New Reading

Xmas is over and the tension is building for the New Year!! Can you feel it? I can! Wait. That's just my brother's dog licking my fingers.

If any of you received a gift card from Barnes & Noble or Amazon (and according to this article, at least 80% of Americans received at least one) then I have a recommendation for you.

My niece, Rebekah Mccarron, just had her first novel published (guess writing runs in the family)!! It's called The Small Travelers. It's a children's book in the same vein as the The Chronicles of Narnia or the A Wrinkle in Time novels.

Please give it a read and tell me what you think!!

Random Xmas Thoughts

Hey Everyone!!

Okay. I had this post sitting as a draft and forgot to send it. So here it is. Better late than never!!


Hope everyone is finished shopping. I have a feeling the malls are going to resemble the Colosseum scenes from Gladiator . "We who are about to shop salute you!!" Remember, you can purchase Amazon.com Gift Certificates and have them emailed to the recipients by clicking here or the banner at the top of the blog.

Question? How do you make the Yuletide gay?

You can be a Ninja too!!

December 5th is Be A Ninja Day!!! Click here to post your cool ninja pics. Look for mine!!

Fog of War

I drove to work this morning in a thick haze. Oh, and it was foggy too.

Speaking of foggy hazes, here is my wellspring of thick, foggy hazes.

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Number 5 already?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes to theaters on July 13, 2007. Here is the teaser trailer. That Hermione is filling out nicely!

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Superman here? Golly!

Tomorrow is the release date of Superman Returns and Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut.

Superman Returns was decent. The story was a little too melodramatic and I thought Kevin Spacey did a bad Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. Brandon Routh also did a mousy Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman, but thankfully he didn't have a lot of dialogue. My brother got a HD-DVD player for his XBox 360, so I am keen on watching Superman Returns in HD.

Some of you may know that Richard Donner was hired to direct Superman-The Movie and Superman II. However, creative differences between Donner and the producers lead to Donner being fired after shooting most of Superman II. The producers hired Richard Lester to finish Superman II and direct Superman III. You can definitely tell where the Donner work ends and the Lester work begins in Superman II and I don't even need to bring up the train wreck that is Superman III(Richard Pryor?? Come on!) This new edition of Superman II has newly restored scenes and is cut the way Donner intended for his vision of Superman II. I generally don't like director's editions of films as most of the time it's just extra footage that should have remained on the cutting room floor and added in a nice little package so the studios can make some extra money. Nonetheless, I am going to give this one a viewing since I consider Donner's Superman - The Movie to be the definitive comic book movie. I'll let you know what I think.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!!! If you're day was exactly like mine you started by going to the gym, then served turkey dinners, watched the Dallas Cowboys roll over the Buccaneers, then capped the day with the annual viewing of It's a Wonderful Life . I also did manage to eat some turkey leftovers in between all of that.

Where'd You Go?

Hey everyone!!!

I know, I know. I haven't posted in quite some time. What excuse should I use?

1. I was waiting for the proper planetary equinox.
2. My Muse was kicking it down in Rio.
   
3. I've been working too damn much.

You pick one.

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. That special time of year when family and friends get together to enjoy food, football, and a tryptophan coma. It all started about 400 years ago when Indians fed the Pilgrims some turkeys during some hard times. As a way of saying thanks, the Indians were killed and forced off their lands. Things are a little different today. Now the Indians charge overweight Americans $24.95 for a turkey buffet in one of their casinos and are making a killing at the slots.

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How can you tell when this turkey is done? Poke at it and tell him that he's not funny. Then record the ensuing racist diatribe and post it on the net. Then you know he is done. Oh yeah, he's done alright!!

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Play this if you like a soundtrack to accompany your dinner.

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Or this if you think you are going to overeat.

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I'll be working tomorrow, but I will be home in time for some leftovers. So save me some!!!

Happy Día de los Muertos!!

Today is the Day of the Dead, when Mexicans take a break from illegal border crossings to wear skull masks and decorate the gravestones of deceased love ones.

Not to be outdone by our neighbors to the south, here is a list of "dead" related activities to celebrate.

