Monday, February 27, 2006

Farewell 2Co's

Saturday night was the last show at 2Co's, and Amy, Randy, Gary & I were there. Heather was originally going to be joining us as well, but unfortunately she couldn't make it. We headed down around 5pm and there was ALREADY someone in line, even though the doors didn't open until 7pm. We killed some time at Randy's apt, then I headed over and got in line at 6pm. The others all went back to Randy's apt to stay inside in the warm. Which was probably a good thing, because it was DAMN COLD out, and I was pretty well frozen by the time they finally let us in. It was a full house - after only selling a few tickets they closed it to the general public and made it invitation only, filling the place up with hardcore regulars and a few former staff. There was a lot of great energy coming out of the audience and the performers really gave it their all, making for one hell of a great show. Amy & I had already seen it once before, but it was MORE than worth seeing it again, and this one was really all out with some excellent performances all-around. After the show there was much applause, some crying, and a nice speech by Steve Guyer, then everyone retired to the gallery for cake and a little reception. All-in-all it was a really great night and I'm so glad that we were able to be a part of it. I'm really going to miss a lot of the performers who aren't moving on to Shadowbox (including a few who had already left), but I can understand folks wanting to move on and wish them the best. If you never got a chance to check out a show at 2Co's, you missed out on one hell of a great experience...

Sunday we hit-up Shadowbox proper for the matinee of The Who's TOMMY. Wow, that was way cool. First off, just the stage alone blew me away - they've got a cap over the middle stage to make it equally as tall and deep from wall-to-wall and it's just crazy looking, being so used to the regular setup. It was also a blast seeing the Newport who came up to be in the show. They did a really great job with it -being more faithful to the original album then the Broadway musical or the 70s-tastic movie. I do love the movie, and I missed the religous overtones, but it was an awesome production, and included some REALLY well done video work on the screens. And of course solid performances from some of their best folks. If you like Shadowbox, or musicals, or The Who, you NEED to see this show.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Damn You Axl Rose!

I have had G'n'R's "Patience" stuck in my head for way too damn long. When did it come out? '89? Maybe since then. It all starts out with that whistling hook, and then worms its way into my brain like a termite and takes hold. Based on this absolutely scientific evidence, I submit that it's got to be one of the catchiest or most addictive songs of all-time.

This would rank up there with Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water", Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner", and others which I'm not thinking of at the moment that may or may not be as bad as those three. Musical viruses that work their way into your system and never really leave. You can drown them out with other music, other catchy tunes, etc, but you're only treating the symptoms - the cause is still there, waiting, and it won't be long before you find yourself mindlessly whistling that hook YET AGAIN...

In other news - Shadowbox Insanity Week pt. 49 commences tonight: Sex At The Box '06 tonight, 2Co's Final Show Saturday night, and Tommy at the matinee Sunday afternoon. There will be much good times (and most likely a fair helping of melancholy) to be had! Viva Shadowbox!

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The Boondocks

The Boondocks is one of my new favorite comics. It's actually been around for quite some time, and I can even remember when it started being carried in most papers and such, but for some sad reason it didn't really catch my attention until it became a cartoon on Adult Swim. After catching a few episodes there, I went out to start reading the strips, and they're definitely well worth the read.

The best thing about it, in my opinion, is that it's got a good mix of urban social commentary and liberal-flavored political commentary, but even while putting all this out there, it doesn't fail to take potshots at itself and those fields as well - Huey (the protagonist) is usually the voice of reason, of educated African American youth, but his extremes play off of Riley (his younger and generally more sterotypical brother) and his views aren't safe either - like the cartoon episode regarding wanting to "tell white people the truth".

It's just a great read, almost always has a great laugh, and manages to sneak a few good messages by in the process. Check it out.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Date Movie Dump

In retrospect, I probably should've known better, but over the weekend I talked Amy into going to see Date Movie with me. I had high hopes, as I thought the first Scary Movie was good, and really enjoyed the spoof Not Another Teen Movie. The SM sequels were nowhere near as good, abandoning satire and parody in favor of over-the-top farce and bathroom humor. Maybe I'm too old, but that kind of crap really doesn't do it for me. Date Movie had a few good moments, but overall was just "lets cram a whole bunch of references to other popular movies in and hope people think that's funny parody instead of worthless nonsense". Yeah... just pass on it. At BEST it's a cheap theater flick, but really it's a catch it free on TV or not at all kind of thing.

We also had dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen - that was a pretty good time. My first time there, I avoided the pizza of course, but they have lots of other great choices, including a plethora of great salad options. I had the Thai Crunch Salad (with avocado!) and Amy had the BBQ chicken salad. I liked mine better but both were good options.

Gotta run and do the grocery shopping (whoo-hoo FUN)...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Happy Valentine's Day

...every day, the 14th. Well, OK not really, but it's a song, you know? Yesterday was also Chris's b-day, which I of course completely forgot about, despite it being such an easily rememberable day. Yeah, I suck like that.

