Netflix Questions

In another attempt to join the 21st century, we are thinking about subscribing to Netflix. According to the Netflix website, the service is greatest thing since sliced bread. (Actually, the website proclaims Netflix as "The BEST Way To Rent Movies.") So today’s questions are all about Netflix. If you have/had Netflix, is it worth it? What type of plan do you have? Is Blockbuster better than Netflix? Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.

Thank you!

Grocery Store Challenge: Last Call

The "Does Wegmans Rule?" Experiment ends on June 30, and we are still looking for more participants. All that is required is going to a grocery store near you, pricing several items, and sending the results to me and lacochran. I’ll make it even easier for you. Instead of asking you to send an e-mail and then waiting for me to reply with the checklist, I’ve included the checklist in the comments section. While you will not receive the neat badge (pictured to your right and created by Swapping Tales), this will save a step, and show you how easy this experiment really is. Although we would still prefer if you send the results by e-mail to seanramblings(at)yahoo.com and/or lacochran(at)hotmail.com, if you really, really want to, you can post your results in the comments.

Have fun!

News & Notes

Am I only one entertained by the recent dispute playing out in the pages of the Express? Almost everyday, the "Look Out People" section, which posts news/information about somewhat famous people, features a two-line story about Amy Winehouse. Twice in the past few days, a letter to the editor asks Express to stop with the Winehouse stuff. In response, Express featured another snippet about Winehouse on Wednesday. Personally, I don’t understand why people are so upset about the Winehouse coverage. If you don’t want to read anything about this train-wreck, turn the page and read the Blog Log, Pearls Before Swine or play Sudoku!

Thanks to everyone for providing their votes and comments about attending a game at Yankee Stadium. Please keep them coming, although at this point, I’m probably leaning towards visiting New York.

The Naked Cowboy is suing Mars Inc., the maker of M&Ms. Is Edgar Snyder on the case? (Call 391-2101; 391-2101! I will remember this phone number – even if it is not current anymore – for the rest of my life.)



I received an e-mail from Brandon who created an online petition trying to convince Marian Hossa to stay in Pittsburgh. Although I would love Hossa to return to the Penguins, it appears that money is more important to him than trying to win a Stanley Cup. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but unless everyone who signs the petition also pledges to give Hossa $5, I don’t know how much this will help. Good luck to Brandon anyway.

Finally, I have a new friend on Facebook…her name is LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg. In honor of this historic event, here’s another picture of her.



However, if she is going to continue to be my favorite LPGA golfer, she may have to do a bit better on the course. Blasberg finished last (of those who made this cut) in this past weekend’s Wegmans LPGA tournament.

Yankee Stadium Poll

2008 marks the final season that the New York Yankees play at Yankee Stadium. "The House That Ruth Built" opened in 1923 and is the third oldest stadium in baseball behind only Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. No baseball field has hosted more World Series games and some of the greats such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson and Roger Maris called Yankee Stadium home.

Although I have attended baseball games at over a dozen stadiums, Yankee Stadium is not one of them. I think there is an expectation from passionate baseball fans that I should attend a game at Yankee Stadium before it closes at the end of the season. However, with limited time available to attend a weekend game over the next few months (it is doubtful that I would be able to take time off from work to go during the week) and the high cost of tickets, I am questioning whether or not I should try to go. In addition, in his book "God Save the Fan," Deadspin’s Will Leitch wrote, "As far as I’m concerned, there’s not a stadium in all of sports that’s a less enjoyable place to watch a sporting event than Yankee Stadium." (There’s more about this at River Ave. Blues.) That’s not exactly a glowing recommendation.

Therefore, I put the decision in your hands. Please take the poll on the right side of the page and add any comments below.


If you think that this post was just an opportunity for me to use the poll feature, you would be partially correct.

Athletes Websites

Have you ever wondered what your favorite athletes do when off the playing field? Well, many of them have websites that provide small glimpses into their lives. While most sports fans know about the blogs/websites of the Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, here are a few sites that you may not have discovered:

On Dolphins’ running back Ronnie Brown’s website, you can take a poll to see which team will win Super Bowl XLII: the New York Giants or New England Patriots. The Patriots are huge favorites, so I don’t see how they could lose.