1. Watch season one of Dead Like Me

2. Listen to Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party

3. Watch Johnny Depp in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man

4. Go to the Norfolk Zoo with some friends and play Dead Zoo Animal Lotto. Whoever can guess which exhibit will suffer the next fatality wins! My guess is one of the eastern Bongos.

5. Take a tour of the world's largest slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, NC. Every visitor gets a free pint of pig's blood.

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That's all for now. Have to go and watch last night's episode of Lost. I hear someone dies.

Did everyone have a great Halloween? Hope no one feels like this fella.

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Now that Halloween is over don't forget to throw away your Jack-O-Latern. Or you can watch it rot on your front stoop. Like this.

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Game show models and circuit court judges breathe a sigh of relief. Bob Barker is retiring.

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Taking a short break. Be back in a few hours.

All Hallow's Eve

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Sorry. I know it's been a few days since my last post. Part of the reason was because Blogger was experiencing some technical issues and I the one day I wanted to post, I couldn't. The main reason has been lack of time. I just picked up a third job, so the little time that I had to post has been pinched even further. Because of the new time constraint, I probably won't be posting everyday. But I am mixing things up a bit. Due to the popularity of last week's movie challenge, I will be doing more contests. I am also opening the blog up to guest posters. If any of you get a burst of creative energy shoot me an email with your thoughts. Ok. Let's get to the random.

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Jeepers Creepers


In celebration of Halloween, I have compiled a list of movies that I feel should be watched every year at this time. I have excluded obvious films (The Excorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby) and have listed less known movies that I feel deserve a viewing.Now these are movies that I consider genuinely frightening. You will notice that there are no ginsu hack and slash flicks. I don't consider those films scary. Some can be entertaining (Halloween, Scream) but most of the scares are of the quick edit, cats in the alley variety. The movies I have on the list generate a sense of foreboding and creepy. It's not what you see on the screen, but what you don't and what your mind does with that unseen knowledge. So here's the list in no particular order.

The Haunting

I refer to the 1963 version, not the tragic 1999 re-make (although it is almost worth a viewing to see Owen Wilson get decapitated). This is the ultimate haunted house movie. Director Robert Wise is masterful in creating an evil atmosphere and even though you never see a single ghost, you feel them everywhere.


Prince of Darkness

John Carpenter of Halloween fame explores the source of all evil and the consequences if released into our world. After viewing this film, I can't go into any church without wondering if there is a basement with a glowing vat in it. Look for a cameo by Alice Cooper.

The Evil Dead

Before the skyscrapers and bustling streets of Spider-man, Sam Raimi's first film was set in a remote cabin in the woods. Notable for it's unique pov camera work and the first (only?) rape between a human and an oak tree.

Pumpkinhead

A different twist on the revenge story. Director Stan Winston is known for his creature effects on films like Alien and Predator. You can see a Ridley Scott influence in Winston's directorial debut.


White Chicks

The Wayans Brothers collaborate to produce one of the scariest films of all time. Includes an equally frightening soundtrack featuring Vanessa Carlton.


If you have seen any of these, please post a comment on what you thought of the film. I'd also love to hear your choices for must see films on Halloween.

Movie Stationary

With a little help from my Random friends, all the stationary movie scenes have been deciphered. A t-shirt will be going out to Tammy for being the first to get number 14-thanks!!I will post all the answers in the comments section so you can enter the drawing for the DVDs.

The man who murdered five students at the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College in a 1990 killing spree that spread fear in Gainesville, Fla., was executed on Wednesday night by the State of Florida. Method of execution? A roundhouse kick to the head from Chuck Norris.

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Did anyone figure out all of the office supply movie scenes from yesterday? I got a few answers from Kathryn(thanks!), but there is still one that I can't figure out. Number 11. I'm putting everyone to the task of figuring out pesky number 11. First one to figure it out, gets a free Family Guy t-shirt. Post your answer in the comments section.

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This is just freaky. Wonder if he only does pipes?

24 starts up again in January. Fox has posted an advance teaser. I wonder who would win in a fight between Jack Bauer and James Bond. Oh yeah-Chuck Norris.

Another previously unknown Chuck Norris fact.

In space, Chuck Norris can hear you scream.

