Even though the Bears were on television tonight I still couldn’t bring myself to sit down and watch them. I think that I have reached the point in my life where I no longer need to watch preseason football. Gamble on it, possibly, but not watch it. There is just something about spending an evening watching a game that doesn’t matter that seems like a complete waste of time. True, this is from someone who watches pro wrestling on a regular basis but I hope people understand my point.
By the way, you can pick up Michael Vick Eagles jerseys at the Philadelphia airport. You know, just in case you need to pick up a last minute gift for the illegal dog ring operator in your family. Ok, as a free market person I don’t have a problem with selling the jerseys or even with Vick being in the NFL (he served out his sentence and will serve out his suspension) but I don’t think you have to have his jersey be the most prominent one on display. It just seems a little disconcerting.
I want to mention one thing that struck me as I watched the Kennedy funeral yesterday. I wasn’t able to watch all of it but I saw a good portion and it was something that I found touching and moving. Being an Irish Catholic kid I grew up with the myth of the Kennedys and having stood in front of the grave at Arlington myself I really find it to be a very thought provoking space. Yes, this is definitely a mythologizing of very flawed individuals but I view them to be what one can accomplish when you focus on the better angels of our nature. It is a world view in which we strive to be better than what we are.
That is why it really bothered me when the funeral was being politicized. I would watch the talking heads discuss whether or not Obama should have tied his speech more to health care reform. It wasn’t a political stump speech; it was a eulogy. Politics in that sense should not have been raised at all. The health care bill should not be stamped with his name on it just because Teddy would have wanted it that way. He would want a good bill that he could discuss with Hatch and McCain and have them all agree that it is the best for the country even if they did not vote the same way. Sometimes I wish we could bury a man in peace and not have every aspect be analyzed for deeper political meaning. Personal and spiritual meaning yes, political no.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Jeff Buckley “Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk”
2) Neko Case “Canadian Amp”
3) Freakwater “Feels Like the Third Time”
4) Loreena McKennitt “Live from Paris and Toronto”
5) Gillian Welch “Soul Journey”
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
My mind goes in odd directions
Some random thoughts to close out the week…
1) Moon rock at Dutch museum turns out to be petrified wood: This teaches us one important lesson: that there are trees on the moon. Ok, that is what I would take from it but then again I spent way too many years living in a state where the main debate is whether something other than intelligent design should be taught in schools. I am going to assume that all of the Dutch were too high to notice that their rock was not actually a rock. Either that or it was the geologists turn to stick his finger in the wall and thus did not have an opportunity to examine it.
2) Fat chick eliminated on More to Love: That is not really fair but it is really interesting to note that the two women eliminated in this week’s episode were the heaviest contestants remaining. As much as Luke says he wants a full figured woman it is intriguing that he got rid of the ones that best fit that description. Hell, Mandy (who should win, dump Luke immediately and get a better guy) is a fitness and dance instructor. (She also deserves props for getting super jealous and upset while watching Luke kiss Kristian. She is right, she should be no one’s second best.) And I still don’t understand how Tali is still around.
3) Poor, poor Kristian: The saddest part of this episode was the elimination of Kristian, who was the one contestant who I would say was truly in love with Luke. I mean to the point that she was picking out the china patterns. She tells Luke that she loves him, puts her heart out on the line and then is eliminated that same night. In real time it may have been a span of an hour or two. It was quite possibly the cruelest thing I have ever seen on television. She was just completely heartbroken. What really bothers me is that on shows like this the producers encourage the bachelor to keep people like Kristian around just so they can get moments like this. I will say that as someone who has felt the sting of rejection enough times that I feel for her but just remember that when you finally break through you appreciate what you have more than anything in the world.
4) Passing of Ted Kennedy: First off, I agree with people that we need to remember the bad with the good of Ted Kennedy. The man was certainly no saint and I don’t believe that he ever attempted to portray himself that way. So while Chapaquidick must be mentioned it does not have to be the focus. What should be remembered is that he was a very good politician. For being the other brother, the one who had to live up to a legacy that was mythologized beyond all belief, he did a rather amazing job. Regardless of what you feel of his political stance he did create a number of laws that have benefited society. And in my mind his eulogy at Robert’s funeral will always be one of the best speeches ever given. He will be missed.
Enjoy the weekend everyone.
1) Moon rock at Dutch museum turns out to be petrified wood: This teaches us one important lesson: that there are trees on the moon. Ok, that is what I would take from it but then again I spent way too many years living in a state where the main debate is whether something other than intelligent design should be taught in schools. I am going to assume that all of the Dutch were too high to notice that their rock was not actually a rock. Either that or it was the geologists turn to stick his finger in the wall and thus did not have an opportunity to examine it.
2) Fat chick eliminated on More to Love: That is not really fair but it is really interesting to note that the two women eliminated in this week’s episode were the heaviest contestants remaining. As much as Luke says he wants a full figured woman it is intriguing that he got rid of the ones that best fit that description. Hell, Mandy (who should win, dump Luke immediately and get a better guy) is a fitness and dance instructor. (She also deserves props for getting super jealous and upset while watching Luke kiss Kristian. She is right, she should be no one’s second best.) And I still don’t understand how Tali is still around.
3) Poor, poor Kristian: The saddest part of this episode was the elimination of Kristian, who was the one contestant who I would say was truly in love with Luke. I mean to the point that she was picking out the china patterns. She tells Luke that she loves him, puts her heart out on the line and then is eliminated that same night. In real time it may have been a span of an hour or two. It was quite possibly the cruelest thing I have ever seen on television. She was just completely heartbroken. What really bothers me is that on shows like this the producers encourage the bachelor to keep people like Kristian around just so they can get moments like this. I will say that as someone who has felt the sting of rejection enough times that I feel for her but just remember that when you finally break through you appreciate what you have more than anything in the world.
4) Passing of Ted Kennedy: First off, I agree with people that we need to remember the bad with the good of Ted Kennedy. The man was certainly no saint and I don’t believe that he ever attempted to portray himself that way. So while Chapaquidick must be mentioned it does not have to be the focus. What should be remembered is that he was a very good politician. For being the other brother, the one who had to live up to a legacy that was mythologized beyond all belief, he did a rather amazing job. Regardless of what you feel of his political stance he did create a number of laws that have benefited society. And in my mind his eulogy at Robert’s funeral will always be one of the best speeches ever given. He will be missed.
Enjoy the weekend everyone.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Beloit College Mindset List: 2009
Beloit College just published their Mindset List for the class of 2013. This is a wonderful yearly exercise in reminding you just how old you are by looking at the experiences and world view of an incoming college freshman. Reading this makes you start realizing just why you have lower back pain and an urge to watch Matlock. Here are some highlights from this year’s list.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables: I never even realized that they’ve stopped using the Jolly Green Giant as a mascot. Maybe someone realized that his physical presence would be a huge strain on the ecosystem and thus lower the quality of the produce. And I am not a fan of Shrek. There, I said it.
7. Magic Johnson has always been HIV positive: Wow, that is one to put into perspective. I actually remember where I was when I got that news and it was just a complete stunner. It was a death sentence at the time and the first huge name to be public about it. Now the entire view of the disease has changed.
10: Rap music has always been mainstream: It was fascinating back when I sold ringtones to look at the sales charts. The top sellers were all rap and R and B. There wasn’t a single rock track anywhere near the top of the list. To be frank, for a college freshmen today rap hasn’t just been mainstream it has been the primary form of music for their entire life.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.: Well, that isn’t quite fair. I don’t know what it means either. Who cares about what the French have to say anyway?
28: Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap: Ah, I remember 1992. Let’s either a) celebrate the 500th anniversary of someone discovering a place that already had people on it or b) using one guy’s road trip to symbolize the destruction of an entire society. I don’t know if I would call it a bad rap though. Maybe just some historical realignment.
30: Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves: And has always managed them to a first round playoff exit.
31: There has always been a Cartoon Network: And thank God for that. Though it hasn’t been the same since the glory days of Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. For we are the aqua teens, we make the homies say ho and the girlies want to scream.
35: Women have always outnumbered men in college: Except on engineering campuses where the opposite is very much true. Except in environmental engineering but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: environmental engineering doesn’t count.
40: Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented: I wouldn’t say that is restricted to college freshmen. Heck, I was pretty sure where she stood when I was a freshman. That said, looking at her now would pretty much make me want to refrain from having any images of her in my mind regarding that activity. I would say that that feeling is pretty universal unless someone has developed a Skeletor fetish.
45: They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix: No wonder kids today are so fat. They can’t even enjoy a good breakfast cereal. Back in my day we lived on Cookie Crisp. It is a breakfast cereal made out of cookies! What could be better?
51: Brittney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations: Really? Can Beloit back this data up? Is she really considered to be classic rock? I have to disagree with this one here.
52: They have never been Saved by the Bell: Wow, now I am old. I think I wrote about this before how this show is only a Gen X staple because it was on TBS all the time when we were in college so it became the show you watched before dinner. Still, to think that kids today have never seen it is pretty amazing.
57: Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds: And menthol cigarettes.
58: There has always been a Planet Hollywood: No one knows why. No one can explain why these restaurants are still in existence. Quick, let’s all have an overpriced meal of bad food in a room filled with props from movies we didn’t really enjoyed. I have never seen the appeal of such places.
64: CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging: First off, I wouldn’t be surprised if a large portion of college freshmen have never even purchased a CD. I find that disturbing in its own right given how much of a collection I have obtained over the years. But I remember the old cardboard packaging that you would tear apart in order to get to the jewel case. See, originally stores were afraid that due to the size of CDs there would be a lot of shoplifting so they created this huge packaging around them for no reason other than to create waste. Enjoy what we’ve left of the planet kids!
75: There has always been blue Jell-O: Which is a godsend for those of us who have to make jello shots for schools in which blue plays a prominent role in the team’s color scheme.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables: I never even realized that they’ve stopped using the Jolly Green Giant as a mascot. Maybe someone realized that his physical presence would be a huge strain on the ecosystem and thus lower the quality of the produce. And I am not a fan of Shrek. There, I said it.
7. Magic Johnson has always been HIV positive: Wow, that is one to put into perspective. I actually remember where I was when I got that news and it was just a complete stunner. It was a death sentence at the time and the first huge name to be public about it. Now the entire view of the disease has changed.
10: Rap music has always been mainstream: It was fascinating back when I sold ringtones to look at the sales charts. The top sellers were all rap and R and B. There wasn’t a single rock track anywhere near the top of the list. To be frank, for a college freshmen today rap hasn’t just been mainstream it has been the primary form of music for their entire life.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.: Well, that isn’t quite fair. I don’t know what it means either. Who cares about what the French have to say anyway?
28: Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap: Ah, I remember 1992. Let’s either a) celebrate the 500th anniversary of someone discovering a place that already had people on it or b) using one guy’s road trip to symbolize the destruction of an entire society. I don’t know if I would call it a bad rap though. Maybe just some historical realignment.
30: Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves: And has always managed them to a first round playoff exit.
31: There has always been a Cartoon Network: And thank God for that. Though it hasn’t been the same since the glory days of Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. For we are the aqua teens, we make the homies say ho and the girlies want to scream.
35: Women have always outnumbered men in college: Except on engineering campuses where the opposite is very much true. Except in environmental engineering but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: environmental engineering doesn’t count.
40: Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented: I wouldn’t say that is restricted to college freshmen. Heck, I was pretty sure where she stood when I was a freshman. That said, looking at her now would pretty much make me want to refrain from having any images of her in my mind regarding that activity. I would say that that feeling is pretty universal unless someone has developed a Skeletor fetish.
45: They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix: No wonder kids today are so fat. They can’t even enjoy a good breakfast cereal. Back in my day we lived on Cookie Crisp. It is a breakfast cereal made out of cookies! What could be better?
51: Brittney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations: Really? Can Beloit back this data up? Is she really considered to be classic rock? I have to disagree with this one here.
52: They have never been Saved by the Bell: Wow, now I am old. I think I wrote about this before how this show is only a Gen X staple because it was on TBS all the time when we were in college so it became the show you watched before dinner. Still, to think that kids today have never seen it is pretty amazing.
57: Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds: And menthol cigarettes.