Although he’s not a current player or manager, Tommy Lasorda writes frequently on his website, including an entry last week in which he proudly writes about earning Best in Class at the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition's inaugural Wine World of Sports, which pitted sports celebrities' vintages against each other. Lasorda’s Pinot Grigio (I never thought I would write those three words together) defeated wines by John Daly, Greg Norman, Wayne Gretzky, and the Andretti Winery.

In the latest news on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Rick Nash’s website, Nash won the gold and tournament MVP at the World Championships. Um, the 2007 World Championships.

Did you know that former Steeler Kendrell Bell was still a Kansas City Chief? According to his website he is; however, according to the Kansas City Chiefs’ website, not so much.

Face Me Ike, better known as Steeler cornerback Ike Taylor, is hosting his fourth annual football camp this Friday in his hometown of New Orleans. There is no punch line here; just thought you would like to know.

The top of Adam Archuleta’s website features pictures of him as a St. Louis Ram. This would be fine except he hasn’t been a member of that team since 2005. I guess the header “safety for the Chicago Bears” is supposed to clear everything up.

I have a new (OK, my first ever) favorite LGPA golfer, Erica Blasberg.



Just in time for Wimbledon, Andy Roddick provides, well nothing on either his website of Facebook page.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the blogs and websites of professional athletes. If you know of other websites of professional athletes, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Happy Weekend

Today is Friday (or Saturday or Sunday depending on when you are reading this) and you are likely getting ready for the weekend. Does your weekend plans include a trip to the grocery store? If so, why not price a few extra items during your excursion and share your experiences with others? It’s so easy, a caveman can do it (or something like that)! We’ve had several people express interest thus far and have even received two completed checklists. More information is below, but all you need to do is send us an e-mail, and we’ll provide you a checklist with the items to price and a special badge you can wear (wearing the badge is optional).

Friday Fun Link

Enter zip codes to see U.S. Census data for your neighborhood and beyond.

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Pahoa, Hawaii (96778) is only 11.8% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander?


From Have a Good Sandwich via Scribbled Noise.

The End of Israeli Baseball?

It’s a sad day. Actually, it was a sad day several weeks ago when Haim Katz, president of the Israel Association of Baseball, told The Jerusalem Post that the Israel Baseball League has been cancelled for 2008 and its future is in jeopardy. I just learned about this recently through Walk Off Walk.

Anyway, there seems to be a disconnect between the Israel Baseball League and its website. The IBL website still has a countdown to opening day featuring a rematch of last year’s championship game between the Modi'in Miracle and the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox on June 29, 2008. I hope that they are not still selling tickets! (Update: When I originally drafted this post, the countdown was active; it is not anymore.)

I was actually very excited about the league and briefly wrote about it last year. Although it was essentially another minor league, the fact that it started from scratch and included players from all over the world was unique. It seems that the league was more than just a gimmick based on the fact that last season’s co-MVP, Eladio Rodriguez, was playing at the New York Yankees’ AAA team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, although it now appears that he’s back at AA Trenton.

As a side note, I also just learned that there was a movie made about the league called "Holy Land Hardball." The film debuts at the Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival on Thursday in Silver Spring (unfortunately, the screening takes place at 4:00pm; there’s a second screening Sunday, June 22 at 10:15am.) You can also read more about the making of the movie though Express’ interview with the filmmakers. Of course, you may want to disregard this portion of the interview (that disconnect thing again):

» EXPRESS: I saw on the Israeli league site that it looks like they will try a second season after all. Are you surprised able to get it going again and do you think it will be long-term success?

» KESTEN: That's a very hard question to answer. We're not privy to everything going on from business sense of the league. It's not easy. Stripping baseball away, it's a start-up business that's taking place 3,000 miles away from everyone's home base. They weren't expecting to take the country by storm; they knew it would be a long process getting Israelis interested.

