Generic greeting, carrying on, film & literature, & Weird funny

The Greeting (aka How about that weather?) Beautiful night here in Beantown. Kate and I went to the Barking Crab, I had some fried clams, Kate (drum roll) ;D A chicken sandwich! Kate pointed out their catchy slogan, "Come to the Barking Crab and get crabs!". It was nice eating outside. We walked about the waterfront a bit after dinner before parting ways.

Expressed Resolve? I'm determined to start returning to my better diet, and possibly (groan) jogging in the morning. This would serve two purposes. The obvious one of course to firm up and lose that winter 10-15 lbs (whee!). The less obvious, by getting out of bed earlier to jog, I might inadvertently get to work earlier, further increasing my productivity (yahoo..) and possibly allowing me to leave more around 5:30 than 6:30 which would optimize my daylight and let me roam Cambridge, Somerville and Boston more. Isn't this dreadfully interesting? I thought you might think so. But see, by writing it HERE... flapping my gums so to say, NOW, now you see... I have to put my money where my mouth is, put the pedal to the metal, nose to the grindstone, more, more??!

Entertainment: Ooohh, new Netflix deliveries coming tomorrow. I'm getting A Mighty Wind, and Lost Horizon. A Might Wind has been specifically recommended to me along with "Best in Show". I figured I'd go with the folk music one first since it seemed more my style. The Netflix description: Satirist in extremis Christopher Guest aims his mockumentary lens at 1960s folk musicians -- specifically, the earnest Folksmen (portrayed by erstwhile Spinal Tappers Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer), the too-perky New Main Street Singers and former lovebirds Mitch & Mickey. As the three acts prepare to reunite for a tribute concert, music and emotions run high. A parody in the tradition of Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. Eugene Levy is usually pretty amusing so we'll see. I'll provide my two cents once I watch it.

On Lost Horizon, this is an old movie which I've never seen. It is noteworthy on multiple accounts. It is based on a novel bearing the same name by James Hilton. Supposedly this is the paperback novel that set the bar for paperback novels. Originally published in 1933, Hilton tells of a grand Utopian society in the Tibetan mountains. It has mystical powers that keep it safe from a doomed world. It was a quick easy read, kind of a watered down Herman Hesse novel, very enjoyable. It has a bizarre psychological/philosophically challenging plot, contained within just over 200 pages. So Capra, royalty of the film world that brought us classics such as "Its A Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Directs this one. This movie is actually older than the two I just mentioned, and I can't wait to see if the brilliance of the director is as evident in this earlier work. Unfortunately this film lacks Jimmy Stewart, who played a huge role in making the former two the masterpieces that they have come to be known as.

Humor me and check out the Norwegian carton... I will say it wouldn't be nearly as amusing without the subtitles.

Politics and my theoretical age... According to some survey

So what will I write about today? That is the question!

Here is an interesting article on the Haditha scenario which explores some of the shades of gray that tend to be involved events such as these.

A reporter's shock at the Haditha allegations

It is good to see we have reached a point in our progression through civilization where the majority of the masses in the U.S. seem to agree that calling for justice in circumstances such as Haditha is not an act of treason, rather an act of patriotism. Unfortunately scenarios like Haditha are likely a reality of war. As long as there are human components in battles, there are likely to be people who will "lose it" and act in such a blinded manner. While one could definitely make a strong argument that these soldiers who committed this vile act, are in some ways victims themselves, it does not excuse their actions. This appears to be a case of cold blooded murder. If the investigation does prove this, hopefully the men involved will be sent to prison.

There were similar events that occurred in Vietnam which were often met by claims that they were lies by communist sympathizers or that even if they may be true, just mentioning them served as a dis-service to the Nation.

If anything is a dis-service to our nation it would be allowing such events to occur. We need the Iraqi people on our side, and civilian casualties must be minimized. We need to strike down any U.S. service men & women who act counter to this goal, because they are playing into the hands of the insurgency if they give into their need for vengeance.

In Massachusetts News:

Positive spin for new wind-farm plan

So basically when the wind farm isn't within view of their property, politicians support it. Instead put it in front of middle class blue collar property... That's where it belongs with the peasant scum. Why do people keep re-electing the Kennedy's? My thoughts are they put the wind turbines by the Cape and Buzzard's bay and create 2X the clean energy. Unless you are way out in the ocean they aren't going to have much of an effect on the view. And besides what is more important pollution or whether you have barely visible blips on your distant horizon? Come on people!

I don't know too much about this issue honestly, but it seems like a no brainer, that the further out to see it is, the better it would be. Stronger winds, less visibility, more space, less likely to interfere with birds, etc, etc. Who knows. I understand guards have been developed out in Nevada to protect the birds, can those and will those be used here? I suppose the areas that can be used are probably limited based on the depth of water, etc.

The latest B.S. quiz :D, although I dig being in the mid 20s still. Limited choices as usual... No Beatles on the greatest band ever? Blasphemy.

You Are 25 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Somehow I forgot to paste the html in here last night... doh!

Bean and Moi Brain

Mr. Bean's insomnia is resolved in "GoodNight Mr. Bean"



And I have a chick's brain... but hey what's new?

Your Brain is 67% Female, 33% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Sunshine, on my shoulder makes me happy....

Memorial Day Weekend has opened the gateways to a new season of warm sun and afternoon showers bringing fierce periods of rain and the gentle rumbling of the heavens. With these times will be picnics, weekend getaways, and heat waves. Many a soul will venture out for invigorating walks in the parks. Couples will walk hand in hand with smiles of contentment. The ducks and geese will play upon the water while little ones stare with wonder and their elders observe with pride, and enviously dream of those simpler times. Teenagers will fly by on their roller blades and bicycles, and a father & son play catch. On the shores of a river, many will look at the water, and wonder where they are flowing, and why the currents have to move so fast.

Some of us will get away from the cities and bask in the crisp crystal waters of a lake. The golden kaleidoscopes of sunlight will dance along the surface, while the laughter of children and the call of the water fowl mingle with the rustling of leaves.

Many will seek the mountains, placing their feet on worn roots and boulders. They will follow that meandering path to till the trees give way to the open sky, and they'll celebrate life on a summit, feeling satisfaction in their care free accomplishment. On a slab of granite, many people will lie, and look at the formations mother earth draws for us in the blue beyond.

Still others will be lucky enough to take in the crash of the surf, the call of the gulls, that strong salty breeze. It is cleansing and refreshing and if one breathes deeply for a moment their troubles can fade and they can feel themselves become a part of the world around them. Their hearts will beat in time to the rhythm of the sea while their bodies take in the warmth of the sand and their hair will get tussled in the breeze.

Summer is a time of memories to be made. When I think of the beauty of earth, my friends, my family, & all the people and things that I love, so many have been cemented in past reflections of this wonderful season. We've been given a great gift; remember to make the best of it, and not to take it for granted.

The sky in Boston was a striking blue this weekend, accented with only the occasional faint wisp of cirrus formations. The warmth of the air was coupled by the leaves and flowering shrubs now fully expressing an exuberant welcome to the Summer of 2006.

My parents arrived for a visit later on Friday night. They stayed at my apartment, & I had the futon for them to sleep on.

