A Year Without A Santa Clause

I'm proud to announce that I've found a full length version of A Year Without A Santa Clause. What's more, it is brought to you in glorious widescreen format. Yes, I'm fully aware that as a television show, it's in 4:3 aspect ratio - thus making widescreen irrelevant, but the simple fact that that's an option pleases me. But all that aside, this is one of the best Christmas shows out there. And I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Rankin & Bass sure knew how to write a catchy tune. I guess my next mission will have to be finding a full length version of The Hobbit.

The-Year-Without-a-Santa-Clause-1974-Rankin-Bass - Get Video Code

Rubber band ball

Here is the exciting story of my rubber band ball. It is entirely composed of rubber bands that have been shot at me by one anonymous co-worker who seems to get bored from time to time. This first picture shows it in it's infancy, sitting next to some common office items to give you an idea of it's size. As you can see, it was born shortly before November 15th.

This second picture shows how many rubber bands were shot at me in just a short 3 or 4 minute period while I was trying to talk on the phone. Needless to say, maintaining your professionalism while bobbing and weaving, and while getting nailed in the back of the head can prove to be a challenge.

Finally, this is how large it has grown to date. I fully expect it to be the size of a basketball by spring. At that point I may donate it to some disadvantaged YMCA somewhere in need of sports equipment. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

I Don't Get It

After seeing the headlines: US Economic Growth Fastest In 4 Years and Soft home sales, prices cast economic gloom on the same page, I found myself confused by the apparent contradiction. Upon further review, I was able to conclude that one report came from the Commerce Department, and one came from the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn. I don't have any idea who is more reliable.

I had always thought that looking at economic indicators like inflation, interest rates, unemployment rates, energy prices, value of the dollar against foreign currency, stock prices, etc were the way to gauge the economy, but if "experts" are looking at the same data and coming up with completely different interpretations, then what does that all mean? Are there other economic indicators the people look at that I don't know about that are more subjective? All I can conclude is that I just don't know what makes the economy tick like I thought I did. I guess that shouldn't really come as any big surprise.

Falling Home Sales

According to this article on MSNBC, home sales have fallen for the 8th consecutive month, and the largest drop in sales - 4.4% coming from the Western US. Also of note, median housing prices in the West have fallen 6.9% in the last year. It's comforting to know that we are safe from the housing crunch here in Seattle though....... I'm sure that people still in denial will blame the Western regions problems on California and try to claim that things are still rosy here.

Click Your Shiny Metal Remote

That's right, I scored myself a copy of Bender's Big Score and give it the big thumbs up. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'll limit myself to saying that one or more main characters die, but I won't say which ones. This movie has it all: time travel, cartoon violence, cartoon nudity, Al Gore driving a cab, and more bad jokes than should be allowed by law.

But don't take my word for it. Watch the intro here. If you watch closely, you may notice the subtle reference to the mindless network execs who canceled the show.



I'd write a longer review, but it's past my bed time and need some sleep.

Welcome To The World Of Tomorrow!

That's right, the new Futurama movie: Bender's Big Score is out on DVD today. I plan on picking up a copy on the way home today. Unless you are some kind of jerk, you will be doing the same.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, here are some interesting articles related to Futurama that you should check out: Seattle Times, Wired, and this article from Can't Get Enough Futurama which also has information about 3 more upcoming DVDs.

I think I'm going to organize a Futurama showing at my place on Saturday. Let me know if you're interested in attending.

Software of the Day

Have you ever gotten a new pc only to find that there is a bunch of useless software installed that slows your system down and you will never use? Then this product is for you. I don't know how useful it really is, I just like the name. The PC Decrapifier promises to remove all of the 'craplets' that come pre-installed. How can you go wrong with something like that?

R.I.P. Sean Taylor

Sadly, Sean Taylor succumbed to his injuries this morning. My heart goes out to his friends and family and I hope that his killer is swiftly brought to justice.

Sean Taylor

If you haven't heard already, someone broke into Washington Redskin Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor's house early Monday morning and shot him in the leg. Because of significant blood loss, he is in critical condition, and doctors fear he may suffer permanent brain damage. My thoughts and prayers go out to Taylor and his family.

I almost hate to admit it, but one of the first things that crossed my mind after hearing this news was "this is exactly why Tank Johnson is a gun nut". I couldn't understand why he kept his guns around after being arrested, suspended by the league, and cut by the Bears because of them, but for some reason professional athletes have become targets. Now I can better understand why he wanted to keep weapons handy.

