smallsworld

LA

2007-04-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

we jetted cross country last night to attend ae's sister's wedding. We left around 7:30pm and chased the sunset the whole way, only losing the last flicker of light as we entered the LA basin.

along the way, my computer died. not a battery problem. It is dead. I have an appointment to take it to the Apple Store in Glendale tomorrow.

I am sitting in a Starbucks in Toluca Lake using ae's machine. Very Hollywood!

not what I was expecting

2007-04-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

last night, we were all set to go see The Host with Joe. We had to race across town (because somebody continues to keep her own schedule no matter what). After making record time to the theater, we found out that the film was not showing due to the fact that the Full Frame Festival had just started. You think they would have mentioned that on their friggin' website which I had checked before leaving work which led to making the plans in the first place. (Just to be clear, of course they mentioned the festival, but not that the other movies would not be showing that evening) The Carolina Theater's [contact us] site is down, so I can't complain directly. Last time we went there, the popcorn machine was busted. The time before, the film broke. What is up with that place!

so, instead we heading down the street to Rue Cler and had very tasty martinis and some dang good soup and salad. Joe wasn't very hungry so he settled for the 3 course, fixed $ menu. Oh, and dessert for all!

lunch

2007-04-12T13:44:00.000-04:00

I had a very enjoyable lunch today. I parked at Davis Library, returned a book, then I headed for Carrboro, walking through campus to Peabody, then down Cameron/College Ave to the Carrboro bike path, which led me to Nested, where I was picking up a couple of Carrboro t-shirts, using the gift certificate pm gave me for my birthday.

I then walked over to the Army/Navy store on Main Street, because I wanted to purchase the game of JARTS I saw in the window the other night. WEEEELLLLL, it turns out JARTS have really gone up in price, with this current set costing $125.00 The owner told me that is what collectors are paying. Oh well. I wanted to surprise my father with these. We used to play these when I was a kid. They don't call me ol' 3 toes for nothing!

Then on to pizza at Italian Pizzeria (3 slices today, I was starving!). Back to campus (all the while listening to the new Wilco on my iPod), dropped off a sandwich to ae, then back to work just a little late.

nice.

nuff said

2007-04-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

from here.

I just can't help myself

2007-04-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

Although I swore last year that I would stop buying tickets for Wilco everytime they are within a 3 state area, I regressed and bought ae and I tickets for their show in Charlotte in June.

Credit card was out before I knew what was happening. What is worse is that this will add to our already over booked and very busy June-July.

The kicker was that I have had a listen to the new album and I really like it and want to hear these songs live.

cool page

2007-03-13T12:54:00.000-04:00

I like this page of links on Jonathan Lethem's website. basically just 25 numbers which you have to click to see what they are. It is funny, but when I was walking the dogs last night I was thinking I really need a new author/book to read and get into. My mind automatically went to Lethem, and when I checked his site this morning from work, it turns out he has a new book out.....Today!!! Good timing.

sad

2007-02-08T17:56:00.000-05:00

if you look up tragic in the dictionary, you should get a rundown of her life.

I thought the potholes on my street were bad!

2007-02-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

Story.

I promise never, ever to use the phrase...

2007-02-08T10:46:00.001-05:00

"I guess we are playing phone tag". Never.

El Laberinto del Fauno

2007-02-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

saw Pan's Labyrinth last night. I give it a solid A. What I love about this movie is that this is the only place (this movie) that I would ever be exposed to this world, this imagination, this time period. It gives me hope that while I am slogging through my 9-5, folks are out there dedicated to these kinds of vision. Go see while you can.

happy birthday to me

2007-02-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

I'm 37 today. Thanks mom for the knitting me a new hat!

The Departed

2007-02-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

finally saw The Departed last night It was no Goodfellas, but it was fun. Dicaprio is exciting to watch and Matt Damon is very, very good. A lot of unneccessary violence and language, but hey, its South Boston. For me, any movie that keeps my attention for over 2.5 hours, surprises me several times at the end, and doesn't leave me with a sense of unfinished business, is money well spent.

air disaster

2007-01-31T14:11:00.000-05:00

watched a show on PBS last night about SwissAir 111 that went down off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998. The show was OK. I am always fascinated about how meticulously the investigators are able to put together wreckage from tiny, mangled pieces. The above photo is from TWA 800. The big difference in the recovery of this plane and SwissAir 111 is that TWA went down in very deep water. Incredible.

never a good thing

2007-01-31T13:01:00.000-05:00

Durham Recants on Water Tests

I was wondering why ae and I kept setting off the metal detector at RDU.

unhappy meals...

2007-01-30T14:37:00.000-05:00

I just finished Michael Pollan's essay in the Times. For me, the most informative section is his summary of guidelines at the end to how to eat more healthy with my fave being number 7. "Eat more like the French...it may not be the dietary nutrients that keep the French healthy (lots of saturated fat and alcohol?!, db-DAMN!) so much as the dietary habits: small portions, no seconds or snacking, communal meals -- and the serious pleasure taken in eating" That is a nice image.

love this commercial!