Saturday we did a fair bit of walking around Boston. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory, which for a chain has excellent vittles. My parents raved about the food and the service. My Father said if he lived here he'd probably never go any where else to eat if he went out. I suppose that summarizes the differences between us rather nicely :D. Life isn't meant to be traveled with the doors and hatches drawn secure, but hey... different strokes for different folks (sigh).
We had some Gelato at Mike's Pastry in the North End, walked to North Station, and took the Orange line back to Melrose.

The 2nd coming? And music videos

So, do you think God has a sense of humor.... I sure hope so..


Here are a couple of Youtube feeds for music I've been listening to lately. First John Vanderslice. This touches on a bit of politics, which is a little unusual for him, most of this singer/songwriter's works are more introspective.



Next Iron & Wine, the perfect music for weekend mornings, or for a time to just relax. Thoroughly beautiful to me they are a contemporary equivalent of Nick Drake. They've put three albums and several EPs out rather quickly over the last couple of years, and it is all high quality material. If you are down for the easy listening check it out.



Here's Fruit Bats with some simplistic, melodic, elegant pop. Yet since its subject matter excludes humps, bumps, bitches, and nines, I think the Bats can expect to continue to have only a cult following at best.



And I suppose after the easy listening vids above, you must think I'm soaking my dentures right now, so here is "clap your hands say yeah" who have a bit of a talking heads meet radiohead sound. A couple of songs on their cd remind me a bit of Modest Mouse. Although I enjoy Modest Mouse, looking back I find their music sort of dated already. I'm not sure if that makes them unique, a little harsh, or both. (On a tangential note check out the Modest Mouse cover CD by Sun Kil Moon, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes...I think Modest Mouse should just start writing music for Mark Kozelek). Getting back... I find that Clap Your Hands are more talented musicians, and that they have edge. The singer definitely has that drunken Thom Yorke vibe, but the music has stronger roots in the rhythmic progression of the Talking Heads and contemporary Indie bands. Modest Mouse is artistically unique although their sound is very basic, and has few layers... unlike these guys.



Well have a good weekend. I plan on getting no sleep tonight, as I have housework to do for my parents arrival, and I need to go into work early tomorrow.

Alrighty Then! Later!

Posting of crap...

This one is crap actually... but I took it anyway. Many of the questions force you to chose between radical solutions, not to mention the wording is leading and betrays the writer's thoughts. Also there was a spelling error.

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

You Were a Cat

You are an independent person who inspires others with your dreams. A calm protector, you will fight when you need to.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Sorry too little time to put up a real post today.

The Empire Strikes Back

Tonight I fell asleep watching the Sox lose to the Yankees. It was some point just after A-Rod hit a home run without being aware of it. I wish I could earn twenty grand in an instant some how, and not realize it as it occurred. That seems like a good parallel. I woke up as the prick was being interviewed by the press. I don't have the "luxury" of seeing Barry Bonds interviewed often, but I honestly don't see him being much more conceded than A-Rod. I dislike A-Rod with every fiber of my being, and I'm so glad he never ended up on the Red Sox. If we were to some how end up with him, in this volatile world of "business", I think I would have a tough time not hoping for him to strike out, even, even if he were playing for our benefit.

I meant to get a lot accomplished tonight to prepare for my parents visit this weekend. Outside of getting cleaning supplies, this effort was mainly a failure. I guess I need my sleep.

The news anchor just said "We're going to break for a moment as we pay some bills.." Clever, I'm not sure I've ever heard of a commercial break referred to in that manner. Wit & honesty.

Anyway.. Tomorrow is Hump Day! Although this week's work curve seems to be anything but Gaussian. I think there is a slight bit of asymmetry favoring the latter half. (sigh).

Man these guys have me nailed! ;D

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

The Cure Shares Your Taste in Music

See their whole playlist here (iTunes required)

Which Musician (or Group) Shares Your Taste in Music?

Misc. STUFF for your enjoyment

Columbia Business School's Dean Glenn Hubbard sings about wanting Alan Greenspan's job that went instead to New Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

Pretty amusing Police spoof, the "CBS" referred to, obviously Columbia Business School.



Beatles Nostalgia: Perhaps brought about by the news of the McCartney/Mills split.

Sadly fitting video of Paul McCartney rehearsing "For No One" (Revolver). A little amusing (his ab lib horn section) and a little sad. It has always been one of my favorites from Revolver, standing on equal ground with Eleanor Rigby, yeah I like the depressing ones, what can I say.



Ah... And McCartney on the Chris Farley show... Hilarious. Long live Farley.



The inspiration for one of Today's most popular indie bands... a spoof band and a stripper served up in the Magical Mystery tour? Make note of John and George oggling the stripper from the front row. I especially like the melted appearance of Lennon, appearing as though overwhelmed. I just read a book memoir on the Beatles by Tony Bramwell, who was a childhood friend of George & Paul, an employee of Epstein and a roadie that essentially assumed management responsibilities. He mentioned the filming of The Magical Mystery tour, (which I should really rent some time). And how Paul was pissed because the BBC wanted this entire bit cut because of the ta-tas. Of course Paul made light of it by editing in the large "Censored" box that appears when she faces front. This is definitely a weird little piece, check it out.



Netflix: my Movie Reviews

Last night I watched my latest Netflix installments. I got Carnal Knowledge, which is a cult classic starring Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkle, and Candace Bergeron (a.k.a. Murphy Brown). The movie enters with a black screen, Nicholson & Garfunkle's youthful voices are heard discussing girls, sex and love. In a rather poignant and fore-shadowing moment, Nicholson asks Garfunkle, "If you had to choose, what would you prefer, to be loved, or to be in love?" Nicholson decides that he would ultimately prefer to be in love. The movie starts with Garfunkle courting Bergeron's character. Garfunkle is timid, shy, lacking confidence, and places to much emphasis on what others think. Garfunkle and Bergeron hit it off because she is able to talk to him and he doesn't feel threatened by her intelligence. Of course Garfunkle doesn't have any spark, fun, or imagination in his entire being. When Nicholson learns that Garfunkle (If only I remembered the names of the actual parts they played...)has been advancing bases with Bergeron, he is jealous because he immediately feels he is the better man. Nicholson & Bergeron ultimately have an affair, resulting in a love triangle. Bergeron appears to have perhaps only chemistry for Nicholson, but to his (and our) surprise, he falls for her. Neither Candace nor Jack want to break the news to Art. Nicholson, in an example of his selfish streak, thinks it is her responsibility. When she has difficulty, he misinterprets this as disregard for him. For Bergeron the difficulty seems to be not wanting to hurt or lose Art as a friend. Impatient, and feeling unimportant Jack breaks it off. In his mind he feared she would drop him anyway. Both characters are heartbroken.

This sets up the rest of the movie which briefly chronicles, and eludes to tens of dozens of women who Jack uses and disposes of before they have a chance to hurt him. For the most part Nicholson holds his relationships to cheap meaningless flings.

