Thanksgiving Germs

Back from Thanksgiving trip to Utah. Jenny and I both have colds, yay! She started feeling bad a few days ago, me - just a bit last night, and woke up this AM with a sore throat. Need to get better before our trip to London, and it would be tough to take any sick days in the week before we're out for another week. Ugh.

I can't imagine why we're sick - plane trip, below freezing the last few days in the SLC area, around lots of kids, Jenny's mom had a cold when we got there, not-exactly-heathly holiday diet. It's a mystery.

More on the trip later, if and when I feel like expounding.

Terps B-Ball Is Back, But With an 'L'

I had to work a bit late today, so by the time I got home, I only caught the last eight minutes of the Terps' loss to Gonzaga in Maui. What I saw wasn't pretty, but according to the Post, they played pretty well against a higher-ranked team (as if the rankings mean much in November) for the first 30 minutes. The team I saw looked suspiciously like last year's team, standing around on offense, waiting for something to happen. Meanwhile, Gonzaga's players were flying around the court without the ball. With how athletic MD is, why aren't they doing more of that? The same old high post curl plays and ball reversals didn't seem to be getting it done. Where are the backdoor cuts, the screens for Mike Jones, some innovation in the offense? I think Gary's a great coach, and this team will certainly be better next month than they are right now. But these offensive sets aren't much to look at - the other team knows what Gary's version of the flex looks like by now. Now, that predictability isn't necessarily bad if executed properly, but right now I think it's making it harder for his inexperienced point guards to succeed at running the offense.

Hero, a Fanstastic (anti-) Kung-Fu Film

I'm not a big Jet Li fan by any means - I think his acting is wooden, sometimes painfully so; he's more of an action hero star than actor. So when I added Hero to our Netflix queue, it was with some reticence. My reasoning was that even Jet Li couldn't bring down a film that also featured the superb duo of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung (check out In the Mood For Love).

My fears were unfounded though, as Jet Li turns in an adequate - even occasionally good - performance, and Leung and Cheung are given roles that allow them to show off their chemistry and range. The film is beautiful in a way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was beautiful, but unlike that often-praised film that I consider one of the more overrated movies in recent memory, Hero actually has a neat storyline. Yes, the King is overplayed big-time, and comes off as a reject from a bad straight-to-video Kung-Fu movie, but otherwise, a very solid film. And why do I call it anti-Kung-Fu? See it, then I think you'll understand.

And You Thought Baseball Games Are Slow Now! Plus, the Senate to the Rescue

Wow, that title is way too long.

As you've probably heard recently, MLB upped its penalties for positive steroid tests - big-time. I won't link to the numerous articles covering this news item; if you care at all about this issue, you've already read them, if not you've stopped reading this blog entry by now. Anyway, I have a couple of observations:

1. The new testing agreement calls for testing of amphetamines in addition to steroids. Now supposedly baseball players dig amphetamines like Kate Moss digs coke, or like I dig Cheez-Its, and it's been a problem for decades now. I'm ignorant about their use in other sports, but I'd be kinda shocked if it weren't problematic in basketball and football as well. Now, if the MLB testing program is actually rigorous enough, are we going to see a huge drop in performance on the field? Are there really that many players that can hit a 95-mph fastball during the first game of a West-Coast road trip after an overnight flight from back East? And how do some of these fielders stay alert out there during 5 or 6-run innings? We may start finding out with the 2006 season.

2. Thank God for the U.S. Senate, coming to rescue MLB from itself, protecting the country's children from the tempting evils of steroids! They successfully pushed for a ban of substances that have been scientifically proven to cause harm to those who take them, and can even harm those who don't take them (see: 'roid rage). It's comforting to know that we have such an august governing body, protecting the nation's kids from such dangers. It's a good thing, though, that steroids aren't legal, and easily available to the general public at thousands of commercial establishments. It's also quite a relief that steroid manufacturers don't have lobbyists in Washington, fighting for the rights of shareholders, and contributing to political campaigns. Imagine if steroids were sold in packs of 20, or in cartons! Thankfully, we don't live in that world. So thanks again, U.S. Senate, for taking up your taxpayer-paid time to stand up as beacons of morality for the unwashed masses! We know that you did it all for the children, and we sincerely appreciate it.

Darwin & the Vatican, Best Buddies

Take that, 'intelligent' design advocates! The Church theologians have weighed in, and your anti-science nonsense has been found wanting. I never did understand why so many people read every part of the Bible so literally. Please explain, for example, who exactly was hanging out during that first week of Genesis and taking notes. Maybe the beasts and birds back then were more literate than they are now?

Fine Dining in Baltimore

For our one year anniversary, Jenny and I dined at Charleston on Saturday night. By far the most expensive meal either of us have ever eaten, but easily the best dining experience as well. So many dining experiences seem focused on a loose combination of quantity and quality - at the conclusion of the meal, one measure of satisfaction is often, "am I so full that I have trouble getting up from the table and leaving the restaurant?" It's rare that a satisfying meal is purely the result of the exquisite quality of the food, and has nothing to do with quantity. This was one of those rare moments. I sincerely doubt that there is a finer restaurant anywhere in the Baltimore area.

Halloween 2005 Photos

Jenny, in her traditional Japanese costume (w/authentic kimono!)

Me, as a garden gnome!

Scooby & Shaggy! (aka Amy & Matt)

Andrew as Shaun (of the Dead) and Liz as the Swedish Chef!

Whole Week of Stuff, Windows Hatred, and More

I just typed up this long entry about my whole week, it was a great post that was all ready to go. So I hit the publish button, and Mozilla crashes. I lose it all. I love Windows machines. They are so fucking fabulous. I need to start saving up my pennies for a PowerBook, that way I can leave all this bullshit behind. Now of course this entry won't be nearly as good, because I'm all pissed off. Hey, if Google owns Blogger, why don't they have an autosave function like they do with Gmail? They do have a 'Recover Post' option, but I'm not sure when it should be used - it didn't work this time. Still, it all goes back to those asses at Microsoft.

Eight days since the last post, but there are reasons for that. Busy last weekend, busy this past week, and now at the start of this weekend, finally getting some breathing room. Let's see, last weekend we received a house guest in the form of my furry little brother Hobbes, my parents' cat, when they left from Baltimore on a Caribbean cruise. He's doing OK, hanging out with Maya and Marty, but the last few days he've definitely been restless. I think he's ready to go home. Halloween party as Liz and Jarriel's last Saturday, I'll have photos up next post. Sunday went to a craptastic DC United playoff game; the home team played about as badly as they possibly could, very disappointing. This week at work was crazy too, since Washington was hosting WEFTEC, the water industry's biggest annual conference/exhibition.

So here I am, a Friday night at home, blogging on the shitty laptop (Jenny/Moonflower is in MC so I can't use the desktop - no, for those not into WoW, I don't have the patience to explain that tonight, sorry). Actually, other than the technical problems, it's been a relaxing evening at home, certainly nothing wrong with that. I did get some painting done earlier, I'm trying to get the dining room finished this weekend. We'll see what happens.

The original, pre-crash post included a short review of The Satanic Verses, which I finished a few days ago on the train ride home. I'll save that for a future post, I just don't feel like re-creating it right now. One more post coming up tonight, Halloween costume pics. I'll be right back...