2007-01-29T18:42:00.000-05:00

except in the version I like, the guy says "what, deranged deer?" during the game. Priceless

$150 we didn't need

2007-01-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

we should start a dog accident fund, since it seems we are always a day away from a new emergency. Last night, Finn broke off her dewclaw (ouch!) and we had to drop her off first thing this morning at the vet for a quick sedation and clean up. We got home a few minutes ago, both a little groggy, but only one of us bandaged.

fyi, I can't recommend Parkwood Animal Hospital in Durham enough. They are friendly, professional, thorough, etc. thanks to Ross for the tip a few years ago.

I soooo don't watch....

2007-01-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

college basketball anymore that this article seemed a bit foreign to me.

Interesting article...

2007-01-26T13:56:00.000-05:00

in the New Yorker about how Doctor's prejudge your symptoms as you are describing them and they have around three diagnostic possibilities almost immediately. I find this to be the case often when I visit doctors and is one of the main reasons I have switched primary care physicians three times in the last three years.

On another note, ae and I just renewed our New Yorker subscription after a year hiatus and I am glad we did. I forgot how much I missed the small vignettes about books and movies. I am looking forward to more soon.

Two Cancellation Notices in One Day!

2007-01-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

Warning: If you set up ebill to pay your bills over the internet, be sure that your spam filter is not catching the invoices. I received 2 phone calls to today asking me why I hadn't paid my bills since October. I checked my spam folder and sure enough, multiple invoices were sitting there.

Alabama cooking...

2007-01-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

During our fall trip to Birmingham, we picked up a copy of Best of the Best from Alabama Cookbook (signed) for ae's mom. Before we wrapped the gift, I made a few photocopies of appealing recipes, and we have been most pleased with the results. Banana bread, pancakes, baked spaghetti, pecan pie, and most recently, Baked potato soup shared with friends on our snow day last week. Deeelish!

Lazy Sunday

2007-01-23T06:26:00.000-05:00

Parnell and Samberg had nothing on ae and me this past Sunday. After a quick run to the local Dunkin Donuts (30 minutes round trip), and a walk with the beasts, it was a day filled with movies on the couch and more football watching than should be legal. Finished the night with Salty Dogs and pizza. My goodness.

(photo: ae, salty dog)

movies this weekend

2007-01-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Da Vinci Code - A minus

The Lady in the Water - B minus

The Devil's Backbone - B plus

Sky, Blue, Sky

2007-01-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

new wilco cd is out May 15th. I hope that when I finally purchase it, that it has songs on it that I have yet to hear. Dang internet.

New Orleans...

2007-01-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

might top out at 1/2 its pre-Katrina population.

(photo: db, NOLA, one month prior to Katrina)

Snow Day

2007-01-19T06:53:00.000-05:00

Woke up to a layer of white yesterday morning. Alas, it was all gone by evening. Nice while it lasted.

What's in a Name?

2007-01-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

as you can see from the chart below, my name has decreased steadily in popularity since my birth year. That is not the only thing that has decreased since my birth year...

**Popularity of the male name David**
Year of birth	Rank
2005	14
2004	14
2003	14
2002	13
2001	12
2000	16
1999	16
1998	13
1997	14
1996	13
1995	16
1994	13
1993	11
1992	10
1991	8
1990	6
1989	5
1988	6
1987	5
1986	5
1985	6
1984	5
1983	4
1982	5
1981	5
1980	4
1979	4
1978	4
1977	4
1976	4
1975	5
1974	4
1973	5
1972	4
1971	3
1970	3
1969	2
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth. Name data are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States.

It's Official!!

2006-10-18T16:31:00.000-04:00

Cary, NC is listed in the Coming Soon list. I can't wait.

October 24...

2006-10-16T18:58:00.000-04:00

...Peets?

good Wilco cover

2006-10-15T17:22:00.000-04:00

I have a Wilco concert on my iPod where the cover the below song. Jeff says it is written by
Dick Cheney, but it is actually Randy Newman.

Political Science

No one likes us-I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money-but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us-so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now

Thank God for Michigan!

2006-09-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

as you can see from this map (via here and here), NC had the second biggest drop in median income over the last 5 years, only behind Michigan. Crap.

Ross, sweet swag!

2006-08-31T14:55:00.000-04:00

nice.

Richard Ford's new Frank Bascombe novel coming soon!!

2006-08-31T14:43:00.000-04:00

Two of my favorite novels of all time are The Sportswriter and Independence Day. Each chronicles the life of Frank Bascombe, a sort of American Everyman and someone I like to think that I share certain traits with. Well, part 3 is hitting stores on October 24th (a big day, see Jeff Tweedy post below). I might have to break my rule and buy it in hardcover. Here is a short story excerpted from the new novel. Enjoy.

Madison, WI listed, but no Cary/Raleigh, NC

2006-08-31T09:37:00.000-04:00

from TraderJoes.com

Coming soon:
Brentwood, CA
Madison, WI
Roswell, GA
West End, DC

Jeff Tweedy news...

2006-08-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

from wilcoworld.net

Nonesuch Records will release Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a performance DVD by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, on October 24. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy’s February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle’s Moore Theater, Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, Eugene’s McDonald Theater, Arcata’s Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The film was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.

