Friday, January 23, 2009

This is the end. My only friend, the end. And you people of course.

Goodbye Folks. It's been fun. If you'd like to chat, please email me.

I suppose his day will live on in infamy, so there's that

"Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States. It was a complete surprise, completely unexpected. And just like the United States prevailed in that, we'll prevail in this." - Rod Blagojevich

Other things that are complete surprises and completely unexpected:

- Opening a door and there being another person on the other side
- The first time you saw the end of The Sixth Sense
- Sneezes
- Joakim Noah having a good game
- Getting a letter in the mail
- Cell phone bills if you went over your minutes
- Surprise parties
- An episode of 30 Rock that isn't funny
- Positive pregnancy tests for couples who weren't trying

Do you know what all of those examples have in common? NONE OF THEM RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE NOR THE DESTRUCTION OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PROPERTY NOR CAUSED OUR COUNTRY TO ENTER A WORLD WAR.

Other than that, his simile is spot on.

Have I mentioned that I hate this man?

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

SNL on Wednesday's

I'm out of ideas.

Me too.

What if we dressed Kristin up like some freakish woman who creates mischief.

We've done that 300 times already.

Okay, well what if Will was in the scene with her and he just kept repeating her name over and over again.

I don't get it.

Neither do I, but we're stuck.

Okay, so what will Kristin's character's name be?

Um, Gilly?

Why Gilly?

It sounds funny, right?

No.

C'mon, picture Will just saying "Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Gilly" over and over and over again for 5 minutes.

Yeah I don't get it.

Well you better jump on board with it because we're doing it.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Will he make mistakes? Sure. Actually he already did.

It turns out that Barack Obama made his 1st mistake as President only 3 sentences into his speech. When he said, "Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath", that was wrong. It's true that he's the 44th President, but only 43 Americans have taken the oath.

Grover Cleveland anyone?

A handful of final thoughts

Why didn't Aretha go with the big bow?

Do you realize that we don't have a President right now all because of Yo Yo Ma? (from Sam at about 12:01 ET)

Hearing Barack Obama give a speech, I can't help but be reminded of Eddie Murphy when he's doing his MLK impression in The Distinguished Gentleman. Are there any handicaps or gays on the committee. No gays.

Pretty typical though. Talked about hope for the new administration. Thanked the outgoing administration. A nice job overall. But did he pick a dog yet?

I double-checked with my opinion and that was the Worst. Poem. Evar.

Okay you were there. You flew to D.C. and stood there in 20 degree weather to watch a guy give a 15 minute speech. What next? Coffee shop? Bar? Laser Tag?

I'd rather watch Army/Navy

It sounds like I'm listening to a college football game.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2009-2013 United States Executive Branch

Woooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#44 (get it?), at President, Barack Obama

Woooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only thing we have to fear is what your country can do for you

Wait, Barack Obama is only 47 years old? Wow that's young. And he's from Hawaii? That's gotta be a first, right? No wonder people are making a big deal about this.

Overheard in the office

"Johnny" is talking loudly near "Billy's" desk.

Billy: "Hey Johnny, someone on the other side of the floor wants to talk to you."
Johnny: "Who?"
Billy: "It doesn't matter. Pick someone."
Johnny: "Okay I get it."

Monday, January 19, 2009

I don't know why I put myself through such things, Part 2 (and a TWSS)

More overheard by Bulls color man Bill Wennington during the radio broadcast: "Nice penetration by Derrick Rose who was able to find an opening. With his length and quickness he has quite an advantage once he gets near the rim."

Oh come on.

I don't know why I put myself through such things

Overheard by Bulls color man Bill Wennington during the radio broadcast: "That was a good possession on offense by the Bulls. Gordon missed the 3, but Deng was right there for the rebound. He did a good job blocking out and got the easy putback."

I guess that's the Bulls offense in a nutshell: run it through a smallish 2-guard who can't dribble and shoots 40% from the floor. Then get the rebound after he misses. Just the way Vinny drew it up.

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The most depressing would-be signing since Michael Jordan laced 'em up for the Wizards

Via ESPN Rumor Central: The Pittsburgh Pirates have contacted free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez and would be interested if the price is right, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported.

