Hilary, Hilary, Hilary...

So much talk about Hilary and little did we know it should have all been about two time oscar winner, Hilary Swank. I never thought i'ld ever be able to say that and not be lying. Now I haven't seen 'Million Dollar Baby' but of what I've seen of her acting I am surprised. I saw parts of 'Boys Don't Cry' and thought her acting was average at best. And I faithfully watched the 4th installment of The Karate Kid staring our fair herione, and needless to say she stank. I just don't get it.

Oh and Jamie Foxx in 'Ray?' He was much better in 'Collateral.' I finished watching 'Ray' and thought Foxx played Ray Charles as the most uncharismatic and one sided celebrity ever.

That 'Aviator' didn't win anything that involved acting or the storyline. Which both sucked... maybe I was just to adverse to Leonardo. (Espcially since I have to admit that Cate Blanchett's performance as Katherine Hepburn was pretty good.) That 'The Incredibles' won for best animated feature film, but that was almost a given (I even thought it should have been nominated for best picture). And finally that 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' won for best original screenplay.

Btw, I didn't watch the Oscars because I was on my way back from NYC. But I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to them anyways and it would have been a good thing. Tom Shales (a writer who I respect) wrote in the Post that Chris Rock was "strangely lame and mean-spirited." I think I've already given my 2 cents about him (Great comedian, AWEFUL actor) and I think this just proves it.

lost and found

so go to Unclaimed.org and look in the states you have lived and see if there is a check waiting for you... old feature, but this site nicely compiles all the states for you.

fits of dispair

Joel Achenbach writes in his blog this morning about the snow that is now falling in our uneven city and about Hunter S. Thompson.

Now I never really understood Thompson's writings and I would be inclined to yell "the emperor has no clothes." But that would just be ignorant, especially since I never truly tried to understand his writings. Honestly, there were a few lines here and there that I enjoyed but as a whole I really didn't get it. Anyways, towards the end of his post Achenbach said, "Life is so damn interesting, I can't stand the thought of anyone feeling so much despair that they don't want to see the rest of the show."

So it got me thinking: was Thompson's suicide a result of his "despair?" He had been suffering through some ailments but, as Achenbach noted, Thompson had expressed that he had already lived the life he wanted. I might be talking crazy, but it's not like Hunter S. Thompson was really all that normal. Maybe he became tired of waiting and took it upon himself to see what was next. I would think this would be rather easy without a belief in a higher law. (Implication aside, I'm not trying to suggest that this was the case with Thompson. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.) I guess if you think there is no plan and things just don't seem to be moving on their own... once you get impatient, there isn't much there to stop you. Not even a snowy evening.

batter up

According to the Washington Post, Bush says attacking Iran is "simply rediculous." yeeaaah, so pretty much Bush has painted himself into a corner. Either he talks tough (State of Union) and doesn't walk it or he will have to live up to being simply rediculous.

watching idol pt. 2

so things are crazy... anwar robinson sung "moon river." april put it best when she said "before coming out he must have thought, 'crap i picked the wrong song.'" but after recovering right at the end, all the judges loved it. am i crazy? he seriously was all over the place on that song. and then anwar smiled stunned face with his eyes wide open like he was getting lasik surgery trying to not blink... its sorta the same look i had the whole time he was singing.

judd harris was better than average but thats not saying much considering how all they guys have sung. interesting song.

joseph morena is next. and he's reminding me a karaoke bar. a good singer, but just not great. oh uh... he just stood up. and shalise made the best comment, "he's got a big mouth." yeah, thats right. simon put it best "it gets you there, but its not really exciting."

the final singer of the night is mario vasquez. and he can sing. and picked a good lively song. and simon was entirely correct in saying "not the best vocal performance."

oh well the ladies are up tomorrow.

watching idol

so im watching idol, and i thought ozzie smith's kid did okay... until i heard the rest of them. bo bice (april's favorite) totally surprised me... he picked the perfect song which helped. aside from them no one else was memorable. its fun to watch simon squirm after jared yates. and simon was right, yates sucked.

off to commercials now...

idol theories

My main issue with this past week's Americal Idol was that Jaclyn Crum went home. Not that she was better than Amanda Avila (neither should have gone home), but she definitely had more potential than a few of the older singers with good, but not great, and developed voices that got through.

