Great Dismal Swamp Stomp

The Great Dismal Swamp Stomp was an unexpectedly great event. I was a little apprehensive about this when I first got to the hotel. The expo was very small (I had only been to one other half marathon, but it had a huge expo). And I found that there were not direction to the race in my packet, nor was there a map of the course, but those were available on the web (thank goodness for smart phones). Sadly the map of the race didn’t include water stops, but other than that I was in pretty good shape once the race day dawned (well I hadn’t slept well, but that’s just par for the course on race night).
The race site itself was easy to find and parking was pretty ample. And there was already a band play at 7:00 in the morning. Now that is excellent. It was a laid back bluegrass kind of sound – just perfect for this race.
The course itself is fantastic. I love an out and back race. Somehow it makes the second half of the race seem easier (or at least familiar). There were plenty of water stops (the other benefit of an out and back course). The volunteers were very enthusiastic and were great about cheering us on. And it could not have been flatter. That was a perfectly flat and east track.
The after race snack was fantastic (hello pizza, I’m so happy to see you). The band continued to play and the race with the kids was cute. The shirts and medals were lovely.
I may not have had my best race, but that was mostly due to lack of training. The race itself is excellent and I would do it again.

Read Full Post »

Fringe – Episode 5: “Power Hungry”

Before we get to anything else in this post, can I just say, I love the font and the titles for this show.  Seriously, not a huge thing, but I really do love them. 

 

 

Let’s go over the clichés before we get to the new stuff.  Our character (creature-monster-villain-hapless experimentee) for the week is a stock character.  We’ve all seen this guy before.  The hapless loser who has a dead end job and lives at home with his overbearing, sick mother.  The poor sucker will gain strange mysterious powers which will not help him get the girl of him dreams (who he is mildly stalking), but in fact cause him to lose his job.  This time we even gave the guy a funny name, Meeker, pronounced meager, which is a little punny. 

Read Full Post »

Fringe Episode 3 “The Ghost Network”

Although this episode was called “Ghost Network”, the episode was hardly about that – and sadly, had no ghosts.

  The Ghost Network is a network that is on a different frequency than what is used for phones and radio transmissions, but if it could be tapped into, it would give someone a secret network that would allow them to communicate without anyone else knowing or hearing.  Except for the unlucky psychic.  

 But since we have to use either a cliché or an old idea, let us begin with laying out the ones we will use in tonight’s episode:  

 First, we have the premise that a psychic doesn’t know that he is a psychic, but is seeing visions of horrible things that are happening.  (Ugh, we’ve never seen that plot before?)  So, how did he get this strange power?  Well, once upon a time, Our Favorite Mad Scientist injects a strange metal potion to see if it would give him psychic powers, Lo and behold, he did not turn out to be a fire starter, but did get the psychic powers 20 years later.  Which he then uses to listen in on the phone conversations of Latin speaking bad guys (possibly from a drug cartel, who also know about the pattern) as they plot their nefarious deeds.  And then our intrepid FBI agent manages to stop them (but not before one of them commits suicide, so there is no possibility of getting answers from him).  And then we send our psychic home, where hopefully he will never be troubled by ghost network phone calls again.

I have to admit, part of the show was new.  I hadn’t really seen the “people trapped in an amber like substance” bit before.  And I did enjoy that.  Sure it seems like overkill for the bad guys to do that just to get a mysterious glass disk from someone (that is a lot of dead bodies).   And also, I’m always happy to see Latin getting props on TV (in a non-exorcism, or witchy setting).  So it wasn’t all recycled, which is good.  Overall, it wasn’t a bad episode, but I’m still not sure its going to be a great show.

Read Full Post »

Have you ever wanted to be onstage with the Stones?

Saw the IMAX Shine the Light Stones concert the other night.  The Audio alone is worth the price of admission. You can tell the Mick and the boys have had not ‘work’ done on there appearances.  They do look their age.  I wish I had their energy.

Link to the site http://www.shinealightmovie.com/.

Read Full Post »

Survivor: Micronesia. Fans Vs. Favorites

In this writer-striken season of pablum (Cashmere Mafia. – It’s Sex and the City but with four Miranda’s!), one tends to be more excited by things than normal.

Are you excited about Survivor?

In truth, it should be called Fans Vs. Contestants.

