in the 1920's along the way, and get some glimpses into the conflicts between the rural peasant class and ruling government that seem to still exist today.

Naomi Watts puts in a solid performance that surprisingly hasn't generated much media buzz so far. Even more remarkable, though, is the lack of recognition for Edward Norton who also gives a very subtle but incredibly effective performance as Walter. It's certainly not an obvious role to garner awards praise (i.e. he doesn't play someone mentally challenged or do a lot of screaming, crying, etc.), but you always seem to get a sense of the brewing dissatisfaction and resentment in him throughout the film that's wholly understandable and believable. Diana Rigg makes an appearance as a nun working in the Chinese village, who is completely unrecognizable from her former days as a Bond girl. The cinematography is also top notch, and I didn't really appreciate what a challenge it must have been to get permission to film an American-produced movie entirely in China until I left the theater.

This isn't your typical sappy "chick-flick" period piece kind of romance drama. Word is that Ed Norton struggled for years to get this picture made. Unfortunately, if the Golden Globes are any indication, this movie won't be decorated with any trophies to reward his effort. It's kind of a shame--this is a good film that many people will probably overlook because of it's lack of Oscar buzz. Don't miss out.

**** (out of *****)