“I wanted this to feel how the tour felt to me,” said filmmaker Christoph Green, “…a chaptered flow down the west coast, showing the isolated bleakness you encounter when you travel quickly from one place to another, and then contrasting that with the experience at the shows—the gathering of people and the sense of community that is created night after night.

The audio tracks of all the songs featured on the DVD also will be available for anyone who purchases Sunken Treasure to download for free. This continues Wilco’s own tradition of regularly giving music to its fans via the Internet. In 2003 Wilco and Nonesuch made the More Like the Moon EP available for free download to anyone who had purchased YHF, and in 2005, they again made an EP of rare and live recordings available for free to anyone who had purchased A ghost is born, the band’s 2004 release.

During live solo performances, Tweedy draws from 200-plus songs with no particular set list in mind. The songs featured on the DVD feature music from Tweedy’s three bands: Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and Loose Fur. There is also one previously unreleased track, “The Thanks I Get.” Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche and guitarist Nels Cline, who opened for him on the February tour, also make guest appearances in Sunken Treasure, accompanying Tweedy on several songs.

The DVD will be available for pre-order via the website in September.

Full track listing: Sunken Treasure, Theologians, The Ruling Class, How to Fight Loneliness, Summerteeth, The Thanks I Get, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, ELT, Shot in the Arm, In a Future Age, Laminated Cat, (Was I) In Your Dreams, Airline to Heaven, Heavy Metal Drummer, War on War, Acuff Rose.

a little disappointed...

2006-08-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

in last night's Rescue Me finale. First of all, the scene when they stop by the Ground Zero memorial seemed a little forced and the dialogue a little contrived. Then, (spoiler alert) to end the season with Tommy and what's her name in the burning house seemed a tad convenient. Let me guess. Since Tommy had just broken her heart and her dreams of them living together out on Long Island, and because of the way the show treats women, I can only thinkTommy will walk away and old what's her name will die. Seriously, since they only refer to women in derogatory terms, I can't think of their names. So, we only have one more disc of season 1 remaining, and all of season 2. The trick will be to see if we can space out season 2 over the next 11 months so that we don't have serious withdrawl symptoms. My bet is that we lose patience and watch the entire season in one rain and beer soaked weekend. ok, maybe ae will have a Zima.

gee, I always wondered where Jack White lived

2006-08-29T11:50:00.000-04:00

well, I knew it was in Detroit. heck, we were like 2 blocks away when we drove around with my parents during Christmas 2003. btw, it is for sale.

damn! season finale tonight

2006-08-29T09:20:00.000-04:00

Yikes, what am I going to do. No more Rescue Me until next summer. This has quickly become my favorite show. ae likes it too. And this is a show that refers to women as "broads, bitches, ass..." you get the picture. I won't even mention the rape scene. Even with all that, it is the most gripping show on television. Denis Leary is very good as the alcoholic firefighter. And the group of guys surrounding him at the firehouse are hilarious. We are backtracking through season 1 on netflix right now. Thanks to Dad for the heads up!

Goodbye Toko and Shion. Thank you for visiting!

2006-08-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

we miss you already.

ahhh, I am not the only one...

2006-08-22T09:07:00.000-04:00

Actuall, hell is other people. (free site pass needed)

funny

2006-08-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

from here.

From: "N.P. Thompson"
Date: August 16, 2006 9:02:01 PM EDT
To: Bryan Curtis, Meghan O'Rourke, Jacob Weisberg
Subject: Slate's "essayists" bring to mind the apes from Kubrick's 2001
Bryan, Jacob, and Meghan (and anyone else who's reading):

So, is compounding your initial mistake (a smug East Coast liberal mistake) going to be your only response?

Stephen Metcalf and Dana Stevens are two of the worst writers on the face of the planet. They are dull, incompetent, lifeless, and narcissistic. Nathan Lee and Michael Agger are scarcely less so, although Agger manages a self-effacing blandness that in the context of Slate emits the fumes of a virtue. Neither individually nor in aggregate do these canned soup hacks do anything to dispel the post-Edelstein doldrums of your film "coverage."

Metcalf, the most brazenly untalented and unsubtle in this quartet of sixteenth-wits, writes like an ape that has just discovered a bone will suffice as a murder weapon. Yet no jump cut could ever propel that lackey into the cosmos.

The dyspeptic hipster Lee (who doesn't write so much as he postures) and the doddering Dana Stevens aren't far behind.

May I quote my all-time favorite Dana-ism? Terrence Malick "hasn't given a real press interview in more than 30 years."

As if critics need press interviews to know how to interpret a work (and as if filmmakers or artists of any stripe have an obligation to give them). Perhaps the full idiocy of Dana's miffed snit would better emerge if we have a round of fill-in-the blank.

Try this: "Erik Satie hasn't given a real press interview in more than 30 years." (Can you imagine the likes of Dana or Metcalf deciphering him if he had?)

Or how about: "Zora Neale Hurston hasn't given a real press interview in more than 30 years."

Maybe we need to go even further back: "Aeschylus hasn't given a real press interview in more than 30 years, or in more than 300 years."

When Metcalf writes, "Match Point is a solid movie, a good solid movie," what does that statement mean? It means nothing, and certainly it tells us nothing about the film, tells us nothing about what the reviewer thought or if, in fact, the cloud of a thought darkened his brow at any time in all 125 minutes of Woody Allen's preposterous trash.

