Call me crazy, but this story about the apparently impending divorce of Orioles new starter Kris Benson from his model/"actress" wife Anna, sure seems suspicious. It's March 31st, it's right before the season begins, and Anna has never been shy about self-promotion. April Fool's, anyone?
I'm down in South Carolina, and am running in the Cooper River Bridge Run tomorrow - there are currently over 45,000 runners registered for this 10K race!!! That's an insanely big 10K race field, but according to Em & Dave this is a big Charleston area tradition. It should be fun, it will just be a crowded bridge, that's all.
I'm using Em's brand new laptop to write this entry. It's shiny.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Cashing In the Bracket
One bracket down, one to go! I already wrapped up the pool for our main office in Michigan, the earliest win ever, by anyone's recollection. And I'll win the local office pool as long as LSU doesn't win it all. Neither pool is very big, $75 payout for each, but not a bad return on a $5"investment". I don't like rooting against LSU; they and George Mason are two of the more lovable teams left in the tourney. Actually, if you can excuse UCLA's hideous brand of defensive basketball, all four teams are likable in their own way. LSU has Big Baby, UCLA is Big East basketball amongst the palm trees (well, I think that's kinda neat), Florida has the fabulous inside play of Noah and Horford, and Mason is the local team with five - five! - players from Maryland.
Quick aside about that - this is where the Terps missing on a recruit like Travis Garrison or Sterling Ledbetter hurts twice. They not only get a player who isn't very good or who doesn't improve, but they miss out on local talent that ends up going to a smaller program.
Hey, if you're in the DC area and don't have anything to do this Thursday, head to the Black Cat to see Hard-Fi. Cheap tickets, great music - unfortunately I'll miss it, so somebody please go, and tell me how much it rocked.
Quick aside about that - this is where the Terps missing on a recruit like Travis Garrison or Sterling Ledbetter hurts twice. They not only get a player who isn't very good or who doesn't improve, but they miss out on local talent that ends up going to a smaller program.
Hey, if you're in the DC area and don't have anything to do this Thursday, head to the Black Cat to see Hard-Fi. Cheap tickets, great music - unfortunately I'll miss it, so somebody please go, and tell me how much it rocked.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
What the Puck
What a brilliant title! I am so damn witty.
So I attended my first pro hockey game this past weekend, between the Capitals and the Florida Panthers. It was certainly better than I expected, although hockey is one of the few sports that I don't follow, nor have expressed any interest whatsoever in following, so "better than I expected" doesn't carry too much meaning. Yes, it's true what many people have told me in the past, hockey is much better live than on TV. Of course, you could say that about most sports, with the possible exception of football, which was seemingly made for television. This was a sloppy game though, or so it seemed to me. "Passes" went to the other side just as often as to the passing team, and most shots seemed either rushed or else too delibrate. That seems to be the philosophy in hockey, as far as I can tell; fling enough pucks at the goal, and some are bound to go in - scoring by attrition. But then again, what the hell do I know, right?
There were several women among our sizable group there that lamented the dearth of fights and bloodshed in hockey (I guess the NHL cracked down on that a few years ago?), which I don't quite understand. That's always been one of my hockey turn-offs; if the sport is that good, and the players that skilled, why do they let these thugs out onto the ice to fight a few times a game? I don't know if that's been eliminated from hockey completely, but judging by this game it has, and that can only be a good thing. Now if only the players were more skilled, or at least more consistent, than the two mediocre (at best) teams that I saw on Saturday.
So that's the final verdict from this corner: hockey, it doesn't suck completely, but it's pretty damn close. I would actually attend another game, if I didn't have to buy the ticket, and there wasn't anything better going on that night (like a good baseball, basketball, soccer, or football game on TV, for example).
So I attended my first pro hockey game this past weekend, between the Capitals and the Florida Panthers. It was certainly better than I expected, although hockey is one of the few sports that I don't follow, nor have expressed any interest whatsoever in following, so "better than I expected" doesn't carry too much meaning. Yes, it's true what many people have told me in the past, hockey is much better live than on TV. Of course, you could say that about most sports, with the possible exception of football, which was seemingly made for television. This was a sloppy game though, or so it seemed to me. "Passes" went to the other side just as often as to the passing team, and most shots seemed either rushed or else too delibrate. That seems to be the philosophy in hockey, as far as I can tell; fling enough pucks at the goal, and some are bound to go in - scoring by attrition. But then again, what the hell do I know, right?
