Halloween Observation

Once a quarter, I have a day where I can work from home. Today is that day. I've had the TV on for background noise and saw many shows celebrating Halloween. Good Morning America, The Today Show and The View all had kids dressed up in Halloween costumes. While I love Halloween, the last time I checked it is not a federal holiday. So why are all of these kids on TV when they should be in school? Do their parents really think it is more important to have their kids be interviewed by Star Jones and Joy Behar than being in school?

Happy Halloween!

Have a Spook-tacular day!

(Get it, because of Halloween, I changed spectacular to "Spook-tacular." You can stop groaning now.)

Slacker

Yes, that's me. I haven't done a good job of posting lately, and I'm sure there are millions of people out there desperately waiting to hear about the Kenny Loggins concert.

I should preface my review of the concert by saying that it was a fundraiser, so it was not a traditional concert. There were speakers, presentations and two videos before Loggins came on the stage and everyone was wearing dresses or coats and ties. Not exactly a Woodstock or Lollapalooza environment. We also did not stay until the end of the show (long drive home and we were the guests of the folks driving), so we did not see Kenny Loggins perform Footloose.

Besides all of that, it's amazing how many songs Kenny Loggins has had over the years. At least two or three times, my wife asked me who sang a particular song. My response was "I guess Kenny Loggins." I never knew that he sang the "even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you honey" song and the Winnie the Pooh song ("Christopher Robin and I walked along"). Kenny Loggins has really had a great career and put on a good show. What ever happened to Messina?

Kenny Loggins

I'm going to see him perform Thursday night. If I had to chose one concert to go to (OK, 100 concerts to go), I wouldn't pick Kenny Loggins. However, since his performance is at an event where the money is going to a good cause, I'm going to make the most of it. I'm just hoping that he'll sing Footloose, Danger Zone and I'm Alright. Actually, that may be the only Kenny Loggins songs I know.

More Weekend Notes

As part of the tailgate, we bought a 12-pack of FMV hot dogs...for 99 cents! FMV stands for “For Maximum Value” and after doing a Google search, I saw that there was a recall of FMV hot dogs in 2002. I'm sure they are fine now, but I'm glad I had Hebrew National hot dogs instead.

Second is somewhat of a serious note. At both the tailgate and game, there were a good amount of people, both Steelers and Bengals fans, who acted inappropriately. It was mostly swearing, hand gestures and a few near fights. Most of the time, I mark it up as part of football culture, especially since a lot of alcohol is involved. However, for some reason, this year was different. I really enjoy my annual football trip and going to football games. This year, I was thinking about the future, and while I don’t have kids, I would like to take them to games when I do. From what I have seen over the past few years (Ohio State games were the worst), I do not think that football games are a good environment for kids. Maybe it was different when I was growing up because I remember people having fun and rooting for their team. Now, I see people rooting for their team but also insulting the opposing team and fans. It was probably like this when I was younger, but I guess I don’t remember it. Am I being overly sensitive or is this something other people (well, parents) think about?

Weekend in Ohio

Anytime the Steelers win, especially when I'm there, is a great day/weekend. I go to maybe one game a year, and I don't think the Steelers have lost any game that I've been to since the AFC Championship game against the Chargers ten years ago (but I don't want to talk about that).

On to the main event...we were at Waffle House by 7:00am and after several car problems, made it to the tailgate around 10:00, a little later than usual. There were fewer Steelers fans in the tailgate and in the stadium this year than in years past mostly due to there being more Bengals fans. It was great seeing so many "die-hard" Bengals fans. Actually, there was a good deal of real Bengals fans. (I actually think people yelling "Who Dey" is very funny. I'm not sure of the origin, but it stands for "Who Dey, think is gonna beat Dem Bengals," and is also the name of the mascot.) They were especially loud just before kick-off and in the first quarter. Of course, they were not as loud in the fourth quarter where many fans celebrated Halloween early by dressing up as empty green seats.

My favorite moment was walking back to the cars after the game. Even though the Bengals were totally dominated in the second half, the fans couldn't admit defeat. They kept bragging about being in first place. Apparently, Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmandzadeh feel the same way. On ESPN.com, T.J. said, "I think we're better than them. They won the game and I'm sure they feel like they're better than us, but I don't feel like it." The Bengals really went out and proved it.

Anyway, the weekend was great. I got to see my brother and some good friends, some of whom I haven't seen in over a year. The only downside of the entire weekend was sitting in the middle of a backseat of a small car between two guys weighing a combined 450 pounds and both snoring. That part wasn't so fun.

My annual trip to Columbus and then going to the Cincinnati for the Bengals-Steelers game really has become one of my favorite times of the year. While there was nothing of the scope of being part of an Ohio State-Michigan tailgate or being in the bar for the Pistons/Pacers brawl, it was still a fantastic weekend. Next year in Cincy.

Oh and Who Dey think is gonna beat Dem Bengals? The Steelers!

I'm Back

I'm exhausted, but I'm back in Northern Virginia. I was awake at 4:15 this morning and left Columbus on a 6:15 flight. I'll write more about my trip later today including the impressive Steelers win yesterday and my thoughts on Cincinnati Bengals fans. In the meantime, I'm heading to work. Have a good day!

On A Much Lighter Note

from what I previously wrote, I am extremely excited for this weekend. I am heading to Columbus and Cincinnati for my annual pilgrimage to see the Steelers at the Bengals. Sunday morning will start will a 7:00am stop at Waffle House, followed by pre-game tailgating and then game time. This will be the first year I remember where the Bengals are favored to win.

Highlights from last year included being in a bar and watching the "highlights" of the Ron Artest/Pacers/Pistons brawl over and over again, tailgating before the Ohio State (victory) over Michigan and, of course, a Steelers win.

Who knows what will happen this year?

A Little Too Far

ABC News had a story the other night about conservative activists threatening a boycott of the American Girl doll. The reason (yes, I'm borrowing most of this from the ABC story): American Girl is having a campaign where proceeds from sales of a wristband (enough with the wristbands already, but that's a different topic) go to Girls Inc. in support of their educational and empowerment programs. Girls Inc. is a wonderful nonprofit organization with its mission of "inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold." However, the conservative groups are upset that the advocacy portion of Girls Inc. supports abortion rights and acceptance of lesbians as part of its Girls' Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights includes some very controversial items (note the sarcasm here) that girls have the right to accept and appreciate their bodies, express themselves with originality and enthusiasm and to have confidence in themselves. Again, the money from the wristband sales goes to the educational and empowerment programs, not the advocacy part.

Some of these groups have way too much time on their hands. Why is there not more time, effort and money going to helping the poor? A boycott of a kids doll and an organization that helps girls? C'mon.

Oh Moe!

Former Penguin Moe Mantha is now the coach and general manager of the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League. Actually, I should restate that. He is the suspended coach and general manager. The OHL suspended Moe for the rest of the season as GM and for 40 games as the coach for a hazing incident and a fight between teammates during a practice. TSN (Canada's Sports Leader) has more information about this on their website, including this:

The incident involved players "being told to strip and stand in the washroom at the back of the bus by other players," the OHL said in a release.

Not so good times for Moe and those players being hazed.

Ike vs. Byron

Although it's not helping me get over the Steelers loss on Sunday, Ike Taylor of the Steelers has a much better website than the web page of the Jaguars' Byron Leftwich when he was at Marshall.

Terrible Sports Weekend

The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently the only team in the National Hockey League without a win. They have six losses, four of which happened in overtime (including on Friday night against the Flyers). Apparently, the Steelers sympathize with the fellows across town because they displayed possibly the worst offensive performance in overtime history in losing to Jacksonville 23-17. Unfortunately, in the National Football League, teams do not get a point in the standings for an overtime loss. If you're a Steelers or NFL fan, you already know what happened, so I'm not going to discuss it. If you really want to read more, click here. I just don't understand why the Steelers couldn't have run Bettis or even Parker up the middle two or three times to try and get the team into better field goal range.

Besides the Steelers (and Penguins, but I'm not counting them as a real team until they win one game), Ithaca College also lost in overtime on Saturday. They are no longer undefeated and will drop out of the Top 10 of the Division III rankings. Fortunately, there is a playoff system for Division III, so the Bombers (yes, that's the nickname) are still in good shape to qualify.

I'm just glad I'm not a Penn State or Notre Dame fan. The weekend would have been even worse.

Click For Cans 2005

Campbell's Chunky soup is again having its Click for Cans to fight hunger. Visit the Chunky website and vote for your favorite NFL team (hopefully the Steelers) everyday from now until November 30th.

