On Saturday night we went to a pumpkin glow here in Los Alamos. Members of the community carved pumpkins for the display, and people lined up for several blocks to view them.
I figured I'd post a few pics from our trip down to Santa Fe to show you all what has been going on. So, here are my good pals Mark and Will hanging out by one of the many art galleries in Santa Fe.
Until later...
On Saturday, while in Santa Fe, we stopped to see the Loretto Chapel. The chapel is the first Gothic building west of the Mississippi as well as the site of a legendary spiral staircase, lacking central support. According to the story, the chapel was built without a staircase to the choir loft. When the nuns realized that they needed the staircase (rather than a ladder), they began to pray for help. On the ninth day, a stranger came and offered to build a staircase for them. He built a spiral staircase with no other support and with no railing (it was added about 10 years later). After completing the staircase, the mysterious carpenter left without even asking for payment. (See more here.)
Though I may be a bit skeptical about the miraculous origins of the staircase, it is impressive nonetheless. 
While the stairs are the main attraction of the chapel, the entire chapel is actually quite beautiful and is worth seeing if you ever get the chance.
Until later...
To appease those clamoring for a bit of entertainment, I shall regale you with stories of my current adventures. I am currently in New Mexico, exploring the countryside and searching for evidence of La Llorona. Below are excerpts from the ghost hunting diary I have been keeping.
Day 1. We searched along the Rio Grande for the Weeping Woman, with little success. Perhaps if I expanded the search to areas other than restaurants offering green chile, there might be more to find.
Day 2. Still no sign of La Llorona. Perhaps she has finally found her children and found rest. We passed an area where cattle graze and found a cow laying on the ground, exsanguinated. Nearby, we found this creature, who took off shortly after we obtained the picture. Could it be El Chupacabras? That is not the purpose of this expedition, so we shall leave it for another to explore.
Day 3. My companions are growing weary of the search. We ended up speaking crossly, and I told them that if they wanted to turn back, I would go on my own.
Day 4. I awoke today to find that I am alone. My companions must have left during the night. Strangely, they did not take any of their belongings.
Day 6. I have not slept in two days. Something has spent each night wailing outside of my camp. Is it La Llorona? Why does she torment me so? I only wished to tell her story to the world.
Day 7. Today, she rolled a large rock down one of the cliffs toward me. I was able to get out of the way fast enough to save my life, but not to save my equipment. All of my gear has been destroyed, except for this laptop and the mysterious wireless internet connection that enables me to keep posting my journal.
Day 10. I have no food and no water. My clothing has been reduced to rags. I found my former companions yesterday, but they were not able to continue on with me. I do not think they will not be going anywhere again.
Day 11. I seems that I have not found La Llorona. I finally got a look at the apparition that has been chasing me. It is the hideous beast I mistook for El Chupacabras before, and the only noise it makes is a horrifying scream that prickles the skin on the back or your neck. I do not know who or what he is, but he does not want me here.
Day 13. This will certainly be the last entry; I can run no longer. If anyone finds this, please tell my story.
That sounds much more interesting than just saying that I am in New Mexico visiting my in-laws, doesn't it? I'll try to post some pictures of what's actually going on once I have a bit more time.
Until later...
Alas, I will be OOTO for a bit, and I am unsure how often (if at all) I will be able to get online or how often I will be able to post. In reality I will probably end up getting online at least some while I'm gone. If I don't, I'll likely have lots and lots of things to post when I return.
BRB...
Starting this weekend at theaters is the Nicolas Cage film, The Weather Man. The Weather Man is directed by Gore Verbinski who also directed The Ring and Pirates of The Carribean. However, Verbinski did not start in film, but rather in advertising where he saw considerable success. In fact, he was the creator of what famous product pitchmen?
Post the answer in the comments section and earn the right to brag.
Until later...
One Friday night recently, we had to go to Walmart to go shopping. Technically, I didn't need to go. MK could have managed just fine without me, but she said that she would prefer that I went. So I did.