I have no problem living in a time when major newspapers in NY, LA, and Chicago are bankrupt. I have no problem living in a time when my house is worth half of what it was worth 4 years ago. I have no problem living in a time when the unemployment rate is near 10%. But I'll be damned if I will accept living in a time when Pedro Martinez is a pitcher for the Pirates.

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IM conversation with co-worker (and Cub fan) Donald

Don has been down on his team since the end of Game 3 against the Dodgers (actually it's probably closer to the end of Game 1). On Sunday, his team traded the once-untouchable (and 5 tool?) prospect Felix Pie to the Orioles for a couple of young pitchers Garrett Olsen, 25 and Henry Williamson, 23. Here is the IM conversation Don and I just had.

Donald(08:31): Was Garrett Olsen like the O's 5th starter last year?
Brian(08:32): Kinda. He's one of those guys who has been good in the minors and then sucks royally when he's reached the majors. Much like Felix Pie actually.
Donald(08:32): ahhh the old crap for crap
Brian(08:32): Or....the old "you take my crap and turn it gold while I take your crap and keep it crap"
Donald(08:33): Or....the old "you take my crap and turn it gold while I take your crap and give it to San Diego to make it gold while taking their crap"
Brian(08:33): i just LOL'd

Cubs Fever! See if you can catch it!

Also, this team won 97 games last year.

Awesome. Go White Sox!

FOLLOW-UP FROM BRIAN: Where was Kenny Williams while this trade was happening? You're telling me the White Sox couldn't find a spot on their roster for a guy like Felix Pie when their current CF's are Brian Anderson and friggin' Jerry Owens? Shameful.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Please turn off all devices and keep your seat back and tray tables...

Headline seen: US Airways survivor texts: 'My plane is crashing'

Well I guess now we know. It wasn't a bird. Some moron had their cell phone turned on.

/too soon?

Who was that guy who was in that movie about the thing?

When I was watching Mannequin the other night (still don’t judge me), I noticed that the antagonist, well one of them, was James Spader. I forgot that he was in that, which makes sense because it didn’t really look like him. He definitely looked a lot different in Mannequin than he did in Pretty in Pink. I got to thinking about other movies where I was shocked to learn who one of the actors was. For instance:

- One of Biff’s friends in Back to the Future is Billy Zane.

- The villainous nerdy kid from Road Trip is Daryl from Adventures in Babysitting. "Ya think?"

- Connie, the mom from Son in Law, is also Ferris’s mom. I found this one out by questioning how two "different" actresses can have the same name. Wasn't that against union rules? Oh yeah I'm a smart one.

- Ronald Miller’s little brother is Seth Green.

- Siggy from What About Bob is the "beer has gone bad" guy from Can’t Hardly Wait.

Can you think of more that shocked you when you first learned/realized it?

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It's cold out there. What is this Miami Beach? Not hardly.

One thought crossed my mind as I looked at the thermometer on my dashboard that was showing -18: it could be 50 degrees warmer and it would still be freezing. Pretty cool.

Once it gets down to -18, does it really matter if it gets any colder? Like would I be able to tell the difference between -18 and -35? Maybe. But either way I'm staying inside as much as possible. The only thing that should change is my gas bill. So I'm rooting for colder. I wanna break records.

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This really happened

Jill was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. I got up to go to bed, so I handed her the TV remote.

Jill: "No I don't want it. I wouldn't be able to flip anyway. I'm all wrapped up here."

Brian: "HA!!!! You need a Snuggie!"

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

I've got more chins than Chinatown. Ham on, ham on, ham on whole wheat, alright!

FoxSports.com has learned that the White Sox and pitcher Bartolo Colon have agreed to a one-year deal, pending a physical. Excellent. I wonder what happens during a physical of Bartolo Colon.

White Sox Team Doctor: "Welcome back, Bartolo. First things first; how does your arm feel?"

Bartolo: "It hurts."

White Sox Team Doctor: "Can you tie your own shoes?"

Bartolo: "Almost."

White Sox Team Doctor: "Okay you pass."

Shouldn't they be called "womannequins"?

Okay I have an idea for a movie. Here me out, I think it’s rock solid. Hey, Rock Solid, that’s a pretty decent porn name. Alright, so this idea: a down-on-his-luck man in his mid-20’s keeps going from job to job, but can’t seem to find anything he’s good at, nor anything he enjoys. It seems like every day he has a new job, and every day he gets fired. Silly, right? Yeah, but also awesome. Until one day, he gets a job as a night cleanup boy at a large department store. Oh you see where I’m going with this.

