God, I wish I were Jewish

Let me tell you something: I LOVE the Jewish people. I know, I know--technically this is a stereotype, but it's a good stereotype, so I'll continue.

When I think of my top five favorite television programs--Seinfeld, Scrubs, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 24--at least three of them prominently feature a Jewish main character (Jerry Seinfeld, Zach Braff, Larry David). Seinfeld also features Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Stiller, Estelle Harris, while Curb includes Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Richard Lewis along with David. Arrested Development has Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, David Cross, each of which is indispensible to the show (or WAS!), as well as creator Mitchell Hurwitz. Actually, upon further digging, the second second assistant director for 24 is named Mark Rabinowitz, which I'm assuming is Jewish, as well as the recurring characters (for a while, at least) of Jonathan Ahdout, Sara Gilbert, and Mia Kirshner.

Is this a coinicidence? No, it's not. There's just something about the Jewish sense of humor that does it for me. These people are FUNNY, like no other. They're always "making observations" in a self-deprecating, there's-no-way-we'll-ever-find-out-the-answer-but-I'll-ask-anyway sort of way. I LOVE it.

I always think of that old Jewish guy in "The Pez Dispenser" episode of Seinfeld. At first he says: "Sure, we used to [have interventions] when one of our polar bears stopped coming. We would go to his house and say, "'What, you don't want to be a polar bear anymore? It's too cold for you?'" I ALWAYS crack up at that. But then he tells his kangaroo joke: "The male kangaroo doesn't have a pouch, only the female has it. The male has pouch envy. I have things to carry too--at least give me a pocket." It's not much if you just read it, but this is possibly one of the funniest lines in all of Seinfeld if it's delivered properly. I suppose it's all in the timing.

You can't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about. Without the Jewish sense of humor, I wouldn't watch television. Except for Skating with Celebrities.

Technorati Tags: Jewish, Seinfeld, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm

24 Recap - 2/27/06

Just one question: why the fuck would Christopher cut the phone lines before he blew Jack up? It makes no sense. It's an obvious tip-off.

This episode had less Jack in it since I can remember. I don't like that. More Jack=better. Less Jack=worse.

Sean Astin had a great performance, as Lynn McGill is an idiot. But he's not done--remember the keycard.

I LOVED the fact that they referenced the previous seasons in this episode--Jack working in a sting operation at CTU! That hadn't been mentioned since the first season, right?

Remember that supposedly someone else in the administration knew of the terrorist plot. I can't remember where we learned this, though--couple episodes ago, I think.

Good parts: More Edgar! Whee! Curtis going all Section 112 on Lynn's ass, Jack devising a plan to avoid being blown up by a bomb, the Jameson.

Bad parts: The fucking praying--I bet that's what our president does when he faces a difficult decision, not much Jack, no Michelle.

Predictions: Jack tracks down that Christopher guy and it turns out that he never took dirty money from CTU--he was trying to be ethical, but he got burned; Lynn's keycard is used to breach CTU security, and Jack has to save everyone.

Landlord Love

I'm currently crashing at four different sites through Blog Explosion, and I want to give a little shout out to my esteemed landlords. Check out these sites (I wouldn't be renting there if I didn't think each rocked the house):

1) Haunted House Dressing A very cool writer's blog.

2) Green A blog all the way from England. ENGLAND, people!

3) macellaro.com In part of this guy's About Me section, he says: "I'm taller than you (6'6"... so unless you're a freak, that is)." Awesome.

4) Recommended This is a site devoted to sharing with you cool stuff the blogger has found whilst surfing the ole 'net. The latest one is something called Couch Surfing (I SO do this).

You have visited my own renter, haven't you, faithful Vandelay Industries fans? If not, you simply must. Do yourself a favor and go ahead and click on the thumbnail to the right.

Evil, Taunting Clowns

So yesterday Dana coerced me into going on a jog. A JOG. A jog, people. For those of you who don't know me personally, this isn't something I would normally do. My typical exercise consists pacing back and forth--wherever I am--for most of the day, worrying about something or other. Oh, and lifting some sort of bottle--let's not for get that.










