with aplomb, I plumb
I spent my Patriot's Day installing a new kitchen faucet. Most of that time was actually spent uninstalling the old one, which pretty much sucked. No leverage, a banyan tree of pipes under the sink due to the disposal, and whoever installed the old one was putty-crazy. But once it was removed, the rest of the operation went smoothly.
Saw A Mighty Wind Monday night. It's the weakest of the Chris Guest mockumentaries, but still has its moments. Tuesday during lunch I headed over to Wherehouse, which is in its final death throes -- 60-80 percent off what's left now. Still managed to pick up some not-altogether-useless stuff:
Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story -- this was a small Minneapolis label in the mid-60s that gave the world The Trashmen ("Surfin' Bird") and The Castaways ("Liar Liar").
The Orgazmo sountrack, which features the only Smashmouth song worth a damn, and "Jesus and I Love You" by the crushworthy April March.
A racing game for the Playstation 1 (I don't think I mentioned; in a colossal moment of weakness I bought a used PS2 last weak. Big mistake.)
All for $10 and change. not bad.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
If you're not partaking in Craig's latest music tournament, you should be. He posted a full list of bands, but it was in alphabetical order. So to decode what's to come, I arranged them into seed order by region. Hard to see much past the Round of 8 because I don't know how the regional champs will face off, but I firmly believe that U2 was awarded the cushiest trip to the round of 8. But take my predicitons with a big fat salt lick. The last time I comleted any sort of tournament bracket, I finished dead last -- well behind a pick based on Scrabble tile values.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Miracle on Ice 2?
Team USA -- representing Illinois at Nationals -- are 2003 women's world curling champions, edging out Canada in the finals, 5-3. The hugeosity of this cannot be overstated. Minus the Cold War aspect, this is every bit as big a step forward as was hockey in Lake Placid.
NBC is running highlights this Sunday at 1 CT. You should check it out.
Team USA -- representing Illinois at Nationals -- are 2003 women's world curling champions, edging out Canada in the finals, 5-3. The hugeosity of this cannot be overstated. Minus the Cold War aspect, this is every bit as big a step forward as was hockey in Lake Placid.
NBC is running highlights this Sunday at 1 CT. You should check it out.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
So, hey, TRASHionals -- the big reason I was so quiet there for a month -- came and went this weekend, and what few public comments there are thus far are positive. So yay us. Nice to see everyone again. I did get to compete in Dave Murphy's audio-covers theme round, which played to my strengths. I brought home an Elvis 5-disc boxset for my troubles. I would have liked to have played a few more theme rounds, but dinner awaited...
This long weekend (Thur.-Mon.) was also late Christmas; this being the trip that was rescheduled when my back decided it wanted a quiet holiday at home and a bunch of drugs. So that was okay. I'm a little peevish about the travel burden always falling on us when it comes to this side of the fam, but it was fine.
A couple of observations:
Flying to Boston is now an 8-hour venture, what with getting ourselves to and from each airport. About the same as driving to Minneapolis, only without a stop for tasty pie.
I seem to have lost most of any nostalgic feelings I had for Boston. I had a great time there in school, but now...meh. This is probably due to the places I went this time -- I was in a BU classroom building all day Saturday and part of Sunday. Friday night I went to the TRASH welcoming party across from Fenway. It had rained all day, and the home opener was delayed, then quickly called off, so Landsdowne Street was pretty much a sea of puddles and pulped newspapers. Don't get me started on Braintree. FWIW, the suburb my mom has relocated to is about 5 times worse, but she harbors no illusions about it, and at least it's laid out in something resembling a grid.
Coming from where I came from, Boston was appealing. Coming from where I am now, I can see why much of the luster is gone. Ironically, this was an open-house weekend at BU. I wonder if the deal was cinched for any of those high-schoolers when they wandered over to Nuggets and found some rare vinyl they'd been seeking for a few years...
This long weekend (Thur.-Mon.) was also late Christmas; this being the trip that was rescheduled when my back decided it wanted a quiet holiday at home and a bunch of drugs. So that was okay. I'm a little peevish about the travel burden always falling on us when it comes to this side of the fam, but it was fine.
A couple of observations:
Flying to Boston is now an 8-hour venture, what with getting ourselves to and from each airport. About the same as driving to Minneapolis, only without a stop for tasty pie.
