Dearest Cher:
I know it's been almost a week since your new movie Burlesque was released, and I still haven't mentioned anything about it in a random fashion.
But there was the holiday, and then some other issues, and I wasn't sure if it was going to end up more Showgirls than Moulin Rouge.
All the same, please forgive me. And, please find the link to your new song dutifully posted as my tune for today.
"There will be no fade out ... This is not the end ... I'm down now ... But I'll be standing tall again ... Times are hard but I was built tough ... I'm gonna show you all what I'm made of..."
All my respect,
Troy
ANOTHER POWER BALLAD FROM DIANE WARREN (OBVIOUSLY):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1gcMsRiNok
November 30, 2010
November 29, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/29/10
[note: this post is a first for me -- a random reprise to the one from 1/11/10, with original language intact and knee talk replaced with [angio-vocab]]
Gone but not forgotten: Chris' original [heart] parts.
For those of you who know Chris in Chicago, his [chest pains of the last few weeks] led to [an emergency angioplasty] and he now has [two modern stents helping his heart each day]. He said [he did not see a bright white light when an artery collapsed while his Dr was installing his new parts -- but that he would have been more comforted if he didn't hear the doc swear when it happened]!
Chris' original [heart that didn't need artificial helpers] -- you will be missed.
NOTHING SNARKY TODAY -- JUST GET EDUCATED ABOUT THE SILENT KILLER:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
NO FAT, NO SALT, VERY LITTLE BACON HEART HEALTHY DIET SUGGESTIONS:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/HB00039
ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS AN AED:
http://www.annuvia.com/products/aed-units
Gone but not forgotten: Chris' original [heart] parts.
For those of you who know Chris in Chicago, his [chest pains of the last few weeks] led to [an emergency angioplasty] and he now has [two modern stents helping his heart each day]. He said [he did not see a bright white light when an artery collapsed while his Dr was installing his new parts -- but that he would have been more comforted if he didn't hear the doc swear when it happened]!
Chris' original [heart that didn't need artificial helpers] -- you will be missed.
NOTHING SNARKY TODAY -- JUST GET EDUCATED ABOUT THE SILENT KILLER:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
NO FAT, NO SALT, VERY LITTLE BACON HEART HEALTHY DIET SUGGESTIONS:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/HB00039
ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS AN AED:
http://www.annuvia.com/products/aed-units
November 28, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/28/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
So a drunken sailor and a homeless man walk into a McDonald's ...
Sadly, that's not the beginning of some new kick-ass joke, but an incident of violence that happened at the local MickeyDs last night. Coming shortly after the Taco Bell shooting and the man found dead in his Addison and Halsted apartment, that's all hitting a little too close to home for my taste. Of course, all the incidents are related to late night and alcohol (and I haven't been out stumbling around drunk on a bar crawl for about six weeks), so I may be mostly safe from harm. And the news story juxtaposed around all of these (the fourth link below) -- the brand new police station opened in the 'hood within two blocks of all of these occurrences.
Look, I pay a premium to be in this neighborhood. And that means I live paycheck to paycheck. But I'd like to keep the focus on the fifth word of that last sentence, so let's keep it together, people!
MCRIBS MAKE PEOPLE CRAZY:
http://www.chicagonewsreport.com/2010/11/stabbing-at-clark-street-wrigleyville.html
THE ANKLE-SHOOTER STRUCK A FEW WEEKS AGO:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/2-injured-in-shooting-near-wrigleyville-taco-bell.html
BOUNCER SLAIN IN HIS APARTMENT TGIVING DAY:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/2-injured-in-shooting-near-wrigleyville-taco-bell.html
103YR OLD POLICE STATION REPLACED AND NOW OPEN:
http://mayor.cityofchicago.org/mayor/en/press_room/press_releases/2010/november_2010/1113_23rd_district.html
So a drunken sailor and a homeless man walk into a McDonald's ...
Sadly, that's not the beginning of some new kick-ass joke, but an incident of violence that happened at the local MickeyDs last night. Coming shortly after the Taco Bell shooting and the man found dead in his Addison and Halsted apartment, that's all hitting a little too close to home for my taste. Of course, all the incidents are related to late night and alcohol (and I haven't been out stumbling around drunk on a bar crawl for about six weeks), so I may be mostly safe from harm. And the news story juxtaposed around all of these (the fourth link below) -- the brand new police station opened in the 'hood within two blocks of all of these occurrences.
Look, I pay a premium to be in this neighborhood. And that means I live paycheck to paycheck. But I'd like to keep the focus on the fifth word of that last sentence, so let's keep it together, people!
MCRIBS MAKE PEOPLE CRAZY:
http://www.chicagonewsreport.com/2010/11/stabbing-at-clark-street-wrigleyville.html
THE ANKLE-SHOOTER STRUCK A FEW WEEKS AGO:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/2-injured-in-shooting-near-wrigleyville-taco-bell.html
BOUNCER SLAIN IN HIS APARTMENT TGIVING DAY:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/2-injured-in-shooting-near-wrigleyville-taco-bell.html
103YR OLD POLICE STATION REPLACED AND NOW OPEN:
http://mayor.cityofchicago.org/mayor/en/press_room/press_releases/2010/november_2010/1113_23rd_district.html
November 27, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/27/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... I've finally gotten to the end of the AMAs that had been saved to the DVR, and was the world really demanding a joint reunion featuring NKTOBSB? I mean, WTF (why the face?, for those Modern Family fans)!
That final number just made me ... uncomfortable. With Donnie's acting career, I was surprised to see him be a part of the spectacle, and poor Danny looked every bit of his 40 years of age. [By the way, even though my friend Jarrod was once a D Wahlberg dead-ringer, twenty years later, they have clearly taken separate paths as they aged.] Then, in preparing for this post, I found out that this was not just a one-time stunt, but a "rehearsal" of sorts for the upcoming 2011 concert tour!
To be clear, I'm not hating because I'm jealous that none of them doubled in size or anything. And I'm sure that they all have wives and kids and pets and such to feed, but if this is what my generation has to add to the annals of musicology, I'm saddened. And sorry, I got nothing to say about the 80% of the Backstreeters that were present. It's probably embarrassing enough that I can name a bunch of NKOTB songs, so I thought I'd stop while I'm ahead.
Now if only that Timberlake fella weren't busy, they could have made it a boyband bonanza (I mean manband mother-lode?) and added an N'Sync set. Or maybe we'll save that reunion for the 2030 Grammys (note to the next generation -- prepare now for what will one day be a most mockable moment).
REUNIONS of THE 2000s:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/12/16/best-and-worst-reunions-of-the-2000s/
SOCCER MOMs AND PEDOPHILES of THE 1990s, TAKE NOTE:
http://www.cdinsight.com/news.php?readmore=7855
THE 1989 TOP 100 POP CHART (WARNING: NKOTB is WELL REPRESENTED):
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1989.htm
... I've finally gotten to the end of the AMAs that had been saved to the DVR, and was the world really demanding a joint reunion featuring NKTOBSB? I mean, WTF (why the face?, for those Modern Family fans)!
That final number just made me ... uncomfortable. With Donnie's acting career, I was surprised to see him be a part of the spectacle, and poor Danny looked every bit of his 40 years of age. [By the way, even though my friend Jarrod was once a D Wahlberg dead-ringer, twenty years later, they have clearly taken separate paths as they aged.] Then, in preparing for this post, I found out that this was not just a one-time stunt, but a "rehearsal" of sorts for the upcoming 2011 concert tour!
To be clear, I'm not hating because I'm jealous that none of them doubled in size or anything. And I'm sure that they all have wives and kids and pets and such to feed, but if this is what my generation has to add to the annals of musicology, I'm saddened. And sorry, I got nothing to say about the 80% of the Backstreeters that were present. It's probably embarrassing enough that I can name a bunch of NKOTB songs, so I thought I'd stop while I'm ahead.
Now if only that Timberlake fella weren't busy, they could have made it a boyband bonanza (I mean manband mother-lode?) and added an N'Sync set. Or maybe we'll save that reunion for the 2030 Grammys (note to the next generation -- prepare now for what will one day be a most mockable moment).
REUNIONS of THE 2000s:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/12/16/best-and-worst-reunions-of-the-2000s/
SOCCER MOMs AND PEDOPHILES of THE 1990s, TAKE NOTE:
http://www.cdinsight.com/news.php?readmore=7855
THE 1989 TOP 100 POP CHART (WARNING: NKOTB is WELL REPRESENTED):
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1989.htm
Random Posting for Penn State 11/27/10
So whether we get to play spoiler or not today (and with the three way tie atop the Big 10 rankings, I think there are many others competing to play that role), I'd like to retire two things:
1.) The sounds from the muted chorus of folks who want JoePa to retire. With so much promise in the ranks, surely he can finish out his contract, no? Freshman talent, if they stay out of trouble, should lead to an exciting "wait until next year" (and not in the half-hearted Cubs kind-of-way)!
2.) The overuse of the word swagger by sportscasters. Where did that come from? Have Old Spice commercials forced that word into the common lexicon? If everybody has swagger, then no one has swagger, right?