Almost identically, when Metcalf relates that the painfully unamusing Albert Brooks Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World "delivers solid laughs," all the so-called critic reveals here is his woefully meager means of description.

I did not bother to sully myself with Metcalf's recent revisionist assessment of John Ford's The Searchers, though I glanced at blogger Clive Davis's reaction to it. But I can (and will) tell you this: smearing or otherwise spraying graffiti on an established classic is the easiest and most obvious kind of hackwork to fob off as criticism. This type of piece creates the impression — a false impression — that the critic is daring, that he's a heavy-hitter, or in the parlance apropos of a Western, a gunslinger, when in fact the opposite is true: the critic is a creampuff. Such an attention-calling denunciation amounts to chest-beating speciousness at its worst, regardless of whether The Searchers or any film from its era holds up in ours.

What takes genuine courage on the part of a critic is to swim against the tide of the highly praised swill of the present, and this, I suspect, is a type of courage unknown to Metcalf. Where are the much-needed voices of dissent against such garbage as Lost in Translation, Capote, Sideways, The Squid and the Whale, and the collected works of Miranda July and Clint Eastwood? On the flip side, do Slate's "essayists" ever champion or stand up for a film so far off the radar of pre-sanctioned hip that a single fair and honest review might untangle entire ravines of misrepresentation by the rest of the herd?

As Slate will sometimes publish a book review or commentary by Armond White or Stanley Crouch, one gathers that toothlessness in a writer isn't always a condition of employment. How then to account for the uniform awfulness of Slate's film section since Edelstein's departure? How then to account for the myopically prejudicial "old boys' club" atmosphere that deems who will and who won't have "room" in an online publication that's updated daily? (And is losing money anyway.)

Meghan O'Rourke gives the impression that living in a Manhattan or Brooklyn neighborhood (preferably Brooklyn, and the more gentrified, the better) is pretty much the lone criterion of worth, and that if one lives outside the bubble, then she isn't going to read what a writer submits, nor will she even consider looking at a writer's clips, and beyond that, neither she nor Bryan Curtis will have the slightest interest in making a new discovery. What we have at Slate are editors hell-bent on preserving the shittiest, shallowest aspects of the status quo by slamming a door on anyone capable of upstaging their friends and neighbors, or their lovers.

And after Meghan has dodged reading your piece, sent you an absent-minded rejection letter that gives her entire show away, she will, in a week's time or so, have her assistant Blake Wilson send a second rejection letter in which he announces that the piece you've submitted "isn't write for Slate." That's w-r-i-t-e when he means r-i-g-h-t.

(Both in content and execution, Meghan and Blake's notes recall the response of a television executive to director Lindsay Anderson's proposed filming of The Cherry Orchard. This was back in the early 90s: "Dear Mr. Chekhov, I am afraid this isn't quite the kind of thing we like to make, but if you do write anything in the future, please let us see it." Well, actually, the television executive was quite a bit nicer to his rejectee.)

Meanwhile, the island these people are living on becomes smaller and smaller, in the literal and metaphorical senses. Meghan appears in the current issue of Oprah at Home where, in the interest of supplying some copy, the Slate "Culture" editor squeaks, "A dream home may be where the heart is, but it can also be where you find the state-of-the-art TV," a reference to her live-in boyfriend's toting over "his 60-inch." And then there's Jacob Weisberg, in the Slate editorial "Dead with Ned," pooh-poohing Lamont's breath-of-fresh-air victory over tired mafioso Joe Lieberman. Weisberg never acknowledges what a complete dud Lieberman is: instead, he trots out the same old "We Democrats have got to be centrists" bit that has never worked, unless, of course, stasis can be considered an accomplishment of some sort. Doesn't it become tougher to believe the vitriolic huffing and puffing of East Coast liberal establishment elites when their appointed flunkies don't even bother to proofread rejection notes for basic spelling errors?

I'd like to thank Bryan and Meghan for one thing: for proving to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that if H.L. Mencken and Dorothy Parker were young writers just starting out today, or late bloomers just starting out today, they wouldn't get anywhere. They wouldn't get published, and they wouldn't have influence. The bravery of their willingness to offend would be lost in the shuffle of good-mannered, well-positioned no-talents who also have a willingness to offend, not by telling the truth, but by lying.

Sincerely,

N.P. Thompson

Joe, do we really need to ask?

2006-08-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

????

I agree with this assessment

2006-08-15T15:29:00.000-04:00

Kornheiser, Not Yet in Game Shape on 'MNF'

I winced more than anything. Of course, pre-season football is the most wincible of all sporting events, so let's hope Tony gets his act together in the next few weeks.

good '08 presidential rundown

2006-08-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

breaking rule number 1 for me, I read Alterman's rundown of the '08 democratic presidential hopefuls. I think Gore should run, although I know it might be too much for him to take to win it again and never sit in the oval office. Too much for all of us to take, that is. If that is the case, Hillary scares me (but is the best chance ever to have a woman president or what?), Obama has fallen off the radar, and Wes Clark never appealed to me. That leaves John Edwards, which according to the article, has the best shot except for:

Sadly, for Edwards and for common sense, the biggest question is whether he looks old enough. Last time around he looked to be barely 30. People need to be reassured by a candidate’s face since for many of them, that’s all the information they need to know to chose their favorite. Edwards needs to start dying his hair a little gray and have some plastic surgery to add a few lines to his face. Alas, I am not kidding.

hmmm.

