Thought I'd sign in for one last time in 2005. Been having a great time on vacation, and we had a wonderful holiday. I don't know that I can really sum it all up now, but we got lots of great stuff, spent a lot of really good time with friends and family, and overall had a really wonderful, memorable holiday.
Amy & I are going to Shadowbox for their Shindig tonight, as is the tradition. Laurie & her guy are going with us as well, which is a 100% increase over our group size from last year, so woo-hoo for that. Hopefully we can drum up more folks for next year, but the price tag isn't as great as it was when we were winning the table in the Fireball auction.
Anyway, hope everyone had a happy holiday and wishing everyone a happy & safe new year.
See you in '06...
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Bird Flu
Pretty sure I have the bird flu. Or SARS, or West Nile, or whatever the paranoid "all must fear" bug of the moment is. At any rate, it set in pretty suddenly on Monday, got significantly worse yesterday, and seems about the same today - though today I have OTC products with which to mitigate the horrible suffering.
Add onto this the fact that at my doctor's appointment on Monday, I had my blood drawn. The guy had trouble finding a working draw and stuck me all over both arms and one hand. I'm not typically a hard draw, nor am I typically weak-headed, but I damn near passed out. I guess I turned all green and white and sweaty. They gave me a teeny juice-box and some crackers and had me rest for a bit, then another lady came and got all they needed in one poke. Go figure.
So yeah, not exactly having a great week so far. I DID manage to finish almost all my X-mas shopping. I'd be done if I hadn't gotten so damn sick. Just need to pick up two very quick & minor things, and of course wrap everything, but that shouldn't be too tough.
Hoping I recover enough to still make the Lunchbox show tomorrow. I don't forsee it being a problem, provided I keep well-medicated. We're also hoping to catch the Xmas at 2Co's show again either tomorrow or next week, but I'm thinking I'll wait until tomorrow to try for it, to see how I'm feeling (and if they're sold out). If you're interested, let me know.
Linkage:
Add onto this the fact that at my doctor's appointment on Monday, I had my blood drawn. The guy had trouble finding a working draw and stuck me all over both arms and one hand. I'm not typically a hard draw, nor am I typically weak-headed, but I damn near passed out. I guess I turned all green and white and sweaty. They gave me a teeny juice-box and some crackers and had me rest for a bit, then another lady came and got all they needed in one poke. Go figure.
So yeah, not exactly having a great week so far. I DID manage to finish almost all my X-mas shopping. I'd be done if I hadn't gotten so damn sick. Just need to pick up two very quick & minor things, and of course wrap everything, but that shouldn't be too tough.
Hoping I recover enough to still make the Lunchbox show tomorrow. I don't forsee it being a problem, provided I keep well-medicated. We're also hoping to catch the Xmas at 2Co's show again either tomorrow or next week, but I'm thinking I'll wait until tomorrow to try for it, to see how I'm feeling (and if they're sold out). If you're interested, let me know.
Linkage:
- Mega-insano crackpot conspiracy theory of the moment: Dave Chapelle and the Dark Crusaders
- Check out Year One, a webcomic marvel comics parody done all kiddie style.
- I'm very sad that Morning Sedition was cancelled. Now where am I going to hear the latest on the NeoCon Death Cults and the ChristoFacist Zombie Brigade? Seriously though, Maron brought the funny, and he'll be missed on my drive in.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Hoopla'd !!
Hit up Easton last night for Shadowbox's Holiday Hoopla 05. I have to admit, I was worried going in, because it sounded like there was a lot of duplicate stuff, and although it hadn't bothered me that much last year, I was hoping for more new stuff this time around.
Well, there was definitely a lot of older stuff, but I thought it was freshened up enough and they had enough new stuff added in that it made for a great show. I'd definitely recommend it, even if you have been to a Hoopla before, and even moreso if you haven't (there may not be a better time to get your first Shadowbox experience than during Hoopla!). While there we booked up for the Lunchbox on Thursday, and opening night of Sex at the Box '06 (1/5). You should come join us. We're also going to the Shindig for New Years, if you haven't already made plans. You know you want to...
Also fun was a new food menu at Shadowbox. All the old favorites are there, but they also added in a BUNCH of new stuff. They've got a full bar now (including all sorts of different boozes, for those that care about that kind of thing), but also ravioli, the lunchbox BBQ chicken sandwhich, fancy godiva hot chocolate, and a phenomenal (nay, crack-laced) beef tenderloin sandwhich.