This year, two NFL teams will earn donations of Campbell’s soup to the food banks of their choice. For the team with the most clicks, they will donate the winning team's total weight in cans. In addition, the team that improves the most in the number of clicks from last year will also receive a donation.

So vote early and vote often!

Commercial Coups

Congrats to Motorola not only for getting Madonna, Iggy Pop, Little Richard, Mya, Bootsy Collins and Alanis Morissette for their ROKR iTunes phone commercial, but they were also able to get Beethoven. I've been worried that Beethovern hasn't been able to get much work lately, so hopefully this will jump-start his career.

There is another commercial out now for Intel Centrino that features Seal sitting on a woman's lap singing the song Crazy. Does he need extra money to help support Heidi Klum and their child? Random commercial, but good concept.

Did I Miss Anything?

Yom Kippur is now over, so after 25+ hours of not eating and drinking, I've had bagels, lox, orange juice, etc.

Yom Kippur is also a time for me when I do not use the phone or turn on the radio, TV or computer. Therefore, if something significant happened in the world, I would probably not know. So what happened over the past 28 hours or so? (The question is somewhat rhetorical since I'm now going to check out the Washington Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and ESPN websites, but if there is anything that I missed, please let me know.)

Musical Names

I have no idea why I was thinking about this, but I was trying to come up with the coolest names in music. Here are my nominees:

Sting
Tre Cool (of Green Day)
Will.I.Am (of Black Eyed Peas)
Ludacris
The Edge (of U2)
Neneh Cherry & her brother Eagle Eye Cherry

Please feel free to add your own suggestions.

Steelers Win!

Although the Penguins lost in overtime (again), I am very happy with this Monday night/Tuesday morning. Jeff Reed kicked a clutch 40-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to give the Steelers a 24-22 victory over San Diego. It's great seeing The Bus back too. Of course, all Steelers fans are wondering how Big Ben is doing. I'm sure that we will not hear anything about his left knee until Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest.

I'm definitely going to be hurting tomorrow/today. Why do Monday Night Football games end so late? And will ABC please stop showing previews for Freddie!

Utopia

What a perfect fall Monday evening. At 7:00, the Penguins will be on national TV (the OLN network) against the Buffalo Sabres. This will be my first chance to see Sidney and Mario together. Then at 9:00, the Steelers will face the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. I'm hoping the Penguins will be leading 9-0 at the end of the second period, so I can watch the Steelers game without worrying about switching back and forth. If only the Pirates were in the playoffs...

Weekend Update

Being part of a study is pretty cool. I felt like I was completing a physical for a Major League Baseball or NFL team. I had to answer numerous questions and questionnaires and then came "the treadmill test." The Pitt team monitored my breathing, heart rate, levels of exertion and pain and then took my blood at several intervals (I didn't understand this part of the test, but that was OK). I'll go back to Pitt in 2 years for the next part of the study.

The Original Hot Dog Shop was as good as always.

What are the chances that I would hear the song Garden Party by Ricky Nelson twice in the same weekend?

Congrats to Woodland Hills and Pitt graduate Lousaka Polite on his first NFL Touchdown yesterday for the Dallas Cowboys.

Congrats #2 to the Baltimore Ravens for committing 21 penalties (one short of the NFL record), having two players ejected and losing 35-17 to Detroit. It couldn't happen to a nicer team.

Back from the 'Burgh

I'll write more tomorrow, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back in Northern Virginia. If you ever have to take the Pennsylvania Turnpike (particularly between Breezewood and Pittsburgh), I recommend going in the fall. The foliage is beautiful.

I'm off work tomorrow for Columbus Day, so look for several posts throughout the day.

Making Research History

I am part of one of the longest follow-up studies of physical activity in the United States. I bet you didn't know that, did you? When I was in high school, the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study of physical activity. A few years ago, I received a follow-up phone call asking about my physical fitness. On Saturday, I'm going back to Pittsburgh to visit my family and to spend 2.5 hours at Pitt. During my visit, I will be completing a series of tests including a treadmill exercise test and body composition assessment. After displaying my physical fitness ability, I am planning on going directly to the O for a hot dog and delicious (and greasy) fries.

For more information about the study, check out the Pitt Chronicle, the University of Pittsburgh's newspaper (scroll down to the 2nd item).

Katie & Tom

There was a Simpsons episode where actor Troy McClure (voiced by the late Phil Hartman) is able to improve his career by planning a fake marriage to Marge’s sister Selma. When McClure’s agent tells him that all of the big movie parts are going to family men, he unsuccessfully tries to convince Selma to have a child. Why do I mention this? Because Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have now gone beyond a publicity relationship. I guess having a child makes their relationship legitimate. More importantly, has anyone heard from Dan recently?

Happy New Year!

Rosh Hashanah is tonight marking the start of the new year (5766). Apples, honey and Manischewitz are on me!

Lazy Sunday

I've spent most of today just sitting on the couch watching football. With all of my sitting, here are some random thoughts from today:

- For the first time in years, I watched Saturday Night Live last night. It's not nearly as funny as it used to be. With that said, the bit before Kanye West went on stage, including a Mike Myers cameo, was extremely funny. Great performance by Kanye too. Oh, Horacio Sanz at the Weekend Update desk didn't quite work.

- Will someone explain to me why NFL players have a green sticker on the back of helmets today? I haven't heard the announcers say anything about them, and I don't remember the stickers being there last week.

- Someone found this site by doing a search on Yahoo for "Diaper Harajuku Girls." What exactly was this person looking for?

- The Steelers game at San Diego next Monday night looks like it will be a tough game. The Chargers won 41-17 at New England today. Can anyone stop LaDainian Tomlinson?

- It looks like a 7th place finish out of 12 teams for my fantasy baseball league team. I've been in the league for 14 years now and have never won. I think the saying is the 15th time is the charm! At least I'm doing well in fantasy football.

Thank You ABC

for showing the premier of Commander in Chief again since I missed it on Tuesday.

I Can't Take It Anymore

I'm watching the Pitt-Rutgers game on ESPN2 and with 11 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, Rutgers is winning 27-0. I'm not even sure if the game is as close as the score indicates. Pitt has no running game and QB Tyler Palko gets hit every time he goes back to pass. Why is there college football on Friday night to begin with? Here is how football is supposed to work: Friday night - High School; Saturday - College; Sunday - NFL.

I have no idea how (actually, Palko threw a TD pass to Greg Lee), but Pitt scored a touchdown. It's now 27-7. Um, Go Pitt!

UPDATE: Of course, I couldn't turn off the game and I'm glad I didn't. Pitt made a nice run, but fell short losing 37-29. The one (and maybe only) positive from the game is that Pitt may have finally found some receivers to compliment Greg Lee in Derek Kinder and Darrell Strong. However, unless the offensive line gets better, Palko is not going to make it through the season healthy.

Steelers Jersey

I'm still on my quest to find a unique Steelers jersey. There is no way that I will wear my two current jerseys: Kordell Stewart and Kendrell Bell. As soon as I bought the jerseys, their Steelers career went downhill (Stewart because he was a mediocre QB and Bell due to injures). Therefore, I will not buy a jersey of any current Steelers in fear that something bad will happen. I've been searching for a Louis Lipps, Rod Woodson or John Stallworth jersey. Woodson & Stallworth jerseys are available on EBay, but I haven't found any that I liked (or won). My new idea is to big on this Steve Bono jersey.

I may also try to go for Illawarra Steelers rugby jersey, if one becomes available.

Shakira's Song

Shakira has a fairly new song with Alejandro Sanz called "La Tortura." I really like the song. It's extremely catchy and is now also featured in cell phone ads. Oh, I didn't mention that this song is in Spanish. While I can sing (not well) along to parts of the song, I have no idea what the lyrics mean. I bet that non-English speakers feel the same way about the Thong Song.

Is It Just Me

or does Ed Harris look really scary in the previews for the upcoming movie A History of Violence?

Commander in Chief

Geena Davis was just on Monday Night Football being interviewed by Al Michaels. It will not be the highlight for either of their careers. Anyway, Davis said that she is excited to be the first woman president on TV. That's not true. For some reason, I remembered a show with Patty Duke as the President. Thanks to IMDB, here is information for Hail to the Chief.

The show didn't last very long, but it was produced by Paul Junger Witt, executive producer of Soap, Benson, Golden Girls, Blossom and Herman's Head.

Dilemma

The TV season is off to a great start, and I’m finding that there are a lot of shows that I want to watch. Which brings me to Tuesday night. Do I watch the debut of Commander in Chief with Geena Davis on ABC or My Name is Earl on NBC? Two completely different shows, but both that I'd like to see.

