There's a great little hot sauce shop down in Eastern Market. I love it. I braved the pending storm, speed walking through the heat and humidity to jog up the brick steps and bask in the stores air conditioned confines.
There was one other customer, she and the clerk were discussing chili chocolate. While I've heard of putting hot chilies in chocolate, the thought has never appealed to me. Then again, the bulk of my experience with hot sauce was its use as a flavor suppressant not as a flavor enhancer. (Thanks Navy!)
The lady remained unconvinced, so the clerk brought out a small golden box of chocolates and asked her to try one.
Apparently the thought of this made her nervous since she turned to me and asked if I was going to have one too.
I said, "Oh no. I'm actually here shopping for a father's day present." (Surprise Dad!) Because I'm a wimp with a sensitive digestive tract.
She then turned to the clerk, "Well are they all hot?"
He pointed out that the round ones were the hottest, but the dark chocolate square wasn't so hot.
I looked at the little balls. A sympathetic reaction in my gut told me that they were pure evil rolled into a chocolate ball and dusted with cocoa powder. Since I had no desire to toss cookies in the hot sauce store, I picked up the dark chocolate square. I asked the clerk, "This one is mild right?"
He replied, "Well, not MILD. Just not as hot as the other one."
Great.
The lady took a hot ball. Then we stood facing each other, like children in a dare, taking mutual courage from the fact that we faced possible public humiliation together.
I bit into my chocolate, eating half of it with one bite.
It was called Citrus Fire.
With the first bite the smooth bitterness of the dark chocolate filled my mouth, mixing with the sweet, gooey caramel filling that spilled out of the chocolate to dribble down my chin.
I can never eat a caramel without leaving wayward caramel strands somewhere on my face. It's my curse and my burden.
But I digress.
My first reaction was "mmmmmmmmmmmm" because is there any other reaction to high quality dark chocolate and caramel? I think not. As I chewed I discovered the subtle presence of orange even as I wondered, feared the coming of the promised fire.
It was subtle. A small tickling, burning sensation at the back of my mouth. From there it spread, a warm, gentle heat that was actually very pleasant.
The lady across from me was enjoying her chocolate as well. "That's really good!"
I nodded and said, "Yeah, it wasn't that hot at all!"
Apparently, Citrus Fire knows a good entrance line when it hears it, because at the very moment my entire mouth ignited.
I don't know if I turned red, but I spent the next ten minutes sweating while I shopped.
Hmm, just thinking about it makes me hungry. Nuts, now I'll have to go buy a box of those little suckers.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Monday AMV
This one is particularly brilliant.
Someone has taken the opening sequence of Cowboy Bebop, and remixed it as an alternate opening for Evangelion.
My eyeballs go squinty with pain just thinking about the amount of work that went into this.
Someone has taken the opening sequence of Cowboy Bebop, and remixed it as an alternate opening for Evangelion.
My eyeballs go squinty with pain just thinking about the amount of work that went into this.
Friday, June 01, 2007
The Rescue Part II
Meanwhile, back at the chicken house, DFL slumped against the cushions in her mediation room. It was open and airy, with a small fountain that burbled happily over smooth dark stones. She had come here after the planning session (Operation: Eminent Domain) to meditate, separating her consciousness from her body to enter the astral plane. The forest was even creepier when viewed through spiritual eyes. In her astral form DFL could see the wild magic pulsing throughout the forest as she sped to her designated spot. Spirits of earth, air and water eyed her passing, some with way too many eyes, and DFL vowed that if she was eaten, she would never speak to her friends again. She waited near the trap, staying well away from any trees until an exhausted Wonder Woman slogged through. TA sprung her trap, the witch disappeared and WW promptly passed out. Right. Time to go to work. With a sigh DFL flowed into WW’s mind, and suddenly found herself surrounded by stars, stripes, and cows.
“Always with the cows, this girl.” DFL tisked , “Very well. Time to stand up.”
WW opened her eyes and stood up. DFL felt very, very tall. And imposing. And had a sudden urge to pound something. Possessing WW was the psychic equivalent of driving a hummer to the grocery store. Despite these urges DFL tried to stay low to the ground, avoiding the witch’s attention. She was carefully picking her way to the chicken house when an explosion rocked the forest floor. A ball of heat and sound smashed WW/DFL into the ground, followed by a shotgun hail of splinters. As the last of the splinters bounced off her leather jacket, DFL lifted her head and surveyed the damage. Most of the trees around her were smoldering, some were still on fire, and the witch was nowhere to be seen. It was definitely time to get out of there. DFL decided to forego sneaking, since WW wasn’t built for it anyway, and raced to the chicken house.
If someone happened to observe this frantic flight through the woods, they might have made the observation, “Dude. Wonder Woman totally runs like a girl.”
“Always with the cows, this girl.” DFL tisked , “Very well. Time to stand up.”
WW opened her eyes and stood up. DFL felt very, very tall. And imposing. And had a sudden urge to pound something. Possessing WW was the psychic equivalent of driving a hummer to the grocery store. Despite these urges DFL tried to stay low to the ground, avoiding the witch’s attention. She was carefully picking her way to the chicken house when an explosion rocked the forest floor. A ball of heat and sound smashed WW/DFL into the ground, followed by a shotgun hail of splinters. As the last of the splinters bounced off her leather jacket, DFL lifted her head and surveyed the damage. Most of the trees around her were smoldering, some were still on fire, and the witch was nowhere to be seen. It was definitely time to get out of there. DFL decided to forego sneaking, since WW wasn’t built for it anyway, and raced to the chicken house.
If someone happened to observe this frantic flight through the woods, they might have made the observation, “Dude. Wonder Woman totally runs like a girl.”
SYTYCD: Auditions
The best part of the SYTYCD auditions? All the beat boys,(bboys?)breakers and poppers. Those guys are amazing and fun to watch.
Unfortunately, most of them get cut in the choreography round, or in Vegas during partner dance, lyrical, ballroom, or other dances that require a lot of technical proficiency. The auditions in LA brought the return of Hok. I hope he makes it to the top 20, because he is awesome.
There was also this amazing popper: Phillip Chbeeb. Although I believe he auditioned in Chicago.
That guy is crazy.
The real fun starts next week with the dream crushing horror of the Las Vegas auditions.
Judging from the previews, lots of dancers break down and cry.
Unfortunately, most of them get cut in the choreography round, or in Vegas during partner dance, lyrical, ballroom, or other dances that require a lot of technical proficiency. The auditions in LA brought the return of Hok. I hope he makes it to the top 20, because he is awesome.
There was also this amazing popper: Phillip Chbeeb. Although I believe he auditioned in Chicago.
That guy is crazy.
The real fun starts next week with the dream crushing horror of the Las Vegas auditions.
Judging from the previews, lots of dancers break down and cry.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Story: The Battle for WW Part I
This is turning out a little longer than I thought it would, so I'm posting it in installments.
Once the whole thing is posted, there will be options and a chance to vote.
When we last left our heroes, they had managed to secure the chicken house with the use of Extreme Home Makeover Pixies and Cookies. The pixies did such a good job however, that the girls felt like they couldn't just hand the house over to the evil witch. I mean, she probably wouldn't even CRY. So they decided to rescue WW and steal the house.
***
Dusk in an enchanted forest is a time of power. As the sun sets and the shadows grow the tricksters come out to dance and play. A few tenacious rays grasped at outlying tree branches, stretching ever thinner to the horizon. WW knew exactly how they felt. She had tried everything to rid the mountain witch from her back and yet she, a princess of the Amazons, had been herd-ridden throughout this accursed forest. Her muscles burned and cramped as she continued to slog, magic bidden, on the witch’s errand. An intense pain flared through her chest with each breath. She felt dizzy and disoriented, and she was certain that the fireflies were using their lights to spell out dirty words. Well she would not allow this outrage against common decency to stand! Once freed from her geas, she would lead an Amazonian Censor Review Board that would take the shine right out of those miserable little bugs. She swore it on her honor as an Amazon.
A slightly more rational part of WW’s mind wondered if she had a concussion.
There was the sharp twang of a trip wire and suddenly the weight of the witch was gone from her back. WW stopped running, dropped to her knees, and then fell full length on the forest floor. She had a brief moment to revel in the sheer ecstasy of not moving before she passed out.
TA felt a fierce flash of triumph as her tripwire slapped the witch from WW’s back. The old woman fell with a shriek of rage as TA threw four poison smoke balls after her. The witch bounced once and rolled to her feet, her deft movements at odds with her old crone appearance. She whirled her staff around her, gathering the poisonous smoke clouds and dispersing them harmlessly with her magic. She searched the surrounding trees, but TA had already disappeared into the dusk.
“Well well, little warrior” the crone growled, “it takes skill to sneak up on me.” The witch’s eyes took on a golden hue, her hair floating madly around her as she gathered her power. “Of course, you’re not the only one who gains strength from the night.” Again she scanned the surrounding trees, stopping at TA’s hiding spot she smiled and pointed a finger. The tree exploded.
Once the whole thing is posted, there will be options and a chance to vote.
When we last left our heroes, they had managed to secure the chicken house with the use of Extreme Home Makeover Pixies and Cookies. The pixies did such a good job however, that the girls felt like they couldn't just hand the house over to the evil witch. I mean, she probably wouldn't even CRY. So they decided to rescue WW and steal the house.
***
Dusk in an enchanted forest is a time of power. As the sun sets and the shadows grow the tricksters come out to dance and play. A few tenacious rays grasped at outlying tree branches, stretching ever thinner to the horizon. WW knew exactly how they felt. She had tried everything to rid the mountain witch from her back and yet she, a princess of the Amazons, had been herd-ridden throughout this accursed forest. Her muscles burned and cramped as she continued to slog, magic bidden, on the witch’s errand. An intense pain flared through her chest with each breath. She felt dizzy and disoriented, and she was certain that the fireflies were using their lights to spell out dirty words. Well she would not allow this outrage against common decency to stand! Once freed from her geas, she would lead an Amazonian Censor Review Board that would take the shine right out of those miserable little bugs. She swore it on her honor as an Amazon.
A slightly more rational part of WW’s mind wondered if she had a concussion.
There was the sharp twang of a trip wire and suddenly the weight of the witch was gone from her back. WW stopped running, dropped to her knees, and then fell full length on the forest floor. She had a brief moment to revel in the sheer ecstasy of not moving before she passed out.
TA felt a fierce flash of triumph as her tripwire slapped the witch from WW’s back. The old woman fell with a shriek of rage as TA threw four poison smoke balls after her. The witch bounced once and rolled to her feet, her deft movements at odds with her old crone appearance. She whirled her staff around her, gathering the poisonous smoke clouds and dispersing them harmlessly with her magic. She searched the surrounding trees, but TA had already disappeared into the dusk.
“Well well, little warrior” the crone growled, “it takes skill to sneak up on me.” The witch’s eyes took on a golden hue, her hair floating madly around her as she gathered her power. “Of course, you’re not the only one who gains strength from the night.” Again she scanned the surrounding trees, stopping at TA’s hiding spot she smiled and pointed a finger. The tree exploded.
Horse Research
Hey Wonder Woman!
Here is my first report on my extensive google search on the world of horses; which led to this awesome footage from the Queen Victoria Handicap.
Here is my first report on my extensive google search on the world of horses; which led to this awesome footage from the Queen Victoria Handicap.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Pirates 3: A Review
Pirates 3 takes a more serious turn than the other pirate movies, setting its new, darker tone right out of the gate by executing some adorable moppet in pursuit of the fascist state.
Seriously.
However, it still has its silly moments, plus some awesome sight gags sprinkled throughout the movie.
The story is a little confusing but, much like Spiderman 3, you'll enjoy this movie if you don't think about it too hard. Although, if you do want to try to follow the plot, I recommend some sort of score card so you can track of who happens to be backstabbing whom at any given moment.
On the other hand, who goes to see a Pirate movie for the plot? You go to see the absolutely gorgeous visiual spectacles of ships cresting sand dunes, the land of the dead, and adorable granite crabs.
The big finale, which features the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman having a full-on sea battle while circling each other in a giant maelstrom was a thing of beauty. It also featured Captain Barbosa at his best, most piratey awesomeness.
This film has made me a die hard Barbosa fan.
Pirates 3 also has the greatest wedding ceremony ever put on film.
Sorry Princess Bride. You'll always have a special place in my heart, with your soprano priest and castle seige, but the Pirates 3 wedding has you both outswashed and outbuckled.
Oh yeah, at 2 hours and 45 minutes, you'll want to adjust your beverage consumption accordingly.
Seriously.
However, it still has its silly moments, plus some awesome sight gags sprinkled throughout the movie.
The story is a little confusing but, much like Spiderman 3, you'll enjoy this movie if you don't think about it too hard. Although, if you do want to try to follow the plot, I recommend some sort of score card so you can track of who happens to be backstabbing whom at any given moment.
On the other hand, who goes to see a Pirate movie for the plot? You go to see the absolutely gorgeous visiual spectacles of ships cresting sand dunes, the land of the dead, and adorable granite crabs.
The big finale, which features the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman having a full-on sea battle while circling each other in a giant maelstrom was a thing of beauty. It also featured Captain Barbosa at his best, most piratey awesomeness.
This film has made me a die hard Barbosa fan.
Pirates 3 also has the greatest wedding ceremony ever put on film.
Sorry Princess Bride. You'll always have a special place in my heart, with your soprano priest and castle seige, but the Pirates 3 wedding has you both outswashed and outbuckled.
Oh yeah, at 2 hours and 45 minutes, you'll want to adjust your beverage consumption accordingly.
SYTYCD: NY
I love me my acronyms.