Just one quick link to leave for now: I challenge you to check out Cute Overload and NOT say "Awwwwww" at least once.
Well, there was definitely a lot of older stuff, but I thought it was freshened up enough and they had enough new stuff added in that it made for a great show. I'd definitely recommend it, even if you have been to a Hoopla before, and even moreso if you haven't (there may not be a better time to get your first Shadowbox experience than during Hoopla!). While there we booked up for the Lunchbox on Thursday, and opening night of Sex at the Box '06 (1/5). You should come join us. We're also going to the Shindig for New Years, if you haven't already made plans. You know you want to...
Also fun was a new food menu at Shadowbox. All the old favorites are there, but they also added in a BUNCH of new stuff. They've got a full bar now (including all sorts of different boozes, for those that care about that kind of thing), but also ravioli, the lunchbox BBQ chicken sandwhich, fancy godiva hot chocolate, and a phenomenal (nay, crack-laced) beef tenderloin sandwhich.
Just one quick link to leave for now: I challenge you to check out Cute Overload and NOT say "Awwwwww" at least once.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Holiday Spirit
I guess we finally drug ourselves into the holiday spirit this weekend, and got the tree and decorations up on Sunday. I'm still not quite there yet. I was in the same boat last year, and I can't figure out why. What's keeping me from being all Christmasy these days? One of the biggest complications of the whole thing is that it makes it a big-time chore to do the X-mas shopping when you're not really feeling the season. Maybe I need an egg-nog IV or something. I could tie myself down and subject myself to 24 hours of It's A Wonderful Life, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and small children a-wassailing my sanity away. Not like I have a choice to wait any longer - we're in full XMas mode this week: Holiday Hoopla Wednesday, the work "holiday luncheon" on Thursday, a friends' party on Friday, and Amy's family XMas on Saturday. YOU WILL BE MERRY.
Still, I do want to get over the Grinch thing here. XMas At 2Cos is phenomenal this year, and we actually saw that back on 11/30, so that helped a lot. I don't have quite the same high hopes for Hoopla, unfortunately, as it appears to be 100% recycled stuff, except for (I'm assuming/hoping) the Santa Babies. We'll see how it goes tomorrow I guess.
Quickies:
- Whole Foods Market is a fun place to shop. It's too pricy and limited for your everyday shopping trip, but there are some awesome things there, all sorts of unusual foods to try out.
- Here's a slideshow of musicians who died "before their time". It's missing a lot of folks, and there are a couple on there I've never heard of, but still, a sad list. The really depressing thing is I'm already older than some of the best people on there.
- Coffee and coke... why not?
- Oh hey look - at least California's in the holiday spirit.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
The Power Of Spin
Check out this alernate Shining trailer.
Always look for the spin - how is this or that being edited and presented and spun to bring you in? Where's the bias? Something students writing research papers need to learn WAY sooner than they do these days...
Always look for the spin - how is this or that being edited and presented and spun to bring you in? Where's the bias? Something students writing research papers need to learn WAY sooner than they do these days...
Monday, December 05, 2005
Money, Football, and Jesus
I guess it was a decent weekend. Saturday night we went to Amy's holiday party at the dean's house. The house was a bit up Riverside drive in the hills, in what is obviously a ridiculously expensive neighborhood. There were a number of insanely large houses there, and the dean's was no different. For the first good clip while we were there, I was afraid to sit down or touch much of anything for fear that an ill-placed smudge could place us irrevocably in debt. Eventually I did settle down and relax a bit... after all, we probably make at least as much as the people paid to clean the place, right? To paraphrase Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the Dean".
Really brief football update for the weekend... as predicted OSU and Notre Dame will play in the Fiesta Bowl. No great surprise there, though I'm glad the rankings worked out so that we don't have to hear how Oregon was screwed. The cursed fate of the Browns continued this weekend as well, as not only did they blow a decent lead to the Leftwich-less Jaguars, they also lost yet another first round draft pick to injury.
Since the Browns don't get televised anyway, Gary and I went to see Sarah Silverman's movie Jesus Is Magic on Sunday. It was a pretty funny movie - though she definitely didn't shy away from taking swings at just about everyone and everything - no taboo subject left unturned, no viewer left unoffended (except me, because again, I think I'm too jaded to this stuff). It wasn't gutbustingly funny, but a good time, and I'm glad we went. Gotta love the Gateway Theater - probably saved a drive out to Drexel East.