On the subject of new TV shows, Prison Break was fantastic tonight. Nothing like a prison riot and a "to be continued" episode.

Ithaca College and the Emmys

As I've mentioned before, this is the place for Ithaca College news (well, besides the IC website. Congrats to the following Ithaca College alumni for winning Emmys last week (and thanks to The Ithacan for this info):

• Chris Regan ’89, a writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” won his fourth Emmy in the category of outstanding writing for a variety, music or comedy program. He’s a five-time nominee, and this is his third-straight win.
• Mike Royce ’89 picked up his second Emmy as the executive producer of the outstanding comedy series winner, “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Royce had also been nominated in the outstanding writing for a comedy series category for his contributions to the show’s final episode. Royce won an award in 2003 when he was the show’s supervising producer.

The following graduates were nominated for Emmys (and will win next year!):
• Barbara Gaines ’79, who has won five Emmys, was nominated again in the outstanding variety, music or comedy series category for her role as executive producer of “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
• Lighting designer Steven Brill ’80 received his first Emmy nomination for outstanding lighting direction for variety, music or comedy programming for his work on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
• “Mad TV” production designer John Sabato ’80 earned his sixth nomination for outstanding art direction for a variety, music program or special.
• CCH Pounder ’75, a three-time acting nominee, was nominated for best supporting actress in a drama series for her role as detective Claudette Wyms in “The Shield.”

Jury Duty?

I received in the mail and completed a Jury Questionnaire. The form says that I have been randomly selected as a prospective juror for the County's Circuit Court. While it's not a summons to appear, I don't remember ever receiving any type of questionnaire like this before. For the lawyers and non-lawyers out there, is this fairly common? Should I expect to be called to jury duty soon?

I Like Earl

I mentioned this in the comment section of my "Much to Discuss" entry of Tuesday night, but I feel like this deserves its own post. I was really impressed with the new TV show "My Name is Earl." All-around good show. It was funny and I liked the show's characters. I also enjoyed seeing Ethan Suplee in the show. While I didn't know his name until I looked it up, he is a recognizable and likable actor from great roles and performances in American History X, Remember the Titans and Boy Meets World (yes, I wrote Boy Meets World with Fred Savage's brother, Ben). I'm looking forward to the next episode.

New Addiction

I'm already addicted to fantasy football and baseball and NCAA College Football 2005 on XBOX. My new addiction is a number puzzle called Su do ku. It's in the Washington Post Express (and many other newspapers) just below the crossword puzzle and is really keeping me occupied during my Metro and bus commute. I've been able to solve the easy "degree of difficulty" puzzles, but am really struggling with the medium one right now.

Arrrrrrr

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Much to Discuss

I'll start with the Emmys. I only watched parts of the show, but was not surprised to see Everyone Loves Raymond win its lifetime achievement award for Best Comedy. On the other hand, I was surprised to see Lost win for Best Drama. I saw the first few episodes and then saw the last twenty minutes of the finale. I think I may have missed a little bit in between. I hope it's not too hard to get caught up.

Congrats to Felicity Huffman on winning Best Actress. She was great on Sports Night.

The premiere of How I Met Your Mother was pretty good. Doogie's character was a little annoying, but it's still great to see Doogie back on TV. I wonder if Neil Patrick Harris is sick of being called Doogie or if he embraces it.

During commercials, I switched to Fox's Kitchen Confidential. I wasn't expecting much, but the show looked pretty good too. I need to get Tivo.

Oh yeah, there was a Steelers game too. :) The Steelers defense played so well that the Houston Texans fired their offensive coordinator. I'm sure it was his fault why the Texans lost.

Gray Hair

I found my first gray hair and feel like I have officially become a man. I should get a fountain pen for this accomplishment. Seriously, I know some people freak out about their first gray hair. It doesn't bother me.

All of a sudden, this has become a place where I talk about my hair. It's all Sean's hair, all the time! Good thing there's a Steelers game today.

Prison Break Haircut

I got a haircut the other night, and I now look like I would fit in nicely with the cast of Fox's Prison Break. Maybe it's not THAT short, but it's not far from it. My barber/stylist finished cutting my hair in about four minutes. I figured that since it took such a short amount of time for him to cut my hair, he must not have cut enough. Note to self...find a new place to go besides Hair Cuttery.

Speaking of Prison Break, something does not seem right (actually there are many things, but I'm just going to focus on one). From my experience watching movies involving prison (Green Mile, Dead Man Walking, Silence of the Lambs), the folks on death row tend to be completely isolated from the general prison population. Not on Prison Break where the lead character's brother (who is on death row) is able to be outside and be on work duty with everyone else.

More Rants

This is a belated rant: The U.S. Open was completed on Sunday and the amazing James Blake-Andre Agassi match has been over for almost a week. The fifth and final set of the Blake-Agassi match was decided by a tie-breaker. A tie-breaker! I could be wrong, but I believe that the other major tennis tournaments (definitely Wimbledon and I believe the Australian Open and French Open) go until the winner actually wins. I've seen the score of the final set as 16-14 and 21-19. This is the way it should be at the U.S. Open.

While I'm at it, I don't like World Cup soccer matches ending by a shoot-out. They should play until someone scores. I would love to see a 4-overtime game like they have in the NHL playoffs.

Who are the people that still approve of President Bush's work (or lack thereof) during and after Katrina? He doesn't even approve of himself.

Why is it called the World Music Awards when all of the performers and winners are American performers?

Not a rant...congrats to Tommy Lee on getting a C+ in English, a B in Horticulture and well, no credit in Chemistry because he got a 10 out of 100 on the final. I didn't do much better in my only college science class. I have to admit that I enjoyed the show.

Just Feel Like a Rant

I know I'm not going to get any sympathy from women with my rant since many women spend hundreds of dollars on all types of toiletries and cosmetics such lipstick, make-up and shampoo. I can get a monster bottle of Pert Plus from Costco for $5, but many women need special shampoo, conditioner and I'm sure there's more hair products. Anyway, my rant involves razors. I don't understand why they are so expensive. I bought a 5-pack of Gillette Sensor Excel razors the other day for $8.50. $8.50!!! I can get maybe three good shaves out of one razor and then two or three mediocre shaves after that. I've tried electric razors before, but it just does not give a close shave. Some razor company needs to design an inexpensive razor that does not get dull for at least a week. Does this exist?

Great Sunday

A Steelers victory always makes a Sunday and weekend great. I love having football back, especially with an impressive Steelers win against the Tennessee Titans. The Steelers may have played a perfect game. After giving up a touchdown on the Titans' first possession of the game, the defense played great, Willie Parker had 161 yards rushing and Big Ben looked 1000 times better than he did during the preseason.

Plus, today marked the season premier of The Simpsons, and the US Open tennis final of Roger Federer and Andre Agassi was fun to watch.

Just a great day to sit on the couch. Well, until Fox's "The War at Home" started. Not a great show, but at least I can switch to more football.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Yes!!

(Steelers kick-off and the first full day of football starts in about 2.5 hours!)

5000

According the Site Meter, I have passed 5000 visits since I started this blog in January. While this is not a significant number compared to many other websites, it is a lot more than I expected when this first started. Granted, probably 2500 visits have been me, but that's still 2500 visits from people other than me. Thanks to everyone who has checked out this site whether or like it or not (hopefully you like it; you really, really like it). I also want to thank all the people who visited looking for Kevin Pittsnogle information or searching for Sean William Scott instead of Seann William Scott.

Ramblin' Man

* Do people not work over the summer? After two months of being able to get a parking spot at the Park 'n Ride at 8:15 and a relatively easy commute to work, the parking spaces are now gone at that time and the Metro is packed. Where did all of these people come from and can they go back?

* What mothers decide it would be a good idea to be on MTV's Date My Mom, where young men date mothers to decide which daughter to choose?

* I have watched a lot of national news the past few weeks for the Katrina coverage and discovered that 1 in 10 people have Restless Legs Syndrome. I'm sure it is serious for some people, but when I think of restless legs, I think of someone sitting in a cramped airplane. It just sounds like someone made this up.

* Bow Wow was much better as Lil' Bow Wow.

* Since I finished Harry Potter, I have read a wide variety of books: 1776 by David McCullough, Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam, Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Very different but all were very good. The current book I am reading is Winning the White House, 2004: region by region, vote by vote (I think I know how it ends), which was partially written by one of my college professors. I've read 13 pages thus far.

As always, please let me know if you have more book suggestions.