Dang, I knew this heat was all in my head!

2006-08-14T14:37:00.000-04:00

Too Hot or Too cold at Work? Best Bet Is to Chill Out

peets, does this sound familiar?

On the home front, conflict usually rises with the mercury, as people in the same household fight over the thermostat setting. Marital compromises usually leave one party freezing and the other burning up at the same bedroom temperature. At a certain stage of our lives, apparently, we might be willing to concede failure on many fronts, but we are unyielding about what the temperature is and what it ought to be.

looks like Philip K. Dick had a little help

2006-08-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

The drugs did work

can this be true?

2006-08-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

I just read that one in four Australian children has asthma. It must be true, I read it on the internet.

favorable schedule

2006-08-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

Looks like the Badgers have a good chance for a 10-win season this year. fyi, they are not in the pre-season top 25. I see the following as possible hiccups. At Bowling Green (btw, what in the heck is on their helmets), at Michigan (as usual), and Penn State. Kudos to the scheduler who ends the season with Buffalo. (is that SUNY-Buffalo??)

what have you done for me lately?

2006-08-11T10:54:00.000-04:00

I believe this is a big mistake. Reminds me when the US left John Harkes off the '98 squad which was a disasterous move. These teams are about the players, not the coaches. I think the UK will hurt from this decision for years to come.

travel to Miami, NY, DC while you can

2006-08-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

yikes.

On Notice!

2006-08-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

make you own list here.

U.S. Airline Threat Level Raised to First 'Red'

2006-08-10T13:12:00.000-04:00

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists planned to carry liquid explosive devices and hide their detonating devices in commonly carried items like beverages or electronic devices. He said all such items would now be banned from carry-on bags, except for baby formula and medicines, which would have to be inspected.

Why don't the terrorists just plan on bombing an airplane with a St. Christopher's Medal? Then I can go ahead and start pricing RVs?

cool picture

2006-08-09T13:53:00.000-04:00

wilco at Lollapalooza in Chicago

new look?

2006-08-09T13:37:00.000-04:00

uh, Jeff, we might need to discuss this new look next Wednesday.

V for Good Movie!

2006-08-09T13:20:00.000-04:00

finally got to see V for Vendetta last night. I thought it was really well done, interesting, scary, and timely. Even ae glanced at it more than she thought she would. I highly recommend it. We now want to read the graphic novel. Ross, where are you man?

Landis Rekindles Attack on Doping Accusations

2006-08-08T09:16:00.000-04:00

I believe him. The clincher for me was when I read a report from scientists that a one-day spike in testosterone would not in any way effect performance. Which was my question from the start. What, he was more manly so he was able to tough it out? Please. Hey, as you know, I usually don't believe blatent, steriod taking cheaters. I continue to propose that the SF Giants should forfeit every game in which Bonds suited up. That would mean stripping them of the their World Ser... Oh, wait a sec.

2006-08-08T09:06:00.000-04:00

something funny has happened since we returned from CA. my interntal clock has somehow been reset. In the past, if I didn't set the alarm, I would wake up at 6:15am, no questions asked. I stopped setting the alarm for just this reason. Plus, for some reason, the alarm is on ae's side of the bed, which always required advanced yoga poses to try and turn it off without waking her. Anyway, ever since we got back, I wake up at 7:20. Usually with Finn stirring in her crate. So,
I have to set the alarm again, which sucks, because I always feel much better when I wake up naturally. As we all do, I assume.

How about a surgeon general's warning!

2006-08-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

note to razor users: Beware your partner sneaking up behind you while in the shower and shaving. You could lose your head, or at least a lot of blood. yikes.

[not actual picture. my lips are fuller]

Let's change global warming perceptions locally!

2006-07-12T11:29:00.000-04:00

I have noticed several times over the past few weeks, both on radio and TV, local ads that mention summer in one way or another. Usually they will say something to this effect: "Summer is here, days are longer, you will be outside more enjoying the weather" yada, yada. This entire idea is based on the summers we used to know as kids. Now, who amongst us can stay outside for more than 20 minutes without seriously worrying about dehydration or sunstroke? Basically, summers are no longer to be enjoyed. They are to be endured until we get a break from the heat, which used to come in September, but now can't be truly counted on until November.

is it just me, or do the French have better fashion sense?

2006-07-11T09:28:00.000-04:00

just don't call this guy "a son of Harkis" if you don't want him to introduce your sternum to your spine.

a taste of Wilco live

2006-07-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

here. Man, are they ever going to change their version of "Misunderstood"? "nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, etc." Does anyone know how to convert streaming audio to something downloadable?

why did he do it?

2006-07-10T10:45:00.000-04:00

I can only imagine that it was something said to him, in this match or maybe a cumulation of previous matches. Maybe he knew this was his last chance to get back at this guy before he retired. Who knows. He was fun to watch. I don't feel any different about him now. I love a bald guy doing well.