Really brief football update for the weekend... as predicted OSU and Notre Dame will play in the Fiesta Bowl. No great surprise there, though I'm glad the rankings worked out so that we don't have to hear how Oregon was screwed. The cursed fate of the Browns continued this weekend as well, as not only did they blow a decent lead to the Leftwich-less Jaguars, they also lost yet another first round draft pick to injury.
Since the Browns don't get televised anyway, Gary and I went to see Sarah Silverman's movie Jesus Is Magic on Sunday. It was a pretty funny movie - though she definitely didn't shy away from taking swings at just about everyone and everything - no taboo subject left unturned, no viewer left unoffended (except me, because again, I think I'm too jaded to this stuff). It wasn't gutbustingly funny, but a good time, and I'm glad we went. Gotta love the Gateway Theater - probably saved a drive out to Drexel East.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
RENT, Thanksgiving
Ok wow, I've got too much to say in one blog here. I guess I'll throw out what I can for now and either forget the rest (highly likely given my memory) or finish up another time.
So Amy, Randy, Heather & I saw RENT last Wednesday. Amy & I got there early and ate dinner at the Ugly Toona Saloona. It's kind of an odd place, as it's definitely very much a bar atmosphere (like Adobe Gilas), but they have a lot of seafood options... priced as you would expect for seafood entrees. I tried to keep more on the inexpensive side, so for the meal I just got a burger (as did Amy), but I had to try the Shrimp & Lobster Bisque. It was pretty tasty -- not as good as, say, Lindeys or the Ocean Club, but still good stuff. Judging by that at least I wouldn't be afraid of trying their other seafood dishes.
So yeah, the movie. I definitely enjoyed the movie. It didn't blow me away like I was hoping for, but it was good. Not quite as faithful of an adaptation as Phantom, but still pretty good, and the fact that it was most of the original cast was awesome. VERY cool seeing all those folks that I'm used to hearing from the original soundtrack - they all did a great job, and contrary to a lot of worries folks had, Roger (Adam Pascal) was really the only one who looked a little old, and it was only REALLY noticeable in one scene. I liked a lot of the visualizations added ... flashbacks to Roger & April meeting and such, images of the life support folks disappearing, the TVs in Maureen's show, Maureen flirting with the secretary while Joanne and Mark meet with Alexi... etc. I really missed a lot of the "in-between songs" singing... and just like in Phantom, the converted a lot of sung dialogue into regular spoken stuff. Which was kind of unsettling because 1) it was wierd knowing what they were going to say and 2) the spoken dialogue still rhymed, and people just don't SPEAK in rhyme... Also, cutting out a lot of the in-between music resulted in a number of the songs feeling more stilted, losing the flow. Some of the changes they made in pacing didn't make a whole lot of sense either. I mean, I can understand rewriting things (especially when you cut some stuff - you have to reinsert what was important there somewhere else), but why stretch out the beginning stuff? I don't see why Maureen's show had to be moved back, etc. Just odd. Another thing which I noticed in Phantom and here again in RENT. The movie felt REALLY LONG. Even with the stuff they cut out, there's just something about taking a show which typically has a 15-minute intermission and cramming it all together...
So yeah... good but not great. Definitely no substitute for the absolute awesomeness that is the stage version, but I'll surely get the DVD anyway. It'll be a nice option since the show's not always playing nearby. (It's coming to Columbus next year... April 22-23... Amy's due date is 4/20. Cruel fate indeed). If anyone else out there saw it, I'd love to hear what you thought.
Thanksgiving was a good time - parents and Amy's mom came over and we ate here. I think we may be nearing double digits on the number of times we've used the nice china in the past 5 years ;) . Almost out of leftovers... which is probably good, because a week is pretty much pushing it on leftovers anyway.
I think that's enough for now.
So Amy, Randy, Heather & I saw RENT last Wednesday. Amy & I got there early and ate dinner at the Ugly Toona Saloona. It's kind of an odd place, as it's definitely very much a bar atmosphere (like Adobe Gilas), but they have a lot of seafood options... priced as you would expect for seafood entrees. I tried to keep more on the inexpensive side, so for the meal I just got a burger (as did Amy), but I had to try the Shrimp & Lobster Bisque. It was pretty tasty -- not as good as, say, Lindeys or the Ocean Club, but still good stuff. Judging by that at least I wouldn't be afraid of trying their other seafood dishes.