Bye, Bye Lloyd

The Pirates fired Manager Lloyd McClendon after five years on the job. I still think it's not Lloyd's fault that the Pirates have been so bad during his tenure. Before PNC Park was built, Pittsburgh and Pirates fans were told that the team could not compete without revenues from a new ballpark. There's now been a new ballpark for four years, but the team still can't compete. I don't feel like having a baseball economics discussion, so I'll get back to Lloyd. Would it have been terrible to wait until after the season to not rehire Lloyd? What benefit is there for the team to fire him now? Could they at least have waited one more week so there would be one final Pirates-Cardinals, McClendon-LaRussa & Duncan series? The big question: will Nick change the title of his blog?

Happy Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, I thought I would write about some of the jobs I have had over the years. Please note that many of these jobs I had after I earned a Masters degree.

- Beer Man (I went up and down aisles at sports arenas/stadiums yelling "Cold Beer Here")
- Harry Potter board game demonstrator at a Northern Virginia mall.
- Blockbuster employee
- Kohl's Men's Department during Christmas season
- Data entry at a Repo company (You like having the repo guys on your side.)
- Soccer referee (I still do this one)

Pittsburgh Sports Notes

As with most University of Pittsburgh fans, I was really excited for last night's national TV game against Notre Dame, the first game of the Dave Wannstedt era. Unfortunately, like several games from last year, Pitt had trouble running the ball and the defensive line was overmatched. Pitt is still going to have a good year, probably with 8 wins, but will struggle against the better college football teams.

The final National Football League cuts took place yesterday. Among the cuts was the Steelers 2nd round draft pick from 2003, Alonzo Jackson. What a wasted pick. The Steelers never could figure out what to do with him. I wonder if he'll end up being anything in the NFL. In other cuts, the Seattle Seahawks cut former "Superman" Bobby Shaw and the Jacksonville Jaguars cut Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala. I don't care what anyone says. He is still a bad Ma'afala!

Finally, congratulations to Woodland Hills High School in defeating Gateway High School, the former #1 team in Western Pennsylvania.

Something Different

The pictures tonight of people dead or dying on the streets of New Orleans and thousands of people needing medical attention, food and water is awful to watch and is even more amazing to know that this is happening in this country. I actually wanted to write about something a little lighter tonight. I watched the two-hour debut of Fox's Prison Break, which despite way too many stories going on (that I hope will all come together in a few weeks), I enjoyed. I'd like to write more about it, but I really can't. I'm still in disbelief that food, water and medicine are not getting to people who need it. I don't understand why the local, state, and especially federal government was not prepared when we knew a major hurricane was going to hit as early as Friday or Saturday.

In a completely unrelated note, why were the Saints playing a preseason game tonight?

Being Political

First, I wanted to provide an update in regard to my sister-in-law's friend's family. I don't know the specific details but everyone is OK and either in or on the way to Houston where they have family.

I'm usually not very political here because I enjoy talking more about my life and random TV shows, music and movies. However, Arianna Huffington had an interesting article on her blog titled The Flyover Presidency of George W. Bush. (I wish I could come up with catchy titles like that). Anyway, Huffington (who I always thought was on the conservative side of the spectrum) blasted Bush for flying over the hurricane damage and then returning directly to DC. For better or worse, in times of crisis we look for our political leaders to well, lead. See Rudy Giuliani. For all of President Clinton's faults, he always seemed to be around and on the scene anytime there was a natural disaster. Even after his presidency, Clinton was in New York at Ground Zero before President Bush during 9-11. Why is President Bush not around? I guess we should we be happy that he cut his month-long vacation in Crawford short.

Personal Katrina Message

I wrote yesterday that I did not know anyone directly affected by Katrina. It turns out that my statement was not true. I met many people when I went to Gulfport & Biloxi for work. I learned today that the place I visited is "totally gone." Even closer to home, my sister-in-law's good friend was born and raised in New Orleans and still has family there. He wrote the following yesterday evening...

A PLEA FOR HELP FOR THE PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND IN NEW ORLEANS

You've no doubt seen the pictures and heard stories of what has unfolded in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast in recent days. This email is my attempt to give you a perspective of what it's like to be someone who still has people very close and important to him stuck in the wake that Katrina has left, the perspective of a son, the perspective of someone who needs your help.

Tonight there was an important announcement concerning the efforts to save the city of New Orleans. Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, announced that any attempts to repair the breach in the levee, a 200 foot hole that is allowing water from Lake Ponchartrain to spill into the city and the surrounding area, have failed. What this means is that officials now expect that within the next 24 hours there will be approximately 12 feet of water in almost all areas East of the Mississippi River, that includes most of the city of New Orleans and all of Metairie, a suburb where my parents live, and I grew up.

Although they have not said it yet, it is just a matter of time until they announce that no evacuees will be allowed to return to the city for weeks if not months. Hopefully then they will begin to answer the question which it's unbelievable that after 48 hours they have not come up with a firm plan for, which is, "How do we get all the people left in the New Orleans area out of harms way?" As you probably know, and it is important to keep in mind, most of the people remaining in New Orleans are not there by choice, they are there because they are too poor, too old or too sick (as was the case for my parents when my stepdad was struck with a mild heart attack at the wrong time) to leave.

Maybe I am being simplistic and unrealistic, but considering the capabilities of our country that we lately have not hesitated to display to the world, it's unbelievable to me that we cannot go in and save those in trouble in our own country. Whether this means using different state's National Guards, all humanitarian efforts that exist, or the full might of the United States Army, it's something that needs to be done, and needs to be done now.

My parents are sitting in East Jefferson Hospital. They are ready to leave, but have nowhere to go. The hospital is rationing food. There is no electricity. The temperature is near three digits, there is little water, and a failing sewage system. My 86 year old grandmother is in conditions that I would guess are even worse (we've lost contact with her). I'm not foolish, I realize that the conditions for most of the others trapped in the city are far worse, some are in their houses, some are literally treading water for their lives, even the 30,000 people in the Superdome could comparatively still be considered lucky ones.

I write this as a conscious American, a New Orleanian, and most importantly a son, a son who has no clue when the next time he will be able to talk to his mom. If there is anything you as a individual can do, anyone you can reach out to that you think has a minutia of a chance of making a difference, please do so, do it for people like me, and do it cause it's the right thing to do.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide and for keeping people like me in your thoughts. You have no idea how much it means to all of us.

More on Hurricane Katrina

I live about a thousand miles away from the Gulf Coast and do not have any friends or family who live in or around the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. With that said, the destruction and devastation caused by Katrina is really affecting me. I touched on this a little yesterday, but the area hardest hit is where I was only a few months ago. I stayed at the Beau Rivage, which according to the Biloxi/Gulfport Sun-Herald seems to be the only casino in Biloxi still standing. (By the way, the Beau Rivage website has not changed. You would think there would be a message saying we're closed.) I drove back and forth between Biloxi and Gulfport on Beach Boulevard during my entire trip. From all the reports I have heard, Beach Boulevard and everything on it has been damaged if not completely destroyed. Although I haven't heard anything yet, I'm worried that the place I visited for work is out of business for a while if not ever.

People, including me, have joked about the poor planning and design of New Orleans. It is certainly not funny now. The Superdome, which has served as the primary shelter for the shelter, is going to have to be evacuated because the water is still rising. I cannot imagine what people who have lost their homes and their jobs are going through. I think even worse is the uncertainty. I've heard some reports of areas where people will not be able to return to their homes to see the damage for weeks or longer.

I'm going to give some money or supplies to the Red Cross, United Jewish Federation or another agency for the relief effort. Sarah has some links of agencies that are helping.

Katrina

In mid-May, I wrote about my trip to Gulfport & Biloxi, Mississippi. I didn't write it then, but I clearly remember something that my cab driver told me on the way to the airport. Maybe it's me, but I'm not very good at striking up conversations with cab drivers. So naturally, we talked about the weather. It was beautiful the three days I was there, and according to the cab driver, it had been like that the two weeks prior to my visit. I remember the driver telling me that because the weather had been so nice, it was going to be a bad hurricane season. His prediction was correct. Although most of the coverage has focused on New Orleans, which was somewhat spared considering the early reports of complete destruction, the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina. I don't really have much more to write. I just hope that everyone there is safe.

