I received a message in my Spam folder recently from someone named BadGirl28. Yes, it really was a Spam folder. Anyway, I was curious about why BadGirl28 went by BadGirl28. My theory was that maybe she was a big fan of Marshall Faulk. If she's from Pittsburgh, maybe she loves Brandon Cumpton, Ian Cole and/or Cortez Allen. If she's in the DC area, perhaps she is a big fan of Jayson Werth (and she probably supports his abuse of mascots).
Unfortunately, her email doesn't give any information about her favorite player. Instead, all I got was this:
Name: Adriana
Age: 21
Eye Color: Light Blue / Brown
Height: 5"6
Hair Color: Blonde / Light Brown
Submissive: Yes
Sexual orientation: Bi-Sexual
Star sign: Sagittarius
About me: Into being tied up and used like the little slut i am :)
send me a quick text so i know youre real (with a number that I'm not sharing here)
I'm really curious about the eye color thing. Is one eye light blue and the other brown? Is she like Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer?
I also got messages from BadGirl22 and BadGirl25 with the exact same message, so I'm thinking that maybe there is no significance to BadGirl's numbers. Wait, stop the presses!
Is this the same Adriana from a few years ago? If so, I'm happy that she's just giving basic information rather writing a long message. Based just on her last sentence, her grammar is still poor.
What if I told you that someone completed a 5K without preparing (again) and got the motivation to finish by crushing a first grader. This is my 30 for 30 story.
It was a cold spring Sunday morning in Northern Virginia. The threat of rain had passed, but the ground was wet from an overnight storm. All of a sudden, I feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder has taken over Sean's Ramblings. Anyway, remember last week when I asked if it was possible to prepare for a 5K in five days? Well, I did absolutely zero training in those five days unless you want to count eating pretzels as training. (Most "experts" probably don't, though I think more scientific study of this is warranted.)
Let's go to race day. Many runners have a pre-race routine. Maybe they eat certain foods or do elaborate stretches. For me, I started Sunday morning with a quick waffle and then took the family to the 5K and 1 mile fun run/walk. Once at the race site, I ended up holding and carrying around about 35 pounds worth of a shy 4 year-old. For a break, I swapped holding the 4 year-old with a 20-something pound 1 year-old. Then, the entire family participated in one mile fun walk. Pushing a stroller partially uphill is not exactly fun, but I had good company. When we returned to the starting line, I retied my shoes, stretched for about 30 seconds, kissed my family like I would be going on an epic quest that could last for months, and got set to run. And now I'm going into notes form.
- I have no idea how major races like the Boston Marathon start. While there are thousands of runners in major marathons and only about 300 at this 5K, I almost knocked over about 5 people and managed to dodge about a dozen others during the first block of the race while jockeying for position.
- I borrowed my wife's IPod for the race so I could listen to music to motivate me. These are some of the songs that played:
Say What You Need to Say - John Mayer Bubbly - Colbie Caillat Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson Just Give Me a Reason - Pink featuring Nate Ruess
The perfect mix for any adult contemporary fan. Not the perfect running mix. Fortunately, about 23 minutes into the run this song appeared:
I played this a second time as I crossed the finish line.
- They had water at the mid-point for the runners. I have no idea of the proper way to drink water from a cup while trying to run and ended up getting more on me than in me.
- I also felt bad for dropping the cup on the ground. That seemed like the only option though.
- Throughout the race, I passed or got passed by the same kid numerous times. When he was near me, he seemed to run at a bit of an angle as if to cut me off. Several times, I let him pass me and then cut behind and around him. About 1/3 of a mile from the finish line, he was slightly ahead of me. My competitive nature kicked in, and like Drago, I decided that I must break him. I flew by him and never looked back. Later, I found out that he is a first grader. I don't feel bad for DESTROYING him.
- This is the picture of me crossing the finish line. I was so fast that I didn't even need to have feet on the ground.
- Time for the statistics:
• I completed the race in 29 minutes and 57 seconds. While this is much better than my 31:34 time from three years ago on the same course, I feel like 17 year-old me would laugh at this time. Of course, 17 year-old me might also laugh at my hairline.
• I finished 95th out of 279 racers. As a comparison, I finished #215 out of 351 three years.
• I finished 66th out of 138 males.
• I finished 13th in the male 30-39 division (though there were five other men that finished ahead of me that did not have their age listed on the website).
• I turn 40 next month, so if I went to the next division, I would have finished 13th in the 40-49 division (again, not counting those five guys). I thought you were supposed to be slower as you aged.
- Either I need new shoes or I don't know how to run properly. Partially through the race, my ankles started bothering me, and I still had discomfort with my left ankle on Monday. If you click on that link above, you can see that I also had ankle issues three years ago.
- Finally, if run again next year, I'm wearing this shirt made by my friend Doug.
This time of year, my Facebook timeline is filled with people running or preparing to run marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks and even a few Ironman races (and one combination yoga/beer event). While I'm not necessarily trying to keep up with these folks, I am signed up for a 5K this weekend. I ran this same 5K three years ago, so my goal is simply to beat my time from that race. Of course, now that we're 5 days away from the event, I should probably start preparing. This is where you come in.
So is it truly possible to train for a race in 5 days? I know I'm not running the Boston Marathon, and I'm not concerned about not finishing, but I would prefer to not feel nauseous or exhausted during or after the race. I should also mention that I'm not completely out of shape. I've worked some games as a soccer referee this spring, though that involves sprinting, walking, jogging, stopping and sometimes doing some of these backwards. That's definitely not the same as running for three continuous miles.