His first night at his new job, he’s not all that enthused with what he’s doing, but at the same time, he can’t help but notice that he enjoys creating mannequins. Did I lose you? I may have, but please hear me out. So he ends up creating this beautiful mannequin who comes to life whenever the two of them are alone together and she helps him create ridiculous window displays at the department store that become so wickedly popular that they end up increasing the store’s foot-traffic to the point where the store is saved from pending bankruptcy. Okay so the idea is still a little wet behind the ears, but the premise is almost too perfect not to be made into a movie, am I right? There will also be a sub-plot or two where a competing department store manager tries to get him fired, there’ll be a bumbling security guard of course, maybe a gay guy or two and a jealous former girlfriend. Look, all the details haven’t been written yet. But I think I’m onto something here.

Oh, the mannequin. You may be wondering how she comes to life. Well that’s the beauty of Hollywood. We don’t really have to explain it. Maybe she can be from ancient Egypt or something and she’s come here via some kind of portal or….you know what, that’s not important. What is important is I think I have a Rock Solid (still a good name) movie idea that needs to be made ASAP.
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By now, you may be wondering what the point of all that was. A few nights ago, I fell asleep with the TV on and I woke up at like 1 AM to this classic 80’s montage playing in the background. I ended up staying awake and watching the rest. Don’t judge me; you would have too.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Keeping it simple, NY Mets-style

From Paul Lukas: This is the "design" that the Mets will be wearing as a patch on their right sleeves throughout the 2009 season to commemorate the opening of Citi Field. [I] think it's fair to say it takes a very special kind of tin ear, a truly rarefied strain of tone deafness, to put that patch on a big league baseball uniform. What shall we compare it to -- an elementary school computer project? A certain fast food logo? Generic clichés like "My kid could do better" or "How'd that get approved?" can't convey the scope of a design failure this monumental...

If you don't feel like clicking any of those links, here's what it looks like:


I think Paul is being a little unfair. It's got nice rounded edges. The mixture of blue and orange is kind of appealing. And you really can't argue that this season is both the inaugural one and it takes place in 2009. What more does he want? Maybe a slogan? Something like "Mets is our name, baseball is our game"? Nah, too many words and way too confusing. Come to think of it, the word "inaugural" is probably a little too advanced.

Okay, change "inaugural" to "first". Then make the entire thing straight up and down instead of on a slant. Oh that's gold.

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My dad was a jerk, the women in my office are all jealous of me, and my estradiol level is off the charts

Dr. Kristina Durante of The University of Texas at Austin and colleagues found that young women felt more attractive when they had high levels of an estrogen known as estradiol, and they acted on those feelings.

"Women with higher estradiol reported a greater likelihood of flirting, kissing and having a serious affair with someone other than their primary partner and were marginally more likely to date another man," Durante's team wrote in the Royal Society Journal Biology Letters.

Interesting. An updated list of blind date must-asks for guys:

1. Are there any women in your office that you hate?
2. Are there any women in your office that hate you?
3. How's your relationship with your dad?
4. Do you get along better with guys or girls?
5. What's your estradiol level?

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Pardon me, do you have any unbelievable stories?

Via here: Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin was stopped at a red light Monday night when two men in a truck pulled up next to him. The driver rolled down his window, so Irvin did the same, thinking the two men recognized the radio talk show host and television commentator. The passenger flashed a gun. Then the retired NFL star heard one of them call out his name and mentioned being a "huge Cowboy fan." Irvin says he began talking with the men about the team's disappointing 9-7 season and Dallas not making it to the Super Bowl. The pair eventually drove off.

Now I'm not going to say that this story isn't true, but I will say that it's a complete lie. No I'm kidding. The same thing happened to me once. Except it wasn't a truck that pulled up next to me, it was a car. And they didn't have a gun, they were asking for directions.

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Overheard in the office

Guy 1: "Hey good morning. How you doin' today?"

Guy 2: "Not bad. You?"

Guy 1: "Can't complain. A little bit of cold. A little bit of snow. Other than that I'm alright."

Guy 2: "Yeah a little bit of cold never hurt anybody. Well except for that guy from Minnesota who died."