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football has really become mainstream. While there have been magazines and websites for fantasy football for several years, the primary pre-game shows on both ESPN and Fox had drafts on TV this year. I feel like I'm way ahead of the trend! Anyway, here are my rosters if you're interested (and even if you're not)

League #1
There are 14 teams in this league (way too many, but better than 16 from last year). The players listed below are by round and overall.
1. (5) Willis McGahee (RB BUF)
2. (24) Torry Holt (WR STL)
3. (33) Mike Anderson (RB DEN)
4. (52) Darrell Jackson (WR SEA)
5. (61) Jerry Porter (WR OAK)
6. (80) Jason Witten (TE DAL)
7. (89) Carson Palmer (QB CIN)
8. (108) Carolina Panthers (DST CAR)
9. (117) Jerome Bettis (RB PIT)
10. (136) Mewelde Moore (RB MIN)
11. (145) Brian Griese (QB TB)
12. (164) Tyrone Calico (WR TEN)
13. (173) John Kasay (K CAR)
14. (192) Marcus Robinson (WR MIN)
15. (201) Jeb Putzier (TE DEN)

League #2 - 10 teams
1. (1) LaDanian Tomlinson (RB SD)
2. (20) Rudi Johnson (RB CIN)
3. (21) Torry Holt (WR STL)
4. (40) Javon Walker (WR GB)
5. (41) Marc Bulger (QB STL)
6. (60) Michael Clayton (WR TB)
7. (61) Fred Taylor (WR JAC) - Yes, I know it's Fred Taylor
8. (80) Randy McMichael (TE MIA)
9. (81) Lee Evans (WR BUF)
10. (100) New York Jets Defense
11. (101) Thomas Jones (RB CHI)
12. (120) Rod Smith (WR DEN)
13. (121) Jake Delhomme (QB CAR)
14. (140) L.J. Smith (TE PHI)
15. (141) Greg Jones (RB JAC)
16. (160) Jeff Reed (K PIT)

Feel free to comment and to make fun of my Fred Taylor pick.

Steelers & Pirates Update

As I wrote a few days ago, many Steelers fans seem to worry (to the point of obsession at times) about the team. Tonight's preseason game against the Washington Redskins is not going to help. After seeing that Duce Staley may not return until October, Jerome Bettis injured his calf . The Steelers first-team offense didn't do much again tonight and the besides Polamalu's interception, the first-team defense did not look great giving up a lot of yards. Troy Aikman keeps saying that the Steelers have nothing to worry about, but I'm sure that is not what the Pittsburgh talk shows and newspapers are going to say over the next few days.

Transitioning to the Pittsburgh team with no expectations, there is certainly hope for next year. Unfortunately (at least for him), next year will probably not include current manager Lloyd McClendon. I don't remember if I have written this here before or not, but I do not think it's Lloyd's fault that the team has been so bad the past few (13) years. I'll write more about that some other time. Anyway, besides the actual results on the field, the rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pirates, particularly Lloyd and Cardinals' manager Tony LaRussa over the past few years has been great to watch. The most-recent incident was a "tussle" between both teams during batting practice. We're talking about batting practice. If Lloyd does get fired, the Pirates should bring him back just for games against St. Louis.

Name a Panda

The Friends of the National Zoo here in Washington, DC is holding a contest where you can vote for the name of the newly-born male panda. The choices are:

· Hua Sheng (hwah SHUNG), which means "China Washington" and "magnificent."
· Sheng Hua (SHUNG hwah), which means "Washington China" and "magnificent."
· Tai Shan (tie SHON), which means "peaceful mountain."
· Long Shan (lohng SHON), which means "dragon mountain."
· Qiang Qiang (chee-ONG chee-ONG), which means "strong, powerful."

I really don't want to get into the pros and cons of these names (like why would you name a panda, dragon mountain? A panda is a panda, not a dragon, and there are no mountains in DC) but I have my own suggestions to be considered:

· Hines
· Pittsnogle
· Roethlisberger
· Kimo von Oelhoffen
· Fred the Panda

Venezuela, Guam, Alaska Ramblings & More

* I'm waiting to hear Pat Robertson say that his quote about assassinating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was taken out of context. I'm sure that the liberal media twisted his words.

* For no apparent reason, I am rooting for the Little League World Series to be between the teams from Hawaii and Guam.

* I have my first of two fantasy football league drafts tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. Wish me luck. I'm not as prepared as I would like to be, but I figure I'll be OK as long as I don't draft Bubby Brister.

* Major news: My parents are currently in Alaska, and my dad found and bought Rice Oriental Hamburger Helper in the same store that I found it in last year.


Update February 2008: I still receive numerous hits from people searching for Rice Oriental Hamburger Helper. If you are searching for it, I've put together a list of places where it is available (with links) here.

Steelers Fans

As everyone who has ever met me knows, I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I think it is a requirement that anyone who is born in Pittsburgh must be a fan. Anyone who is from Pittsburgh and has a relative in/from Pittsburgh is also a fan. I hope you won't mind the numerous Steelers posts that will be here over the next few months. Anyway, since the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s, the team has been good most years (I've tried to block out the Mark Malone days), even great in some years. However, the team has only made one Super Bowl appearance, which it lost. I think it is fair to say that Steelers fans are now, and probably have been, worriers. Instead of focusing on the positive, we worry about what is going to go wrong. We have become Red Sox fans prior to last year's World Series. Case in point is the top story in the Sports section of today's Post-Gazette. The headline reads "Is Something Wrong With Big Ben?" Granted the top of the article itself is "Steelers not overly concerned with Roethlisberger's struggle." The implication is that other people (fans and media) are concerned with Big Ben. Before last Monday, we were worried about the Steelers chances because Hines Ward was holding out. We have to worry about something regarding the team.

Am I wrong on this?

Back From Florida

I had a very nice four-day weekend, and am almost ready for the work week. Here are a few notes from the trip to Jacksonville:

- I was on A1A constantly during the trip. While the road is best known for being a major route through the entire state, I thought of Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby every time I saw the sign ("so I continued to a1a beachfront ave").

- I also passed several Huddle House restaurants. Even though the website says that the restaurant celebrated its 40th anniversary, it still seemed like a Waffle House knock-off.

- While swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, I had a "Spring Break Shark Attack" moment. A woman (not a lifeguard, just some random beachgoer) advised us to get out of the water when she saw several fish jumping out of the water. According to her, the only reason they were jumping out of the water was because something bigger was chasing it. It seemed like a perfect time for me to lie on the beach and read.

Later Gator

I'm heading out of town for a few days going to Jacksonville, Florida, a place that I believe has some gators.

Just a few things before I leave...

Happy 50th Birthday/Anniversary to Waffle House! I'm a big fan of Waffle House, which I first discovered during my 1997 road trip. My brother and I ate at Waffle House in several states during the trip. Now, Waffle House is part of an annual tradition: the Steelers-Bengals game in Cincinnati. We always eat there the morning of the game before driving from Columbus to Cincinnati.

Finally, for those of you who really wanted to know the answers to the missing songs:

8. The Killers - Somebody Told Me (I thought this would be one of the easier songs to pick; they have only released 3 songs)

17. Dave Matthews Band - Trippin' Billies

Thanks to everyone for their guesses. I enjoyed it!

Undeclared

I saw today that there is a DVD for the complete series of the Fox TV show Undeclared. This was a very funny show that I believe only lasted one season in 2001-2002. I never understood why it didn't last longer. I remember some fantastic episodes with guest appearances by Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. I think I'll have to buy it.

More Reality

For someone who doesn't like most reality shows and the fact that reality shows have taken over TV, I seem to write a lot about them. There are two shows that are premiering soon that I find intriguing. The first is NBC's Tommy Lee Goes to College. Here is the show's bio: Lee enrolls at The University of Nebraska at Lincoln and struggles just like any other (famous rock star) student to balance academics with extra-curricular pursuits, his new roommate Matt and a distractingly attractive tutor named Natalie. As someone who spent several years working in student affairs, I am interested in seeing how the staff and students react to Tommy Lee on campus. How does he behave? Does he take classes seriously? Does he give his RA a hard time? Does he get involved in student activities (I assume marching band)? The debut is tomorrow night, and I'm probably going to miss it.

The second show is ABC's Commander in Chief debuting this fall. Geena Davis is going to be the President. I'm really surprised that the Bush administration was OK with this, but I guess they are looking for some new ideas to help with the current approval rating.

Blogger Problems

I had to switch to an entire new layout last month because there was a giant space between the title and the post itself. Now, my links and everything in the right column magically moved to the bottom of the page. I have not touched or even looked at the template, and I really don't want to mess around with it. Just a little frustrating.

Saturday Morning

I'm watching VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. Willie Aames, best known for his role as Buddy in Charles in Charge has some anger issues. He always seems so happy with Scott Baio.

Here is a very good sign for the University of Pittsburgh basketball. Levon Kendall scored a tournament-high 40 points as Canada upset the United States in overtime of the men's Under 21 basketball world championship.