So any advice? Should I try to run this week to prepare for Sunday? Should I not run on Saturday so that I'm somewhat fresh (meaning not sore) on Sunday? Is there anything special I should eat or not eat on Saturday night and Sunday morning? I generally have a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios to start the day, but I can switch to Lucky Charms if that will help improve my time.
Through the first two games of the Penguins-Rangers playoff series, I have yet to stay awake through the first period. I recorded both games and started watching them after the kids fell asleep. However, in both cases, watching the game was the first time I was able to sit down for an extended period of time, and I crashed shortly after sitting comfortably on the couch. I guess I'll need to stand during the entire game on Monday.
I worked as a soccer referee for two high level (at least for me) games over the weekend. I must have been a little nervous as my stomach/digestive system was not happy with me even more so than for a typical game. Overall, the game where I worked as the center ref went well.
There is someone I know who recently retired from working at the Pentagon and has two grown kids in their 20s. I also discovered via his Facebook page that he attended the Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim. I never knew this side of him. Anyway, here are a few of his pictures from what looks like a fun event.
Where exactly is Obi-Wan Kenobi looking?
The NHL conducted its draft lottery on Saturday night with the Edmonton Oilers emerging as the big winner. Instead of Buffalo or Phoenix earning the #1 pick and probably drafting Connor McDavid, who is supposed to be the best prospect since Sidney Crosby, McDavid is now likely going to Edmonton. This is terrible news for the NHL. The Oilers have had the top pick several times over the past few years and are still a terrible franchise. Meanwhile, McDavid could have been a hero in Buffalo, a city that hasn't had a successful sports franchise in years and hasn't won a championship since 1965 or revitalized a struggling Phoenix franchise that may relocate in the next few years. Boo to the NHL for not "fixing" the lottery.
In the second soccer game I worked this weekend, the center ref ended up giving 12 minutes of stoppage time in the second half. There were no injuries and no reason to have more than maybe 3 or 4 minutes of extra time. I was getting increasingly upset as the time passed especially since a tieing goal (the score was 1-0) would have meant 2 10-minute overtime sessions and the possibility of penalty kicks. I definitely would have rather gone home than stay at the field an extra half hour.
On a recent morning, I asked my 4 year-old how he slept. His reply: on a pillow. Good answer.
Finally, Johnny Kemp of "Just Got Paid" passed away over the weekend. While I always liked this song, I definitely do not remember this video.
Many websites and blogs have thorough breakdowns and analysis of the first round NHL playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. This isn't one of them. Instead, I posed five hard-hitting questions to hockey fans about the series. Here are your contestants:
• Sean of Sean's Ramblings. You're already here, so like my Facebook page!
1. Who will be the leading scorer in the series?
Alex: Does Gretzky still play for the Rangers? If so, him. If not, I'll go with Sidney Crosby.
James: I'll go the easy route and take Rick Nash, who scored a career-high 42 goals in the regular season. Also, how is Rick Nash only 30 years old? The dude has been around forever and he's still 30? I demand to know his secret.
Phil: Rick Nash
Josh: Already starting off with a tough question. By scorer do you mean goals or points? Do they say scoring points though? I am not sure. Rick Nash will score the most goals. I think Crosby has the most points. (Sean's note: I meant points.)
Brian: Mats Zuccarello so we have to learn how to spell his name.
Mike: Hopefully I'm wrong, but I'm gonna go with Derick Brassard. High chances to put up points in bunches while centering Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello
Nicholas: Sid. He has to be a massive difference maker if the Pens are to have any chance. Or Geno. Basically any Penguin.
Adam: Leading scorer will be Rick Nash. No questions asked. It’s painful to not give Crosby or Malkin this title, but the Rangers might have the Pens on lockdown all series long.
Sean: Malkin
2. Game two of the Pens-Rangers series airs Saturday night on NBC. This means that Mike "Doc" Emrick will likely call the game. How many Pittsburgh Pirates references will Doc make?
Alex: Um...66!!!
James: Just the requisite one reference, perhaps to Andrew McCutchen. Though Lord knows he will be asking crew members to give him a score update on the Buccos during every commercial break.
Phil: Three, one in each period
Josh: 4
Brian: Just one. If the game were in Pittsburgh, two if you count a mention of PNC Park.
Mike: I hate the Pirates....so hopefully zero. but I'll go with two. (Sean's note: Hate the Pirates? What the what?)
Nicholas: Seriously, he'll have two at the very minimum. This is the playoffs, Sean.
Adam: Doc will make two Pirates references. It would’ve been driven up to 3 if the game was in Pittsburgh.
Sean: Once in regulation and once during each overtime if that happens.
3. Who will have a better series: Craig Adams or Tanner Glass?
Alex: Tanner Glass, because his first name reminds me of Full House.
Josh: Craig Adams...only because his kid spilled a drink on Lindsey at a game one time.
Brian: Glass for sure. He makes like three times what Craig Adams does, and I'm not sure if that says more about Craig Adams or Glen Sather.
Mike: Tanner Glass. simply on the grounds that Craig Adams had a total of 35 seconds of ice time in the final two games of the season.
Nicholas: I cannot recognize any player on any non-Pens team, even if they formerly donned the Black and Gold, so Craig Adams, of course. Adams catches his heat, most of the time rightly, but his work on the penalty kill and his willingness to block the heaviest of shots translates so well to the playoffs. Tanner Glass...who cares what that guy does?