I haven’t watched every season of Survivor but I am pop culturally aware of almost all the past seasons. I don’t recognize half these people. More truthfully, it could be titled: Fans Vs. People-Who-Don’t-Have-Anything- Better-To-Do-And-Who-Are-Looking-to-Extend-Their-15-Minutes-of-Fame.

In reading more about this season it seems that perennial blow-hard/host Jeff Probst has a long standing beef with Johnny Fairplay (Fairplay insulted his brother). Probst says about Fairplay, “I feel like I can eat his lunch all day every day and pack it for him and steal it again.”

Ooooh. My favorite kind of trash talk. The delicious kind.

Will you watch?

Read Full Post »

WOW-Advertising Wednesday.*

Yes. It’s that time again.

We’re introducing another weekly feature.

This time, advertising doozies (or don’tzies) of the past.

All in all this was a more effective remedy than the hammer and mallet remedy of the previous decade. 

But this product obviously fell by the wayside with the introduction of the much more affordable Crack Rock Headache and Toothache Powder. It is said to be tied to the FBI and the Sandinistas, but I never was clear on how.

 Another product that didn’t stand the test of time: Heroin Blood Thinners. It was hard to teach users how to tie off and shoot up. Pharmacies had to hire additional staff to teach the masses, like they do today with the syringe and the orange if you have the diabeetus.

*Yes, this is an admittedly terrible turn of phrase. If you can think of a better one, let us know. We’re happy to change days.

Read Full Post »

Matt Damon. Funnier Than We Thought?

Sarah Silverman was on (her boyfriend) Jimmy Kimmel’s tv show and had some things she needed to get off her chest. Or off her ”apples.” Whatever.

SPOILER ALERT: The name of the song is “I’m f***ing Matt Damon. It is, however, all bleeped out.

Matt Damon delivers some awesome back-ups. And a big ‘Thank You’ to Matt for constantly referring to himself in the third person. I think it makes him seem like an even bigger movie star than he is.

 

This video seems to be taking the piss out of Matt Damon’s rock star turn in Eurotrip. With a song that is fairly infectious (by Lustra) called “Scotty Doesn’t Know.”

Read Full Post »

Did The Sheeps Rock Austin?

Oh. 

Oh. They most certainly did.

How many other bands debut to a full crowd (small bar but, probably 75 people) and have a crowd that begs for an encore even after the singer informs them that they don’t know anymore tunes???

“Well, Play ones you already played before!” the crowd demanded.

The Sheeps obliged.

Glory Story was great. Some Honey Pot ladies were rocking in the audience. And there was even The Lone Dancer.

How can you beat that shit?

The only way is to play again real soon.

Jeddler Update – Carousel Lounge calls this AM to let us know that they loved us and we can play again any time we like.  Maybe even a regular gig if we want it.  Who rules?  The Sheeps rule?  And Glory Story, of course.

Read Full Post »

Is There Anyone Out There Bold Enough to Try This?

I just cannot do it!  Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper.

Cherry Vanilla made a bit of sense, hearkening back to soda fountain days. But I really don’t think soda jerks were pouring a lot of chocolate syrup into cokes. Maybe I’m wrong?

All the advertising makes it look disgusting. The soda can is split open to reveal a giant 6 layer cake of chocolate and cherry goo. Then, quick cut to a hugely robust cherry pie, then a can split in half with a cherry jubilee of grosstastic proportions. Then some sort of cherry swiss cake rolls, a chocolate fountain vomiting an avalanche of cherries. Wheeee! The carbonated soda bubbles are full of cherry iced doughnuts and more pie and cherry frosted cupcakes. Stop the Madness. I want to get off. I already feel sick.

The can has non-enticing cherries which seem to be suffering from some sort of awful Montezuma’s revenge of chocolate.

Although I will give props to this:

 (Play at your own risk. You have been warned).

Slickly produced. Tongue firmly in cheek.

Read Full Post »

James Spader: Now Complete with Power Ballad!

You know how, like, when you were little and you really desperately wanted a pony? And how it was like probably the only thing in the whole world that would make you really, really, really happy? And, maybe you didn’t even have to own it outright, but you would just feed it and groom it and ride it? Spend some QT together, whispering your pre-adolescent secrets into its nice sturdy and ever-astute ears. And then, twenty years later you realized that right next door to your house was a large stable and paddock with a huge sign that said, “Free ponies for particularly precocious girls who have already mastered the hoppy.”

