Thursday, September 30, 2004

exposition!

HBO keeps reairing "Nine Innings from Ground Zero" the story of how the 2001 Diamondback/Yankees World Series helped the city of New York through the aftermath of 9/11. I've only watched the second half tho, since i never actually plan on watching it.

Anyways, the main reason I like watching it is to watch the supposedly perfect Mariano Rivera lose the World Series in the bottom of the ninth of game 7. I remember watching that game back in November of 2001, rooting for the Diamondbacks only because I hate the Yankees. Is that terribly evil of me?

Don't get me wrong, I feel for those Yankee fans who died and whose loved ones died on 9/11. But Mets fans, Redskins fans, Jets fans, NY Giants fans, and probably every team in the world's fans were affected by the events of 9/11. Does that some how make the Yankees or New York more deserving of a championship?

Anyways, including that series, the Yankees have lost 2 World Series since... and I've celebrated both. Sad i know, but the Expos are coming so thats good?!

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

i love the 80s

Do you have a movie that you like but are sorta ashamed to admit it? well mine is Secret of My Success back from that great decade of cheesiness, the 1980s. It stars the great Michael J. Fox and the hot Helen Slater. Its replete with 80s film cliches like:

  • dream sequence (when Christy and Brantley first meet at the water fountain)
  • music sequences (Brantley starting his job, Brantley and Christy spend the weekend together, Brantley impressing the millionaires)
  • chase sequences (Brantley chased by dogs, by Prescott, and by his lowly mail boss, Christy chased by Prescott when she sneaks into Brantley's room to that song which goes "Oh Yeah" and then "Chick-Chicka-Chickah", you know the same song the Duff Beer guy from the Simpsons appears to)
  • a trip to spend the weekend in a swank locale (i'm surprised they didn't make it on a lake)
  • it ends with a triumphant night out to Opera at Lincoln Center

in 80s movies, it just doesn't get any better.

Why do I like it? Lets see: It takes place in NYC. It has a sneaking around element. I like Michael J. Fox. I'm all about Helen Slater. And I like that "Oh Yeah, Chick-Chicka-Chickah" song... well not really but its just so cheesy its awesome. It probably falls in that category of cheesy over the top things i love like: KISS, Elvis Presley, Ozzy Osbourne (before the whole TV show thing), and Def Leppard.

Anyways that reminds me. I'll end on one of my favorite jokes: What has 10 legs, and 9 arms? Def Leppard! i know its bad... but at the same time soo good.

baby i got your money

i like new money. i like when they change the design of money... not too sure i like the design of the new 50 tho.

Monday, September 27, 2004

man vs. beast

i finally got around to watching man vs. beast (which i had tivo'ed awhile ago) and it was good. not stellar, but good. i have a few complaints tho:

first, in the man vs. zebra 100 meter run (zebra won), the man was running on compacted dirt... clearly unfair since men normally run on a hard track. the zebra actually clocked in a time comparable to the human world record, so that would have actually been more of a race.

second, in navy seal vs. chimpanzee obstacle course (navy seal won), it looked like the chimp was just copying what the navy seal was doing. i guess thats an element of man vs. beast, that the animals aren't really aware that its a competition. but still, the chimp had no chance because he was just immitating.

third, in the little people vs. elephant airplane pull (elephant won), there were CLEARLY little people who weren't pulling. you could tell they were just walking with the harness on... i mean no leaning into it, no strained look of effort on their little faces. if i were one of the little people who actually worked hard to pull that monstrous dc-10, i would turn around and slap those lazy little punks.

anyways those were my issues. i started watching man vs. beast 2, but my recorder ran out of space.. sad i know....

Friday, September 24, 2004

a dilemma

so i've got a dilemma. it seems dc is getting a baseball team. now i've always been against the idea of rooting for two teams but this one is a toughy.
growing up in dc you get the orioles shoved down your throat as if they're "also dc's team." as a child i went to see baseball up at memorial stadium and then camden yards. i even cheered for the orioles, but as i got older i grew to resent them and the fact that dc didn't have a team. i had at least grown a healthy dislike for the yankees (as a forced child oriole fan). so, i figure, it was pretty natural that at some point i started liking the red sox. although as a kid, i never really felt or understood the rivalry... probably because i didnt grow up in boston.
anyways back to the dilemma... when it comes to sports, i'm definitely a homer. i cheer the skins, caps, united and wiz. (dont even get me started about my unrequited love of the caps and wiz) so i would be a HUGE dc baseball fan. (btw, i think any dc baseball team should be named the Senators... everything else has sounded like total made up crap.) the problem is that i don't know what i'ld do. i can't just stop liking the sox. but it would always silently nag me that i'm split like that. i guess it helps that the sox are in the AL and the expos are in the NL. but if they were to ever meet each other in the world series? it'ld be awful... like choosing which leg to get amputated if you HAD to choose.

Monday, September 20, 2004

foolsball

on saturday my terps give up 5 turnovers and lose in overtime by 3... on the road. and the sunday my 'skins give up 7 turnovers and lose by 6... on the road. THATS a total of TWELVE, 12!! turnovers and lose only by a total of 9 points? and both were on the road?! things have got to get better right? right?!