I hate to turn this tragedy into a second amendment rant, so let me close by reiterating how saddened I am by this news and hope for a full recovery.

Heat Miser

Thanks to a conversation I had with a coworker today, I've had this song stuck in my head all day.

And if you haven't seen A Year Without A Santa Clause before, what's your problem? It's a classic. It makes A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, Bad Santa, and all those other Christmas 'classics' look like a pile of puke. I have to warn you though, Rankin & Bass sure knew how to write a catchy jingle, and these songs will bore their way into your brain and take over your life, not unlike the creepy bug things that Kahn put into Chekov's ear in Star Trek 2.

And after learning some shocking revelations about my cousin-in-law about her unrefined cinema palate - in particular that she hasn't seen Conan and has no interest in seeing it - I wouldn't be surprised to find out she's never seen it, or possibly *gasp* has seen it and doesn't like it. The Conan news coming hot on the heels of the announcement that she gave up on Army of Darkness after half an hour has really left me doubting her value as a human being.

And to wrap this up, there are 3 important facts contained within this rambling, aimless mess:
1. Year Without A Santa Clause = good
2. Conan = good
3. Army of Darkness = good

Useless Christmas Trivia

I know it's a little early to start the Christmas talk, but deal with it.

What popular Christmas song was originally written for Thanksgiving?

Awake

I recently saw a preview for the movie Awake:

Plot Summary: A psychological thriller that tells the story of a man (Hayden Christensen) who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His young wife (Jessica Alba) must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them.

Honestly, this movie doesn't look very good, and Hayden Christensen is a terrible actor and very difficult to watch, still I feel strangely compelled to see this film. And the reason for this is because Jessica Alba looks drop dead gorgeous. Yes, I am one of those people who will watch a bad movie because a beautiful woman is in it, but I at least have enough self respect to wait for DVD and not shell out $10 to watch a bad movie in the theater.

But this, in a round about way, brings me to my point. I know, you're as surprised as me that I actually have a point, but here it is: Jessica Alba is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen - and on the unlikely chance that she's reading this, let me just say that I love you - but she is in so few good movies. As a matter of fact, looking over her profile on IMDB, I realize that she hasn't been in a movie that would be considered good in the traditional sense. And for the record, no Sin City wasn't good. Don't believe the hype or the good reviews - it's all lies. Anyway, to get back to my point before I get too far off on a tangent, how can someone I care so much about continually hurt me by being in these bad movies? And why do I continue to come back for more when I know it will only end in heartache? Surely she's got enough box office draw to be more selective in her roles, so why does she continue to select the bad ones? I guess I just have to be glad that she hasn't taken the Sandra Bullock/Julia Roberts route and converted to 100% chick flicks. That would be too much for me to accept from my dear Jessica.

So please Jessica, please exercise a little more discretion in your selection process and take some roles in better movies.

Stem Cell Breakthrough

I just saw this news today: scientist have found a way to modify skin stem cells so that they mimic embryonic stem cells. This should effectively end the debate on whether or not stem cells should be used for research. So far it seems as though this is just being viewed as a political tool, but I hope that this will open the door to funding for stem cell research and eventually lead to the cure for many diseases.

Video Conversion

Does anyone out there have any experience with video conversion software? What I would like to do is convert some of the video (sorry Shelvis, not adult material) I have on my PC to mp4 format so that I can put it on my ipod and watch it during my commute. I tried the most logical thing and went to Cnet and download the most popular free program. Well, it turns out it didn't work. The software told me that the conversion was complete, but either did not output the converted file to where I told it to, or did not output it at all. I suspect the latter since searching for it didn't yield any results.

Well, I could go try some of the other free programs out there, but would rather not risk downloading a virus. I would prefer to pay a few bucks and get something that I know will work, will be relatively quick and easy to use, and virus free. If you know of such a program, let me know.

Also, it has been a dream of mine to transfer saved programs from my DVR to my PC, convert them to mp4, and then load them on my ipod. Is there an easy way of accomplishing this feat? I may have to wait until I get myself a laptop to do this since I'd need 25 foot long cables to connect my DVR to my PC without some serious rearranging at the moment. Either that or I'd have to burn the programs to DVD and then rip said DVD on my PC, and then finally convert to mp4. That's a lot of work and I assume would lose so much data in the process that the resulting video would be nigh unwatchable. Plus I'm too lazy to do all that.