The thing I like most about So You Think You Can Dance?
They have no Paula equivalent.
Sure, Crazy Mary is, well crazy, but she is perfectly willing to tear into people (ie., ballroom dancers) who aren't up to standard. None of this, "You look lovely" or "You seem like a wonderful person" nonsense.
Case in point: Dancing Derrick. He was the very first audition, and after extensive interviewing about his padded resume, DD got up on stage, and in front of all the other contestants and on national television, had some sort of high-velocity fit set to music for 60 seconds before nearly passing out. This made Crazy Mary laugh like an evil Disney villain through out his entire audition review.
Seriously. I haven't heard such gleeful pleasure at another's misfortune since Maleficent's "And now you shall deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell!!"
*Cackle Cackle*
I'll admit, his strange and truly awful dance had me frozen, staring in horrified fascination at the screen, desperately wanting yet unable to hit the FF button on the DVR. Until that awesome Crazy Mary cackle freed me. Then of course, she just kept laughing, which made me laugh and so I STILL couldn't hit the FF button. Well played, SYTYCD. Well played.
So Crazy Mary plus Evil Disney Villain= Scary Mary.
The thing I like most about So You Think You Can Dance?
They have no Paula equivalent.
Sure, Crazy Mary is, well crazy, but she is perfectly willing to tear into people (ie., ballroom dancers) who aren't up to standard. None of this, "You look lovely" or "You seem like a wonderful person" nonsense.
Case in point: Dancing Derrick. He was the very first audition, and after extensive interviewing about his padded resume, DD got up on stage, and in front of all the other contestants and on national television, had some sort of high-velocity fit set to music for 60 seconds before nearly passing out. This made Crazy Mary laugh like an evil Disney villain through out his entire audition review.
Seriously. I haven't heard such gleeful pleasure at another's misfortune since Maleficent's "And now you shall deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell!!"
*Cackle Cackle*
I'll admit, his strange and truly awful dance had me frozen, staring in horrified fascination at the screen, desperately wanting yet unable to hit the FF button on the DVR. Until that awesome Crazy Mary cackle freed me. Then of course, she just kept laughing, which made me laugh and so I STILL couldn't hit the FF button. Well played, SYTYCD. Well played.
So Crazy Mary plus Evil Disney Villain= Scary Mary.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Fun with Literature
More goodness from metafilter.
Here's a website with a program called The Amazing Dostoevsky Machine.
It lets you change the names in Crime and Punishment from long complex Russian names to something slightly more easier to understand.
For example, in my version the main character, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, is now called Trevor O'Reilly.
You rename all the characters, than click the Submit Query button and it will take you to a list of characters with their old and new names.
Click again to see the entire text of Crime and Punishment with the new names.
Personally, I think it's much easier to follow the feverish ravings of Trevor O'Reilly and his friendship with Betty, the Russion prostitute with a Heart of Gold.
And now I can't help but quote the 5 minute Illiad version of Crime and Punishment:
"Napolean would have done it!"
Here's a website with a program called The Amazing Dostoevsky Machine.
It lets you change the names in Crime and Punishment from long complex Russian names to something slightly more easier to understand.
For example, in my version the main character, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, is now called Trevor O'Reilly.
You rename all the characters, than click the Submit Query button and it will take you to a list of characters with their old and new names.
Click again to see the entire text of Crime and Punishment with the new names.
Personally, I think it's much easier to follow the feverish ravings of Trevor O'Reilly and his friendship with Betty, the Russion prostitute with a Heart of Gold.
And now I can't help but quote the 5 minute Illiad version of Crime and Punishment:
"Napolean would have done it!"
Fun with History
Here's a great site that allows you to learn all about the mummification rituals of ancient Egypt.
Mummify Seneb.
In my Ancient Near East class, I had a friend that mummified a chicken for a class project. She even made little canopic jars and a little sarcaphogus for it.
Unfortunately she didn't get to do the brain removal because you can't buy a chicken that still has its head at the grocery store, and she wasn't about to pluck and slaughter one herself.
I fully concur with her on this. Any animal I used for school came to me pre-dead.
Here's an intersting thought. Since she would have had to stick a rod up the chicken's nose to get to the brain, do chickens even have a nose? I guess they have those little holes in their beaks, but I don't think they could be used as a realiable access way for brain removal.
Nuts, that's going to bother me all day.
Historians. We're morbid little suckers.
Found via Metafilter.
Mummify Seneb.
In my Ancient Near East class, I had a friend that mummified a chicken for a class project. She even made little canopic jars and a little sarcaphogus for it.
Unfortunately she didn't get to do the brain removal because you can't buy a chicken that still has its head at the grocery store, and she wasn't about to pluck and slaughter one herself.
I fully concur with her on this. Any animal I used for school came to me pre-dead.
Here's an intersting thought. Since she would have had to stick a rod up the chicken's nose to get to the brain, do chickens even have a nose? I guess they have those little holes in their beaks, but I don't think they could be used as a realiable access way for brain removal.
Nuts, that's going to bother me all day.
Historians. We're morbid little suckers.
Found via Metafilter.
Creepy
Today I received an email about Arena Stage's Production of Peter and Wendy accompanied by this disturbing photo:
I knew it was a puppet show before, but I have to admit, those are the creepiest looking puppets I have ever seen.
The puppeteers, veiled and weaving menacingly in the background like a Grecian chorus of the damned, are not helping.
I knew it was a puppet show before, but I have to admit, those are the creepiest looking puppets I have ever seen.
The puppeteers, veiled and weaving menacingly in the background like a Grecian chorus of the damned, are not helping.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
American Idol Finale
I no longer have a horse in this race, so I'll just offer my brief analysis that Blake has been stronger throughout the season, but Jordin sang better last night.
Who will be declared the winner tonight? I honestly have no idea.
I've moved on you see. To Thursday. And the show that brought us dancing zombies.
Bring on the Crazy Mary Juice!!
Update: I'd almost forgotten about this dance. It even made Benji look hot.
Update update: Speaking of hot, can you believe that I can't find a clip of the Latin dance where Dmitri took off his shirt? This has shaken my faith in youtube.
Who will be declared the winner tonight? I honestly have no idea.
I've moved on you see. To Thursday. And the show that brought us dancing zombies.
Bring on the Crazy Mary Juice!!
Update: I'd almost forgotten about this dance. It even made Benji look hot.
Update update: Speaking of hot, can you believe that I can't find a clip of the Latin dance where Dmitri took off his shirt? This has shaken my faith in youtube.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Heroes Finale-- Full of Spoilers
Was a wee bit anti-climatic really. It was still good though, so here's my recap.
DL spends the entire episode bleeding dramatically and dying slowly.
Jessicki knocks out illusion girl in one of the cooler sequences of the night. Go Jessicki!! Although I was a little disappointed in the fact that when Illusion Girl was unconscious, she reverted to her "hot girl" form. In previous eps, she implied that her original form had weight and image issues, so I was looking forward to seeing what she actually looked like.
Molly is a Google Earth in Little Girl Form. She also sets up next season's villian, (apparently an evil Prof X) which pretty much tells us, with a half hour to go yet, that Sylar won't be around slicing heads and what not.
Ma Petrelli turns her creepy evil grandma dial up to 11.
Claire makes a dramatic stand, then leaps out the window to escape Ma Petrelli in the second coolest event of the night.
Peter has a really bizarre dream/illusion/time travel sequence where he talks to a dead guy from the first half of the season that even the writers can't fully explain.
"What is this?"
"Does it matter?"
Apparently not.
Mohinder remains in his corporate zombie brown suit, although his usual idiocy was overshadowed by Boring Psychic Guy, who became Stupid Boring Psychic Guy by engaging Sylar in a game of Catch the Bullets and losing.
He thought he could just walk up an shoot him? Seriously? This bit of suicidal mind-boggling stupidity continues to boggle my mind today.
Seriously??!! Right. Drop it. Moving on.
Unfortunately, SBPG seems to have survived, despite the prescence of four rather large holes in his chest.
Mr. Evil Glasses is officially welcomed into the Good Guy Club by getting a name: Noah. I'll miss calling him MEG though.
So the big fight was a little lame. Hiro sticks Sylar and kills him, which makes it all the more frustrating that he was this easy to kill THE WHOLE TIME and there were all those other times when multiple people (Mohinder) could have popped a cap in his brain AGES ago and stopped all this Sylar nonsense back at "Save the Cheerleader."
So Hiro sticks Sylar and kills him. This prompted my inner Queen of Hearts as I yelled "Cut his head off!! For the love!! He's not really dead! Off With His HEAD!"
But did they listen to me? No.
Before Sylar dies he tosses Hiro into Feudel Japan, where he meets a samurai welcoming committee, and looks at a solar eclipse despite the fact that he doesn't have a little box with a hole in it to protect his retinas.
Your retinas Hiro!! They'll burn right off! Or something!
Nate Petrelli finally stops being such a lame weasel, and flies slodey-Peter high up into the atmosphere, finishing the season off with a lovely radioactive fireworks display.
That part was atually really cool. I wish they'd spent a little more time on the two brothers.
I think Nate is dead, but Peter will survive. In fact, when Hiro landed, I thought it was Peter returning to Earth.
What did you guys think?
DL spends the entire episode bleeding dramatically and dying slowly.
Jessicki knocks out illusion girl in one of the cooler sequences of the night. Go Jessicki!! Although I was a little disappointed in the fact that when Illusion Girl was unconscious, she reverted to her "hot girl" form. In previous eps, she implied that her original form had weight and image issues, so I was looking forward to seeing what she actually looked like.
Molly is a Google Earth in Little Girl Form. She also sets up next season's villian, (apparently an evil Prof X) which pretty much tells us, with a half hour to go yet, that Sylar won't be around slicing heads and what not.
Ma Petrelli turns her creepy evil grandma dial up to 11.
Claire makes a dramatic stand, then leaps out the window to escape Ma Petrelli in the second coolest event of the night.
Peter has a really bizarre dream/illusion/time travel sequence where he talks to a dead guy from the first half of the season that even the writers can't fully explain.
"What is this?"
"Does it matter?"
Apparently not.
Mohinder remains in his corporate zombie brown suit, although his usual idiocy was overshadowed by Boring Psychic Guy, who became Stupid Boring Psychic Guy by engaging Sylar in a game of Catch the Bullets and losing.
He thought he could just walk up an shoot him? Seriously? This bit of suicidal mind-boggling stupidity continues to boggle my mind today.
Seriously??!! Right. Drop it. Moving on.
Unfortunately, SBPG seems to have survived, despite the prescence of four rather large holes in his chest.
Mr. Evil Glasses is officially welcomed into the Good Guy Club by getting a name: Noah. I'll miss calling him MEG though.
So the big fight was a little lame. Hiro sticks Sylar and kills him, which makes it all the more frustrating that he was this easy to kill THE WHOLE TIME and there were all those other times when multiple people (Mohinder) could have popped a cap in his brain AGES ago and stopped all this Sylar nonsense back at "Save the Cheerleader."
So Hiro sticks Sylar and kills him. This prompted my inner Queen of Hearts as I yelled "Cut his head off!! For the love!! He's not really dead! Off With His HEAD!"
But did they listen to me? No.
Before Sylar dies he tosses Hiro into Feudel Japan, where he meets a samurai welcoming committee, and looks at a solar eclipse despite the fact that he doesn't have a little box with a hole in it to protect his retinas.
Your retinas Hiro!! They'll burn right off! Or something!
Nate Petrelli finally stops being such a lame weasel, and flies slodey-Peter high up into the atmosphere, finishing the season off with a lovely radioactive fireworks display.
That part was atually really cool. I wish they'd spent a little more time on the two brothers.
I think Nate is dead, but Peter will survive. In fact, when Hiro landed, I thought it was Peter returning to Earth.
What did you guys think?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Monday AMV
Because if it's stuck in my head, it should be stuck in everybody's head.
Cause she's like...so whatever...
Poetry..Avril Lavigne Style.
Cause she's like...so whatever...
Poetry..Avril Lavigne Style.
Inflat-A-Rat Sighting!!
Since I work in downtown DC, I've grown accustomed to the fact that anyone angry enough to string a couplet together is going to come down here to do their marching and chanting. This is much less interesting than Dictator's neighborhood, which I have nicknamed "Action Movie Row" because it always seems to be catching on fire, having rogue buses crashing through buildings, being completely rerouted for state funerals etc. and, quite frankly, my commuter stories just can't compare.
"So there was another fire? Well I passed three different groups of angry marchers/chanters. They were angry. And marching. AND chanting. In VIETNAMESE."
So I'd become rather blase about demonstaters, but then last year I passed a group that had an enormous inflatable rat. Allow me to repeat in case you haven't fully realized the awesomess that is, Inflat-A-Rat. Enormous. Inflated. RAT.
I like to think that when it's not being used for demonstrations it's having tea with the inflatable gorillas and dancing plastic figures you see at car lots.
Anyway, since that first memorable sighting, I've noticed that Inflat-a-Rat pops up here and there, pimping at any demonstration that feels passionately enough about their cause to shell out for him.
Today, he makes his first appearence of the 2007 demonstration season, looming over traffic at 11th and G. He was placed perfectly so that the roofs of city buses pass just under his menacing claws. His teeth are bared and his giant beady eyes seem to communicate that he would happily rip the top off the bus and snack on the contents, but he has a tea date later.
"So there was another fire? Well I passed three different groups of angry marchers/chanters. They were angry. And marching. AND chanting. In VIETNAMESE."
So I'd become rather blase about demonstaters, but then last year I passed a group that had an enormous inflatable rat. Allow me to repeat in case you haven't fully realized the awesomess that is, Inflat-A-Rat. Enormous. Inflated. RAT.