Saw The Lake House this past weekend. Enjoyed it. Also saw The Grudge 2 this past weekend. Hated it. Too much of the pale blue people doing that echo location thing with their mouths.

The Usual office supplies

This one's for all of you supposed movie buffs out there. Can you guess the movie based on the office supply clues? I got 15 out of 20. I'll post my answers in the comments section, so no cheating. Please post your answers in the comments section as well. Maybe you will get the ones I couldn't answer.

Chuck Norris Reads Random Troy

Hey everyone. There's a new Chuck Norris Fact-he has a weekly column on Worldnet.com. Bet you can't guess what he talks about in his first installment.

I just discovered this new Chuck Norris Fact.

Chuck Norris is the world's greatest personal trainer. He can make anyone lose any amount of weight by delivering a roundhouse kick to the face. Of course, this kills them but they don't have a weight problem anymore.

Do you know any unknown Chuck Norris Facts?

Harvesting Fall

There's a bite in the air. The sun is increasingly reluctant to rise. To me, these indicate the start of a new season. Not fall or football. Something else. It's the beginning of a period when I try to become less superficial and more introspective. An almost herculean labor for me. I start by taking stock of my life so far. Like a beloved paperback, I thumb through the dog-eared favorite passages of my life. As I remember those happy times, I can feel a warmth rise in me like a hot-spring from beneath the earth. Those memories start to infuse my being and reawaken dormant emotions. These revived emotions help me bring friends and family closer. Like a cashmere throw, I draw them tight around me and their warmth insulates me from the emotional chill. This time of year is my emotional anti-hibernation. It is my favorite time of year.

That's One Small Step for Man

Ever wonder why NASA used chimpanzees for the first rocket flights? This video explains it all.


You see, chimpanzees are so much more self-dependent than humans.

Appearances

Wow! My post about Cracker Barrel really generated some comments. Alot of you feel very strongly about your Cracker Barrel or South Carolina. Nothing like stirring up the old controversy stew. I do want to remind everyone that Random Troy is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not read this blog if you are using any type of hallucenogenic drug(I need them to write this blog and don't want the world supply to run dry) and under no circumstances should you use heavy machinery while reading this blog.

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Super Genius!

Apparently, most of you missed my shout out from the folks at 88 Slide. So here it is again for my hedonistic pleasure.

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Beauty is in the Monitor

Dove has made a video to demonstrate soceity's perceived veil of beauty.

Does this mean anyone can be made pretty? If so, then they really need to work on Nick Nolte.

Don't Forget to Tip

Chris Rock's mother is suing Cracker Barrel. Back in April, at a South Carolina location, Rose Rock and her 21 year old daughter were seated at a table but never greeted by a server for half an hour.
They flagged down a manager to ask about the delay and were offered a free meal. They refused the meal and left. She is claiming racism because they were the only black people in the restaurant.

What do you think? Was it racism? Of course it was racism!!!! But my question is-why is she surprised? Firstly, she was in South Carolina. The state thinks the Confederacy won the Civil War. Secondly, she went to a Cracker Barrel. The name implies that it is a place full of white people. So why would a black person want to eat there? If I were a white person, I wouldn't eat at a place called Coon Tavern.

Come to think of it, why would anyone eat at a Cracker Barrel?
They have an entree called a chicken fried steak. Who came up with this culinary treasure? A tough cut of beef, battered in flour and spices, and deep fried. Then it's drowned in gravy. You might as well just rip your heart out of your chest and stomp on it.

So, what are your thoughts? Does Ms. Rock have a case? Should Cracker Barrel change it's name? Would you rather eat rat anus than chicken fried steak? Post a comment and let me know!!

Over 300,000,000 Served



According to this nifty sign, the U.S. Population reached approximately 300,000,000 yesterday. It marks the fastest rate of growth in the U.S. population. In unrelated news, Mexico has announced it's lowest population since Cortez conquered the nation. Mexican officials are at a lost to explain the diminishing population since births outnumbered deaths 3 to 1. "It's like people are just getting up and leaving the country," a perplexed Mexican census official stated at a recent press conference. "But we know that is impossible. Where could they possibly go and why?"