Art & Jack stay in touch, Art, never learns that his best friend cheated with his wife to be (or he never lets on). Nicholson's sex addiction is depicted as emotionally self destructive. His disease is contagious and serves as a negative influence over Art later in his life. Later in the movie Jack once again has a long term relationship, however his girlfriend is plagued with a passive nature and psychological flaws that erode his love and respect for her. He is loved, but does not reciprocate, & he feels guilty & miserable. Ultimately he returns to his vices, after being guilted into a loveless marriage.

This movie was well acted. I felt Nicholson appeared older than the college student he acted as in the early stages, but the acting & shifts in maturity and poise was spot on. Garfunkle was surprisingly good, and perfect for his nerdy, sensitive role. Garfunkle is fairly tall to my knowledge, however his persona is small, and the average sized Nicholson towers over him with his charisma and charm. Bergeron perhaps initiated being type cast as a highly intelligent woman who was a little too tightly wound for her own health.

My other film was (heh-heh) Foxy Brown. Yes, mindless fun, and the inspiration to countless Quentin Tarrentino moments. It was exactly what I thought and wanted it to be. It was campy, it had funky 70s music, scantily clad babes, bad karate sequences, a lesbian bar brawl, what more could one ask for in a film? Very much the so bad its good type of film. Pam Grier, who would later star in "Jackie Brown" plays the role of "Foxy". Reportedly she made next to nothing for the film which has become a cult classic over the years.

I don't know what's in my Queue next... Anticipation.....

You Have A Type B+ Personality

You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Weekend in Maine

I took a jaunt up to Maine this weekend to spend some well overdue time with my Aunt. We've had a tradition of going out to eat around the holidays since I was a small child, however life has gotten in the way these past couple years. I needed to make a point to make up for that as best as I could. We had dinner a local Lewiston Auburn Mom & Pop restaurant called Youly's. I had a lobster roll with clam chowder, my Aunt Virginia (Gigi) had haddock stuffed with crab meat and scallops. It was quite delicious.

I went to my parents house and spent the night there. I caught SNL before dozing off. Kevin Spacey was pretty good as host, Nelly Furtado was AWFUL as the musical guest... her old cheesy pop was almost tolerable, but she has adopted that run of the mill scantily clad diva style. Her time on stage was spent warbling about how slutty she is while some gangster wanna be occasionally steps in to make some grunting noises. The single is even aptly titled promiscuous. If it wasn't the real deal, it would have made a great comedy sketch. Needless to say I spent most of the musical number channel surfing.

Sunday my father and I caught the Da Vinci code. This movie, despite mediocre to bad critical reviews, I felt was quite good. Some of the reviews are so bad they are unbelievable. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might even say that the church had paid some off to write bad things. A couple of reports were that people geered the movie at the Cannes film festival... actually that reeks of the church sending people to attend. There was nothing campy about the film, at least not any more campy than the average thriller... and despite what I've read, I'm going to have to strongly disagree. This movie was not mediocre. It was above average, and I kind of expect that it will have a fairly high shelf life, and that people will see it and pass their own judgment. Critics called it stodgy and dull, I think they must of seen a different film than I saw. Now there were a couple of people who reviewed it who must have been bent out of shape atheists (they could have been one of the various bad guys in the film) because they seemed to think that the movie should have apparently been offensive instead of simply a little controversial.

Another point to make, was that the same critic that mentioned jeers and boos at the Cannes film festival mentioned laughter... which they claimed was because it was so bad. Any laughter brought on by this film in the audience I watched it with, was laughter that Ron Howard intended to get. Apparently that reviewer was either out of touch with reality, or more than likely they were abusing the truth of things (Going with the theme of the film) to support their own agenda.

The critics attacked the ease at which Sophie and Langdon figured out clues in the movie, which honestly... How on earth could they ruminate for hours in a movie that is only a couple hours long.

One area I did agree with is that in the movie Sophie's character is muted. Dan Brown's work is a feminist work. Much of the premise of the novel is based on how Constantine and Roman councils demonized women, their role in the church, their role in society, and selected and rewrote gospels that best fit their ideals. Although much of what Brown writes is based on speculation, these councils on doctoring Christian beliefs to make them acceptable for the Roman masses are known & historically recorded events. The Gnostic gospels, which tend to humanize Christ more, are those "rejected gospels". One of which was even speculated to have been written by Mary Magdalene herself. The book writes that Magdalene was not the prostitute that Romans depicted her as but the wife of Christ who bears his child. (Which in my opinion, if it were true, does not take any legitimacy from Christ as a prophet). Anyway... I'm getting side tracked, so in the book, while Langdon is sharp, Sophie is not only smart, but often is the action hero and leader when the pair get into jams. In the movie, she's become more of the standard damsel, all though she can drive a tiny car through Paris like mad, and can her touch has an almost healing influence upon Langdon's various anxieties.

I thought I'd throw some related links up:

The Gnostic Gospels, info and links

An article on the dismay and disbelief of some Polish Catholics over the uproar occurring in the rest of the world.

'Da Vinci Code' Seen As Cursory and Rushed

The above review points something about the film that I was especially impressed by. Tom Hank's character, Robert Langdon, has claustrophobia. The reason for this, Howard chose to keep a mystery until the end of the film, and his delivery, I felt was particularly powerful. Langdon tells how he treaded water for hours, and he almost drowned, but the only thing that kept him alive was the faith that Jesus was there with him helping him out, he proceeds to say: "What matters is what you believe". Langdon's faith in Christ remained undiluted despite all that he learned. The critic says this is Ron Howard's way of appeasing the public, however I would not completely agree.. Because it is set on the premise that it was not part of the book. This very much was a premise of the Da Vinci Code. That what you do, what you believe is more important than what any book, or institution tells you. All the death and fighting that occurs in this story was a consequence useless debate over petty details. It is very much a reflection over much of the escalating problems in this world today. How we live our lives is what really matters, not what organization or story we structure our morals upon. Langdon's well story is contained in the novel, just not at the end. For Howard's choice to move it, I applaud him. It is exactly moves such as this that make him one of the greatest popular culture film directors of our era.

You Are 7 Up

Understated and subtle, people warm up to you slowly. But once they're hooked, they can't imagine going back to anyone else! Your best soda match: Diet Coke Stay away from: Mountain Dew

What Kind of Soda Are You?

A cheap post..

Ah yes... My cheap way of getting out of writing much (substance).

First off... this whole Tila Tequila thing.. which I knew nothing about because I don't get men's magazines or do the myspace thing. This youtube find was the first I heard of her. Apparently the no talent thing goes far these days... but I suppose if you spend tons of time doing the online community thing, as this gal does, it pays off. At least upon hearing her talk, she seems to have put effort into her sudden fame, other than hacks like Hilton. It was an interesting interview... if for nothing else, that she's not exactly the typical Tucker Carlson guest. Tucker Carlson's hot blooded side is rather transparent. (I've bitched about Tucker on former posts). Tucker is a jerk, arrogant, self absorbed, overconfident.. etc. etc., but I suppose that's part of why he is entertaining. I'm kind of wondering if Carlson was sitting on the john one day reading Maxim... and he just got inspired to bring the page 5 girl on his show in lieu of politicians and commentators.