Update: better article here. Watch here.

"Now I can die in peace"

2006-06-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

'nuff said.

of course, he was already late from helping old ladies cross the street!

2006-05-24T15:46:00.000-04:00

BEST EXCUSE EVER!

Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said Wednesday he cut someone off while driving last month, but denied kicking and then backing up into another motorist's vehicle in an act of road rage.

Plummer acknowledged cutting off a vehicle because he was in a hurry to deliver a check to charity from his foundation.

I love it!

Good article...

2006-05-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

on how timeouts are ruining pro basketball.

woohoo!

2006-05-24T08:32:00.000-04:00

Jeff Tweedy
NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Wednesday, August 16, 8 PM

Jeff Tweedy has been a leading creative force in alt-country and indy-rock music since the 1990 release of the genre-defining album No Depression by his band, Uncle Tupelo. He went on to form the band Wilco, one of the most critically acclaimed groups of the past decade, whose album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot became a cause célèbre even before its release in 2002.

Movie Night

2006-05-24T07:12:00.000-04:00

we saw a really good movie last night, The Weather Man, with Nicolas Cage. This movie bombed in the theaters, but as ae pointed out, it was marketed as a comedy. This movie is not funny. It is an adult drama with adult problems. and not a wimpy ending. I recommend. Speaking of Nicolas Cage, I can't wait for this!

please update webcam!!

2006-05-11T15:47:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or does the Seattle Times web cam need updating a little more frequently?? I loved Seattle when we visited there, and I like to pull up the web page and check out the cameras and fantasize about living there. It seems to me that I have been looking at the same cloud formations behind the needle for about 3 months. I can tell you that when I check the site first thing in the morning east coast time, the web cam is dark except for the Holiday Inn sign illuminated in the foreground, so there is some movement. Anyway, wish I could head down to the market this evening for some chowder and a brew.

American Idol is an absolute joke

2006-05-10T22:17:00.000-04:00

the fact that Chris is off the show proves to me what a complete waste of time this show is. I am only sorry that I invested more than 5 minutes. I guess we can see Chris locally, check out his band site here. Other than that, good riddance to AI. You suck.

Follow up: I feel a little better for Chris this morning after reading articles on the web. It is pretty much a universal feeling that losing is the best thing that could have happened to Chris' career. Having American Idol stamped in front of his name would have ruined him. Not sure he sees it that way right now, but hopefully that is the case. Apparently, a couple of high profile rock bands want him as their lead singer.

Anyway, that is it forever about this ridiculously rigged popularity contest. I sure would like to see the results posted, but no way would they do that. ae did point out how disconcerning it is that I am upset over this vote but let the last 2 presidential elections slide with nary a wimper. point taken.

Let's hear it for Latvia!!

2006-05-09T12:56:00.000-04:00

US has second worst newborn death rate in modern world.

Good Christ.

Bonds update...

2006-05-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

"It is a black thing and he IS an asshole!" - ae. (I was pleading with her not to jump on the Harold Reynolds bandwagon who prefaces everything he says with "You can say what you want about Bonds, BUT...)

Need more proof of what kind of person he is. See this.

Don't Forget!

2006-05-04T15:19:00.000-04:00

tonight!

you can't joke about Poison

2006-05-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

I ran into Don on Franklin Street today. After talking a little about the BC's with him, and how we are both coworkers and neighbors and we never see each other, I made a snide, sarcastic remark about how I was going to the Poison/Cinderella show at Alltel Pavilion later in the summer. To which Don replied "You too! I'm going with like 10 other people!! We should meet up!!" Uh, sure Don, how about at the snow cone stand?

if you don't think playoff hockey is the best...

2006-05-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

Check this out!. In the East, the top 4 teams advanced (Go Canes!). In the West, the bottom 4 teams advanced. Try finding that kind of parity in the NBA!!

suicide watch

2006-05-03T08:40:00.000-04:00

I wonder how many people have decided to end things after listening to morning "drive time" radio. My god, I can't stand it. My local channel, 96 Rock, serves up the biggest trio of idiots that I have ever laid ears on. This morning, two of the idiots were happy because the other idiot has to get his ass shaved (I kid you not) because he predicted a Habs win in game 6. Side note, how about the Canes winning 4 in a row by one goal over the Canadians! And now Dallas and Detroit are gone in the west. If we get by Ottawa, I'm thinking... Anyway, you ask, why don't you just change the channel? Well, valid point. I like 96 Rock because the few songs they do play in the morning or infinitely better than 100.7 The River. Don't even get my started on NPR.

And what is the deal with the Nickleback song they keep playing called "Figured you out" which should be subtitled "Hey, date rape is ok".

Sample lyrics:

I like your pants around your feet
I like the dirt that's on your knees
And I like the way you still say please
While you're looking up at me
You're like my favourite damn disease

And I love the good times that you wreck
And I love your lack of self respect
While you're passed out on the deck
I love my hands around your neck

Friggin' Canadians. What ever happened to Glass Tiger.

"when life gives me lemons, I make beef stew"

2006-05-02T08:26:00.000-04:00

My new guilty pleasure.

whitey ford???