From AP as printed in The Washington Post Express, "A 28-year-old South Korean man died of exhaustion in an Internet cafe after playing computer games non-stop for 49 hours, South Korean police said Wednesday. Lee, who was identified only by his last name, collapsed Friday after having eaten minimally and not sleeping, refusing to leave his keyboard. Lee was quickly moved to a hospital but died after a few hours, due to what doctors are presuming was a heart attack, police said." I wonder if he was playing Madden 2006.

I'm going to play X-Box now. If you don't hear from me in a few days, it's OK to be worried.

Stealing an Idea

Yes, I am stealing the idea of this post from JQ and Contrary SOB, who stole this idea from other folks. I am listing 20 artists who would have one song (well they may have more than one, but this would be my #1 song of that artist if I had to choose only one) on my iTunes playlist or IPod, if I had iTunes or an IPod. Your job is to identify that song. I have a few one-hit wonder types and others which may be a little tricky since they have so many songs. I'll update as people answer them correctly. Have fun!

1. Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer" (Christine) - I'm not sure if this counts since two songs were selected
2. Murray Head - "One Night in Bangkok" (Christine) - I don't know any other songs by Mr. Head and company
3. Rob Base & DJ E.Z. Rock - "It Takes Two" (Christine) - Only the greatest dance song of all time!
4. Counting Crows - "Mr. Jones" (Amy) - I never get tired of this song.
5. Peter Gabriel - "Big Time" (Dan) - Fun video; I love the start of the song (Hi there).
6. Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter" (Nick) - Nick is on the board!
7. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - "Summertime" (Amy) - Perfect song this time of year.
8. The Killers
9. Black Eyed Peas - "Hey Mama" (Christine)
10. Duran Duran - "Rio" (Amy)
11. Sublime - "What I Got" (Christine) - I think I first heard this song working on an all-night paper in college. I never get tired of the song, but I did get tired of staying up all night working on papers.
12. The B-52s - "Love Shack" (Christine) - My favorite karaoke song, of course I need my friend Barb as a partner.
13. Spencer Davis Band - "Gimme Some Lovin'" (Christine)
14. Michelle Branch - "Everywhere" (Amy) - This song just rocks!
15. Milli Vanilli - "Baby Don't Forget My Number" (Rob through Christine) - Love is stronger than thunder may be some of the greatest lyrics ever written.
16. Neil Diamond - "America" (Amy) - I never understood how Lee Greenwood's song is considered so more patriotic than America.
17. Dave Matthews Band
18. Tone Loc - "Funky Cold Medina" (Christine) - Tone Loc should still be recording today.
19. Beyoncé Knowles - "Crazy in Love" (Amy) - With an assist to Jay-Z.
20. Seal - "Crazy" (Dan) - Before many of the slow ballads, this was (and still is) an upbeat and catchy song.

Last updated: Monday, 10:40pm

Catching Up - Part II

- My ultimate frisbee recreational season is over. Although I worked all weekend, I was able to play in the first half of the quarterfinal match on Sunday. I left at 7-4 and heard that it wasn't that close in the 2nd half. My team lost a close match in the semi-finals. Overall, a very good season!

- It was somewhat spooky hearing and seeing the title "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" this evening. I wonder how long ABC will keep the title. Although I don't watch the evening news as often as I used to, I always go to ABC News for any significant event. Therefore, I watched Peter Jennings during 9-11, the Presidential elections and during any international event where he always seemed to be. He seemed to be great at summarizing the major points, keeping the viewers informed and really attempt to get to the heart of the story.

- I have been very encouraged about the stories today of people saying that they are going to stop smoking because of Peter Jennings' battle with lung cancer.

- On a much lighter note, Ithaca College football is ranked #17 in the preseason Division III football Top 25. Go Bombers!

Catching Up

I've been at a meeting for work the past few days, so I have a few things I wanted to share from the past few days (and in some cases weeks).

- According to the Post-Gazette, Steelers running back Duce Staley will be out for a month, or around the start of the regular season. While I hope that the Bus can carry the load until Duce is healthy, I really think that Verron Haynes is going to come up big.

- In the other Steelers story, Hines Ward is still holding out. The Steelers will not renegotiate a new contract unless Ward is at training camp. Ward will not report to camp until he has a new contract. You can see the problem here. They really need to work this out! It will not be good if Lee Mays is a critical part of the Steelers offense.

- Want more Pittsburgh sports discussion? I like the Penguins (yes, hockey is back) signings of Ziggy Palffy and Sergei Gonchar. The Penguins are really putting together the all first-name team with Ziggy, Sidney, Lasse, Brooks, Konstantin, Rico, Milan and Mark.

- I'm currently watching pre-season football. It seems odd since it was 90 today, but it's great.

- In watching part of VH1's new show, Hogan Knows Best, the Hulkster was inducted into the Wresting Hall of Fame. First, I never knew there was a Wrestling Hall of Fame. Second, some of the old wrestlers and wrestling people were there like St. Slaughter, The Iron Sheik, Mean Gene and Jimmy the Mouth of the South. They all look old. Oh and Hulk wrestled as part of Wrestlemania 21. I think I remember watching Wrestlemania 1.

- Touchdown Bears (Thomas Jones)!. I feel like I'm doing scouting for fantasy football. Oh, I need to find a league to join. I'm only in one league right now and I'd like to be in 3 this year. Between this and my two fantasy baseball leagues, I realize that I may (or do) have a problem.

My Date With Drew

It's a little odd for me to discuss movies on back-to-back posts, but I need some information. There is a movie coming out on Friday called My Date With Drew about a guy who has a crush on Drew Barrymore and tries to ask her out. The guy, Brian Hertzlinger, is an Ithaca College graduate like me and my friend Christian, who first told me about the movie. From looking at the website, I discovered that director, producer and editor Brett Winn and Jon Gunn along with Brian (they all have the same title) are also Ithaca College grads. My first question is do I know any of these guys? My second question is has anyone heard anything about this movie? Since there are IC people prominently involved I am hoping it is good and does well. Jason, since you have been reviewing movies lately, have you heard anything about this one?

Dukes of Hazzard

With the Dukes of Hazzard movie coming out this Friday, I have to know if anyone is really interested in seeing it. I guess people may really want to see Jessica Simpson in the Daisy Dukes, but that's certainly not worth $9, especially when she is wearing less in her new video with Willie Nelson. Are people such big Seann (should be spelled Sean) William Scott or Johnny Knoxville fans that they have to see them as Bo & Luke?

Random Ramblings II

Continued from last night...

- As sports fans and even many non-sports fans already know, Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids, becoming the first major baseball player to do so. He was a probable (if not definite) Hall-of-Fame player before this took place. Now there are some question marks. Palmeiro testified before Congress in March saying "I have never used steroids. Period." The even bigger question is whether or not Viagra will keep Palmeiro as its spokesman.

- In a statement that sounded very similar, Brian O'Neill of the Post-Gazette today asked Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy if he was going to sell the team (since payroll is low, attendance and profits are up and the All-Star Game will in Pittsburgh in 2006). McClatchy said the team's board of directors "has never once had a discussion about selling the Pirates. Period. I can't say that strong enough."

- Just in general, people shouldn't use period in a sentence. Period!

- Only a few people will get this, but I heard "Boom! Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince twice this weekend. I used to hear this song every Saturday night at a dance at camp along with "Summertime" and "Joy and Pain" by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock. Oh yeah, and "Jump Around" by House of Pain. The DJ played the same songs every single week. Good times!

- It looked extremely odd seeing coverage of the Bassmaster Classic from Pittsburgh over the weekend. I never thought of Pittsburgh being the home of a major fishing tournament. I'm guessing many viewers thought the same thing since the commentators kept talking about how big the outdoors is in Western Pennsylvania. They illustrated this point by stating that many school are closed for the first day of deer hunting season. My school district was and is one of them.

One Year Ago

At this time exactly one year ago, I was in the pool and hot tub at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe/Pittsburgh, PA.

And in less than three hours from this time one year ago today, I got married. :)

Media Coverage

I usually don't criticize the mainstream media, but in my opinion, there has not been nearly enough coverage of the terrorist attacks and its aftermath in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from last Friday. I do not want to diminish the sad story about Natalee Holloway, who has been missing in Aruba for more than two months, but I don't think I've seen a story about the bombings in Egypt since the middle of last week while there are still daily reports from Aruba.

Sorry for the moment of being serious. I'll have a lot of good stuff tomorrow including some special mid-day posts!