I like to think that when it's not being used for demonstrations it's having tea with the inflatable gorillas and dancing plastic figures you see at car lots.
Anyway, since that first memorable sighting, I've noticed that Inflat-a-Rat pops up here and there, pimping at any demonstration that feels passionately enough about their cause to shell out for him.
Today, he makes his first appearence of the 2007 demonstration season, looming over traffic at 11th and G. He was placed perfectly so that the roofs of city buses pass just under his menacing claws. His teeth are bared and his giant beady eyes seem to communicate that he would happily rip the top off the bus and snack on the contents, but he has a tea date later.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Lazy Friday
I'm a sucker for internet personality tests. I found one that creates a painting based on your answers. So as I sit here in short sleeves and open toed sandals, contemplating the leaden grey of the overcast sky and the flag dancing madly in the icy winds...I paint.
Click here to create your own painting.
I alter the choices a bit. What would it look like if I was angry and had a penchant for the desert?
What if I pretended I was BSA?
Looks about right.
Now let's paint WW:
It's amazing!! Uncanny Even!
Click here to create your own painting.
I alter the choices a bit. What would it look like if I was angry and had a penchant for the desert?
What if I pretended I was BSA?
Looks about right.
Now let's paint WW:
It's amazing!! Uncanny Even!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Webcomic Goodness
The always awesome DM of the Rings is particulary good today, especially the panel featuring Gandalf and Shadowfax, or "Captain Beard and the Rocket Horse"
Seriously. I crack up every time I read it. The last time I got the giggles this bad from DM of the rings was when Legolass took out Gollum.
Seriously. I crack up every time I read it. The last time I got the giggles this bad from DM of the rings was when Legolass took out Gollum.
American Idol
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Curse You Tweeners!!! CURSE YOU!!!!
Man, now I don't even care who wins. Good bye Mindy Doo. You were always my favorite. I hope you have an amazing career, and if you put out an album, I will totally buy it.
*sniff*
Curse You Tweeners!!! CURSE YOU!!!!
Man, now I don't even care who wins. Good bye Mindy Doo. You were always my favorite. I hope you have an amazing career, and if you put out an album, I will totally buy it.
*sniff*
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Story: The Hunt for WW: Part II
**A long panning helicopter shot of thick, verdant forest. Birds chirp, squirrels nibble at a cuteness factor of 11, and a woman in a nun’s habit spins madly in a field of wildflowers. The camera zooms past all of these to a slightly less pristine area of the forest. Trees have been uprooted, their branches raking up ash from long scorch marks along the ground. Rocks have been blasted out of the ground, and the ground has been churned to a thick, gooey mud. The camera follows the path of destruction, through the trees to the edge of a small lake. On the shore, a Swedish cottage on chicken legs scratches at the sand nervously. To its left a small ninja stands, watching the cottage intently as she holds a can of aerosol hairspray and a lighter at the ready. She is also wearing a bright orange construction vest and a hard hat over her traditional ninja black. On the right is DFL, who is also wearing construction gear over her clothes, although her safety vest has been tailored and the helmet is cocked at a rakish angle. She idly taps a roll of blueprints against her leg as BSA, in front of the house, also in construction safety gear, tries to talk the cottage into settling down.**
“Look” BSA explains, “I don’t think you fully understand the benefits of indoor plumbing. You wouldn’t have to put up with that obnoxious outhouse anymore. Plus when you’re all beautiful, we can have an open house and give tours. There will even be cookies! Look!” She proudly held up a platter full of chocolate chip cookies. “Who can say no to cookies?”
The cottage looked skeptical. BSA sighed, “This just isn’t the same without the bus. We need the bus!” She glared at TA.
“I’m not asking the Bag o’Stuff for a bus and neither are you. Why, it gets the shivers just thinking about it.” TA answered calmly, never taking her eyes off the chicken house.
“Fine” BSA grumbled then addressed the cottage again, “Well, we’ve sent your owner on a very special tour of this enchanted forest, guided by our very own Amazon, WW.”
** Cut shot to WW, who for some reason is up a pine tree, covered in sap and fending off angry squirrels while the witch laughs. ***
“See?” BSA asked the cottage, “They’re having a lovely time. Now’s your chance to become the house you’ve always wanted to be.”
The cottage sighed and started to sink, its chicken feet disappearing as it came to rest gently on the ground. DFL danced in, “Yeah! I win! I win! I win!”
“What do you mean YOU win?” BSA demanded as she walked into the cottage. It was my brilliant scheme.”
“Okay, so we have the house, now what?” TA entered the cottage cautiously, looking for traps hidden in the quiet, Swedish décor.
“Hmm, I don’t suppose you know any contractors that happen to live in an enchanted forest?” BSA asked her friends. The both looked at her blankly but outside the window there was a chorus of high pitched twitters.
The three friends walked over to the window and looked down, where an army of tiny pixie contractors had appeared.
“What the ..” TA muttered
“We love Extreme Home Makeover!” one yelled.
“Ty Pennington!!” another screamed before fainting.
“Where’s the bus?” a third piped up. TA tried to stomp on that one, but he dodged her easily.
“Let’s help these people out!” the little elves cried as they began swarming into the house.
“Oh Sick!” one of the little brownies had landed on DFL’s shoulder. She flicked him off, “Hey, it stole my blueprints! What are these things?” She demanded over the sudden roar of hammers, saws, and power tools.
“Contractors!” BSA clapped her hands, “They just can’t resist the lure of EHM.”
Once the dust settled and the pixies marched off (each one receiving a cookie for their work) our heroes took a tour of the new, Victorian Chicken House. There was a winding staircase, curving majestically down to a marbled foyer. Large windows lit expansive rooms causing the rich, dark wooden furniture to shine with glossy pride. The bedrooms upstairs were catered to the tastes of each of our four heroines.
“It’s lovely DFL” BSA said as she emerged from her walk-in closet, “But it’s supposed to be designed around the old witch lady. You know, the one that’s kidnapped WW?”
“Yes, but there’s been a change in plan. I’ve commandeered this house in the interest of no longer hiking around this ridiculous forest.”
“I think the witch might object and as fun as it would be to steal a walking house, we still have to get WW back.” TA pointed out helpfully.
“Perhaps we could talk her into selling it.” BSA eagerly whipped out a note pad and calculator and began scribbling furiously.
“Well whatever, but we are taking this house. It’s getting dark and Dictators don’t camp.”
So kids, do our heroes:
A: Trade the house for WW
B: Steal the house and WW
C: Attempt to buy the house after freeing WW
D: Run off and join the pixie clan
“Look” BSA explains, “I don’t think you fully understand the benefits of indoor plumbing. You wouldn’t have to put up with that obnoxious outhouse anymore. Plus when you’re all beautiful, we can have an open house and give tours. There will even be cookies! Look!” She proudly held up a platter full of chocolate chip cookies. “Who can say no to cookies?”
The cottage looked skeptical. BSA sighed, “This just isn’t the same without the bus. We need the bus!” She glared at TA.
“I’m not asking the Bag o’Stuff for a bus and neither are you. Why, it gets the shivers just thinking about it.” TA answered calmly, never taking her eyes off the chicken house.
“Fine” BSA grumbled then addressed the cottage again, “Well, we’ve sent your owner on a very special tour of this enchanted forest, guided by our very own Amazon, WW.”
** Cut shot to WW, who for some reason is up a pine tree, covered in sap and fending off angry squirrels while the witch laughs. ***
“See?” BSA asked the cottage, “They’re having a lovely time. Now’s your chance to become the house you’ve always wanted to be.”
The cottage sighed and started to sink, its chicken feet disappearing as it came to rest gently on the ground. DFL danced in, “Yeah! I win! I win! I win!”
“What do you mean YOU win?” BSA demanded as she walked into the cottage. It was my brilliant scheme.”
“Okay, so we have the house, now what?” TA entered the cottage cautiously, looking for traps hidden in the quiet, Swedish décor.
“Hmm, I don’t suppose you know any contractors that happen to live in an enchanted forest?” BSA asked her friends. The both looked at her blankly but outside the window there was a chorus of high pitched twitters.
The three friends walked over to the window and looked down, where an army of tiny pixie contractors had appeared.
“What the ..” TA muttered
“We love Extreme Home Makeover!” one yelled.
“Ty Pennington!!” another screamed before fainting.
“Where’s the bus?” a third piped up. TA tried to stomp on that one, but he dodged her easily.
“Let’s help these people out!” the little elves cried as they began swarming into the house.
“Oh Sick!” one of the little brownies had landed on DFL’s shoulder. She flicked him off, “Hey, it stole my blueprints! What are these things?” She demanded over the sudden roar of hammers, saws, and power tools.
“Contractors!” BSA clapped her hands, “They just can’t resist the lure of EHM.”
Once the dust settled and the pixies marched off (each one receiving a cookie for their work) our heroes took a tour of the new, Victorian Chicken House. There was a winding staircase, curving majestically down to a marbled foyer. Large windows lit expansive rooms causing the rich, dark wooden furniture to shine with glossy pride. The bedrooms upstairs were catered to the tastes of each of our four heroines.
“It’s lovely DFL” BSA said as she emerged from her walk-in closet, “But it’s supposed to be designed around the old witch lady. You know, the one that’s kidnapped WW?”
“Yes, but there’s been a change in plan. I’ve commandeered this house in the interest of no longer hiking around this ridiculous forest.”
“I think the witch might object and as fun as it would be to steal a walking house, we still have to get WW back.” TA pointed out helpfully.
“Perhaps we could talk her into selling it.” BSA eagerly whipped out a note pad and calculator and began scribbling furiously.
“Well whatever, but we are taking this house. It’s getting dark and Dictators don’t camp.”
So kids, do our heroes:
A: Trade the house for WW
B: Steal the house and WW
C: Attempt to buy the house after freeing WW
D: Run off and join the pixie clan
Spidey le Trois
My review got lost somewhere in the jet-lag/unpacking continuum.
Let's see: Spider-man 3
Alternate title: Mary-Jane Watson's horrible, awful, rotten, no-good, very bad day.
Seriously, nothing good happens to MJ in this movie, which is made even worse by the fact that Spidey is enjoying the height of his popularity and fame.
I thought it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. It's very much popcorn/summer fare. It's great as long as you don't think about it too much. I think it suffered because they introduced so many new characters along with trying to continue all the old characters, and as a consequence, no one's character gets a chance to develop or really shine.
Too many character my dear Mr. Raimi, too many characters.
For example, they introduce Gwen Stacey as a possible alternate love interest. Which is pretty weird this late in the game, since Peter wants to marry MJ. So anyway, Gwen Stacey is brought in, makes some awkward rescue/jealousy scenes, and survives her theaterical debut, which is more than the comic book Gwen can say.
Evil black space goo falls in a park and goes after Peter, turning him into evil Peter, who's pretty much a big jerk. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Evil Peter goes on for "I'm a bad boy" swagger down the street, and all the women give him these horrifying/pitying looks because, at the end of the day, Peter is still a nerd.
The new Goblin shows up, they fight, he gets a convenient bump on the head and becomes nice.
Sandman shows up, screws around with the origin story (WHAT?!! Don't think about it) gets turned into Sandman, fights with Spidey.
Goblin recovers form his head bump, they fight again.
Peter turns into a jerk, realizes "Hey! I'm a big jerk!" then gives up his spiffy new suit (venom) which falls onto the dweeby kid from the 70s show (Nuts I can't remember the guy's name)
Dweeby kid turns into Venom, fights Spidey.
They all have a great big fight at the end, with everyone fighting everyone else.
Somewhere in there MJ gets kidnapped/threatened a bunch of times, and Aunt May has a really long boring speech about something or other.
Spiderman's mask is constantly getting stolen, burned or ripped up, thereby allowing Tobey MacGuire to widen his eyes in horror, or sneer condenscendingly, or make a happy "Look Ice Cream!" face and other such facial shenanigans. I suppose it's hard to emote through a mask. However, it does make his whole "secret identity" thing a little hard to believe. Is there anyone at the end of the movie who doesn't know who Spidey is?
Oh yeah, Aunt May.
***I know Geo has a rebuttal for the "emote through a mask" argument, but he'll just have to post it himself. And if he doesn't. . .I win!****
So, in summary, the fight scenes are really cool, the inbetween stuff not so much. It's a fun way to spend a summer afternoon.
Let's see: Spider-man 3
Alternate title: Mary-Jane Watson's horrible, awful, rotten, no-good, very bad day.
Seriously, nothing good happens to MJ in this movie, which is made even worse by the fact that Spidey is enjoying the height of his popularity and fame.
I thought it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. It's very much popcorn/summer fare. It's great as long as you don't think about it too much. I think it suffered because they introduced so many new characters along with trying to continue all the old characters, and as a consequence, no one's character gets a chance to develop or really shine.
Too many character my dear Mr. Raimi, too many characters.
For example, they introduce Gwen Stacey as a possible alternate love interest. Which is pretty weird this late in the game, since Peter wants to marry MJ. So anyway, Gwen Stacey is brought in, makes some awkward rescue/jealousy scenes, and survives her theaterical debut, which is more than the comic book Gwen can say.
Evil black space goo falls in a park and goes after Peter, turning him into evil Peter, who's pretty much a big jerk. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Evil Peter goes on for "I'm a bad boy" swagger down the street, and all the women give him these horrifying/pitying looks because, at the end of the day, Peter is still a nerd.
The new Goblin shows up, they fight, he gets a convenient bump on the head and becomes nice.