You just can’t believe it was right under your nose all along.

It’s just the way the world works sometimes, no? I had that feeling upon discovering the trailer for a little movie called “Tuff Turf.” Everything about this movie looks like it was designed for me.

Some thoughts:

• It’s Tuff. The title tells you straight up.
• It stars James Spader and Robert Downey, jr (which every single movie made in 1985 should have – they would have killed it in The Color Purple)
• Formerly preppy Spader is caught up with street gangs…
• And those street gangs might enjoy a good “dance battle!” 
• They’ve only got a third rate voice over artist for the trailer – not a good sign.
• No one in my high school actually wore the head to toe skin tight outfits.
• No one in my high school actually did gymnastic flip/kicks across the cafeteria ending in a  stage lift.
• How Tuff can one really be on a ten speed. Not rad.
• I think it is positioning itself as a ‘Grease’ meets ‘Footloose’ movie.
• Guarentee: Someone is getting “iced” by movie’s end. (That’s a threat AND a promise).

I’m not sure how I missed it. I’m not sure how it didn’t at least make it on re-runs on basic cable. But I am sure that Mr. Netflix will let me borrow it and it may just make it onto the queue.

What is not to love about this trailer? Don’t lie to me. You starting humming along to the “Tuff Turf” groove by the end, right? Right? And, YES, Spader does “sing” a power ballad in the middle of the movie.

Read Full Post »

Biscuit vs. Taco

Growing up in Michigan, we had your typical mid-western breakfast options like eggs any which way, oatmeal, pancakes/waffles, etc.  All good, but nothing to write a blog entry about.

Then I moved to North Carolina and learned about biscuits.  Biscuits in Michigan were kind of dense and crumbly, and not all that tasty, functioning better as a substrate to which you would add a whole lot of sausage gravy.  But in NC, my eyes were opened the first time I ate at Big Ed’s.  Biscuits are warm, flaky, tasty treats.  They don’t crumble apart and they surely do not crumble apart in dry bits of yuck.  My guess is that like much of the cooking in the South, these delicious biscuits are made with real butter, lard or some other Paula Dean-y essential ingredients.  And God love it.

Then I discovered places like Biscuitville.  They make great biscuits and then fashion amazing breakfast sandwiches out of them.  I love bacon, egg and cheese, country ham, and even the chicken biscuits.  Really, any combo is pretty awesome.  Bojangles does a pretty dang good biscuit too.

When we moved to Austin, Texas, we left the world of biscuits behind.  This is TexMex country.  I was sad.  What would fill the void? 

Breakfast Tacos! 

Now, I’ve had breakfast burritos before, and they are good.  But the breakfast taco is smaller and packs more flavor firepower.  In Austin, Maria’s Taco Xpress is my favorite.  Lizagator loves the Migas (“crumbs” in Spanish, I’m told) and I usually get the bacon, egg and cheese.  The fresh salsa here is soooo good.  Maudies is good too.  Their Pete’s Tantalizing Tacos (eggs, potatoes, peppers, onions and cheese) are really tasty and the jalapeno residual burn lasts for quite a while.

So, do tacos replace biscuits?  Is one better than the other?  Nope.  They are both winners.  Since they seem to be exclusive to their geographic regions, I don’t think we need to proclaim a winner.  You can’t lose.

Read Full Post »

Rolex and BMW get a bum rap.

In the 80’s, the yuppie phenomenon personified greed run rampant.  And every self-respecting yuppster had to drive a BMW and wear a Rolex.  A bimmer and a roller.  And since that time, Rolex and BMW have suffered from what can be called the “asshole factor”.  But I think the asshole factor has more to do with the yuppie than the car / watch.

Rolex makes amazing watches.  Simple, elegant design.  Robust movements.  And a storied history of innovation.  Rolex doesn’t change with the fashions; they stay true to their roots.  I believe the only thing Rolex can really be dinged for is making too many watches.  They make a lot of watches because they are the benchmark around the world.  From the Submariner to the DateJust to the awesome Cosmograph “Daytona”, these are truly awesome watches.

BMW makes amazing cars.  Look at all of the automotive brands and tell me which one has remained as singular in their focus as BMW.  Performance, that is what BMW is about.  As a company, they wabbled a bit early on, but once they found their “thing”, they have stuck to it and developed it.  From the soon to be released 1 Series to the M6 to the 7 Series, even the X5, these are drivers cars.  I’ve seen many a person have their inner driver unleashed after owning a BMW.  They are fast, nimble, tight and solid. 