2006-04-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

I was all set to pen my post about my choice for greatest baseball pitcher of all time when Ross walks into my cube and says "Don't forget Whitey Ford!" Is he kidding me? This led to me changing my post to greatest pitcher of the modern era. I mean, I really don't know how to compare today's pitchers with Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Satchel Paige. Anyway, my choice is coming soon. Hint: It ain't Gene Garber!

I can peek with one eye now...

2006-04-27T08:44:00.000-04:00

whew.

music news...

2006-04-27T08:38:00.000-04:00

set your Tivo.

Wilco on Conan on May 12th.

Pearl Jam on Letterman on May 4th.

balancing act

2006-04-27T08:31:00.000-04:00

I'm a little tired this morning. It is hard to sleep when you sick sweety tries to cuddle with you in bed. Between all the sneezing, coughing, and Vicks vapor rub aroma that would stop a charging bull at 30 paces, I was pinned so far on my side of the bed that the only thing holding me up was the one grey hair growing out of my ear that the barber refuses to trim. On top of that, Finn doesn't like her dog food, so she refuses to eat at dinner time, preferring to hold out until 3:00am when she decides to crunch and smack with the gusto of someone having a prime rib dinner. I was waiting for Katie to walk over and offer her a wine selection. yawn.

travellin' man

2006-04-20T19:21:00.000-04:00

I have lived in the following locales in chron order from birth

Winston-Salem, NC
Raleigh, NC
Tuckahoe, NY
Chapel Hill, NC
Carrboro, NC
Raleigh, NC
Madison, WI
Greensboro, NC
Charlottesville, VA
Chapel Hill, NC
Durham, NC

36 years, 18 homes, 9 cities,.....4 1/2 personalities??

I believe we will live in either CA or the Pacific NW at some point (together that is, ae lived in CA while I was in WI)

I don't really ever see us in the SW.

memories...

2006-04-20T16:56:00.000-04:00

just finished a 2-day finance training course at my alma mater. Instead of joining my classmates for lunch today, I walked over to the main campus. I grabbed a quick bite at the snack bar beside my freshman dorm and walked through the free expression tunnel (above) towards the library (the same walk I did everyday 18 years ago. wimper). I worked in this library in the late 90's and as a freshman, with my roomate, used to climb the skeleton of the tower as it was being built to sit on the roof and drink beer (the staircase was built, we just had to climb in pitch blackness). Everything looks the same. The buildings. The students. The bricks! Some of the same old feelings arose in me while here. Much in the same way that certain weather, such as after a cold front in the fall, hot sunny days in the summer, that bring me back to my childhood. Alone tonight. ae visiting a friend in Charlotte. I always seem to grab a Rick Bass book when alone like this. I feel like I have made a transition from waiting to start my adult life to being an active participant in my adult life.

Finally...

2006-04-18T08:23:00.000-04:00

I finished Shadow of the Wind this past weekend. After the 3 book frenzy during the Austin trip, things cooled off and this book dragged on for awhile. After all the work and house related problems that have arisen, I have only been able to set aside about 1 hour each Saturday for reading. As for the book, it wasn't quite as good as I was expecting, or that the beginning seemed to indicate. Not really a spoiler, but I pegged who the shadowy figure was on about page 10 and I didn't like when the author went into 50 page sub-stories told by someone other than the main character. It seemed to kill the narrative flow. Did he write this book? (inside joke).

So now, I am 50 pages into this, and this awaits.

Bonds wins another award!!

2006-04-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

Whine of the Week!

In our opinion, few people are more annoying than self-absorbed megalomaniacs without an ounce of sympathy or empathy for their fellow humans who launch into crying jags at their own misfortunes.

Dreams do come true !!!

2006-04-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

JetBlue to add RDU to route!

I have wanted to fly JetBlue for years now. I read the CEO's biography last year and really liked it. Plus, he wears a Casio calculator watch like I have, so he must be cool, right? Dang, when we made our reservations to fly SFO in July, I tried to talk Ayse into driving to Richmond, VA so we could take JetBlue. Stupid planning ahead!

good essay about Bonds

2006-04-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

here.

excerpt:

Bonds is a self-absorbed, unlikable person who has an adversarial relationship with the world at large, and he has (almost certainly) used unethical, unnatural means to accomplish feats that actively hurt baseball. His statistical destruction of Ruth is metaphoric, but not in a good way. It's an indictment of modernity, even for people who don't give a damn about the past or the present.

Bonds probably doesn't care about any of this, and I'm not necessarily certain he should. But the rest of us are left in a curious quandary: How do we reconcile a massive, momentous achievement that is neither wholly real nor socially good? In a vacuum, Bonds might be the greatest hitter who ever lived. But we don't live in a vacuum. We live in the world.

Maybe we should have gotten on Bush about this war thing?

2006-04-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

Chirac to Replace Youth Jobs Law

CHAMPS!!

2006-04-10T08:12:00.000-04:00

Ok, that is one down, one to go.

what have we done?

2006-04-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

NEW FAVE BAND!!!!

2006-04-07T10:19:00.000-04:00

I just heard Orson for the first time on KCRW. Man alive, are they good. You can hear 3 songs (including my new favorite song of all time 'Bright Idea') on their myspace page.