The above picture was taken just as Dana and I were starting out. It was mighty cold, but we were bundled up, as you can see. Then, gradually (after about 3 minutes), I began to realize just how long it had been since I'd been jogging before. My heart starting beating more quickly, sweat began pouring down my face, my throat started burning, and I began to see grotesque, evil clowns taunting me. Dana, however, remained unphased. He was prancing all about, just happy to be out of his apartment--he reminded me of a puppy that had been kept indoors for too long.

We ran for hours and hours. I saw the sun slowly sink beyond the horizon (we had started jogging at about 11:00am). I think at this point we were somewhere in Wisconsin--we kept seeing cows and cheese by the road. At around 6:30pm, I turned to Dana and said I was ready to turn back. He just laughed and kept prancing, shaking his head.

I don't know what time it was, but we eventually reached the ocean. Then we saw some people with weird hats, then some gondolas. At some point we passed another ocean, and somehow I woke up in my own bed this morning. I hate jogging.

Nonsensical Flounderings

Well, folks, I have my very first tenants through Blog Explosion, and I'm happy to say that their site is quite a good read. Mik is from England, and his wife Carolyn is from the good ole USA, and they both live in Seattle.

Click the thumbnail link to their site on the right toolbar to see what all the fuss is about!

Film Review: Sideways

So I've seen Sideways twice now, and it's just amazing.* What stands out to me in particular is the editing. The cuts are SO intelligent--we, as viewers, are told the story with such craft--that it's as if it's an organic experience; like the grapes themselves.

The soundtrack is brilliant. The film has a lighthearted instrumental soundtrack, with just the right amount of dark, subtle sections in minor to accommodate the main character--while still preserving the overall adventurous tone of the film. Of course, one could argue that the film is really about dealing with the dark side of oneself, but on the surface, the music fits quite well with the tone of the film.

Why Paul Giamatti didn't win an Oscar is beyond me; perhaps his performance was too nuanced to catch serious consideration from the Academy. On a personal note, I couldn't help but draw constant parallels between his character and myself, which is rather depressing. He's an 8th grade English teacher, likes wine, is a writer, can't get over his past relationship, has a beard, is balding, sabotages his relationships, likes close friendships, ugh.

Virginia Madsen is HOT.

The director, Alexander Payne, has done another film that I adore: About Schmidt. His themes tend to revolve around characters who are supposedly past their prime, and their reactions to the situations life has put them in. Brilliant.

Overall, this film would probably be in my top ten, if I were inclined to rank movies--if only for the fact that I connected to this film so strongly on a personal level. I highly recommend this film to anyone who fits any of the following descriptions: likes wine, is stuck, can't move on, has little direction. Great movie.

*It should be noted that on each separate occasion I have viewed this film, I have consumed no less than an entire bottle of wine.

Technorati Tags: Sideways, Movies

Post of Randomness - the more you can make sense of it, the more you understand me.

ineluctable modality of the visual life is a game boy, life is a game one plays by the rules unpack Tho' much is taken, much abides the trick is not minding that it hurts 2000 O Isis und Osiris John Ronald Ruel 1901 history is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake Banana Grabber ask her if she still keeps her kings in the back row March 25 Traumlicht et verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis September 22 Strider Strider revocate animos, maestumque timorem mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit isn't it rich are we a pair Punch March 22 Hvalite imya Gospodne Bloom for you there'll be no more crying, for you the sun will be shining Peter Lorre you're doing God's work 308 rosebud I'm okay with being unimpressive I sleep better I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul Dedalus sing a song Kim Bauer I'm going out to clean the pasture spring I'll only stop to rake the leaves away someday never comes here's looking at you, kid O Tennenbaum Beth TIM215 esteemed as asparagus 2004 let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun you don't have to talk at all if she can stand it, so can I once there was a way to get back homeward it's really breathtaking actually October 27 immediately after making this statement, Royal realized that it was true.

Southie's Note: There are 48 references to parts of my life in this post. How many can you get? Also--Tara has said that she can't see the gray background behind the text in my blog. Is anyone else having this problem?