58: There has always been a Planet Hollywood: No one knows why. No one can explain why these restaurants are still in existence. Quick, let’s all have an overpriced meal of bad food in a room filled with props from movies we didn’t really enjoyed. I have never seen the appeal of such places.
64: CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging: First off, I wouldn’t be surprised if a large portion of college freshmen have never even purchased a CD. I find that disturbing in its own right given how much of a collection I have obtained over the years. But I remember the old cardboard packaging that you would tear apart in order to get to the jewel case. See, originally stores were afraid that due to the size of CDs there would be a lot of shoplifting so they created this huge packaging around them for no reason other than to create waste. Enjoy what we’ve left of the planet kids!
75: There has always been blue Jell-O: Which is a godsend for those of us who have to make jello shots for schools in which blue plays a prominent role in the team’s color scheme.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Are you ready for some football
It is getting to be that time of year again. Time to fire up the grills, line up the beer bongs and break out the wacky headgear because it’s time for college football. I’ve decided to do some preseason previewing this year. I will start with my review of the Notre Dame schedule.
September 5: Nevada: Notre Dame starts off the season by taking on their historic arch enemy the Nevada Wolf Pack. Because if there is anything that strikes fear in the heart of a leprechaun (other than really tall people) it is a large number of wolves. Actually, we have Bob Davie to thank for this game as he was the coach who pushed to put games on the schedule that Notre Dame would have a chance of winning. It also helps that we no longer have to promote the first game of the season as “the only chance you will have this year to see an undefeated Irish team.”
September 12: At Michigan: Interesting to see how coaching at Michigan has evolved over the years. We’ve gone from Bo (classic, grandfatherly, can’t win a big game) to Gary Moeller (stoic, reserved, can’t win a big game) to Lloyd Carr (always looked like he was about to start sobbing, can’t win a big game) to Rich Rodriguez (voted coach most likely to have a moonshine still on the practice field, can’t win any game.) I don’t care if Michigan is still in rebuilding mode. This game is one that ND has to win to have any sort of positive momentum for the year.
September 19: Michigan State: The game is at Notre Dame this year so it means that we’re going to lose. Michigan State always wins when they play in South Bend. No one knows how or why. Even in the year when Illinois went to East Lansing and beat Michigan State (which was their first Big Ten victory in like two years and was celebrated by planting the Illinois flag at midfield) Michigan State still beat Notre Dame in front of the dome. I think it is the green uniforms. They confuse Jimmy Claussen. That said, fluffy clouds often confuse Jimmy Claussen.
September 26: At Purdue: I almost went to Purdue so I don’t make nearly as much fun of it as I could. I mean, their mascot carries around a large hammer and is obviously compensating for something but I don’t see any need to go there at this time. Also, Purdue’s student newspaper is called the Exponent. How do you know that you are going to a school that is going to have a less than active social life? When the student newspaper is a math pun. Go with the Irish here.
October 3: Washington: Ooh, we get to face Ty again. Wait, he’s not coaching there anymore? Steve Sarkisian is the head coach? What the hell is a Sarkisian? Well, if Notre Dame can’t beat a team that went winless last year we really have no right to be playing football anymore. For those wondering, I always consider this to be the best time of year to see football in South Bend. You are out of the heat of the summer, you have that first refreshing breeze of fall and the town hasn’t become an ice infested hellhole just yet.
October 17: USC: I attended the last game where Notre Dame beat USC. Bob Davie was the coach. If I knew at the time how momentous an occasion it would become I probably would have celebrated with a bit more vigor. Instead I think I went home and studied for an accounting test. Trust me, there is no school I hate more than USC. Ok, maybe Northwestern and wherever Bruce Pearl is coaching but USC is up there just because of that damn song that they play after every single down. Ooh, we gained three yards. Everybody wave their arms like a moron. This is the only ranked opponent on ND’s schedule at the moment and barring an unforeseen circumstance, like USC publishing the team’s payroll on the internet, this will most likely be their first loss of the season.
October 24: Boston College: Like Michigan State, Boston College always beats Notre Dame with teams that have absolutely no talent whatsoever. I think it is due to the accents. Claussen just gets confused in much the same way as a small dog does when confronted with a mirror. (Before anyone gets on me remember that he is 23. You know what I was doing at 23? Working for a living. I sure as hell wasn’t a college junior.) Expect a large number of pink Red Sox hats in the crowd and complaints about the Clam Chowder at the Backer.
October 31: Washington State (in San Antonio): I have no idea why this game is in San Antonio. I am guessing that one of the athletic directors just really likes the Riverwalk. Or maybe we are just doing an early scouting trip for an Alamo Bowl berth. Either way, the chili will be flowing, the ten gallon hats will be waving and the…the…insert other Texas cliché here. I mean, it is Washington State. That team will only be interesting if they can get Ryan Leaf out of prison to return to the field.
November 7: Navy: I was at the Notre Dame – Navy game in Baltimore last year. Here is what I learned. 1) It is impossible to reach the Baltimore stadium (I swear I spent an hour and a half on an off ramp), 2) Being able to drink without the fear of ushers at a game makes watching Notre Dame football much more enjoyable, 3) Navy fans are extremely cool, 4) Leaving a game during a monsoon means that I will miss the only interesting part of the entire game. I’m guessing we move our winning streak against Navy up to two here.
November 14: At Pittsburgh: I just read Michael Chabon’s “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” which features a character named Cleveland. I take that to be the first mystery. Other mysteries include “What is the meaning of the cloud factory”, “Why is the Steelers logo only on one side of the helmet” and “My god, they still let Dave Waanstadt coach a football team?” Here is a simple gambling rule of thumb that has helped me out many a time: If you see Waanstadt on the sideline, take the other side. Hell, if he ever becomes a sideline reporter I would still take the team that is standing as far away from him as possible.
November 21: Connecticut: The Joyce Center will be rocking as the Huskies come to town for an early season matchup of two basketball….wait, this is still football? Why the hell are we playing UConn? Who the hell wants to sit in South Bend in late November and watch UConn? I now understand why everyone is making fun of our schedule this year. It just looks silly.
November 28: At Stanford: And the regular season mercifully ends. Stanford is another rival because, well, they are supposedly intelligent. Mainly they are a bunch of hippie freaks who are too corporate to go to Berkley but still they are primarily intelligent. Also, their tree mascot is often drunk during the games and I fully support intoxicated mascots at all times.
My prediction? I will go with 9-3 for the Irish this year. They could legitimately be 11-1 based on the weakness of their schedule but I just see them losing two games that they should win. That will keep them out of the BCS (where they would get smoked) but should put them in a decent bowl.
September 5: Nevada: Notre Dame starts off the season by taking on their historic arch enemy the Nevada Wolf Pack. Because if there is anything that strikes fear in the heart of a leprechaun (other than really tall people) it is a large number of wolves. Actually, we have Bob Davie to thank for this game as he was the coach who pushed to put games on the schedule that Notre Dame would have a chance of winning. It also helps that we no longer have to promote the first game of the season as “the only chance you will have this year to see an undefeated Irish team.”
September 12: At Michigan: Interesting to see how coaching at Michigan has evolved over the years. We’ve gone from Bo (classic, grandfatherly, can’t win a big game) to Gary Moeller (stoic, reserved, can’t win a big game) to Lloyd Carr (always looked like he was about to start sobbing, can’t win a big game) to Rich Rodriguez (voted coach most likely to have a moonshine still on the practice field, can’t win any game.) I don’t care if Michigan is still in rebuilding mode. This game is one that ND has to win to have any sort of positive momentum for the year.
September 19: Michigan State: The game is at Notre Dame this year so it means that we’re going to lose. Michigan State always wins when they play in South Bend. No one knows how or why. Even in the year when Illinois went to East Lansing and beat Michigan State (which was their first Big Ten victory in like two years and was celebrated by planting the Illinois flag at midfield) Michigan State still beat Notre Dame in front of the dome. I think it is the green uniforms. They confuse Jimmy Claussen. That said, fluffy clouds often confuse Jimmy Claussen.
September 26: At Purdue: I almost went to Purdue so I don’t make nearly as much fun of it as I could. I mean, their mascot carries around a large hammer and is obviously compensating for something but I don’t see any need to go there at this time. Also, Purdue’s student newspaper is called the Exponent. How do you know that you are going to a school that is going to have a less than active social life? When the student newspaper is a math pun. Go with the Irish here.
October 3: Washington: Ooh, we get to face Ty again. Wait, he’s not coaching there anymore? Steve Sarkisian is the head coach? What the hell is a Sarkisian? Well, if Notre Dame can’t beat a team that went winless last year we really have no right to be playing football anymore. For those wondering, I always consider this to be the best time of year to see football in South Bend. You are out of the heat of the summer, you have that first refreshing breeze of fall and the town hasn’t become an ice infested hellhole just yet.
October 17: USC: I attended the last game where Notre Dame beat USC. Bob Davie was the coach. If I knew at the time how momentous an occasion it would become I probably would have celebrated with a bit more vigor. Instead I think I went home and studied for an accounting test. Trust me, there is no school I hate more than USC. Ok, maybe Northwestern and wherever Bruce Pearl is coaching but USC is up there just because of that damn song that they play after every single down. Ooh, we gained three yards. Everybody wave their arms like a moron. This is the only ranked opponent on ND’s schedule at the moment and barring an unforeseen circumstance, like USC publishing the team’s payroll on the internet, this will most likely be their first loss of the season.
October 24: Boston College: Like Michigan State, Boston College always beats Notre Dame with teams that have absolutely no talent whatsoever. I think it is due to the accents. Claussen just gets confused in much the same way as a small dog does when confronted with a mirror. (Before anyone gets on me remember that he is 23. You know what I was doing at 23? Working for a living. I sure as hell wasn’t a college junior.) Expect a large number of pink Red Sox hats in the crowd and complaints about the Clam Chowder at the Backer.
October 31: Washington State (in San Antonio): I have no idea why this game is in San Antonio. I am guessing that one of the athletic directors just really likes the Riverwalk. Or maybe we are just doing an early scouting trip for an Alamo Bowl berth. Either way, the chili will be flowing, the ten gallon hats will be waving and the…the…insert other Texas cliché here. I mean, it is Washington State. That team will only be interesting if they can get Ryan Leaf out of prison to return to the field.
November 7: Navy: I was at the Notre Dame – Navy game in Baltimore last year. Here is what I learned. 1) It is impossible to reach the Baltimore stadium (I swear I spent an hour and a half on an off ramp), 2) Being able to drink without the fear of ushers at a game makes watching Notre Dame football much more enjoyable, 3) Navy fans are extremely cool, 4) Leaving a game during a monsoon means that I will miss the only interesting part of the entire game. I’m guessing we move our winning streak against Navy up to two here.
November 14: At Pittsburgh: I just read Michael Chabon’s “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” which features a character named Cleveland. I take that to be the first mystery. Other mysteries include “What is the meaning of the cloud factory”, “Why is the Steelers logo only on one side of the helmet” and “My god, they still let Dave Waanstadt coach a football team?” Here is a simple gambling rule of thumb that has helped me out many a time: If you see Waanstadt on the sideline, take the other side. Hell, if he ever becomes a sideline reporter I would still take the team that is standing as far away from him as possible.
November 21: Connecticut: The Joyce Center will be rocking as the Huskies come to town for an early season matchup of two basketball….wait, this is still football? Why the hell are we playing UConn? Who the hell wants to sit in South Bend in late November and watch UConn? I now understand why everyone is making fun of our schedule this year. It just looks silly.
November 28: At Stanford: And the regular season mercifully ends. Stanford is another rival because, well, they are supposedly intelligent. Mainly they are a bunch of hippie freaks who are too corporate to go to Berkley but still they are primarily intelligent. Also, their tree mascot is often drunk during the games and I fully support intoxicated mascots at all times.
My prediction? I will go with 9-3 for the Irish this year. They could legitimately be 11-1 based on the weakness of their schedule but I just see them losing two games that they should win. That will keep them out of the BCS (where they would get smoked) but should put them in a decent bowl.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Next car will be a transformer
My car is growing ever closer to the point where I will have to trade it in. I would have made the deal under cash for clunkers except that my car does not qualify as a clunker nor would I ever deem myself capable of driving a clunker. But in addition to having a broken passenger side window that does not fully close and allows the rain in I now have a rather odd ventilation system. You know how your fan in your car has five levels? Well, levels one and two no longer work for me. The other three are perfectly fine, though, so I either get a ton or cool air or none at all. This requires much more planning than I would like in my driving regimen.