Adam: Neither will have a better series than the other. It is impossible. Both are the worst things to happen. Gotta ride with Craig Adams now, though, so I’ll say Tanner Glass is gonna be awful.
Sean: None of the above.
4. When the Penguins last won the Stanley Cup, the team won nearly every time coach Dan Bylsma got a Qdoba burrito. What will be Coach Mike Johnston's lucky food?
Alex: Isaly's Chipped Chopped Ham.
James: I would pay money to see Johnston go to town on a bucket of hot wings from Quaker Steak & Lube, so let's go with that.
Phil: Smiley cookie from Eat 'n Park. (I haven't been to Pittsburgh proper in about 5 years, and I have no idea where anyone eats. I always go to Eat 'n Park if I find one.)
Josh: I am thinking double cheeseburgers from Steak 'n Shake.
Brian: Mike Johnston doesn't eat. He's a weird puppet-mannequin possessed by the soul of a bored librarian.
Mike: Well, we know HCMJ and his wife love tapas restaurants. so...one of the local ones in town. take your pick.
Nicholas: Mmmmm anything peanut butter. Or hummus. I'm just going to list every food that I love. Ice cream.
Adam: Hopefully Mike Johnston’s lucky food will be wings from Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings. Pens need wingers.
Sean: Smiley cookie. Even if this doesn't work, you can't be upset while eating a Smiley cookie.
5. Final prediction: Who will win the series and in how many games?
Alex: #pensin7
James: Rangers in 7
Phil: Rangers in 6, and I feel like that's optimistic. I'm rooting for the Pens but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Josh: I hate to be negative, but the Rangers in 6.
Brian: Rangers in 3, have you seen the Penguins lately? Jeez.
Mike: Rangers....in 6.
Nicholas: Pens in 7. I refuse to pick against them despite how gigantic the Rangers look right now.
Adam: The Rangers will win this series in 6 games. Here’s my bailout clause: If this somehow gets to 7 games, the Pens win it.
Sean: Pens in 7. Why not? (And then the Islanders will win the next series.)
Most of you probably know that I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and now live in Northern Virginia. Therefore, I tend to write about subjects related to both Western Pennsylvania and the Washington DC area. Today, I'm writing about both.
Northern Virginia
I wrote about the 2015 Celebrate Fairfax headliners a few weeks ago. Since that time, Bush had to cancel meaning that I need to update that post. While I'd really like to blame Gwen Stefani, I can't. I mean, Gwen Stefani is just so cool. I'll blame Gavin Rossdale instead.
Instead of Bush, Kongos will perform on the Friday night of the festival. While you may not be familiar with the band, you probably know this song.
Kongos is a bit of a departure for Celebrate Fairfax. The festival's headliners are generally more established, so it's nice to see an up-and-coming act. I hope that translates to a nice audience as it seems like Kongos put on a good show.
The other Celebrate Fairfax news is that you can buy Super Early Bird tickets through TODAY for only $8. Starting tomorrow, tickets will go up to $10 which is still an extremely great deal for a concert/festival. I've definitely paid more than $10 for a "service charge" before.
Pittsburgh
This is from the Post-Gazette'sTuned In. Here's your chance to be an extra in the Cinemax show Banshee.
Nancy Mosser Casting is looking for Extras, Stand-ins and Photodoubles ages 18 and older for Season 4 of the hit Cinemax show, “BANSHEE”. Filming will predominantly take place in the Vandergrift area.
OPEN CALL INFO:
WHEN: MONDAY, APRIL 13TH from 4:00pm-8:00pm. Talent may come anytime during this period.
WHERE: Casino Theatre – 145 Lincoln Avenue Vandergrift, PA 15690 - Free parking is available in the lot out front.
WHAT TO EXPECT: You will be signing up to be on file with our company and having your photo taken. Registration is free and will take less than 15 minutes of your time. Must be U.S. Citizens.
In addition to needing regular townspeople, press types and police department background, we are looking for a lot of character types including Bearded men, People with visible piercings who are heavily tattooed, Goth/Punk types and Men with shaved heads.
***THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY ON FILE WITH MOSSER CASTING DO NOT NEED TO ATTEND THIS OPEN CALL
If you are unable to attend, you may create a Free profile on our website at www.mossercasting.com under Talent Registration to be considered for the show!
So does this mean that townspeople, press types and police department staff aren't heavily tattooed, Goth/Punk types and Men with shaved heads?
Last week, I bought my first smartphone becoming the one of the last people between 21 and 40 to get one and probably THE LAST person with both a blog and active Twitter account that didn't have one. I'm still trying to figure out how to use this thing though. For example, I tried turning off the phone by pressing the round button at the bottom but instead activated Siri. My first questions to Siri were how do I turn off the phone and do you cost extra to use but neither question was answered to my satisfaction. Of course Siri has been helpful since then. Last night while making a trip to Wegmans for I believe the 4th time in 5 days, I asked her the score of the Penguins game. At first she replied 3-0 Pens but later answered 3-1 and 3-2. The Pens ended up losing in overtime to Ottawa, so I'm going to blame Siri for this. Meanwhile the phone also has an app (or preprogrammed thing) where I can track my steps. This seems to make much more sense then buying a Fitbit, but I need to carry the phone at all times to track this information. It looks like the smartphone already won a this battle
While getting a smartphone may or may not be one giant leap for mankind, I think I am still behind the times in a lot of ways. Here are some examples:
- I don't have an Instagram account.