» RAPKIN: We know they can get players over there from all over the world. The quality of the league went far beyond what Larry originally envisioned. Originally, you would have found a lot of players you saw in the first tryout who were mostly American Jewish kids who would love to spend summer in Israel and had some reasonable baseball skills. When Dan Duquette got involved, it became very much about finding the best players who they could convince to play for $2,000 in Israel for the summer. Having fields to play on is the real challenge. It's about raising money.

Finally, I found a great blog dedicated to Baseball in Israel.

Update 6/19: Possibly inspired by reading Sean's Ramblings, the Israeli Baseball League decided that the season must go on. But it's not a done deal yet.

The "Does Wegmans Rule?" Experiment

I enjoy going to grocery stores. I think this may be some type of family disorder or just in our genes or both. Whenever we went on a family vacation, my dad would take us to the local grocery store to take a look around to compare the stores to those in Pittsburgh. He would also search for Hamburger Helper’s Rice Oriental. During our April vacation in Seattle, we went to Uwajimaya, one of the largest Asian grocery retailers in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, one of the highlights of our Alaskan cruise four years ago was stopping into a small grocery store in Skagway. (They also sold Hamburger Helper’s Rice Oriental.) Based on my lifetime experience of visiting grocery stores, I feel like I am qualified (at least in my mind) to state that Wegmans is the greatest grocery store of all time.

Last week, Lacochran’s Bloggery, which has become one of my favorite daily reads, wrote a post about a rather interesting experience she had at her local Shopper’s supermarket. Almost completely unrelated to the point of the post, she claimed that the prices of Shoppers are much less than Wegmans. Besides the excellent food options, selection and customer service, one of the reasons I like Wegmans is the competitive prices. Therefore, I proposed a challenge and Lacochran ran with it.


So, here's the thing.

Sean's Ramblings and Lacochran's Bloggery are teaming up for an experiment. And we need a few volunteers. This involves no mandatory pill popping or small cups of bodily fluids. Where we are particularly interested in getting info from the DC metro area, we will take input from all over the country or, what the heck, the world (as long as you figure out the drachma to dollar conversions, or whatever.)

Just the FAQs:

Q: What is this?

A: We're asking for volunteers (read: you) to take a simple checklist, that we will provide you, to a store, fill it out, and then send it to us at lacochran(at)hotmail.com and seanramblings(at)yahoo.com. You do not need to buy the very short list of items, just price them (pre-tax) and answer a few other non-personal questions.

Q: Why?

A: We were bored? It's either a very scientific way to see how the glossy new Wegmans stacks up against the existing chains or it's a chance to flex your creative muscles in the short answer part of the form. Or both.

Q: What's in it for me?

A: By joining in the experiment you will get a free badge that reads: "I'm a super secret blog experiment shopper. Give me free stuff!" If you wear it, all kinds of free stuff might or might not come your way.

Q: How do I get included in this elite group?

A: Send an e-mail to either seanramblings(at)yahoo.com or lacochran(at)hotmail.com or both saying you want in. We'll send you the easy-peasy, one-page checklist (that you can print out multiple times for multiple stores) and your cool badge, which you can print, trim, and tape onto your Dukakis for president button. Hey, you weren't doing anything with it anyway. If you know what store you will likely be doing your secret shopper dealy at, let us know that, too.

Q: When do I start?

A: My, you are the eager beaver. Settle down there, Sport. There's no extra credit for enthusiasm but we do like your spunk. Wait, no bodily fluids in this experiment. Never mind. You can start once you receive your checklist and badge. Send your results to lacochran(at)hotmail.com and seanramblings(at)yahoo.com (if you send it to both of us you have a much better shot of at least one of us not losing it) no later than June 30, 2008.

Q: When will we see the results?

A: Sean and LA will pore over every tabulation and hanging chad until we have a definitive answer or we've had enough. Then we'll post the results. Also, particularly clever answers will be featured on one or both blogs.

Q: What else do I need to know?

A: Don't eat yellow snow.