It is strange the attachment that we get to inanimate objects. I mean, my car is simply a combination of metal and plastic and the odd candy bar wrapper but it has been a part of my life for eight years now. I have listened to every CD I own in that car (though I now seem to have a speaker failing thus adding to the reason for an upgrade). While it is simply a thing it is rather emblematic of a time in my life. That makes letting go all the much harder.
I wonder why that is the case. I still have bags of clothes to give away to charity and the toughest part about letting go is this sense of giving up a part of myself. Even though in this case I am talking about sweaters that are over ten years old and that I wouldn’t ever wear again I still have a hard time putting them in the bin. For a time they were who I was, I wore them at times that I would like to remember and a few that I would like to forget. Now I don’t need to have clothes to recollect but there is a little bit of a draw there. We all want to hold on to portions of our past and often it is the physical items that are the toughest to let go of and move on to the next chapter. Mentally I know it is something that I just have to do but I always feel like putting it off for just one more day.
I do think that we should remember and record our past but I think you can do it without being tied to clutter. I am really happy that I have been keeping a journal for over 11 years now and can look back and see what I was thinking and how I was feeling over that time frame. I recommend it to everyone to at least try. Just sit down for fifteen minutes a night and write about whatever you feel like. You don’t have to publish it, no one else ever has to read it, just write what is on your mind. Often you will be surprised at how it turns out.
Me, I just want to get some sleep. Have another long day of Powerpoint wrangling ahead of me tomorrow. One day I will make a living as a writer and not have to focus on bullet points but until then I have to pay the bills.
It is strange the attachment that we get to inanimate objects. I mean, my car is simply a combination of metal and plastic and the odd candy bar wrapper but it has been a part of my life for eight years now. I have listened to every CD I own in that car (though I now seem to have a speaker failing thus adding to the reason for an upgrade). While it is simply a thing it is rather emblematic of a time in my life. That makes letting go all the much harder.
I wonder why that is the case. I still have bags of clothes to give away to charity and the toughest part about letting go is this sense of giving up a part of myself. Even though in this case I am talking about sweaters that are over ten years old and that I wouldn’t ever wear again I still have a hard time putting them in the bin. For a time they were who I was, I wore them at times that I would like to remember and a few that I would like to forget. Now I don’t need to have clothes to recollect but there is a little bit of a draw there. We all want to hold on to portions of our past and often it is the physical items that are the toughest to let go of and move on to the next chapter. Mentally I know it is something that I just have to do but I always feel like putting it off for just one more day.
I do think that we should remember and record our past but I think you can do it without being tied to clutter. I am really happy that I have been keeping a journal for over 11 years now and can look back and see what I was thinking and how I was feeling over that time frame. I recommend it to everyone to at least try. Just sit down for fifteen minutes a night and write about whatever you feel like. You don’t have to publish it, no one else ever has to read it, just write what is on your mind. Often you will be surprised at how it turns out.
Me, I just want to get some sleep. Have another long day of Powerpoint wrangling ahead of me tomorrow. One day I will make a living as a writer and not have to focus on bullet points but until then I have to pay the bills.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
When things start getting real
So we apparently have our first reality show murder suicide and I guess it was only a matter of time. Given that VH-1’s reality dating shows tend to dredge the bottom of the barrel in terms of contestants it seemed to almost be expected that tragedy would occur at some point. Take a bunch of people who will whore themselves out for a few minutes of fame and over time one of them will turn out to be a really bad egg.
For those who don’t know the story, Ryan Jenkins who was a contestant on “Megan Wants a Millionaire” has apparently been found dead in Canada. He is suspected of murdering a stripper he may have possibly married in Las Vegas. Her body was found missing her fingers and teeth but she was still identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants. I’m not making that last part up. I guess there is no need for inserting ID chips in everyone if breast implants can be tracked.
Now I watched that show, which has since been pulled off the air, for about five minutes a week or so ago. Basically it has Megan, a former Rock of Love contestant, trying to find her soulmate amongst a group of millionaires. Or at least guys who claim to be millionaires. Given the vetting process that was done on the contestants I have a hard time thinking that they all had that much of a net worth about them. Ryan was a contestant who was eliminated after a few episodes. This did not keep him from appearing on I Love Money 3, which he apparently won. That show also will not be seen by anyone.
I guess this story is tragic and sad. Maybe it says something about me that I am so jaded by my years of watching reality shows that something as incredibly real as this has absolutely no impact. As I’ve been mentioning when talking about More to Love, one of the main features of these reality dating shows is that the contestants aren’t considered to be real people. I can’t even consider them to be television characters. You were crushed when you found out that Col. Blake died on MASH. This story, real and involving meaningless deaths, doesn’t seem to have any impact at all.
That is the shame about reality television. It has made us numb to reality. We start viewing the world through this very cracked prism that no one can ever correctly interpret. We all become cynical and protect our souls with a layer of lead. Maybe it would be better if we stepped away from this genre for a while. Or at least started getting back to a point where it has a bit more of a human heart attached to it.
Best of 120 Minutes: I just need to listen to The Sundays at the moment.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Caroline Herring “Wellspring”
2) The Connells “Still Life”
3) U2 “The Eye of the Fly”
4) Sting “Nothing Like the Sun”
5) Cirque du Soleil “Varekai”
For those who don’t know the story, Ryan Jenkins who was a contestant on “Megan Wants a Millionaire” has apparently been found dead in Canada. He is suspected of murdering a stripper he may have possibly married in Las Vegas. Her body was found missing her fingers and teeth but she was still identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants. I’m not making that last part up. I guess there is no need for inserting ID chips in everyone if breast implants can be tracked.
Now I watched that show, which has since been pulled off the air, for about five minutes a week or so ago. Basically it has Megan, a former Rock of Love contestant, trying to find her soulmate amongst a group of millionaires. Or at least guys who claim to be millionaires. Given the vetting process that was done on the contestants I have a hard time thinking that they all had that much of a net worth about them. Ryan was a contestant who was eliminated after a few episodes. This did not keep him from appearing on I Love Money 3, which he apparently won. That show also will not be seen by anyone.
I guess this story is tragic and sad. Maybe it says something about me that I am so jaded by my years of watching reality shows that something as incredibly real as this has absolutely no impact. As I’ve been mentioning when talking about More to Love, one of the main features of these reality dating shows is that the contestants aren’t considered to be real people. I can’t even consider them to be television characters. You were crushed when you found out that Col. Blake died on MASH. This story, real and involving meaningless deaths, doesn’t seem to have any impact at all.
That is the shame about reality television. It has made us numb to reality. We start viewing the world through this very cracked prism that no one can ever correctly interpret. We all become cynical and protect our souls with a layer of lead. Maybe it would be better if we stepped away from this genre for a while. Or at least started getting back to a point where it has a bit more of a human heart attached to it.
Best of 120 Minutes: I just need to listen to The Sundays at the moment.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Caroline Herring “Wellspring”
2) The Connells “Still Life”
3) U2 “The Eye of the Fly”
4) Sting “Nothing Like the Sun”
5) Cirque du Soleil “Varekai”
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I'll keep this short
Note to my Kansas City readers: I highly, highly recommend going to Record Bar on Sunday to see The Brunettes. Easily the best band out of New Zealand in recent memory. Plus, if you came all the way from New Zealand to play Kansas City on a Sunday night you deserve to have an audience. I promise you that it will be a great show.
Ok, I know that I typically strive to write something funny or interesting here but tonight my creativity well has dried up. Actually, I have two ideas that I want to try out (15 books that have inspired me and a review of the first episodes of Project Runway on Lifetime) but for the first one I want to put more thought into it than I could tonight and for the second I haven’t watched my tapes of the episodes yet so I can’t write a review.
(Is it weird that I still refer to it as taping a show? I can’t bring myself to write DVRing or Tivoing a show. It just sounds wrong so I keep on referring to nonexistent tapes. This is much in the same way as I constantly refer to album sales even though that format no longer exists.)
Anyway, my hope is that I will write one of those two over the weekend and then the other on Sunday. So I will make up for this lack of a quality post over the weekend. We here at Battling the Current apologize for the inconvenience. If anyone would like to volunteer to be my personal assistant in order to help me free up an hour or two in my night I would greatly appreciate it. Right now I barely have time to breathe.
Ok, I know that I typically strive to write something funny or interesting here but tonight my creativity well has dried up. Actually, I have two ideas that I want to try out (15 books that have inspired me and a review of the first episodes of Project Runway on Lifetime) but for the first one I want to put more thought into it than I could tonight and for the second I haven’t watched my tapes of the episodes yet so I can’t write a review.
(Is it weird that I still refer to it as taping a show? I can’t bring myself to write DVRing or Tivoing a show. It just sounds wrong so I keep on referring to nonexistent tapes. This is much in the same way as I constantly refer to album sales even though that format no longer exists.)
Anyway, my hope is that I will write one of those two over the weekend and then the other on Sunday. So I will make up for this lack of a quality post over the weekend. We here at Battling the Current apologize for the inconvenience. If anyone would like to volunteer to be my personal assistant in order to help me free up an hour or two in my night I would greatly appreciate it. Right now I barely have time to breathe.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The time of your life
At what point do you start feeling your age? Or start admitting that you are old? Seeing that I turn 36 in a few weeks I am starting to ponder that question.
Per the latest study, the typical white male is expected to live 76 years. This means that I am almost, but not quite, at the official halfway point of my existence. Yes, I can now have a mid-life crisis and mathematically speaking be accurate about it. Now I don’t think I am at the halfway point of my life and I certainly don’t feel it but just that idea that half my time on this planet is used up is enough to make me curl up into a ball in the corner for awhile.
Or how about this one. Back in seventh grade I was 12 years old. We all remember being 12. Thanks to Facebook we can all now relive our friendships and grudges from those days all over again. I can’t even comprehend that I have had two thirds of my life since that point. Or that half of my life has been post high school. First off, those days don’t seem that long ago but more importantly those days still hold much more sway on my psyche than they should. How many people fear a high school reunion because they feel the need to show how successful they are? In fact, isn’t that part of what Facebook is about: proving to people you once knew that you have made something of yourself. All for people that were only important half a lifetime ago.
I’m really beginning to get the sense of how time speeds up when you are older. I’ve mentioned it before but nothing lasts as long as a summer when you are ten years old. You have just enough knowledge to enjoy yourself without any of the responsibilities and the days just go on forever. I think that summer lasted five years. Now I’ve just celebrated my six month anniversary with Kim and it feels like it has been a long weekend. The time has just flown by that quickly. In two weeks I will mark my year in Delaware and a year removed from all my friends in KC. I can’t even fathom how quickly it has gone.
Here is the one hope that I hold out for myself and, not surprisingly, it revolves around theoretical physics. The idea is this: in our universe we have as constants a) the universe expanding, b) entropy increasing and c) time moving forward. Now, there is a possibility that at some point the universe will stop expanding and start contracting. It is my hope (and Hawking has at least touched on this idea in a supportive light) that when the universe starts to contract that time will start flowing backwards and we will get to live our lives in reverse. That way we will get to live our lives out one more time. Get to see everyone again and have those summers of our youth play out as we wait for the coming of spring. I just find it a pretty thought.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Only one song would be fitting
Per the latest study, the typical white male is expected to live 76 years. This means that I am almost, but not quite, at the official halfway point of my existence. Yes, I can now have a mid-life crisis and mathematically speaking be accurate about it. Now I don’t think I am at the halfway point of my life and I certainly don’t feel it but just that idea that half my time on this planet is used up is enough to make me curl up into a ball in the corner for awhile.
Or how about this one. Back in seventh grade I was 12 years old. We all remember being 12. Thanks to Facebook we can all now relive our friendships and grudges from those days all over again. I can’t even comprehend that I have had two thirds of my life since that point. Or that half of my life has been post high school. First off, those days don’t seem that long ago but more importantly those days still hold much more sway on my psyche than they should. How many people fear a high school reunion because they feel the need to show how successful they are? In fact, isn’t that part of what Facebook is about: proving to people you once knew that you have made something of yourself. All for people that were only important half a lifetime ago.