- I have never been on Reddit.
- I have never used Uber.
- I don't have Netflix and if I did I would watch movies and shows by getting the DVDs in the mail.
- I have no idea how to watch new episodes of Community on Yahoo. Granted I haven't looked yet.
- I don't get the obsession with Mad Men. I watched the first 9 or 10 episodes, and while I thought the acting was great and the setting/period was really well done, I was bored.
- I have never seen a movie with Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans or Chris Pine. Actually, I think Chris Pratt was in Moneyball, so just the other three.
We recently received our quarterly water/sewer bill, and while it was not any higher than usual, it still seemed to be a little pricey. I called the water authority and learned that we used about 16,000 gallons of water over the past quarter and that this is within the average for a family of four. Despite being within the average, 16,000 gallons of water over 3 months seems absurd and excessive. With the recent news of California ordering mandatory water cutbacks, I need to find a way to cut back on water usage. Here are some ideas:
- Ziggy grooms himself by licking his fur and his front paws. Why can't the kids do this?
- I'm sure that I use a lot of water shaving nearly every day, so my solution is not to shave anymore. I could have the Brett Keisel or Kurt Russell look in no time.
- Drink less water but more alcohol. (Of course, that would lead to my next post: how can I spend less money on alcohol.)
- I need to be a little less anal about how well I clean dishes, cups and silverware before they go into the dishwasher. One of the worst things in the world is running the dishwasher and seeing food still stuck on a knife when putting everything away. I have to find some type of middle ground here.
- Two words: Toilet pool
- Since I don't own a pool, I guess I'll settle with just going to the bathroom outside behind trees and bushes. Hopefully the neighbors won't mind.
- Stop using the washing machine and start washing my clothes in the river. The Potomac River isn't that far from me.
- Start taking baths instead of showers. What a nice way to end the day with a bubble bath, a glass of wine, candles a book and maybe some Kenny G music (preferably his sax solo in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night). I guess the kids can fend for themselves during my relaxing time.
While this is a good start, do you have any other suggestions?
Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, what have you done? I mean sure you created an incredibly catchy and successful song Uptown Funk, but now you've inspired dueling Passover songs.
In this corner, we have Six13 with Uptown Passover featuring the line, "Don't be slavin', just nosh."
And in this corner, there's Aish with Passover Funk and the line, "Fill it up, the Four cups."
Meanwhile, The Maccabeats went old school with Dayenu.
So who is going to settle the Uptown Passover-Passover Funk debate? Let's ask The Kosher Coupon Lady.
I'm so confused. How can you use a store coupon to get free matzo if you spend $75 at an entirely different grocery store? You lost me here, Miriam.
If you celebrate, have a very Happy Passover! It hasn't even started yet, but I'm already sick of matzo.
Today’s post comes from Stephen of the Crank Crank Revolution, and is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. You can see my post over on Jelly Jars where I share a never-written about story about trying to impress my wife by biking on our honeymoon.
I don't need to tell many people this, but Pittsburgh is a very interesting city. Its economy is unique, its rich history is amazingly singular, and--most importantly--its people are extraordinarily distinctive.
Pittsburghers pride themselves in being different, in whatever way that manifests itself.
I'm actually quite surprised, however, that there hasn't been a movement to create a sort of Pittsburgh currency. Sure, it's illegal, what with the Constitution stating that only the federal government gets to coin money, but the Constitution also tells you not to make a left turn first at the intersection, so whatever. Still, an unofficial currency that is indicative of the city itself would certainly be interesting.
Let's take a look at how we could pay various costs with some iconic Pittsburgh items. I'm assuming that all items are worth their full retail value, here, because double-entry bookkeeping is for charlatans and suckers.
If you sold 3,296 Smiley Cookies from Eat N' Park, you could have bought the August Wilson Center at a sheriff's sale.
In order to match the profits that UPMC totally didn't make in 2014 because they are a non-profit, you would have to win and then sell 7,600 Lombardi Trophies. There are people in Pittsburgh who think this is entirely possible, and I'm not gonna tell them no.
You would have to sling 1770 baskets of Potato Patch Fries to be able to pay the median property taxes in Fox Chapel. That's a whole lot of trips of sending your servants to an amusement park!
Franco Harris would have to sell 397,674,419 Super Donuts to pay off Penn State's legal bills. He's trying his hardest.
You would have to let 105,541 people into the Carnegie Science Center to match the amount that Henry Clay Frick left to the park to totally square things with all those people he shot in Homestead.
You would have to sell 4,065,470 CDs of Donnie Iris's 1980 debut album Back To The Streets to be able to pay the Pittsburgh Pirates payroll this year. If you are unfortunate enough to live in Lawrenceville, it's going to take 7,738,693 vinyl albums. If you drive a 1995 Ford F150 in Butler County, you would need to sell 62,096,774 cassette tapes to cover the cost.
You would have to sell 154 Wholey Fish Sandwiches to be able to pay for One Trash Can With Luke Ravenstahl's Name On It.
You would have to save 42,799,678 Parking Spaces With A Plastic Lawn Chair in order to pay for the entire North Shore Connector.
It would have taken 440,252 Terrible Towels to match the payout from the lottery that Nick Perry rigged in 1980.
Heinz would have had to shoot 6,533,200,000 pounds of Mount Lebanon venison in order to merge with Kraft.