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

CAJUN JUMBALYA PASTA

In my belly!!!
Went to the cheesecake factory tonight, & treated myself well... too well in fact. Kate got a cheap chicken sandwich (Although it was a heap of food as well) which made up for my $17 dish. I have to start bringing lunches to work more... I'm spending too much at the damn cafeteria. Its my least favorite thing about moving to this new building last year... the cafeteria has good unhealthy pizza, and I cave, I cave a lot.

Here's some more bits from my day calendar that I've found amusing.






And without further ado, in honor of this weekend's opening of the Da Vinci Code, and Homer Simpson's infinite wisdom, The Dancing Jesus


That's my controversial contribution. I'm such a heathen. :D

From the same folks that brought us the "What donut are you quiz" "What city are you?" I guess I'm satisfied with my designated city.

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

MMMmmmmm.... Cuniculus Chocolus

Laahh dee dee da dum.....
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky.

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's going my way......
Hey... what are you looking at... wait what are you doing?!



HEY... you creep! That hurt what the hell do you think I am? I bet you wouldn't like someone to nibble on your ears. Oh but perhaps you are into that sort of thing. I know your type... freaky pervert. Probably fantasize about the whips and gags don't you. No fun unless you draw blood, eh? Well you not going to get any out of me hot shot... Oh yeah?! Coming back for more you say... I'd like to see you friggin try... hey.. hey... wait..



OW... Listen if I wanted a flat top I'd join the marines. You know you can't force me to be sweet with you... YOU'll hear from my lawyers! Oh... OH... ok I see how it is going to be well, let me tell you....



Yowser!!! DAG NAB IT!! Jumping Joseph!! You know those things don't grow back! Ohhhhh it aches... YOU'll pay... Your time is going to come! Watch your back ass hole because.....



ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! NO FAIR biting below the BELT! Did any one see that? Ohhhhhhh Mommy Why.. Why..... Why....



Oh... MAN... Oh man oh man.... I'm getting cold... Some buddy please... please call the priest....



ARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH....UGGGHHHHHHH....Noooo UGGGHHHHHH ARRRGGGHHHHHHH... PLEASE KILL ME, KILL ME, Ohhhhhhhh KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



Mmmmmmmffff!!! Mrrrmmmmmmmfff!!! MMMWWMMPPHHH!!!!!!



"burp"

So Mike (Caprio) and I went and saw "An American Haunting" last night. This thriller is based on the apparently famous "Bell Witch" story. This legend, based on factual events is the most documented ghost story and paranormal event in American History. Even Andrew Jackson, according to records, came face to face with this supernatural power. I read a bit about the movie & legend, and it sounded promising as I am a fan of ghost stories and good horror movies. Unfortunately, although entertaining, the movie was a let down. There were deviations from legend, and the production was just poor. It had an over exuberant soundtrack, that made the film seem "old fashioned & campy". The behavior and accents of the characters did not match the time. The movie relied more on loud noises than the story to scare, and this is a story that should have been easy to mold into a bizarre & frightening experience. The story had a twist and revelation (unique to everything I've read on the legend) which was under played. There were subtle hints to elude to the conclusion in retrospect, however the lack of character depth made it seem disconnected. As this is such a famous story, I can only hope that someone else will do the tale justice. According to the story, it is the only known haunting in the U.S. ever to have resulted in a death.

After the movie let out, Caps and I had a beer and some boneless buffalo tenders at the Beantown pub while watching the end of the Sox/Orioles game. 13 strait wins over the Orioles. Oooh la la!

Anyhow... time to conclude.

Have a Wicked Wild Wednesday!

A little fun: What kind of donut are you? I can't say I agree with my description, I think the quiz designers need to go back to the drawing board.

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Howard Dean is an excitable Idiot

Head of the Democratic committee, Dean was on Jon Stewart tonight as his guest. Its laughable that even in this overwhelmingly left leaning Gen X studio audience that Dean's absurdity drew moments of disbelief and silence from Stewart and the audience alike. Now, of course the audience gave him a raucous applause where ever possible. However his democratic strategy to win... Wow. I mean it doesn't take rocket science, but honestly I'm not sure I'd let Dean drain the fry pit at McDonald's. He'd probably try and pour the oil into a plastic bag while its still hot, so he could fuel a brand new converted diesel car... burning his hands off and his feet in the process. Somehow, of course this would be Bush's fault.

Now don't get me wrong Bush really stinks on many levels but first, I'd like to point a few things out.

Dean... You can't run on removing the corrupt "Republicans". Why? Well for starters the GOP may be the hippest thing in political sleeze, corporate scandal, partisan politics, and redistricting for votes, but the Donkeys wrote the friggin book! And don't believe for a heartbeat that these people are gone! Dean, you, I don't think are corrupt, you are too much of a glue sniffing idealist, but I can't help but imagine Hillary, Teddy, Boxer, amongst others shifting uncomfortably even though they might be cheering you on. Dean... I can't believe there was a time when I actually liked you. I guess that just shows you what I think about Bush. In actuality Dean has one thing in common with Bush. Both of these politicians tend to have crazy ideas about reality, and both, no matter how off base they are, truly believe the crap they spew out.

Dean actually on the Daily show brought up free travel by Republicans on tax payer dollar (Tom Delay... who resigned). All I've got to say is "don't go there" (said with Ricki lake hand sign). This is unfortunately a perk that nearly all congressmen & women receive. I'm not defending Delay... I've been craving for his removal for years. Delay went above and beyond the normal realm of corruption, and his problems have not concluded by a long shot. But I think I can sum up why democrats shouldn't touch the corruption issue... Especially regarding abuse of tax payer $$ for leisure with one term: Travelgate.

If you are going to go the corruption route, stick to the deception about the war. Its easy, it invokes passion, and passion wins elections. The rest of the stuff is out there and people will keep it in mind.

So back to the Dean plan for Victory... attack Bush on the economy. Problem is, the economy is doing quite well all things considered. Actually if anything, even though I'll be glad to see W gone, the resilience of the American economy through 911, two wars, Katrina & countless other natural disasters, is nothing short of miraculous. But the gas you say..... Don't believe for one second that the price of gas is ever.. EVER... going back down. We've finally caught up to the rest of the world, and guess what, our expensive gas... Is STILL cheaper than what they've been paying for the past ten years. If you want to attack W on this... don't try and go the economic policy route, Democrats, come on stick to what Gore... and even Dean has spouted in the past, because now more than ever, it is relevant. CONSERVATION, CONSERVATION, CONSERVATION... and don't focus on packaging it as staving off the global warming, even though that is the traditional democratic stance. Make it about terrorism, IT IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY... use less gas, give less money to the middle east. Its freaking ELEMENTARY my dear. And you get the added bonus of saving money and being efficient. How can we support our troops? Use less gas. How can we at home help fight our way towards the end of this war? Use less gas. Al Qaeda is funded to a great extent with oil money.

Another thing... DEMOCRATS... Reality check please. I want this congress and this administration taken down a notch because I think they have been reckless, so please do this right.