Will today continue the 44 year old tradition of MSU not winning in Happy Valley? Is the Land Grant Trophy ours? There's a half of play left, so it remains to be seen. Regardless, I look forward to another random posting on the day of our bowl game ...
I BLAME OLD SPICE:
http://consumerist.com/2010/06/old-spice-hits-new-low-sponsors-swagger-stat-in-madden-nfl-game.html
NO NEED TO RUSH HIM OUT!:
http://www.seedol.com/20104423-joe-paterno-returns-to-coach-nittany-lions.html
SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE THE LAND GRANT TROPHY:
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2006/11/16/9754/9732
1.) The sounds from the muted chorus of folks who want JoePa to retire. With so much promise in the ranks, surely he can finish out his contract, no? Freshman talent, if they stay out of trouble, should lead to an exciting "wait until next year" (and not in the half-hearted Cubs kind-of-way)!
2.) The overuse of the word swagger by sportscasters. Where did that come from? Have Old Spice commercials forced that word into the common lexicon? If everybody has swagger, then no one has swagger, right?
Will today continue the 44 year old tradition of MSU not winning in Happy Valley? Is the Land Grant Trophy ours? There's a half of play left, so it remains to be seen. Regardless, I look forward to another random posting on the day of our bowl game ...
I BLAME OLD SPICE:
http://consumerist.com/2010/06/old-spice-hits-new-low-sponsors-swagger-stat-in-madden-nfl-game.html
NO NEED TO RUSH HIM OUT!:
http://www.seedol.com/20104423-joe-paterno-returns-to-coach-nittany-lions.html
SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE THE LAND GRANT TROPHY:
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2006/11/16/9754/9732
November 26, 2010
Random Flashback for Friday 11/26/10
On this holiday weekend when so many travel, I thought it only fitting that I show my favorite Bahn stop as I arrived & left Koln each day to get to my host family's house in Bergisch-Gladbach. Now that I've lived as long as I have in Chicago, the notion of a train stop isn't quite as unique as this experience was to me twenty years ago, but it certainly was an everyday part of my semester abroad. [Cindy, didn't you and Brian and I all take the same route?] Regardless, this picture certainly can represent my wish that all have safe travels who are still out and about this weekend.
November 25, 2010
Random Thought for Thursday 11/25/10
A Thanksgiving itinerary:
7:30 -- wake up at my family's place in South Bend and immediately start questioning the actual time, as I crossed over to EST yesterday on the trip in
8:30 -- realize it is really 8:30 locally and one hour of my holiday is quickly "lost"
9:05 -- after a morning constitutional, lay down on the couch to watch the Macy's day parade
10:30 -- doze off to my first nap of the day and marvel at how the Macy's day parade is really just one big commercial (mostly for NBC) and not much else; question how I possibly missed that in my youth
12:00 -- wake up to the voices of Ron Reagan Jr and Mr. Peterman; take an extra moment to realize the Dog Show is on
12:10 -- begin my round of visiting with family and the menagerie in the family compound -- one turtle, two dogs, three cats and a miniature rabbit that has long outlived his life span but is still happy to be photographed (see accompanying 2010 Holidays album)
1:30 -- start project for the day -- going back in my FB account to find posts from Jan 2010 to rebuild the blog from 1/1/10; frustrated, but FB eventually begrudgingly gives up the data after much painstaking labor and frequent screen freezes
3:00 -- convince giant cat Mauser to pose for pictures; consider sending shots to the Biggest Loser to see if he could be the first cat contestant; note that whereas people add weight to their face, cats just grow from the neck down; capture the "money shot" of Mauser covering his mouth while he's splayed out on the bed as if he's giggling at his largess
3:10 -- feeling guilty about the mocking of the fat cat, head upstairs to weigh myself (before we eat, because I'm strategic); note that I am 2 lbs lighter than my dr. visit last week but 11 lbs heavier than the holidays last year; wonder how big I have to get before I become a candidate to be a contestant on Biggest Loser; zone out trying to decide if I would rather have Bob or Jillian (or that one lady who barely did two seasons) as my trainer
3:20 -- realize that a nephew has arrived on his break from work; discuss his double entendre belt buckle and turtle sex as it relates to determining the gender (male turtles have concave bottoms so that they fit together with a female during copulation)
3:40 -- take a picture of Dolly's backside in the kitchen (it's a tradition) but promise in advance not to post it on FB this year
4:00 -- have a moment of silence to say grace and realize that my mind is having its own moment of silence remembering last year's bacon-wrapped turkey (pics on file on FB)
4:15 -- announce at dinner that holidays are better with kids running around; being to plan campaign for the nephews to impregnate their girlfriends to ultimately enhance future holiday celebrations
4:35 -- win the "last person to leave the table award" and begin to connect the dots about my 11 lb weight gain
5:20 -- gather around the phone to get call from another nephew who is two weeks into basic training; decide it is not the time to tell him to get a girl pregnant and instead, wish him well for the remaining weeks at boot camp
6:33 -- lose first game of Michigan Rummy in dramatic fashion, with high score 7x that of winner's low score
6:34 -- undaunted, begin second game of Michigan Rummy, only to lose it as well
7:05 -- wrap up card game quickly so that scorekeeper can run to living room to watch "Pumkin Chuckin'"
7:06 -- begin tradition of sending holiday texts to important folks in my cell phone
8:05 -- after an evening constitutional, lay down on couch for second nap of the day
10:30 -- post photos, and this random thought to the blog; briefly consider that I might be sharing too much too often
11:00 -- prepare for battle at Wal-mart; review my plan to buy TVonDVD at special low prices starting at 12:01; begin to fear that I may be in over my head, being in Indiana and at a Walmart at midnight
11:01 -- close my post by stating: "If I am the victim of a stampede, please know that my last thoughts were to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!"
THE AD FOR WHICH I WILL RISK MY LIFE TONIGHT:
http://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday-deals/1076614
JEFFREY THE TURTLE IS ACTUALLY A GIRL!:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070508171652AADN2yA
THE AFOREMENTIONED HOLIDAY ALBUM:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48308&id=1843633569&l=a11808616c
7:30 -- wake up at my family's place in South Bend and immediately start questioning the actual time, as I crossed over to EST yesterday on the trip in
8:30 -- realize it is really 8:30 locally and one hour of my holiday is quickly "lost"
9:05 -- after a morning constitutional, lay down on the couch to watch the Macy's day parade
10:30 -- doze off to my first nap of the day and marvel at how the Macy's day parade is really just one big commercial (mostly for NBC) and not much else; question how I possibly missed that in my youth
12:00 -- wake up to the voices of Ron Reagan Jr and Mr. Peterman; take an extra moment to realize the Dog Show is on
12:10 -- begin my round of visiting with family and the menagerie in the family compound -- one turtle, two dogs, three cats and a miniature rabbit that has long outlived his life span but is still happy to be photographed (see accompanying 2010 Holidays album)
1:30 -- start project for the day -- going back in my FB account to find posts from Jan 2010 to rebuild the blog from 1/1/10; frustrated, but FB eventually begrudgingly gives up the data after much painstaking labor and frequent screen freezes
3:00 -- convince giant cat Mauser to pose for pictures; consider sending shots to the Biggest Loser to see if he could be the first cat contestant; note that whereas people add weight to their face, cats just grow from the neck down; capture the "money shot" of Mauser covering his mouth while he's splayed out on the bed as if he's giggling at his largess
3:10 -- feeling guilty about the mocking of the fat cat, head upstairs to weigh myself (before we eat, because I'm strategic); note that I am 2 lbs lighter than my dr. visit last week but 11 lbs heavier than the holidays last year; wonder how big I have to get before I become a candidate to be a contestant on Biggest Loser; zone out trying to decide if I would rather have Bob or Jillian (or that one lady who barely did two seasons) as my trainer
3:20 -- realize that a nephew has arrived on his break from work; discuss his double entendre belt buckle and turtle sex as it relates to determining the gender (male turtles have concave bottoms so that they fit together with a female during copulation)
3:40 -- take a picture of Dolly's backside in the kitchen (it's a tradition) but promise in advance not to post it on FB this year
4:00 -- have a moment of silence to say grace and realize that my mind is having its own moment of silence remembering last year's bacon-wrapped turkey (pics on file on FB)
4:15 -- announce at dinner that holidays are better with kids running around; being to plan campaign for the nephews to impregnate their girlfriends to ultimately enhance future holiday celebrations
4:35 -- win the "last person to leave the table award" and begin to connect the dots about my 11 lb weight gain
5:20 -- gather around the phone to get call from another nephew who is two weeks into basic training; decide it is not the time to tell him to get a girl pregnant and instead, wish him well for the remaining weeks at boot camp
6:33 -- lose first game of Michigan Rummy in dramatic fashion, with high score 7x that of winner's low score
6:34 -- undaunted, begin second game of Michigan Rummy, only to lose it as well
7:05 -- wrap up card game quickly so that scorekeeper can run to living room to watch "Pumkin Chuckin'"
7:06 -- begin tradition of sending holiday texts to important folks in my cell phone
8:05 -- after an evening constitutional, lay down on couch for second nap of the day
10:30 -- post photos, and this random thought to the blog; briefly consider that I might be sharing too much too often
11:00 -- prepare for battle at Wal-mart; review my plan to buy TVonDVD at special low prices starting at 12:01; begin to fear that I may be in over my head, being in Indiana and at a Walmart at midnight
11:01 -- close my post by stating: "If I am the victim of a stampede, please know that my last thoughts were to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!"