I don't know about you, but I think Fuelperks just got a lot more interesting.
Please check out all of these amazing Pittsburgh bloggers participating in this now annual event:
One of the biggest current songs is Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding. The song is from the movie Fifty Shades of Grey which I'm amazed is a success since it appears to be based on the paint colors available at Home Depot.
Anyway, there's one part of the song that bothers me.
Yeah, I'll let you set the pace
'Cause I'm not thinking straight
My head spinning around I can't see clear no more
What are you waiting for?
What is this person waiting for? Maybe for you to think straight, have a non-spinning head and see clearly.
This does not sound like a romantic scenario. Sure Ellie sings that she'll let the other person set the pace, but those middle two lines sound like there could be potential for, well, something from a Law & Order SVU episode.
I think we should be grateful that the person is waiting.
Ever hear a song but have no idea the title or artist? This happened to me recently with Kathleen by Catfish and the Bottlemen. I know absolutely nothing about the group, but I hope they perform with Hootie and The Blowfish someday.
Celebrate Fairfax!, Northern Virginia’s largest community-wide celebration taking place on June 5-7, 2015 at the Fairfax County Government Center, announced its headliners for this year's festival.
Friday, June 5th: BUSH UPDATE: See this post to see that Kongos are in while Bush is out.
Bush are a British rock band formed in London in 1992. The band found their immediate success with the release of their debut album Sixteen Stone in 1994, which is certified 6× multi-platinum by the RIAA. Bush went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1990s, selling over 10 million records in the United States. (From Wikipedia)
Should it be Bush is instead of Bush are? Regardless, this is a great get for Celebrate Fairfax. Plus, there's always a chance that Bush front man Gavin Rossdale's wife attends too. Maybe Gwen Stefani will take the kids to lunch at Coastal Flats before the show and then serve as a judge at the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship during the festival. She does have musical judging experience.
Saturday, June 6th: 3 DOORS DOWN
The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which charted in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed onto Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Their second album, Away from the Sun, (2002) continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the United States like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". Since the start of their career, 3 Doors Down have sold over 20 million albums worldwide. (Again, from Wikipedia)
Bush and 3 Doors Down may be the best 1-2 combination of bands Celebrate Fairfax has ever had.
Sunday, June 7th: THE AMISH OUTLAWS
They look like fun.
Please click here to learn more about Celebrate Fairfax and you'll be able to buy tickets (discounted tickets!) around April 1st.
I know that I write this every year, but I have no idea where else you can buy such inexpensive concert tickets while also getting admission for dozens of other performances and activities.
There's a lot of little things I want to share, and it makes sense (at least to me) to put everything together into one post.
- We're considering giving up our home phone and relying solely on cell phones. I know many people do this, but I've always had a home phone. This scares me a little including the fact that my kids will need to use my (likely brand new) cell phone if they want to talk to their relatives. I guess that's what Skype is for. (That was the original title of a Dionne Warwick song.)
- Ever wonder what the most popular breakfast cereals are in the US? The answer is Cheerios which also matches the most popular cereal in my house. Meanwhile, I've never heard of Malt-O-Meal, the 10th most popular cereal. [The Washington Post]
- I've had the opportunity to get to know some awesome people through this blog. The talented Neal Coolong is one of those people. Even though we've never met, he was extremely generous in giving his time for my Pittsburgh Sports Blogger Interview Series, and he's always supported my blog. Neal recently shared that he's leaving Behind The Steel Curtain, the best Steelers blog around, and will announce his new gig soon. More importantly, his daughter appears to be doing better. [Behind the Steel Curtain]
- Nicholas, aka Tecmo, another friend that I met through this blog and actually met once in person at a Penguins-Islander game recently celebrated the 8th anniversary of his blog Pittsburgh Sports & Mini Ponies. He doesn't post as much as he used (that sounds familiar), but his blog is always a good read. [PSAMP]
- My friend Sarah (someone who is a friend from before I started this blog) was on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch podcast. She's really good. If you're a romance reader or know someone who is, they must check out her blog, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. [NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour]
- Inside Higher Ed regularly publishes commencement speakers. I love the fact that Ithaca College's 2015 commencement speaker, Meghan Musnicki, has a longer bio than some actor named Denzel. [Inside Higher Ed]
- Lisa of Lemon Gloria was an extra in House of Cards. There are some spoilers in the post, but I don't know any of the characters names, so nothing spoiled for me. [Lemon Gloria]
- I get jealous every time I read one of Christine's blog posts since I'd love to travel internationally. She recently visited the Seoul Olympic Park and shared lots of pictures like this one. [The Adventures of ChrisMichRob in Korea]
- Finally, I landed awkwardly attempting a diving catch during an ultimate Frisbee game at least five years ago. I was in significant pain at the time, but kept playing and felt better soon after. However, I still feel some discomfort in my shoulder when raising my arm to make certain signals as a soccer referee/assistant referee and when washing my back. It might be 30 years, but I'll probably need surgery someday.
Today's Washington Post Express features three stories about Brazil regarding a tragic bus crash, a massive march against the country's leader and people taking showers on pages 8-9. Guess which story had the most written about it by Express?
Keeping clean is important!
Please click here for past Express Fail posts. It's shocking to me that it's been about 18 months since my last Express Fail post.
Growing up, my family went to the Rax restaurant on Penn Avenue in Point Breeze/Wilkinsburg seemingly every week or two. While their signature item was Roast Beef sandwiches, the fast food chain also had a salad bar and a wide variety of other menu options. According to Wikipedia, Rax had over 500 locations in 38 states in the 80s, but is down to 14 as of March 2013 according to this Columbus Dispatch article.