After the obligatory initial 10 minutes of shopping together, I headed off to hide in the electronics section where I could look at the games, DVDs, CDs and all of the home electronics I wasn't going to be able to buy.
I browsed there for a while and saw a some interesting things now available on DVD. It's strange enough to see things like the Dukes of Hazzard or seasons of Rocky and Bullwinkle on DVD, but I'm just not sure what to think of Saved By The Bell or Sweet Valley High. Is there really a demand for this? I eventually realized that it had been a good half hour or so, which meant that we needed to end this shopping trip soon or I was going to be leaving the store with several new games, DVDs and home entertainment centers that I would just grab randomly to make up for the time I had to spend here.
As I left the electronics section, I passed another man who was shopping with his wife. I walked past and made eye contact, seeing the tortured look in his eyes. I gave him the sympathetic head-nod. You know, the one that says, "Yes, I understand. I've been there. Just wait, in a couple of years she'll send you off on your own just to make you shut up. Then you'll be free to browse the DVDs with me and the other husbands at stage 2." (Quick primer on the stages: Stage 1: You have to go with her and stay with her the entire time. Stage 2: You are still required to go to the store, but after a brief period of time are permitted to wader freely. Stage 3: You are trusted enough or annoying enough to be left at home.)
I continued on and began looking for MK. I searched and searched, but still couldn't find her. At this point, the search for Jimmy Hoffa was going better than mine. I knew that I needed to find her soon, because rather than seeing time passing, I was seeing the total amount at the cash register going higher and higher. Eventually, I realized that we both have cell phones. In fact, we have phones with a walkie-talkie feature to make things like this really easy. Too bad we both left them in the car. When I began to think that all hope was lost, she came around the corner of an aisle, wheels on the shopping cart straining under the weight of the purchases. Well, at least it was over, it was time to go home.
As we checked out and paid the cashier, MK turned to me and said, "I didn't find what I needed. We need to go to Meijer now."
Someday, I'll get to that third stage, but for now I've got to at least make sure to remember the cell phones.
Until later...
This post probably has absolutely nothing to do with what you think from the title. No Nietzsche. No religious discourse. Just a book review. You see, the god in question here is Anansi, the spider god, the trickster god, and the god that dies on the first page of Neil Gaiman's book, Anansi Boys. Not to worry, I'm not revealing anything here that isn't in the publisher's description. However, if you are planning to read, but have not yet read Anansi Boys, you may want to stop after hearing me say that it is excellent.
Are they gone yet?
Ok, good. Let's move on.
If Anansi dies on the first page, what could our story possibly be? The book deals with Anansi's son, Fat Charlie, who never realized that his dad was a god or that even he had a brother. Fat Charlie and his long-estranged brother, Spider, must deal with the death of their father, the gods he angered with his constant tricks and, worst of all, each other. Family relationships are hard at times, but when part of the family has godlike power from your father, is completely irresponsible and completely ruins your life? Well, that's a whole different story.
While building on the concept he introduced in American Gods, Gaiman takes an entirely different tone in Anansi Boys. While AG was dark and brooding, AB is much lighter and full of humor. In each case, the tone of the story reflects the personality of the god most central to the story (Odin and Anansi, respectively). It is a remarkably easy read and well worth the time it takes. If you have read and enjoyed Gaiman, go get it. If not...I really don't know what to say.
Summing up:
Humorous, touching, thrilling and enjoyable, Anansi Boys is an excellent choice. In the end, we must realize that despite being incredibly embarrassing (or perhaps because of it) our families are our families and nothing will change that.
Until later...
I've gotten a bit behind on a few things here. Specifically, on my book reviews. According to my not so recently updated sidebar, I'm in the middle of reading Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks, but I finished that quite some time ago (nevermind that, it has now been updated). I'll try to keep up in the future, but let's be serious; I probably won't. However, with that in mind let's go over a few books I have read recently, but not so recently I can give them each a full post.
Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks:
First, let's deal with the obvious question. What is a bobo? Bobo is simply the author's term for a specific class of people. The name, like the class of people under discussion, is a combination of bourgeois and bohemian. These are the people who share some values of both of these formerly mutually exclusive groups. Brooks does a wonderful job of explaining this group while at the same time lovingly skewering them for their contradictions and idiosyncrasies (he does make sure to point out that he is a part of this group as well). It is an interesting study in class evolution, written in a way that will keep the reader amused as well as involved.
Everything Bad Is Good For You by Stephen Johnson:
Your television is rotting your brain. The video games your children play are wasting their lives. Sound familiar? Of course, they do. These are facts that everyone knows. According to Stephen Johnson, however, everyone is wrong. Johnson goes through various examples and produces substantial evidence to show that in fact, watching television now versus watching television several decades ago is much better for your brain (as with video games and other forms of entertainment as well). As the complexities of our entertainment have increased, so has the exercise given to our cognitive abilities during the activities. They may not be teaching us math, or history, but they are teaching us how to think and how to make sense of complex problems. Johnson discusses the oft stated "benefit" of gaming as an increase in hand-eye coordination and points out that while useful it is hardly the only benefit. He compares this to saying that reading is useful because it will improve your spelling. Sure, it's probably true, but it is selling the process short to claim that it is the only benefit. You may not agree with all of Johnson's points, but it is hard to argue with the basic premise after reading the book. He isn't suggesting that people spend all of their time in front of the TV or playing Final Fantasy, but rather is saying that in appropriate quantities, these things can help hone one of the more important skills you can have.
Do You Speak American by Robert MacNeil and William Cran:
The subject of language in the United States is often a touchy one. Some people believe that the strict rules of grammar must be enforced under all circumstances. Others believe that language is living, otherwise we wouldn't have different versions of English spoken in various countries around the world. Some people believe that the use of English is "under attack" by the increasing Spanish-speaking population of the US and by the "uneducated" speech of people in various parts of the country. MacNeil and Cran tackle all of these questions and provide fairly insightful answers. Some of the answers are not surprising: Of course language changes over time, distance and any other factor that can separate groups of people. Others go a little deeper: A more useful approach to getting people to write and speak in "proper" American English is to realize that, like it or not, these are different dialects of the language that are being spoken in different parts of the country and they should be treated as such. To put a child in school and tell him that only stupid people say "ain't" or practice vowel fronting or remove "R"s from the ends of words is to tell the child that not only he, but everyone he knows and cares about it stupid. To accept that dialect as it is and teach the child there is another dialect which should be used to better communicate with people outside his familiar group can be much more useful. It's not the most enthralling book I have ever read, but it is certainly worth reading and does bring up some fascinating points.
Until later...
A bit of Did You Know for the day:
Your good friend email is 34 years old. It seems that no one is sure of what the date was, just that it was October of 1971. Read all about it from Ray Tomlinson, the guy who sent the email.
Now you know...and knowing is half the battle!
Until later...
I've been meaning to mention this for over a week, but just haven't had the time to write. Disney has done a lot of things in recent years that could be considered bad ideas or just downright stupid. Losing the deal with Pixar would probably be close to the top of the list, as would blaming traditional hand-drawn animation for the failures of their recent animated films rather than the poor writing. However, I feel like they deserve some credit for looking forward rather than back.
Disney is now making episodes of some of their more popular shows available for download in the iTunes music store. These can be viewed on one of the newer video enabled iPods or on your computer using iTunes. These aren't rentals either; you buy it and own it. No limits, no returns. The cost? 2 bucks. Actually, $1.99 for each commercial-free episode. For an entire season, this is still more than the cost of a DVD set, but not too much and you can get each episode soon after it airs rather than waiting 6 months. It's not going to compete with DVRs, but it might bring them new viewers and some extra profit. It also gives viewers more choice in how they want to watch the show.