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Conflict Escalates

Sectarian violence flared over the weekend. Two rival sects clashed when one sect infiltrated into territory occupied by the other sect. Here is an exclusive clip of the violence.

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We Built This City on Sadism

After months of denying the allegations, George Bush finally admitted to the torture of detainees by the CIA. I have uncovered footage of some of this torture in action. Blender magazine and Best Buy locked a hapless soul into a sealed room and forced him to listen to Starship's "We Built this City" for 24 hours straight. Oh, the humanity!! Everyone does know that Best Buy and Blender are fronts for the CIA, right?

Friday the 13th-October Edition

Today is Friday the 13th(bad luck) and it's October(spooky). So today is spooky bad luck. Hope you don't have paraskavedekatriaphobia.
Why all the fuss about Friday the 13th? Sure, it wasn't the best day for the Templar Knights. Getting arrested, tortured, and burned at the stake can sour your view of the date. But that was 700 years ago. I don't think there are any Templar Knights left. Can we give Friday the 13th a break already? Isn't having those crappy Jason flicks flicks named for the date punishment enough? I wouldn't be surprised if those movies were written by a Templar Knight descendant to exact revenge on Friday the 13th. Let's move on and pick on another date for a change. How about Wednesday the 21st? Not too fond of that date. Just think about it.

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Lemony Snicket is releasing the 13th and final(thank god!)book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events

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The Grudge 2 opens today. Could suck, could be good. Sucky or good, it has Sarah Michele Gellar in a hospital gown. Yummy.

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Until the Wednesday the 21st thing takes off, everyone be extra careful today. Don't spill salt, break any mirrors or step on any cracks. Unless you hate your Momma.
Have a good weekend!!

Eye Candy

Ok, I've got some videos and trailers for your enjoyment today.

If you're a fan of Quentin Tarentino or Robert Rodriguez then you already should know about Grind House, their double feature horror flick that pays homage to the 70's B-horror films. If you're not familiar with the film, here is a trailer of the Robert Rodriguez feature. Warning: It's a little graphic.



This video is for all of you Battlestar Galactica(the old and new show) fans out there.

Here is a Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang related 88slide. I know everyone reading this blog has seen the movie already, right? RIGHT?!? Good, I'd hate to start bitch slapping people. If you know the answer, you may be as smart as the guy who got yesterday's question right. But I doubt it.

Out Come

Been hiding something? Today is National Coming Out today. It is normally observed by members of the lesbian and gay community, but I say why limit it too homosexuals? We all enjoy something that we keep to ourselves. Maybe it's a pickle fetish or a disturbing attachment to all things Sanrio. But today you should announce your love for gherkins and Hello Kitty to the world. So what do I keep closeted? It's been just a rumor, but I'm confirming it for the record. I love "That's So Raven." Wow. I feel so relieved. Now I don't have to watch the adventures of Raven, Eddie and Chelsea late at night or when nobody's home(my roommate probably thought I was watching porn). Now you try it.

Wild Water Cooler

If you have some free time, check out this webcam. It's set up at an African watering hole. If you're patient, you may see a wildebeast become an entree for a croc. The best viewing time is Monday morning when the wildlife gather to discuss the Cowboys game.

Covers Can Kill

Some of you may have seen this already. For those who haven't, enjoy!!

Happy Columbus Day!!

Today we celebrate Christopher Columbus. History would have you believe that he discovered America. Not true. America had already been discovered by earlier european explorers. Columbus discovered San Salvador which we now call the Bahamas. Which means, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria were actually cruise liners. Here is a painting of the first shore excursion. Columbus is leading the tourists in a rousing game of capture the flag. Another popular activity was playing smallpox tag with the native population. So here's to Christopher Columbus, founder of the cruise line and inspiration to Captain Stubing.

More Halloween Goodness

Here is another scary video.

The spooky about this video is that a similar incident happened to me at the grocery store. Except the monster was covered in eggs, whole milk, and velveeta. Luckily, I was able to ward the creature off with my frequent shopper card. I also saved 50 cents on Charmin.

New Look

You will notice some changes to the blog over the next few days. I've converted Random Troy to a new version of the Blogger software. Please be patient as I do some tweaking to the layout and let me know if you like the new look.