Washington Monuments

Since I am going to miss the tournament next weekend, I had my final ultimate frisbee game last night. The games are usually spread out throughout the DC area, and last night was the first time this season I played on a field next to the reflecting pool. Even though I have lived in the DC area for the past four years, I rarely go to the Mall unless I'm playing a tour guide for family and friends. I really take the Mall for granted. I enjoyed walking by the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial and Lincoln Monument before and after the game. Seeing the monuments and the Capital Building at night is always beautiful. In case you were curious, my team won the game 13-8 (called for darkness), and despite a few poor throws, I played very well.

Socks

I went to Kohl's over the weekend because I needed dress socks and was hoping to find some good deals on short-sleeve shirts and shorts. Overall, a successful trip...or so I thought. Yesterday, I wore a pair of my new black socks to go along with my black pants and black shoes. When I got home from work, I noticed that the socks seemed to look different than the socks and pants. It turns out that the black socks are actually dark brown. Now that I've worn one pair and taken the other two pairs out of the package, I guess that I'm stuck with them. The morale of the story: stores should sort socks based on color!

ESPN 50 States Tour

As you may or may not know, ESPN Sportscenter is visiting 50 states in 50 days in order to show sports in various states. In reality, they are probably hoping for some improved ratings during the summer and are able to fill some time before football season begins. Anyway, since Washington DC is not a state, they are not getting any coverage. Mayor Anthony Williams submitted a press release questioning why ESPN snubbed the District. Personally, I think DC government should focus on other issues such as the budget, statehood and education, but I agree with Williams. The Washington Area Frisbee Club, in which I am a part of, is following the Mayor's lead by attempting to get ESPN to visit DC to showcase Ultimate Frisbee as among the largest co-ed participant sports played in DC. If you are interested in finding out more about this, check out the WAFC website.

New Quiz

If you ever wanted to know if you are more Yankee or Dixie based on language that you use (or even if you didn't really want to know), here is a link for a quiz. I was 53% Dixie for whatever that's worth.

Way Past My Bedtime

I just finished the 6th Harry Potter after reading non-stop for the past 2.5 hours. I will not give anything away, but I certainly want to talk to people who have finished the book. I think this is the best of the series, and the 7th book cannot come up soon enough. J.K. Rowling should be given anything she wants (like seclusion for a year or her own coffee shop in Edinburgh) to write and finish the last book. I'm really going to be hurting in the morning.

Dream Analysis

I rarely remember my dreams, but there is part of one from last week that I wanted to share. For no real apparent reason, I was getting ready to go to the Oscars with Zach Braff and Vince Vaughn. We were all wearing black tuxedos, but for some reason, I wanted to wear a red or pink boa because I wanted to stand out. I guess I was worried that people would not know who I am. Vince and Zach (it's my dream, we might as well be calling each other by our first names) were trying to convince me not to wear the boa. And that's all I remember about the dream. Anyone want to analyze the dream?

Saturday Morning Ramblings

I haven't done this for a while, but here are some thoughts from the past few days:

- Willie Nelson must still owe a lot of money to the IRS. He has "collaborated" with Jessica Simpson to remake Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin." He has also recently released a country/reggae fusion album. I hope he's also making good money for The Dukes of Hazzard movie.

- Dan already wrote about this yesterday, but the Penguins won the NHL (that's National Hockey League for everyone who was forgotten) lottery. They are going to draft Sidney Crosby, who apparently is the next Mario. It does seem odd that a potential superstar athlete is named Sidney.

- I woke up around 2:30am this morning/last night with a cramp in my left leg. What an awful feeling.

- Maybe related to getting the cramp is what I did last night. I (and my team) played its best ultimate frisbee game of the summer in a 15-8 win. I am finally getting into decent shape, which worked out well since the team didn't have many substitutes.

- After the game, I had dinner at one of the great restaurant chains in the country (and I'm being completely serious), Long John Silver's. There are only two Long John Silver's locations that I know about in Northern Virginia, and neither is close to where I work or live. Therefore, I only eat at LJS maybe once a year. I know that every time I eat there takes a few weeks off of my life, but the fish, hushpuppies and little fried pieces (of what I don't know) covered in vinegar is so good.

- I'm about 300 pages through Harry Potter. So far, very good!

Bobby Brown and the Dalai Lama

There really is nothing on TV. While flipping channels, I found Being Bobby Brown. I don't know why they were meeting, but it certainly looked accidental since they were meeting on the street. Naturally, the Dalai Lama had no clue who he was (although I'm sure if he heard his song from Ghostbusters 2, he would definitely know Bobby). Anyway, when Bobby Brown's guy realized that the Dalai Lama had no idea who he was, he started referring to Brown as Whitney Houston's husband. Very funny.

Empire Today

I really don't know much about the company, but they seem to be taking over the world. I thought they were just a local DC area company that does carpeting and windows. Then, I saw commercials for the company when I was in Pittsburgh and in San Diego. And I can't get the song from the commercial out of my head (singing: "800-588-2-300 Empire" person's voice: "Today"). This is the most catchy phone number since 867-5309. I don't remember a commercial being so and memorable (and a little annoying) since "Don't Say Olds, Say Bendick Olds" and Call Attorney Edgar Snyder at 391-2101, 391-2101.

City Test

Here is a link where you determine where you should be living based on the importance of numerous factors. I must have done something wrong. #1 on my list is Long Island. No offense to my friend Christian or anyone else reading this who is from or lives in Long Island, but please shoot me if I am decide to move to Long Island. Rounding out the top 10 are:

Boston, San Francisco, Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ, Washington DC, Monmouth-Ocean, NJ, Danbury, CT, Bergen-Passaic, NJ, LA/Long Beach and Nashua, NH

Other notables: Pittsburgh was #13, San Diego #19 (behind Newark at #18?), Atlanta #64, Jacksonville #120, Las Vegas #156 and Columbus #220.
The last three...Enid, OK (#326), Gadsden, AL (327) and Pine Bluff, AR (328)

XBox Question

I've started seeing commercials for NCAA Football 2006. Since I'm still new to having an XBox and since I really like NCAA Football 2005, I'm trying to decide if it is worth buying the new version. For any XBox/PS2/Nintendo folks out there, do you buy the new games each year (like Madden 2004, 2005, etc.)? Do you know if there is anything really new and different about NCAA 2006?

Airplane Movie Reviews

No, this is not in reference to Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel, two very funny movies (particularly the first one) from the early 1980s. This is about my flight to and from San Diego last week and the fact that the two movies during the trip were Fever Pitch and Ice Princess.

WARNING: IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THE ENDING OF THESE MOVIES, (are you really?) DO NOT READ BELOW HERE.


(I put a few extra spaces here if you accidentally looked down.)








Let's just say, these are not the best movies ever made (like Airplane!). Ice Princess features Michelle Trachtenberg (from Buffy) as a high school physics nerd who becomes a great figure skater by figuring out scientific equations and formulas. She is able to qualify for the U.S. Nationals even though she has only skated in one competition prior to Sectionals, her coach tried to sabotage her, she asked the coach back, she finished 5th in the short program, then proceeded to fall very hard in the long program, stopped to stare at her mom for about 20 seconds in the middle of the routine and everyone in front of her seemed to do fine in their long program. Yet, all of this was more believable than Fever Pitch. In this movie, Jimmy Fallon decides to sell his season tickets for life near the end of Game 4 of the Red Sox-Yankees game, Drew Barrymore is able to buy two tickets from a scalper in the 8th inning of the game (what scalper is still around to sell tickets that late in the game?), drop down from outfield seats on to the field, elude two security guards by using Johnny Damon as a shield (Damon is perfectly calm even though someone who married Tom Green is running around him) and makes it all the way to the 1st base seats without getting caught by security. After 9-11 (even before 9-11), you would think that Fenway and Major League Baseball would have better security especially during a playoff game. The worst part is the book by Nick Hornby is great. The movie has nothing to do with the book. I hope that Hornby at least got a lot of money for this.

Striker!

More Harry Potter

Just for fun (and since I have several other books on hold), I went to the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) website to see where I would be on the list to check-out the new Harry Potter. Even though the library system has 323 copies throughout the 20 or so locations, my position in the holds queue is 1292! Both the number of copies and my number in the queue has to be a record for FCPL.

Just as a comparison, when I first reserved 1776 by David McCullough and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby my position in the holds queue was approximately 150-175. I am currently #49 and #63 respectively. This should work out well since I'll have a few more books to read after Harry Potter.