There were several women among our sizable group there that lamented the dearth of fights and bloodshed in hockey (I guess the NHL cracked down on that a few years ago?), which I don't quite understand. That's always been one of my hockey turn-offs; if the sport is that good, and the players that skilled, why do they let these thugs out onto the ice to fight a few times a game? I don't know if that's been eliminated from hockey completely, but judging by this game it has, and that can only be a good thing. Now if only the players were more skilled, or at least more consistent, than the two mediocre (at best) teams that I saw on Saturday.
So that's the final verdict from this corner: hockey, it doesn't suck completely, but it's pretty damn close. I would actually attend another game, if I didn't have to buy the ticket, and there wasn't anything better going on that night (like a good baseball, basketball, soccer, or football game on TV, for example).
Thursday, March 16, 2006
In Heaven There Is No Beer...
...that's why we drink it here. Yes my friends, it's that magical night that only occurs once year, Saint Patrick's Day Eve. A night when beer drinkers everywhere stay up late, decorating their kegs, dusting off their collection of pint glasses, hoping that this is the year that the leprechaun sneaks in and leaves a pot o' gold or, even better, a dark ray of sunshine (a case of Guinness, people, try to stay with me please).
How often do the leprechauns actually make it to people's houses to leave their gifts? Not very, unsurprisingly - it's a busy time of year for them after all, lots of celebrating to do! They've barely recovered from that nasty month-long Christmas season nogg-induced hangover/coma by early February, and then Mardi Gras comes along (what, you think that the little dudes don't celebrate Mardi Gras? Leprechauns are Catholic, you know), then their signature holiday the month after that - it's a bit of a rough time most years. Then, even if they do make a visit, you still have to measure up; have you been a nice or a naughty drinker this year? Do you offer to buy rounds, make fun of those haughty and imperialist English whenever possible, and visit your Irish friends in the hospital? Or do you offer your friends cheap beer when they visit, confuse Ireland and Scotland, and begin beer-related discussions with the phrase, "Guinness is OK, but..."? The answers to those questions may very well determine whether the luck o' the Irish is with you tomorrow - I hope for your sake that you've represented your fellow drinkers well over the past year.
As if Saint Patrick's Day could be any more special, this year it not only falls on a Friday, but coincides with the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Maybe I'll devote an entire post in the near future to the criminality of neither Saint Patrick's Day nor the NCAA 1st round being national holidays. But for now, my bracket is kicking some serious ass! As of this writing, 11 of 12, with the late games looking decent as well. That probably means that I'll go 5 for 16 tomorrow, but hey whatever - tomorrow's for celebrating, no matter how the games end.
How often do the leprechauns actually make it to people's houses to leave their gifts? Not very, unsurprisingly - it's a busy time of year for them after all, lots of celebrating to do! They've barely recovered from that nasty month-long Christmas season nogg-induced hangover/coma by early February, and then Mardi Gras comes along (what, you think that the little dudes don't celebrate Mardi Gras? Leprechauns are Catholic, you know), then their signature holiday the month after that - it's a bit of a rough time most years. Then, even if they do make a visit, you still have to measure up; have you been a nice or a naughty drinker this year? Do you offer to buy rounds, make fun of those haughty and imperialist English whenever possible, and visit your Irish friends in the hospital? Or do you offer your friends cheap beer when they visit, confuse Ireland and Scotland, and begin beer-related discussions with the phrase, "Guinness is OK, but..."? The answers to those questions may very well determine whether the luck o' the Irish is with you tomorrow - I hope for your sake that you've represented your fellow drinkers well over the past year.