Thank God I'm a believer. Ha!

Have you ever thought that the only thing keeping you from not being a murdering, lying, stealing criminal is that you're not an atheist? I'll be honest, if I was an atheist, I'd be in some serious [bleep] right now. I feel pretty certain about that.

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Oh Rickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blew my mind

1 Happy St would like to congratulate Rickey Henderson on his induction to the HOF. With a little help from Ryne Sandberg, Brian has written Rickey's speech:

RICKEY: What a beautiful day this is. Rickey stands here today before you humbled and a grateful baseball player. Rickey is truly honored and in awe, honored to be in the class with his fellow inductee Jim Rice. And as Rickey looks behind him here, wow, at the greatest players in the history of the game, Rickey is in awe. Rickey knows that if he had ever allowed himself to think this was possible, if Rickey had ever taken one day in pro ball for granted, he's sure he would not be here today. This will come as a shock, but Rickey is almost speechless.

The reason Rickey is here, they tell him, is that he played the game a certain way, that he played the game the way it was supposed to be played. Rickey doesn't know about that, but Rickey does know this: he had too much respect for the game to play it any other way, and if there was a single reason he is here today, it is because of one word, respect. Rickey loves to play baseball. He's a baseball player. He's always been a baseball player. He's still a baseball player. That's who he is.

CROWD: We love you, Rickey!

RICKEY: He loves you too. He was a baseball player when he was ten or twelve years old pretending to be Willie Stargell or Johnny Bench or Luis Tiant, when his bat was an old fungo, his ball was a plastic golf ball, when the field was the street. He was a baseball player at Oakland Technical High School. Even though he was an All-American running back and received two dozen scholarships to play football in college, he turned them down. Then he was signed by the Oakland A's in the 4th round of the 1976 draft. Rickey had too much respect for the game to leave it behind or to make it his second or third sport in college.

Everything he is today, everything he has today, everything he will ever be is because of the game of baseball, not the game you see on TV or in movies, baseball, the one we all know, in dirt fields and in alleys. We all know that game. The game fit Rickey because it was right.

It was all about doing things right. If you played the game the right way, played the game for the team, good things would happen. That's what Rickey loved most about the game, how a ground out to second with a man on second and nobody out was a great thing.

Respect.

Thank you, and go Rickey!

I'd like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press. Without them, nobody would know who the [bleep] I am

Here is my impression of what it's like to watch the Golden Globes:

And the nominees for Best Actor in a Drama series are:
- Some guy you've never heard of from Dexter.
- Another guy you've never heard of from In Treatment.
- The only guy you recognize out of each of the 5 nominees.
- A third guy you've never heard of from True Blood.
- A fourth guy you've never heard of from yet another show you don't watch.

And the winner is............one of the four guys you've never heard of.

Yay!

Kenneth tries to "top that"

On January 2nd, I gave you this.

On January 8th, Kenneth gave us this:



This makes me even happier than I was back in May when Nard Dog used my urn joke.

Friday, January 09, 2009

All I have to say is...SnugWow!

So I bought a Snuggie. The light it comes with is awesome; totally worth the 19 bucks.

Eh, let's try another one.

So I bought a Snuggie. It's awesome. I wear it backwards. You know, like a robe.

Hmm, I still think it's a no. Let's try one more.

So I bought a Snuggie. It's awesome. Except my hands get wicked cold. I wish it came with built-in mittens. Or no holes in it.

Yeah, that's the keeper.

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Rod Blagojevich, Sanaa Lathan, and other Randoms

It’s too bad for my resume' that companies don’t put a whole lot of stock in such skills as "makes good use of that’s what she said" or "keeps his desktop icons meticulously organized" or "always finds the cleanest bathroom stall" or "the uncanny ability to pick just the right amount of time to heat his food in the microwave". Otherwise I’d be in high demand.

Now that Candace Parker is pregnant with Shelden Williams' child, isn’t it about time that Hollywood makes a movie based on their life starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan? They could call it "Love & Basketball" or something.

A congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion bailout program says "it has no idea" what banks are doing with the money lawmakers approved last fall to stave off a looming financial crisis. Hmm, it’s a good thing they’re not a congressional panel in charge of oversight.