I’m really beginning to get the sense of how time speeds up when you are older. I’ve mentioned it before but nothing lasts as long as a summer when you are ten years old. You have just enough knowledge to enjoy yourself without any of the responsibilities and the days just go on forever. I think that summer lasted five years. Now I’ve just celebrated my six month anniversary with Kim and it feels like it has been a long weekend. The time has just flown by that quickly. In two weeks I will mark my year in Delaware and a year removed from all my friends in KC. I can’t even fathom how quickly it has gone.
Here is the one hope that I hold out for myself and, not surprisingly, it revolves around theoretical physics. The idea is this: in our universe we have as constants a) the universe expanding, b) entropy increasing and c) time moving forward. Now, there is a possibility that at some point the universe will stop expanding and start contracting. It is my hope (and Hawking has at least touched on this idea in a supportive light) that when the universe starts to contract that time will start flowing backwards and we will get to live our lives in reverse. That way we will get to live our lives out one more time. Get to see everyone again and have those summers of our youth play out as we wait for the coming of spring. I just find it a pretty thought.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Only one song would be fitting
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Selling your heart for fame
Yes, I watched More to Love again tonight. Watched it in real time as well as I didn’t want to run the risk of reading any spoilers that would otherwise mar my viewing of the episode. The episode was similar to the rest of them (they go on dates, the women claim to be falling in love, the women discuss their body issues while Luke feeds them massive portions of food, and ultra competitive Lauren gets eliminated) but I want to focus on something a little different tonight. I want to think about what it is like to be in Luke’s large, probably stinky shoes.
Now first off if Luke has a brain in his head he will choose Mandy to win it all and is just right now doing all of this so that the show has the proper number of episodes. For those not familiar with the show Mandy is a 25 year old fitness trainer who is attractive, intelligent and happens to have a measurable amount of self esteem, which is in short supply amongst the contestants. In fact, watching her makes me wonder just why in the world she is on the show in the first place. Sure, she is a big girl but more athlete than anything else. Easily the top choice.
But what really interests me is what has to be going on in the mind of the guy who is choosing between all of these women. On one hand this is the proverbial kid in a candy store. We will drop you in a room filled with women who are all competing to win your heart made all the more interesting in this situation as they all have low self-esteem and are pretty desperate. On the other hand you will essentially be put on television as a whore for several months. You will be shown making out with woman after woman in which it is well known that you have no interest in any of these women. In this case it helps that Luke is a complete douchenozzle or as we will from now on refer to him, a Favre.
Because at the end of the day I’m not sure how he can go through the show with either a straight face or a soul. Imagine that you are sitting there having a woman pour out her heart and soul to you about how she feels that you might be her soulmate and you start making out. Then you end it and five minutes later repeat the exact same exchange with another woman. I know that on some level of the male psyche that is considered cool but on another you know that it is cruel. He is intentionally going to break some hearts because that is part of the show. And he knows that as he is hooking up with them. At least Mystery never implied that someone was going to be “the one.” Heck, he couldn’t even guarantee his presence for the entire night. At least he was truthful about it.
Now I will admit that odds are the women are also not being honest and forthright either. Part of this is an act as well as the most flirtatious ones are most likely to stay on the show, get more air time and gain whatever popularity one obtains from being on a reality show. I doubt that many people go on these shows looking for love; most are there for the fame. But that is what makes this show compelling and slightly disturbing. I actually believe that some of these women feel that this is their only chance to find someone worthwhile and that is really sad. Luke doesn’t feel that way, as one can figure out in about five minutes, and to see someone get truly heartbroken is not enjoyable television.
Now first off if Luke has a brain in his head he will choose Mandy to win it all and is just right now doing all of this so that the show has the proper number of episodes. For those not familiar with the show Mandy is a 25 year old fitness trainer who is attractive, intelligent and happens to have a measurable amount of self esteem, which is in short supply amongst the contestants. In fact, watching her makes me wonder just why in the world she is on the show in the first place. Sure, she is a big girl but more athlete than anything else. Easily the top choice.
But what really interests me is what has to be going on in the mind of the guy who is choosing between all of these women. On one hand this is the proverbial kid in a candy store. We will drop you in a room filled with women who are all competing to win your heart made all the more interesting in this situation as they all have low self-esteem and are pretty desperate. On the other hand you will essentially be put on television as a whore for several months. You will be shown making out with woman after woman in which it is well known that you have no interest in any of these women. In this case it helps that Luke is a complete douchenozzle or as we will from now on refer to him, a Favre.
Because at the end of the day I’m not sure how he can go through the show with either a straight face or a soul. Imagine that you are sitting there having a woman pour out her heart and soul to you about how she feels that you might be her soulmate and you start making out. Then you end it and five minutes later repeat the exact same exchange with another woman. I know that on some level of the male psyche that is considered cool but on another you know that it is cruel. He is intentionally going to break some hearts because that is part of the show. And he knows that as he is hooking up with them. At least Mystery never implied that someone was going to be “the one.” Heck, he couldn’t even guarantee his presence for the entire night. At least he was truthful about it.
Now I will admit that odds are the women are also not being honest and forthright either. Part of this is an act as well as the most flirtatious ones are most likely to stay on the show, get more air time and gain whatever popularity one obtains from being on a reality show. I doubt that many people go on these shows looking for love; most are there for the fame. But that is what makes this show compelling and slightly disturbing. I actually believe that some of these women feel that this is their only chance to find someone worthwhile and that is really sad. Luke doesn’t feel that way, as one can figure out in about five minutes, and to see someone get truly heartbroken is not enjoyable television.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Reality: Televised and Otherwise
(Yes, I know that I forgot to post last night. I’ll just say that I was preoccupied putting the details together on what will most surely be an excellent adventure. Trust me, you’ll want to watch this space over the next few months. Things will be getting mighty interesting.)
First off, I have to give a big shout out to my old friend and long time supporter of Battling the Current Patrick Starzan who has now reached the point in his career where people actually interview him. Whereas in my line of work the only question that people ask me is “paper or plastic.” However, I would like to note that Starzan had a wonderful opportunity to promote Battling the Current as his favorite non-Funny or Die website and completely dropped the ball. Ooh, Mr. “I have half a million followers on Twitter” can’t show some respect to the guy who gets 20 readers on a good day. Seriously, great work Starz…
http://www.twirlit.com/2009/08/17/hanging-out-with-patrick-starzan-of-funnyordie-com/
Also, I have to say that I find it highly amusing that both Fox’s “More to Love” and VH-1’s “Real Chance of Love 2” both had a prom episode last week. I have to give the win to “More to Love” because it featured a) women talking about how wonderful it was to have a date for prom even though they were in their mid-20’s and they were sharing the date with a dozen other women, b) women saying how impressed they were by the fact that Luke played junior college football and c) the prom queen was chosen by Luke’s best friends who seemed to be the type of guys who upon seeing them you would question anyone who was in the same room with them. However, points to Real and Chance for breaking out the Kid and Play as part of their dance moves.
You have to love VH-1 reality dating shows because of the fact that they are so unreal it becomes astounding. You have Real and Chance questioning whether the women are there for them or to just be on TV. Why? You’re obviously there to be on television otherwise the show wouldn’t need to have a second season.
Also, I did finally watch an episode of The T.O. Show and, well, that is a half hour of my life that I won’t get back. I believe that the entire episode focused on how a) he was late for a photo shoot because he was playing basketball, b) he got a new suit for the ESPYs and c) that he was dating a tall woman from Miami. Given how outlandish he can be on the field the show was so incredibly boring that it really can’t be explained. Not only is there no drama but as a viewer you have no interest in TO or anything that goes on with him. Will he make it to the Comedy Central studios? Why the hell should I care? This is a show that worked better as a pitch than in reality.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Josh Rouse “Under Cold Blue Stars”
2) Golden Smog “Down By the Old Mainstream”
3) Various Artists (mainly the Drovers) “Blink: Movie Soundtrack”
4) Cracker “Garage D’or”
5) Arcade Fire “Funeral”
First off, I have to give a big shout out to my old friend and long time supporter of Battling the Current Patrick Starzan who has now reached the point in his career where people actually interview him. Whereas in my line of work the only question that people ask me is “paper or plastic.” However, I would like to note that Starzan had a wonderful opportunity to promote Battling the Current as his favorite non-Funny or Die website and completely dropped the ball. Ooh, Mr. “I have half a million followers on Twitter” can’t show some respect to the guy who gets 20 readers on a good day. Seriously, great work Starz…
http://www.twirlit.com/2009/08/17/hanging-out-with-patrick-starzan-of-funnyordie-com/
Also, I have to say that I find it highly amusing that both Fox’s “More to Love” and VH-1’s “Real Chance of Love 2” both had a prom episode last week. I have to give the win to “More to Love” because it featured a) women talking about how wonderful it was to have a date for prom even though they were in their mid-20’s and they were sharing the date with a dozen other women, b) women saying how impressed they were by the fact that Luke played junior college football and c) the prom queen was chosen by Luke’s best friends who seemed to be the type of guys who upon seeing them you would question anyone who was in the same room with them. However, points to Real and Chance for breaking out the Kid and Play as part of their dance moves.
You have to love VH-1 reality dating shows because of the fact that they are so unreal it becomes astounding. You have Real and Chance questioning whether the women are there for them or to just be on TV. Why? You’re obviously there to be on television otherwise the show wouldn’t need to have a second season.
Also, I did finally watch an episode of The T.O. Show and, well, that is a half hour of my life that I won’t get back. I believe that the entire episode focused on how a) he was late for a photo shoot because he was playing basketball, b) he got a new suit for the ESPYs and c) that he was dating a tall woman from Miami. Given how outlandish he can be on the field the show was so incredibly boring that it really can’t be explained. Not only is there no drama but as a viewer you have no interest in TO or anything that goes on with him. Will he make it to the Comedy Central studios? Why the hell should I care? This is a show that worked better as a pitch than in reality.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Josh Rouse “Under Cold Blue Stars”
2) Golden Smog “Down By the Old Mainstream”
3) Various Artists (mainly the Drovers) “Blink: Movie Soundtrack”
4) Cracker “Garage D’or”
5) Arcade Fire “Funeral”
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Eagles New Theme Song: Who Let the Dogs Out
I’m just going to run through a few random musings here as it is getting rather late and I still have a few too many things to take care of.
1) I will no longer make fun of people who exercise using the Nintendo Wii. Or people who do yoga in general. It is apparently impossible for me to balance on one leg. Now, given my injury history the “stand on one leg and jam your other foot into your crotch” pose is a bit of a challenge but man, I can’t hold a pose for the life of me. I am getting better though and that is the important thing. Also, EA Active can just be a killer at time given how much it loves forcing you to do lunges. Various parts of me hurt at the moment.
2) I would like to congratulate the slacker hipster Cubs fan who tossed a beer on the Phillies Shane Victorino last night causing Victorino to press assault charges. (Really, a drink in the face is now assault? I should think about that next time I need to use some pick up lines.) However, this does indicate just how soft Cubs fans are. “Ooh, we’re going to be tough and spill beer on the outfielder.” On the South Side we’ll go and beat up the first base coach until he suffers hearing loss. Heck, we’ve taken swings at an umpire. You come to our park you better be prepared to get your ass kicked.
3) Also, have to love the outrage from the Phillies fans. A fan base who a few weeks ago had a murder occur in the parking lot before the game by two groups of fans who got into an argument over spilled beer. They really don’t have much moral ground to stand on when you have someone beaten to death in your recent history.
4) And continuing with the local sports beat Michael Vick signed a two year contract with the Eagles. Yep, not only did my local team sign a convicted felon but they decided to give him a two year deal. I can’t wait to see the protesters lined up in front of the stadium met by drunken fans in Jaworski jerseys. It will make the health care town hall meetings look downright tame. Ok, maybe tame isn’t the right word to be used with regards to Vick.
Ok, I’m calling it a night before I fall asleep at the keyboard. Have a good weekend everyone.
1) I will no longer make fun of people who exercise using the Nintendo Wii. Or people who do yoga in general. It is apparently impossible for me to balance on one leg. Now, given my injury history the “stand on one leg and jam your other foot into your crotch” pose is a bit of a challenge but man, I can’t hold a pose for the life of me. I am getting better though and that is the important thing. Also, EA Active can just be a killer at time given how much it loves forcing you to do lunges. Various parts of me hurt at the moment.