So yeah, the movie. I definitely enjoyed the movie. It didn't blow me away like I was hoping for, but it was good. Not quite as faithful of an adaptation as Phantom, but still pretty good, and the fact that it was most of the original cast was awesome. VERY cool seeing all those folks that I'm used to hearing from the original soundtrack - they all did a great job, and contrary to a lot of worries folks had, Roger (Adam Pascal) was really the only one who looked a little old, and it was only REALLY noticeable in one scene. I liked a lot of the visualizations added ... flashbacks to Roger & April meeting and such, images of the life support folks disappearing, the TVs in Maureen's show, Maureen flirting with the secretary while Joanne and Mark meet with Alexi... etc. I really missed a lot of the "in-between songs" singing... and just like in Phantom, the converted a lot of sung dialogue into regular spoken stuff. Which was kind of unsettling because 1) it was wierd knowing what they were going to say and 2) the spoken dialogue still rhymed, and people just don't SPEAK in rhyme... Also, cutting out a lot of the in-between music resulted in a number of the songs feeling more stilted, losing the flow. Some of the changes they made in pacing didn't make a whole lot of sense either. I mean, I can understand rewriting things (especially when you cut some stuff - you have to reinsert what was important there somewhere else), but why stretch out the beginning stuff? I don't see why Maureen's show had to be moved back, etc. Just odd. Another thing which I noticed in Phantom and here again in RENT. The movie felt REALLY LONG. Even with the stuff they cut out, there's just something about taking a show which typically has a 15-minute intermission and cramming it all together...
So yeah... good but not great. Definitely no substitute for the absolute awesomeness that is the stage version, but I'll surely get the DVD anyway. It'll be a nice option since the show's not always playing nearby. (It's coming to Columbus next year... April 22-23... Amy's due date is 4/20. Cruel fate indeed). If anyone else out there saw it, I'd love to hear what you thought.
Thanksgiving was a good time - parents and Amy's mom came over and we ate here. I think we may be nearing double digits on the number of times we've used the nice china in the past 5 years ;) . Almost out of leftovers... which is probably good, because a week is pretty much pushing it on leftovers anyway.
I think that's enough for now.
- SAD NEWS: 2Cos is closing 2/25/06. Going to be extremely sad to see it go - there's been a lot of great shows there and we'll miss it quite a bit. That said, with those financials, I can definitely understand the decision, and if I had to choose, I'd much rather see Shadowbox continue and keep going strong. Meanwhile, the current Christmas at 2Co's show is awesome - the best XMas show they've done. Lots of great music, some really funny bits, and of course, gotta love the Christmas Queenies.
- If caffeine is good for your memory, why is mine so shitty?
- If Lists of Bests were still updating, this would have been a great addition: Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films. A good list, and I've seen a lot more of them then I expected.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
No Day But Today
I'm probably more excited to see Rent today than a sane adult male should be. It's far-and-away my favorite musical (surpassing Phantom of the Opera right around when I saw RENT live for the first time). I seriously hope it's good. The movie version of Phantom was a good adaptation, so I'll hope for at least that level.
Not that I really feel like I need to, but if it makes you feel better about my manhood, how about a couple sports links?
Not that I really feel like I need to, but if it makes you feel better about my manhood, how about a couple sports links?
- T.O. loses his suspension hearing. Kthxbye. Seeya next year (in a new uniform) sucka!
- Cavs beat the Celtics, and are on a 8 game winning streak. All hail King James!
- There are too many good lines and quotes in this Page 2 article. If you care about the NFL at all, check it out, I guarantee you'll get a laugh.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Holiday Weeks Go Fast
Which is good, because I almost took this week off, and decided not to.
The weekend finished out pretty well. Sports-wise, in addition to OSU, the Browns won (amazingly), Steelers lost, Bengals lost, my fantasy teams look good. The Lightning won, and the Cavs won one on Saturday. Really can't complain at all there.
Work went pretty quickly today - lots of stuff needing done, and a three-day week to do them in. The downside to not taking the week off is that it means still no vacation to look forward to in the foreseeable future. We could still take off some time in December, but don't really have anything in particular to do for vacation, trying not to spend too much money, especially on top of the usual holiday gift-spending. We're open to suggestions, however, if you have any particularly stirring suggestions.
The weekend finished out pretty well. Sports-wise, in addition to OSU, the Browns won (amazingly), Steelers lost, Bengals lost, my fantasy teams look good. The Lightning won, and the Cavs won one on Saturday. Really can't complain at all there.