People who have never worn contact lenses don’t understand what it means to have a bad contact lense day. So allow me to explain it. Imagine someone stabbed you in the eye with a fork. Okay now imagine you have to keep the fork in your eye all day. Yeah it’s like that.

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 114-1 to impeach Hairdon’t. Good news. I look forward to the day when nothing becomes of it. Hey, aren’t there 118 representatives in Illinois? Yes there are. So who were the 3 who didn’t vote? Maybe they were busy voting on that other huge story out of Illinois.

My favorite part of Valentine’s Day: chewy red hearts. My least favorite part of Valentine’s Day: everything else.

What is the likelihood that the part of your windshield wiper that does the worst job during a snowstorm is the part that’s right in your line of sight? Is it 100%?

On that note, remember that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Unless the apple is tainted with poison.

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Thursday, January 08, 2009

A little video to brighten your day

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Urine deep trouble now

Via this via TBL:

A 43-year old Delray Beach man who told police he keeps his urine in a plastic container so he doesn't have to seek out bathrooms was arrested and charged with simple battery Tuesday after dumping the contents of said container over his girlfriend. According to police, Paul Thomas Hamill "saturated" his girlfriend with the urine during the course of an argument in the parking lot of a Stuart service station. She responded by dousing him with red wine and calling the cops.

Been there. Not judging.

We've made one bad decision, we can't stop there.

From Roland S. Martin:

It is total hypocrisy for the naysayers of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to assert that he didn't have the legal right to appoint Roland Burris to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Hypocrisy? Really? Hmm, you've got my attention. Tell me why.

It seems a lot of folks are excited and happy that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White took a stand by refusing to sign the paperwork certifying Burris as the Senate appointee. Yet what these same folks somehow refuse to recognize is that Blagojevich isn't some guy sitting around in his office, twiddling his fingers, flipping through the cable channels with a remote and waiting to get impeached. He is still carrying out his duties as governor.

Yeah I know. A crying shame, right? This a-hole is still making decisions. Go on though.

Did you know that since his arrest in December, Blagojevich has pardoned 22 people? I haven't heard a huge outcry over this tainted governor setting folks free.

22 people? Are you serious? You're right, there should be outcry. Perhaps this is something that should be reported a bit more by the media. Hey, you're the media, right Roland? I'm so glad you're touching on this.

Did you know that Blagojevich continues to sign bills that were passed by the General Assembly?

For reals? This is getting out of hand.

Did you know that two days ago, Blagojevich, as determined by state law, set March 3 as the primary and April 7 as the general election to fill the congressional seat of Rahm Emanuel, who resigned after agreeing to become Obama's chief of staff?

No I didn't. But thanks for telling me. It's a [bleeping] joke that this man is still in office. I should ask though, is there a point to all of this?

I was one of the many voices who said that in light of what he was arrested for, Blagojevich should resign his seat because his presence paralyzes state government. And I still believe that. But we are way beyond that now. He chose not to do so, which is his right.

Ugh. So much for arguing the correct point.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Overheard in the office

Guy 1: "Hey did you hear that they adjusted the atomic clock by one second during New Years?"

Guy 2: "No I didn't hear that. Did I lose a second or did I gain a second?"

Guy 1: "You lost a second."

Guy 2: "Son of a bitch. I can't catch a break."

Cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it.

Headline seen: Romijn and husband welcome twin girls

Poor Jerry O'Connell. He's listed as "husband" in a headline about him and his wife. We're talking about Vern here. No, we're talking about Cush. I've got Cush-lash. Cush-lash, Cush-lash, Cush-lash Cush-lash Cush-lash. No wait, even better. Am I to believe that Trip McNeely doesn't get top billing in a headline?

For shame.

A new study out of "Duh" Magazine

2005 called. It wants its story back.

Via here:

More than half of teenagers mention risky behaviors such as sex and drugs on their MySpace accounts, U.S. researchers said on Monday. [Researchers] said many young people who use social networking sites such as News Corp's MySpace do not realize how public they are and may be opening themselves to risks, but the sites may also offer a new way to identify and help troubled teens. "We found the majority of teenagers who have a MySpace account are displaying risky behaviors in a public way that is accessible to a general audience," said Dr. Dimitri Christakis of Seattle Children's Research Institute, whose studies appear in the journal Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. In one of two studies, Christakis and Dr. Megan Moreno of the University of Wisconsin analyzed 500 randomly chosen MySpace profiles of 18-year-olds in 2007. Overall, 54 percent of the publicly available accounts they checked contained information about high-risk behaviors: 41 percent mentioned substance abuse, 24 percent sexual behavior and 14 percent violence.