So far, they have put out the first seasons of both Lost and Desperate Houswives as well as new episodes from this season for not only those two but also Night Stalker and That's So Raven. Do I think that this is the greatest idea ever and that it will change the world? No, of course not, but I do think that it shows that the thinking at Disney is moving in a positive direction and both companies (Disney and Apple) deserve recognition for it.
Until later...
The Powerball jackpot is up to an estimated $340 million. I'm feeling the urge to drive down to Indiana and play 4 8 15 16 23 42, so that I can share the jackpot with about 50,000 other geeks.
Now that I think about it, 340 million divided by 50 thousand is still 6800 bucks I don't have now. Of course, if I take the cash up front it drops to 3400 (which I would, becaus who wants $6800 paid out over 40 years). Factor in the amount of taxes I'd have to pay, the lawyer I'd have to hire and the annoyance of all the reporters and it's no longer even enough to cover the gas to get me to Indiana. Forget it, I'll let somebody else win. Besides, the numbers are bad.
Until later...
Quick movie trivia today.
Who was the first actor to refuse an Academy Award and for what movie did he win?
You know the routine.
Until later...
Update: Invisible Lizard came through with the answer of George C. Scott who refused his Oscar for Patton (the trick was repeated a couple years later by Brando). According to IMDB, today would have been Scott's birthday, inspiring this particular question.
We were driving along recently and passed a church with a notice on their marquee that the "Annual Pet Blessing" was coming up on October 16th. That immediately inspired the following conversation.
CK: They're having a pet blessing there on the 16th.
MK: Think we should take Booker to get blessed?
CK: If you think it would do any good.
MK: Probably not, since what we really need is to have him exorcised.
CK: Think they do that too? Can you actually exorcise pets?
MK: I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt.
CK: Demons, out!
Yeah, we're dorks, but at least we're aware of it.
Until later...
OK, I refuse to believe that I am the only one who has noticed this. Jeremy Piven is currently one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Entourage has become a hit, and Piven is absolutely everywhere. Not only is he at every premiere and in every movie, he is now considered one of the more attractive men in Hollywood. However, things have not always been this way.
Does no one remember some of his previous roles, the characters he played or what his hairline used to look like? Remember, this is the guy who was stuck playing John Cusack's balding nerdy friend or Nicolas Cage's balding nerdy friend. Note the similarities there. Now, all of a sudden, he's got plenty of hair, and his career is taking off. (Evidence of previous hairline here, here and here. New hairline here.)
Don't get me wrong, I've always liked Jeremy Piven; he's a good actor, and it's about time he got some recognition. I'm just saying that maybe he ought to thank Sy Sperling for some of his newfound stardom.
Until later...
When we moved recently, we switched cable companies. One of the benefits of signing up with this company as a new customer was that we can now get movies and certain shows On Demand. This means that whenever we want to see them, we can start watching, pause, fast forward, rewind or stop and finish later. This is a great innovation, but it is not without its drawbacks.
Having TV shows available On Demand gives you the ability to catch up on shows that you might not have watched otherwise. You didn't really need one more show to be committed to, but since it's so convenient, it's impossible to resist. You watch one, then another, then another until you are hooked. Eventually, you end up sitting, unshaven and unshowered, in front of the cable box begging for another hit.
"Come on man, just one more episode to get me through the week. I can't wait until Wednesday at 9:00. I finished up the last batch you gave me too fast. Just one more. A promo, just a promo. Come on, help me out."
Until later...
More movie trivia today: Cameron Crowe's newest film, Elizabethtown is about to be released. Crowe has written and directed several movies over the years, but what film gave him his first writing credit?
Usual rules apply. Post your answers in the comments section.
Update: Not one for wasting time, Invisible Lizard dropped by to remind us that the first writing credit for the future Oscar winner Crowe, was Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Congratulations, let the bragging begin.
Until later...
I don't like McDonald's. Really, I don't. The only reason to go there is convenience and the occasional apple pie (which is not as good as actual apple pie, but much more portable...the world needs more portable pies.). So why am I going there so much recently?