THE AD FOR WHICH I WILL RISK MY LIFE TONIGHT:
http://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday-deals/1076614
JEFFREY THE TURTLE IS ACTUALLY A GIRL!:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070508171652AADN2yA
THE AFOREMENTIONED HOLIDAY ALBUM:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48308&id=1843633569&l=a11808616c
November 24, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/24/10
This summary is not available. Please
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November 23, 2010
Random Tune for Tuesday 11/23/10
As I type this, but unwatched by me since it's on the DVR for later tonight, Carol Burnett is a very special guest star on Glee. Everyone's seen the old Carol Burnett Show classics, but I've got Carol and Company on videotape (and I still have a VCR or two around the house so I can watch all 33 episodes of this 90-91 sketch show skit classic). What can I say -- I'm so glad we'll have this time together. In honor of that sweeps event, here's the link to Carol on The Lucy Show singing Hard Hearted Hannah. [Catch Lucy's laugh when the burlesque action starts!]
RED HEADED HILARITY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Os9o3YmHGU
RED HEADED HILARITY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Os9o3YmHGU
November 22, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/22/10
Gone but not forgotten: my living a greater distance from the nation's most dangerous city.
Hot off the presses (and more likely to be picked up and reported online by NJ-affiliated sites) -- St. Louis is now the dangerous-est place to be, knocking Camden to #2. I've only been there once (to visit family in Turkey Hill -- the suburb, not the east coast convenience mart) and I rode the Arch without issue and the only injury I sustained was in being disappointed by the "mighty" Mississippi. I've actually spent more time in Camden, although that was all about going to concerts at the Tweeter Center -- and any extra time in that city was because we couldn't find the way back to the bridge to the safety of PA and its Turnpike!
Because 263 miles is closer than 666 miles (?!?), Camden's position at the top of the scary-place-to-be list, you are missed.
OF COURSE, DETROIT AND FLINT ARE PRETTY DAMN CLOSE:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/st_louis_overtakes_camden_as_a.html
NJ RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES (even in Camden!):
http://www.funnewjersey.com/rainy_days_NJ.HTM
IT's FAR! HOW FAR IS IT??:
http://www.findlocalweather.com/how_far_is_it/il/chicago.html
Hot off the presses (and more likely to be picked up and reported online by NJ-affiliated sites) -- St. Louis is now the dangerous-est place to be, knocking Camden to #2. I've only been there once (to visit family in Turkey Hill -- the suburb, not the east coast convenience mart) and I rode the Arch without issue and the only injury I sustained was in being disappointed by the "mighty" Mississippi. I've actually spent more time in Camden, although that was all about going to concerts at the Tweeter Center -- and any extra time in that city was because we couldn't find the way back to the bridge to the safety of PA and its Turnpike!
Because 263 miles is closer than 666 miles (?!?), Camden's position at the top of the scary-place-to-be list, you are missed.
OF COURSE, DETROIT AND FLINT ARE PRETTY DAMN CLOSE:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/st_louis_overtakes_camden_as_a.html
NJ RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES (even in Camden!):
http://www.funnewjersey.com/rainy_days_NJ.HTM
IT's FAR! HOW FAR IS IT??:
http://www.findlocalweather.com/how_far_is_it/il/chicago.html
November 21, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/21/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
Many are still in an uproar over the TSA rules and regulations (Why doesn't anyone just say it? John Tyner -- if you don't let the agent touch your junk, then the terrorists will win! Methinks the man doth protest too much. Please work out any issue you have with the size of your appendage somewhere other than the public arena, ok?), but with the holiday just a few days away, conversations have also just naturally turned to food.
To which I announce, "pistachios are the new pomegranates". They've popped up in conversations, food shows on TV and in actual meals I've had dining out in the last month. I'm farthest from a trend setter, but mark my words -- there will be a Absolut Pistachio in 2011! (If I get it in print first, can I get royalties? or a finder's fee?) I can sense/smell/taste a Pistachio revolution.
This holiday week, if you travel - play nice and travel safely ... and if you cook - consider adding a touch of pistachio to every dish. Happy Thanksgiving!!
ONLY MY WIFE AND MY DOCTOR (AND MYSELF) CAN TOUCH ME THERE:
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/john-tyner-tsa-security-check-sexual-molestation/story?id=12153388
YOU MUST BE 21 TO VIEW THIS SITE (ALCOHOL -- THIS IS SFW!):
http://www.absolut.com/us/products
CHECK OUT THIS 2008 RECIPE (WAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE):
http://www.choosy-beggars.com/index.php/2008/11/23/pomegranate-pistachio-cheesecake/
Many are still in an uproar over the TSA rules and regulations (Why doesn't anyone just say it? John Tyner -- if you don't let the agent touch your junk, then the terrorists will win! Methinks the man doth protest too much. Please work out any issue you have with the size of your appendage somewhere other than the public arena, ok?), but with the holiday just a few days away, conversations have also just naturally turned to food.
To which I announce, "pistachios are the new pomegranates". They've popped up in conversations, food shows on TV and in actual meals I've had dining out in the last month. I'm farthest from a trend setter, but mark my words -- there will be a Absolut Pistachio in 2011! (If I get it in print first, can I get royalties? or a finder's fee?) I can sense/smell/taste a Pistachio revolution.
This holiday week, if you travel - play nice and travel safely ... and if you cook - consider adding a touch of pistachio to every dish. Happy Thanksgiving!!
ONLY MY WIFE AND MY DOCTOR (AND MYSELF) CAN TOUCH ME THERE:
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/john-tyner-tsa-security-check-sexual-molestation/story?id=12153388
YOU MUST BE 21 TO VIEW THIS SITE (ALCOHOL -- THIS IS SFW!):
http://www.absolut.com/us/products
CHECK OUT THIS 2008 RECIPE (WAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE):
http://www.choosy-beggars.com/index.php/2008/11/23/pomegranate-pistachio-cheesecake/
November 20, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/20/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... after spending the afternoon running errands across the greater Chicagoland area, there's got to be a better solution to our high volume traffic snafus. Admittedly, I take a pretty zen approach (listen to some good music, choose a pacer car up ahead to make sure I don't go crazy switching from lane to lane to lane, drive defensively and not offensively), but with darkness falling so early this time of year, I shouldn't feel like the majority of my day was spent in my car.
I like my car and I have to go long distances to escape the extra taxes in the city on my petrol and plastic water bottles, so I can't jump on the public transportation bandwagon, but I'm hoping that I can convince you and yours to do so to have fewer cars blocking my path. [Before anyone says anything, I know that there's many things wrong with that POV. I'm spending extra time and money to avoid the disincentives that are supposed to control my consumptive behavior -- plus I'm selfishly trying to manipulate the greater good. But at least I'm self-aware enough to know my foibles.]
If we have to look elsewhere for innovation, so be it. For instance, China has announced plans for a subway/bus mash up that drives above the lanes of traffic (see pics below)! And Mexico City built a double-decker highway 10 stories tall earlier this decade! Schwarzenegger had similar plans for CA this year! Of course, none of those locations have to worry about earthquakes or anything, right, so such monstrosities should be just fine. [ :') ]
[Not to go off on a tangent, but is that which is bracketed at the end of the above paragraph an emoticon for tongue in cheek? That's what I was going for. It looks a little more man-with-half-a-mustache instead.]
After all that, what's my plan for traffic reduction? It's simple. You need to stay home when I'm running errands. Thanks in advance for seeing things my way. Plus -- you're helping to save my environment. And that's honorable.
LOOK AT THE PIC, AND THEN TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE IT RACE THE CARS:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20012633-48.html
YOU CAN ADD TO THE SMOG WHILE DRIVING ABOVE THE SMOG!:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/images/030701overpass.jpg&imgrefurl=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20030630-2307-mexico-overpasspolitics.html&usg=__QgK_JJ3Kmr8306724TmvQ0CQCNU=&h=184&w=280&sz=17&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=o1Vr0I6AczI0NM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddouble%2Bdecker%2Bhighway%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-Address%26rlz%3D1I7DKUS_en%26tbs%3Disch:1
THEY THREW A PRESS CONFERENCE, BUT EVERYONE WAS LATE B/C OF TRAFFIC:
http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/02/18/schwarzenegger-proposes-making-the-405-a-double-decker-freeway/
... after spending the afternoon running errands across the greater Chicagoland area, there's got to be a better solution to our high volume traffic snafus. Admittedly, I take a pretty zen approach (listen to some good music, choose a pacer car up ahead to make sure I don't go crazy switching from lane to lane to lane, drive defensively and not offensively), but with darkness falling so early this time of year, I shouldn't feel like the majority of my day was spent in my car.