Sandman shows up, screws around with the origin story (WHAT?!! Don't think about it) gets turned into Sandman, fights with Spidey.
Goblin recovers form his head bump, they fight again.
Peter turns into a jerk, realizes "Hey! I'm a big jerk!" then gives up his spiffy new suit (venom) which falls onto the dweeby kid from the 70s show (Nuts I can't remember the guy's name)
Dweeby kid turns into Venom, fights Spidey.
They all have a great big fight at the end, with everyone fighting everyone else.
Somewhere in there MJ gets kidnapped/threatened a bunch of times, and Aunt May has a really long boring speech about something or other.
Spiderman's mask is constantly getting stolen, burned or ripped up, thereby allowing Tobey MacGuire to widen his eyes in horror, or sneer condenscendingly, or make a happy "Look Ice Cream!" face and other such facial shenanigans. I suppose it's hard to emote through a mask. However, it does make his whole "secret identity" thing a little hard to believe. Is there anyone at the end of the movie who doesn't know who Spidey is?
Oh yeah, Aunt May.
***I know Geo has a rebuttal for the "emote through a mask" argument, but he'll just have to post it himself. And if he doesn't. . .I win!****
So, in summary, the fight scenes are really cool, the inbetween stuff not so much. It's a fun way to spend a summer afternoon.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I am awesome
I can't believe that I just spelled queue correctly in that last post. Twice in a row!! With a caffeine-withdrawal headache!!
Thoughts on Queue
Sometimes I look over my netflix queue, and I ask myself, "Is there such a thing as too much John Wayne?"
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
Just FYI
Today, I'm wearing puft sleeves.
To truly remember why this is noteworthy, I recommended reading/watching Anne of Green Gables this weekend.
What's your favorite Anne moment? I'm torn between the smashing of the slate over Gil's enormous head and when she sunk her boat playing Lady of Shallot.
To truly remember why this is noteworthy, I recommended reading/watching Anne of Green Gables this weekend.
What's your favorite Anne moment? I'm torn between the smashing of the slate over Gil's enormous head and when she sunk her boat playing Lady of Shallot.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Seattle
To celebrate the advent of my getting old and stuff, I took Friday off and went to Seattle. It was pretty cool. Seattle is a neat city. I went with The Jedi, a friend from the ward.
We went to the public market, or Pike's market. It's one enormous farmer's market, several stories high, that spans about 5 city blocks. We wandered around the shops and booths, buying various foodstuffs as we went. Foodstuffs I will now list just for Big Sis. :)
I got these wierd, soft fruitsticks from a fruitstand. They were okay. I also got a ham and cheese crepe, because I was starving for real food (it was our first stop after the plane ride) It was very good.
We found some amazing fried chicken across from a small bronze pig statue. A lady on the plane recommened it. It was right by the flinging fish stand, so she should have used that as a marker, although watching The Jedi walking up to random strangers and asking about the bronze pig in his thick Mexican accent was pretty dang funny.
The flinging fish stand looks like any other fish booth, with enormous dead fish on ice, looking up at you with their dead, googley eyes. However, when you order from the customer guy he turns around and yells the order ("Hallibut!, or as it sounded to me AALIBOOT!") back at the guy at the counter (ALLIBOOT!), who then yells at the stocker guy, (ALLIBOOT!) who then selects your order (AALIBOOOT!!) and you see this enormous silvery fish, flying gracefully through the air, it gets caught by counter guy, (AALIBOOOT!) who throws the fish to audience guy (ALLIBOOT!), who then wraps it up and hands it to the paying customer. It's hilarious.
But I digress.
We also got an enormous chocolate chip cookie, which was bigger than my two hands put together. We took it to a park (featuring a fine sampling of Seattle's crazy homeless and angry punk youth) and played cards until it was time to wander downtown and see Spiderman 3. Which was pretty good. I'll post my full review later.
Saturday we went back in and had brunch at the Space Needle. The restaurant revolves, making a full circuit every 50 minutes or so. It's moving fast enough that you get a slight vertigo sensation when you step on it and again while you take your seat. I had clam chowder (excellent) and the waiter whipped out a pepper grinder that was longer than my arm (would the Lady care for freshly ground pepper? Yes, the lady would!) Followed by a Belgian waffle with fruit, cream, and real maple syrup, with bacon and smoked sausage, followed by Bread pudding.
It was a set menu, so you get to pick one item from each category, alot like restaurant week actually.
While you eat, the restaurant revolves so you get to see the entire view of Seattle while you dine. Very pleasant.
Then we went to the sci fi museum, which didn't allow pictures (punks) so you'll just have imagine the glory that is the self destruct panel from the original Star Trek. They also had a still suit from Dune, and one of those funky voice weapon thingies (the wierding way) and a fremen knife.
After that we made our way to Pioneer Square, and took the underground Seattle tour. After a fire in the late 1800's the city rebuilt, raising the city 8-30 feet. You can still walk around the buired portions, and there are skylits in the sidewalk above, and you can see the people walking above you.
It was really cool.
We then made our way to the International District to check out a giant Asian market that was on our "Walking Seattle" map. It was a grocery store with paper lantern lights.
However, while we made our way back towards downtown we passed a store with something so awesome, you'll just have to wait for me to get home so I can post my photos. Words just won't do it justice.
We found a nice seafood restuarant (McCormick's) around 5ish. We walked in, and since it was still early there were two hostesses and several waiters lingering around the front podium. One of the guys says "Happy Cinco de Mayo, do you have a reservation." The Jedi replies "No, but I'm Mexican" in his best snooty tone. They all laughed and the guy said "well, in THAT case, you can have as much Mexican beer as you want, but I'll have to check on the table."
We got a table. I had fresh Alaskan Halibut (AALIBOOT!!) with a crushed Macadamian nut crust, served with a mango butter sauce and asparagus. Hmmm.
Sunday we flew home. Our connecting flight in Denver got delayed, so I didn't make it home til 2:30am. After an entirely too brief 4 hour nap, I got up and went to work. Not fun.
We went to the public market, or Pike's market. It's one enormous farmer's market, several stories high, that spans about 5 city blocks. We wandered around the shops and booths, buying various foodstuffs as we went. Foodstuffs I will now list just for Big Sis. :)
I got these wierd, soft fruitsticks from a fruitstand. They were okay. I also got a ham and cheese crepe, because I was starving for real food (it was our first stop after the plane ride) It was very good.
We found some amazing fried chicken across from a small bronze pig statue. A lady on the plane recommened it. It was right by the flinging fish stand, so she should have used that as a marker, although watching The Jedi walking up to random strangers and asking about the bronze pig in his thick Mexican accent was pretty dang funny.
The flinging fish stand looks like any other fish booth, with enormous dead fish on ice, looking up at you with their dead, googley eyes. However, when you order from the customer guy he turns around and yells the order ("Hallibut!, or as it sounded to me AALIBOOT!") back at the guy at the counter (ALLIBOOT!), who then yells at the stocker guy, (ALLIBOOT!) who then selects your order (AALIBOOOT!!) and you see this enormous silvery fish, flying gracefully through the air, it gets caught by counter guy, (AALIBOOOT!) who throws the fish to audience guy (ALLIBOOT!), who then wraps it up and hands it to the paying customer. It's hilarious.
But I digress.
We also got an enormous chocolate chip cookie, which was bigger than my two hands put together. We took it to a park (featuring a fine sampling of Seattle's crazy homeless and angry punk youth) and played cards until it was time to wander downtown and see Spiderman 3. Which was pretty good. I'll post my full review later.
Saturday we went back in and had brunch at the Space Needle. The restaurant revolves, making a full circuit every 50 minutes or so. It's moving fast enough that you get a slight vertigo sensation when you step on it and again while you take your seat. I had clam chowder (excellent) and the waiter whipped out a pepper grinder that was longer than my arm (would the Lady care for freshly ground pepper? Yes, the lady would!) Followed by a Belgian waffle with fruit, cream, and real maple syrup, with bacon and smoked sausage, followed by Bread pudding.
It was a set menu, so you get to pick one item from each category, alot like restaurant week actually.
While you eat, the restaurant revolves so you get to see the entire view of Seattle while you dine. Very pleasant.
Then we went to the sci fi museum, which didn't allow pictures (punks) so you'll just have imagine the glory that is the self destruct panel from the original Star Trek. They also had a still suit from Dune, and one of those funky voice weapon thingies (the wierding way) and a fremen knife.
After that we made our way to Pioneer Square, and took the underground Seattle tour. After a fire in the late 1800's the city rebuilt, raising the city 8-30 feet. You can still walk around the buired portions, and there are skylits in the sidewalk above, and you can see the people walking above you.
It was really cool.
We then made our way to the International District to check out a giant Asian market that was on our "Walking Seattle" map. It was a grocery store with paper lantern lights.
However, while we made our way back towards downtown we passed a store with something so awesome, you'll just have to wait for me to get home so I can post my photos. Words just won't do it justice.
We found a nice seafood restuarant (McCormick's) around 5ish. We walked in, and since it was still early there were two hostesses and several waiters lingering around the front podium. One of the guys says "Happy Cinco de Mayo, do you have a reservation." The Jedi replies "No, but I'm Mexican" in his best snooty tone. They all laughed and the guy said "well, in THAT case, you can have as much Mexican beer as you want, but I'll have to check on the table."
We got a table. I had fresh Alaskan Halibut (AALIBOOT!!) with a crushed Macadamian nut crust, served with a mango butter sauce and asparagus. Hmmm.
Sunday we flew home. Our connecting flight in Denver got delayed, so I didn't make it home til 2:30am. After an entirely too brief 4 hour nap, I got up and went to work. Not fun.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Heroes, now with Spoilers from the Future!
SPOILERS!!!!!
5 years later:
Nate is Hitler!! Although he turns out to be Sylar in disguise. Which is a relief, as I was actively starting to hate Nate again.
Half of Jessicki is dead, but honestly I can't remember which one.
We also learn that without Ando, Hiro turns into an anti-hero type character (ala Wolverine, or Punisher)
Hiro also had the best line of the night: "I scare me."
Boring Pyschic Guy? What a TOOL.
Mohinder: Still just as dumb and ineffective in the future, but as gone one step further down boring road by giving up his lovely pastels for the brown suit last seen in Napolean Dynamite.
Peter: Discovers his inner-Neo. Not only does he have the cool Matrix coat, but kicks butt with multi-powers.
Although BSA brought up a good point: Why does his dramatic facial scarring skip his nose? Shouldn't it crag in a manly fashion the whole way through?
So Peter is an action hero. Freezing time, blasting people left and right, and engaging in some metaphorical fire vs ice showdown with Sylar. Actually, we could have used more of this. Come on Heroes, I know you're probably saving everything for sweeps, and that you're operating on a tv budget, but there's a big fight between Sylar and Future Pete and the only part we see is Mohinder's behind (stupid) as he tries to hold a door shut? (ineffective) COME ON.
Also, I'm a little shocked that Hiro is supposed to kill Sylar. This whole time I figured Peter would be the one to stomp the brain-eating fiend.
On a totally random note: It's quite humid today. DC's two weeks of Spring are officially over.
5 years later:
Nate is Hitler!! Although he turns out to be Sylar in disguise. Which is a relief, as I was actively starting to hate Nate again.
Half of Jessicki is dead, but honestly I can't remember which one.
We also learn that without Ando, Hiro turns into an anti-hero type character (ala Wolverine, or Punisher)
Hiro also had the best line of the night: "I scare me."
Boring Pyschic Guy? What a TOOL.
Mohinder: Still just as dumb and ineffective in the future, but as gone one step further down boring road by giving up his lovely pastels for the brown suit last seen in Napolean Dynamite.
Peter: Discovers his inner-Neo. Not only does he have the cool Matrix coat, but kicks butt with multi-powers.
Although BSA brought up a good point: Why does his dramatic facial scarring skip his nose? Shouldn't it crag in a manly fashion the whole way through?
So Peter is an action hero. Freezing time, blasting people left and right, and engaging in some metaphorical fire vs ice showdown with Sylar. Actually, we could have used more of this. Come on Heroes, I know you're probably saving everything for sweeps, and that you're operating on a tv budget, but there's a big fight between Sylar and Future Pete and the only part we see is Mohinder's behind (stupid) as he tries to hold a door shut? (ineffective) COME ON.
Also, I'm a little shocked that Hiro is supposed to kill Sylar. This whole time I figured Peter would be the one to stomp the brain-eating fiend.
On a totally random note: It's quite humid today. DC's two weeks of Spring are officially over.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Welcome to the Real
Last night, BSA and I went imaginary running.
This morning, I have an actual sprained ankle.
I'm a little disturbed by this.
Could it be that my imagination has gotten so strong that it has the power to affect the very fabric of reality?
I must learn to harness this power and use it as a force for good.
Or possibly, to meet a funny Japenese geek with the ability to travel time and a cool samurai sword.
I'll have to ponder this.
Fun Note: Remember, when dealing with a sprain, the handy acronym RICE. Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. This may be a little difficult to accomplish while in business casual and in a cubical type enviroment, but office ninjas aren't daunted by such trivial challenges.
This morning, I have an actual sprained ankle.
I'm a little disturbed by this.
Could it be that my imagination has gotten so strong that it has the power to affect the very fabric of reality?
I must learn to harness this power and use it as a force for good.
Or possibly, to meet a funny Japenese geek with the ability to travel time and a cool samurai sword.
I'll have to ponder this.
Fun Note: Remember, when dealing with a sprain, the handy acronym RICE. Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. This may be a little difficult to accomplish while in business casual and in a cubical type enviroment, but office ninjas aren't daunted by such trivial challenges.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Story: The Hunt for WW, Part I
When we left off, our intrepid heroes were wandering a strange world, trying to find a way home, having lunch when WW was kidnapped my a mountain witch. The rescue option with the most votes was "set a trap with cookies."