They keep luring me back in with the chance to win at Monopoly. I even went there for lunch today. Did I take a look at the menu and order based on what I most wanted to eat? Of course not. I ordered based on the number of game pieces I get. Ok, if I get large fries, I get two pieces and a Best Buy game piece, two more for the large soft drink and--wow! look at that.--two more pieces and another Best Buy Buck for a chicken sandwich. I don't really like their chicken sandwiches, but how could I pass that up?
So, instead of losing weight like I should, I'm getting fatter. It's like I'm starring in my own homage to Supersize Me. The Monopoly game pieces? Well, I'm one piece away from winning each prize, and I imagine it will stay that way until the game ends. I'm not stupid. I know I won't win, but I still have to keep going back. Meanwhile, I'm almost ready to purchase a 42-inch plasma screen TV with my Best Buy Bucks.
And people wonder why I won't play the lottery or gamble. I go insane over a stupid fast food game. How do you think I'm gonna handle those?
I think I need help. And if I find out that the game is rigged again, I'm suing them to pay for the triple bypass I'm gonna need.
Until later...
Ok, I admit it. I have a thing for Hong Kong cop/crime films. Blame John Woo and Chow Yun Fat (and please don't judge them on anything they've made in Hollywood). Last night I watched another HK flick, Infernal Affairs., starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau (Lau also starred in Full Time Killer, reviewed here.) This 2001 release is currently being remade as The Departed by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.
The film begins with a montage of two separate groups in training. We see Triad leader, Boss Sam initiating young men into his gang and explaining that they are to infiltrate the police force and be his eyes and ears. We then see the police academy training young men to be officers. One particularly observant cadet is selected to be "kicked out" of the academy in front of all the others and is sent on his way to infiltrate the Triads. Fast forward ten years and both the police and Sam's Triads have a mole highly placed in the other's organization. After a botched drug deal and botched arrest they each realize that they have a leak. At this point the cat and mouse game is on. Each of the moles must continue their current position while trying to locate the other mole and still remain undetected. The question is, after ten years on the other side who is loyal to whom?
Much more suspenseful than action packed, Infernal Affairs is a remarkably entertaining movie that even poses some excellent questions (these philosophical undertones are the trademarks of the quality HK gangster/cop films). The movie is weakened somewhat by a seemingly unrelated romantic subplot that pops up repeatedly yet takes up only about 5 total minutes of actual screen time, but not enough to change my overall feelings for the film. For anyone who enjoys this type of film, I will definitely recommend it as one of the best recent examples of this style.
Until later...
Finding Neverland is a perfect example of a film that I watch and then ask myself, "Why didn't I watch this sooner?" I had heard all sorts of things about it when it was in theaters, and it was nominated for many awards including Best Picture and Best Actor. Yet for some reason, I never watched it. Never until this weekend, that is.
For those unfamiliar with the movie, it stars Johnny Depp as James Barrie, the playwright who wrote Peter Pan and Kate Winslett as Sylvia, the matriarch of the family that inspires him to write the play. Historical inaccuracies aside, the plot itself is simple. A man needs a reason to write. Children and their mother need a friend. They each find what they are looking for. Fortunately, the final work is so much more than this simplistic summation.
The film explores the depth of friendship, the creative process and imagination with a grace that is rarely matched in recent cinema. All of the acting performances are superb, including that of Freddie Highmore, who would go on to play the title role in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (he was Charlie, not the factory) at Depp's insistence. It may have taken me a while to see it, but in the end it ranks as one of my favorite films released in 2004: In company with Sideways, Spiderman 2, Maria Full of Grace, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and the Incredibles.
If you have been waiting, like I was, to see this I highly recommend that you stop waiting and watch it. You won't be sorry.
Until later...
An open letter to all wedding DJs. Well, it's more of a note than a letter really. Just a bit of advice.