2) I would like to congratulate the slacker hipster Cubs fan who tossed a beer on the Phillies Shane Victorino last night causing Victorino to press assault charges. (Really, a drink in the face is now assault? I should think about that next time I need to use some pick up lines.) However, this does indicate just how soft Cubs fans are. “Ooh, we’re going to be tough and spill beer on the outfielder.” On the South Side we’ll go and beat up the first base coach until he suffers hearing loss. Heck, we’ve taken swings at an umpire. You come to our park you better be prepared to get your ass kicked.
3) Also, have to love the outrage from the Phillies fans. A fan base who a few weeks ago had a murder occur in the parking lot before the game by two groups of fans who got into an argument over spilled beer. They really don’t have much moral ground to stand on when you have someone beaten to death in your recent history.
4) And continuing with the local sports beat Michael Vick signed a two year contract with the Eagles. Yep, not only did my local team sign a convicted felon but they decided to give him a two year deal. I can’t wait to see the protesters lined up in front of the stadium met by drunken fans in Jaworski jerseys. It will make the health care town hall meetings look downright tame. Ok, maybe tame isn’t the right word to be used with regards to Vick.
Ok, I’m calling it a night before I fall asleep at the keyboard. Have a good weekend everyone.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Instant nostalgia
The whole John Hughes death thing has brought an interesting idea to my mind and that is what we have decided to feel nostalgic for. Mainly that the early 90’s have yet to be a time period that has been taken advantage of for its nostalgia. Which is odd because we are talking a time period that is 15+ years ago and should fall under the realm of what we can look back upon but for some reason we don’t.
I’ll explain it this way. When I was in college you could go to a disco theme party celebrating a time that ended 15 years before that day. Well I mean you could theoretically go to a party. I was never invited to any so I am just going to assume that is what all the other students who were enjoying their college years were doing. Anyway, we could celebrate disco or hippies or punks and feel perfectly fine about it.
Today the late 80’s are fair game. It is why people go to Motley Crue and New Kids on the Block reunion shows. No one is there for the actual music. It is mainly an excuse to play dress up for the night. Break out the ripped jeans and the big hair and live in the moment of excess. But even though the early nineties and the age of grunge is just a few years later I don’t see anyone going nuts for that time period. I don’t expect that college kids today are breaking out their flannels and listening to Mudhoney songs ironically. In fact, I think that entire time period is almost ignored, which is a shame given that it was one of the prime moments of my life.
Even more so I just do not see a whole nostalgia industry being built up around that time at all. Maybe it is a little too recent musically in that Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews are still top acts and some other bands like Counting Crows still draw large crowds for reasons other than fond remembrance of the past. The movies they make from television shows can’t draw as was shown by The X-Files movie. The only pure nostalgia play that I can think of is Saved by the Bell and that actually skews younger than Gen X. Sure, we watched it because TBS showed it every single day but we weren’t the target audience.
That is the strange fate of Gen X and especially the people in my age range (their mid-30’s.) Their entire college era seems to have been forgotten. This is what happens when you are a small generation. The focus has moved on to the millenials or remains with the Boomers. (Yes mass media, I know it is the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock. No one cares. Outside of maybe the members of Sha Na Na who continually tell people “We played Woodstock. Really.” We might as well celebrate 10 years of Woodstock 99 and the fact that people no longer listen to Limp Bizkit.) In a way, I am happy that the highlight of my pop culture life remains my own. The media is not going to change what I remember and that is the way I want it to be. I’ll take my Dinosaur Jr. records and be on my way.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Can’t believe he salvages a par on this hole. Like I said, I’m on my way…
I’ll explain it this way. When I was in college you could go to a disco theme party celebrating a time that ended 15 years before that day. Well I mean you could theoretically go to a party. I was never invited to any so I am just going to assume that is what all the other students who were enjoying their college years were doing. Anyway, we could celebrate disco or hippies or punks and feel perfectly fine about it.
Today the late 80’s are fair game. It is why people go to Motley Crue and New Kids on the Block reunion shows. No one is there for the actual music. It is mainly an excuse to play dress up for the night. Break out the ripped jeans and the big hair and live in the moment of excess. But even though the early nineties and the age of grunge is just a few years later I don’t see anyone going nuts for that time period. I don’t expect that college kids today are breaking out their flannels and listening to Mudhoney songs ironically. In fact, I think that entire time period is almost ignored, which is a shame given that it was one of the prime moments of my life.
Even more so I just do not see a whole nostalgia industry being built up around that time at all. Maybe it is a little too recent musically in that Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews are still top acts and some other bands like Counting Crows still draw large crowds for reasons other than fond remembrance of the past. The movies they make from television shows can’t draw as was shown by The X-Files movie. The only pure nostalgia play that I can think of is Saved by the Bell and that actually skews younger than Gen X. Sure, we watched it because TBS showed it every single day but we weren’t the target audience.
That is the strange fate of Gen X and especially the people in my age range (their mid-30’s.) Their entire college era seems to have been forgotten. This is what happens when you are a small generation. The focus has moved on to the millenials or remains with the Boomers. (Yes mass media, I know it is the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock. No one cares. Outside of maybe the members of Sha Na Na who continually tell people “We played Woodstock. Really.” We might as well celebrate 10 years of Woodstock 99 and the fact that people no longer listen to Limp Bizkit.) In a way, I am happy that the highlight of my pop culture life remains my own. The media is not going to change what I remember and that is the way I want it to be. I’ll take my Dinosaur Jr. records and be on my way.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Can’t believe he salvages a par on this hole. Like I said, I’m on my way…
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A view of the future
Are we progressing as a society? Are we progressing as fast as we once were?
I want to touch upon those questions tonight and they are in part driven by the comment on the last post. Think about how smart the average person is and realize that half of the people out there are dumber than him. Or to put it another way: always remember when you are annoyed at people at the grocery store or the DMV that their vote counts just as much as yours.
I will start with my points on progress though. I find it amazing that in my grandparents’ lifetime they were able to witness the birth of powered flight with the Wright Brothers to man landing on the moon. That was a single lifetime, a little over sixty years. So what about in my lifetime, which began just shortly after the last moon landing? Uh, not much. We’ve sent out a few probes. We could argue that air travel is now more efficient though my time spent at the Philly airport would argue against that. We simply have not made that quantum leap in air travel. Nor have we in automobiles, manufacturing, food production and a host of other fields. On some levels the world has changed little in forty years a statement that is rather unusual.
However, where the world has changed massively in forty years is in high tech and computers and everything built upon the transistor (thank you Prof. Bardeen.) What has changed is the internet and the speed of communication and the pure availability of information. I grew up with libraries and card catalogs and encyclopedias. Those are all fossils now. Just think how much mobile phones have changed the world. Remember trying to meet people in a public place in the days before they existed? Or using Discman and Walkmen to listen to music? Those are the areas that we have progressed.
So from a technology standpoint we are making progress in making things smaller but we still haven’t made what I would consider to be a quantum leap. We may have magnificent toys but society as a whole (and certainly the infrastructure supporting it) has remained the same. And depending on how you view the world’s oil and water reserves we may be closer to seeing a collapse of our infrastructure than the reinvention of it. But even the positive side with the growth of high tech has one huge disadvantage: its best qualities require a certain level of intelligence.
You can discuss cultural divides in a number of ways. It could be racial or cultural or financial or a host of other possibilities. In my mind the next great divide is going to be a combination of technology and intelligence. We are getting to the point where our tech is growing more expensive and more difficult to use and understand. Think about the challenge of hooking up a modern entertainment system versus an old television and stereo. It is a better product but even with an electrical engineering degree I find myself behind my TV with a flashlight trying to figure out where the wires go. Think about the fact that without the internet for preboarding going to the airport is a major hassle. Just think about the challenge a kid would have in school without access to Wikipedia when his classmates do. That is the divide and when you think about the level of education of that average person you begin to understand just how huge a divide it could be.
I still would like to think that I have a positive view on society. I believe in the better angels of our nature. But I worry greatly when people assume that science will save us all. Because while science can put a man on the moon it hasn’t sent one there in forty years. And even if it does save us it will only work if we can also understand it.
I want to touch upon those questions tonight and they are in part driven by the comment on the last post. Think about how smart the average person is and realize that half of the people out there are dumber than him. Or to put it another way: always remember when you are annoyed at people at the grocery store or the DMV that their vote counts just as much as yours.
I will start with my points on progress though. I find it amazing that in my grandparents’ lifetime they were able to witness the birth of powered flight with the Wright Brothers to man landing on the moon. That was a single lifetime, a little over sixty years. So what about in my lifetime, which began just shortly after the last moon landing? Uh, not much. We’ve sent out a few probes. We could argue that air travel is now more efficient though my time spent at the Philly airport would argue against that. We simply have not made that quantum leap in air travel. Nor have we in automobiles, manufacturing, food production and a host of other fields. On some levels the world has changed little in forty years a statement that is rather unusual.
However, where the world has changed massively in forty years is in high tech and computers and everything built upon the transistor (thank you Prof. Bardeen.) What has changed is the internet and the speed of communication and the pure availability of information. I grew up with libraries and card catalogs and encyclopedias. Those are all fossils now. Just think how much mobile phones have changed the world. Remember trying to meet people in a public place in the days before they existed? Or using Discman and Walkmen to listen to music? Those are the areas that we have progressed.
So from a technology standpoint we are making progress in making things smaller but we still haven’t made what I would consider to be a quantum leap. We may have magnificent toys but society as a whole (and certainly the infrastructure supporting it) has remained the same. And depending on how you view the world’s oil and water reserves we may be closer to seeing a collapse of our infrastructure than the reinvention of it. But even the positive side with the growth of high tech has one huge disadvantage: its best qualities require a certain level of intelligence.
You can discuss cultural divides in a number of ways. It could be racial or cultural or financial or a host of other possibilities. In my mind the next great divide is going to be a combination of technology and intelligence. We are getting to the point where our tech is growing more expensive and more difficult to use and understand. Think about the challenge of hooking up a modern entertainment system versus an old television and stereo. It is a better product but even with an electrical engineering degree I find myself behind my TV with a flashlight trying to figure out where the wires go. Think about the fact that without the internet for preboarding going to the airport is a major hassle. Just think about the challenge a kid would have in school without access to Wikipedia when his classmates do. That is the divide and when you think about the level of education of that average person you begin to understand just how huge a divide it could be.
I still would like to think that I have a positive view on society. I believe in the better angels of our nature. But I worry greatly when people assume that science will save us all. Because while science can put a man on the moon it hasn’t sent one there in forty years. And even if it does save us it will only work if we can also understand it.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Laziness at the end of the world
(Since I’ve mentioned it to a few people I might as well admit it here. Yes, I am doing yoga now. Given that it was one of my New Year’s resolutions that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. I’m doing it using Wii Fit and I am glad that no one else can see me as I try some of the poses. It is apparently impossible for me to balance on one leg. That is a rather sad statement on my current level of fitness. Also, in case anyone is looking at purchasing EA Active I must recommend that you do not choose Muffy the Sadistic Trainer as your trainer of choice. Sure, she looks cute but the entire workout consists of “Hold that position longer”, “Try that rep again” and “Look at yourself, you fat slob. I can’t believe that you are wasting my oxygen.”)
I’ve finally caught up on my tapes of The Colony, the Discovery Channel’s attempt at turning the apocalypse into a reality show. I have to admit that it has been very good so far even if they have spent little time focusing on how to address the inevitable zombie uprising. I mean, they could at least mention destroy the brain. They’ve shown the people involved building a water filtration system, getting a generator up and running and generally surviving in a realistic manner. But this last episode brought up an interesting point.
Now the conceit here is that the entire idea of the show is that the participants are in Los Angeles after a supervirus has decimated the entire population. For two weeks they have focused on just surviving and their food and water supply is measured in days while their electricity depends on a hacked together pressure washer and a rather confusing wood gasifier. They know that there are people on the outside who want their stuff. So what do they do? They build a shower.
This to me exemplifies what is wrong in this country. Yes, I know that it is just a show and that means that a lot of the participants don’t have that feeling of desperation that would arise in the real situation. For them it is more like an episode of urban Survivor. But in reality what would your focus be on in that situation. You’d want to get as much food and water as possible. Get the electricity running. Secure yourself like mad. Work like hell to protect what you have and obtain more. A shower is the last thing that is required. You are using water that could be used for drinking, energy that could be used elsewhere, all so that you feel clean for a few minutes. It is nice for a few moments but then it is over.