So, are we all caught up?
Lovely.
With the cackling old woman spurring her on, WW plunged into the forest, careening off trees and smashing through brush. With a blur of movement, TA followed, leaping through the treetops as she followed them into the forest. On the ground BSA, once again in wolf form, easily kept pace with the sprinting Amazon. Occasionally, they would attack the pair, attempting to dislodge the witch without hurting their friend. The witch blocked all their attacks, laughing as she forced WW to attack her would-be rescuers.
Back in the original clearing, DFL listened to the insane cackling, battle-cries, scenery-crashing, shuriken-whistling, ancient herd yodeling, and gleeful howling that accompanied the high speed forest chase. Sighing she settled herself against a tree. In the distance, glass shattered and metal gears screamed in agony as a battle-grade10-key was destroyed. A wolf’s grief-stricken wail echoed eerily from the forest, followed by more crashings, the small concussive boom of light ordinance, and the creaking of stressed timber as several trees crashed to the ground. DFL sighed again, and relaxed back into a nice sunny spot. Running around playing in the forest really wasn’t her style. She wondered how long it would take for her teammates to get bored. Another tree groaned and crashed in the distance. Honestly, DFL mused, it was like being with a group of puppies. Literally in BSA’s case. The rumblings grew closer. Bushes near DFL’s clearing burst apart as a charming Swiss cottage with enormous chicken legs plowed through. Draperies fluttered madly and doors swung wildly as the panicked cottage raced through the clearing. Just as it was about to plunge back into the trees a small ninja attacked from above, delivering a series of powerful kicks to the roof and façade. The cottage stumbled back a few paces before casually batting TA out of the air with one swift chicken foot. TA recovered from the hit, flipping through the air to slide across the ground, feet and hands digging small trenches in the soft earth. BSA sailed over the bushes, snarling and furious she began snapping at the cottage’s heels. Desperate to get away from the angry wolf the cottage once again plowed forward crashing back into the forest with BSA leaving angry bite marks all along the back deck. Finally a winded WW ran through the large path of broken shrubbery, while the witch screeched, “You leave my house alone you filthy mutt!!” They plunged after the cottage and back into the forest.
DFL lowered her aviators and cocked an eyebrow at TA who had landed nearby.
“Having fun?” She drawled.
“The witch won’t let WW go unless we catch that stupid chicken house.” TA explained, brushing dirt off her hands. “But it’s fast and tough, and encased in magical protection.”
DFL replaced her aviators, “This is going to take all day,” she grumbled.
“Can’t you take over its mind?” TA asked, “Or make it into kindling with your dictator powers?”
Dictator frowned, “I don’t think it has a mind, and it’s moving too fast and too erratically for me to catch.”
“Right,” TA closed her eyes and began forming a complicated set of symbols with her fingers. “I’ll just have to bring it down with my ninja flame-creating powers.” She intoned.
“TA sweetie,” DFL leaned forward, “Just because we’re in a magical forest doesn’t mean you have magical ninja powers.”
“Ha! Well then you how do you explain this?!” TA closed her eyes, and then yelled “Fireball JUTSU!!” There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, TA stood in the exact same spot, hands extended dramatically.
“What was that supposed to do exactly?” DFL asked.
“There should have been a fireball” TA peevishly waved away smoke, “Dang it!”
“I think you may be watching too much anime.”
“They’re bound to start generating soon. What’s the point of being lost in a fantasy world if you don’t get flamethrower powers?” TA demanded.
“Right,” DFL responded warily, “We should probably focus on the whole rescue WW thing right now. Let’s get BSA back here and come up with some sort of plan.”
Her eyes glazed over as she sent out her mental commands. Soon, BSA came romping back into the clearing, her mouth full of ornate roof shingles. She spat them out and morphed back into her human shape, “What’s up kids? There’s a magical house that needs tearing apart.”
“We can’t tear the house apart. We need it to rescue WW.” TA pointed out.
“It destroyed my favorite ten key. It’s going down.”
“Well, obviously it doesn’t want to live with the old lady. So if we catch it and give it back, that would be an even better revenge for you.” DFL argued.
“Very well,” BSA folded her arms, “what do you propose?”
“A trap!” TA exclaimed.
“You’re a ninja. You always want to set a trap.” DFL replied.
“Besides, how do you trap a house?” BSA asked. Then she stopped. An amazing idea lit her eyes. “Oh I’ve got it. I’m about to be brilliant.” She started to laugh, TA and DFL moved back a few steps. “It’s time for Extreme Home Makeover!!” BSA yelled triumphantly.
So, are we all caught up?
Lovely.
With the cackling old woman spurring her on, WW plunged into the forest, careening off trees and smashing through brush. With a blur of movement, TA followed, leaping through the treetops as she followed them into the forest. On the ground BSA, once again in wolf form, easily kept pace with the sprinting Amazon. Occasionally, they would attack the pair, attempting to dislodge the witch without hurting their friend. The witch blocked all their attacks, laughing as she forced WW to attack her would-be rescuers.
Back in the original clearing, DFL listened to the insane cackling, battle-cries, scenery-crashing, shuriken-whistling, ancient herd yodeling, and gleeful howling that accompanied the high speed forest chase. Sighing she settled herself against a tree. In the distance, glass shattered and metal gears screamed in agony as a battle-grade10-key was destroyed. A wolf’s grief-stricken wail echoed eerily from the forest, followed by more crashings, the small concussive boom of light ordinance, and the creaking of stressed timber as several trees crashed to the ground. DFL sighed again, and relaxed back into a nice sunny spot. Running around playing in the forest really wasn’t her style. She wondered how long it would take for her teammates to get bored. Another tree groaned and crashed in the distance. Honestly, DFL mused, it was like being with a group of puppies. Literally in BSA’s case. The rumblings grew closer. Bushes near DFL’s clearing burst apart as a charming Swiss cottage with enormous chicken legs plowed through. Draperies fluttered madly and doors swung wildly as the panicked cottage raced through the clearing. Just as it was about to plunge back into the trees a small ninja attacked from above, delivering a series of powerful kicks to the roof and façade. The cottage stumbled back a few paces before casually batting TA out of the air with one swift chicken foot. TA recovered from the hit, flipping through the air to slide across the ground, feet and hands digging small trenches in the soft earth. BSA sailed over the bushes, snarling and furious she began snapping at the cottage’s heels. Desperate to get away from the angry wolf the cottage once again plowed forward crashing back into the forest with BSA leaving angry bite marks all along the back deck. Finally a winded WW ran through the large path of broken shrubbery, while the witch screeched, “You leave my house alone you filthy mutt!!” They plunged after the cottage and back into the forest.
DFL lowered her aviators and cocked an eyebrow at TA who had landed nearby.
“Having fun?” She drawled.
“The witch won’t let WW go unless we catch that stupid chicken house.” TA explained, brushing dirt off her hands. “But it’s fast and tough, and encased in magical protection.”
DFL replaced her aviators, “This is going to take all day,” she grumbled.
“Can’t you take over its mind?” TA asked, “Or make it into kindling with your dictator powers?”
Dictator frowned, “I don’t think it has a mind, and it’s moving too fast and too erratically for me to catch.”
“Right,” TA closed her eyes and began forming a complicated set of symbols with her fingers. “I’ll just have to bring it down with my ninja flame-creating powers.” She intoned.
“TA sweetie,” DFL leaned forward, “Just because we’re in a magical forest doesn’t mean you have magical ninja powers.”
“Ha! Well then you how do you explain this?!” TA closed her eyes, and then yelled “Fireball JUTSU!!” There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, TA stood in the exact same spot, hands extended dramatically.
“What was that supposed to do exactly?” DFL asked.
“There should have been a fireball” TA peevishly waved away smoke, “Dang it!”
“I think you may be watching too much anime.”
“They’re bound to start generating soon. What’s the point of being lost in a fantasy world if you don’t get flamethrower powers?” TA demanded.
“Right,” DFL responded warily, “We should probably focus on the whole rescue WW thing right now. Let’s get BSA back here and come up with some sort of plan.”
Her eyes glazed over as she sent out her mental commands. Soon, BSA came romping back into the clearing, her mouth full of ornate roof shingles. She spat them out and morphed back into her human shape, “What’s up kids? There’s a magical house that needs tearing apart.”
“We can’t tear the house apart. We need it to rescue WW.” TA pointed out.
“It destroyed my favorite ten key. It’s going down.”
“Well, obviously it doesn’t want to live with the old lady. So if we catch it and give it back, that would be an even better revenge for you.” DFL argued.
“Very well,” BSA folded her arms, “what do you propose?”
“A trap!” TA exclaimed.
“You’re a ninja. You always want to set a trap.” DFL replied.
“Besides, how do you trap a house?” BSA asked. Then she stopped. An amazing idea lit her eyes. “Oh I’ve got it. I’m about to be brilliant.” She started to laugh, TA and DFL moved back a few steps. “It’s time for Extreme Home Makeover!!” BSA yelled triumphantly.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Office Ninja Day
It's Office Ninja Day!! So be sure to properly appreciate your friendly office ninja. After all, they know the ancient secrets of the copy machine.
My dojo is appreciating us through copious amounts of food. Plus one of the Samauri that I support brought me a vase full of tulips.
I feel very appreciated. :)
What a great Wednesday.
My dojo is appreciating us through copious amounts of food. Plus one of the Samauri that I support brought me a vase full of tulips.
I feel very appreciated. :)
What a great Wednesday.
Loreena McKennitt
I went to her concert last night and it was amazing.
She played at DAR Hall (Daughters of the American Revolution) which is a suprisingly large venue. I really liked it. Spacious, with cozy, star upholstered seats, they had the lights dimmed and a light dusky mist made it seem like twilight in England.
When it started, it was just Loreena and a harp. Her voice was amazing. As the song progressed, the orchestra joined in, and they were very good as well. In every song, she played something. Harp, keyboards, accordian, or the baby grand.
What's funny is that she has this soft spoken, shy speaking voice "I traveled to a small village in China to research the um, you know, red headed mummies discovered there, and while I was there, I um, lived with a nomadic Mongolian family for awhile, and it inspired me to write this song." And then she belts out this amazing song.
Also yes, she does some pretty serious research into the Ancient nomadic Celtic Tribes.
She's a historian! Who plays the accordian!
Admit it, you want to see an Irish woman totally rocking out on an accordian. :)
Bonny Portmore gave me chills, as did The Bonny Swans, but my favorite song was The Highwayman.
Now I've been familiar with The Highwayman since Elementary, when Anne of Green Gables performed it (in the movie) and then my little sister and I looked it up in my big sister's Big Poetry Book. Plus I have LM's CDs, so I have it set to music as a ballad as well, and I have listened to it many, many times.
Yet, as she was playing it last night, I found myself holding my breath and leaning forward with tension. I also found myself wanting to yell out, "Don't go to the Inn, Highwayman, It's a trap!"
It's a trap!
And then the tot-a-lots started.
And I was like "Ohmygosh! What is Bess going to do?"
And the rational part of my brain said, "You know what she's going to do. You've heard this poem a hundred times."
And the part that was listening to the music said "But what if she doesn't do it this time!!"
Rational Brain: "The poem hasn't changed"
Music Brain: "Isn't she late??!! What if she's changed her mind??!!"
You'll be relieved to know that Bess came in right on cue, and I was able to breathe again.
Loreena played songs from all her albums. During the second half, all the lights were red, and they lowered some cool lanters, the cello sounded two long notes and the audience went wild. (It was a really good song) I love it when classical performers get their props.
She played at DAR Hall (Daughters of the American Revolution) which is a suprisingly large venue. I really liked it. Spacious, with cozy, star upholstered seats, they had the lights dimmed and a light dusky mist made it seem like twilight in England.
When it started, it was just Loreena and a harp. Her voice was amazing. As the song progressed, the orchestra joined in, and they were very good as well. In every song, she played something. Harp, keyboards, accordian, or the baby grand.
What's funny is that she has this soft spoken, shy speaking voice "I traveled to a small village in China to research the um, you know, red headed mummies discovered there, and while I was there, I um, lived with a nomadic Mongolian family for awhile, and it inspired me to write this song." And then she belts out this amazing song.
Also yes, she does some pretty serious research into the Ancient nomadic Celtic Tribes.
She's a historian! Who plays the accordian!
Admit it, you want to see an Irish woman totally rocking out on an accordian. :)
Bonny Portmore gave me chills, as did The Bonny Swans, but my favorite song was The Highwayman.
Now I've been familiar with The Highwayman since Elementary, when Anne of Green Gables performed it (in the movie) and then my little sister and I looked it up in my big sister's Big Poetry Book. Plus I have LM's CDs, so I have it set to music as a ballad as well, and I have listened to it many, many times.
Yet, as she was playing it last night, I found myself holding my breath and leaning forward with tension. I also found myself wanting to yell out, "Don't go to the Inn, Highwayman, It's a trap!"
It's a trap!
And then the tot-a-lots started.
And I was like "Ohmygosh! What is Bess going to do?"
And the rational part of my brain said, "You know what she's going to do. You've heard this poem a hundred times."
And the part that was listening to the music said "But what if she doesn't do it this time!!"
Rational Brain: "The poem hasn't changed"
Music Brain: "Isn't she late??!! What if she's changed her mind??!!"
You'll be relieved to know that Bess came in right on cue, and I was able to breathe again.