Happy Frickin' Wednesday

I'm not going to say a damn thing about this picture, only that I once knew this man.

24 Recap - 2/20/06

How weird would it be to have the name Jack Bauer? Just thought of that.

Anyway, tonight's episode of 24 was much better than last week's. More shooting, intrigue, insubordination, etc. I like the idea of Mrs. Logan getting in the limo with the Russians, but having that be the cliffhanger? I don't know. I mean, we knew that would be next week's episode anyway.

Has anyone else noticed that in the editing they hurry a few seconds here and there? This is the first episode I've noticed it. Maybe I'm just being crazy-film-teacher guy.

Good parts: Seeing the pressure go down the chain of command (Logan-Lynn-Bill), Bill being held in custody as a result, Jack's phone/PDA being able to read any type of disk ever designed, the Jameson.

Bad parts: Lynn's crack-whore sister (enough already; make it a valid plot point or ditch it), Chloe and Edgar's lack of screen time (who doesn't like awkward ugly/fat people; seriously, I wish they were on more), lack of any hot female.

Predictions: Russian president narrowly misses assassination, all because of Jack; Lynn is held hostage at some point, and Bill is forced to take over; Kim and Michelle come back and start making out.

What's happening with Tony?????

Technorati Tag: 24

My Take on the Olympics

So I've been mulling this over for quite some time, and I think I've finally found a solution. Back in ancient times, it was important for nations to have skilled, physically trained citizens, incase they wanted to take over a neighboring nation or go hunting or something. But times have changed. If we want to take over a neighboring nation, we simply press a button and 3,000 nukes drop on them; if we want to go hunting, we just call anyone except for the Vice President. So how can we change the Olympics so that countries aren't wasting resources developing citizens who are good in the "rock throwing" or "elk skinning" events? Well, I'll tell you.

Instead of having an Olympics every few years involving "sports" that either no one cares about ("ice dancing") or has heard of ("ice dancing"), I propose having each country put these resources towards developing a few teams of scientists. Instead of events, these teams of scientists would work to cure various diseases. So, for example, you could have USA, RUS, AUS, and NED working to cure cancer in the Cancer event. The first team that finds the cure for cancer wins! NBC could still have the TV rights, and you'd have dramatic music playing while scientists are messing with beakers and writing stuff down, etc. It'd be just like reality television.

You see, with this method, even though one country wins the event, EVERYBODY wins! And no one has to waste resources on training skiers and dancers and whatnot, and we don't have to watch skiers and dancers and whatnot.

Possible Events in Southie's Olympics
1. Cancer
2. Avian Flu
3. Down's Syndrome
4. Baldness
5. Influenza
6. Stupidity
7. The Common Cold
8. Lupus
9. Women
10. Erectile Disfunction

Think of all the lives we could change!


PS--What do you think of the new layout?

Technorati Tag: Olympics

Mom and Pop Come for a Visit

I'm excited that my parents are coming in. Really, I am. I haven't seen them since Christmas, and I've missed them. So, we're taking advantage of the long weekend, and they're coming up from Ohio for a visit.

It's an interesting problem when your parents visit from two states away: what do you do with them? Growing up, I did what I imagine most kids did with their parents--we watched TV together. We just did our own thing, but together. But now that I only see my parents a few times a year, I always want to make the visits special, or at the very least interesting. We go out to eat a lot, and we usually end up going shopping at some point, but we always return to that traditional pastime of all families: sitting in front of the TV. It feels like it should be awkward, but it isn't. I feel like I should constantly be entertaining them on their visit, but I can't think of anything else to do with them except eat, shop, and watch TV. Hell, that's all I ever do.

But at the end of the day it always turns out that whatever we do together is just fine--seeing them and spending time with them is what it's all about, after all. Now if I can just stop myself from compulsively cleaning my apartment for hours before they visit...

Technorati Tags: Parents

Rough Day

This day is so bad...




















...a little better.

Southie Needs YOUR Help!