First reality check: The polls are crap. That's right you heard me. I'm agreeing with Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Don't think for a heartbeat that these people below the mason Dixon line will switch teams because of a little botched foreign policy, death, and corruption. All that matters to them is who is pro choice, anti-gay, supports teaching creationism, and was truly moved by the Passion of the Christ. Now there is about a 95 % chance if you are even a independent, let alone a democrat, NONE of these political stances apply to you. When you are out campaigning... preach family values, faith, respect, but don't get specific on these issues if you aren't running in a major city. If you do, you might as well just kiss the campaign good bye.

There is an excellent chance that in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island, that instead of the typical 65% of people voting for democrats, it may be 75%. But guess what? That doesn't give you sh*t because you already have those seats!
SO Why the hell do I have to get accosted by some damn college kid in Central Square asking me to help get democrats elected! Not to mention many Massachusetts democrats (Kennedy, Kerry>>although I don't think this is their election year) are as bad as any of the republicans, so why should I want to help. AND they'll probably run unopposed. Additionally folks like Kennedy could go on a killing spree and people would still re-elect them.
Democrats... why are you wasting your resources in states that you already are going to take?

And why for the life of me... can't any of your people have solid ideas. Dean, your ideas were crap, vague, wishy washy, feel good bull sh*t. You'll get the choir behind you, but guess what, you need the entire congregation.

The balance of power changes that have been made are perhaps one of the most frightening issues about W's reign. This has gone unmentioned. The Bush Administration's disregard for the rules needs to be focused on. It is widespread, be it the disregard for the Geneva convention, increasing warrantless wire tapping, or leaking the identity of CIA agents. It needs to be expressed that even things done for good intentions, can result in horrifying consequences. This administration lives in the moment, weather it be their fiscal policy, or erosion of civil liberties to fight terrorism. Given the right circumstances these irresponsible changes WILL come back to haunt us, that is if they haven't already.

I hate to say it but I think the biggest upset this November isn't going to be the landslide victory of Democrats indicated by the polls, but the small margin of seats that will be picked up. The Senate may go democrat... but realistically it already is since there are several republicans who are leftists there. The house I predict will remain republican, although I think they'll have a decreased headcount.

Worst case scenario in my mind is the following. Actually let me set this up. I want change. America needs change, we need fresh faces who haven't succumbed to the dark side. Logically to do this, Democrats will have to win. My worst fear: The democrats plan will not be, "Change America". There will be no new "Contract with America" (which was possibly the greatest and most successful domestic political achievement of my lifetime). Instead the democrats will do what they do best, they will make bad times worse by SPENDING SPENDING SPENDING. Our vetophobic president won't touch them. Since the populace always heaps credit onto the president the deficit, even worse than those that came before will be Bush's fault. Instead of doing the responsible thing and improving our government, they will do everything in their power to make Bush look as bad as possible to try and lock up a Democratic spot in the White House, even if it means sabotaging the lively hood of us common folk. When programs aren't going well, they'll them underfunded, even though it will have triple the previous funding. Then they'll easily paint a picture of greed over the GOP. Republicans don't care about education, old people, Medicare, you name it. Everything that is currently wrong with our Congress will be amplified.

This is why I support the seemingly absurd idea of voting against EVERYONE, regardless of party, who is already in office. Complete turnover. At this juncture, I think it is the only hope for salvation, and it will NEVER happen.

Well... wasn't that sunny :D

Have a wonderful day!

Hey you know? I'm a bit excitable myself......

Cats & Dogs

Flooding, drizzle, rain, thrumping rhythmic monotony....

That is our environment here in grand old Greater Boston. Its been about a week of rain now. In my little piece of beantown there has been sewage backing up, closed roads, and even some evacuations. For most people I imagine it isn't too bad, just a bit of a downer. As the new week begins, it appears that we are in for even more rain.

I had a slow going weekend. Saturday morning I got up early and made my way down to the JFK stop on the redline for my 5K in south Boston at Carson Beach. I ran in a torrential downpour, making care not to slip or get too feisty. I finished I think around 26:10 minutes with my feet squashing, & I was cold and wet. Luckily I had a change of clothing which I had stashed under Millennium's table in the sign up hall. The Orange line had a shuttle for construction (of course) and I always dread the bus commute that is excessively long, rough, and unpleasant compared to the train. I attempted to burn time by getting some lunch in Quincey Market. I went to the noodle company and sat in the Quincey Market rotunda with my mp3 player. It is always interesting to watch people.

Saturday night Kate came over. I ordered some buffalo wings and pizza, which I almost exclusively ate. Actually pretty much the entire pizza save two slices was left over for breakfast because I filled up on Wings. Saturday Night Live was the best I've seen in a while. Elaine (Julia Louise Dryfuss) from Seinfeld hosted and plugged her new show "The New Adventures of Old Christine". Chances are I'll never watch it, although I guess it has had good reviews. There was a cameo from Jason Alexander (George), and Seinfeld himself. Paul Simon gave a surprisingly good performance with new material. The songs were more spoken than sung, but well written and the band was excellent. Simon's voice has suffered the past couple times I've seen him on television. Definitely not the same Paul that harmonized with Garfunkle.

I had a couple Netflix films to watch. I caught 5 easy pieces (Jack Nicholson) which was really good. I hadn't heard very much about this film, so I was quite taken by surprise on just how good it was. It has become one of my favorite Nicholson flicks if not my favorite, which is saying a lot.

Sunday Kate and I watched Elizabethtown which was done by Cameron Crowe. From such a respected artist, writer and director (Almost Famous) this movie was appallingly bad. It was incredibly slow, the acting was horrible, and the plot bordered at times on the ridiculous. Kate commented that she looked forward to my review, and initially I thought that reviewing this movie wasn't even worth my time... But on second thought, I have to warn people. Don't waste your time, unless you are completely smitten with Kirsten Dunst or Orlando Bloom, this movie will lessen your opinion of both of these thespians if anything. This movie tries to be clever and artistic, but the narration lacks wit or depth, and this is simply a movie posing as a "thinker's film" for people who don't like to think. The best parts of the film were a screaming kid, a flaming paper mache bird, and a vomit inducing cheesy montage based on a little project put together by Dunst's character... who apparently must have not slept in order to put it together in the hand full of days this movie spanned.

Anyway, I should get to bed I suppose...

Sleepy....

Well I got home late after staying at work till quarter past 8, then heading for some quick Chinese food. The seventh inning was just ending in the game (Sox/Yanks)and I turned it on. I watched a well pitched 8th by both sides, and then fell asleep, awaking to hear that we thankfully won.

I had plans for this entry, honest I did, but I have a dentist appointment to attend at 8:00 am. Alas the blog will have to wait. I hope everyone has a spectacular weekend, lets hope the weathermen are wrong, but wrong in our favor for a change.

Cheers

THURSDAY....

Thursday indeed.....

Well, to conclude the story of my trip with Kate to Florida, on Monday we slept late (Yah! Sleeping!) Then we put the top down on the convertible, packed the car, gassed up and took our last ride in the tropical sun enroute to the rental place. It was a lovely trip... That is what it is all about in my opinion. All of this work, the routine, it is all for times like that. Those are the memories that I'll be thinking of one day when I'm in the sunset of my life, and waiting for dusk to settle on my horizon. Life is to be enjoyed... Enjoyed on your own terms.