It is just a sign that we have grown soft. Going two weeks without a shower is not the end of the world. Yes, you will be smelly and messy and gross but if the world is ending that is really the least of your worries. I am happy that the episode ended with marauders breaking into their camp and stealing their food and disrupting their supplies because that is exactly what would happen in real life. Except that in real life they would also have guns and several people would not have survived the exchange.
I also like the fact that the handyman, who is hated by most of the others, is the only one who is thinking clearly. He is focused on survival and hard work while the others are just floating through the day not putting in much effort. I’m telling you, if the world ends I’ll be following that guy. He gets things done. I bet he knows how to wield a machete because as I constantly remind people: blades don’t need reloading.
I’ve finally caught up on my tapes of The Colony, the Discovery Channel’s attempt at turning the apocalypse into a reality show. I have to admit that it has been very good so far even if they have spent little time focusing on how to address the inevitable zombie uprising. I mean, they could at least mention destroy the brain. They’ve shown the people involved building a water filtration system, getting a generator up and running and generally surviving in a realistic manner. But this last episode brought up an interesting point.
Now the conceit here is that the entire idea of the show is that the participants are in Los Angeles after a supervirus has decimated the entire population. For two weeks they have focused on just surviving and their food and water supply is measured in days while their electricity depends on a hacked together pressure washer and a rather confusing wood gasifier. They know that there are people on the outside who want their stuff. So what do they do? They build a shower.
This to me exemplifies what is wrong in this country. Yes, I know that it is just a show and that means that a lot of the participants don’t have that feeling of desperation that would arise in the real situation. For them it is more like an episode of urban Survivor. But in reality what would your focus be on in that situation. You’d want to get as much food and water as possible. Get the electricity running. Secure yourself like mad. Work like hell to protect what you have and obtain more. A shower is the last thing that is required. You are using water that could be used for drinking, energy that could be used elsewhere, all so that you feel clean for a few minutes. It is nice for a few moments but then it is over.
It is just a sign that we have grown soft. Going two weeks without a shower is not the end of the world. Yes, you will be smelly and messy and gross but if the world is ending that is really the least of your worries. I am happy that the episode ended with marauders breaking into their camp and stealing their food and disrupting their supplies because that is exactly what would happen in real life. Except that in real life they would also have guns and several people would not have survived the exchange.
I also like the fact that the handyman, who is hated by most of the others, is the only one who is thinking clearly. He is focused on survival and hard work while the others are just floating through the day not putting in much effort. I’m telling you, if the world ends I’ll be following that guy. He gets things done. I bet he knows how to wield a machete because as I constantly remind people: blades don’t need reloading.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
A John Hughes Top 10
Since so many people suggested it I am going to go ahead and post my ten favorite characters from John Hughes movies. A few notes before I start. 1) This list is not going to be in any order as that would require a little more planning on my part than I am ready to do at the moment. 2) An actor or actress may only be listed once. Otherwise the list would consist solely of Anthony Michael Hall. 3) I am going to only include movies that he either wrote or directed. I don’t count producing credits because hell I have three producing credits to my name. Here we go.
1) John Candy as the security guard in National Lampoon’s Vacation: Sure, he had more touching roles in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and even Uncle Buck. But there may be no better line ever written and performed than “Sorry folks, park is closed. Moose out front should have told you.”
2) Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation: As Rug said (and yes, I do have a friend named Rug. It is a long story) this is back in that brief snippet of time that Chevy Chase was actually funny. In fact, this was probably the last moment in time when he was even slightly humorous. But this is the best example of the bumbling, full of himself father just trying to survive a trip.
3) Michael Keaton as Mr. Mom in, well, Mr. Mom: For some reason I must have watched this movie about fifty times as a kid. The baby eating chili, the poker game with the housewives using coupons, a strikingly attractive Teri Garr; this is what HBO felt should be shown on a daily basis. Though it all Michael Keaton actually puts together one hell of a performance as a guy who is forced to be a house husband at a time when even the concept of that was out of the ordinary. Interesting in that the basis for the entire movie (working women, men staying home to look after the kids) really wouldn’t fly today.
4) Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles: I feel sorry for any Asian foreign exchange student in the late 80’s / early 90’s. We all wanted them to be like Long Duk Dong and if they weren’t we would take advantage of their lack of knowledge of the English language to try to turn them into him. No wonder were losing out to the Chinese now: they finally have figured out the jokes. But for a side character in a twenty five year old movie it is a pretty impressive lifespan.
5) Anthony Michael Hall as The Geek in Sixteen Candles: I’m agreeing with Rug on a lot of these I realize. But he missed the main reason for considering this as the crowning point in the career of Mr. Hall: he got his hands on Molly Ringwald’s unmentionables and won a dozen floppy disks in the process. That is a geek’s dream. Sure, making out with the chick in the sports car is nice but a dozen floppy disks kicks ass.
6) Molly Ringwald as Claire in The Breakfast Club: Ok, I know people will get on me for this one and say that she was better in Pretty in Pink. But I never liked that movie and I’m not even sure if I ever watched it the whole way through. But in my mind this is the quintessential Molly role. The total princess but completely accessible. She was the pretty girl that even the geeks thought they might have a chance with. Ok, we might have leaned more towards Ally Sheedy post makeover but Molly would certainly have our attention.
7) John Kapelos as Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club: Everyone focuses on the principal in this film but no one notices that the most important adult figure is the janitor. He is the one who knows everything that is going on and while the principal tries to force his authority on the students the janitor just is. Very zen but very powerful. He knows the truth. A very understated and underappreciated performance.
8) Bill Paxton (or possibly Bill Pullman) as Chet in Weird Science: One of the few saving graces in a film that neither Anthony Michael Hall nor a pre Celebrity Fit Club Kelly LeBrock could save. It isn’t a good teen movie unless there is just one tyrannical, possibly unstable older brother to just install fear in the characters. While I did not have this relationship with my brothers you do have to understand that while it might only be five years between a 14 year old and a 19 year old physically that is like 40. Chet epitomizes that pure disbelief that you have looking at someone who isn’t much older than you but seems to be in a different world.
9) Alan Ruck as Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: In reality, Ferris Bueller is like Gatsby: in neither work is the main character the focus of the piece. Gatsby is about Nick Carraway and this film is about Cameron. He is the one who changes. Ferris would have the same life, the same hot girlfriend whether he took the day off or not. Cameron, out of place even in his home town by wearing a Red Wings jersey, is the one who is forced to address what his life is about. He is the one staring at the Seurat, he is the one who has to confront his father, he is the one who has to change. And at the end you wonder if he really does.
10) Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: He made a late era Chevy Chase film bearable. That deserves some sort of medal. Plus, Quaid just takes the role and runs with it and pulls it off.
Best of 120 Minutes: Can there be any other choice?
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Kathleen Edwards “Asking for Flowers”
2) Eleni Mandell “Afternoon”
3) Robert Earl Keen “What I Really Mean”
4) Freedy Johnston “Never Home”
5) Wilco “A Ghost is Born”
1) John Candy as the security guard in National Lampoon’s Vacation: Sure, he had more touching roles in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and even Uncle Buck. But there may be no better line ever written and performed than “Sorry folks, park is closed. Moose out front should have told you.”
2) Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation: As Rug said (and yes, I do have a friend named Rug. It is a long story) this is back in that brief snippet of time that Chevy Chase was actually funny. In fact, this was probably the last moment in time when he was even slightly humorous. But this is the best example of the bumbling, full of himself father just trying to survive a trip.
3) Michael Keaton as Mr. Mom in, well, Mr. Mom: For some reason I must have watched this movie about fifty times as a kid. The baby eating chili, the poker game with the housewives using coupons, a strikingly attractive Teri Garr; this is what HBO felt should be shown on a daily basis. Though it all Michael Keaton actually puts together one hell of a performance as a guy who is forced to be a house husband at a time when even the concept of that was out of the ordinary. Interesting in that the basis for the entire movie (working women, men staying home to look after the kids) really wouldn’t fly today.
4) Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles: I feel sorry for any Asian foreign exchange student in the late 80’s / early 90’s. We all wanted them to be like Long Duk Dong and if they weren’t we would take advantage of their lack of knowledge of the English language to try to turn them into him. No wonder were losing out to the Chinese now: they finally have figured out the jokes. But for a side character in a twenty five year old movie it is a pretty impressive lifespan.
5) Anthony Michael Hall as The Geek in Sixteen Candles: I’m agreeing with Rug on a lot of these I realize. But he missed the main reason for considering this as the crowning point in the career of Mr. Hall: he got his hands on Molly Ringwald’s unmentionables and won a dozen floppy disks in the process. That is a geek’s dream. Sure, making out with the chick in the sports car is nice but a dozen floppy disks kicks ass.
6) Molly Ringwald as Claire in The Breakfast Club: Ok, I know people will get on me for this one and say that she was better in Pretty in Pink. But I never liked that movie and I’m not even sure if I ever watched it the whole way through. But in my mind this is the quintessential Molly role. The total princess but completely accessible. She was the pretty girl that even the geeks thought they might have a chance with. Ok, we might have leaned more towards Ally Sheedy post makeover but Molly would certainly have our attention.
7) John Kapelos as Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club: Everyone focuses on the principal in this film but no one notices that the most important adult figure is the janitor. He is the one who knows everything that is going on and while the principal tries to force his authority on the students the janitor just is. Very zen but very powerful. He knows the truth. A very understated and underappreciated performance.
8) Bill Paxton (or possibly Bill Pullman) as Chet in Weird Science: One of the few saving graces in a film that neither Anthony Michael Hall nor a pre Celebrity Fit Club Kelly LeBrock could save. It isn’t a good teen movie unless there is just one tyrannical, possibly unstable older brother to just install fear in the characters. While I did not have this relationship with my brothers you do have to understand that while it might only be five years between a 14 year old and a 19 year old physically that is like 40. Chet epitomizes that pure disbelief that you have looking at someone who isn’t much older than you but seems to be in a different world.
9) Alan Ruck as Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: In reality, Ferris Bueller is like Gatsby: in neither work is the main character the focus of the piece. Gatsby is about Nick Carraway and this film is about Cameron. He is the one who changes. Ferris would have the same life, the same hot girlfriend whether he took the day off or not. Cameron, out of place even in his home town by wearing a Red Wings jersey, is the one who is forced to address what his life is about. He is the one staring at the Seurat, he is the one who has to confront his father, he is the one who has to change. And at the end you wonder if he really does.
10) Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: He made a late era Chevy Chase film bearable. That deserves some sort of medal. Plus, Quaid just takes the role and runs with it and pulls it off.
Best of 120 Minutes: Can there be any other choice?
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Kathleen Edwards “Asking for Flowers”
2) Eleni Mandell “Afternoon”
3) Robert Earl Keen “What I Really Mean”
4) Freedy Johnston “Never Home”
5) Wilco “A Ghost is Born”
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Don't you forget about me
So we lost John Hughes today. Talk about a dark day in the land of Generation X. I’m not sure if there was any other director who could be so tied to a generation as John Hughes. If you were a teenager in the 80’s you watched John Hughes movies. Hell, you wanted to live in a John Hughes movie. In honor of his work I will run through some highlights of his career output.
Sixteen Candles: Will be forever known as the movie that introduced us all to Molly Ringwald (or reintroduced for those of us who spent way too much time watching The Facts of Life.) Captures the high school experience perfectly with foreign exchange students, guys named Jake Ryan, prom and musical interludes. Girls wanted to be Molly, guys wanted to be Jake Ryan and somehow I ended up as Anthony Michael Hall.
The Breakfast Club: Speaking of Anthony Michael Hall has anyone ever discussed the cruel fate that his character suffers in this film. Five students are stuck in detention on a Saturday morning. Judd Nelson hooks up with Molly Ringwald. Emilio Estevez makes out with Ally Sheedy. What does that leave Anthony Michael Hall to do? Finish the damn report that they were ordered to write as a part of detention. Seriously, how sucky is that? Still this is a fascinating movie as you take the typical high school student archetypes and put them in a room and see what happens.