As if Saint Patrick's Day could be any more special, this year it not only falls on a Friday, but coincides with the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Maybe I'll devote an entire post in the near future to the criminality of neither Saint Patrick's Day nor the NCAA 1st round being national holidays. But for now, my bracket is kicking some serious ass! As of this writing, 11 of 12, with the late games looking decent as well. That probably means that I'll go 5 for 16 tomorrow, but hey whatever - tomorrow's for celebrating, no matter how the games end.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Falling Behind, Night Watch
Where have the posts gone? Well first off, I can't remember the last time I was this busy at work, so that certainly doesn't help. When I'm staring at a screen for 9+ hours every day (trying to get a simulation calibrated), I just don't feel like coming home and writing even the shortest entry. The other factor is, there hasn't been that much going on, that I've felt suitably inspired to write about. Let's see, I had back to back commutes this past week where I sat on the train next to two foul-smelling men - first, it was a guy who had every communication device known to man, but seemed to forget that communication can be olfactory as well, and thus deodorant should have been part of his arsenal of devices. Then the next day, it was the two packs a day smoker, who also snored! Talk about a winner.
Speaking of winners, that excludes the Terps, who are out of the NCAAs for a second year in a row after providing their own special brand of stench in a loss to Boston College a few nights ago. Maybe next year, who knows?
Jenny and I went to the cinema last night and saw Night Watch, a Russian sci-fi film and part one of a trilogy, that was more popular than Lord of the Rings in Russia. According to the Wikipedia entry, it diverges a great deal from the book that it's based on, but I could have told you that just by watching the movie - it was very...uneven. The sub-plot that the main plot has to work around is ridiculous and full of holes, the characters have some fantastic powers that you barely get a glimpse of, and one of the neat concepts that the film introduces, the Gloom, barely gets explored - a book with that many problems never would have been made into a movie. Even with that list of complaints though, I would still recommend it, especially if you're a fan of innovative filmmaking, or of that whole 'cosmic struggle between good and evil' schtick. Even the subtitles are cool (you'll have to see them for yourself, it's hard to describe). Wikipedia also says that the third movie - the second has already been released in Russia - will be made in the U.S., with an English-speaking cast. That would be a shame, because these actors were very good, and the 'look' of the all-Russian cast really meshed with the look of the film. Besides, the special effects were awesome, and with a film budget of only $4.2 million. What do you wanna bet that Hollywood will surely screw it up by over-doing the FX and casting Keanu Reeves in the lead?
Speaking of winners, that excludes the Terps, who are out of the NCAAs for a second year in a row after providing their own special brand of stench in a loss to Boston College a few nights ago. Maybe next year, who knows?
Jenny and I went to the cinema last night and saw Night Watch, a Russian sci-fi film and part one of a trilogy, that was more popular than Lord of the Rings in Russia. According to the Wikipedia entry, it diverges a great deal from the book that it's based on, but I could have told you that just by watching the movie - it was very...uneven. The sub-plot that the main plot has to work around is ridiculous and full of holes, the characters have some fantastic powers that you barely get a glimpse of, and one of the neat concepts that the film introduces, the Gloom, barely gets explored - a book with that many problems never would have been made into a movie. Even with that list of complaints though, I would still recommend it, especially if you're a fan of innovative filmmaking, or of that whole 'cosmic struggle between good and evil' schtick. Even the subtitles are cool (you'll have to see them for yourself, it's hard to describe). Wikipedia also says that the third movie - the second has already been released in Russia - will be made in the U.S., with an English-speaking cast. That would be a shame, because these actors were very good, and the 'look' of the all-Russian cast really meshed with the look of the film. Besides, the special effects were awesome, and with a film budget of only $4.2 million. What do you wanna bet that Hollywood will surely screw it up by over-doing the FX and casting Keanu Reeves in the lead?
Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Very Definition....
...of the word schadenfreude. On Redick's and Williams' Senior Night, no less! Anyone who's interested in sending Roy Williams or Tyler Hansbrough a fruit basket, or maybe a nice selection of assorted cheeses, let me know, I'll chip in.
Haven't been posting much lately, mainly because I've been very busy at the office, and the last thing I want to do most nights is come home and cozy up to the mouse and keyboard some more. So here's a quick run-down since my last post:
Jenny and I saw Brokeback Mountain last weekend - it's the only Best Picture nominee we've seen this year, but all the same I'd be quite surprised if it didn't win. Before we went to see it, we hadn't been to the movies in about three months. Netflix is both a blessing and a curse, I suppose; we end up seeing so many great old films that we wouldn't otherwise see, but we miss out on some fantastic newer movies for a while, especially if we don't add them to the queue right after they're released to DVD. For example, we just saw Ray the other night. This year's Oscar nominees are somewhat rare for me, in that they're all movies that I'd like to see (eventually). Some years, not a one interests me in the least. Throw in films that didn't get the top nomination but got a lot of good press, like Walk The Line, Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, and A History of Violence, and it's certainly a "deep field" this year.