Why Leave Out Tommy Maddox?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and CBS Sportsline both reported a story in which a man is accused of impersonating Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Brian St. Pierre so that women would go out with him. The Post-Gazette has a picture of Brian Jackson (the impersonator), Roethlisberger and St. Pierre. Jackson looks nothing like either Steelers QB.

My favorite part of the story is at the end of the CBS article. "When the woman did watch a Steelers game, she saw the real Brian St. Pierre on the screen and realized that Jackson was an impostor, police said. Jackson tried to explain to the woman that he looked "different" on TV, but she asked him not to contact her, police said."

I would love to have heard him explanation of how he looked "different" on TV. He looks heavier in football pads?

It's Here!

At 3:08 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the mailman/letter carrier (what is the actual position title these days?) delivered the latest Harry Potter book. I hope that I'm not giving anything away, but the book is called "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and the first word in Chapter One is "It." Maybe I have given something away since I just heard thunder and "it" is raining heavily here.

By the way, UPS can ignore my letter from earlier today. Somehow they pawned delivering the book on to the U.S. Postal Service. According to the UPS website, the book is still in transit.

Dear UPS:

Can you please deliver the Harry Potter book sometime soon? According to the tracking page of your website, the book has been in Chantilly, VA (only 20 minutes from here) since 9:56 A.M. yesterday and is "in transit to final destination." I know traffic around here is bad, but I know you can make it! I'll be here (or going to Costco, but my wife will be here) awaiting the delivery.

Sincerely,
Sean

Harry Potter World

I'm sure that you either can't get enough Harry Potter coverage or you are ready for it to go away. I'm somewhere in between. While I am looking forward to Book 6 being delivered to my door sometime in the next 8-15 hours, I am worried that there is no possible way the book can live up to the hype.

Anyway, for all of the latest Harry Potter news, visit Mugglenet.com or, if you're living in Indonesia, this blog.

Dick Butkus

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this week that Dick Butkus, one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history, will work as a football coach for the Pittsburgh-area Montour High School as part of a new ESPN reality show. The second article states that Butkus will actually be the head football coach. The coach who was hired by the school in January (not Butkus) said "For the purpose of the show, he's going to be the head coach," [Lou] Cerro said. "For the purpose of [reality], I mean -- well listen. Coach Butkus has not coached a down of football in his life."

I'm glad that Cerro stated that Butkus has never coached football. I'm sure we all remember his outstanding job as a basketball coach on the reality show Hang Time.

What do you mean that wasn't a reality show?

Metro

Today was the first time I took Metro to work since the terrorist attacks in London. I didn't notice any extra security during either trip, but there seemed to be more people riding Metro both to work and back home than there has been in months. Same with the buses. I have no idea why. The shocking Metro event of the day was the posting on the electronic bulletin board saying that there were no reported elevator outages!!!!! (The exclamation points were on the bulletin board, not my reaction to this news.) Of course, escalators may have been out all over the place, but I'll be happy for the people who need to use elevators.

I'll have more about my San Diego trip including my thoughts on the airplane movies (Fever Pitch and The Ice Princess) tomorrow and/or over the weekend.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Not only are these lyrics to a song by Soul II Soul, but it is a perfect description of how I am feeling. We had a wonderful time in San Diego, which I will write more about tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going through mail and e-mail and preparing to go back to work. Tomorrow could be a very long day at work.

Vacation

I'm heading to San Diego Friday morning for a friend's wedding and a much needed vacation. It will actually be good timing since I really don't want to deal with the Washington area Metro the next few days after the tragedy in London.

I am not a security official and I am not going to play one here, but how can authorities stop terrorism in subways/public transportation? Britain has been hit in the past by IRA bombings, and we are not far-removed from the Madrid attack. It seems like it would be nearly impossible to stop a bombing in New York or Washington. Of course, I'm not going to stop using the Metro. It is the best way to get to and from work. I'm not sure where I'm going with this post. I probably need to go back to packing.

Book Request

With my old comments now gone, I lost the list of books suggested by some of you from a few months ago. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning, and need a book or two to take on the trip. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. I am currently on hold for two books from the Fairfax County Library, Nick Hornby's new book and 1776 by David McCullough, but I'm around #100 for both. Thanks!

I Love Steelers Fans!

I feel bad that this guy died during the off-season. It seems like it would be more appropriate if he survived until training camp or maybe the Steelers bye week.

Should I See Dr. Melfi?

I was told over the weekend that I look like James Gandolfini. I'm not sure if I should take this as a complement or not. On one hand, I have more hair (although not by much) than Gandolfini, and I weigh significantly less. On the other hand, I was being compared to Tony Soprano! That's pretty cool.

Happy July 4th!

Besides fireworks and baseball, another July 4th tradition is the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest, which was shown by ESPN. Takeru Kobayashi (simply known as Kobayashi) won his fifth straight title by eating 49 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Just for fun, I made some notes from today’s contest.

ESPN had profiles of many of the competitors including Tim Janus, who wears face paint and calls himself “Eater X.” No, I’m not making this up. Janus is also the 2004 International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) Rookie of the Year. Again, I’m not making this up.

Sonya Thomas, who finished 2nd in this year’s contest with 37 hot dogs, lives in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. She weighs in at 105 pounds and once ate 65 Hard Boiled Eggs in 6 minutes, 40 seconds. Take that Paul Newman! She also ate 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes. Essentially, she ate 10% of her body weight in less than 10 minutes. That really doesn’t seem right, although it was cheesecake and not deep-fried asparagus. If you didn’t already know (and how could you not), Joey Chestnut, who I believe finished 3rd in the hot dog eating contest, is the world deep-fried asparagus-eating champion by eating 6.3 pounds in 11.5 minutes.

My favorite comment of the day had to be about 409-pound Cookie Jarvis. The announcers said that he is having a rebuilding year. How does one rebuild in competitive eating? Did he get a new intestine?

Anyway, Kobayashi (who was a great character in The Usual Suspects) was 4.5 hot dogs short of his record set at the 2004 hot dog eating contest. With about 30 seconds to go in the contest, the announcers were critical of Kobayashi saying that perhaps he partied too much in Midtown the night before. Of course, earlier in the telecast, the same announcers were comparing him to Tom Brady and Lance Armstrong. Oh, and he beat Thomas by 12 hot dogs.

Congratulations to the marketing people at Pepto-Bismol and Alka-Seltzer. Pepto-Bismol had several commercials during the ESPN telecast and later this month, is the Alka-Seltzer US Open of Competitive Eating.

Well, I’m getting ready for a BBQ and then to see some fireworks. I’m hoping to eat 2 hot dogs in 10-15 minutes!

Do You Notice Anything Different?

I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the giant gap between the header and the text, so welcome to the new blog. The next challege will be trying to figure out if I can get the old comments back or if they are gone forever.

Live 8

I'm currently watching Live 8, the concert being performed in 10 cities around the world to raise awareness of poverty in Africa. I'm going to answer my only question, but why isn't the concert raising money to help the poverty in Africa? Live Aid raised over $40 million 20 years ago. I'm sure that Bob Geldof and the producers of the concert feel that it the responsibility of the 8 world leaders meeting next week for the G8 summit to combat poverty by dropping the debt and changing the trade laws for Africa. I certainly see their point, but wouldn't money raised by the concert help?

On to the concert itself. There was a video montage of children in Africa starving that was played at Live Aid. Bob Geldof brought one of the children featured in the video out on stage in London's concert. She just completed agricultural exams in Ethiopia and was there to show that fighting poverty in Africa is working. It was a very touching moment. Then, Madonna came out and hugged her and held her hand for the first 30 seconds of "Live a Prayer." At that point, the woman looked like she wanted to get off stage and Madonna was more than happy to have the limelight.

Some random thoughts about the concert:

- A-ha is performing in Berlin. Who knew they were still around? Are they practicing/auditioning for a spot on Hit Me Baby One More Time?

- VH1 and MTV showed Will Smith's performance of his new song "Switch." A little later, they showed only about 20 seconds of him performing "Summertime." What a great song; they should have showed his entire performance. It really wasn't necessary to see Good Charlotte in Tokyo.

- I saw that Yannick Noah is performing in Paris, and the name sounded really familiar. After doing some research, I saw Yannick Noah was a very good tennis player, who won the French Open (which is why I knew the name) and began a music career in 1993.

- Maybe not the most appropriate, but the VH1 airing of Live 8 is partially being brought to us by "War of the Worlds." I don't think the movie is a reference to the war against poverty.

Weekend Changes

Since I still haven't figured out how to fix the large gap between the headline and text, I'm probably going to change templates over the weekend. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up in case everything looks different the next time you visit.