Weird Science: Did Hughes just hire Anthony Michael Hall for every movie he ever made? Wonderful if just for the plot of having high school students somehow create the perfect female by programming a Commodore 64. And people wonder why I consider that computer to be the greatest machine ever made. Most people could relate to the terrifying older brother of Chet. As well as having to confront rampaging mutant bikers in your kitchen. Hey, it was a tough life out in the suburbs of Chicago.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: This is the ultimate Chicago suburbs movie. Note that it is not the perfect Chicago movie. The Blues Brothers is the best example of what the city itself is like. This movie is about what it is like to be a kid from the suburbs getting to goof off in the city for a day. Wandering around the Art Institute holding hands with your girlfriend and schoolchildren while your Smiths loving friend stares into the Seurat. Catching a Cubs game, crashing a parade with the polka queen and just enjoying be a carefree teenager. And that is what the film is about: being young and knowing that you are at the only moment in your life where you truly do not have any worries and relishing in the moment. Even Cameron understood that at some point.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: I’ll finish up with this one (and these are the first five films he directed. My God what a run.) Sometimes in your career you have to be able to prove that you can do something different. That not every film you make has to involve a high school. It is the story of simply trying to get home even when you aren’t sure where home is. It is about realizing that the way that you are living life might not be the right way. And it is about John Candy being a hell of a lot funnier than anyone ever gave him credit for.
Sixteen Candles: Will be forever known as the movie that introduced us all to Molly Ringwald (or reintroduced for those of us who spent way too much time watching The Facts of Life.) Captures the high school experience perfectly with foreign exchange students, guys named Jake Ryan, prom and musical interludes. Girls wanted to be Molly, guys wanted to be Jake Ryan and somehow I ended up as Anthony Michael Hall.
The Breakfast Club: Speaking of Anthony Michael Hall has anyone ever discussed the cruel fate that his character suffers in this film. Five students are stuck in detention on a Saturday morning. Judd Nelson hooks up with Molly Ringwald. Emilio Estevez makes out with Ally Sheedy. What does that leave Anthony Michael Hall to do? Finish the damn report that they were ordered to write as a part of detention. Seriously, how sucky is that? Still this is a fascinating movie as you take the typical high school student archetypes and put them in a room and see what happens.
Weird Science: Did Hughes just hire Anthony Michael Hall for every movie he ever made? Wonderful if just for the plot of having high school students somehow create the perfect female by programming a Commodore 64. And people wonder why I consider that computer to be the greatest machine ever made. Most people could relate to the terrifying older brother of Chet. As well as having to confront rampaging mutant bikers in your kitchen. Hey, it was a tough life out in the suburbs of Chicago.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: This is the ultimate Chicago suburbs movie. Note that it is not the perfect Chicago movie. The Blues Brothers is the best example of what the city itself is like. This movie is about what it is like to be a kid from the suburbs getting to goof off in the city for a day. Wandering around the Art Institute holding hands with your girlfriend and schoolchildren while your Smiths loving friend stares into the Seurat. Catching a Cubs game, crashing a parade with the polka queen and just enjoying be a carefree teenager. And that is what the film is about: being young and knowing that you are at the only moment in your life where you truly do not have any worries and relishing in the moment. Even Cameron understood that at some point.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: I’ll finish up with this one (and these are the first five films he directed. My God what a run.) Sometimes in your career you have to be able to prove that you can do something different. That not every film you make has to involve a high school. It is the story of simply trying to get home even when you aren’t sure where home is. It is about realizing that the way that you are living life might not be the right way. And it is about John Candy being a hell of a lot funnier than anyone ever gave him credit for.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Reviewing The Fatchelor
As most people know I am a huge fan of reality shows. However, I have for the most part avoided the dating shows because, well, a) I’m a guy and b) they tend to be so contrived that I can’t stand them. Still, I have watched more than my fair share of episodes and this brings me to Fox’s latest contribution to the genre. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you my review of More to Love or as I prefer to refer to it, The Fatchelor.
(Before anyone gets on me for that title please note that this show actually was originally titled “The Fatchelor.” Apparently the producers felt that “Chubby Chaser” gave the wrong image. Plus, given that Wii Fit officially pronounced me as “Tubby” I am in no shape to make fat jokes. Literally.)
The show is literally a direct take on The Bachelor, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the same guy made both shows. So the setup is familiar: twenty women compete for the unending love of one man through a series of dates and rather cruel elimination ceremonies. Typically drama arises from the infighting and cattiness between the contestants and humor abounds as the women seem to forget that they are on a game show and act as if he is really their boyfriend. The only difference is that this show features contestants who are deemed to be plus sized. Not unattractive to be sure, but just on the larger end of the scale and that is what makes this show a bit of a struggle to watch. But not for the reason that you would suspect.
See, part of the joy of watching a show like The Bachelor and to an even greater extent Rock of Love is that you get to sit at home and completely ridicule the contestants. I believe I once described Rock of Love as “skanks on parade” because let’s face it that is what you get when you have a bunch of strippers competing for the love of Bret Michaels. Most of the show is schadenfreude as you laugh at the women losing out on a love that you know they never believed in with a guy they just met. Plus, it’s not like they couldn’t just walk into a bar and pick up a guy. Maybe not the perfect guy but odds are most of those ladies won’t have to worry about spending Friday night alone.
But on More to Love the contestants are totally real. These are women who have had to deal with the stigma of being overweight and having society view them as unattractive. For one, her first date was on the show (if you can call something with six other women and a camera crew present a date.) For many this is the first time in a long time that they feel the possibility for romance exists. This would be sweet except for the fact that the show is still completely contrived. We have Luke trying to kiss as many of the girls as possible within the first 24 hours and smiling as woman after woman tells him how he feels that she is his soulmate. They’ve been in each other’s presence for a matter of hours and some of these women are already ordering china patterns. On The Bachelor this is funny. On More to Love it is kind of sad.
It also doesn’t help that Luke seems to be a total douche. I mean, the guy has absolutely no personality at all and doesn’t seem to be that much fun to be with. I want to tell the contestants that they can all get a better guy than him. They really shouldn’t feel the need to settle at 23.
That is another one of the problems that I have with the show is that it just plays on how low the women’s collective self esteem is. Most of the contestants are in their early twenties and they seem almost resigned that love is not for them which is amazing given that they haven’t even lived yet. I am certain that some people found the love of their life at 22 and immediately got married and raised a family but that isn’t the be all and end all of life. I certainly didn’t follow that path and am more than happy that I made my own way as tough as it was at times. Instead of laughing or cheering you want to go “There, there” or “You really shouldn’t try to justify your self worth through an appearance on a game show.”
Notice that they did not do this from the other gender perspective. In fact, the only show that I can think of that does it in reverse is The Pick Up Artist and that is not exactly the same. First of all, having Matador on the show changes the entire paradigm. But the entire purpose of The Pick Up Artist isn’t for a group of geeks to meet the woman of their dreams and get married. The purpose is to get them to the point that they can talk to a woman in a bar without throwing up. The rejection is more general. Mystery tells you that you are not worthy of a medallion as opposed to Luke telling you that he doesn’t want to marry you. It is a rather big difference.
Love is a strange and mysterious beast. Relationships may be even stranger. Just remember that if you are ever on a reality show that nothing around you is real. And that if you are interesting enough to have a casting director select you for the show you are talented enough to get a date on your own.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Let’s relax with the Jayhawks. And Mary Louise Parker.
(Before anyone gets on me for that title please note that this show actually was originally titled “The Fatchelor.” Apparently the producers felt that “Chubby Chaser” gave the wrong image. Plus, given that Wii Fit officially pronounced me as “Tubby” I am in no shape to make fat jokes. Literally.)
The show is literally a direct take on The Bachelor, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the same guy made both shows. So the setup is familiar: twenty women compete for the unending love of one man through a series of dates and rather cruel elimination ceremonies. Typically drama arises from the infighting and cattiness between the contestants and humor abounds as the women seem to forget that they are on a game show and act as if he is really their boyfriend. The only difference is that this show features contestants who are deemed to be plus sized. Not unattractive to be sure, but just on the larger end of the scale and that is what makes this show a bit of a struggle to watch. But not for the reason that you would suspect.
See, part of the joy of watching a show like The Bachelor and to an even greater extent Rock of Love is that you get to sit at home and completely ridicule the contestants. I believe I once described Rock of Love as “skanks on parade” because let’s face it that is what you get when you have a bunch of strippers competing for the love of Bret Michaels. Most of the show is schadenfreude as you laugh at the women losing out on a love that you know they never believed in with a guy they just met. Plus, it’s not like they couldn’t just walk into a bar and pick up a guy. Maybe not the perfect guy but odds are most of those ladies won’t have to worry about spending Friday night alone.
But on More to Love the contestants are totally real. These are women who have had to deal with the stigma of being overweight and having society view them as unattractive. For one, her first date was on the show (if you can call something with six other women and a camera crew present a date.) For many this is the first time in a long time that they feel the possibility for romance exists. This would be sweet except for the fact that the show is still completely contrived. We have Luke trying to kiss as many of the girls as possible within the first 24 hours and smiling as woman after woman tells him how he feels that she is his soulmate. They’ve been in each other’s presence for a matter of hours and some of these women are already ordering china patterns. On The Bachelor this is funny. On More to Love it is kind of sad.
It also doesn’t help that Luke seems to be a total douche. I mean, the guy has absolutely no personality at all and doesn’t seem to be that much fun to be with. I want to tell the contestants that they can all get a better guy than him. They really shouldn’t feel the need to settle at 23.
That is another one of the problems that I have with the show is that it just plays on how low the women’s collective self esteem is. Most of the contestants are in their early twenties and they seem almost resigned that love is not for them which is amazing given that they haven’t even lived yet. I am certain that some people found the love of their life at 22 and immediately got married and raised a family but that isn’t the be all and end all of life. I certainly didn’t follow that path and am more than happy that I made my own way as tough as it was at times. Instead of laughing or cheering you want to go “There, there” or “You really shouldn’t try to justify your self worth through an appearance on a game show.”
Notice that they did not do this from the other gender perspective. In fact, the only show that I can think of that does it in reverse is The Pick Up Artist and that is not exactly the same. First of all, having Matador on the show changes the entire paradigm. But the entire purpose of The Pick Up Artist isn’t for a group of geeks to meet the woman of their dreams and get married. The purpose is to get them to the point that they can talk to a woman in a bar without throwing up. The rejection is more general. Mystery tells you that you are not worthy of a medallion as opposed to Luke telling you that he doesn’t want to marry you. It is a rather big difference.
Love is a strange and mysterious beast. Relationships may be even stranger. Just remember that if you are ever on a reality show that nothing around you is real. And that if you are interesting enough to have a casting director select you for the show you are talented enough to get a date on your own.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Let’s relax with the Jayhawks. And Mary Louise Parker.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Surviving the collapse of society
I finally got around to watching the first episode of The Colony on Discovery and I have to admit that I am rather fascinated by the show. (Yes, I know that tonight is the third episode of the series but I am slightly behind in my DVR queue at the moment. Plus, it is Discovery so it is not as though the episodes are not going to be repeated ad nauseum throughout the year. This is the same network that will show the same episode of Mythbusters every week for an entire year.) The concept of the show is rather interesting: take ten people and have them recreate surviving for a few weeks in a post apocalyptic environment. This isn’t a game show. No one is being voted out. Just ten weeks of survival in urban Los Angeles.
This makes it one of the few reality shows that I have ever seen where you are quickly confronted with moral and ethical questions. The first episode starts with six people finding the designated shelter and setting up camp and gaining food and water. On the second day four others arrive and you suddenly are caught up in the very real question of whether or not you would share your resources with strangers. Some people were for it, some were against it. To be honest, I think the fact that they shared was much more because of the fact that they know that this is a television show and not reality. The cameras must create a break from the conceit of a holocaust but still it does make you ask yourself what would you do? How far would you go to protect yourself at the end of the world?
You also have to wonder about how useful you would be when the world ends. The people chosen for the show seem to have been specifically selected to be useful. You have contractors and doctors and engineers who do actual design work. Heck, they even have an ex-con, which is useful in a situation like this because he is someone who has been in a place where the niceties of society are forgotten and has learned how to survive in it. There is a noticeable lack of accountants and hairdressers and people whose main skills would be useless in this environment. Meaning, there is no equivalent of me out there. True, I am an electrical engineer and you would think that the fact that I have spent most of my career working with electric utilities would be a benefit. And it would be if you needed to create an interstate transmission system. Hooking up batteries to create a makeshift power source? I might be able to pull that off but I would need some help. Beyond that I would be pretty worthless out there.