Loreena played songs from all her albums. During the second half, all the lights were red, and they lowered some cool lanters, the cello sounded two long notes and the audience went wild. (It was a really good song) I love it when classical performers get their props.
Monday, April 23, 2007
LA Pics
Hey, it's LA!
Let's see who lives here.
Coolness at the Star Wars Museum.
Vampires are cool, but not as cool as The Darkness:
Monday AMV
I'm back!! Unfortunatley, I have to work, so pictures will have to wait until later.
Meanwhile, here's an AMV featuring vampires.
Did you know Blood the last vampire is only 40 minutes long? Something to take into account when managing your netflix deliveries.
Meanwhile, here's an AMV featuring vampires.
Did you know Blood the last vampire is only 40 minutes long? Something to take into account when managing your netflix deliveries.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Amazing Race-Ninja Edition
After watching this week's episode, I'm going to have to add a Hong Kong Action Movie Tour to my list of possible vacations.
It rocked.
We started off with airport shenanigans and fighting between the teams. The Schmirna's continued to violate the cubicle boundaries of ticket agents, while the Cubans upset me by conspiring with Team Crazy to help them pull ahead of Team Frat.
Sure Eric and Danielle are annoying, but they can't touch the sheer irritation factor of The Schmirnas.
The Cubans got on the first flight and the Fast Forward, which required them to strap in while a driving stuntman flipped their car. Fun!! What a cake walk fast forward. Last season, the FF at this point of the show forced contestants to eat a plate of cow lips. Many of which still feautred teeth and bits of leftover cow mustache. Gross.
But for those coming after, they got to scale 11 stories of bamboo scaffolding while avoiding pairs of fighting ninjas!!!
Yes!!!
What a great job. Here, we're going to rig safety lines, and all you have to do is spar on bamboo scaffolding. Sweet.
And bonus points to the BQs, since one of them managed to land a kick on a nearby ninja.
The awesomeness only continued when the racers went to an old building rigged with dramatic doors. One well placed kick and doors burst from hinges while racers searched for clues.
And when The Schmirnas took a taxi all the way to Hong Kong island, and then got on the ferry going the wrong way, and they asked that girl for directions, and you could tell she was totally trying not to laugh as she politely pointed out that the island they just left was the island that they were looking for... that was nice.
And then Frat Boy went and blew it by refusing to hire a cab to follow. When they were in last place. In Hong Kong.
If I may quote Napolean Dynamite here: "Idiots!"
It rocked.
We started off with airport shenanigans and fighting between the teams. The Schmirna's continued to violate the cubicle boundaries of ticket agents, while the Cubans upset me by conspiring with Team Crazy to help them pull ahead of Team Frat.
Sure Eric and Danielle are annoying, but they can't touch the sheer irritation factor of The Schmirnas.
The Cubans got on the first flight and the Fast Forward, which required them to strap in while a driving stuntman flipped their car. Fun!! What a cake walk fast forward. Last season, the FF at this point of the show forced contestants to eat a plate of cow lips. Many of which still feautred teeth and bits of leftover cow mustache. Gross.
But for those coming after, they got to scale 11 stories of bamboo scaffolding while avoiding pairs of fighting ninjas!!!
Yes!!!
What a great job. Here, we're going to rig safety lines, and all you have to do is spar on bamboo scaffolding. Sweet.
And bonus points to the BQs, since one of them managed to land a kick on a nearby ninja.
The awesomeness only continued when the racers went to an old building rigged with dramatic doors. One well placed kick and doors burst from hinges while racers searched for clues.
And when The Schmirnas took a taxi all the way to Hong Kong island, and then got on the ferry going the wrong way, and they asked that girl for directions, and you could tell she was totally trying not to laugh as she politely pointed out that the island they just left was the island that they were looking for... that was nice.
And then Frat Boy went and blew it by refusing to hire a cab to follow. When they were in last place. In Hong Kong.
If I may quote Napolean Dynamite here: "Idiots!"
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Mad Driving Skillz
Via tvinjapan.
This clip from a Japanese tv show demonstrates the awesome parking skills necessary for my part of the world. Also, since it's baseball season, some awesome trick batting.
This clip from a Japanese tv show demonstrates the awesome parking skills necessary for my part of the world. Also, since it's baseball season, some awesome trick batting.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
More Procrastinating
Have you ever found yourself wondering, what would Wonder Woman's name be if she was a Nordic hero? After all, she did once pick up Thor's hammer.
Well, now we know.
UPDATE: Batman's Scandinavian Name:
This one was much better than the response I got for "Bruce Wayne"
| Your Scandinavian Name is: |
 |
Well, now we know.
UPDATE: Batman's Scandinavian Name:
| Your Scandinavian Name is: |
 |
This one was much better than the response I got for "Bruce Wayne"
Procrastination is an Art
Technically, I'm supposed to be working on the next bit of our story, or at least figure a way to get WW out of the clutches of an evil witch.
But I'm procrastinating, and the best procratination techniques are when you do something related to what you're supposed to be doing, but not quite.
So to post something about WW on the blog, but not the story just yet, here's WW as a winter sport.
But I'm procrastinating, and the best procratination techniques are when you do something related to what you're supposed to be doing, but not quite.
So to post something about WW on the blog, but not the story just yet, here's WW as a winter sport.
| You Are Curling |
 What you lack in athleticism, you make up for in concentration. And while curling isn't much more of a sport than bowling, you *can* win a gold medal for it! |
Ahh!!
Curse you Ticketmaster!! CURSE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
From the fiery pits, I spit at you!!
We hates tricksy Ticketmaster! We Hates them! And their overpriced, un-user-friendly ripoff.
Hates Them Precious!!
From the fiery pits, I spit at you!!
We hates tricksy Ticketmaster! We Hates them! And their overpriced, un-user-friendly ripoff.
Hates Them Precious!!
Random Thought
You know, sometimes you just have to get up in the morning, face yourself in the mirror and finally admit that you will never be able to make a decent loaf of bread.
But it's okay. Because other people can make bread, and there's a good chance that you'll find the soft, new nutty loaf in the office kitchen, along with a stick of sweet butter.
And brownies.
And oatmeal cookies.
And these little paper-thin wafer-ish sugar cookies in the shape of bunnies, eggs and little duckies.
Note to self: Don't gleefully bite the head of the sugar cookie duckie in front of more sensitive coworkers. They seem to find it disturbing.
But it's okay. Because other people can make bread, and there's a good chance that you'll find the soft, new nutty loaf in the office kitchen, along with a stick of sweet butter.
And brownies.
And oatmeal cookies.
And these little paper-thin wafer-ish sugar cookies in the shape of bunnies, eggs and little duckies.
Note to self: Don't gleefully bite the head of the sugar cookie duckie in front of more sensitive coworkers. They seem to find it disturbing.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Breaking News Alert!
Holy Buckets of Fried Greasy Chicken Bits!!!
I have just now, at this very moment, discovered an archive of fanfiction for Pirates of Dark Water.
I can't decide if I'm terribly excited or screamingly horrified at this development.
I need to focus on something a little less disturbing while I contemplate actually looking at the previously mentioned archive.
There... that's better.
I have just now, at this very moment, discovered an archive of fanfiction for Pirates of Dark Water.
I can't decide if I'm terribly excited or screamingly horrified at this development.
I need to focus on something a little less disturbing while I contemplate actually looking at the previously mentioned archive.
There... that's better.
Cheese!!
I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. Here we are, 11 days into April, and I have only just learned that April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich month.
Grilled Cheese and tomato soup is one of my all time favorite dishes. Especially since I can actually make it myself. Tonight in honor of this glorious month, I will have grilled cheese and tomato soup. And a pickle.
I find myself in a sudden state of concern about my household inventory of tomato soup.
Oh well. I'll make a grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar and a little mango/peach salsa dabbed on the inside. That's good stuff.
Via tastespotting.
Grilled Cheese and tomato soup is one of my all time favorite dishes. Especially since I can actually make it myself. Tonight in honor of this glorious month, I will have grilled cheese and tomato soup. And a pickle.
I find myself in a sudden state of concern about my household inventory of tomato soup.
Oh well. I'll make a grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar and a little mango/peach salsa dabbed on the inside. That's good stuff.
Via tastespotting.
American Idol-Latin night
This was actually pretty dang boring. Even the ick factor of Sanjaya's attempt at facial hair was dull, leaving only a mild distaste to add to my general loathing.
This little gem from The Soup is much more entertaining.
This little gem from The Soup is much more entertaining.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Amazing Race--You Sure about that Flight?
So, at the very beginning of this leg, teams had to find a flight to Kuala Lampur. The Schmirna's lucked out, finding a mystery flight that got them in 3 hours before everyone else.
How do they get so lucky!? And why didn't any of the travel agents know about this flight?
Shmirna also refused to share their computers, but then got angry when Frat guy wouldn't let them cut in line. Man, I just really don't like that team, and I'm rather sad that they are in the top 4.
Uchenna and Joyce took a huge risk with a tight connection in an attempt to get a 40 min lead on the other teams. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Dude, even the Frat guy knew that was a dumb move.
So Uchenna and Joyce missed their connection, spent a day in the Frankfurt airport, and got eliminated.
The Beauty Queens managed to pull ahead by choosing to dye cloth when all of the other teams decided to go with the searching task of biting thousands of cookies to find one with a licorice center.
The BQs also showed a bit of their evil side by yielding Team Frat and laughing about. It was this sort of evilness that made them the team you loved to hate last season. Now I want them to harness their dark beauty pageant powers and take out Team Crazy Shmirna.
"Shall we crush the competition like the insignifigant bugs they are?"
"Yes. Let them taste our wrath through the power of the yield!"
Watching Mirna try to play role model by spouting various platitudes at Malaysian children in some indiscriminate accent was gag-inducing.
The Cubans, my favorite team still in the race, were also not at their best. There was lots of bickering and whining. Not to mention they blew an entire hour dithering between the two tasks, thus coming in behind Team Frat.
How do they get so lucky!? And why didn't any of the travel agents know about this flight?
Shmirna also refused to share their computers, but then got angry when Frat guy wouldn't let them cut in line. Man, I just really don't like that team, and I'm rather sad that they are in the top 4.
Uchenna and Joyce took a huge risk with a tight connection in an attempt to get a 40 min lead on the other teams. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Dude, even the Frat guy knew that was a dumb move.
So Uchenna and Joyce missed their connection, spent a day in the Frankfurt airport, and got eliminated.
The Beauty Queens managed to pull ahead by choosing to dye cloth when all of the other teams decided to go with the searching task of biting thousands of cookies to find one with a licorice center.
The BQs also showed a bit of their evil side by yielding Team Frat and laughing about. It was this sort of evilness that made them the team you loved to hate last season. Now I want them to harness their dark beauty pageant powers and take out Team Crazy Shmirna.
"Shall we crush the competition like the insignifigant bugs they are?"
"Yes. Let them taste our wrath through the power of the yield!"
Watching Mirna try to play role model by spouting various platitudes at Malaysian children in some indiscriminate accent was gag-inducing.
The Cubans, my favorite team still in the race, were also not at their best. There was lots of bickering and whining. Not to mention they blew an entire hour dithering between the two tasks, thus coming in behind Team Frat.
Monday AMV
It's been awhile since I've posted one of these. My home computer was sick, but thanks to the Drunken Jedi, it's up and running again. What better way to celebrate a new lease on computer life than by surfing for anime music videos?
So here are the ninjas of Naruto, mixing it up.
And here's one of Avatar fight scenes. Unless, of course, it's already been pulled by Viacom for copyright violation.
So here are the ninjas of Naruto, mixing it up.
And here's one of Avatar fight scenes. Unless, of course, it's already been pulled by Viacom for copyright violation.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Weekend News
The Easter Bunny is bigger than Wonder Woman!
UPDATE:
I think the Easter Bunny could give you a run for your money WW. Look at this chilling video footage I found over at Ace's.
UPDATE:
I think the Easter Bunny could give you a run for your money WW. Look at this chilling video footage I found over at Ace's.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Breaking News Alert!
Apparently, the latest freeze in Nebraska has driven our favorite Amazon, Wonder Woman, completly mad.
She now thinks she's a Spartan.
We have to get this girl to an island!
Preferrably one really,really South from here!
An island known for its vast pumpkin production!!
Do it for the puppy!! That cute, cute stuffed puppy!
She now thinks she's a Spartan.
We have to get this girl to an island!
Preferrably one really,really South from here!
An island known for its vast pumpkin production!!
Do it for the puppy!! That cute, cute stuffed puppy!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
My Humps
The Blackeyed Peas song "My Humps" will always have a special place in my heart. When I was in England, the BBC played it constantly, and I hold it personally responsible for much of the Anti-Americanism I experienced there. Eventually though, I came to enjoy this strange soundtrack to my British experience. Britian, Fish and Chips, the Tower, and Fergie's Lady Lumps are now all forever entwined in my brain.
Which really makes Alanis Morrisette's cover all the more brilliant.
Thanks to DFL, who found this remarkable wonder.
Which really makes Alanis Morrisette's cover all the more brilliant.
Thanks to DFL, who found this remarkable wonder.
American Idol Roundup
Actually, I don't have one because I haven't seen it yet. Sorry. I'm behind on my tv watching, as this is a week of culture for moi.
I'm part of this program called Generation O. Basically, it's the Opera's attempt to replace their clientele before they all die off. So if an opera has a lot of seats open, I get an email offering tickets at half price, because I'm a "young person."
It is awesome.