Work went pretty quickly today - lots of stuff needing done, and a three-day week to do them in. The downside to not taking the week off is that it means still no vacation to look forward to in the foreseeable future. We could still take off some time in December, but don't really have anything in particular to do for vacation, trying not to spend too much money, especially on top of the usual holiday gift-spending. We're open to suggestions, however, if you have any particularly stirring suggestions.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
A GOOD Heart Attack
OSU 25, Michigan 21.
Man, what a stressful game to watch. Haven't been too many of those close games this season, but this one definitely kept us on the edges of our seats. And when Anthony Gonzales came down with that pass on the 5 in the last minute, there was much rejoycing. Tressel goes 4-1 against big Blue, including two wins in the Big House. Awesome. Too bad Penn State won to keep the automatic berth and deny the outright championship - but on the other hand, good for JoePa bringing his team outta nowhere to a season like that. Also fun to watch last night was Georgia Tech knocking off #3 Miami. Should be good for us in getting one of the at-large BCS berths... UNLESS it means they don't win the ACC and steal one of the at-large bids.
Saw the new Harry Potter movie after the games last night. I still haven't read any of the books, but I must say the movies are very well made, with some very awesome scenery. Lots of oohs and aahs to be had.
Man, what a stressful game to watch. Haven't been too many of those close games this season, but this one definitely kept us on the edges of our seats. And when Anthony Gonzales came down with that pass on the 5 in the last minute, there was much rejoycing. Tressel goes 4-1 against big Blue, including two wins in the Big House. Awesome. Too bad Penn State won to keep the automatic berth and deny the outright championship - but on the other hand, good for JoePa bringing his team outta nowhere to a season like that. Also fun to watch last night was Georgia Tech knocking off #3 Miami. Should be good for us in getting one of the at-large BCS berths... UNLESS it means they don't win the ACC and steal one of the at-large bids.
Saw the new Harry Potter movie after the games last night. I still haven't read any of the books, but I must say the movies are very well made, with some very awesome scenery. Lots of oohs and aahs to be had.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Twice in one day?
Surely I must be crazy.
Well, that may be true, but there are a few things that I felt I had to share from Warren Ellis's page.
Well, that may be true, but there are a few things that I felt I had to share from Warren Ellis's page.
- Apparently in India, the whole witch hunt thing still makes for a fun pasttime. I know it's India being talked about here, but seriously - what year is it? And they just passed this anti-witchcraft law in 1999?
- Apparently it's against the law to be a revisionist historian in Austria. Laws against denying the Holocaust ever happened. Nutty.
- He also passed along a status report on this season's new TV shows. Apparently I don't actually watch ANY of this season's new shows. I haven't even heard of a lot of those. Of the ones I can comment on:
- Amy watches "Commander in Chief". I thought it was just OK. Not a big fan of political drama. (Yes, that means I never cared about "The West Wing" either).
- Caught one episode of "Invasion" - it was confusing and boring. I'll pass.
- Caught one episode of "Ghost Whisperer" - it was pretty decent, I'd watch it again. Has a very strong "Tru Calling" feel. Not really sold on Jennifer Love Hewitt in it (man she's not looking so great these days), but it works OK.
- "Bones" - caught one episode. It was very uninspired, nothing there to set it apart from the scores of other crime dramas.
- Caught part of "Prison Break", and Gary's constantly selling me on it. It looks pretty interesting, but at this point I don't want to jump-in midway. Guess I'll wait for the DVDs. Also, I'm not sure how this concept could be drug out for MORE than one season without getting annoying.
Snow Long And Thanks For All The Fish
Snow this morning. Insane. None of it stuck, but there were still a LOT of good sized flakes coming down for a good length of time. On the news this morning, they'd somehow managed to build a tiny little snowman out of it (like maybe 2-3 inches tall). The temperature drop from yesterday to today is obscene, going from almost 70 to snow. Gotta love Ohio.
I finished Lullaby last night. Once I actually dedicated my attention to it, it was an insanely fast read. I love Palahniuk's style, and this book was a very entertaining read, but I think it falls a little short of his other stuff I've read. Still, like I said, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I'd still recommend it to folks who are fans of his style. Invisible Monsters remains my favorite Palahniuk book so far. Starting on Choke soon, if not tonight.
Was reading an article on one of the most recent PETA stunts, and saw a link to this 7 Things You Don't Know about PETA article. I don't know how much (if any) of this is exaggerated or taken out of context, but crazy man, crazy. #2 seems to be the height of hipocracy, and #6 blew my mind. Holocaust On Your Plate!! You have got to be kidding me. No matter how loony-tunes, you've got to admire their guts to try and pull crap like that.