Seminoles Football-Where'd you go?

Florida State lost to NC State 24-20. Tragic. The saddest part about this loss is that I have no one to blame it on. Can't blame my sister-in-law, been there done that. I don't think there were any cosmic anamolies last night. Damn it! I guess FSU just sucks!! No offense or defense. I hate to say it, but Bobby Bowden and his son Jeff must turn in their coaching hats. Bobby, you can stay and help recruit. Jeff, I'm kicking your scrub ass to the curb. Do not pass Osceola Ave, do not collect $200. Since I have major pull in personnel decisions(writing this blog does have it's benefits), I am hiring Mark Richt from the University of Georgia to be the new head coach. Mark, I hope you don't mind being compensated with comic books, cause I have too many. There, that should fix all of FSU's problems. That was easy.

Lost again. Finally!!

The wait is finally over. Tonight is the season premiere of Lost. If you need a quick refresher course or if you missed last season's finale, iTunes is giving away the season finale and a 20 minute recap of what's happened so far.

Reel Horror

Since it's October, I will be featuring some Halloween themed posts. Today I have a creepy video clip for you. Warning:This is not for the faint of heart.

Kiss Kiss Iron Man Bang Bang

I'm not sure how to take this bit o news. Robert Downey Jr. has been tapped to portray Iron Man in the upcoming movie based on the Marvel comic book. I'm a big Iron Man fan and I was curious to see who the studio would pursue to tackle the role of playboy industrialist Tony Stark. For a long time Tom Cruise was attached to the project. I thought this was a logical choice. Cruise would bring added box office and he is no stranger to the action genre. But Cruise backed out of the project and the search continued. Over the summer, Jon Favreau was hired to direct the film. Favreau has acted in numerous movies and tv shows and has directed a few features, most notably Elf. An intriguing choice for the director of a major comic book action film to say the least. And now he has cast Robert Downey Jr.., another odd choice.

I'm surprised that Downey Jr. would take such a role. Ever since he got out of jail (the second time), he has been choosing smaller roles in small pictures. These roles have allowed him to showcase his talent and diversity. His biggest role recently was in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. (Public Service Announcement: If you haven't seen Kiss Kiss yet, drop what you're doing now and go rent it now. You can go to the bathroom later.) I almost think this is a bit of overcasting. Downey Jr. is too good an actor for this role. Unless the movie plans to touch on the fact that Tony Stark is an alcoholic. Then Downey Jr. is the perfect pick. Cheers!

It's genetic

I just wanted to show you that the famous Dodd grace and coordination isn't going to end with me. That's my baby girl doing the limbo.

New uniforms

We got new uniforms at the gym. Yes, I'm a fruit. Notice the proper use of the nametag. I'm all about following the employee handbook.

Technical difficulties

Cox communications really sucks!! My internet is spotty at best. Sorry about the lack of posts, but I'm still around and I have a backlog of stories to share and headlines to examine with my random twists. I appreciate your patience and understanding!!

Aaaarrgh! My internet is down

Aaaarrgh! My internet is down and that's why I haven't posted in a while. I'm sending this post via my cell. So don't worry, I'm still here.
Troy

Some Headlines

If you haven't seen Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, put it in your Netflix queue right now. Great self-reflexive script that isn't afraid to break the fourth wall and two standout performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. I'm amazed at the range of Downey Jr.'s portrayal. He goes from sarcastic deadpan to pathos effortlessly. Watch the movie and let me know what you think.

Here is James Frey's first interview since being sent to his room by Oprah about his book A Million Little Pieces.

I think I came up with this idea first.

On this date in 1937, The Hobbit was published giving Peter Jackson and countless other nerds something to do other than dating girls.

Are you Dee Dee Dee?

Check out this video.

The Devil Sells Mary Kay

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. My internet was down yesterday, but I'm back and ready to bore you.

I'm actually surprised that I have the will to post in the blog. Florida State lost on Saturday to the Clemson Tigers. Some critics and fans want to blame the anemic offense due to the poor play calling of the Jeff Bowden, the Offensive Coordinator (and he is truly offensive!). But I know the real reason that the Seminoles lost. My sister-in-law Jeanne. That's a picture of her on the right. Yeah, see the impish grin? I'm sure you're wondering how this little girl could possibly stop the Florida State juggernaut. It started a year ago.