Touched By His Noodly Appendage

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, he is the high carb deity of the Pastafarian religion. Well, he is in the news again. He has sparked a raging debate at the American Academy of Religion. You can read more about it here. Be warned though, if you are from Kansas you won't find it amusing.

Sustainable Oil

Now here is an article that interests me. Basically, a biodiesel refinery has joined forced with a biotech company to genetically engineer a plant that produces 20% more oil than conventional plants. But wait, there's more! This plant, known as the camelina, also grows in very arid regions which have very little agricultural use anyway. Sustainable Oil plans on producing 100 million gallons of biodiesel a year by 2010.

If this joint venture ever goes public, I think I might buy some stock. The only downside I see at the moment is the limited number of diesel vehicles available in the US. But if this catches on, perhaps biodiesel vehicle won't be driven solely by pretentious tree huggers concerned more about looking like they care more than their eco-buddies than actually doing anything for the environment.

I've been interested in biodiesel for a while now, but haven't been able to find sufficient data on it. Based on the studies I've seen, ethanol/E85 doesn't really cut down on any emissions when all variables are considered from the farm to your car, not to mention that it costs more per gallon than gas and gets about 85% of the mileage. Fuel cells still appear to be decades away if they are a viable alternative at all, and hybrid vehicles don't make sense financially and have such a minimal edge over traditional internal combustion vehicles that they really only appeal to the same crowd as current biodiesel owners: those people who want to slap stickers all over their car advertising how much they care about the environment. Battery technology has come a long way, and electric vehicles are now an option in terms of performance, but are still too expensive. And if you want to see a great unintentional comedy, watch Who Killed The Electric Car.

This article touts that biodiesel has 78.45% less carbon dioxide emissions than diesel, but doesn't mention any of the other emissions. I'm not sure why, but I've had a lot of difficulty finding data on biodiesel and so still remain skeptical. The internet is littered with ethanol studies, but why no biodiesel? What are they trying to hide? I'd like to believe it's a viable alternative to gas, and not just because the exhaust smells like french fries. At this point, I'm not sure that European style turbo-diesels aren't the best option, but for some reason they just aren't making it over here. I guess I'll just have to stick with my gas powered car until someone can convince me otherwise.

Useless Trivia

The honey mushroom is believed to be the world's largest living organism. Found in Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon, it covers 2,200 acres underground.

Also, if you are entertained by things that rhyme, it has been dubbed "the humongous fungus"

I'm A Genius

Finally the recognition I deserve. And this is proof that if you don't enjoy my blog, it's because you aren't intelligent enough to understand it.

The Shining

Oh man, I wish I'd found this before Halloween.

Here's To You Mr. Notre Dame Fan

This is so beautiful I nearly wept with joy when I watched it.

Fun Size

To me there is no more egregious lie perpetrated on America by the Madison Avenue fatcats than labeling tiny candy bars as 'fun size'. There is nothing in the world about small candy that makes it more fun than larger candy. I refuse to tolerate this any longer and am considering writing my congressman. If he will not take action, I may be forced to take up a petition in order to get a measure on the next ballot outlawing this. It is a clear violation of the truth in advertising act.

Yamagato Fellowship

All you Heroes fans out there should check out the Yamagato Fellowship web site. It's good stuff. And if you are not a Heroes fan by now, what's the matter with you? Go out and rent season 1 right now and stop being a jerk.

Digital Video Essentials

Has anyone used Digital Video Essentials before? I've been thinking that I should give it a try so as to fully optimize my home theater, but don't know if it will make a noticable difference. I could rent it from Netflix, but all they have is a 4 or 5 year old version that doesn't have anything about HD on there, so I don't know if that does me any good anyway. Also, based on some of the reviews, it doesn't come with the color strips that you have to look through in order to get the picture right so it is limited in it's effectiveness anyway. And since I'm red-green color blind, I'm not sure I could properly adjust the color anyway.

So can anybody tell me if this is essential as they claim or is it a waste of time? Should I rent the non-HD version or find myself the HD version?

Biodiesel

Is there some law that I'm unaware of requiring drivers of biodiesel vehicles to cover their car with bumper stickers notifying everyone around them that they use biodiesel? I only ask because every biodiesel car I see is a rolling billboard.