At a wedding, you are the DJ. This stands for disc jockey. Your job is to play music and sometimes to make announcements. Despite the fact that you have a microphone, it is not all about you. Just thought I'd try to make this clear, because you don't seem to be aware of this yet.
Thanks for your time.
So, two people are driving along on the highway. We'll call them Theresa and Julie (names changed because this is a true story, even though it involves no one who has ever appeared on this blog before). Theresa is driving in an unfamiliar city. Julie's job is to navigate and hand over the appropriate change at toll booths. (This is a simple task. If you cannot handle this task, please do not ever sit in the passenger's seat of my car.)
As they approach the first toll booth, Julie begins yelling at Theresa to get over. "You have to get in that lane! This is the wrong one." They make their way to the lane and pull up to the toll booth only to find that, while they have exact change, there is nowhere to deposit it. The lane they have chosen is an I-Pass lane, designated only for those who have prepaid passes. There is nowhere to pay, nor is backing up an option as other cars are now behind them. The only choice is to continue forward, knowing that a picture will be taken of the vehicle and a (much more expensive than the toll) ticket will almost certainly be in the mail.
Once they are on their way again, Julie decides to explain the confusion. "The other lanes said manual, and the truck is an automatic. I thought those lanes were for people driving a stick-shift."
You tell me what's more amazing: That this story is true or that she didn't get kicked out of the car...while it was still moving.
The passenger's seat is like the emergency exit row on a plane; do not sit there if you cannot handle the responsibility. Take your job seriously navigators, or you might find yourselves walking home.
Until later...
We all know how much I love Statcounter. It's really much more fun than should be legally allowed. I learn all sorts of things about my readers by looking at it. (Don't worry this isn't another "calling out the lurkers" post; they've all been outed or scared off.)
I was looking at the ways people find this site using various search engines and found a few interesting things. There are plenty of hits from people searching for a book I've reviewed or a the name of a celebrity I've talked about (mocked, to be honest). There are even a few people who get here by searching for various restaurants, which are mentioned in stories I've told, but none of these make up the largest portion of people finding us via search engine. That particular honor is reserved for people searching for "useless information." It's not like this is a one time phenomenon; it happens constantly. Of course, this made me wonder...
What exactly is one expecting when one goes online and types "useless information" into a search engine? Are these people really sitting at home thinking, "You know, I'm really quite bored. Perhaps I'll pass some time online. But whatever will I look for? I don't want to think too hard, and I certainly don't want to learn anything useful. Let's just go to a search engine and type in useless information and see what comes back." I have a hard time imagining that this is what's happening, but neither can I come up with a competing scenario.
In case this is true, The Fount of Useless Information will provide a few resources to help you better utilize your time on the interweb.
Snopes: A highly useful resource for urban legend information. The next time you are about to forward an email, you should check here first. Really, it won't hurt anyone if you don't pass on the "pictures of hurricane Katrina coming in over the gulf" that are, in fact, pictures of tornadoes in Nebraska (seriously, how does anyone get these confused?).
Wikipedia: Online encyclopedia, written and edited by the people of the net. This is one of the great examples of how the internet can best be utilized.
Actually, I've changed my mind. I'm not going to give you any more ideas. If you are looking to waste time, just stay right here. While you're at it, click the donate button up there at the top to help sponsor Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. You could also read the archives, comment a few times, drop me a note to say "howdy" (or "hi", if you're not a cowboy). However you got here, enjoy the site.
Until later...
Voting ended at the stroke of midnight last night. Or was it this morning? Regardless, as the clock struck twelve all the votes turned back into pumpkins and could no longer be accepted.
All votes have been collected, and results have been calculated. Using a complex system involving quadratic equations, Pi carried out to 300 digits, conversion to Roman numerals and back, and division by zero, the following results have been obtained. Are you ready?
Really? Are you sure?
Is the suspense getting to you yet?
Here are the winners.
Fiction:
Carte Blanche by MC Etcher
Non-Fiction:
Obsession by Vandamir Windrider
Thanks to everyone who voted, commented, and told random people about the competition, but most of all thanks to everyone who entered.