I'm halfway through Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. As I usually do, I'm finding this short Steinbeck novel an enjoyable. It isn't quite Canery Row, but it definitely follows a similar plot. It touches upon a vibrant array of different social issues and philosophical questions. Some are strictly related to the 30s, the Hispanic & paisano cultural communities, and how they functions. Most of the philosophical points I found timeless. It touches upon greed, selfishness, insecurity, the desire for more while fearing what it could mean. There is an ever present value of loyalty vs. unbridled hedonism.

There are many awesome lines in this book, one struck me while reading today on the train and I had to make note of it. I believe it weighs heavily on our current political atmosphere.

"It is astounding to find that the belly of every black and evil thing is white as snow. And it is saddening to discover how the concealed parts of angels are leprous."

Well...I'm going to cut this off here, till tomorrow!

Busch Gardens

A brief bit on my day... Work was decent. I went to the gym, got home and ate a large pizza, essentially undoing whatever progress I may have made. I did manage 3 miles on the elliptical at 2/3rds tension or so, in just over 21 minutes. I believe that is a record for me. So despite my ever increasing insulation I still managed some aerobic activity of moderate significance... I know, who cares? Hey, but I was pleased. We'll see if any of that carries over into the 5K on Saturday. I just finished watching the Ice Storm, and although it was a great movie it left me a little dreary. Kate your post card was slid under my door tonight! Apparently someone else had it in their mail! Anyway this is the Ocean drive night scene I wanted to capture on film but couldn't.




I'd like to go into a lot of detail once again, however I really don't have the time.
We got up early to head into the park. Greg bought us all bagels... well... sort of. But that goes into too much detail :D.

Jason of course was working when I finally made it into the living room. He had the laptop out and was flipping through channels, probably after a long night of watching on demand uncensored Howard Stern. Jason has the satellite radio in his Camry, and we were privileged enough to listen to various atrocities on our journeys.

Rather than go into too much detail on the day, I think I'm just going to post the pictures to amuse and delight. I will make one note. These first two pictures, the spatial relationship of the people vs. the object, (in these scenarios, animals) was my idea. I thought it would be goofy and fun.



Next we have really big goldfish... or carp as some people insist on calling them.


And then a hungry peacock.


It was a good day, I like Busch gardens better than the Disney theme parks, it is more "adult" not to mention better kept up with better attractions. We did a few rides, saw tons of safari animals & exhibits, learned how to match beer with food, ate junk, saw a campy dance show, a neat little musical. Where Disney and MGM (last year) would be boring the second time around, I could see going back to Busch Gardens and Sea World (both are Anheuser Busch theme parks) and enjoying myself again.

We got back to Orlando late that night after a couple wrong turns. Jason was playing navigator, driver... basically trying to do everything... and I let him, because that is the kind of sheep I am.

A visit to McDonald's and a little T.V. closed out our last night in Orlando before Kate and I hit the hay.

Wednesday already! Wednesday, rejoice!

Wee Little Alligators.... Day 3

Day Three... Well day 4 if you include Wednesday night. We get up fairly early so we can get a move on. Overnight bags packed, we head on to the Airboat ride. It seemed to be in a fairly rural location just outside of Orlando. With Jason's as our expert mapquest guide, we bounded along in the trusty camry towards the adventure that awaited us.

To call this place dead, would be an understatement. I suppose we were a little past the prime tourist season. Additionally it seems that the airboat ride was a fairly new business venture for this particular bait shop/ fishing supply store. I didn't have a lot of film to go through so my pictures are unfortunately limited. The store was a low ranch style building, perched on the edge of a lake. It was complete with an aluminum roof, and a very seasoned look to it. Adjacent to this was a covered pier where some house boats, motor boats, and a small airboat was moored. A crane stood on the outboard motor of a boat and observed us with a keen eye as we waited for our boat captain to guide us towards the vessel on which we would embark.

It seemed to be a place that was likely around for ages. Anyone from a small American town should know the type of place. Most people from outside a community might not shake a stick at it. The locals however, they have stories of drunken fishing tales, enormous gators, and other tidbits of native folk lore and romance. The elders and children alike know the owners. They know the large bellied man behind the counter selling live bait. They understand his gruff exterior, but smile in comfort of the soft underside, the part of him only revealed to the few townies blessed enough to have weathered a few rainy days in his company. To the quick observer it may seem like a ill kept crooked hole in the wall place, half way lost in a swamp. To these Floridians nearby, it is family, it is a landmark that brings warmth to their souls, and builds upon memories that generations will likely carry with them.

The men running the shop were all courtesy, but definitely grizzled. We were definitely Yanks in a Confederate territory. The boat captain, or course had a grey
t-shirt emblazoned with a faded confederate flag.

Our airboat probably would seat 6 comfortably, but there would only be three of us. We got an hour tour which would go by surprisingly quick. It took our gruff looking wirery captain about three times to start the boat which coughed and sputtered a bit. It was loud, enough so that when our guide talked to us, I ended up just nodding even though I didn't quite hear a damn thing he said. The wind that was created by the suction of the large fan blades was quite intense. My left eye, already watering slightly from an allergic itch of some sort, simply began streaming liquid once the boat got going. Not too mention my nose ran a bit too. Luckily there was no one in the seat behind me to enjoy the saline shower coming from my face. The boat was amazingly smooth, even when plowing through wakes of some bigger craft.

Not long after heading out we saw our first gator about fifty yards out. It came up and tried to snap at a bird, which I believe flew off unscathed. We saw a ton of various water fowl. The weather was gorgeous and it was quite a bit of fun zooming about in all of this greenery, in a world so far removed from anything in Massachusetts.

Our guide pointed out a couple of nests. I have a couple of photos. One close up shot actually has a gator in it, however, I can't see it. It is much more difficult to find than Waldo. I wish you luck if you search.
I've included a couple more scenic shots that I quickly snapped on our journey. We did get to see some smaller gators quite close, which I guess is pretty lucky since they are nocturnal creatures.


This definitely was very cool to do. I highly recommend it if you go to Florida. It is a bit off the beaten track, but I think it shows the "real" Florida, rather than the fake plastic one that most partake in.


After our adventures in the swamps we got some lunch at a Mom & Pop chain called "Sonny's". This joint was very busy. It very much was set up like an old fashion family restaurant. The food was really inexpensive, you got huge portions, and it was good. I had a three pork combo, I want to say, Pulled pork, Ribs, and sliced pork? They had four barbecue sauces on the table which were more than sufficient for my culinary needs. I went with the spicy sauce. I also had a side of cole slaw....mmmmmmmm SLAW.....

We had a decent road trip up to Tampa where we met up with Jason's boss Greg. Greg was very courteous and generous to Kate and I. We got to use their spare bedroom after the baseball game, and they helped us get reduced entry into Busch Gardens the following day. The house was beautiful, high ceilings, stucco walls outside, however with normal finished walls on the interior. They had a beautiful screened in pool. The idea of a framed screen over the entire pool to keep out bugs seems quite simple, however I don't ever recall seeing that in New England. They lived in a gated community in a beautiful area. I will say I don't think I'd like living in the Orlando area. In spite of the green palms and all of the theme parks, Orlando came off as sort of commercialized and bleak to me. Tampa on the other hand was very lush with beautifully designed neighborhoods, and "new" town villages that were designed to mimic old town villages with store fronts on the road, side walk cafes, and a general walkable layout. While Orlando had Bike paths and parks, Tampa's just went the extra mile to landscape them better and make them seem much more like a place you could spend strolling around.