Check out this Fun little brain-excercise/shape matching game to kill some time.
I finished Lullaby last night. Once I actually dedicated my attention to it, it was an insanely fast read. I love Palahniuk's style, and this book was a very entertaining read, but I think it falls a little short of his other stuff I've read. Still, like I said, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I'd still recommend it to folks who are fans of his style. Invisible Monsters remains my favorite Palahniuk book so far. Starting on Choke soon, if not tonight.
Was reading an article on one of the most recent PETA stunts, and saw a link to this 7 Things You Don't Know about PETA article. I don't know how much (if any) of this is exaggerated or taken out of context, but crazy man, crazy. #2 seems to be the height of hipocracy, and #6 blew my mind. Holocaust On Your Plate!! You have got to be kidding me. No matter how loony-tunes, you've got to admire their guts to try and pull crap like that.
Check out this Fun little brain-excercise/shape matching game to kill some time.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Stalker.Net Strikes Again
I've mentioned it before, but it cracks me up how careless some folks are with their personal information on Facebook and the like. I guess they figure "hey, only people at my own university or people I've friended can see it, so it must be safe"... or more likley, they just don't think about it at all. Maybe getting busted for drinking will cause folks to think again... after all, if the university will exploit it, what about all those bad guys out there? I also got a kick from this article on how it's affected the whole Greek scene. (and on an unrelated note, I love that "Big Picture" story-web CNet's using these days)
While I get back to work, amuse yourselves with looking up significant events from ANYDAY Today-In-History, or check out "Brainy History" for today...
While I get back to work, amuse yourselves with looking up significant events from ANYDAY Today-In-History, or check out "Brainy History" for today...
Monday, November 14, 2005
F Your Monday
A three day weekend doesn't make coming back to work any easier. Finally getting over the bird flu, but it's left me with this lingering cough which is bugging the crap out of me. It also left me achy and sore most of the weekend. Fun fun.
The weekend wasn't an entire wash. Friday Amy & I checked out the new Drexel Gateway Theater and saw Shopgirl. The theater itself is pretty cool. Set up a BIT strange, being all on the second story, with very steeply inclined theaters for some serious stadium-seating. Brand new, so that means nice and clean. Seems to be sticking to their guns so far and showing more indie/art-film leaning stuff. Amy & I both enjoyed the movie. It was a nice little story, well acted by Claire Danes and Steve Martin both. It's got me wondering about the book now... I may have to add it to the list of "to reads".
Football-wise, OSU won, the Browns lost, and I split another fantasy week between my two leagues. With Priest Holmes out for the season in KC, what was looking like a very strong team in my one league has completely disintegrated. Trent Green netted me a whopping -6 pts this week. ROCKIN.
Gotta get going... some linkage:
The weekend wasn't an entire wash. Friday Amy & I checked out the new Drexel Gateway Theater and saw Shopgirl. The theater itself is pretty cool. Set up a BIT strange, being all on the second story, with very steeply inclined theaters for some serious stadium-seating. Brand new, so that means nice and clean. Seems to be sticking to their guns so far and showing more indie/art-film leaning stuff. Amy & I both enjoyed the movie. It was a nice little story, well acted by Claire Danes and Steve Martin both. It's got me wondering about the book now... I may have to add it to the list of "to reads".
Football-wise, OSU won, the Browns lost, and I split another fantasy week between my two leagues. With Priest Holmes out for the season in KC, what was looking like a very strong team in my one league has completely disintegrated. Trent Green netted me a whopping -6 pts this week. ROCKIN.
Gotta get going... some linkage:
- Time magazine considers our ineffable Governor Taft one of the worst sitting governors in the nation. Gotta love it. (Time article isn't online... the article on the five BEST sitting governors is here.)
- This guy raises some VERY interesting points... but at the same time, a lot of that reasoning comes across as really arrogant, and seems to be encouraging/egging on the hatred/fear of Islam already spreading through our country. And that really makes me nervous.
- Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer. (Thanks Gary)
- Check out #3 on the Private universities presidential pay on the right-hand sidebar. Good for him! If he's as awesome there as he was here, he deserves it.