Get this - I received a letter this week from the MVA, stating that my license is in danger of being suspended because of some administrative action in Virginia, where I last lived almost six years ago. What a joke. So after 45 minutes on the phone with various mindless VA DMV bureaucrats (I know, redundancy), who gave me two wrong phone numbers for the insurance verification office, I was able to straighten it out. See, I had moved from Virginia in September 2000, and had all my MD licensing, registration, inspection, and titling done by December 2000. Virginia evidently tried to verify that I was an insured driver in October 2001, and then it took them four-plus years to take further action? Nevermind that it's a non-issue, that it's irrelevant whether I was insured in VA in 20001, because this is 2006. What, are they going to go back in time and suspend my non-existent 2001 VA license? Excuse my language, but what a bunch of fucking morons. It's too bad that I have to drive through that shitty state in order to get to the Carolina beaches or visit my sister in Charleston SC, because I'd much rather avoid it entirely. I did get it straightened out (I think), and they're supposed to mail me a letter that I then send to the MD MVA, which states that the matter has been resolved. But I'm unfortunately a bit dumber, having been forced to spend all that time on the phone with the idiot state employees in Richmond.
Haven't been posting much lately, mainly because I've been very busy at the office, and the last thing I want to do most nights is come home and cozy up to the mouse and keyboard some more. So here's a quick run-down since my last post:
Jenny and I saw Brokeback Mountain last weekend - it's the only Best Picture nominee we've seen this year, but all the same I'd be quite surprised if it didn't win. Before we went to see it, we hadn't been to the movies in about three months. Netflix is both a blessing and a curse, I suppose; we end up seeing so many great old films that we wouldn't otherwise see, but we miss out on some fantastic newer movies for a while, especially if we don't add them to the queue right after they're released to DVD. For example, we just saw Ray the other night. This year's Oscar nominees are somewhat rare for me, in that they're all movies that I'd like to see (eventually). Some years, not a one interests me in the least. Throw in films that didn't get the top nomination but got a lot of good press, like Walk The Line, Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, and A History of Violence, and it's certainly a "deep field" this year.
Get this - I received a letter this week from the MVA, stating that my license is in danger of being suspended because of some administrative action in Virginia, where I last lived almost six years ago. What a joke. So after 45 minutes on the phone with various mindless VA DMV bureaucrats (I know, redundancy), who gave me two wrong phone numbers for the insurance verification office, I was able to straighten it out. See, I had moved from Virginia in September 2000, and had all my MD licensing, registration, inspection, and titling done by December 2000. Virginia evidently tried to verify that I was an insured driver in October 2001, and then it took them four-plus years to take further action? Nevermind that it's a non-issue, that it's irrelevant whether I was insured in VA in 20001, because this is 2006. What, are they going to go back in time and suspend my non-existent 2001 VA license? Excuse my language, but what a bunch of fucking morons. It's too bad that I have to drive through that shitty state in order to get to the Carolina beaches or visit my sister in Charleston SC, because I'd much rather avoid it entirely. I did get it straightened out (I think), and they're supposed to mail me a letter that I then send to the MD MVA, which states that the matter has been resolved. But I'm unfortunately a bit dumber, having been forced to spend all that time on the phone with the idiot state employees in Richmond.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
College All-Americans, Pro Benchwarmers
Of course, that refers to the NBA players from the Team Whose Name Is Not Spoken On This Blog. This is a great Sprots Illustrated piece, many thanks to Jay Dip for the link.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Vernon Davis, Impressive at Combine
One of Terrapin football's few bright spots this past season, tight end Vernon Davis, kicked some ass at the NFL scouting combine this week (no surprise to MD fans who watched him the past few years). So at least Terps players are doing well, even if the team hasn't been so hot the past few seasons.
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