Next... Drum roll. THE SOX! Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was not nearly as ugly and offensive as I thought it would be. Actually, even though I have nothing to compare to, I would imagine it probably is about as nice as a dome stadium is going to get. The concessions were great (albeit pricey). The crowd was about as good as it can get without actually being at Fenway. About 80 percent of the people there were Red Sox fans. The game was exciting as we had a nice come back midway through, however, that being said the insanity of Fenway fans is still equivalent only to the Bosox fans in Tampa, to the tenth power or so. When we won (I thought for sure with Dinardo pitching, that we'd lose) nearly everyone was celebrating and chanting. There were even several hearty rounds of "Yankees Suck".

Before the game began, Jason, Kate, and I walked around St. Petersburg which seems to be a very nice city. It has a beautiful waterfront looking out over the Gulf of Mexico, and there are a decent amount of shops and eateries to keep ones interest. We had some ice cream before the game at an old fashioned ice cream parlor in the ground floor of a classic old fashion hotel. One thing to note of St. Petersburg, is that the Steinbrenner influence seems strong. There are Baseball factoids engraved on bronze "home plates" with reliefs of legendary baseball greats. I noticed an overwhelming amount of these factoids dealt specifically with the New York vs. Boston battle. They even dragged the Boston Braves into these historical informative pieces. Also they were good enough to point out several key Boston losses where the Yankees or Mets were not involved. Hmmmm.... If the weather wasn't so nice there, I might have gotten unruly.

Check me out looking dapper in the captain's chair of the airboat!!


Anyway... Of course, stay tuned to the grand finale... at least when it comes to pictures, when I detail Busch Gardens!

Miami part deux

And so Vacation day 3:

We got up fairly early and did some more walking around. We checked out the Versacci Mansion, walked down Ocean Drive a bit more. We then went to the Miami Beach botanical gardens and the Holocaust Memorial. The Holocaust memorial was quite impressive and very depressing. The only thing that kept it from being completely awful was its beautiful surroundings. When I say awful, I mean it was graphic and very dark. A sculpture of a giant hand rises out of the middle of a reflecting pool, clawing at the sky. The sculpture is made from a dark, almost black material, likely cast iron. The hand is covered by detailed carvings of emaciated concentration camp victims crawling up the arm and hand in despair. A gap in the presence of holocaust victims reveals the number tattooed on the wrist. This sculpture was essentially a vivid image of hell. I understand the importance of remembering the holocaust, and know that Miami beach used to be populated mainly by Jewish folk, that being said, I really thought this was over the top and can't imagine why someone would want that in the middle of such a beautiful place. The pool had a semi circle of black marble on one side listing the names of the victims. (Similar to the Vietnam memorial/wall) Behind the wall is a open air museum that looked very Romanesque or Greek. In the walls were inscribed pieces of history interspersed with photographs of various holocaust atrocities. After walking quickly through this, (I didn't really feel the need to "take it all in") Kate & I headed to the Botanical gardens. The garden was nice, although the Smithsonian Botanical Gardens in Boston put it to shame.

We saw some geckos. I like geckos....(Actually I'm not really sure the tiny Florida lizards are geckos, but they are cool whatever they are)

Anyway, moving right along. Next we got in the car and went to North Beach and went for another swim. Pelicans were trying to kill Kate, and we had a close call with some minnows, but we survived unscathed.

I liked the Beach as well as the city better at South Beach, although North Beach was still beautiful by all accounts. The buildings at North Beach trend towards high rises, and they are comprised of an architecture called "MiMo" which is a glorified bolder version of Art Deco. Its kind of like Art Deco on steroids or "Vegas Style".

We took our swim in an expansive park, a gap in the high rises, that is probably a couple miles long. The dunes lead into lush bushes and palms interspersed with picnic tables. This beach was sort of deserted, perhaps partly due to it being a week day. We made our way to a patch of people around a life guard and went for our dip. We probably spent a hour and a half or so here. The water was still a vibrant blue, the beach was spacious and white. A good breeze was blowing. The gradient on this beach was considerably steeper than South Beach, and there was a strong southern current in addition to a bit of rip tide. These characteristics likely contribute to the reduced popularity of this locale.

One of the ideas we'd thrown around was to try to play voyeur at a nude beach that apparently is located at the far northern point of North Beach, however it seemed like it would have been a considerable trek from our location, and we didn't have the time. I'm convinced they would have had to be a lot of hairy old weirdos anyway.

We decided to get lunch in North Beach's downtown area. Despite all of the high rises, it had a very small town feel. You almost didn't even notice the Lord and Taylor's and Sak's Fifth Avenue department store, which were outnumbered by very blue collar looking eateries, the type that look like they've stood the test of time. We chose an Irish bar and grill called "Flanigan's". It was a locale, and small mom & pop sort of chain in the Miami Beach area. This particular location seemed older and quainter than the one we'd passed in South Beach which had swanky modern architecture and neon lights. The walls were all rough weathered and beaten pine planks. Various fishing tackle, mounted fish and traps made a down to earth decor. It was the Floridian equivalent of the time honored seafood shack one might come across in a New England coastal village. It didn't have that mass produced feel that you come to expect from chain restaurants (Applebees, or the 99). I had a special, 9 large lightly battered shrimp, curly fries, awesome garlic butter rolls, which were simply decadent, and a Caesar salad to start. A large soda came with it in a souvenir plastic cup. All of this food was $12.99, which I thought was quite a steal. Kate had a chicken sandwich with curly fries, and helped me eat the rolls. It was very satisfying.


We got on the road following this and decided upon visiting a Spanish monastery. We had seen a sign advertising its location when we traveled to South Beach. The guide book said it was the oldest structure in North America. I thought that sounded really cool because I knew there were some early Spanish buildings in Florida that date to the 1500s. What I didn't know until I arrived was that technically this wasn't one of them. It was a monastery which was purchased and moved to the United states in the 1920s.
The monastery actually dates to the 1100s, making it the oldest structure in the U.S., but it isn't original, so it just isn't the same. Aside from that disappointment, I still found it very cool. It actually serves as an Episcopalian church.
The grounds of the monastery are beautiful gardens interspersed with various statues, many of them relics like the monastery itself. They were setting up for a wedding when we visited. I imagine if ceremonies of grandeur were your thing, it would be quite the place for nuptials. I took a picture of this statue of Mary. At the time I thought it was sort of dark and foreboding, but upon seeing it, the picture reminds me of the "Miraculous" Mary doll in the movie "Pecker".


After the monastery, Kate and I began an extra long trek back to Orlando. We got brave and followed Rt. 1 a bit back to 95, however this made us miss the Florida Turnpike connection. We took a side highway eventually and probably lost little time there, however we got caught in Rush hour traffic which made the trip about an hour longer than it should have been. When we finally arrived at Jason's we sprawled out, had a bit of Chinese take out, and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie. Kate just finished the book and hadn't seen the movie yet. I think I enjoyed it more the second time I saw it. I was comparing it too much to the book initially, to which it has some key differences from.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a decent weekend. I saw American Dreamz with Kate. I was quite disappointed. It had its moments but it had the potential to be a good dark American satire, and it really seemed light and fluffy despite a sinister plot twist.