Thursday, September 16, 2004

new money

check out the new design for the nickel. Awesome design... I'm impressed.

rowing and more rowing

First a correction: sculling isnt just a fancy word for rowing, its a fancy word for rowing with two oars. Thats in comparison to sweeping, which is rowing with just one oar (usually done with 4 or 8 rowers). Anyhoo on with the show:

On tuesday morning we got in the shells and it was disheartening. The second I left the dock I thought I was gonna take a nice dip in the Potomac. In fact, I spent the first half hour just trying to not tip over. Its hard to stay balanced when they just put you in a boat with two oars and tell you to "head on out." (Sweeping with 3 or 7 more ppl and 3 or 7 more oars has got to be WAY easier, btw). Since that first half hour, tho, I've slowly started getting the hang of it. I still skim the oar on the water, but as Dr. Lloyd (from "What About Bob?") would say... "Baby Steps, Bob. Baby Steps."

One thing which no one told me but I think would be helpful to anyone contemplating sculling: cut your fingernails. When sculling there are two points when you cross your left hand over your right. A skilled rower probably doesn't have a problem keeping his/her hands clear of each other. But being a beginner, I managed to take out a little layer of skin from my right index finger with my left thumbnail. Needless to say, it and my other fingernails are now nice and trim.

Wednesday morning started in a surprisingly pleasant light drizzle. That morning, tho, ended with a new concern. Since my confidence was building I started rowing harder. Consequently I finished with blisters waiting to happen on each thumb, and small blisters already formed under the knuckles of the middle and ring fingers of each hand. A few more days of this and I'll end up looking like I left my hands in a fire.... good times!

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

here comes the story of the hurricane

So it seems this is turning out to be a rather memorable year for hurricanes in florida. Ivan, it seems, will spare the "great election debacle" state and in its stead threaten one my newest favorite cities, New Orleans. (side note: there had always been something that I liked about The Big Easy, but I never really understood what it was until my visited this past spring... more on this in another post tho)

Anyways back to my point: I was looking through the National Hurricane Center's website and I remembered that one of the names in the rotation of Atlantic hurricane names was Juan. So I checked the list of hurricane names and found that it was no longer in the rotation. Frankly, I was disappointed. I had heard of a Hurricane Juan last year but I thought it just... well, hurricaned itself into nothing out in the middle of the Atlantic.

Lo and behold, it didn't. It actually caused a good amount of damage to the coast of Nova Scotia near Halifax. I found a website (http://www.novaweather.net/Hurricane_Juan.html) with a good deal of information on My Hurricane (as I believe I can rightly call it) and the damage it did.

Monday, September 13, 2004

row, row, row your boat...

This morning was my first class in beginning sculling... btw, thats a fancy word for rowing.

It all happened so fast. Sometime last week, Marci brought up taking a class every morning at 6:15 AM. I of course was not amused, until i realized she wasn't joking. Then i started considering it. And now Marci and i are spending the rest of the week getting up at 5:45 AM to learn to scull, or row, or... whatever.

Its ironic, in an 'Alanis Morissette' kinda way. All through high school i intetionally avoided joining (or attempting to join) the crew team even though a few of my friends rowed. It was just too preppy for me. It still is. But now i don't care. Funny how not caring will do that to you?

Well we didn't get out on the water (just on 'simulators') today but we'll be in shells on the water tomorrow if the weather is good... in other words thats the day i wear my swimsuit.

Thursday, September 09, 2004

daily surf

so every time i get online i do two things: check my email and visit the few websites im addicted to. The sites which seem to magically run of my fingers on to the keyboard are: Yahoo (for email and news), Fark, ESPN, The Washington Post, Slick Deals and most recently added Gmail. I seriously don't think i ever get on a computer without checking those sites. Recently, tho, i've added a new website to my daily viewing: Electoral-Vote.com.

Electoral-Vote.com is updated daily with the most recent presidential election polls by state. In essence, it gives you a better view of the election then those National percentage polls. Plus the guy who runs it writes a nice little commentary on the polls and other election details.... just an all out awesome site.

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

the life aquatic

Wes Anderson is finally releasing his next film after The Royal Tenenbaums (can you believe it came out in 2001?).... it's called The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The Trailer was recently put up.

It stars some of the usual actors Anderson uses like Owen Wilson and Bill Murray.... Anjelica Houston is back for this one... but the interesting new casts are Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum. I've oddly been a fan of Goldblum if only for his manic, tall woody allen-like, mannerism. He has definitely worn that role out but it really seems like he might be like that in real life. Im looking forward to seeing Dafoe in a comedy since i cant recall any comedy he has done.

finally im also looking forward to I ♥ Huckabees... existentialism at its interesting-est. it is directed by the same guy who did Three Kings, which i surprisingly enjoyed a few years ago...

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

laborous

so this will prolly post for tuesday but im still calling it monday night....

i got back late sunday from a rather fun trip to southern west virginia. we stayed along the banks of the greenbrier river just south of lewisburg and ronceverte. some friends have built a 'straw bale' house (complete with composting toilet) on land there. its fairly rustic and just plain awesome. now i SERIOUSLY want my own. alas i have not the money... at least not yet.

Friday, September 03, 2004

cuz im free... freefallin!

so i jumped out of a plane at about 15k feet last month. ill post the few pics i have or others have up here or on bitterspider soon i hope...

ive read the odds of dying are anywhere from 1 in 20k jumps to 1 in 75k jumps. well, go figure! someone just died skydiving today... mmmhmm! i guess its safe now for the next 20k to 75k jumps.

Thursday, September 02, 2004

tricky tricky

so have you seen the people who can breath in a string or spaghetti and bring it out their nose? well this definitely beats that trick.