Useless Trivia

The word 'tip' is an acronym for To Insure Promptness and was originally given out before the order was served.

Berkeley Tree Sitters

If you're unfamiliar with the saga of the Berkeley Tree Sitters, here's a quick synopsis: UC Berkeley has announced an expansion to the athletic complex - to be built next to the stadium. Building the complex would involve cutting down some oak trees. Since this is Berkeley, some whack jobs have taken up residence in said trees to keep the university from cutting them down.

This whole situation is absolutely asinine, but what really got to me was seeing some photos of these wastes of space in my ESPN magazine mugging for the camera, soaking up all the attention they can, and seeing a quote from a woman who goes by the moniker "Millipede" saying:

This has nothing to do with football. We'd be doing the same thing if it
was a library. This isn't about us trying to compete by asserting our
dominance as a protest school.

Now I actually agree with that assessment. But what Millipede left out is what it does have to do with, and it has to do with is some people who are completely lost, have absolutely no self worth, and are willing to grasp on to any cause, no matter how ridiculous in order to feel important and get some attention. This is absolutely the most sad and pathetic thing I've seen in quite some time. These poor knuckleheads are completely vacuous and I think that as soon as the university really wants to get them out of the trees, the just have to cordon off the area at the base of the trees, and when their supply of weed runs out, they'll come down and then come down. Damn worthless hippies.

Intercontinental Ballistic Water Heater

I love Mythbusters, and the latest episode I saw was maybe my favorite yet. Apparently if you have an improperly set up water heater, it can in fact turn into a rocket. But enough of my yackin', watch the video for yourself and enjoy. It's some good stuff.

My Ambulance Ride

Sit back and enjoy this thrilling tale of the one time I got to ride in an ambulance. This memory was brought back to me after seeing Jake Locker taken off the field in an ambulance, for you see, about 10 years ago I had a similar situation. I was not hit by a vicious defender, however, I was hit by a Geo Metro driven by an idiot. I was riding my motorcycle, happy as can be when said driver backed out of his driveway right in front of me because he was apparently in too big a hurry to look and see if anyone was coming.

I was in a residential neighborhood, cruising along at 25 mph at the time, so it wasn't a big collision, but after sliding to a halt, some kind neighbor came running out and asked me if I was ok. I didn't feel any pain, but did a quick pat down to make sure everything was still there and where it was supposed to be. It was at this time that I noticed blood dripping from the fingers on my right hand. I pulled up my sleeve and looked at my arm and saw a nice gash right down to the bone. I immediately looked away because, well, seeing my own bones bothered me quite a bit. The adrenaline must have been pumping pretty good because I still didn't feel any pain.

Shortly afterward, the ambulance showed up. Some EMT's spent a few minutes poking at me and asking if this hurt or that hurt. No, nothing hurt and they concluded that the only injury was what would turn out to be a broken arm. So naturally they slapped a neck brace on me, told me to hop on the gurney, and proceeded to strap me down so that I couldn't move, and tape my head to the gurney so I could only look straight up. We stopped somewhere on the way to the hospital - I'm not sure where because all I could see was the ceiling. I assume one of the drivers was jonesing for some slim jims or something and decided to make a quick stop at the 7-11.

That was enough of a slowdown that my brother, who wasn't at home at the time and didn't get home until shortly after the ambulance left, was at the hospital waiting for me by the time I got there. The other nice touch was almost getting dropped when they pulled me out of the ambulance because the wheels on the gurney didn't drop on their own.

That's when I realized that they will slap a neck brace on you and throw you in an ambulance at the drop of a hat, and why I wasn't overly concerned about Locker being carted out. I just assumed that they were being extra cautious.

Anyway, after laying in the emergency room for a good 45 minutes to an hour, a doctor finally came in to see me and I got to spend what seemed like the next few days, but in reality was probably only 2 or 2.5 hours having glass, paint chips, and various other debris dug out of my arm. The adrenaline had stopped by then because I can guarantee you that I felt that. They administered several shots of novocaine, but there is no amount of novocaine in the world to overcome that amount of discomfort. Luckily they had me face down so I couldn't see what they were doing, but I did look over occasionally to see a look of horror on my mom's face. I just had to grit my teeth and clench my other fist, and I was sweating like I was being interrogated by the KGB. Now all I have to remember the experience by is a nice scar on my forearm. And I guess the moral of the story is that if you ever have an injury that requires them to dig debris out of a body part, save yourself the pain and just have the limb amputated.