- Japanese culture? Still crazy.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
BLS, Football, Election Day, Linkage
The Black Label Society concert Friday night was a great time. It was at the Newport, and this was my first trip there post-smoking ban. Well, as you might expect, there were still a decent number of people smoking there anyway, including one chain smoker who was right below where we were on the rail, but even still, there was a noticable difference in the quality of the air. And people didn't really start smoking until the show started, so there was plenty of dead time before with smoke-free air and a remarkably clear view of the interior of the Newport. The show itself was a blast. Brand New Sin opened, and they were dead on. They were apparently filming for a live video or something, as they had a big ol camera, boom mic and the works, and were getting the crowd really jazzed up. A truly great response, especially considering they were they opening band. BLS took forever to get setup... I think there was a minimum of 45 minutes between sets, but probably more like an hour or more. It was pretty ridiculous, and the mega-long wait really took any "thrill" out of their big opening medley of recordings -- by that point I was like "get the hell out here and play already". They played a good long set, with lots of good stuff, but the mix was off pretty badly. From what I could hear the band was solid, but the mix was crappy and it made it hard to enjoy a number of the songs. Ah well... maybe next time.
This was a great weekend for football too. OSU won, which was pretty expected, but they really surprised me by actually covering the spread. They didn't look flawless, but it was a solid game, and hopefully they keep it up and run the table. Even winning out, I don't know that we'll get a BCS bowl-bid unless Penn State drops a game, but we should still be well-placed. Sunday was the true insanity, as the BROWNS WON! Didn't get to watch it on TV, of course (stupid Bengals), but Dad & I listened to it on the radio, and it was nice to see (hear) the Browns come through for once... especially after the disappointing loss to the then-winless Texans. As far as fantasy football goes, I split, winning one and losing the other, but still - the real thing's better than fantasy any day.
It's Election Day. Go out there and vote. I definitely plan on voting on my way home. In Ohio there are five big state issues, plus other important stuff like school levees and the like.
Some linkage on my way out:
This was a great weekend for football too. OSU won, which was pretty expected, but they really surprised me by actually covering the spread. They didn't look flawless, but it was a solid game, and hopefully they keep it up and run the table. Even winning out, I don't know that we'll get a BCS bowl-bid unless Penn State drops a game, but we should still be well-placed. Sunday was the true insanity, as the BROWNS WON! Didn't get to watch it on TV, of course (stupid Bengals), but Dad & I listened to it on the radio, and it was nice to see (hear) the Browns come through for once... especially after the disappointing loss to the then-winless Texans. As far as fantasy football goes, I split, winning one and losing the other, but still - the real thing's better than fantasy any day.
It's Election Day. Go out there and vote. I definitely plan on voting on my way home. In Ohio there are five big state issues, plus other important stuff like school levees and the like.
Some linkage on my way out:
- Crazy Google Maps Risk
- Jen sent me this video of a very talented dude with a skeleton marionette.
- How many servings of your favorite caffeinated drink will kill you? Find out here.
- Stupid gizmos I want but don't need, like LED-lit faucets.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Holy November! Alone Again
Yeah, so it's November. Only two months left in 2005. I guess when you get old, time really flies.
Amy's currently on her last big trip of the season/year, which means that I'm smack-dab in the middle of the latest episode of Max's Home Alone Adventure. I must admit that I have found myself wondering several times what I used to do with all my free time in the days before City of Heroes. I have found that I missed out on a lot of great console games while I was sucked-in, so this is giving me a good chance to catch-up. Currently, I'm playing a lot of Def Jam Fight for NY, the sequel to Def Jam Vendetta. I'm a big fan of wrestling-style fighting games, so it's a great time. And it's insane all the people they've got in it. That's some mega-license-action. Also probably going to have to get around to checking out "Destroy All Humans", the X-Men Legends series, Civ IV, and more.
In other mindless entertainment news, VH1's new show But Can They Sing? is HORRIBLE. It's got the now familiar D-level "celebrities" in an American Idol-esque singing competition, complete with viewer voting. But they're pretty much resoundly TERRIBLE. It's like watching a train wreck. And to make it worse, they get mostly POSITIVE feedback instead of the tear-downs that really ought to be coming.
Quick and links:
Amy's currently on her last big trip of the season/year, which means that I'm smack-dab in the middle of the latest episode of Max's Home Alone Adventure. I must admit that I have found myself wondering several times what I used to do with all my free time in the days before City of Heroes. I have found that I missed out on a lot of great console games while I was sucked-in, so this is giving me a good chance to catch-up. Currently, I'm playing a lot of Def Jam Fight for NY, the sequel to Def Jam Vendetta. I'm a big fan of wrestling-style fighting games, so it's a great time. And it's insane all the people they've got in it. That's some mega-license-action. Also probably going to have to get around to checking out "Destroy All Humans", the X-Men Legends series, Civ IV, and more.