However, according to this person's license plate, Rax is always in his/her heart:
Of course, maybe this plate belongs to a woman who loves Richard Adam Xavier.
After a one-year hiatus, the annual hockey road trip returned for the 2014-2015 season last Thursday. While I'll write about the games and trip over the next few weeks, let's go back to Thursday when this happened:
As a result, every school district in the Washington DC area closed as did the Federal Government. My original flight from Washington National to Tampa scheduled for 11:00 AM was cancelled. I was rescheduled for a 2:20 flight which would get into Tampa at 6:30 (after a stop in Atlanta) giving me just enough time to rent a car to get to the Lightning-Maple Leafs game. However, after the plane arrived late, a mechanical problem needed fixed, the runway closed to be plowed and the plane got de-iced, the 2:20 flight left 2 hours late.
When we arrived in Atlanta, the 4 passengers continuing to Tampa (including me) were instructed to stay on the plane. As we waited for the Atlanta folks to board, I started talking to the flight attendant (who I learned had worked at Hooters in her previous life and once drove NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders in her car) and another passenger. The other passenger seemed like a nice woman who was heading to Florida to see the Baltimore Orioles spring training. When I mentioned that I was originally from Pittsburgh and went to Spring Training a few years ago, she said something to the effect that she was disappointed I was from Sh!tsburgh.
I know that I get defensive about my hometown, and I may celebrate the accomplishments of current and former Pittsburgh residents a little too much (Michael Keaton got robbed for Best Actor!). However, when is saying Sh!tsburgh to someone, particularly to someone you just met, ever appropriate? Did she want me to agree with her and trash my hometown? Did she want me to declare my love of the Orioles (though I did say that I liked Camden Yards) and state that Baltimore or DC is significantly better than Pittsburgh? Instead, I quickly ended the conversation and said I needed to use the restroom.
In case you're wondering, I arrived at the Amalie Arena in Tampa with 15 seconds left in the 2nd period, but that's for a future blog post.
During my recent haircut, the barber/stylist was making conversation, and somehow, the topic of my kids came up (as in my wife is watching the kids right now as I'm out gallivanting around town getting a haircut and going to the grocery store). It started with the typical stuff like gender, age, do they like snow, and then this happened:
B/S: What does your 3 year old like?
Me: Mostly dinosaurs and trains.
B/S: Awww. That's cute. Has he seen Jurassic Park?
Me: Um, no.
Now the barber/stylist is probably in her 20s and clearly hasn't spent much time around young kids. Dinosaur Train is much more of my son's speed than Jurassic Park, a PG-13 movie with scenes like this.
I mean, sure I let my infant watch Game of Thrones, but I don't think my 3 year-old is quite ready to see Jeff Goldblum in a movie.
I don't understand Maroon 5. I mean, I understand that they have a string of catchy pop hits, but they're as big as they are solely because of Adam Levine. Having a charismatic lead singer appear weekly on The Voice and get People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive does good things for a musical career. In my mind, Maroon 5 is Lifehouse without Adam Levine being Adam Levine. That's not a knock against Lifehouse either since I think their best songs are better than Maroon 5's best songs.
Anyway, I heard Maroon 5's latest song Sugar on the radio recently (yes, I still listen to the radio) and thought one part sounded a lot like Michael Jackson's Beat It. Apparently, Ben Schuller, as seen in this video below, agrees with me. Specifically, check out the part around the :23 second mark.
This isn't quite a Sam Smith-Tom Petty situation, and I'm not a lawyer or play one on the internet, but I think the Jackson family has a case to get some royalties here.
With spring training underway throughout Florida and Arizona, new Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made a major announcement yesterday. After more than a century of the World Series featuring one team from the National League and one team from the American League, the Commissioner revealed a change in the playoff format effective for the 2015 season, so that teams from the same league could potentially meet in the World Series. Manfred said, "We want the best teams to compete for the World Series and revising the playoff format will help accomplish this goal. Seeing a Red Sox-Yankees or a Dodgers-Giants World Series would be amazing. Think of the ratings!" There were unconfirmed reports that Manfred then jumped into a Scrooge McDuck money pit.
The playoffs will still consist of six division winners and two Wild Card teams from each league. The one-game Wild Card round will also remain the same as will the divisional round. The major change occurs once baseball gets to the final four. Instead of an American League Championship Series and a National League Championship Series, the final four teams will be reseeded based on the regular season record. Here's an example of what could occur this season:
AL East Division Winner: Boston Red Sox
AL Central Division Winner: Kansas City Royals
AL West Division Winner: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card Teams: Toronto Blue Jays & Detroit Tigers
NL East Division Winner: Miami Marlins
NL Central Division Winner: Chicago Cubs
NL West Division Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card Teams: Washington Nationals & Pittsburgh Pirates (yes again!)
Still with me here? Now, instead of the two league championship series, this would be the next round based on the regular season record:
Angels (100 regular season wins) vs. Marlins (92)
Cubs (96) vs. Red Sox (98) - Now this would be a fun series!
Of course, there's always a chance that things could backfire. Instead of having the teams with the two best records, you could have a Cubs-Miami World Series.
(Yes, I made this entire thing up just for the Back to the Future II reference. However, would you be surprised if the new Commissioner came up with some type of proposal to change the playoffs?)