Sex, drugs, and violence on MySpace? Now I've heard it all. I think it's time for me to say it one more time. Guys, CANCER STILL EXISTS! CURE SOMETHING PLEASE! THANK YOU!

ED: Dr. Christakis was the name of my childhood pediatrician. Could it be?

Sometimes I hate the tagging function

I got an email from Facebook that said "Greg has tagged a photo of you" in an album called "Memories"

The next email I got was from my sister via Facebook. It was a comment that said "Greg, why?"

The next email I got was from one of Greg's friends via Facebook. It was a comment that said "Greg, your brother is going to kill you for tagging him on that."

I'm at work, so I can't view it until later.

Today is going to suck.

What the [bleep] did he do to me?

Monday, January 05, 2009

Sight seen: bumper sticker edition

While I was out driving during lunch, I ended up behind a car that had a bumper sticker that said "DON'T BLAME ME: I VOTED FOR DUKAKIS". I'm surprised I didn't get into an accident afterwards because I spent the rest of my trip trying to figure out how the hell that bumper sticker came to be at that exact moment.

First of all, it wasn't on an old car. I could see if the car was from the 1980's or something, then I could chalk up the sticker's reason for existing that it just wouldn't come off the bumper. But this car was a newer Toyota, no older than 5 years or so. Was it put on there ironically? Or was it to be funny (like that time I put a bumper sticker on my car that was a Spanish translation of "please buckle up")? Or was its owner really using a bumper sticker to express 20 years worth of frustration?

Second of all, where the bleep did they get it? Where does one find a Michael Dukakis bumper sticker? I bet Michael Dukakis doesn't even have a Michael Dukakis bumper sticker.

All these questions, no answers. Frustrating lunch.

Friday, January 02, 2009

I'm the guy in the middle (of course)

If you're wondering how my friends and I celebrated New Years Eve, look no further. I videotaped our entire evening. I bet your celebration didn't "top that".

Picking on the old guy who recently had a stroke

Peter Gammons is getting old. His column used to be one that I'd read every time it was updated. Now it includes passages like this:

For all the talk of a salary cap, only twice in the past 30 years has a team won the World Series with a $100M-plus payroll -- the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox. In those 30 years, 20 different teams have won World Series, and it likely would be 21 without the 1994 strike that cost the sport's best team that year -- the Montreal Expos -- a chance to win it all.

Oooo, let's break that down. Only twice in the past 30 years has a team won the World Series with a $100M-plus payroll. Okay yes that's true. But it wasn't until 2001 that a team even had a $100M-plus payroll. Prior to 2001, the record was $92 million, and that team was the 2000 Yankees, WHO WON THE FRIGGIN' WORLD SERIES. Oh and prior to that, the record was $88 million, again by the Yankees, who again WON THE FRIGGIN' WORLD SERIES. See where I'm going here? Peter would have been just as well off saying something like "for all the talk of a salary cap, only twice in baseball history has a team won the World Series with a $100M-plus payroll". It would have been just as accurate, and just as misleading.

2nd part - he said that in those 30 years, 20 different teams have won the World Series, and it likely [key word] would be 21 without the 1994 strike that cost the sport's best team that year -- the Montreal Expos -- a chance to win it all. Oh man. He couldn't leave well enough alone. Ya' know, 20 out of 30 is actually a good enough argument for the anti-salary cap crowd. On its own, it makes a strong case that any team can win it all regardless of payroll. But where he loses me is when he tries to add that 21st team. It's true that the Expos had the best record when the season ended on August 11th, but it's quite the leap to say that they would have likely won the World Series based on that. Let's see, how many teams that had the best overall record on August 11th would go on to win the World Series that year? 2008 Phillies? No. 2007 Red Sox? Maybe. 2006 Cardinals? Hell no. I'm not going back any further, but again, you see my point. Having the best record on August 11th doesn't mean shit.

It pains me to say it, but I think it's time for Peter to hang it up. There's no way Pre-Stroke-Peter would have left a passage like that in his column.

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Do you think they'll show Guy backstage waiting to go on?