I like my car and I have to go long distances to escape the extra taxes in the city on my petrol and plastic water bottles, so I can't jump on the public transportation bandwagon, but I'm hoping that I can convince you and yours to do so to have fewer cars blocking my path. [Before anyone says anything, I know that there's many things wrong with that POV. I'm spending extra time and money to avoid the disincentives that are supposed to control my consumptive behavior -- plus I'm selfishly trying to manipulate the greater good. But at least I'm self-aware enough to know my foibles.]
If we have to look elsewhere for innovation, so be it. For instance, China has announced plans for a subway/bus mash up that drives above the lanes of traffic (see pics below)! And Mexico City built a double-decker highway 10 stories tall earlier this decade! Schwarzenegger had similar plans for CA this year! Of course, none of those locations have to worry about earthquakes or anything, right, so such monstrosities should be just fine. [ :') ]
[Not to go off on a tangent, but is that which is bracketed at the end of the above paragraph an emoticon for tongue in cheek? That's what I was going for. It looks a little more man-with-half-a-mustache instead.]
After all that, what's my plan for traffic reduction? It's simple. You need to stay home when I'm running errands. Thanks in advance for seeing things my way. Plus -- you're helping to save my environment. And that's honorable.
LOOK AT THE PIC, AND THEN TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE IT RACE THE CARS:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20012633-48.html
YOU CAN ADD TO THE SMOG WHILE DRIVING ABOVE THE SMOG!:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/images/030701overpass.jpg&imgrefurl=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20030630-2307-mexico-overpasspolitics.html&usg=__QgK_JJ3Kmr8306724TmvQ0CQCNU=&h=184&w=280&sz=17&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=o1Vr0I6AczI0NM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddouble%2Bdecker%2Bhighway%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-Address%26rlz%3D1I7DKUS_en%26tbs%3Disch:1
THEY THREW A PRESS CONFERENCE, BUT EVERYONE WAS LATE B/C OF TRAFFIC:
http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/02/18/schwarzenegger-proposes-making-the-405-a-double-decker-freeway/
Random Posting for Penn State 11/20/10
It's hard to focus on today's game (relocated to Landover MD) when, just yards from my apartment, Wrigely Field has been converted to an NCAA football field for the Northwestern game this afternoon. I know these stadium swaps are all about money, but I had put the high tourist traffic neighborhood complications to rest once the Cubs wound down their season (although, some would argue that the winding down happened in mid-summer or earlier). Today -- I have to face a sea of purple and a Wrigley as it hasn't been seen for some time. All the same, I hope we accomplish two things today -- shipping Indiana back to their true "home" stadium with a loss, and guaranteeing an express path to a New Year's Day bowl game. Go Redskins! I mean, we are ... Penn State!
HOME IS ANYTHING WITHIN A 650 MILE RADIUS IF IT MEANS MORE MONEY:
http://pennstatermag.com/2009/08/26/penn-states-unlikely-2010-road-trip-at-indiana-in-landover-md/
WE CAN SQUEEZE IN A FIELD HERE:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/11/19/wrigley-one-end-zone.ap/index.html
LAST WEEK, GATOR; THIS WEEK, INSIGHT -- BOWL PROJECTIONS HERE:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/11/19/wrigley-one-end-zone.ap/index.html
HOME IS ANYTHING WITHIN A 650 MILE RADIUS IF IT MEANS MORE MONEY:
http://pennstatermag.com/2009/08/26/penn-states-unlikely-2010-road-trip-at-indiana-in-landover-md/
WE CAN SQUEEZE IN A FIELD HERE:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/11/19/wrigley-one-end-zone.ap/index.html
LAST WEEK, GATOR; THIS WEEK, INSIGHT -- BOWL PROJECTIONS HERE:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/11/19/wrigley-one-end-zone.ap/index.html
November 19, 2010
Random Flashback for Friday 11/19/10
As you get closer to next week's holiday, may you plan to spend it with family or friends (or both), and may you be as happy as I apparently was in this shot from a party in Germany 20 years ago! Alcohol had a lot to do with it, and I definitely recall a dance circle with Meatloaf (the Aday version, not the meal) where I might have been initially exposed to "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights". [And that's not a euphemism -- I think that's where I actually heard that song for the first time.] I'm pretty sure this picture was taken very soon after our little group's Thanksgiving meal together (pizza at a local shop with hard boiled egg as a topping, as I all too vividly recall). Ah ... vergnugen (as in the VW Fahr-variety -- just without the word that means "driving").
November 18, 2010
Random Thought for Thursday 11/18/10
Ancient Chinese secret, huh?
No -- it's not some reference to a vaguely racist home goods advertisement popular years ago, but the fact that sticky rice combined with slaked lime (not an item off a Chinese menu) equals a super sticky mortar that is holding up the Great Wall and may be strong enough to survive an earthquake, or so say scientists this past summer. I think I just found a new use for my leftovers!!
And, my Amazing Race Aside for the week -- here's a slew of ancient Omanian secrets learned from last week's episode: maps don't work there, stray goats will eat your clues, water from deep underground looks amazingly clear, it's a great place to get engaged, one way streets are not an exclusively American tradition, Ali Baba's apparently abandoned his forty thieves and now has gone all commercial, and the daughter that I thought I was going to dislike actually won me over from her very first words on the very first episode and she and her dad will be missed by me as the show winds toward its final episodes. Shame on me for pre-judging!
STICKY RICE SAVES THE WORLD:
http://www.livescience.com/history/sticky-rice-mortar-100601.html
CLIFF NOTES ON OMAN:
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Oman.html
AS ALWAYS, FACEBOOK HAS A PAGE FOR EVERYTHING:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31325288653
No -- it's not some reference to a vaguely racist home goods advertisement popular years ago, but the fact that sticky rice combined with slaked lime (not an item off a Chinese menu) equals a super sticky mortar that is holding up the Great Wall and may be strong enough to survive an earthquake, or so say scientists this past summer. I think I just found a new use for my leftovers!!
And, my Amazing Race Aside for the week -- here's a slew of ancient Omanian secrets learned from last week's episode: maps don't work there, stray goats will eat your clues, water from deep underground looks amazingly clear, it's a great place to get engaged, one way streets are not an exclusively American tradition, Ali Baba's apparently abandoned his forty thieves and now has gone all commercial, and the daughter that I thought I was going to dislike actually won me over from her very first words on the very first episode and she and her dad will be missed by me as the show winds toward its final episodes. Shame on me for pre-judging!
STICKY RICE SAVES THE WORLD:
http://www.livescience.com/history/sticky-rice-mortar-100601.html
CLIFF NOTES ON OMAN:
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Oman.html
AS ALWAYS, FACEBOOK HAS A PAGE FOR EVERYTHING:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31325288653
November 17, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/17/10
Intonation and Accentuation.
Concept exemplified: Watch sweet turn quickly to sour when you take the same words and place a different empahsis on how they are said ...
Sweet and loving Ike --> I know you like the back of my hand, baby! (xoxo, hugs and kisses)
Sour and hurtful Ike --> I know you like the back of my hand, baby! (#$*@, hits and bruises)
It seems like a lesson ready for modern Sesame Street, no?
AWWW, BRIDAL SHOP:
http://www.xoxohugsandkissesbridal.com/index2.php
OUCH, HERE's A HOTLINE:
http://www.thehotline.org/
ALREADY A MUPPET SO TELL HER HOW TO GET, HOW TO GET TO SESAME STREET:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Tina_Turner
Concept exemplified: Watch sweet turn quickly to sour when you take the same words and place a different empahsis on how they are said ...
Sweet and loving Ike --> I know you like the back of my hand, baby! (xoxo, hugs and kisses)
Sour and hurtful Ike --> I know you like the back of my hand, baby! (#$*@, hits and bruises)
It seems like a lesson ready for modern Sesame Street, no?
AWWW, BRIDAL SHOP:
http://www.xoxohugsandkissesbridal.com/index2.php
OUCH, HERE's A HOTLINE:
http://www.thehotline.org/
ALREADY A MUPPET SO TELL HER HOW TO GET, HOW TO GET TO SESAME STREET:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Tina_Turner
November 16, 2010
Random Tune for Tuesday 11/16/10
So the new album came out last week, and it's now been announced that the second release off of it will be Reba's cover of Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" (found at the link below until someone scares the post-er into deleting it to avoid a copyright infringement charge). Now I just hope that country music plays it on the radio (as some stations balked at the reggae bridge in a recent Sugarland song -- for genre purity reasons, only, correct? ... and not because of any racial overtones, right??).
UNEXPECTEDLY BEAUTIFUL COVER, COURTESY OF REBA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayk3mp024SQ
UNEXPECTEDLY BEAUTIFUL COVER, COURTESY OF REBA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayk3mp024SQ
November 15, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/15/10
Gone but not forgotten: when Philadelphia was still the city of brotherly love.
I grew up in central PA so I knew there were parts of Philly that were ''challenged". And, being in Chicago the last 10 years, I understand that gangs often fight over their territory lines. But I found it hard to wrap my head around the tow truck turf deaths taking over the city. The unfortunate timing of the Discovery Channel's "Wreck Chasers" reality show has me fighting hard to resist the urge to rubber-neck, but good grief -- they are shooting each other in the leg and running each other over (literally) just to score the tow job. [Give me the goofiness of "Scrappers" any day!] I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Philly is now the largest city by population to have a casino, but let's get a recession recovery program in that metropolis soon!