Do you listen to songs on the radio and think to yourself, I would love to know Sean's thoughts about various lyrics? Well, I'm back again to analyze lyrics from some of the biggest current pop songs.
FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney
Now I'm FourFiveSeconds from wildin'
And we got three more days 'til Friday
McCartney is one of the greatest songwriters ever. However, this is just a fancy way of staying that it's Tuesday.
I'm just tryna make it back home by Monday, mornin'
So, you have 6 more days to get home and you're singing about this now? Can you at least wait until Friday to start telling everyone that you need to be home by Monday?
Style by Taylor Swift
Midnight, you come and pick me up
No headlights
Even The Wallflowers had one headlight.
(and later)
So it goes
He can't keep his wild eyes on the road
Taylor, this guy is a terrible driver. Stay away!
I Don't Mind by Usher
Shawty, I don’t mind If you dance on a pole
That don’t make you a ho
Shawty, I don’t mind when you work until three
If you’re leaving with me
Go make that money, money, money
Your money, money, money
Cause I know how it is, go and handle your biz
And get that money, money, money
Your money, money, money
You can take off your clothes
Long as you coming home, girl, I don’t mind
Usher, you're 36 years old and have two kids. Why are you singing a song like this?
Centuries by Fall Out Boy
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me, remember me for centuries
No, Fall Out Boy, we will not remember you for centuries. Think about it. How many musicians can you name from the 1700s? Mozart. Beethoven. Anyone else? Well, Fall Out Boy, you are no Mozart or Beethoven. In 200 years, maybe folks will know McCartney, but they're not going to know you. (Wow, this sounds really mean. Sorry.)
Click here for previous installments of me analyzing song lyrics.
See what I did there? I combined Trivia Tuesday with a Friday Video. With the Academy Awards taking place on Sunday, can you name the only music video that features two Oscar-winning actors, two Grammy award winners and Mr. T?
If you looked down the screen, you obviously know the answer.
I recently discovered an unopened bag of Rold Gold pretzels in my basement closet. (Yes, this truly is a "Found in My Basement" blog post!) My excitement in finding my favorite snack food was tempered by the fact that the bag shows a use by date of June 2014. While I don't use milk or eggs beyond the expiration date (well, maybe one or two days after the date if the milk smells okay), would an unopened bag of pretzels be stale or unsafe to eat 8 months after the expiration date?
There was an article in Sunday's Washington Post about the teams with the best odds to win the 2015 World Series. The print version includes the over/under wins for each MLB team from Bovada and the World Series odds from the Atlantis sportsbook. Since this is the Washington Post, the Nationals were clearly the focus of the article as the team has the best odds to win the World Series (13-2) and are expected to have the most regular season wins (over/under 93). The odd part, though, is how these sites view the Pirates.
Bovada has the Pirates over/under wins at 85 1/2. After reaching the playoffs over the past two seasons, this is not unexpected. In fact the 85 1/2 is the 7th best in baseball behind the Nats, Dodgers, Cardinals, Angels, Tigers and Red Sox. However, Atlantis has the Pirates odds to win the World Series at 33-1 or tied for 17th best in baseball. Um, what? Look, I understand that the Nationals, Dodgers, and Cardinals all look like more complete teams and will be extremely tough competition for the Pirates. Meanwhile, the Mets (28-1), Mariners (16-1), Cubs (10-1!) and Padres (14-1) all have better odds to win the World Series than the Bucs.
I visited Israel during winter break of 1996/the first day or two of 1997. It was an amazing trip. I was part of the leadership bus consisting of college students throughout the country. Most of the people on the bus didn't know more than a few others, so there weren't the cliques that you might expect. I became friends with a couple from the University of Houston and went to their wedding a few years later. My assigned roommate attended Texas A&M, and I remember him trying to bargain for cheaper ice cream at Ben & Jerry's since you're expected to bargain at retail stores in Israel. Obviously, this did not apply at Ben & Jerry's but the interaction between my roommate and the employee was hilarious. I made friends with people from George Mason University, Arizona State University and San Diego State, and in this last case, she vouched me, helping me get a job there.
Unfortunately, I lost all of my pictures from this trip. I don't know if I accidentally threw them away packing up after college graduation, but they have been gone for 18+ years now. However, I recently found a newsletter that included this picture of me with the current Israeli Prime Minister and the leader at the time, Benjamin Netanyahu.
I honestly don't know why I was picked to meet Netanyahu, and more importantly, why the Prime Minister took time out of his schedule to address a group (though a large group) of American college students. I think I probably said hello, but I doubt we said more than ten words to each other. I'm positive that I was much nicer to Netanyahu than I was to former California Governor Gray Davis.
Netanyahu is in the news quite a bit these days. He's currently running for re-election in Israel and may or may not address Congress in the near future. Whether or not you agree or disagree with any (or all) of Netanyahu's opinions and policies, how often can you say that you shook hands with a country leader? I mean, sure I got a holiday card from the Gore family, but Al Gore was only the Vice President at that time, and it's not like we actually met.
Country star Garth Brooks recently played 713 concerts in Pittsburgh* and in various performances wore Steelers, Penguins and Pirates jerseys. Brooks showed that he either really, really likes the Pittsburgh sports teams or he's just pandering to the crowd. I'm fine with either (though I hope it's the first one). If only he wore a Pittsburgh Spirit or Pittsburgh Maulers jersey. Anyway, here's proof of Brooks wearing jerseys including a video showing Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin ("a huge Garth Brooks fan") and Hall of Famers Mel Blount & Lynn Swann singing Brooks a Happy Birthday.