So I'm a film snob--I admit it. I usually only deign to see movies that I KNOW are good, one way or another, beit through my innate sense of movie goodness (which is surprisingly accurate, actually), well-regarded friends, stunning trailers, online reviews, etc. But I do know that I am missing out on the whole other side of the movie-watching experience. We're talking just pure entertainment--not analysis, overanalysis, predictions, prepredictions. I need to watch more movies that are just downright FUN.

So, here's YOUR task: what movies have you seen that are plain fun to watch? They could be from your childhood, from last year, from your secret life as an undercover lounge singer--I don't care. I just want your advice on some fun movies to watch.

Comments, please.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Two things that are stupid about Valentine's Day:

1. People saying "Happy Valentine's Day" to just anyone

At work today, I was bombarded by "Happy Valentine's Day"s from nearly all corners. I even had a 60+ year old man tell me to have a nice Valentine's Day. While I certainly appreciate the sentiment--that they want me to enjoy the day and not wallow in the sorry that is being single on Valentine's Day--I think that you should only say "Happy Valentine's Day" to someone you love, and hopefully romantically love. It's just confusing for me when so many different types of people are telling me to enjoy a romantic holiday, when the only love I have in my life is from two cats whose shit I clean up and my parents (not to take away from either the cats or the parents, of course).

2. The Female Emphasis

Granted, I have nothing specific to bitch about regarding this point, merely some observations. It seems to me that Valentine's Day has become (has always been?) more about the female than the male. This morning on NPR I heard that the average male spends $130 on his significant other, whereas the average female spends only half that. I know, I know, it's very easy for you girls to make pseudo-feminist jokes about that's the way it should be and we deserve it and all that, but seriously, if this is supposed to be a day celebrating the relationship between two people, it should be a day celebrating the relationship between two equal people.

Technorati Tag: Valentine's Day

Damn you, Weather!

This may sound weird to the non-Midwesterners (hell, it might sound weird to some Midwesterners), but I hate the weather right now. In particular, I hate the fact that it's over 50 degrees in mid-February. In February, it's SUPPOSED to be 30 or below. That's just the way it's supposed to be. Anything else is unnatural. Don't get me wrong; I like warm weather in May and June just as much as the next guy. Spring rocks. But it's not Spring--it's still Winter, and in Winter it's supposed to be cold and there's supposed to be snow. But no, there are golfers outside my apartment, and I swear I saw someone with an inflatable duck-shaped life preserver on the way home from work.

I won't go into global warming or Bush destroying the environment or anything like that in this post--we'll just keep it nice and tidy with the fact that things are all messed up here. If this keeps up, I'll start to feel like Spring really IS here, then I'll be excited, then Winter will come back, then I'll be sad. I'm bipolar enough as it is; I don't need the weather to help.

24 Recap - 2/13/06

The only thing keeping me from completely hating President Logan is that he looks almost exactly like Kevin Spacey.

I miss President Palmer.

I thought Kim would be in this episode. When she does come back, I hope that they've cloned her, and that her clone is a much better actress than she is.

Mrs. Logan is dumb. I hope she dies. But if she does die, it'll be tragic; she'll be a misunderstood martyr. She should inhale the gas from the canisters.

I miss Michelle. Now SHE was good. Man.

This was an average episode. Nothing too intense.

Bad parts: Jack wistfully watching a loosed balloon float to the ceiling of the mall. Jack miraculously saving a little girl's life with a shot of something. Mike Novak starting to be seen as a bad guy (did he kill Cummings?).

Good parts: The black guy saying, "it's about time." Remembering Michelle. The Jameson.

Technorati Tags: 24, Kevin Spacey

Huntsman of the Year

Huntsman of the Year

Technorati Tags: Dick Cheney, Hunting

A Long-Lost Friend

When I was in Australia I became addicted to a popular wine there: the brand is called Houghton, and the varietal called White Burgundy.

I haven't been able to find it in America, and this deeply saddens me. I had an intense emotional relationship with that wine while I was overseas, and it was a part of me. But, alas! It was not to be.

On the Houghton website, however, I recently learned that the brand is actually distributed by an importer in California, and, according to the distributor's website, "Houghton wines are distributed nationwide. Houghton is available where wines and spirits are available. If your favorite retailer does not currently carry Houghton, we recommend you inquire with the store manager. They should be able to place an order for you with the local distributor." So there may be hope after all... I don't suppose anyone has ever had this wine?