Jeanne is a Make-A-Wish Fairy. She goes to terminally ill children and grants them a wish. It all sounds good and charitable and I was down with the
program until a year ago. Jeanne had a little girl with terminal cancer that was a Clemson fan. The weekend of the game, Jeanne thought it would be nice to give her some "Beat FSU" stickers. She had some extra and stuck them all over my computer. What happened? FSU lost. She put a hex on FSU that carried over to this year. So, until Jeanne lifts the curse and FSU beats Clemson, Jeanne is the devil. It kinda sucks that my brother is married to Beezlebub and my nephew is the spawn of Satan but what can I say? FSU lost!! I hope Jeanne isn't the devil for too long. I get my Mary Kay from her.

Movie pick

Just a quick post to let everyone know that The Last Kiss opens this weekend. It's got Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, and Rachel Bilson. If the movie is half as good as the soundtrack it should be a classic. Here's the trailer.

Missed Sunshine

Ok, I finally saw Little Miss Sunshine. If you haven't seen this film yet, go to Fandango.com and purchase a ticket right now. I'll wait. Good. One of the unsung stars of this film is the broken down VW van that the family use to get to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The van is a literal representation of the dysfunctional Hoover family and is involved in some of the funniest scenes.

As I watched the VW van on the movie screen, it reminded me of my father's car when I was growing up. It was a 68 Buick Special. And it was definitely "special." It was quite a vision painted blue with a clear coat of mottled rust. The interior was also special. At some point in it's life, the roof liner decided to succumb to gravity and hung down in the center. My brothers and I would argue over who would sit in the middle of the back seat and have to hold the roof liner up so my father could see out of the rear windshield. Despite it's aesthetics, the car was mechanically sound and ran quite well. As long as my father kept gas in the tank.

One day back in 1977, when we lived on Kauai, my father loaded my brothers and I into the Buick for a trip to the store. Back then, Kauai was not the tourist island that it is today. Most of the island was undeveloped. I haven't been back to the island since we moved away, but I guarantee our house is now probably the lobby of a beachfront Hilton resort. We lived off of the main highway (main highway meaning it actually had a traffic light somewhere along it's route) and the nearest store was 10 miles away. About a mile into our trip, the Buick started too sputter and slowly came to a rest on the shoulder. After listening to a string of acidic invectives from my father, my brothers and I sat in stunned amazement. Like I mentioned before, the Buick didn't look like much, but it never broke down on us. We were even more amazed that our father wasn't going out to take a look under the hood. Isn't that what men do when the car breaks down? You curse, look under the hood and curse some more because you have no idea what you're looking at, you just want other people to think you do. But my father was just sitting there quitely pursing his lips and furrowing his brow in contemplation. Afraid to verbalize my thoughts on the situation, I tried to use the Jedi Mind trick to will my father into popping the hood and taking a peek. After what seemed like a Muscular Dystrophy Telethon length silence, my father told us all to get out of the car. I didn't realize it at the time, but my Dad never looked under the hood because he already knew what was wrong with the car. We had run out of gas. He had spent the last few minutes devising a plan out of our current dilemma. His solution? We push. The highway was on a slight grade and my Dad figured we could coast all the way down to town. So my brothers and I got in position behind the Buick while my father was behind the wheel. At my father's signal, my brothers and I began pushing the Buick. It must have been quite a sight for the other motorists. 3 small boys pushing a beat up Buick with an old man in his 50s behind the wheel yelling at us to push harder. All that was missing was the Chariots of Fire soundtrack. My brothers jumped in first and I pushed for about another 20 yards. My father finally told me to jump in and with one deft movement I jumped in and shut the door behind me. My brothers immediately started cheering me and clapping me on the shoulder. The admiration of my brothers had me feeling so euphoric that I didn't care about all the cars honking at us for rolling along at 30 mph in a 55 zone. All that mattered at that moment was that my brothers were in awe of my athletic prowess and I reveled in it. Too bad it didn't last. My exuberence ended with our arrival at the gas station. We had coasted all the way to town like my Dad said we would. But we were on the other side of road from the pumps and my Dad was forced to stop on the shoulder because of oncoming cars. Stuck again. We couldn't push the car across the street, because this time there was a slight grade going uphill into the gas station. My Dad started contemplating again. What did we do? Well, I'm afraid that's a post for anther day.