The way things were before Miseo-delphia came to be (miseo the hate to phila's love), you are missed.
MOWING DOWN THE COMPETITION:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100928_Tow_truck_driver_s_death_follows_industry_travails.html
"REALITY" SHOW BASED IN MISEO-DELPHIA:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/10/22/exclusive-tlcs-wreck-chasers-shifts-to-discovery-994405/8936/
SUGAR HOUSE, CASINO #10 IN PA, MAKES PHILLY PROUD(?)!:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-27-phillycasino27_ST_N.htm
I grew up in central PA so I knew there were parts of Philly that were ''challenged". And, being in Chicago the last 10 years, I understand that gangs often fight over their territory lines. But I found it hard to wrap my head around the tow truck turf deaths taking over the city. The unfortunate timing of the Discovery Channel's "Wreck Chasers" reality show has me fighting hard to resist the urge to rubber-neck, but good grief -- they are shooting each other in the leg and running each other over (literally) just to score the tow job. [Give me the goofiness of "Scrappers" any day!] I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Philly is now the largest city by population to have a casino, but let's get a recession recovery program in that metropolis soon!
The way things were before Miseo-delphia came to be (miseo the hate to phila's love), you are missed.
MOWING DOWN THE COMPETITION:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100928_Tow_truck_driver_s_death_follows_industry_travails.html
"REALITY" SHOW BASED IN MISEO-DELPHIA:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/10/22/exclusive-tlcs-wreck-chasers-shifts-to-discovery-994405/8936/
SUGAR HOUSE, CASINO #10 IN PA, MAKES PHILLY PROUD(?)!:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-27-phillycasino27_ST_N.htm
November 14, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/14/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
Electioneering season is in full swing (again)! Rumor has it that Bristol Palin is benefiting from a coordinated Tea Party campaign on DWTS!
Actually, that's one reality show I'm not watching ... and, to be as honest as a glad-handing fast-talking politician, that's also not today's topic. Instead - just less than a fortnight from the overwhelming secret-money-funded hate-ad-prevalent national brouhaha, Chicago has enlivened what would have been a quieter aldermanic election with a race for mayor of the nation's third largest city (and my hometown now for nearly 10 years)! The week ahead is filing week, so it's time to "put up or shut up" and to "put your 4 million dollars where your mouth is" (that's the projected cost of playing the [insert candidate name here] for Chicago mayor game).
So, if your glass is half empty, that's 100 days to find special interest funding, to fight your way into Tammany Hall-ish back rooms and to document that you've been a Chicago resident for the last year (an anti-carpetbagger Rahm-roadblock requirement for candidates). Or, if you're the optimistic half full glass enthusiast, that's 100 days to build consensus across this ethnically diverse metropolis already splitting into election factions along racial lines and to demonstrate leadership in quite challenging budgetary times.
To which I say: play nice, mayoral wannabees! On your mark ... get set ... go!
POLITICS AS USUAL -- UNUSUALLY ON DWTS:
http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2010/11/12/inside-the-gops-plot-to-win-dancing-with-the-stars-will-sarah-palins-fans-get-bristol-the-win/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_campaign=hl_rssynd&cmpid=outbrain_hl_rsssynd
DAY OF ANNOUNCEMENTS:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/mayoral-hopefuls-taking-the-plunge.html
PUT UP OR SHUT UP:
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2890116,111410sptchimayor.article
Electioneering season is in full swing (again)! Rumor has it that Bristol Palin is benefiting from a coordinated Tea Party campaign on DWTS!
Actually, that's one reality show I'm not watching ... and, to be as honest as a glad-handing fast-talking politician, that's also not today's topic. Instead - just less than a fortnight from the overwhelming secret-money-funded hate-ad-prevalent national brouhaha, Chicago has enlivened what would have been a quieter aldermanic election with a race for mayor of the nation's third largest city (and my hometown now for nearly 10 years)! The week ahead is filing week, so it's time to "put up or shut up" and to "put your 4 million dollars where your mouth is" (that's the projected cost of playing the [insert candidate name here] for Chicago mayor game).
So, if your glass is half empty, that's 100 days to find special interest funding, to fight your way into Tammany Hall-ish back rooms and to document that you've been a Chicago resident for the last year (an anti-carpetbagger Rahm-roadblock requirement for candidates). Or, if you're the optimistic half full glass enthusiast, that's 100 days to build consensus across this ethnically diverse metropolis already splitting into election factions along racial lines and to demonstrate leadership in quite challenging budgetary times.
To which I say: play nice, mayoral wannabees! On your mark ... get set ... go!
POLITICS AS USUAL -- UNUSUALLY ON DWTS:
http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2010/11/12/inside-the-gops-plot-to-win-dancing-with-the-stars-will-sarah-palins-fans-get-bristol-the-win/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_campaign=hl_rssynd&cmpid=outbrain_hl_rsssynd
DAY OF ANNOUNCEMENTS:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/mayoral-hopefuls-taking-the-plunge.html
PUT UP OR SHUT UP:
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2890116,111410sptchimayor.article
November 13, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/13/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... you alone have to accept responsibility for the tattoos you get. Mind you, I'm not knocking those who have the money to pay to have past artwork lasered off ... or those who have to go back to get a cover-up tattoo when a relationship sours ... but I cannot support poor White Sox fan (poor modifying fan or White Sox, based on last season) Gina's lawsuit about a Sox logo tattoo that ended up backwards on her thigh (picture in the article link below).
The first five of my eight tattoos (one for each semester of law school I survived) are already permanently affixed just under my skin, and I spent hours in advance working out the exact designs with the symbolism and hidden messages that I wanted. And I have a brother in the industry who does nothing but the most professional and amazing work, and he can attest that the client gets the last say after seeing a tracing of the artwork before the inking commences.
Gina, in my opinion, your attempts to get reparations for the emotional distress you felt over this situation would be better directed at Ozzie Guillen and not towards your local tattoo parlor. Like Mr. Roarke before you, own your Tattoo, young lady!
P.S. --> Dennis Miller, the original rantmaster, returns with an all new HBO comedy special on Friday November 19th!
THE INFAMOUS XOS ARTWORK:
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5714479
HERVE, REST IN PEACE: "ZE PLANE! ZE PLANE!":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFK1rvL2NoQ
SOMEONE HAS TO IMPERSONATE OZZIE TO WRITE THIS BLOG:
http://ozzie.mlblogs.com/
... you alone have to accept responsibility for the tattoos you get. Mind you, I'm not knocking those who have the money to pay to have past artwork lasered off ... or those who have to go back to get a cover-up tattoo when a relationship sours ... but I cannot support poor White Sox fan (poor modifying fan or White Sox, based on last season) Gina's lawsuit about a Sox logo tattoo that ended up backwards on her thigh (picture in the article link below).
The first five of my eight tattoos (one for each semester of law school I survived) are already permanently affixed just under my skin, and I spent hours in advance working out the exact designs with the symbolism and hidden messages that I wanted. And I have a brother in the industry who does nothing but the most professional and amazing work, and he can attest that the client gets the last say after seeing a tracing of the artwork before the inking commences.
Gina, in my opinion, your attempts to get reparations for the emotional distress you felt over this situation would be better directed at Ozzie Guillen and not towards your local tattoo parlor. Like Mr. Roarke before you, own your Tattoo, young lady!
P.S. --> Dennis Miller, the original rantmaster, returns with an all new HBO comedy special on Friday November 19th!
THE INFAMOUS XOS ARTWORK:
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5714479
HERVE, REST IN PEACE: "ZE PLANE! ZE PLANE!":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFK1rvL2NoQ
SOMEONE HAS TO IMPERSONATE OZZIE TO WRITE THIS BLOG:
http://ozzie.mlblogs.com/
Random Posting for Penn State 11/13/10
Here's how I like my Buck-eyes ...
1) ... eaten as a delicious peanut-butter-ball-covered-in-chocolate sugar snack;
2) ... referenced on Wooster Walter's sweatshirts around the holidays;
3) ... beaten by Penn State this afternoon!
McGloin, here's your chance to lead a rally against a top ranked team! We're the underdogs and you've been emboldened as the new leader (unsubtle pun fully intended)! I'm not saying we have to serve this up 1994 style (PState 63!, OhState 14), but we could do with a victory of more than just a touchdown (all of our wins in the nulls were by no more than 7 points). As a sign of solidarity, if you pull this off today, I won't dip my balls in chocolate again (peanut-butter balls, that is).
BALLS DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE (PEANUT-BUTTER BALLS, THAT IS):
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/09/how-to-make-peanut-butter-chocolate-buckeyes-candy-recipe.html
SOURCE OF MY STATS (LOVE YA, WIKIPEDIA):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_%E2%80%93_Penn_State_rivalry
LET's ADD ANOTHER CHAPTER TO THE FEEL-GOOD STORY:
http://www.centredaily.com/2010/11/13/2337479/mcgloin-gets-his-chance-against.html
1) ... eaten as a delicious peanut-butter-ball-covered-in-chocolate sugar snack;
2) ... referenced on Wooster Walter's sweatshirts around the holidays;
3) ... beaten by Penn State this afternoon!