The site claims that all 5 members share the exact same birthday- July 4th 1977.

hmmm. Where did they meet? Chuck E. Cheese's??

He probably used a hockey stick for balance

2006-04-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

Of course, that is another story.

Along those lines, Go Badgers!!!

"the traffic was a state"

2006-04-06T12:55:00.000-04:00

I listened to the Arctic Monkeys on my lunchtime walk today. It sounds like a mix of Green Day and They Might Be Giants (click this link. It is funny!). My early impression is that the vocals are not enough to keep me coming back (unlike Snow Patrol), but I will try to keep it in regular rotation for awhile.

Thanks Don! I will never think of one of my favorite sitcoms growing up in the same way again.

Overheard today in the barber shop:
"There are a lot of 49 year old single women out there. (Pause) At least I hope there are"

Also, overheard in the barber shop:
db: "Give me the Ross White!"

the kid ran with it!

2006-04-05T14:18:00.000-04:00

[Photo: sportsillustrated.com]

Reminder to self: Pearl Jam plays SNL on Apr. 15th

2006-04-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

Cool. If I have said it once, I have said it a million times, Has there ever been a band
that has gotten more traction off of one hit album other than Pearl Jam? Okay, I know, Vs. was a hit too. But still. I bet I am the only person in the country that has listened to Riot Act all the way through. They were, and still are, one of my top 3 favorite bands.

Pearl Jam memory. ae and I drove to Maryland to see them in concert in '98. We were staying in a hotel south of d.c. (don't ask me why). I was ready to hit the road running after the show. when they hit the first note of 'yellow ledbetter', I grabbed ae and ran. I bet we were 3/4 of the way around the beltway before the song ended. Ben Harper opened.

Good riddance..

2006-04-05T13:02:00.000-04:00

no tears shed over this news. I worked for her as a temp for about 6 months in 2002. Twice, I was passed over for jobs that were made permanent by her. Jobs that I was doing at the time. No explanation, nor the decency to tell me herself. My co-temp and friend Annie hated her as well. Apparently she was extremely rude to Annie a couple of times. Anyway, she is off to Wake Forest. I hate to see this happen to such a nice area.

scoop

2006-04-05T08:25:00.000-04:00

you heard it here first. I predict that not one Duke lacrosse player will be convicted of serious charges. I don't know what I am basing that on. It's not like sports figures get preferential treatment when it comes to these type of allegations.

I will bet the only charges, if any, are against me for illegally using this picture.

just in case you don't have something better to do...

2006-04-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

like sleep! Stay up late and see something odd.

two sides to every story...

2006-04-03T15:42:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, for a lot of folks around here, UNC women's team lost last night in the national semifinals. Take a look at the two different descriptions that you get from a local news organization and a national organization about the final seconds involving Ivory Latta.

Local (WRAL TV) :

Latta, the junior guard who finished second in The Associated Press player of the year balloting, fouled out with .7 seconds remaining when she wrestled Coleman to the ground. She walked off to an ovation and a hug from coach Sylvia Hatchell and watched quietly as the Terps celebrated on the sidelines.

National (King Kaufman, Salon.com(free site pass might be needed)) :

If Ivory Latta's body slam of Marissa Coleman in the final seconds of North Carolina's semifinal loss to Maryland Sunday night had happened in a men's game, it would have started a brawl.

Latta, playing hurt in a losing effort, was frustrated and she committed a stupid, violent, dangerous act. In the game's final seconds, hopelessly behind, she reached both arms around Coleman, who had collected a rebound, wrestled her for the ball and, as the referee's whistle finally sounded, threw her to the floor. Coleman wasn't hurt and, aside from some scattered boos, there was no real reaction.

If Latta and Coleman were men, we'd still be talking about the fight Latta started, the breakdown in civilized behavior in basketball and whether Latta should be banned for life.

Instead, the Associated Press report of the game described the takedown this way: "Latta also missed a desperation 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go then missed again with 2.8 seconds to play and fouled Marissa Coleman as both players fell to the floor."

Yeah, players often both fall to the floor when one is performing an atomic drop on the other.

duality of dooce

2006-04-03T14:09:00.000-04:00

I find it quite amusing that dooce criticizes the new HBO show 'Big Love' in a post, and right on top of her site sits a big ad titled 'Big Praise for Big Love' .

I like the show. Last night, ae was more entranced with the computer than usual, so I was actually able to hear some dialogue over the "grunts, huffs, spits, fuck yous" that usually accompany the viewing.

My advice to the show: Stick with Bill's interaction with the compound, and less with his interaction with his 3 wives.

But hey, if you don't get HBO, you can read Margene's (the youngest and newest wife) blog.

today.....crap.

2006-04-03T12:45:00.000-04:00

Something happened to me at lunch today that has never happened before. After thoroughly checking my three favorite radar sites, I was sure I had found a window in which to walk to lunch while dodging the storms in the area. I made it most of the way until I was crossing in front of a gas station and a car went by and splashed a puddle all over me. I was drenched. I couldn't have been wetter if I jumped in the shower fully clothed. The funny thing was that I then walked into Subway soaking wet and carrying an umbrella. I am surprised
somebody didn't tell me that umbrellas work better when open. Jeez, I have to provide both the props and the punchline?