Light Reading

Remember these children's books? Me neither, but I wish they were around when I was a kid.

Video Tuesday

Hola!!

I think today will be mostly videos and pics for you to enjoy. So...enjoy!

New question for the Ninja.






This one's for all you Billy Joel fans(which includes me).

If you enjoyed the OK Go video with the treadmills, then check out this video for their song "A Million Ways." Love that choreography!!

Race Pics

Here are some pics of me running the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.


Am I running or doing the robot? You decide.

Toon of the day

Jeffrey Brown

A Million Little Oprahs

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Oprah Winfrey Show. That's right, the show that gave us Dr. Phil, our Spirit, and something to read, aired it first national episode on September 8, 1986. You can send your complaints to the FCC.

Speaking of Oprah's Book Club. If you bought A Million Little Pieces by James Frey because you thought it was a factual memoir and not just a good read, you can get a refund from publisher Random House. If you purchased the paperback, you just have to send in the front cover. If you purchased the hardback, you must tear out page 163 and send it to Random House.

Why page 163? Here is part of the copy on page 163.

"Why are you trying to kill me?
Lincoln speaks. Quietly and calmly.
Roy?
Why are you trying to kill me?
We're not trying to kill you, Roy.
...Who is Roy?
...Are you on something, Roy?
I am not Roy!
Who are you?
My name is James Frey and I'll kill you . I'LL KILL YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKER.
Why would you do that James?
Cause I'm a Writer. A cold blooded mercenary Writer.
James reaches into his jacket and pulls out a manuscript.
Why don't you give me the manuscript, James?
James shakes the manuscript.
This ain't no manuscript, it's a memoir. A fact based memoir!
Lincoln moves forward.
Why don't you put down the fiction, James.
Pry it from my cold dead fingers fuckface. It's a memoir! You ain't getting a fucking refund!
James. It's fiction.
I'll kill you to death till you're dead and die, you Sons of Whores. You ain't getting no refund!!!!"

Guten Tag!

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. Seems like my body needed to catch up on some sleep. I actually nodded off on the shoulder press machine at the gym the other day. I wonder if some other members thought that exercising had finally killed me. I'm a little more rested now, so let's get this blog party started!!

Here's a little something for all you Madonna fans (I guess that's you John). Rupert Everett (Julia Roberts gay friend in My Best Friend's Wedding, her best movie in my humble opinion) has written an autobiography and has some interesting things to share about the Material Girl.




My favorite performance from the VMAs last week was the OK Go band performing their treadmill video live. Here's the original video if you haven't seen it yet.





Today is the anniversary of the unveiling of the sculpture David by Michelangelo. At 502 years old, he still looks good. Notice he's not circumcised?

Schoolin'

School is back in session. In observance of this fact, I give you the puppet...again!

Don't forget the extra special educational moment at the end!!

Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, we hardly knew ya!!

Sunday was the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon. It was a great experience. My time was 1:50:38. Good, but not better than my friend Laura who turned in a smoking time of 1:38:20. We had a little side bet going and I had to watch White Chicks (ugh!).

The first finisher was Kenyan woman Edna Kiplagat. When she finished the race, several witnesses saw her start dancing the running man and exclaim "Who is your DADDY?!!? 13.1, you ain't got nothing!" She then showered, where she had to run around to get wet.

It was great to see all the spectators that came out to cheer the runners on and all the volunteers who gave their time to ensure the race went smoothly.

Here are some pics.

In case you forgot my name!


Laura and Fred pre-race.

Faye and I at the finish line.
It's eaaarly!!
Tina, me, and the hardware.

That evening was the 3 Doors Down concert. My roommate Fred scored us some VIP passes so we were right up front. It was a good show. Much better than Counting Crows!!

Can't wait until next year!!!