John Rambo vs. Jason Bourne

Here’s an extremely important question to start your week: Who would win in a fight between John Rambo and Jason Bourne? Let’s go to the tale of the tape:

John Rambo



• Green Beret
• Vietnam War Veteran
• Skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and guerrilla warfare
• Awarded Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star among honors
• Disliked by Brian Dennehy
• Partnered with Estelle Getty in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
• Likely took human growth hormone (HGH)
• Married and divorced Brigitte Nielsen
• Played outfield and first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the late 80s.

Jason Bourne


• Army Special Forces Captain
• Part of a secret CIA black-ops program
• Highly adept at hand-to-hand combat and also shows an immediate ability to utilize lateral thinking to solve problems. (ex. used a pen to stab an assassin and a book and towel as defense.)
• Seems to run into Julia Stiles fairly frequently
• “Fucking Sara Silverman”
• Stuck to Greg Kinnear
• Probably did not take HGH

To be fair, let’s assume that Rambo and Bourne are both the same age during this fight. In addition, there are no weapons involved; simply hand-to-hand combat. So who would win? Make your selection in the comments and feel free to explain your answer.

Friday Quiz

To start your weekend, take the Independence Day quiz made up of 30 questions, 20 of which are found on the actual United States citizenship test. The last ten questions are a bit harder, and according to the site, "a score of around 24 out of 30 is considered a passing grade." (What does around mean? Can you pass with a 22 or 23?)

I scored a 23, which does not seem very good, but is better than the average score of any individual state.

Take the quiz and feel free to share your results.

Greg Lloyd Will Watch the Steelers-Browns Game at Your House

As part of the DC Steeler Nation listserv, I received an e-mail on Wednesday with the following offer, which is currently listed on eBay:

THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE THAT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!!! GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE TO WATCH THE STEELERS DESTROY THE BROWNS SEPTEMBER 14TH 2008!!! PLEASE READ ALL THE DETAILS BELOW OR CALL US AT 864-517-7799 WITH ANY QUESTIONS.



WHERE AT: YOUR HOUSE ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES. IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT STATE YOUR IN JUST AS LONG AS ITS IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY DONT CALL IT "STEELER NATION" FOR NO REASON! WE ARE EVERYWHERE!! HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!

Does that mean that Toronto or Montreal is out even though they are much closer to where Lloyd lives (I believe near Atlanta according to a recent PSAMP post) then say Walla Walla, Washington?

WHEN: 8:15 PM KICKOFF STEELERS VS BROWNS SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Please stop with the CAPS!

DETAILS:

GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE GAME WITH YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS. ITS A SIMPLE AS THAT. WE MAKE ALL THE ARRANGMENTS FOR GREG TO ARRIVE IN YOUR CITY AND TO YOUR HOUSE. JUST LIKE THE DIRECT TV NFL SUNDAY SEASON TICKET COMMERICAL WITH PEYTON MANNING SHOWING UP IN SOME GUYS LIVING ROOM, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR YOU.IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT IDEA FOR YOUR HUSBAND, KIDS OR A CLOSE FRIEND. WANNA IMPRESS YOUR BOSS?? INVITE HIM OVER TOO?

Yes, just like Peyton Manning on the commercial.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: SO WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS WHOLE DEAL??

A: GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE FOR THE GAME. HE WILL BE THERE BY KICKOFF AND LEAVE WHEN THE GAME IS OVER.YOU WILL ALSO RECIVE A GREG LLOYD FAN PACKAGE THAT WILL INCLUDE A AUTHENTIC JERSEY, 2 16x20 PHOTOS, 2 8x10 PHOTOS AND A MINI HELMET ALL SIGNED BY YOURS TRULEY GREG LLOYD.

I have never claimed to be a master of the English language, but it’s OK to use spell-check. Recive? Truley?

Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I INVITE? IS THERE A LIMIT?

A:YOU MAY HAVE UP TO 25 PEOPLE THERE.THE LESS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE THERE THE BETTER FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU WILL GET A BETTER EXPERIENCE WITH A SMALLER AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THERE.YOU ONLY WANT TO INVITE YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS AND DONT WANT TO RISK SOME STRANGER MESSING UP THIS WHOLE THING. GREG LOVES TO TALK AND WHO ELSE HAS BETTER "WAR" STORIES THEN GREG WHEN IT COMES TO STEELERS FOOTBALL AND THE STEELERS BROWNS RIVALY

James Harrison may have better stories about the time he tackled the Browns fan. Bill Cowher and Joey Porter probably have some good tales too.