Monday we saw "La fille du regiment" a light comedic opera that I thought was pretty funny, although the first half tended to drag in places. Basically, it was set in France just after WWII. A regiment found an abondend baby girl and adopted her. So basically, every man in the regiment is her father. This makes for a great song where the girl's boyfriend has to go and ask for her hand from all of her "papas" Of course, once that little hurdle has been taken care of, they find out that the girl is the long lost child of the local heiress, and she gets whisked off away from the regiment and her lover.
Since this was a comedy, in the second act after a lesson in deportment, our heroine has to be restrained from throwing herself in the orchestra pit. I don't know why this struck me as being so hilarious. But it did.
Also, in one number, a maid in the background stole the scene by dancing with her broom. I love it when the background people do that.
Yesterday, we went and saw a show by the Phildelphia Dance Company, or "Philadanco"
It was all right. I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to dance. My reaction to one of the nubmers was "oh, it's like a really elaborate game of duck, duck, goose!"
I'm part of this program called Generation O. Basically, it's the Opera's attempt to replace their clientele before they all die off. So if an opera has a lot of seats open, I get an email offering tickets at half price, because I'm a "young person."
It is awesome.
Monday we saw "La fille du regiment" a light comedic opera that I thought was pretty funny, although the first half tended to drag in places. Basically, it was set in France just after WWII. A regiment found an abondend baby girl and adopted her. So basically, every man in the regiment is her father. This makes for a great song where the girl's boyfriend has to go and ask for her hand from all of her "papas" Of course, once that little hurdle has been taken care of, they find out that the girl is the long lost child of the local heiress, and she gets whisked off away from the regiment and her lover.
Since this was a comedy, in the second act after a lesson in deportment, our heroine has to be restrained from throwing herself in the orchestra pit. I don't know why this struck me as being so hilarious. But it did.
Also, in one number, a maid in the background stole the scene by dancing with her broom. I love it when the background people do that.
Yesterday, we went and saw a show by the Phildelphia Dance Company, or "Philadanco"
It was all right. I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to dance. My reaction to one of the nubmers was "oh, it's like a really elaborate game of duck, duck, goose!"
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
American Idol- Theme?
Does anyone know what the theme was last night? I couldn't decide what it was. Disco, 70s, Gwen Stefani?
Sting?
I will kill him!
That being said, the exciting thing last night was that Gina and Phil came from behind with some amazing performances. While I missed Gina's rock entertainment, her vocals were a lot better with the ballad.
Lakisha and Mindy Doo were excellent as always, even singing disco numbers. I especially liked Mindy Doo's outfit, which looked like it could of come from the League of Superheroes.
Jordin sang "Hey Baby" and wore a tablecloth she swiped from an Italian bistro. Her vocals were good, but the song sounded wierd without all the bass and pop background stuff from the original.
Than there was Sanjaya. *shudder* He seems to have irritated Gwen Stefani and she gave us the best line of the night when she said "he chose it, so good luck for him" regarding his song choice. Closely followed by Simon's "It doesn't matter what we say." Yes, Sanjaya is so bad, that even Simon has given up.
And don't even get me started on his hair.
+ 
= Sanjaya's do.
Sting?
I will kill him!
That being said, the exciting thing last night was that Gina and Phil came from behind with some amazing performances. While I missed Gina's rock entertainment, her vocals were a lot better with the ballad.
Lakisha and Mindy Doo were excellent as always, even singing disco numbers. I especially liked Mindy Doo's outfit, which looked like it could of come from the League of Superheroes.
Jordin sang "Hey Baby" and wore a tablecloth she swiped from an Italian bistro. Her vocals were good, but the song sounded wierd without all the bass and pop background stuff from the original.
Than there was Sanjaya. *shudder* He seems to have irritated Gwen Stefani and she gave us the best line of the night when she said "he chose it, so good luck for him" regarding his song choice. Closely followed by Simon's "It doesn't matter what we say." Yes, Sanjaya is so bad, that even Simon has given up.
And don't even get me started on his hair.
+ 
= Sanjaya's do.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
300
Friday night I met a friend at the theater to see the new TMNT movie. I got there early, and since the weather has finally turned nice, sat out on a wooden bench in front of the theater to wait.
I sat back, enjoying the cool dusk air, people watching, sitting in companionable silence with the total strangers sharing my bench.
Suddenly, the theater doors opened and out strode a group of young men, I'd say 17ish, the kid in front yelled "SPARTA!!" and proceeded to tear his grey tank-top off his body. His friends cheered him on, yelling the "Oo-aa, Oo-aa" Spartan chant from the movie as they walked to the parking lot.
A moment of silence as the we few on the benches stared at each other. Finally a lady across from me says "I wonder what movie they saw?"
Everyone laughs, now we're all friends! The commentary continues:
Her guy says, "Man that movie makes people crazy. Come out tearing their clothes off, yelling and screaming"
Girl further down,"Yeah I don't want to see that movie."
Unfortunately, at this time my friend showed up and I left my bench. Even though I didn't get to continue the discussion on the merits of 300, I already knew I disagreed. Such a strong response to a movie from others makes me want to see 300, even though I know it will be way too graphic for my tastes.
Thank heavens for You Tube. Now we can all enjoy 300--PG version.
Best Line: "Tonight we dine in Heck!!"
Update: TMNT, not as bad as I thought it would be. At the end, the kid sitting next to me stood up and announced, "Leonardo is the Man!"
That pretty much sums it up for me too.
I sat back, enjoying the cool dusk air, people watching, sitting in companionable silence with the total strangers sharing my bench.
Suddenly, the theater doors opened and out strode a group of young men, I'd say 17ish, the kid in front yelled "SPARTA!!" and proceeded to tear his grey tank-top off his body. His friends cheered him on, yelling the "Oo-aa, Oo-aa" Spartan chant from the movie as they walked to the parking lot.
A moment of silence as the we few on the benches stared at each other. Finally a lady across from me says "I wonder what movie they saw?"
Everyone laughs, now we're all friends! The commentary continues:
Her guy says, "Man that movie makes people crazy. Come out tearing their clothes off, yelling and screaming"
Girl further down,"Yeah I don't want to see that movie."
Unfortunately, at this time my friend showed up and I left my bench. Even though I didn't get to continue the discussion on the merits of 300, I already knew I disagreed. Such a strong response to a movie from others makes me want to see 300, even though I know it will be way too graphic for my tastes.
Thank heavens for You Tube. Now we can all enjoy 300--PG version.
Best Line: "Tonight we dine in Heck!!"
Update: TMNT, not as bad as I thought it would be. At the end, the kid sitting next to me stood up and announced, "Leonardo is the Man!"
That pretty much sums it up for me too.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Naruto Character Test
I'm such a sucker for this stuff.
Which Naruto Character Are You?
Test by naruto - kun.com
Neji. Sweet.
Which Naruto Character Are You?
Test by naruto - kun.com
Neji. Sweet.
Amazing Race --Airport Shenanigans
Due to the amazing powers of Creepy Munchkin Luck--Team Crazy came in first.
In fact, due to some serious flight issues stranding everyone in Johannesburg, (who knew Dar Es-Salaam was such a hot ticket?) they had almost a whole day's lead, which prompted the producers to cancel their ferry due to "weather."
The fact that they showed some fluffy clouds zipping speedily across the camera to demonstrate the "bad weather" was really just icing on the cake.
Since Team Crazy were negotiating flights in South Africa, Mirna whined at the agent with an Italian accent, while Charla creepily slid under the counter and into her cubical. As an office ninja/cubical drone, my first reaction would be to defend my oh-so-limited turf. But they never do, Mirna keeps wandering into desk space and the agents keep taking it. I would pay good money to see an agent order her to stay behind the freaking counter.
I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind the counter ma'am.
So this episode had everyone scrambling for flights, with the poor suckers who actually waited in line coming in almost a full day behind the front running teams. Terri and Ian struggled with their fish puzzle and were eliminated. They didn't even seem that despondent, just really tired.
The Cubans are currently my favorite team running. With their happy go lucky attitudes and wise cracks (Yeah for Project Runway joke!) they're always fun to watch.
In fact, due to some serious flight issues stranding everyone in Johannesburg, (who knew Dar Es-Salaam was such a hot ticket?) they had almost a whole day's lead, which prompted the producers to cancel their ferry due to "weather."
The fact that they showed some fluffy clouds zipping speedily across the camera to demonstrate the "bad weather" was really just icing on the cake.
Since Team Crazy were negotiating flights in South Africa, Mirna whined at the agent with an Italian accent, while Charla creepily slid under the counter and into her cubical. As an office ninja/cubical drone, my first reaction would be to defend my oh-so-limited turf. But they never do, Mirna keeps wandering into desk space and the agents keep taking it. I would pay good money to see an agent order her to stay behind the freaking counter.
I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind the counter ma'am.
So this episode had everyone scrambling for flights, with the poor suckers who actually waited in line coming in almost a full day behind the front running teams. Terri and Ian struggled with their fish puzzle and were eliminated. They didn't even seem that despondent, just really tired.
The Cubans are currently my favorite team running. With their happy go lucky attitudes and wise cracks (Yeah for Project Runway joke!) they're always fun to watch.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
American Idol
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!! Gah! The Pain!!! Father!! The Sleeper Must Awaken!!
Many have tried to be the Next American Idol.
They tried and failed?
They tried and died.
Sorry, something about watching Sanjaya's horrible attempt at sexy made me feel like I was undergoing some viscious test of willpower. Like sticking my hand in a pain box or transmuting the water of life. I'm better now.
I guess one good thing about his performance was that it led to the insta-fame of a sobbing little girl who got more air time than say, Uchenna and Joyce on Amazing Race. She made the Washinton Post today. You go little girl. I'm guessing you're either thrilled or moritified, depending on your personality.
Let's see, the British Invasion brought us a whole lot of ballads, which means lots of Fast Forwarding.
I correctly identified Lakisha's number as a Bond song, I enjoyed Gina's rock even though her vocals aren't the greatest, and Blake was the best male vocal of the evening.
And of course, the lovely Melinda Doolittle. Entertainment Weekly has dubbed her Mindy Doo, which is lots of fun to chant at the screen. Mindy Doo! Mindy Doo!
She chose a song from Oliver! though, which is a little strange. You need to be a little more contemporary Mindy Doo. Pick a song that's getting air time on the radio, so you don't loose the kiddie vote.
Haley risked the pity vote by vamping it up. However, her inablity to sing staccatto or look anything less than perky made her rendition of "Tell him" made the whole performance rather...odd.
What did you guys think?
UPDATE: Curse you Crying Girl Tweeners!!! Curse YOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!
Many have tried to be the Next American Idol.
They tried and failed?
They tried and died.
Sorry, something about watching Sanjaya's horrible attempt at sexy made me feel like I was undergoing some viscious test of willpower. Like sticking my hand in a pain box or transmuting the water of life. I'm better now.
I guess one good thing about his performance was that it led to the insta-fame of a sobbing little girl who got more air time than say, Uchenna and Joyce on Amazing Race. She made the Washinton Post today. You go little girl. I'm guessing you're either thrilled or moritified, depending on your personality.
Let's see, the British Invasion brought us a whole lot of ballads, which means lots of Fast Forwarding.
I correctly identified Lakisha's number as a Bond song, I enjoyed Gina's rock even though her vocals aren't the greatest, and Blake was the best male vocal of the evening.
And of course, the lovely Melinda Doolittle. Entertainment Weekly has dubbed her Mindy Doo, which is lots of fun to chant at the screen. Mindy Doo! Mindy Doo!
She chose a song from Oliver! though, which is a little strange. You need to be a little more contemporary Mindy Doo. Pick a song that's getting air time on the radio, so you don't loose the kiddie vote.
Haley risked the pity vote by vamping it up. However, her inablity to sing staccatto or look anything less than perky made her rendition of "Tell him" made the whole performance rather...odd.
What did you guys think?
UPDATE: Curse you Crying Girl Tweeners!!! Curse YOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Spring!
According to my Far Side Desk Calendar, today is the first day of Spring. I feel that I should do something to welcome the new season, despite the fact that I still have to wear a heavy coat every day. Hmm, how does an office ninja celebrate the first day of Spring?
Obviously with an historical re-enactment. Now I know that 300 is the big thing right now, and were all excited about the Battle of Thermopylae, but I think we should show a little love to Pearl Harbor. Especially since that film was truly horrible.
So I present to you, The Batley Townwomen's Guild re-enactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor.
Obviously with an historical re-enactment. Now I know that 300 is the big thing right now, and were all excited about the Battle of Thermopylae, but I think we should show a little love to Pearl Harbor. Especially since that film was truly horrible.
So I present to you, The Batley Townwomen's Guild re-enactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Amazing Race: Team Crazy Pulls Ahead
ARGH!! Everytime I think Charla-Smirchna are going down, they get a lucky break and escape elimination.
Not only did they escape elimination, the managed to come in first! Now we're all doomed to listen to their self-righteous prattle as they pat themselves on the back.
They didn't even bring the crazy this week. Just more atrocious fake accents.
As for the race, the teams had to hike around a ski resort and find a clue marked with an avalache tracer.
Here the Beauty Queens once again failed to read their clue and had to go back for their tools. This is a rookie mistake and they've done it twice now. Fortunately for them, the Cubans couldn't figure out how to find their clue.
Then the racers flew to Mozambique, and used trained rats to find hidden land mines. How cool is that?! Those were some of the biggest rats I have ever seen.
As for the next challenge, I'm surprised so many of them decided to haul coal. Any task where you have to sell stuff in a market gets done really fast. I'm guessing it's easy to draw customers when you're walking around with a camera crew.
My favorite part was when the Cubans, covered in coal dust and sweat, made it to the pit stop, and one of them chased Phil around the fort, trying to give him a hug.
That made my week.