These two venerable brands are both uber-succesful and considered the standard in their classes, so I don’t think they are overly concerned. 

Maybe success is part of the problem?  Maybe it is the high price tag?  Maybe it’s the yuppies?

Read Full Post »

Tin Man

A few thoughts on SciFi’s mini series Tin Man that I just got around to watching last night (4 hours of tv takes less than 3 hours thanks to DVR! Thanks, DVR); it bears mentioning that the dialogue was really clunky at times and you may have to have an understanding of Zooey Deschanel’s acting “style,” (it took me a few episodes of Bones to accept her sister Emily’s too) and understand that it’s on SciFi and it’s a miniseries. These things are not all adding up to make a winner. But I did think the actors showed restraint, it’s quite tempting to go big with a line like, “Save the poetry for someone who cares.”

Thoughts:

• You started losing me with “fang pox.”
• If the answer to disease in the future is exchanging my lower torso for a floating mechanical robot body, I’m okay with that.
• I would like a costume that affords me a bongo drum on each hip. I will wear that everyday.
• I’m in the market for a dog, is it too much to ask for one that would get me out of jail and then later turn into a magical black man? I want that kind of dog. C’mon.
• The songs weren’t as catchy as the original. No, wait, the absence of songs here is a plus.
• Also, fashion wise, if someone could make me a pair of black ostrich feather epaulets, I’d be really grateful. Better make it two, I have a mother who’d rock those too.
• Truth be told, wouldn’t all of us like to trap our mothers in some separate realm where we could pop in if we needed to ask how to remove a mustard stain or iron a pleated skirt (or in the case of my mother, how to set up a third party administration for an insurance company)?

Did you catch the show? Have any thoughts?

Read Full Post »

Really, Clive? Really? Again?

I like to read crap.  Books that are the equivalent of watching a spectacular summer-time action/adventure blockbuster, but hopefully done really well.  And Clive Cussler fits the bill.  Although he has a few different series, I’ve basically stuck to the Dirk Pitt stories for a few reasons:

1.       I like Dirk as a character.  Besides his goofy name which brings up images of the lead character in Boogie Nights, he is the perfect action hero.  He has the physical and mental ability to save the world over and over again, while at the same time he is very human.  He has bad days, he’s aging, he needs sleep, and he drinks (and in the earlier books, smokes) too much.  They never mentioned that he goes to the bathroom though?

2.       I like his sidekick Al.  He sarcastic and sneaky.  Sometimes the banter between the two is a bit too much, but just shut that filter off in your brain and it’s a lot of fun.

3.       There is always a bit of history to be told.  The books typically start with an event that occurred way, way in the past.  Usually something is hidden, stolen, discovered, etc. and that is the basis for the storyline that we will be following once the books fast-forwards to the present.

4.       There are lots of details regarding gear of different types.  This is where the turbo-nerd in me comes out.  I like to know what kind of watch Dirk is wearing.  Or what vintage car he is driving.  I never mind Clive taking the time to tell me the details around the plane, boat, scuba gear, gun, computer, snowmobile, submarine, etc. 

So now you know that I like Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt books.  But what I find odd is that Clive feels the need to put himself in to the books.  I don’t mean his heart and soul, which is fine.  I mean himself as in Clive Cussler.  Cussler shows up in the stories.  He writes himself in.  Usually as a kind, wise old man who helps Dirk out or provides some bit of wisdom right when Dirk needs it.  And there is always a “he looks so familiar like I’ve known him all my life” kind of thing going on.  It’s kind of gross.  Once would have been no big deal, but over and over again is really horrible.  At first, I thought it was a fun little cameo ala Hitchcock.  But I’m starting to think Clive’s ego simply won’t let himself type that many words without reminding the reader that this brilliance is all Cussler.

I won’t even mention that Clive is now co-authoring his latest books with his son… Dirk Cussler!

Read Full Post »

You People Don’t listen!

I told you people to watch Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace when it was airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim but you didn’t and sadly, now it has run its course.

The show is about horror writer Garth Marenghi who (along with his publisher) stars in the tv series  based on his own works. They also produce and direct. They are good at not-quite one of these.

Read Full Post »