Q: WILL GREG BE BRINGING ANYBODY WITH HIM?

A: YES GREG WILL HAVE ONE OR 2 PEOPLE WITH HIM

Any chance he’ll bring fellow linebacker Jerry Olsavsky. What’s Joel Steed up to these days? Does he accompany Greg on these visits?

Q: WILL YOU BE SUPPLYING FOOD FOR THIS OR BEVERAGES?

A: NO THAT IS YOUR CHOICE IF YOU WANT FOOD, SNACKS ETC YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY THAT YOURSELF.

If you want food? You better have food if you’re going to have a party of 25 people plus Greg Lloyd and possibly Jerry Olsavsky and/or Joel Steed.

Q: ARE WE ALLOWED TO DRINK ALCOHOL?

A: YES HOWEVER WE ASK THIS IF YOU DO DRINK ADULT BEVERAGES THAT EVERYONE THERE STAYS SOBBER. WE WILL NOT TOLERATE DRUNKEN BEHAVIOR.THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE YOU BRING AT A LIMITED AMOUNT AND DO NOT ALLOW FRIENDS TO BRING FRIENDS ETC ETC. IF GREG LLOYD FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE AT ANY TIME HE MAY GET UP AND LEAVE AND THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS GIVEN.WE SIMPLY ASK THAT YOU BEEN RESPECTFUL AT ALL TIMES.

C’mon Greg. If Ben Roethlisberger came to the party, there would definitely be many adult beverages.



Q: I WANT TO DO THIS IN A SUPRISE WAY FOR A GIFT TO MY HUSBAND, KIDS, FRIEND ETC. CAN YOU MAKE THIS A SUPRISE OR SOME TYPE OF SPECIAL REQUEST

A: SURE WE CAN. YOU WANT US TO SNEAK HIM IN THE BACK DOOR? HAVE HIM RING YOUR DOORBELL AND YOUR HUSBAND GO TO THE DOOR HAVING NO CLUE GREG IS COMING? WE CAN HANDLE ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS TO MAKE THIS A TRUE ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

This is my favorite part. To quote Jon on of the DC Steeler Nation:

Husband: "Honey, there's a very large man outside on our patio that looks like he could rip our hearts out and feed them to his children."

Wife: "It's ok dear, I won him in an online auction."

You can “Buy It Now” to have Greg Lloyd sit on your couch for the low price of $10,000. Otherwise, make your best offer. The auction expires in 28 days, so get your bid in quickly!

More Metro Problems

For the third time in a week, Metro’s orange line was a mess during the evening commute. According to Metro’s press release (which was not online when I left the office at 5:00), the cause was a

heat “kink” in the rails that was discovered at 3:15 p.m. between the East Falls Church and Ballston Metrorail stations. A heat kink is a bend in the rails due to high temperatures.

A heat kink?!? Kink is now a technical term?

The release says continues by stating that trains are currently sharing a single track and that passengers should expect delays of 30 minutes or more. Shuttle buses are also available.

Here was my commute home. I arrived at the Court House station at 5:00; waited for a few minutes for a train; boarded train; stood on train that did not leave the station for five minutes before hearing announcement that shuttle buses would take passengers from Ballston to the four remaining stops; exited the train to see when the next train was going towards DC (the opposite direction for me); saw that nothing was happening; exited Court House station; took Arlington bus to Rosslyn station; took blue line train to Pentagon; took bus to the park and ride; drove home. Total time: 1 hour and 45 minutes, although I was moving for much of the commute.

As shown above, at some point, Metro went from only shuttle buses to buses and a single track. It’s entirely possible that they were single-tracking the entire time, but after last week’s experience, as soon as I heard shuttle bus, I was done. I should have listened to my own advice and drove to work again today like I did yesterday. I guess a positive is that Metro is getting lots of experience in dealing with difficult situations.