McGloin, here's your chance to lead a rally against a top ranked team! We're the underdogs and you've been emboldened as the new leader (unsubtle pun fully intended)! I'm not saying we have to serve this up 1994 style (PState 63!, OhState 14), but we could do with a victory of more than just a touchdown (all of our wins in the nulls were by no more than 7 points). As a sign of solidarity, if you pull this off today, I won't dip my balls in chocolate again (peanut-butter balls, that is).
BALLS DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE (PEANUT-BUTTER BALLS, THAT IS):
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/09/how-to-make-peanut-butter-chocolate-buckeyes-candy-recipe.html
SOURCE OF MY STATS (LOVE YA, WIKIPEDIA):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_%E2%80%93_Penn_State_rivalry
LET's ADD ANOTHER CHAPTER TO THE FEEL-GOOD STORY:
http://www.centredaily.com/2010/11/13/2337479/mcgloin-gets-his-chance-against.html
November 12, 2010
Random Flashback for Friday 11/12/10
What's wrong with this picture? I mean, other than the late 80's acid washed jeans? And the oh-so-chic JCPenney Hunt Club sweatshirt? Or the fact that the collar length hair in my other Germany shots from this time frame is somehow missing (thanks Tracey for haircut #1 of 2 that semester abroad)? Can't figure it out? Well - let me say that the railing in the foreground is actually a luggage rack on a train ... and that I'm really holding on for dear life, supported by the celling of that train I was riding 20 years ago! Adding to the list of things wrong with the picture -- I climbed up there willingly and wasn't being hazed! Oh to be of a weight where that would still be possible. Or, better said, oh to be on any part of a train in Germany again!!
November 11, 2010
Random Thought for Thursday 11/11/10
It's the last day of my Museum Musings theme week, and I have to conclude this week of posts by saying that I was startled to see the devil at the Field Museum last Friday. It wasn't so much the fact that I saw him as much as it was the place where I saw him.
Turns out the Mexican nativity scene tradition (there's a special room at the museum put aside featuring various displays) is to include him in the creche, to represent temptations that the shepherds faced on their journey to baby Jesus. I collect nativity scenes (and chess sets -- the goal is one different one for each room as I decorate) and I've yet to have the devil as a figurine. In my other-cultural ignorance, it struck me as an odd juxtaposition.
Speaking of odd juxtaposition in religion (here's this week's Amazing Race Aside) -- one of the stops on last week's episode was a church that the communists forced into being a museum of atheism during their heyday. No matter what your beliefs, you have to admit that's a pretty damn effective way to prove your point! And -- look back through the episode for these "celebrity" cameos -- Betsey Johnson as a Russian circus clown and Jack Kevorkian running the gorodki courts -- maybe?!
POSADAS, PASTORELAS and NACIMIENTOS:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2624-mexico-s-christmas-traditions-posadas-pastorelas-and-nacimientos
LEARN TO PLAY GORODKI:
http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/learn-to-play-gorodki
ST ISAAC's CATHEDRAL's COMMUNIST PAST:
http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/isaacs.html
Turns out the Mexican nativity scene tradition (there's a special room at the museum put aside featuring various displays) is to include him in the creche, to represent temptations that the shepherds faced on their journey to baby Jesus. I collect nativity scenes (and chess sets -- the goal is one different one for each room as I decorate) and I've yet to have the devil as a figurine. In my other-cultural ignorance, it struck me as an odd juxtaposition.
Speaking of odd juxtaposition in religion (here's this week's Amazing Race Aside) -- one of the stops on last week's episode was a church that the communists forced into being a museum of atheism during their heyday. No matter what your beliefs, you have to admit that's a pretty damn effective way to prove your point! And -- look back through the episode for these "celebrity" cameos -- Betsey Johnson as a Russian circus clown and Jack Kevorkian running the gorodki courts -- maybe?!
POSADAS, PASTORELAS and NACIMIENTOS:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2624-mexico-s-christmas-traditions-posadas-pastorelas-and-nacimientos
LEARN TO PLAY GORODKI:
http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/learn-to-play-gorodki
ST ISAAC's CATHEDRAL's COMMUNIST PAST:
http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/isaacs.html
November 10, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/10/10
Wah Wah Mountains (of Utah).
Rephrased in Jeopardy style: "Where is the only place in the world to find bixbite?"
It's day 5 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and, for whatever reason, while walking through the Grainger Hall of Gems at Chicago's Filed Museum last week, I found all of the above information funny. Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. To me, it sounded made up (not the Utah part, per se).
And speaking of made up, the choice I nearly went with for today's wordplay was Okapi -- which my nephew Jack brought up on the way to the museum. At the time, I thought he was fabricating this animal that is a cross between a giraffe and a zebra ... and then I thought that it was literally a cross (as in, mule is to donkey & horse as okapi is to giraffe & zebra) ... which made me wonder if okapis were sterile like mules are (mostly) sterile ... which made me think about the people who say that mules mess with God's overall plan ... which made me realize that I had strayed too far from my original thought path.
Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. Too funny ...
BIXBITE SAMPLES (MINED FROM THE WAH WAH MOUNTAINS OF UTAH):
http://www.mineralminers.com/html/bixmins.stm
OKAPI or HERE's ANOTHER ANIMAL THAT WASN'T FEATURED IN SWEET PICKLES:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-okapi.html
THE SCIENCE OF MULE OFFSPRING TO DEBUNK THE STERILITY MYTH:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4056372?dopt=Abstract
Rephrased in Jeopardy style: "Where is the only place in the world to find bixbite?"
It's day 5 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and, for whatever reason, while walking through the Grainger Hall of Gems at Chicago's Filed Museum last week, I found all of the above information funny. Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. To me, it sounded made up (not the Utah part, per se).
And speaking of made up, the choice I nearly went with for today's wordplay was Okapi -- which my nephew Jack brought up on the way to the museum. At the time, I thought he was fabricating this animal that is a cross between a giraffe and a zebra ... and then I thought that it was literally a cross (as in, mule is to donkey & horse as okapi is to giraffe & zebra) ... which made me wonder if okapis were sterile like mules are (mostly) sterile ... which made me think about the people who say that mules mess with God's overall plan ... which made me realize that I had strayed too far from my original thought path.
Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. Too funny ...
BIXBITE SAMPLES (MINED FROM THE WAH WAH MOUNTAINS OF UTAH):
http://www.mineralminers.com/html/bixmins.stm
OKAPI or HERE's ANOTHER ANIMAL THAT WASN'T FEATURED IN SWEET PICKLES:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-okapi.html
THE SCIENCE OF MULE OFFSPRING TO DEBUNK THE STERILITY MYTH:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4056372?dopt=Abstract
November 9, 2010
Random Tune for Tuesday 11/9/10
Sometimes these things just about write themselves.
What else would I think of on Day 4 of my Theme Week: Museum Musings featuring my experiences at the Field Museum in Chicago where the dinosaur Sue's 10th anniversary is being celebrated [btw, Sue's gender is unknown]? Below is the link to the late great Johnny Cash singing Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue", and to increase the randomness of it all, it's a clip from a Danish TV show (where he sang "son-of-a-bleep" to avoid the censors).
[And, a postscript -- I decided to not interrupt this theme week with a Reba song, but that doesn't mean I can't not mention her new album hit the streets today!]
MY NAME IS SUE, HOW DO YOU DO?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY
NEW REBA TODAY!:
http://www.reba.com/
What else would I think of on Day 4 of my Theme Week: Museum Musings featuring my experiences at the Field Museum in Chicago where the dinosaur Sue's 10th anniversary is being celebrated [btw, Sue's gender is unknown]? Below is the link to the late great Johnny Cash singing Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue", and to increase the randomness of it all, it's a clip from a Danish TV show (where he sang "son-of-a-bleep" to avoid the censors).
[And, a postscript -- I decided to not interrupt this theme week with a Reba song, but that doesn't mean I can't not mention her new album hit the streets today!]
MY NAME IS SUE, HOW DO YOU DO?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY
NEW REBA TODAY!:
http://www.reba.com/
November 8, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/8/10
Gone but not forgotten: the metal skate shoe.
I walked around the corner at the Field Museum last Friday (Day 3 of Theme Week: Museum Musings) and was surprised by an exhibit of nothing but footwear from floor to ceiling. Ancient Japanese clogs on little wooden stilts, authentic snow shoes, crampons for icy mountain climbing, fancy Manolo Blahniks -- all these faded from view when I spotted the item I knew well from my youth. What I didn't see was the skate key (which was true to form as that was always lost)! Call me "on my way to old fuddy duddy", but the current sneakers with wheels just don't come close!
Fun from the family toy box that collected rust all too quickly causing them to do less than "turn" as we shuffled down the sidewalks of yesteryear, you are missed.