I seem to have lost most of any nostalgic feelings I had for Boston. I had a great time there in school, but now...meh. This is probably due to the places I went this time -- I was in a BU classroom building all day Saturday and part of Sunday. Friday night I went to the TRASH welcoming party across from Fenway. It had rained all day, and the home opener was delayed, then quickly called off, so Landsdowne Street was pretty much a sea of puddles and pulped newspapers. Don't get me started on Braintree. FWIW, the suburb my mom has relocated to is about 5 times worse, but she harbors no illusions about it, and at least it's laid out in something resembling a grid.
Coming from where I came from, Boston was appealing. Coming from where I am now, I can see why much of the luster is gone. Ironically, this was an open-house weekend at BU. I wonder if the deal was cinched for any of those high-schoolers when they wandered over to Nuggets and found some rare vinyl they'd been seeking for a few years...
Monday, April 7, 2003
Hmmm...something must have happened in the month I didn't bother blogging. Didn't bother here, anyway, though countless other blogs were tarnished by my "thoughts."
The curling season ended last week. In my last official game -- a game with playoff ramifications -- I played as if I started a month ago. Just horrible. I didn't singlehandedly keep us out of the finals, but I certainly did my part.
On the whole, though, I did get much better. I aspired to, and achieved -- mediocrity. Whoo! More next year, most likely. Now I have to find something to do with myself 3-4 nights a week.
Oscars: My night was made ten minutes in, when Spirited Away deservingly won Best Animated Feature.
Speaking of animation, I just about had a damn stroke watching Rejected on Sunday.
The curling season ended last week. In my last official game -- a game with playoff ramifications -- I played as if I started a month ago. Just horrible. I didn't singlehandedly keep us out of the finals, but I certainly did my part.
On the whole, though, I did get much better. I aspired to, and achieved -- mediocrity. Whoo! More next year, most likely. Now I have to find something to do with myself 3-4 nights a week.
Oscars: My night was made ten minutes in, when Spirited Away deservingly won Best Animated Feature.
Speaking of animation, I just about had a damn stroke watching Rejected on Sunday.
Friday, March 7, 2003
Fun with Netflix
Part I in an irregular series...
Actual NFLX recommendations from my welcome page, somehow based on recent rentals. I'm not making these up.
I'll Like: The Basketball Diaries
similar to: Keep the River on Your Right
I'll Like: My Cousin Vinny
similar to: Go Tigers!
I'll Like: Bull Durham
similar to: An Evening with Kevin Smith
...and most bewildering,
I'll Like: Heavyweights
similar to: Panic Room
Part I in an irregular series...
Actual NFLX recommendations from my welcome page, somehow based on recent rentals. I'm not making these up.
I'll Like: The Basketball Diaries
similar to: Keep the River on Your Right
I'll Like: My Cousin Vinny
similar to: Go Tigers!
I'll Like: Bull Durham
similar to: An Evening with Kevin Smith
...and most bewildering,
I'll Like: Heavyweights
similar to: Panic Room
Thursday, March 6, 2003
A lot of interesting things going on worthy of comment, but I'm not in the mood.
I got an email from a college friend with whom I've been out of contact for a few years. While Friend A only sent an in-joke, it did inspire me to Google another long-lost friend. It seems Friend B has allegedly been doing some bad stuff. Some -- many -- would consider this the worst stuff you can get caught doing short of an al-Qaeda link (and were it not for terrorism being such a media priority, I'm sure a much bigger deal about this would be made, as B had recently achieved a position of some standing in B's community).
So now I'm just sad. For everyone allegedly involved, and for the family and friends of all parties. And I'm reminded of another college in-joke shared with A and B; this being a quote from a professor who did not suffer fools gladly in his lecture halls:
"Mr./Ms. _____, did you go to high school? Did you PASS?"
I got an email from a college friend with whom I've been out of contact for a few years. While Friend A only sent an in-joke, it did inspire me to Google another long-lost friend. It seems Friend B has allegedly been doing some bad stuff. Some -- many -- would consider this the worst stuff you can get caught doing short of an al-Qaeda link (and were it not for terrorism being such a media priority, I'm sure a much bigger deal about this would be made, as B had recently achieved a position of some standing in B's community).
So now I'm just sad. For everyone allegedly involved, and for the family and friends of all parties. And I'm reminded of another college in-joke shared with A and B; this being a quote from a professor who did not suffer fools gladly in his lecture halls:
"Mr./Ms. _____, did you go to high school? Did you PASS?"
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