On a side note, I also read on Houghton's website that they have changed the name "White Burgundy" to "White Classic" because some French idiots didn't want people using there region as a name for wine unless it actually came from there. Jerks.

Technorati Tags: Wine, Australia

New The Captain Post!

In a shocking change of events, The Captain has a new post on his site. Check it out.

Technorati Tag: The Captain

My Word Cloud

This rocks. Got it here and found the link for it here.

Technorati tag: Word Cloud

Fantasy Baseball 2006

Let's talk about Fantasy Baseball for a second. How much am I looking forward to this? A lot. Can I wait till it starts? No.

I've played for the past four years and each year I get more into it. I just love poring over the stats and setting THE perfect lineup. I even won our league last year, based solely on my baseball know-how. Last year was the first year we did a live, online draft, and it was SO fun. If we could do a draft like that every month or so, I think my life would be a lot better.

Can you feel that the fantasy baseball industry very soon will be a major reason for MLB's popularity? I do follow a few teams (the Cubs and the Reds), but more often than not, I find myself rooting for individual players--or against individual players, if my opponent for that week has him (yes, we use the head-to-head format). What could be more addictive? Crack? Not really.

So I'm getting the league back together (I'm the commissioner), and life is full of possibility (as Meryl Streep says in The Hours). Tara is in it, so you may be getting updates from her as well, and it can get pretty hardcore at times--for teachers, the $75 entry fee is pretty hefty, as are the payouts.

So I think I'll just sit here and dream...about ERA, and BAA, and OBP, and K/9, and all the rest...

Life is good.

Fantasy Baseball

Arrested Development?

That better NOT have been the last episode of Arrested Development. I mean, I will totally flip out. The show is too good, especially when compared to the shit that the networks insist on churning out in the modern age, to be slung aside like yesterday's Skating with Celebrities. I mean, really.

C'mon Showtime.

Arrested Development

Following up on the cartoon...

Check out this post; very well written, if you ask me.

In other news, my fridge is starting to look like Dana's: nothing but wine, hummus, and cheese.

I remember when cartoons were funny.

Have you noticed how all of Europe and the Middle East is in an uproar about those controversial cartoons, and the US wants nothing to do with it? Today Bush and Rice, in separate remarks, said something to the effect of "the press has freedom, but they should be sensitive to people," neither outright defending nor condemning the publication of the cartoons. Great. We know that, thank you very much, Mr. "I went to Yale". Of course, one of Rice's degrees is from Notre Dame, so maybe I should keep quiet.

Here's a picture of a shoe.







Has anyone else noticed that corn is underrated?

Southie's Campaign

As Tara and I were at work today, not doing work (parenthetical tangent: Tara wore tweed pants today and we had a big long discussion about just how common it was for people to wear tweed wherein Tara contended that it was quite common among both males and females and I completely disagreed with her saying that while wearing tweed was very common in the past nowadays if you wear tweed you're just asking to draw attention to yourself which I conveyed to her by using the word "ridiculous"), I happened upon the thought that people would save a heck of a lot of cumulative time if for the next four years we would all take out the zero for the year when we write the date. So, instead of "2/7/06" it would be "2/7/6". Just think about how much energy, time, and money would be saved if that 0 weren't there anymore! People would be saving milliseconds every day, which, when added to everyone else's saving of milliseconds, would amount to quite a large sum of time. So from now on, I implore you, drop the zero--make the world a better place!

What's Important.

We here at Vandelay Industries want to remind you to stop and smell the roses. It's just SO easy to get caught up in not only the day's events, but the events that you deem "important" over the long term--the things we originally thought might be a good idea, but ultimately have consumed too much of our time and self to be able to justify.

So please, for your own sake, close your eyes for 15 seconds, breathe, and remember.

Have a great day.