Amy & I had a phenomenal dinner last night at Morton's, which has definitely been our favorite of the anniversary steakhouse tour to date. The return trip didn't disappoint at all - I had an excellent Chicago-style bone-in ribeye, and Amy had the double-cut filet mignon, both excellent, excellent cuts o' meat. I also partook of the lobster bisque, some of Amy's chopped salad, and for sides we had broccoli and hashbrowns, the latter being especially tasty. For dessert, the hot chocolate cake, which was superb... though still a notch below Lindey's. It was a great time, and I'm really glad we got to enjoy it, since this was our last pre-parenthood V-Day. I think Amy's also trying to work in one last pre-parenthood trip to Glenlaurel as well, though the timing is pretty tight and I'm really not sure if it's going to work out.

I know I've linked Cute Overload before, but I just had to make special note of a post overthere today - this page has a good number of pics like the awesome one to the left -- fish-eye lens + puppy cuteness = the awesome.

I mean, how can you NOT look at that and say "awwww"?


Saturday, February 11, 2006

I Have Lost All Faith In Humanity, pt. 32

The commercial tells me that When A Stranger Calls is currently the number one movie in America. There is something seriously wrong with this. Not only is it based on one of the oldest and most well known urban legends/campfire stories there is, but it's ALREADY BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE ONCE BEFORE.

I pray for the future of humanity...

Where Did The Week Go?

Wow, missed more than a week there. What happened?

Well, the damn Superbowl was part of it. I can't believe the Steelers won again. So frustrating - especially since the Seahawks seemed to really try and win the game only to fall short with stupid penalties and dropped passes. Even more frustrating is that we're now officially all out of football until next fall. Basketball and hockey aren't bad, but I just can't get into them anywhere near as much as football - especially as far as watching them on TV goes. It doesn't help that it's nigh impossible to catch a Tampa Bay Lightning game on TV... The Cavs are a bit easier, but the games tend to be on at odd times...

In other sports news, the Winter Olympics have started over in Italy. I have trouble really getting interested in the Olympics, but especially the winter version... I'm just not really as into the events... snowboarding, skating, skiing.. meh. Fun to do, but pretty dull to watch. Nevermind the fact that the coverage these days is all recaps and 30-minute segments so we can "get to know" the athletes. Part of what I saw last night they spent 30 minutes talking to a skiier (Bode Miller I think?) about how he thought about not going to the Olympics, and didn't really want to have anything to do with the media, interviews, etc. Then WHY THE HELL DIDN'T HE JUST SAY NO? I mean the Olympics can't force the athletes to give interviews can they?

Anyway, things seem to be rolling right along these days. Amy is currently on her last (planned) work trip before the big day, getting back sometime late tonight. Can't wait to see her... not really sure what I'm going to do today, but I'm sure something will come up.

Anyway, for those looking to kill some time, check out McVideogame - obviously done to protest all the shady dealings associated with McDonalds and fast-food business in general, but ignoring all that, it's an entertaining little webgame. This mystery game wasn't too bad either. The download lets you play the full version for free for 60 minutes, which got me through the first 5 levels or so -- it was a pretty good time, though I don't know that it's anything really worth paying for. Been thinking about joining Netflix lately, since I know a lot of friends really happy with the service, and we may have a higher demand for it once Baby T comes along, but a) we already watch a lot of TV thanks to the evilness of the dual-tuner DVR, and b) something really bothers me about a company that penalizes it's best customers.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Shadowbox Overload

Can't believe it's February already. And yet somehow we haven't had the Super Bowl yet. Not that I care all that much about the game, other than the obvious massive hope that the Steelers get destroyed. I don't know that I've ever rooted for the Seahawks before... hrm.

Anyway, yesterday I called the Shadowbox box office and made a passel of reservations, for as follows:
  • 2Cos: Best Of 2Cos & The Blues Thursday 2/2 7PM
  • Shadowbox: Sex At The Box 2006 Wednesday 2/22 7:30PM
  • Shadowbox: The Who's TOMMY Sunday 2/26 2:30PM
As far as I know, there are still tickets available for all those shows, so if you're interested, go ahead and add yourselves on (and let me know so I'm not surprised by the overall group total when they call to confirm), or if you really need it, let me know and I can add you on. I'm guessing this Thursday will be too short notice for most folks, but for the other days, it's fair game.

Really looking forward to seeing them do Tommy especially. Should be a good time.

Speaking of overloads, Amy & I are still finding ourselves in a TV overload, caused at least in part by the power of our new dual-tuner DVR. Shows currently being recorded and watched on a regular basis are: CSI (all three), Without A Trace, NCIS, Cold Case, Numbers, Ghost Whisperer, Distraction, My Name Is Earl, House, 24, Lost, Veronica Mars, and Boston Legal. In addition to this, Amy has a few shows she watches that I don't care about, and ditto for me. So yeah - that's insane. Brain rot galore. I suppose we should live it up now though - in a few months, time will be a precious commodity.