I watched an extended version of "That Thing You Do" a couple nights ago on Starz. It included most (or all) of the deleted scenes and it made the movie like 40 minutes longer. At first I didn't know what the hell was happening. I had seen the movie like 418 times (give or take 395), but this time I kept seeing things that I didn't remember. The 3rd or 4th time this happened, I started to realize what was going on (I'm a quick one). The deleted scenes changed quite a bit of what I had previously known:

- The band members at first didn't trust their manager who worked in the van.
- Faye made them all baloney sandwiches. Guy said he hates baloney (just odd).
- Fans got rowdy at the pizza place by the airport (Villapiano's?)
- Boss Vic Koss was a bigger a-hole than we even knew.
- There was a lot more focus on Tina and her dentist (deleted with good reason).
- Guy said "I am Spartacus" 6 or 18 more times.
- Mr. White's character was gay for his assistant (played by Howie Long. Awesome).
- TB Player had sex with one of the Chantrellines.
- Guy's reasoning for staying in L.A. was because he got a job with Clint Howard at the radio station as an interviewer of jazz musicians.

The extended version didn't flow at all. It was like watching an early episode of Seinfeld. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't right. I'd like to know what made Tom Hanks change his mind about Mr. White though.

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Posts that go unpublished, and for good reason

I found an old blog post from 2006 that I never published for some reason. Actually there was good reason. I remember coming up with an idea for an entire post of puns related to the workplace. It probably started with me thinking of one and then trying to think of more until it became worthy to put up here. As you'll see below, it never became worthy. Oh man it's bad.

I used to work for Firestone, but I ended up quitting because the job itself was just too tiring. So then I took a job with Midas and I figured it would be a little better, but it wasn't. Honestly, I'd get home and I'd be so exhausted. At the time, I thought that maybe auto repair just wasn't the industry for me. So I took a couple weeks off and really thought about what it was that I wanted to do with my life. In the interim though, I needed to make some money so I took a job at a shop that fixes watches. It wasn't a good time or anything, but it paid the bills. I also worked part-time at a barista, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. I was familiar with plumbing, but finding work when you're not in the union turned out to be draining. I interviewed to be a driver for Pepsi, but they gave me this written pop quiz and I failed it miserably. During my job search, I would get out all of my frustrations at the gym. Eventually, one of the guys who worked there offered me a job as a trainer. I turned him down though because I didn't think I'd have the skills to make that work out. Finding a job was becoming increasingly frustrating until a friend of mine suggested that I should get a job with the city, like a police officer or a fire fighter or something. So I took his advice and I became a fireman. It's been a blast. The experience so far has been alarming, but I just hope I don't get fired.

Wow.

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Wheel of Fortune, Facebook, and other Randoms

I had a dream last night that I was conducting a Google search of Roger Ebert movie reviews. The odd thing though was that my searches were coming back with all of the information I was looking for. I think I may know way too much about Roger Ebert.

Don’t people realize that they can delete the "is" when changing their Facebook status? Brian is you’re an idiot.

Jill likes to set all of her clocks ahead by 4 or 5 minutes. She says it helps her to be on time for things. I’ve tried to convince her of the irony in that, but she’s sticking with it.

Congratulations Gina and Joe on your New Years Eve wedding. I had you both figured wrong. And if you don’t know why I’m bringing this up, click the label below and start from the beginning. Or don’t.

If you are part of a household that goes through milk pretty quickly, it should be your civic duty to buy the gallon with the closest expiration date to the current date while saving the newer gallons for us folks who take longer.

Requiring us to mix 2-cycle oil instead of using straight gasoline to operate a friggin’ snow blower is a scam that even Charlie Ponzi would be proud of.

I like going to the gym at the beginning of January to watch all the newbies trying equipment for the first time. Mr. Regan, you wanna get out of that painters scaffolding?

If I was ever a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, I just know there’d be a puzzle with a well-known phrase that everyone in the world has heard of except me, causing me to buy another vowel as the audience groaned. That kind of public embarrassment isn’t worth the potential for a few thousand dollars. Uh, I’d like to solve the puzzle: that’s the way the bookie stumbles.

And on that note, remember that opinions are like assholes. Everyone’s got one and if they didn’t, it’d be tough to talk shit. Yeah you can use it.