My next movie to see, is probably "Art School Confidential". This looks like it has some potential. Of course I will have to catch the Da Vinci Code when that comes out.

Have a good Monday! And stay tuned for some coverage of my Airboat ride & the Tampa Bay/ Sox game which I saw on Saturday the 28th.

Miami!

As there has been nothing eventful to write about this week (I made a painful attempt to clean my apartment tonight.. and went to Home Depot to get potting soil... Work has been tedious due to harassment training and mundane tasks.), I'm going to divulge into the overdue vacation details.

Wednesday night I slept well and Kate and I got up bright eyed and made it down to Miami by 12:30. We drove around in circles for a bit once at Miami beach searching for parking. As fate would have it we finally managed to put the car in a public garage after a long trek avoiding blue hairs, gawking tourists, shopping ditzes, and the occasional vagrant. We had accomplished this feat, slightly bewildered at this point on our whereabouts, we were eager to become gawking tourists ourselves. We diligently tried to head back to where we believed the hotel was. We ended up heading about 3 blocks south, then walking to Washington St., and then searched for the hotel. Once at the "Greenview Hotel" entrance I looked across the street. With a roll of my eyes I realized that the garage we just walked 3/4 of a mile from was a block away, and the only obstacle separating us was a public parking lot that we could see across.

Anyway, that little fun fiasco behind us, we eagerly put our stuff in our Art Deco style hotel. Rooms were modest, but comfortable and clean. The walls were stucco, save one which had an interesting checkered pattern of slightly varying off white colors with an almost un-noticeable hint of turquoise. A brown, basket style woven mat covers most of the dark hardwood floors in these rooms. The furniture is simplistic, yet modern and stylish. The rooms have a bohemian sort of flare. One description we read upon choosing this hotel was a European style bed & breakfast. The bathroom in the room was small, but adequate with a tub, shower, and a very tiny sink. The rooms although modest in size, had 12 foot ceilings and huge windows which definitely added to the appeal. The room had a queen bed, cable TV and all that jazz.. but enough about that. On to what really matters....

FOOD! Kate and I were famished, not really eating much of anything. I had an oreo cookie for breakfast, and a gatorade along the way. I think Kate ate something before we left but I can't recall what. She's much more in tune to the whole breakfast thing than I am.



This first photo is where we decided to go for our lunch. It was noted in our travel guide to be a point of interest and a Miami beach mainstay. The crowd (well... Clientele, I should say rather) was for the most part locals. The service was the usual diner standard. The sandwiches were marvelous, and the stainless steel relic fit in wonderfully in the artdeco world. Both of these pieces of Americana representing vivid dreams of what the future might be like.

Next Kate and I traveled to Ocean drive... as you can see here by this sign it was 110 degrees out. The Miami natives personally vouch for the accuracy of this sign. The manhole cover scene in this photo, in fact is not any ordinary man hole but a spot where ceremonial sacrifices are offered daily to appease the powerful dark lords of the Miami Beach time and temperature sign. Word has it that goats, small children, and the occasional wombat make up most of the sacrificial offerings.

So at long last here we begin!

Moving right along next we have none other than the main attraction! Miami Beach! We went for an hour swim or so on our first day in SoBe. The water was beautiful and we didn't get eaten by sharks. What more can one ask for? I'm not certain why but the left side of this photo is a bit blurry, perhaps the motion was a bit much for my high quality disposable camera.


Next is a bit of the Artdeco scene on Collins Ave. I'm already longing for it, (sigh). I'm sure G. Gordon Liddy is out there somewhere in a leisure suit. Sure he is...


This next photo, is one of those boring ones. It is the type of thing people show you in a slide show and it means nothing to you because it doesn't seem very impressive. This was described however as a very important landmark. This home, is actually made of coral stone. You can see the coral right in the bricks. Supposedly there used to be a lot more of these, and now there are only two left in South Beach. This one is for sale. I guess they are fairly old, and there is some concern that they could be destroyed and lost for good... Or turned into a starbucks or something.


This last, a picture of Essex House on Washington Ave. is a classic example of the art deco style that permeates this district. Apparently at one point these structures were all simply off-white, and in renovations in the late 70s and early 80s, many structures were painted bright colors adding to the appeal.


The day ended off wonderfully. We walked down Ocean Ave at night taking in Miami Beach's extraordinary night life and neon lights. These art deco structures take an entire new look on once the lights go down. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture this with my camera. We walked down the 17th street mall, an outdoor mall that spans a dozen blocks or so. It was filed with cafe tables, sidewalk performers, and the occasional drag queen. It was something else!

I could really go into a lot more detail on all of this, and I wish I had the time to.

Anyway, I will continue on with the next installment, which will summarize day 2 in Miami, and the return to Orlando.

TGIF!!

Tuesday blurb

Hello,

Not too much to report.

Photos are being developed and I can pick them up tomorrow. Don't ever get a disposable digital camera. Initially I thought it would be a good idea, and I suppose it did have its perks (You could retake your last shot, & preview the picture) However it was just too expensive. The packaging was misleading and the price for prints is much more than getting photos developed. Anyone who knows anything about digital photography knows that if anything the process costs should be limited to the glossy print paper, and the minimal costs of ink, the cd ($1 tops), and the 5 minutes it takes to punch buttons on the PC. 5 minutes is 1/12 of an hour, at the ~CVS wage of $8.50/hr that's $0.71. Lets say the paper cost $4 (an exaggeration) and add a $3 profit. It adds to 8.71, we'll just say 8.99 for the classic store price. How much did CVS charge (excluding the $19 cost of the camera... Which I was mislead to believe would be made up for by cheaper processing... quite the contrary) 15.99, that's right $16... So for $36 dollars. I could have used that for a significant chunk of a digital camera! Live and learn.

Chatted with Caprio a bit tonight, he got a preview of my camera complaints.
No Sox game due to rain :( ---- This not only took some entertainment from me, but hurt my fantasy team, dag nab it!
So I watched "The Life of David Gale" which was OK. Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet were in it, although I wouldn't hale it amongst the best films for either of these excellent thespians.

Anywhoo...
Hump day already!

I'm Baa-aack......

I had a fabulous Vacation with Kate, and a nice visit with Jason.
Miami was great, as was my airboat ride, the sox game, and Busch Gardens.

As the Yankees game is currently on, I'm relaxing and taking that in. How about getting Doug Mirabelli back eh? Far Out!

Anyway... I have a ton to write about, however I do want to illustrate (I need to process some pictures) and devote some quality time to it. So that being said, stay tuned to a couple of installments of my adventures.

For the time being... Check out this roast of W by none other than Colbert, the article explains (Yes Bush really had Colbert come to his correspondence dinner and deliver this mocking speech to his face... is someone in the administration going to get fired?)

Bush pokes fun at himself at dinner



GO SOX!