So, what do you think? Will Uchenna and Joyce make it in first? Will Team Crazy EVER go home? From the previews, it looks like frat boy and girl get kicked off a plane, so I'm guessing Team Crazy is here to stay.
Sigh.
Not only did they escape elimination, the managed to come in first! Now we're all doomed to listen to their self-righteous prattle as they pat themselves on the back.
They didn't even bring the crazy this week. Just more atrocious fake accents.
As for the race, the teams had to hike around a ski resort and find a clue marked with an avalache tracer.
Here the Beauty Queens once again failed to read their clue and had to go back for their tools. This is a rookie mistake and they've done it twice now. Fortunately for them, the Cubans couldn't figure out how to find their clue.
Then the racers flew to Mozambique, and used trained rats to find hidden land mines. How cool is that?! Those were some of the biggest rats I have ever seen.
As for the next challenge, I'm surprised so many of them decided to haul coal. Any task where you have to sell stuff in a market gets done really fast. I'm guessing it's easy to draw customers when you're walking around with a camera crew.
My favorite part was when the Cubans, covered in coal dust and sweat, made it to the pit stop, and one of them chased Phil around the fort, trying to give him a hug.
That made my week.
So, what do you think? Will Uchenna and Joyce make it in first? Will Team Crazy EVER go home? From the previews, it looks like frat boy and girl get kicked off a plane, so I'm guessing Team Crazy is here to stay.
Sigh.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
NCAA: Day 1
Let's check the scores!
Oh Weber, you got creamed.
Texas Tech has also failed me.
BYU lost?! Awesome!!
Overall I didn't do too bad. I appear to have picked 10 of them correctly.
Go me!
Oh Weber, you got creamed.
Texas Tech has also failed me.
BYU lost?! Awesome!!
Overall I didn't do too bad. I appear to have picked 10 of them correctly.
Go me!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
American Idol
Wow, just when I thought Sanjay couldn't get any worse, he perms his hair and puts on old lady earrings.
No wonder his performance led to the creation of Simon's most tortured metaphor ever.
Randy's comment about the only good part being the back up singers was hilarious.
And with all the people forgetting lyrics, (from Diana Ross songs!) there's just no reason to put Phil in the bottom three.
Come on America!! Send Sanjay home!!!
Not that I'm sad Brandon was eliminated. His constant googly-eyes and weak vocals were irritating, but he's still better than Sanjay.
Haley maintains her iron grip on the pity vote. Simon tried to break it by telling her nice things about her cringe-inducing performance, but I think she rallied by crying gratefully at the first hint of praise.
No wonder his performance led to the creation of Simon's most tortured metaphor ever.
Randy's comment about the only good part being the back up singers was hilarious.
And with all the people forgetting lyrics, (from Diana Ross songs!) there's just no reason to put Phil in the bottom three.
Come on America!! Send Sanjay home!!!
Not that I'm sad Brandon was eliminated. His constant googly-eyes and weak vocals were irritating, but he's still better than Sanjay.
Haley maintains her iron grip on the pity vote. Simon tried to break it by telling her nice things about her cringe-inducing performance, but I think she rallied by crying gratefully at the first hint of praise.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
NCAA Pool
We just got our bracket sheets handed out at work, and since I'm awfully bored I filled it out. Of course, I haven't been following college bball at all but I won't let that stop me.
Hey! There's no USU? What's up with that? I see that Weber managed to make it. Good on them. I will allow them to beat UCLA in the first round but get smashed by Pittsburg in the second.
BYU, of course, will lose in the first round. Down with the zoo!
This is kind of fun, kinda like playing the Sims.
Other than those I picked teams based on who had won more games. Unless of course, I didn't like their name or feel like spelling it all the way out. Gonzaga, George Washington, I'm looking at you...
Eventually, I end up with Kansas v. North Carolina with Kansas for the win! I thought I'd show the midwest a little love.
Hey! There's no USU? What's up with that? I see that Weber managed to make it. Good on them. I will allow them to beat UCLA in the first round but get smashed by Pittsburg in the second.
BYU, of course, will lose in the first round. Down with the zoo!
This is kind of fun, kinda like playing the Sims.
Other than those I picked teams based on who had won more games. Unless of course, I didn't like their name or feel like spelling it all the way out. Gonzaga, George Washington, I'm looking at you...
Eventually, I end up with Kansas v. North Carolina with Kansas for the win! I thought I'd show the midwest a little love.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Amazing Race: Upset!!
Wow.
I'm still in shock. In the biggest upset in Amazing Race history, Rob and Amber were beaten by Charla and Mirna I'm still in shock. In the biggest upset in Amazing Race history, Rob and Amber were beaten by Charla and Mirna (Team Crazy.)
Charla and Mirna of all people!!
Well, Charla, Mirna, and Rob's failure to spell Phillipines correctly, or follow map directions, or find his team's letter at the post office at the end of the world.
Rob was having a very bad day.
So, Rob and Amber were kinda evil, admit you giggled when they sent the Crazies on a wild goose chase. They were smart, tough, and played a decent strategy game.
They went from dominating the game to elimination. They will be missed.
Especially since this means that I will be subjected to Charla-Mirna freakouts for yet another week.
I'm still in shock. In the biggest upset in Amazing Race history, Rob and Amber were beaten by Charla and Mirna I'm still in shock. In the biggest upset in Amazing Race history, Rob and Amber were beaten by Charla and Mirna (Team Crazy.)
Charla and Mirna of all people!!
Well, Charla, Mirna, and Rob's failure to spell Phillipines correctly, or follow map directions, or find his team's letter at the post office at the end of the world.
Rob was having a very bad day.
So, Rob and Amber were kinda evil, admit you giggled when they sent the Crazies on a wild goose chase. They were smart, tough, and played a decent strategy game.
They went from dominating the game to elimination. They will be missed.
Especially since this means that I will be subjected to Charla-Mirna freakouts for yet another week.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Hockey!
I'm going to the hockey game tonight, so to help prep for the night's festivities, here's a clip from the Senators vs Sabres game on 2/22. Apparently these teams hate each other with a passion I haven't seen since Nebraskans vs Iowans. The best part however, is when the two goalies come out to fight each other. I have a weak spot for goalies.
Why, America? Why?!!
Why do you inflict yet another week of Sanjay's tortured warblings, awkward stage presence, and creepy hair on us all?
Seriously, what demographic does this guy appeal to that he keeps staying on week after week?
Pre-teens?
Grandmas?
The mafia?
Who!!!
Thank you noble fast forward button. You're all that stands between me and the horrors of Sanjay.
As for everyone else, I was a little surprised that Haley beat out Sabrina for the last girl spot. But there I blame the mechanics of the AI pity vote, which has ousted better singers for their weaker opponents before. The theory goes, the judges were mean to Haley, so people gave her a pity vote, whereas nobody voted for Sabrina, because she seemed like such a sure thing that they assumed everyone else had all ready voted for her.
It's irritating, but also an interesting example of mass psychology, so I'm cool with it.
Seriously, what demographic does this guy appeal to that he keeps staying on week after week?
Pre-teens?
Grandmas?
The mafia?
Who!!!
Thank you noble fast forward button. You're all that stands between me and the horrors of Sanjay.
As for everyone else, I was a little surprised that Haley beat out Sabrina for the last girl spot. But there I blame the mechanics of the AI pity vote, which has ousted better singers for their weaker opponents before. The theory goes, the judges were mean to Haley, so people gave her a pity vote, whereas nobody voted for Sabrina, because she seemed like such a sure thing that they assumed everyone else had all ready voted for her.
It's irritating, but also an interesting example of mass psychology, so I'm cool with it.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
LOTR in 5 seconds
Because you don't always have 12 hours to spare!
Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King
Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King
Movies for Short Attention Spans
Only 5 seconds, and Batman still rocks.
Ha ha!!
And this one of course:
Ha ha!!
And this one of course:
Sleepy...
Oh so sleeeeepy.
I only caught the first part of AI last night, but I want to thank the girl for starting out with Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker. That made me happy.
I also remember watching Heroes, which ended with everyone caught up in some dire cliffhanger only to go on haitus until the end of April.
Jerks.
Sorry, I have no recap, but here's my two cents worth of thoughts. I think Ma Petrelli is pulling strings to rival Linderman.
I can't wait to watch Peter and Sylar throw down. Yeah!! Sylar the brain eater story line has gotten old, and it's time for him to get taken down.
I only caught the first part of AI last night, but I want to thank the girl for starting out with Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker. That made me happy.
I also remember watching Heroes, which ended with everyone caught up in some dire cliffhanger only to go on haitus until the end of April.
Jerks.
Sorry, I have no recap, but here's my two cents worth of thoughts. I think Ma Petrelli is pulling strings to rival Linderman.
I can't wait to watch Peter and Sylar throw down. Yeah!! Sylar the brain eater story line has gotten old, and it's time for him to get taken down.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Drabble: Unexpected Praise
Cinder could see the remnants of magic. It twitched in thin, fuzzy cracks from all over the alley to puddle at the place of attack. The faint, ever-present movement set her teeth on edge.
“Some sort of summoning?” Cinder muttered to herself, as she studied the malignant swirling residue.
“Not bad, for a mage.” The voice dripped with disdain and a thick Spanish accent.
Cinder whirled, her power flaring around her in a protective shield of flame.
“Nice trick.” The young street punk smirked, “but mine’s better.” Her eyes flashed as an enormous striped tabby appeared behind her, growling protectively.
“Some sort of summoning?” Cinder muttered to herself, as she studied the malignant swirling residue.
“Not bad, for a mage.” The voice dripped with disdain and a thick Spanish accent.
Cinder whirled, her power flaring around her in a protective shield of flame.
“Nice trick.” The young street punk smirked, “but mine’s better.” Her eyes flashed as an enormous striped tabby appeared behind her, growling protectively.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Amazing Race: Now with Fishies
I didn't get to watch this Sunday, because I was over at my Uncle's playing Killer Bunnies where, in the highlight of the evening, I convinced a total stranger to unleash a black hole and wipe out every bunny on the board.
I didn't win the game, but is that really the point?
So I finally watched it last night, and what an exciting installment! I've now added white water rafting in Chile on my "Things to Do" list. What a gorgeous country.
So, Charla and Mirna continue in their insanity, including kidnapping some poor guy who was on his way to work, and basically held him hostage for the rest of the game. I HATE how Charla(?) talks to foreigners by affecting some horrible, unplacable accent. If they end up in Scandanavia, do you think she'll talk like the Swedish chef from the muppets?
Ve need directions, Bork! Bork!
Hopefully they won't last that long.
We also learned that apparently, many people are freaked out by flounder. I remember seeing them while snorkeling in Spain, and I thought they were cute. But then again, I have a stuffed rat named Skippy on my desk, that I also think is cute.
This is not the common office consensus. He tends to hunker down behind my far side calendar to preserve his self esteem, but I digress.
The other excitement came from the Beauty Queens, who skipped a clue, got lost, and went straight to the rafts. I thought they would be given a 30 minute wait penalty, but Phil made them go all the way back and find the missed clue.
Unfortunately, everyone else was so lost that they got the clue and made it back before anyone else found the pit stop.
What did you guys think? Are you sad that KY is gone? Did you notice David's creepy, yet brilliant smile when Mary said "If I fall out of the raft I could die!!" Given how she abuses the poor man, it's hard to blame him.
I didn't win the game, but is that really the point?
So I finally watched it last night, and what an exciting installment! I've now added white water rafting in Chile on my "Things to Do" list. What a gorgeous country.
So, Charla and Mirna continue in their insanity, including kidnapping some poor guy who was on his way to work, and basically held him hostage for the rest of the game. I HATE how Charla(?) talks to foreigners by affecting some horrible, unplacable accent. If they end up in Scandanavia, do you think she'll talk like the Swedish chef from the muppets?
Ve need directions, Bork! Bork!
Hopefully they won't last that long.
We also learned that apparently, many people are freaked out by flounder. I remember seeing them while snorkeling in Spain, and I thought they were cute. But then again, I have a stuffed rat named Skippy on my desk, that I also think is cute.
This is not the common office consensus. He tends to hunker down behind my far side calendar to preserve his self esteem, but I digress.
The other excitement came from the Beauty Queens, who skipped a clue, got lost, and went straight to the rafts. I thought they would be given a 30 minute wait penalty, but Phil made them go all the way back and find the missed clue.
Unfortunately, everyone else was so lost that they got the clue and made it back before anyone else found the pit stop.
What did you guys think? Are you sad that KY is gone? Did you notice David's creepy, yet brilliant smile when Mary said "If I fall out of the raft I could die!!" Given how she abuses the poor man, it's hard to blame him.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Drabble: Just add water
Cinder gingerly picked her way down the damp alley as she tried to investigate without actually touching anything. Once she reached the edge of the blood spatter, she stopped, concentrated, and accessed her astral vision. Her eyes clouded over as the essence of the spirit world opened them to the magic planes. Cinder gasped as a wave of terror rolled over her. Blood peeled from the ground and walls to circle her, gibbering madly as it pressed closer, drawn to her lifeforce. Cinder focused her mind, holding the blood at bay as she looked past the psychic scarring for clues.
Hey the alley's damp and it's in Seattle. So as far as I'm concerned, the water has already been added.
Hey the alley's damp and it's in Seattle. So as far as I'm concerned, the water has already been added.
Ninja Dates
Ask a ninja explains the ninja dating mythos. You know, this explains a lot about my social life.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
24-Interrogation
I know some of us were disappointed in last week's episode, mainly because it was really boring. So, since we've hit the boring middle parts, here's a clip of Jack doing what he does best.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
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