My biggest problem was the whole farce of asking Jaclyn and Amanda if they went home, would they try again. (Jaclyn said yes, Amanda said no.) If I had any Hollywood clout I would go out and sign Jaclyn RIGHT NOW, if only to ruin the AI producers plan of bringing her back for next season. There is no reason she should have to go through the whole process again, she is talented and could easily be groomed into the teen idol mold.

But in my big conspiracy theory mind, I keep thinking they are going to bring a few contestants back this year... and my plan (of trying to sign Jaclyn) would suss that out. And if she signed and stank up the joint (first, there would go my theory) it wouldn't be that bad. It couldn't be that risky to sign her for cheap, get her to do a record or two, and market her as the girl would shouldn't have been kicked off American Idol. I'm SURE that that plan would be worth at least a few thousand records sold.

tacky becomes expensive

So you know the joke... tacky painting = dogs playing poker. Well "A Bold Bluff" by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge sold for $590,400 at auction. Thats more than half a MILLION dollars! But to be honest if I had that kind of money to throw around, I would have paid that much too... sad.

oh and in other news, my plan to take over the world with robotic monkeys has taken a step forward.

westminster part 2 - and the winner is...

'Carlee' a German Shorthaired Pointer. Im glad that one of dogs in my list of favorites won. There's been a dearth of Best in Show winner in the breeds that I like. You'ld have to go back to 1986 when another Pointer won. Before that the only winners of 'my type' have been a German Shorthaired Pointer in '74, a Whippet in '64, a Bulldog in '55, Pointers in '32 and '25, a Bull Terrier in '18 and finally another Bulldog in 1913. (I know, I'ld be a terrible judge always picking a Bulldog.) Strangely a Retriever has never won. Terriers, Poodles and Spaniels seem to be the most popular. Oh well...

(Edit: Added the Bull Terrier in 1918)

westminster

The 129th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is now airing on the USA Network. There are 3 new breeds in the show this year: The Glen of Imaal Terrier, The Black Russian Terrier, and (the breed made popular Harry Potter) The Neopolitan Mastiff.

The best in breed and best in group for the working, terrier, toy, and non-sporting groups happened yesterday. The best in breed and best in group for sporting, hound and herding groups is happening right now. And tonight? Best in Show!

So anyways my fav dogs? Well if you know me at all, obviously the Bulldog (and French Bulldog). I also like the Boston Terrier and the Shiba Inu in the non-sportings. The Bull (and Mini Bull) Terrier in the Terrier group. The Italian Greyhound in the toys. In the working group I really like the Great Dane, probably because of Scooby Doo.

It gets complicated when we get to the Sporting and Hound group because I love them all!

In the Sporting group I LOVE Pointers and Retrievers. But if I had to pick one, I would have to go with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever (sorry chocolate labs! oh and note that I think thats the first somewhat longer haired dog I've mentioned.) Also in that group I LOVE the Vizla and Weimaraner.

In the Hounds its even worse because I just can't pick one. I love the greyhound and whippet look (I mention the Italian earlier). And the Basset Hound and Bloodhound are just to cute and droopy. The "Hot Dog" Dachshund and Beagle are classics. Finally, there is just something enticing about the ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

what is in a name

so i know im all late (in posting and with this link) but who cares.

if you haven't already, check out the Baby Name Wizard's NameVoyager. (and then click on "Launch NameVoyager")

just type in a name and see how popular it has been in the last 100 years. my name has been pretty popular (of course) but it is not as popular now as it was in the 1920s.

pseudo-politics

i hate politicians.

whenever i get a cold or feel a cold coming on, i use 'advil cold and sinus.' and i use it because of it has pseudoephedrine. it is an excellent decongestant... and unfortunately it is a key ingredient in the making of methamphetamine. anyways oklahoma wants to keep track of people who buy pseudoephedrine and specifically those who buy more than 9 grams per month. so that got me thinking and i pulled out my calculator. the normal amount is 30mg of pseudoephedrine per tablet, capsule, etc. boxes usually come in either 20-24 and 40-48 tablets, capsules, etc. 9 grams is about 6 or 7 of the big boxes. not that i would buy that many normally, but what if i did? what if they went on sale? what if i had a big family? its just messed up that the government would keep tabs on things like this.

eagles and pats, oh my

so i'm quite proud of myself. i thought the patriots would win, and so i picked the eagles to win. and my reverse jinx worked. the eagles lost. hehe. it was a little weird that the eagles were just a touchdown away from actually making the score 28-24.. which would have fulfilled my half baked, jinx inducing prediction.