In other mindless entertainment news, VH1's new show But Can They Sing? is HORRIBLE. It's got the now familiar D-level "celebrities" in an American Idol-esque singing competition, complete with viewer voting. But they're pretty much resoundly TERRIBLE. It's like watching a train wreck. And to make it worse, they get mostly POSITIVE feedback instead of the tear-downs that really ought to be coming.
Quick and links:
- Cavs whipped the dislocated Hornets in the season opener. Roughly 70 more games like that and we're golden. Both former New Orleans pro teams don't seem to be faring too well with the displacement.
- I'm glad SOMEONE is questioning why oil companies are getting away with record profits while gouging us with record-high gas prices.
- As if it weren't already obvious enough, Facebook is seriously the new StalkerNet. It also works for universities to catch folks breaking the rules. I've heard rumors of this being done at OSU as well.
- Check out Hapland and Hapland 2 at the Farcade. They're both very cool, but kind of difficult.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Pixelart Movies, Flash Puzzles, etc
Our first Broadway Series show of the season was last night... Hairspray. It's honestly been so long since I've seen the movie that I remembered almost nothing about it... other than it was one of the "fat Ricki Lake" movies. I do remember that I didn't really care for the movie at all. The musical I really enjoyed, however. It was a pretty fun time. May have to go back and give the movie another chance. Still... as far as fat Ricki Lake movies go, you can't beat Cry Baby. Now there's a quality flick.
Some other quick links/blips:
Some other quick links/blips:
- The Eyezmaze site has been updated. There are two versions of the "Grow" game I hadn't played that were very fun, and some other minor updates. Check it out. There's even a blog there where he posts stuff in progress.
- In a new twist on "cliff notes", some guy has created pixel-art animated gifs covering most all of the important scenes in Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. They're good-sized files, so be careful.
- Shadowboxers in movies! I have no idea when these are coming out / when you'd be able to see them, but check out Horrors of War with Joe Lorenzo (and G.Lo here and there) and Living In Technicolor, with Pizzuto in a crazy-house!
Monday, October 24, 2005
Fire It Up
As previously mentioned, the Fall Fireball was Friday. It was a good time, though things started out a little disappointing, as they did away with all the "open" tables this year, leaving only reserved tickets. The $45 "guaranteed seat" tickets make a lot more sense knowing this, but I still can't see paying 1.5 times as much just to have a table to set your crap on for a little while. Maybe buying a full or partial table next year, I guess... It was a good time -- there was a lot of good stuff in both silent auctions. We bid on lots of stuff, but unfortunately only got one thing - a checker-pattern ottoman "crouton" - which we won because Amy was the only person to bid on it. I was bummed about losing out on both Cincy-trip packages, which were the things I probably wanted the most. The good thing is that at least they got more money off them for 2Cos/Shadowbox. Also cool auction-wise was Pat & Cindy winning a cruise in the live auction! Very nice. The band shows were, of course, the best part though -- Downtown DFN (the 2Cos band) played for a bit, and later BillWho? did a two-hour set, including lots of good tunes.
Saturday we hit-up the Ren Fest, and Amy was able to come along this time. Got to see some shows I missed last time, and introduce Amy to the fun. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again next year in slightly warmer weather, but we'll have to see how things are going. Also good on Saturday was OSU beating Indiana. Not that that was a huge surprise, but you never know with OSU on the road...
Sunday watched the Browns get whipped by frigging Detroit at home. It's typical Cleveland karma that it was Garcia who came in to lead them to the win. It was a bad football day in general, as my fantasy teams fared pretty poorly as well. I did go shopping with Amy for a bit earlier in the day, so at least it wasn't entirely wasted.
Saturday we hit-up the Ren Fest, and Amy was able to come along this time. Got to see some shows I missed last time, and introduce Amy to the fun. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again next year in slightly warmer weather, but we'll have to see how things are going. Also good on Saturday was OSU beating Indiana. Not that that was a huge surprise, but you never know with OSU on the road...
Sunday watched the Browns get whipped by frigging Detroit at home. It's typical Cleveland karma that it was Garcia who came in to lead them to the win. It was a bad football day in general, as my fantasy teams fared pretty poorly as well. I did go shopping with Amy for a bit earlier in the day, so at least it wasn't entirely wasted.
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