I'M OLD ENOUGH NOW TO CONSIDER MAKING A "VINTAGE" PURCHASE:
http://www.aw-wrdsmth.com/offers/Vintage-All-Metal-Roller-skates.html
AND, IF YOU PRACTICED, YOU MIGHT END UP SUCCESSFUL HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78220564764
WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSE's SHOES:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/living_together/shoes1.htm
I walked around the corner at the Field Museum last Friday (Day 3 of Theme Week: Museum Musings) and was surprised by an exhibit of nothing but footwear from floor to ceiling. Ancient Japanese clogs on little wooden stilts, authentic snow shoes, crampons for icy mountain climbing, fancy Manolo Blahniks -- all these faded from view when I spotted the item I knew well from my youth. What I didn't see was the skate key (which was true to form as that was always lost)! Call me "on my way to old fuddy duddy", but the current sneakers with wheels just don't come close!
Fun from the family toy box that collected rust all too quickly causing them to do less than "turn" as we shuffled down the sidewalks of yesteryear, you are missed.
I'M OLD ENOUGH NOW TO CONSIDER MAKING A "VINTAGE" PURCHASE:
http://www.aw-wrdsmth.com/offers/Vintage-All-Metal-Roller-skates.html
AND, IF YOU PRACTICED, YOU MIGHT END UP SUCCESSFUL HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78220564764
WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSE's SHOES:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/living_together/shoes1.htm
November 7, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/7/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
"Thar's gold in them thar exhibits!" It's day 2 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and it was a blast to see the new temporary main exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum last Friday. Things I learned:
1) I knew about the San Francisco gold rush, but was actually surprised to see the information about the earlier one in Georgia! Somehow I missed that part of history when I was growing up, possibly because it was an east coast version of how badly we treated the natives.
2.) The most memorable parts for me were the sunken treasure (exhibited in a water tank display to prove the point that there's little damage decades after it arrived in Davey Jones' locker [btw -- not Davey the Monkee]) and the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Olympic medals on display (having indefinitely postponed any career in entertainment, it may be the closest I get).
3.) For anyone unhappy that they've packed on a few pounds (I pretend I've done it to prepare for the cold cold winter ahead in Chicago -- and my fear is I'll double in size now that I'm working from home where I can graze all day), be sure to stop by the final room to determine the value of your weight in gold (for me, I'm up to about 4.5 million dollars)! It was all the more "meta" since gold is measured in ... wait for it ... troy ounces!
GEORGIA GOVERNOR FREE TO TAKE LAND FROM CHEROKEES (FOR THE GOLD!!):
http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/adhoc&CISOPTR=14&CISOSHOW=11
EXHIBIT ACTIVE UNTIL MARCH 6, 2011:
http://www.examiner.com/midwest-getaways-in-chicago/go-for-the-gold-at-the-field-museum-chicago
FIND YOUR VALUE IN GOLD:
http://www.onlygold.com/tutorialpages/yourweightingold.asp
"Thar's gold in them thar exhibits!" It's day 2 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and it was a blast to see the new temporary main exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum last Friday. Things I learned:
1) I knew about the San Francisco gold rush, but was actually surprised to see the information about the earlier one in Georgia! Somehow I missed that part of history when I was growing up, possibly because it was an east coast version of how badly we treated the natives.
2.) The most memorable parts for me were the sunken treasure (exhibited in a water tank display to prove the point that there's little damage decades after it arrived in Davey Jones' locker [btw -- not Davey the Monkee]) and the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Olympic medals on display (having indefinitely postponed any career in entertainment, it may be the closest I get).
3.) For anyone unhappy that they've packed on a few pounds (I pretend I've done it to prepare for the cold cold winter ahead in Chicago -- and my fear is I'll double in size now that I'm working from home where I can graze all day), be sure to stop by the final room to determine the value of your weight in gold (for me, I'm up to about 4.5 million dollars)! It was all the more "meta" since gold is measured in ... wait for it ... troy ounces!
GEORGIA GOVERNOR FREE TO TAKE LAND FROM CHEROKEES (FOR THE GOLD!!):
http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/adhoc&CISOPTR=14&CISOSHOW=11
EXHIBIT ACTIVE UNTIL MARCH 6, 2011:
http://www.examiner.com/midwest-getaways-in-chicago/go-for-the-gold-at-the-field-museum-chicago
FIND YOUR VALUE IN GOLD:
http://www.onlygold.com/tutorialpages/yourweightingold.asp
November 6, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/6/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... if you really don't like people, please get a job somewhere other than a public museum!
One of the nephews came with other relatives to town yesterday for a last supper in Chicago before heading off to basic training and all things Air Force, and we spent the afternoon at the Field Museum. (Which, by the way, will supply the next six days of posts in a long overdue return of one of my occasional Theme Weeks - this one called Museum Musings.)
Included in our admission was the 3D movie "Awakening Sue" (a feature on the famous tyrannosaurus rex that is celebrating her 10 year anniversary this year), and we had pre-arranged ticket times for the 3:20 showing. We all headed over to the theater after exiting the climate change exhibit (which concluded with an interactive feature where museum-goers could add their conservation tips to a display by writing on an index card -- said one non-team-player, "feed Al Gore to Sue") and an angry child employee (who was on her cell phone) huffily told us that we could not line up outside the door until 10 minutes before the show.
I asked her what time it was and, when she replied "3:08", I responded: "Would you like to discuss that policy for the next 120 seconds or could my group just be first in line?" She walked away, only to be seen again when she threatened the whole crowd that the 3D glasses she passed out had a security device in them so that she would know if we tried to steal them.
What I really learned from that experience -- she should get a new job, and I should see if I can start a consulting company where I go around and test the limits of the patience of people who must deal with the public. That would be a win-win!
ALL ABOUT SUE:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/#index
EIGHT JOBS THAT REQUIRE NO EXPERIENCE:
http://www.suite101.com/content/eight-jobs-that-require-no-experience-a83405
AS ALWAYS, THERE's A GROUP FOR EVERYONE ON FB:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2375846781
... if you really don't like people, please get a job somewhere other than a public museum!
One of the nephews came with other relatives to town yesterday for a last supper in Chicago before heading off to basic training and all things Air Force, and we spent the afternoon at the Field Museum. (Which, by the way, will supply the next six days of posts in a long overdue return of one of my occasional Theme Weeks - this one called Museum Musings.)
Included in our admission was the 3D movie "Awakening Sue" (a feature on the famous tyrannosaurus rex that is celebrating her 10 year anniversary this year), and we had pre-arranged ticket times for the 3:20 showing. We all headed over to the theater after exiting the climate change exhibit (which concluded with an interactive feature where museum-goers could add their conservation tips to a display by writing on an index card -- said one non-team-player, "feed Al Gore to Sue") and an angry child employee (who was on her cell phone) huffily told us that we could not line up outside the door until 10 minutes before the show.
I asked her what time it was and, when she replied "3:08", I responded: "Would you like to discuss that policy for the next 120 seconds or could my group just be first in line?" She walked away, only to be seen again when she threatened the whole crowd that the 3D glasses she passed out had a security device in them so that she would know if we tried to steal them.
What I really learned from that experience -- she should get a new job, and I should see if I can start a consulting company where I go around and test the limits of the patience of people who must deal with the public. That would be a win-win!
ALL ABOUT SUE:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/#index
EIGHT JOBS THAT REQUIRE NO EXPERIENCE:
http://www.suite101.com/content/eight-jobs-that-require-no-experience-a83405
AS ALWAYS, THERE's A GROUP FOR EVERYONE ON FB:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2375846781
Random Posting for Penn State 11/6/10
According to the all-powerful Wikipedia, 400 is (among other things) ...
... an oligarchy of ancient Athens; an HTTP status code for a bad client request; a phrase meaning the wealthiest, most famous or most powerful social group; an Atari home computer; a Lebanese card game and a Chicago and NorthWestern Railway passenger train that traveled 400 miles between the Twin Cities and Chicago in 400 minutes.
If Northwestern remains distracted by their upcoming game at Wrigley Field in two weeks (in the last 3 games, they've lost 2.5 times [come on -- last week was almost a loss!]) ... and even though Joe Pa says he's not focused on the milestone ... someone should get the chance to edit the people's encyclopedia today to mention Paterno's record.
[And let's hope that next week's game against Ohio State creates the need to immediately move any added reference to the page for the number 401!]
THE PEOPLE's ENCYCLOPEDIA SPEAKS TO THE NUMBER 400:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400_(number)
IT's NOT ABOUT ME, SAYS JOE:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5757154
WRIGLEY GAME IS SOLD OUT! BUT DONATE TO NU ANYWAY?!:
http://giving.northwestern.edu/WrigleyTickets
... an oligarchy of ancient Athens; an HTTP status code for a bad client request; a phrase meaning the wealthiest, most famous or most powerful social group; an Atari home computer; a Lebanese card game and a Chicago and NorthWestern Railway passenger train that traveled 400 miles between the Twin Cities and Chicago in 400 minutes.
If Northwestern remains distracted by their upcoming game at Wrigley Field in two weeks (in the last 3 games, they've lost 2.5 times [come on -- last week was almost a loss!]) ... and even though Joe Pa says he's not focused on the milestone ... someone should get the chance to edit the people's encyclopedia today to mention Paterno's record.
[And let's hope that next week's game against Ohio State creates the need to immediately move any added reference to the page for the number 401!]