Feel free to share your own commuting stories below or any other Metro thoughts. It can be very therapeutic.

I promise that I’ll have some non-Metro posts tomorrow.

Metro Commuting

It was been a rough few weeks for those of us who rely on Metro’s orange line to go to and from work. Last Wednesday, thunderstorms brought down a power line on the tracks between the East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations causing major delays as service was suspended. Even before I left the office, I received e-mail updates from Metro informing me of the outage and the notice that shuttle buses would be available at East Falls Church to take folks to the remaining three stops. Despite the many announcements we received from the train operator prior to arriving at East Falls Church, the station was a mess. There was no one to guide people to the buses or to give announcements with updates. Although I stood outside the station for over an hour, I didn’t move far enough to even see a bus. By then Metro service was restored, and I took my normal route home. The usual 50-60 minute commute took almost 2.5 hours! What I learned from last week’s experience is that we are screwed if there is ever a true emergency in the DC area. More about last week’s problems from the Washington Post (here and an editorial here), Word of Pie, The Adventures of Joe and Britt and DCist.

Last week was only a prelude to Monday. As anyone who rides Metro knows, a train derailed between Rosslyn and Court House (where I work) around 2:45. When I tried to enter the Court House station shortly after 4:30, the station was closed and there were dozens of EMT, fire and police personnel on the scene. After walking to Clarendon, I was extremely lucky squeeze on a train after only waiting 3 minutes and arrived home by 5:50. I don’t think there was another train at Clarendon for another 20-30 minutes and I’m sure that was even more crowded. I’ve read more stories about the long delays people had arriving home.

At this point, I have very little confidence in Metro (and this is from someone who is a huge proponent of the system). Minor delays for orange line riders continue this morning, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m driving today. I’m going into work late and staying late so that I can drive after the HOV restrictions have been lifted. Although this is not a realistic long-term option, I feel like I have to do this until the situation is resolved.

Take That Detroit (Lions)

MJD at Yahoo compiled a list of the coolest helmets in football history. The Pittsburgh Steelers placed first as you probably suspected (since I wouldn’t write a post about the Cleveland Browns or Baltimore Ravens helmet). Anyway, here are a few fun facts from the article:

• It's the only professional helmet to use a logo that was once a corporate logo before it became a football team logo (other than the short-lived and now defunct Miami Hooters of the Arena Football league).

• It is the only helmet in the NFL to have a logo on one side, but not the other.

• There are two colors present in the helmet logo that exist nowhere else in the Steelers uniform: red and blue.

Celebrate Fairfax 2008

Celebrate Fairfax, Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide celebration, takes place this weekend, June 6-8, 2008, at the Fairfax County Government Center. Celebrate Fairfax features live concerts on seven stages, an interactive SciTech Center and Children’s Avenue, Laser Show, fireworks Friday and Saturday night and hundreds of exhibitors and crafters. This year’s headliners include OK GO, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bowling for Soup and Emerson Drive. Plus, there’s lots of great food options (mmmm; funnel cake!).

This will be my seventh year involved with Celebrate Fairfax, and I enjoy the festival every year. Even without stopping at the carnival, grabbing food or listening to music, I can easily spend hours walking around the site visiting the different booths and exhibits, particularly the County Expo area where more than 40 county agencies have various interactive educational displays. (While I realize that this doesn’t sound exciting, it is definitely worth checking out.)

If you’re not sure whether or not to attend, here’s my sales pitch. Where else can you pay $10 (even less if you purchase tickets today - Thursday, June 5) to see multiple concerts? I rarely attend concerts anymore because of the outrageous price of tickets (see Diamond, Neil and Girls, Spice) and the Ticketmaster fees. Besides the headliners listed above, there are dozens of great local acts. On Tap Magazine has an excellent preview of all the bands performing this weekend.

For any other information about the festival, visit the Celebrate Fairfax website. I’ll be at the festival as a volunteer the entire weekend, so if you happen to see a guy wearing a nametag that says Sean, a Celebrate Fairfax shirt and possibly carrying a walkie-talkie, please say hi.