If I continue to be out of ideas, perhaps we'll do it (or something like it) again soon.
Until later...
Could it be? Are they really expecting?
In other news, Tom just held a press conference to say, "Try and call me gay, now! Actually, don't or I'll sue you."
Update: I just realized that I made not only a Jonestown joke (because mass suicide is apparently high comedy) but a "Tom Cruise sues people who call him gay" joke. Well, at least my lack of inspiration isn't showing.
Until later (when hopefully, I'll be funny or intelligent or at least not pathetic)...
Let's try something new for Trivial Tuesday this week. Actually it's not new, I'm stealing it from Mikey at Hey, Freak!
The basic premise here is simple. I will post lyrics to songs on my hard drive (I'm going with 5 of them) and you post the titles of as many of the songs as you can in the comments section. Easy, right? Let's find out.
1. Let's turn forever you and me, Windmill, windmill for the land, is everybody in?
2. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to lie. So this is goodbye...this is goodbye.
3. And now you tell me that you're having my baby. I'll tell you that I'm happy if you want me to.
4. Good friends we have, good friends we've lost, along the way. In this great future, you can't forget your past. So, dry your tears, I say.
5. Never meant to make your daughter cry. I apologize a trillion times.
Have fun.
Update: Congrats to all who got answers right. The correct answers are
1. Feel Good Inc., Gorillaz
2. Porcelain, Moby
3. Everything She Wants, Wham
4. No Woman No Cry, Bob Marley
5. Ms. Jackson, OutKast
I'm doing some not-yet-beta testing of the Odeo Studio and I have started something wonderful and new, or at least new. The Podcast of Useless Information. Feel free to go and check it out, but be warned. I'm worse at this than I am at blogging.
Until later...
Let's try a new game: Is it Pollock or is it Chocolate? I'll show you a picture and you tell me if it's a Jackson Pollock or if it's just a bunch of chocolate on parchment paper.
Hopefully no one guessed Pollock, because the wonderful work of art has now been consumed. Actually, this is the remaining chocolate drizzle from some cookies I made this weekend.
Why do you care? You probably don't, but (a) the picture amused me and (b) I made the cookies with my new Kitchen Aid mixer and I'm very happy about that.
That's it for now, I'll post something interesting later. eventually.
Until later...
I've talked about Bill Simmons on this site before. I've linked to his site. I've even ripped off his running diary format a few times (just don't tell him). If you've read any of his columns, you realize that he is a huge Red Sox fan and that the fortunes of the team tend to define him and his writing.
After the Sox won the World Series last year, Simmons collected many of his Red Sox columns written for ESPN as well as those he wrote for the website he ran before joining ESPN. These collected columns came together (along with a few new thoughts) in his new book, Now I Can Die in Peace.
While the book itself draws from his past work to show the path of Red Sox fan from desolation to destination, it mirrors the travails of any fan who throws himself wholeheartedly into his team and feels the exaltation and exasperation of their ups and downs. As with most of Simmons writing, the references to the specific events he is discussing are equaled (if not exceeded) by references to pop culture and historical sporting events. For those without a good basic knowledge of pop culture, it would often be useful to consult a concordance along with his work. Fortunately, Simmons provides us with that as well as a guide to his thought process in the form of footnotes. Clocking in at just over 350 pages, Now I Can Die in Peace has well over 400 footnotes including, at one point, a footnote to a footnote. (This probably explains why I liked the book so much.)
An emotional rollercoaster of fandom (or perhaps even fanaticism) with strong writing and amusing wit and with a healthy serving of pop culture references on top like so much Reddi-Whip, Now I Can Die in Peace speaks to more than just Red Sox fans but to the inner fan in all of us.
Did I like it? Of course. Is it for everyone? No. Simmons is pretty polarizing. Either you like him and find him hilarious or you find his refusal to take himself too seriously disrespectful. If you like the Sports Guy, check out the book. You won't be disappointed.
Until later...