Qdoba Is Mexican For No Good

There is a new Qdoba Mexican Grill close to the office that just opened up recently and I stopped in for lunch today and was thoroughly unimpressed. I got the taco salad with chicken, and the chicken was all dried out and the whole thing was pretty flavorless. And it was fairly small for $6.50.

I would have been much better off going 2 blocks down the road to Mi Charrito (which I have no idea what that means). I would have gotten fresher, tastier food and a much larger portion for the same price. Plus I would have been able to order it from someone who can count well enough to make correct change (the girl at Qdoba couldn't) and it would have been made by an authentic Mexican who doesn't speak English. I don't know why, but the guys who either don't speak English or barely speak English cook better.

So don't go to Qdoba. But if you find yourself around 45th and Brooklyn, stop in to Mi Charrito.

Husky Game

The Husky game against Oregon State on Saturday was unquestionably one of the strangest games I've ever seen. Jake Locker left the game in the first quarter in an ambulance only to walk back into the stadium in the 4th quarter (and if I remember I'll share my own ambulance story this week). 4 players were ejected. OSU coach Mike Riley proved to be a hot headed jackass, which I blame for his team getting out of control (and 3 of the 4 players ejected were from OSU). The momentum shifted so many times that every time I thought OSU had the game wrapped up, the UW would suddenly come storming back. The UW benefitted from one of the worst, if not the worst officiating calls I've ever seen at any level of any sporting event and yet still managed to blow it. I saw a QB throw a block and pancake a defensive end, and despite the fact that he is a terrible passer, that earned a lot of respect from me for OSU QB Lyle Moevae. And I found out that OSU has a running back named Yvenson Bernard (pronounced Evanson oddly enough) who I would have sworn was Swedish by looking at his name on the roster but as it turns out is from Florida originally. All in all, just a strange game.

American Gangster

I caught American Gangster today and was quite pleased with it. It isn't groundbreaking at all - it's very much like a lot of other mob movies - but it's the details that make it worthwhile.

Frank Lucas (played by Denzel Washington) is an evil, vicious, murdering drug lord, who at the same time is charming and likable. Kind of like Vito and Michael Corleone in the Godfather movies in that you kind of like them even though they are despicable people. Richie Roberts (played by Russell Crowe) on the other hand, is a good and honest cop, but he's a womanizer, a lousy dad, and kind of a jerk, so even though he's the good guy and doing the right thing, it's difficult to like him anyway.

It is this kind of character development which makes the movie so interesting. The story delves into their motivations, as well as their methods. You get to see how they are able to achieve their goals. For Frank Lucas, he personally visits a poppy plantation in Vietnam to cut a deal to buy heroin directly from them, thereby eliminating who knows how many middle men and both cutting his costs and getting pure product that hasn't been cut.

So it is an in depth look at the inner workings of a sophisticated crime syndicate and at the same time a look at an honest cop's struggles to clean up a dirty, violent New York when a lot of his fellow officers are dishonest. And if this movie accurately represents what New York was like in the 70's, it was a hell hole.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays Are Gone

Unable to bring in quality players, the Devil Rays hope to change their losing ways by changing their name to simply the Rays and changing their uniforms. If that doesn't have them competing for a pennant next year, I don't know what will. Apparently the stigma of losing had attached itself to the team name and colors and that's what had been holding them back.

Troy Williamson Fined

In a truly classless move that leaves me absolutely appalled, the Vikings fined WR Troy Williamson one game check for missing Sunday's game to coordinate the funeral of his grandmother. Williamson was apparently very close to his grandmother, and in addition to having to make the funeral arrangements, had to make arrangements for several family members to fly into town to attend.

With the NFL currently suffering image problems after increasing legal problems by it's players, punctuated by the Michael Vick, Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, and Bengals scandals in recent months, it's very difficult for me that they would take this action against a good man who was doing the right thing. I strongly doubt that there is any reputable company in this country who would deny an employee bereavement leave. I only hope that Roger Goodell or someone in the NFL steps up and not only reimburses Williamson, but also publicly commends him for taking care of his family. And the Vikings owe him at the very least an apology.