The final point I want to make is that this show is tapping into a rather interesting aspect of the whole post-apocalyptic concept and one that has been more prevalent in recent years. The focus now is not on how the world ends but how will life be for the few people who survive. In the late 90’s when we had the films about giant asteroids threatening Earth or killer volcanoes or even The Day After the focus was really on how the story will end. Starting with The Road we have turned our attention to how will those last few survivors react. Will we be able to retain our humanity when all of society has been wiped away? Could we function without our infrastructure? It is rather fascinating that we are now very concerned with the human question of even if the world ended would the human race survive. We don’t care about the mechanism of the end, that is just window dressing. We want to know if there is hope for the human race. Will we truly be saved by the better angels of our nature? It is a fascinating question.
Tomorrow, a more light hearted look at reality shows with my review of More to Love. Stay Tuned.
This makes it one of the few reality shows that I have ever seen where you are quickly confronted with moral and ethical questions. The first episode starts with six people finding the designated shelter and setting up camp and gaining food and water. On the second day four others arrive and you suddenly are caught up in the very real question of whether or not you would share your resources with strangers. Some people were for it, some were against it. To be honest, I think the fact that they shared was much more because of the fact that they know that this is a television show and not reality. The cameras must create a break from the conceit of a holocaust but still it does make you ask yourself what would you do? How far would you go to protect yourself at the end of the world?
You also have to wonder about how useful you would be when the world ends. The people chosen for the show seem to have been specifically selected to be useful. You have contractors and doctors and engineers who do actual design work. Heck, they even have an ex-con, which is useful in a situation like this because he is someone who has been in a place where the niceties of society are forgotten and has learned how to survive in it. There is a noticeable lack of accountants and hairdressers and people whose main skills would be useless in this environment. Meaning, there is no equivalent of me out there. True, I am an electrical engineer and you would think that the fact that I have spent most of my career working with electric utilities would be a benefit. And it would be if you needed to create an interstate transmission system. Hooking up batteries to create a makeshift power source? I might be able to pull that off but I would need some help. Beyond that I would be pretty worthless out there.
The final point I want to make is that this show is tapping into a rather interesting aspect of the whole post-apocalyptic concept and one that has been more prevalent in recent years. The focus now is not on how the world ends but how will life be for the few people who survive. In the late 90’s when we had the films about giant asteroids threatening Earth or killer volcanoes or even The Day After the focus was really on how the story will end. Starting with The Road we have turned our attention to how will those last few survivors react. Will we be able to retain our humanity when all of society has been wiped away? Could we function without our infrastructure? It is rather fascinating that we are now very concerned with the human question of even if the world ended would the human race survive. We don’t care about the mechanism of the end, that is just window dressing. We want to know if there is hope for the human race. Will we truly be saved by the better angels of our nature? It is a fascinating question.
Tomorrow, a more light hearted look at reality shows with my review of More to Love. Stay Tuned.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Always raining on my parade
I would like to wish a Happy Picnic Day to my readers in the Northern Territories of Australia. Or maybe it has already happened or will happen tomorrow; I can never figure out that whole International Date Line thing. Anyway, I have to appreciate anyone who designates a holiday just so everyone could go out and have a picnic. It is so quaint.
Here is one of those strange facts of life that just show that sometimes the universe is against me. It seems that every time I fly down to Florida to see Kim my flight is horribly delayed. Last Friday Philly was hit with a freaking monsoon that left me trapped at the airport for hours before I could finally make my way out of town. I’ve had planes late getting to town, planes diverted to other cities and in one rather bizarre instance the entire boarding process was delayed because one of the folding trays would not stay in its upright and locked position. It is as though leaving Philly on a Friday night is impossible.
However, when I fly back on Monday morning so I can go to the office in the afternoon the flight is always on time. Heck, I get in early because lord knows I would prefer a few more minutes in the office than with my girlfriend. There has yet to be a single delay or issue with the flight other than a lack of overhead bag space but that is what happens on every US Air flight (the checked bag fee is the worst thing that has ever happened to the entire flying experience.) It just seems totally unfair. It is tough enough leaving in the morning. The least the universe could do is make it possible for us to steal a few more minutes together.
(Not that I am really complaining though. I would go through a lot more to make my way to see her.)
Sorry but traveling has just left me plain spent and out of ideas. I’ve been staring at this screen for an hour now and this is all I have to show for it. Some days that is just the business of writing. It just shows how much admiration I have for people who make a living at it. I love writing and I’d like to think that I have a gift for it but there are times when you sit down and there is just nothing flowing. Anyone who can fight their way through that earns my applause. But for me, I’m just going to head off to bed.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Aimee Mann “Whatever”
2) Aimee Mann “Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse”
3) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins “Rabbit Fur Coat”
4) Various Artists “Return of the Grievous Angel”
5) The Last Town Chorus “Wire Waltz”
Here is one of those strange facts of life that just show that sometimes the universe is against me. It seems that every time I fly down to Florida to see Kim my flight is horribly delayed. Last Friday Philly was hit with a freaking monsoon that left me trapped at the airport for hours before I could finally make my way out of town. I’ve had planes late getting to town, planes diverted to other cities and in one rather bizarre instance the entire boarding process was delayed because one of the folding trays would not stay in its upright and locked position. It is as though leaving Philly on a Friday night is impossible.
However, when I fly back on Monday morning so I can go to the office in the afternoon the flight is always on time. Heck, I get in early because lord knows I would prefer a few more minutes in the office than with my girlfriend. There has yet to be a single delay or issue with the flight other than a lack of overhead bag space but that is what happens on every US Air flight (the checked bag fee is the worst thing that has ever happened to the entire flying experience.) It just seems totally unfair. It is tough enough leaving in the morning. The least the universe could do is make it possible for us to steal a few more minutes together.
(Not that I am really complaining though. I would go through a lot more to make my way to see her.)
Sorry but traveling has just left me plain spent and out of ideas. I’ve been staring at this screen for an hour now and this is all I have to show for it. Some days that is just the business of writing. It just shows how much admiration I have for people who make a living at it. I love writing and I’d like to think that I have a gift for it but there are times when you sit down and there is just nothing flowing. Anyone who can fight their way through that earns my applause. But for me, I’m just going to head off to bed.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Aimee Mann “Whatever”
2) Aimee Mann “Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse”
3) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins “Rabbit Fur Coat”
4) Various Artists “Return of the Grievous Angel”
5) The Last Town Chorus “Wire Waltz”
Sunday, August 02, 2009
The melding of activity and entertainment
In the good old days I was always well ahead of the times. Meaning that from a pop culture perspective I have stayed well on the cutting edge. I know this doesn't make sense for the people who know that I wear t-shirts that are older than Facebook, but just think of it as the fact that I wear ironic, vintage t-shirts that were purchased when they were neither ironic nor vintage. Anyway, all this is just my way of saying that I am now part of Nintendo Wii nation.
Joining the Wii nation is not something I expected. While this might be a bit of a shock I have never owned a Nintendo anything in my life. I have primarily been a PC gamer with Playstation as my console system of choice. Nintendo always seemed to be too childish and too focused on Italian plumbers for my own liking. But all I have heard about the Wii is how much fun it is and that it can be used to help get you in shape. That is reason enough to buy a gaming system.
(By the way, while the Wii has launched its own vocabulary (Miis, the Wiimote, numchuck being used in a manner that does not involve ninjas) I still have to say that it is the absolute worst name ever for a system. You have no sense of what it means, it is spelled bizarrely and it makes you sound like a six year old at a county fair every time you mention the name. Can't we go back to having consoles have names like Jaguar and Lynx?)
Anyway, I now have a Wii and a Wii Fit and apparently the body of a fifty four year old. It is one thing to have an inamitate object tell me that I am overweight; my scale does that all the time. It is quite another to have a computer go, "Wow. Maybe you should just try to stand for five minutes at a time without tipping over to one side." Apparently my sense of balance is not one to be desired. But I am looking forward to trying out yoga (with the trainer who asks if you want to view her from behind, which is rather interesting) and working on my balance and overall fitness.
I will say though that I freaking kick ass at boxing. Now if there is one sport that I enjoy -that most people would not even think I ever watch - it is boxing. I grew up in a boxing family with a former world champion in my lineage so I actually have some natural skill at the pugilistic arts. My lack of muscle tone, overall fitness and no real desire to get punched in the face for a living has kept me from pursuing it as a career but I do fancy the idea of being a boxer. So Wii boxing is great fun as I went undefeated leaving a group of beaten boddies in my wake. The fact that a number of my punches seem to fall below the belt can be best explained by the fact that I grew up on the south side and that is just how we learned to fight.
However, when I woke up this morning I discovered something. My shoulders were absolutely killing me. Yes, a few bouts of boxing had turned my upper body into a quivering mess. I wasn't even wearing the boxing gloves while fighting (which would make for an even better workout due to the added weight.) Just throwing that many punches left me tired and achy. That is one of those signs that you are getting old. Even playing video games all day leaves you sore and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe I'll just have to hire a personal trainer to help me deal with my virtual trainer.
Also, if Wii Sports Resort is any indication I have the potential to be a pro wakeboarder. I was getting some serious hang time while pulling off some gnarly tricks. This in comparison to the jet ski where I believe that my Mii endangered the local wildlife, ran into several parked yachts and nearly drowned. I will keep this in mind when I plan my next trip to Cancuun.
Best of 120 Minutes: Time to return back to my college days. At least then I could play video games without risking serious injury.
Joining the Wii nation is not something I expected. While this might be a bit of a shock I have never owned a Nintendo anything in my life. I have primarily been a PC gamer with Playstation as my console system of choice. Nintendo always seemed to be too childish and too focused on Italian plumbers for my own liking. But all I have heard about the Wii is how much fun it is and that it can be used to help get you in shape. That is reason enough to buy a gaming system.
(By the way, while the Wii has launched its own vocabulary (Miis, the Wiimote, numchuck being used in a manner that does not involve ninjas) I still have to say that it is the absolute worst name ever for a system. You have no sense of what it means, it is spelled bizarrely and it makes you sound like a six year old at a county fair every time you mention the name. Can't we go back to having consoles have names like Jaguar and Lynx?)
Anyway, I now have a Wii and a Wii Fit and apparently the body of a fifty four year old. It is one thing to have an inamitate object tell me that I am overweight; my scale does that all the time. It is quite another to have a computer go, "Wow. Maybe you should just try to stand for five minutes at a time without tipping over to one side." Apparently my sense of balance is not one to be desired. But I am looking forward to trying out yoga (with the trainer who asks if you want to view her from behind, which is rather interesting) and working on my balance and overall fitness.
I will say though that I freaking kick ass at boxing. Now if there is one sport that I enjoy -that most people would not even think I ever watch - it is boxing. I grew up in a boxing family with a former world champion in my lineage so I actually have some natural skill at the pugilistic arts. My lack of muscle tone, overall fitness and no real desire to get punched in the face for a living has kept me from pursuing it as a career but I do fancy the idea of being a boxer. So Wii boxing is great fun as I went undefeated leaving a group of beaten boddies in my wake. The fact that a number of my punches seem to fall below the belt can be best explained by the fact that I grew up on the south side and that is just how we learned to fight.
However, when I woke up this morning I discovered something. My shoulders were absolutely killing me. Yes, a few bouts of boxing had turned my upper body into a quivering mess. I wasn't even wearing the boxing gloves while fighting (which would make for an even better workout due to the added weight.) Just throwing that many punches left me tired and achy. That is one of those signs that you are getting old. Even playing video games all day leaves you sore and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe I'll just have to hire a personal trainer to help me deal with my virtual trainer.
Also, if Wii Sports Resort is any indication I have the potential to be a pro wakeboarder. I was getting some serious hang time while pulling off some gnarly tricks. This in comparison to the jet ski where I believe that my Mii endangered the local wildlife, ran into several parked yachts and nearly drowned. I will keep this in mind when I plan my next trip to Cancuun.
Best of 120 Minutes: Time to return back to my college days. At least then I could play video games without risking serious injury.
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