Super Bowl Report Card

Category: Star-Spangled Banner
Grade: D-
Comments: Just terrible. I've never been a huge Aaron Neville fan, and he was not particularly impressive here. Aretha Franklin is old and should retire. I think what was called for here was a more traditional, "American" rendition of our national anthem. Who is Dr. John?

Category: Game
Grade: B
Comments: A good game--it was always competitive. But did anyone really believe that Seattle was going to come back during the fourth quarter? I didn't.

Category: Game Outcome
Grade: A-
Comments: I picked Pittsburgh to win, and I wanted them to win, too. The only bad thing is that now I'm up 3-0 in the PCS, so if I win one more Event, I win the 2006 Cup. The more competitive something is, the more exciting it is.

Category: Halftime Show
Grade: F
Comments: The Rolling Stones should have died a long time ago, or at least had their abnormally long tongues cut out. Jeez. Why didn't they get Coldplay?

Category: Commercials
Grade: B-
Comments: I wasn't impressed. I don't know, maybe I'm more mature than I used to be, but they weren't as funny or "neat" as I remember. Still, they were better than the regular crap that they churn out most of the time. I did go to this cool site: www.herestobeer.com. Beer's good.

Yesterday at the Barber's

This post was inspired by Lizzie's tantalizing hints about her new haircut.

Yesterday I decided to break down and finally get a haircut. It'd been...I don't know, three years since I had my last one, and things were definitely getting out of hand. I decided to go in if only to cut down on the cost of shampoo, which can certainly get expensive if you haven't been to the hairdresser in three years.

Growing up, my aunt owned her own hair salon, so it wasn't until college that I had a different hairdresser, or "barber" as men are supposed to call them. It always felt awkward entrusting my gorgeous head of hair to someone who didn't already know my life story. My aunt and I had our rhythm: we would chat a bit while she cut my hair, then we'd not talk for a while, then we'd talk some more. With anyone else, I always felt uncertain as to whether I should talk, and what to talk about, etc. Was I supposed to ask a perfect stranger about their lives? "Are you content to cut hair for the rest of your life? Do you enjoy this work? Who sweeps the cut hair from the ground?" Just weird.

So, back to yesterday, obviously it was a new place I went into, and I asked the receptionist if there were any available "barbers" that I could see right away (I usually don't call ahead, being a person who is always caught up in the present). She checked and said that there was one guy available at the present. The thought of having "a guy" cut my hair made me shiver. Granted, it's not as bad as getting a massage from a guy, but in my book they're pretty darn close.

But I said okay, and she introduced me to Lenny, a forty-something bald "guy" with a neatly trimmed goatee. I was okay with the goatee, but bald? Isn't that against the National Barber Association's code of ethics? Sure, these people are paid to make sure you have less hair than when you come in, but it just seemed wrong to have someone cut my hair who didn't have any himself. How much hair experience does he have? Before he went bald, did he cut his own hair? Did he lose all of his hair in a self-haircut disaster?

I began to get nervous, but it was too late to back out now. I sat in his barber-chair and was immediately draped in a blue smock with red rockets and stars. I felt five. He sprayed my hair with what I hoped was water and then began clipping away. This was the moment I had dreaded: should I ask him how he's doing? If he was very busy today? Who he thought would win the Super Bowl, since he's a guy and all? Instead of saying anything, I just sat there, staring myself in the eyes.

After about five minutes he said, "You've got some nice hair."

I awkwardly shifted in my chair and considered asking him how he lost his. Was he on chemo? "Thanks," I mumbled.

"What sort of shampoo do you use?"

I told him. He seemed to think that my brand was pretty good, but he suggested some others. I said I'd get some at the store next time I was there. He seemed satisfied.

More time passed, and I continued to wonder if I should bring anything up. Finally, I decided it would be more awkward if I let the all of the time pass without saying anything on my own.

"So, have you been working here long?"

"Actually, today's my first day."

I started to sweat. His first day? Aren't they supposed to tell you about something like that beforehand? What if he messed up? Would I get my money back?

"Oh," I said.

"Don't worry, I'm a really good barber." He told me the name of the barber school he went to.

"Oh," I said. "I hear that they're really good." We both knew this was a lie; who knows how good barber schools are?