I really hope that Williamson is able to get out of Minnesota and go to an organization with a little more class.

Get Over It Dolphins

Don Shula has been in the media saying that if the Patriots go undefeated, they should get an asterisk by their name for cheating. I know that the members of the 72 Dolphins are clinging to that accomplishment with the tenacity of a pit bull, but this is just ridiculous. I hate the Pats as much as anybody, but there isn't anyone in the world who can honestly say that they wouldn't have won any of their games anyway. I'm more than a little disappointed in Shula because I had always thought of him as a classy guy, but this is just pathetic. The Pats or anybody else going undefeated in no way tarnishes what the Dolphins did, so I really don't understand the seemingly great amount of concern with anybody else having a perfect season.

And so my first ever Get Over Yourself award goes to Don Shula.

It's So Dark

While I do enjoy the extra hour of sleep, I'm shocked and depressed about how dark it is when I get off work now. I have a little bit of light in the mornings, but it won't be long until that's gone too. It's what, a month and a half until the shortest day of the year still? It is really difficult to not get down with so little sunlight. I think I may have that seasonal adjustment disorder or whatever they call it. I just want to hibernate all winter. I don't want to be around anybody and I have the overwhelming urge to sleep all the time. Although I do manage to stay awake all day so perhaps it's not overwhelming - simply whelming.

Wedding Crashers

Today's quote of the day comes from the Wedding Crashers:
"Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac."

I just watched this movie again, and if you haven't seen it yet, drop whatever you're doing and go watch it right now. It is one of the funniest movies I've seen in years. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn really play well off of each other, and even though he doesn't really have a comedic part, Christopher Walken is pretty funny in his own weird way. Sure, there is some low brow humor, but it doesn't go overboard with it. The movie for the most part maintains it's dignity. And I think the funniest scene was when Vince Vaughn was making balloon animals and some kid yelled at him, "shut your mouth funny guy and make me a bicycle." I don't know why, but that cracks me up every time. Come to think of it, any scene with Vince being verbally, physically, or mentally abused is pretty funny.

A lot of comedies tend to lose their humor at the end as they try to wrap up the plot, but the Wedding Crashers manages to stay funny throughout. It keeps throwing jokes at you while still advancing the plot. And Wilson and Vaughn have so much fun that if I ever get married, I hope they crash my wedding.

My New Favorite Song

Becoming the Bull (Atreyu)

And in my continuing quest to find a streaming site that isn't blocked at work, I'm giving this one a try. I already don't like it because I have to edit the HTML code to take out some text that was annoying me and to turn off the loop. I should probably turn off the autoplay as well, but I'm too lazy right now.

We're Coming Up On Re-election Day

I have seen people for close to a week now standing on street corners holding or waving signs for political candidates or referendums. I certainly don't have enough motivation to stand out in the cold waving a sign for any cause or candidate. And what's more, I really don't think it does any good. Has anyone ever voted for or against something or someone because they saw someone holding a sign? I really doubt it.

The point of all this is: remember to go out and vote today. And maybe listen to some Arcadia while you're voting.

Subway Pizza

After being publicly challenged to consume and keep down a Subway pizza, I can say that I have now completed part one of the task and so far am well on my way to keeping it down. Yes, I will almost always accept such a challenge since eating is my extreme sport. Not eating vast quantities, but rather eating things of questionable quality. It all started when I was questioned why I would voluntarily eat a 7-11 chili cheese dog (or danger dog as I have dubbed it) and my response was that I did it for the adrenaline rush instead of something like bungee jumping. Anyway, on to the pizza.

My first impression upon receiving said pizza was $5.50 plus $.50 per topping is pretty steep for such a tiny little pizza (approximately 6" in diameter). But quality is more valuable than quantity they say, so I proceeded to eat it. I'm sad to say that the quality wasn't so good either. I believe they just bought some cheap frozen pizzas and enhance them with their own toppings. This makes it slightly higher quality than a standard frozen pizza, but not by much. I'd rather spend $.89 on a Totinos and roll the dice with the e-coli. The crust was way too thick on the Subway, 90% of the pizza consisted of crust by my estimation. The pepperoni and sausage that I elected as toppings were decent quality, and they did in fact throw some "fresh" mozzarella on there, but overall it was just a waste of time. Save your time and money and skip it.

And if this is my last ever post, then you'll know that the pizza killed me.