the interesting thing about this game was that i watched the eagles play the redskins a few months ago. and i saw the eagles drive the same way they did at the end of the super bowl to score against the redskins. they were in no hurry, and the were very disciplined. but they were winning 10-7! and it was the 3rd quarter!

this time around there were 5 minutes left and they were down by 10. what were they thinking!? wasting all that time they practically forced themselves to try that weak onside kick. and honestly i did not agree with chris collinsworth, joe buck and troy aikman that they HAD to go for. and thats not just hindsight, i said it when the eagles scored, i thought kicking it away would have been a good option.

anyways, i still think donovan mcnabb is overrated... it was only in this last year that he got his completion rate anywhere near a respectable level and he still threw a third of his throws at receiver's feet. and i'll say it again: they would have had a better chance if mcnabb would have threatened to run. the reason it never really worked in the past was because all you had to do was play mcnabb to run. his throwing was awful and his recievers werent that much better. but now with owens, you had to respect that.... and that would have made for some great runs. but i guess his image of wanting to be a 'real quarterback' was more important than winning a super bowl.

what's on the radio

okay so i'm posting this mainly because i always need it and it takes me for ever to find it.

wanna know what is playing or just played on your local radio station? check out Yes.net

gas pump loophole

a few months ago i decided to start turning off the gas pump at the console thingy and not at the nozzle pump. i figured il'd get all the gas that had been measured... including what was left in the hose. since it would have already been measured and i would already been charged for it. (i know thats weird reasoning because you get that gas from the last person who pumped if that makes sense). but anways, i soon noticed something interesting:

on some pumps the gas kept coming out (albeit slowly) even tho the meter had stopped registering. i think this is a common problem with some gas pumps. the trick is you HAVE to turn off the pump at the "nozzle holding area" (if that makes sense) while the handle on the nozzle is being squeezed and gas is being dispensed. (so that means you can't wait until the automatic shut off clicks on, or else it makes it a little harder.)

if you don't know what i mean by "nozzle holding area", im talking about the place where the handle/nozzle thing waits while no one is getting gas. normally there is either a giant switch looking thing (that you have to 'turn on' to activate the pump) or there is a flap on a spring inside the holder which is released when the nozzle is taken off the holder. you either have to push in the flap or flip the switch to stop the pump.

the last thing to keep in mind is kind of obvious... don't let go of the pump handle. once you let go of the handle it stops dispensing all together. anyways the result on most gas pumps is that the gas will slowly keep coming out.

finally, don't forget: this would be stealing if it isn't just what is 'left in the hose.' but it really doesn't seem to be that... so don't go stealing gas! i just thought it was an interesting obervation, and i guess some gasoline companies should probably be aware of (or made aware of) this issue.

idols are bad right?

so i've always liked american idol, but i think im finally getting into the competition aspect of the show. i always enjoyed watching the preliminary auditions to see the obviously bad singers, the bad singers who thought they were good, and the good singers try-out. but i always lost interest after it was just a competition between 20 or so good singers.

last year was the worst because some, comparatively, terrible singers got into the final 10 and final 5. then there was even the time when the 3 best singers were put into the bottom 3 and "america" picked who was sent home. it was a joke!

anyways here are my picks for who i like: the fat white guy who sounds like harry connick jr... his name is scott savol. i also like the green/purple haired girl who sang phantom of the opera... her name is briana davis. and the pretty girl singer who sounds like she smokes too much... i forget her name. we'll see how well they do..

super bowl prediction time

im not really into predicting games without being able to give an if/then clause to my prediction... so here goes. if donovan mcnabb rushes for more than 75 yards, the eagles will win. mcnabb seriously needs to stop thinking he is not a running quarterback and start to run. he hasn't done it for awhile and now would be an excellent time to start. the only caveat is that bill belicheck and his crew aren't idiots and should have the patriot defense ready for it. which is why i think the patriots are going to win. and since i like going against myself my official pick for the super bowl is... the phildelphia eagles over the new england patriots: 28-24.

childhood memories

i was having myself a bowl of golden crisp and had a childhood memory: i used to always find golden crisp (and its kellogg equivalent "smacks") stuck to my socks. i dunno what it was but those little guys were sticky as a crap!