Brooks also took a picture with Steeler players Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Heyward, Brett Keisel & Matt Spaeth. (I think Shaun Suisham & Greg Warren are also in this.)
On Sunday afternoon, at 4:12 PM in Arlington, Virginia, I turned on the car radio and pressed scan on the FM dial. I arrived at my destination at 4:26 PM. The radio scanned the entire 14 minutes, and despite stopping on probably 20 stations several hundred times collectively, I did not hear one Taylor Swift song.
I'll let Washington Wizards announcer Steve Buckhantz call this historic moment.
I sincerely did not think it was possible to go more than 5 minutes in a metropolitan area without hearing a Taylor Swift song. The next time you're driving, I challenge you to try to match this achievement.
This is a guest post from blogger Mark Stevens who (I believe) is no relation to former Pittsburgh Penguin Kevin Stevens or Shadoe Stevens. I'm really dating myself with these references.
Hair can define a person, for better or worse. Athletes who are constantly in the spotlight can have their hair become a major topic of discussion not only at the game, but on the internet. Here is one player from every major professional sport who is making headlines with what’s on top of their head.
Elfrid Payton
The rookie point guard for the Orlando Magic has been having a pretty solid year. Even though the team is not winning consistently, he looks like a guy who could be a major factor for them in the upcoming years. Most people know him as the guy with the weird haircut. There is really nobody in professional sports with a haircut like him, and therefore it really does not have a name. It first grew his hair out with the rest of his high school teammates, and now he just goes with it.
Bryce Harper
One of baseball’s most promising youngsters has been known to mess around with hair styles. When he grows it out and goes with some sort of a faux hawk, it doesn’t exactly win a lot of style points. Maybe it helps with his own brand, but the hair hasn’t helped him shake the reputation of being a bit of a prima donna.
Charlie Whitehurst
When your nickname is Clipboard Jesus, it isn’t exactly flattering. The lifelong backup received some playing time for the Tennessee Titans this year, and almost instantly people were cracking jokes on how he looks. As you would expect, his long hair and facial hair makes him look like common depictions of Jesus.
Scott Hartnell (Sean's Note: Hartnell is my second least favorite hockey player of all time. I'm not a fan of even having him mentioned on my blog.)
The veteran left winger has cleaned up his hair from time to time, but when he lets it grow out, he has a carrot top afro with a matching beard. There are actually a lot of hockey players with pretty nice hair out there, but Hartnell is one who just lets it do its own thing. Now that he is 32 years of age, perhaps his crazy hair days are a thing of the past.
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I recently started receiving Parents Magazine, and I have no idea why. I mean, I'm a parent, so maybe that's why, but I didn't subscribe, and they just started to appear in my mailbox. Here are some thoughts about the January 2015 issue:
- One of the first articles is titled "Got Mom Guilt? Shake It Off!" The idea is that "there are better ways to make the most of your mom time." If you have a spare 45 minutes, "you can plan to check in with the teacher about your child's current reading level, or you can plan your family's next long-weekend vacay adventure." This is an excellent point. Why bother with your child's reading ability? It's not like he/she will need to read in life.
- Mom guilt isn't really applicable to me, so how about sleep traps. The magazine states that "you want to put your infant in his crib before he gets too sleepy, so that he learns to connect going to sleep with being in his crib, not in your arms." My 9-month old crashes while taking his last bottle EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. So this is bad, Parents Magazine?
- While I'm really not sure what lip color is for me, I'm guessing that it's not Isla Fisher's purple.
- Did you know that "39% of adults spend more than 11 hours outside of work using electronic media each day," according to Northwestern University? I wondered how this is even possible but the article continues that playing Candy Crush while watching TV counts as double. How did the article know that I'm watching TV, typing this blog post, and playing both Trivia Crack and Xbox at the same time?
- Now here's an article for me: Real Eye Openers
1. Apply mascara to top lashes only. Done.
2. Dab a dewy balm on you lids. Um, what is a dewy balm?
3. Use the "starburst method of applying mascara. Is there any other way?
4. Know where your brow arch should be. I think this was the original version of a Whitney Houston song.
5. Never underestimate the power of curled lashes and groomed, filled-in brows. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS POWER!
6. Apply luminizer under your concealer. The Luminizer. Coming to theaters this May.
- "By just 6 months, your baby can see 20/30, or in other words, almost as well as you." That's really cute. My vision hasn't been 20/30 since elementary school.
That was fun. There are actually a few useful articles, so as long as I don't get billed, I'm certainly happy to continue to peruse Parents Magazine.
Happy Friday, everyone! To get you fired up for the Super Bowl, check out the latest East/West Bowl sketch by Key & Peele.
My personal favorites are Stumptavian Roboclick, Vagonius Thicket-Suede and Snarf Mintz-Plasse. I really need to watch more Key & Peele.
Today's second video is a brief documentary about how 2006 Final Four run changed George Mason University.
I regularly attended Mason games before and during that season, and I thought they would lose in the first round since Tony Skinn was suspended for that game.
Welcome to Sean's Ramblings! If you're looking for thoughts on pop culture, music, fun and informative links, random DC and Pittsburgh info, sports (particularly Pittsburgh sports), and just what's going on in my life, then you're come to the right place.
Any questions, comments or links? Contact me at seanramblings[at]yahoo[dot]com.
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