There is no truth to the rumor (that I am starting here) that Carmen Electra, pictured above with Joan Jett, will be in attendance on Saturday. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com.)

Great Season

What a tough way to end the season. I can’t write that I’m upset because the Penguins playoff run has been incredible. It’s not like the Penguins were heavily favored and lost tough game sevens like they did in 1993 to the New York Islanders or in 1996 to the Florida Panthers. Despite not winning the Stanley Cup, 2007-2008 really was an amazing season. Personally, I’m going to remember the unbelievable game five win, "The Shift" by Brooks Orpik, Malkin’s breakaway, slap shot goal from game one of the Flyers series, the Winter Classic victory on New Year’s and watching the Penguins defeat the Capitals twice in person in Washington (including the Backstrom own goal game).

If you’re looking for something positive, hopefully you will never see another commercial for The Love Guru, hear the California Soul song from the Dockers ad, see the ridiculous Edge shaving cream spot or question why the US Women’s soccer team would drive to Brazil instead of flying.

Name That Tune

Welcome to a new edition of name that tune. Lyrics from five songs are listed below. Your challenge is to name the song title and artist. Please try not to search the internet for the answers. Either you know the songs or you don't.

There is also a specific connection for all of these songs or artists. Feel free to guess this link/puzzle as well. (I'll give a hint if needed.)

1. He smiled so I got up and asked for his name
That don’t matter, he said cause its all the same

2. It starts out easy, something simple, something sleazy, something inching past the edge of the reserve.

3. Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
there was U2 and Blondie
and music still on MTV

4. So bring your good times, and your laughter too

5. Daddy wrestles alligators
Mama works on carborators
Her brother is a fine mediator
For the president

Good luck!

Game 5 Recap

I’m awake...barely after staying up for game five of the Stanley Cup finals. Although I managed to fall asleep during part of the second overtime, I was wide awake for the third overtime and Petr Sykora’s winning goal. I was so excited by the goal that I had difficulty falling asleep. While I was lying in my bed, I couldn’t get the "California Soul" song from the Dockers commercial out of my head.

Anyway, what an amazing win. When Detroit took a 3-2 lead in the third period, I though the series was over. However, Max Talbot’s goal with about 30 seconds remaining in regulation kept the Penguins alive. Despite Detroit dominating play in the overtimes, Marc-Andre Fleury made 55 saves leading the Penguins to victory.

Here are all of the links you need for more about the Red Wings-Penguins game:

- Coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

- A special thanks to Seth Rorabaugh of the P-G’s Empty Netters for conducting a live-blog of game five. I was able to read what I missed in the second overtime immediately through Seth’s work.

- Fox Sports

- Yahoo's game recap and Puck Daddy

- Going Five Hole

- And of course, the Pensblog

Game six on Wednesday at 8:00 on NBC.

WOW!

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

It's 12:47am Eastern time and Petr Sykora just scored a goal in the 3rd overtime for the Penguins against the Red Wings. We're on to game six in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night (and I'm going to sleep). Much more tomorrow/today!

Question of the Day

Many GPS systems and online maps have options to choose routes in which you can avoid highways or toll roads. Is there a feature where you can avoid a state? I’ve written about this before, but there has to be a way to skip Delaware on any drive from Washington to New York or New Jersey.

Useless Information

I have watched each of the first four games of the Stanley Cup Finals in a different state.

Game 1: Herndon, Virginia
Game 2: Silver Spring, Maryland
Game 3: Orlando, Florida
Game 4: Atlantic City, New Jersey

Since the Penguins only won while I was in Florida, I think the team needs to fly me back to the Sunshine State to ensure the team’s victory.

I have also had french fries from five different restaurants over the past five days.

Tuesday: Wendy’s – Dulles Airport
Wednesday: Friday’s – Orlando, Florida
Thursday: Silver Diner – Reston, VA
Friday: Five Guys – Arlington, VA
Saturday: McDonald’s – Gaithersburg, Maryland

It looks like I’m going to have California Tortilla for dinner tonight, so the french fry streak will end at five. Yes, I need to eat healthier.