THE PEOPLE's ENCYCLOPEDIA SPEAKS TO THE NUMBER 400:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400_(number)
IT's NOT ABOUT ME, SAYS JOE:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5757154
WRIGLEY GAME IS SOLD OUT! BUT DONATE TO NU ANYWAY?!:
http://giving.northwestern.edu/WrigleyTickets
November 5, 2010
Random Flashback for Friday 11/5/10
For my semester abroad 20 years ago, we lived in Koln, but the West German capital of Bonn was just "eine hop, ein uberspringen und ein sprung" away, so when I heard that Gorbachev was coming to town to visit Helmut Kohl, I skipped school and went to stand outside the gates to catch a glimpse of him. You can barely make out the limo speeding past at the very right of the photo, but it still felt historic.
Amazing Race Aside: I would much rather have preferred to have babushka'd women cheering Gorby on that day much like in the St. Petersburg potato challenge last week. Instead, it was just a handful of celebrity seekers and the odd paparazzi or two joining me along the fence!
November 4, 2010
Random Thought for Thursday 11/4/10
So I saw a map recently of levees that FEMA had just declared "unaccredited" -- and I wasn't surprised to see that many of them were in CA ... or AZ ... or LA ... or York, PA. Wait a minute -- York, PA? I grew up near there and once worked really near to there and I would never have expected it to be at risk.
So to those of you who live near the White Rose city -- now would be a good time to make sure you know how to swim, to store your most valuable posessions in the attic and to think about installing a (multi-purpose) sand box in the back yard!
HUNDREDS OF LEVEES NO LONGER RELIABLE:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-09-levees_N.htm
FEMA SAYS --> PROTECTION COMES WITH RISKS:
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=51891
LEFT BANK CODURUS CREEK LEVEE SYSTEM:
http://www.r3levees.org/wiki/images/f/fe/30-Day_Reminder_Letter_LeftBankCodorus.pdf
So to those of you who live near the White Rose city -- now would be a good time to make sure you know how to swim, to store your most valuable posessions in the attic and to think about installing a (multi-purpose) sand box in the back yard!
HUNDREDS OF LEVEES NO LONGER RELIABLE:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-09-levees_N.htm
FEMA SAYS --> PROTECTION COMES WITH RISKS:
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=51891
LEFT BANK CODURUS CREEK LEVEE SYSTEM:
http://www.r3levees.org/wiki/images/f/fe/30-Day_Reminder_Letter_LeftBankCodorus.pdf
November 3, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/3/10
Emergency Bra (now available commercially):
Used in a sentence: The Emergency Bra is now available commercially!
[OK, let's first address the giant pink (or purple, since that is really red and blue mixed together) elephant (and donkey and snake-that-is-not-tread-upon) in the room. I very easily could have used "GRIDLOCK is not a synonym for CHECKS and BALANCES" as my wordplay today -- but, come on, it's been an exhausting electioneering season. All I have to say is that leadership is about taking action and building consensus and not campaigning already to keep your seat at the next election, so let's see some of that make some press. The Constitution has been bandied about quite a bit of late, so how about we use it to get something done and not sit out the next two years in a partisan squabble-fest.]
So, having gotten that off my chest, I turn to something much more entertaining to get off a chest for today's willful respite from political overload -- the inventor of the Emergency Bra has now made it commercially available. If you haven't heard, in case of terrorist attack or nuclear catastrophe (don't mock -- she made it after witnessing Chernobyl's after effects), simply unhitch and separate into two face masks to increase your chances of survival.
To quote the inventress herself: "Ladies and gentlemen, isn't that wonderful that women have two breasts, not just one? We can save not only our own life, but also the life of a man of our choice next to us."
Unless, of course, he's wearing next season's emergency jockstrap!
$29.99 ALLOWS YOU TO FEEL EXTRA SECURE:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20017344-247.html
AND HERE's HOW YOU MAKE YOUR PURCHASE:
http://ebbra.bigcartel.com/
TO BE CLEAR, CHERNOBYL's NOT FUNNY:
http://www.chernobyl-international.com/
Used in a sentence: The Emergency Bra is now available commercially!
[OK, let's first address the giant pink (or purple, since that is really red and blue mixed together) elephant (and donkey and snake-that-is-not-tread-upon) in the room. I very easily could have used "GRIDLOCK is not a synonym for CHECKS and BALANCES" as my wordplay today -- but, come on, it's been an exhausting electioneering season. All I have to say is that leadership is about taking action and building consensus and not campaigning already to keep your seat at the next election, so let's see some of that make some press. The Constitution has been bandied about quite a bit of late, so how about we use it to get something done and not sit out the next two years in a partisan squabble-fest.]
So, having gotten that off my chest, I turn to something much more entertaining to get off a chest for today's willful respite from political overload -- the inventor of the Emergency Bra has now made it commercially available. If you haven't heard, in case of terrorist attack or nuclear catastrophe (don't mock -- she made it after witnessing Chernobyl's after effects), simply unhitch and separate into two face masks to increase your chances of survival.
To quote the inventress herself: "Ladies and gentlemen, isn't that wonderful that women have two breasts, not just one? We can save not only our own life, but also the life of a man of our choice next to us."
Unless, of course, he's wearing next season's emergency jockstrap!
$29.99 ALLOWS YOU TO FEEL EXTRA SECURE:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20017344-247.html
AND HERE's HOW YOU MAKE YOUR PURCHASE:
http://ebbra.bigcartel.com/
TO BE CLEAR, CHERNOBYL's NOT FUNNY:
http://www.chernobyl-international.com/
November 2, 2010
Random Tune(s) for Tuesday 11/2/10
So, on this, the last day of my work in my current role (tomorrow starts a new position), I pulled the evening shift. (Poetic, eh -- I get to student advise for my last hours in the old Kap-world!) That means I am off to vote and then off to work (where I can monitor election returns).
In that spirit, I'll provide links to the tune of your choice to play depending on how your local races end up. And remember, no bitching about the outcome if you yourself didn't vote today!
GLEE KIDS PERFORMING "LOSER":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnfwqLunvf8
GREEN DAY COVERING "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnfwqLunvf8
In that spirit, I'll provide links to the tune of your choice to play depending on how your local races end up. And remember, no bitching about the outcome if you yourself didn't vote today!
GLEE KIDS PERFORMING "LOSER":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnfwqLunvf8
GREEN DAY COVERING "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnfwqLunvf8
November 1, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/1/10
Gone but not forgotten: Kyle's wait for the return of the McRib.
He used words like "stoked" while he waited and "glorious" when he finally had it in his hands. He said it had been 16 years since he last tasted the pork patty with the barbecue sauce. I wanted to support him (he's been one of my best friends for over two decades) ... so I decided not to tell him that I've had access to the McRib every other year here in Chicago (apparently it sells super-well in the midwest -- go figure!) No knocking my central PA upbringings, but there are many exciting things about the big city Chicago life (and now I can add more McRibs to that list).
Mind you, we all worked at McDonalds together in East Lebanon back in the day -- and we had the freedom to play with our food while we created our crew meals. I still think I was one of the first ones to make a double quarter pounder (back before it was a regular item), and I preferred my McRibs without the bbq sauce and covered in cheese back then. What I miss most is the McDLT (the cool stays cool and the hot stays hot) ...
By the way, when we will get something new and exotic added to the national menu? Why don't we get to try the McKiwiburger (beef patty, egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard on a toasted bun from New Zealand -- or McOz if served without the egg in Australia)?
Kyle's longing to reconnect with his youth through Mickey D's menu choices, you are (no longer) missed.
THE McKIWIBURGER RETURNS TO NEW ZEALAND:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0705/S00017.htm
THE McRIB CAMPAIGN:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=146811
ONCE AGAIN, FB FOR EVERYTHING -- THIS IS 1 OF MANY PAGES (CALL TO ACTION):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-McRib/332826208449
He used words like "stoked" while he waited and "glorious" when he finally had it in his hands. He said it had been 16 years since he last tasted the pork patty with the barbecue sauce. I wanted to support him (he's been one of my best friends for over two decades) ... so I decided not to tell him that I've had access to the McRib every other year here in Chicago (apparently it sells super-well in the midwest -- go figure!) No knocking my central PA upbringings, but there are many exciting things about the big city Chicago life (and now I can add more McRibs to that list).
Mind you, we all worked at McDonalds together in East Lebanon back in the day -- and we had the freedom to play with our food while we created our crew meals. I still think I was one of the first ones to make a double quarter pounder (back before it was a regular item), and I preferred my McRibs without the bbq sauce and covered in cheese back then. What I miss most is the McDLT (the cool stays cool and the hot stays hot) ...
By the way, when we will get something new and exotic added to the national menu? Why don't we get to try the McKiwiburger (beef patty, egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard on a toasted bun from New Zealand -- or McOz if served without the egg in Australia)?
Kyle's longing to reconnect with his youth through Mickey D's menu choices, you are (no longer) missed.
THE McKIWIBURGER RETURNS TO NEW ZEALAND:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0705/S00017.htm
THE McRIB CAMPAIGN:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=146811
ONCE AGAIN, FB FOR EVERYTHING -- THIS IS 1 OF MANY PAGES (CALL TO ACTION):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-McRib/332826208449
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