"There," he said with a flourish. "How's it look?"

I stared at myself in the mirror. "Good," I said.

"Is it alright? Do want more taken off?"

"No thanks--this is just how I like it." But it wasn't. He had taken too much off the top, and off the sides, and the back and front. Look at my profile.

I paid the receptionist on my way out, and as I was driving home, I decided that male hairdressers weren't all that bad. Maybe I'll give Lenny another shot next time.

Southie's note: the information contained in this post is 90% untrue. My aunt does own her own hair salon. It's nice.

A Nice Night Out On the Town

Southie's Note: I'm going to try to completely forget all the crap that's been going on with Blogger recently and act like this post will work normally.

Tonight I went into the city to catch a concert and meet up with some friends, and it was coolio. We heard Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9, performed by the DePaul Symphony Orchestra. Of the two, the former is more my style, but I enjoyed the latter more, oddly enough. The winds in the Shostakovich were awesome, and particularly the clarinet. I miss college musical ensembles. And Glee Club.

Afterwards, we hit up The Red Lion, and it was a rockin' time. We got the whole upstairs for our party. Met some people. Sweet.

Till next time, sports fans.

The Attack of the Mysterious Blog Post-Eater!!!

So as I was participating in my weekly Saturday morning ritual, namely, catching up on all the blogs that I haven't been able to read as often as I'd like during the week, I came upon Lizzie's blog. The most recent post WAS that no one was able to comment on her blog, and some of her posts were being deleted! I tried to comment on that post, but Blogger wouldn't let me.

But lo and behold, not 30 minutes later, MY most recent post has disappeared! NOOOOO!

So now I'm backing up everything. Does anyone have any info on this?!

To Buy or Not To Buy

At work today Gino spent almost all of 3rd period trying to convince me that I need to buy a condo instead of rent. Conceptually, I completely agree with him: it's much, much better to invest money in something that you can get money back out of instead of "throwing money away" on an apartment. Of course; this makes sense. My problem is that I was planning on waiting until after my Master's degree to buy a place (Master's completion=15 months from June), so that I would have more money and get a better rate. Gino's argument is that the cost of housing around here will just keep going up, so by the time I'm done with the Master's, things will be much more expensive anyway (and he has a point). He suggests that instead of buying a townhome after the Master's as I planned, I buy a condo now. Then, later, I can buy a bigger place. And, once again, I want to, I just don't know if I can work it out. It's very frustrating. Can someone give me a no-interest $100k loan? C'mon--you know you love reading my blog.

New The Captain Post

After an admittedly unbearable amount of time, a new episode of The Captain's adventures has been released. Read it here.

News Headlines

I consider myself a moderate news junkie--I check BBC Online, NY Times, and ABC News compulsively at least three times a day (in that order). Oftentimes at work, I'll be sitting in the office minding my own business when I realize that I've somehow not only find my way to one of these news sites, but that I'm halfway through reading an article about how scientists have found a way to send microchips into our bloodstream to monitor our risk for colon cancer. Honestly, this has happened to me more than once (though not the part about microchips and the colon cancer).

Today, though, as I was going to check my mail on Yahoo!, I caught site of the headlines that they throw at you on the gateway page. Three of them shocked me. They were:

"Bush Urges Confidence in His Leadership"
"White House, Chertoff Faulted Over Katrina"
"Insurgents Thwarting Iraq Reconstruction"

Besides the fact that upon reading each of these any educated member of the American public should slap their forehead with a resonating "DUH!", these articles could have been relevant more than 5 months ago! Why should I want to read any of these? I understand that a headline is supposed to summarize what the article is about, but isn't a headline also supposed to grab your attention? Well, these three did grab my attention, I suppose.

AP apparently could have taken a page (literally) from Tara's student-run newspaper, wherein one of the headlines proclaimed "It's Reigning Men", referring to our male pageant that is actually occurring right about now.

Random question completely unrelated to newspapers and/or headlines: who has heard Beethoven's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 5 in E flat major, "Emperor" op. 73? Absolutely breathtaking, especially the first two minutes of the second movement. Amazing, and highly recommended.