Swallowing My Pride

As much as it pains me to do so, I have to admit that Tom Brady is one hell of a quarterback. I still hate him like the Ayatollah however.

Spanish 101

This is the best way I know of to learn Spanish:

As you may or may not have guessed, today's featured artist is Nonpoint. The above song is titled Rabia (it rages). I personally think their song Orgullo (pride) is much better, but I can't find a video with anywhere near acceptable audio. Below is the best I could do:

Break Away Drawers

Salvation has come at last for nerds everywhere. 8 year old twins in Ohio, presumably fed up by repeated wedgies from bullies everywhere, have invented the "Rip Away 1000." This self explanatory product may protect geek cracks worldwide, however I fear will provide trophies that will only encourage bullies. It seems to me that going commando might be a simpler solution. Or perhaps the return to prominence of the codpiece or even the loin cloth is in order. I don't have any first hand experience with either I'm sad to say, but do believe that both have the ability to render the wearer invulnerable to attacks of that nature.

Lost Boys

Seeing the Lost Boys on the big screen turned out to be a big bust. That was absolutely the worst picture I have ever seen. It was super grainy, there were several spots in the middle where the video and audio cut out, and there was a mysterious yellowish splotch in the middle of the screen that all drove me crazy. But what was perhaps the worst offense of them all that I had completely forgotten about was seeing this scene in huge size. It gave me nightmares worse than any horror movie I've ever seen.

Shelvis may find it oddly arousing, but I would have been better off walking out of the theater as soon as the film started. For some reason I thought the picture might clear up eventually, but it never did.

King Kong

I can't help wondering, how much of the damage caused by King Kong would Carl Denham be liable for since he brought him back to New York. And would any insurance company underwrite a giant ape policy? Maybe Lloyds of London.

Quote of the Day!

Today's quote of the day comes from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors III - in my humble opinion, the most cromulent of all Treehouse of Horrors episodes. And without further adieu:

Karl: Hey, I heard we're goin' to Ape Island.
Lenny: Yeah, to capture a giant ape.
Karl: I wished we were going to Candy Apple Island.
Charlie: Candy Apple Island? What do they got there?
Karl: Apes. But they're not so big.

And to my surprise, the spell checker didn't flag the word cromulent and yet flagged the word treehouse. I guess this goes to show just how much the Simpsons has woven itself into the fabric of society.

Spiderman 3

I finally got around to watching Spiderman 3, and after having seen some mediocre reviews wasn't expecting too much. Perhaps having low expectations helps because I thought it was better than expected. It was a step down from the first 2 in the series, however, and I think mainly because they tried to cram too much story into it. There were really too many sub plots going on for one movie. And I felt like the drama with Mary Jane was kind of a retread from part 2.

That being said, Sam Raimi really did a great job portraying the inner struggle within Peter Parker, and did so in a way that most people can relate to. The struggle between doing the right thing and doing what you want. I guess this shouldn't come as any surprise since it has been the crux of all 3 movies. But I guess what makes it so great is that not only is it relatable, but it doesn't come across as preachy. It's also nice to see Peter Parker grow as a human being.

As in the first 2 films, this also has lots of high flying action and great special effects. Plus some nice cameos by Stan Lee and Bruce Campbell. You've got to love Bruce, even as a snooty French maitre'di.

The ending left the door open for another sequel, but I'm not sure it's a good idea. They are running out of villains, and I don't know how much longer they can keep the tension going between Peter and Mary Jane, it's getting stale already. I think they are better off quitting while they are ahead.

Cry Little Sister

I just realized that I left one very important movie off of my Halloween movies list. Lost Boys. It may well be a movie that you had to see at the right age when it came out and therefore still have the fond memories of it. Or maybe not. I'm not sure if nostalgia is clouding my vision and not letting me see how dated it is now. I will admit that it did have some pretty cheesy music in it (excluding The Doors - When You're Strange obviously), and anything with the two Corey's in it is trouble.

Anyway, I'm heading over to Bremerton to visit my brother on Friday and am delighted to say that the theater on PSNS is showing Lost Boys. I'm looking forward to this than I probably should be, but in my defense, I have never seen it in the theater and I'm willing to bet this is my last chance. I hope to see you all there.

And I'm not sure what this site is all about, but I think it might be from the band that wrote Cry Little Sister.