Roger's Blog of Nothingness

Interview Meme

2009-01-27T22:33:10Z

1. leave me a comment saying, 'interview me'.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Questions are from sneaker328

What's your opinion of this Joe Torre/A-Rod brouhaha? How do you think the Yanks will do this year? Do you think the new stadium will make a difference in their performance?

Honestly, I've been doing my best to avoid the Torre/A-rod stuff, so I don't know exactly what was said. It just seems so unlike Joe to bash former players in print. Now if he'd written a book bashing the Steinbrenners, I'd be over the moon with glee.

The new stadium will hurt their defensive home field advantage as they learn how balls react differently from the old stadium, but that isn't that big a deal. They will lose some "awe" factor that plagued some opposing (young) players the first time through. Unfortunately, problems with new stadiums are hard to predict and often only show up after 40,000 people are in attendance, so we'll see. Of course, we won't be to afford tickets so we have to take someone's word for it.

My prediction is for 92-93 wins and they'll finish 2nd in the east winning the wild card. If they'd just listen to me and sign Manny, they'd probably win the east, but Hank won't take my calls.

And they could probably get him for 2 years at $22 million each with incentives and an option year. A 3,4,5 of Arod, Tex and Manny!! Why isn't this done already?

If you had to live anywhere outside of NY, where would it be?

VEGAS BABY!!! It has legalized poker, a good nightlife, lots of restaurants and plenty of drunk girls. What else do you need?

At least that will be the answer for the next few years until they run out of water. Then the answer will be Washington DC.

What's the first feature about a woman that attracts you? Do you have a "type" that you tend to be particularly drawn to?

The obvious Roger answer is if she wearing a skirt, but that's not true. I don't think that makes her more attractive, but it will definitely make me more likely to notice her and evaluate her level of attractiveness.

I try not to have a type. My two biggest celebrity crushes right now are Jenna Fischer and Beyonce, so my tastes can be quite varied. There are some trends…

Tattoos and piercings are bad. Very, very bad.

Girls-next-door trumps slutty. Girls-next-door who occasionally act slutty around me, are ok.

Girls who always seem to be unhappy. Jennifer Garner and Lauren Graham are examples of girls who look very pretty smiling, but have a default expression that I find unappealing.

No vapid girls. You don't have to be a brain surgeon or spend your days discussing Kierkegaard, but c'mon.

And if her screen name contains a type of footwear, I'm in love.

What's your take on Obama?

Generally speaking I'm a fan. He seems erudite, contemplative, compassionate… all things I like in a president. The one problem is it was SO obvious that he was going to beat McCain that he went into 'don't fuck up' mode right after beating Hillary. If the race had been tighter we'd have a better picture of him. Also, we'll see how well those things translate in terms of his performance. Sometimes a little fire and brimstone (or at least a believable threat) is exactly what's needed and I don't know if he has that in him.

I just wish people would remember he's just that, a man. I know everyone has a tendency to deify or demonize, and I'm no exception, but both sides have just lost their mother-loving minds when it comes to him. Can everyone just drink some herbal tea and calm down?

What are your beliefs about G-d, and religion?

Basically, I think there is 'something' out there. Some underlying nature or constant to the universe that we don't or can't understand. However, I think we're anthropomorphizing when we talk about G-d and his will or wrath.

As for organized religion, there are three facets to that question: the common man, the extremist, and the 'church' itself.

Obviously extremism in anything is bad, but the zealots religion tends to create are the worst, especially since they insist on sharing their beliefs with the rest of the world, often one bomb at a time (Gaza or an abortion clinic – doesn't matter).

Churches (And I mean the institutions. Not necessarily the 50-person congregation) have different issues. (Ok I've tried to write this paragraph six times and it's not working. Just suffice it to say that churches, like all organizations, have agendas that vary from the rank and file members of that church. Think Catholic priest/boy molestation and you'll see what I mean.)

I have little problem with the people who simply practice their religion without trying to influence or affect other people. (Of course, in the last 15 years or so, 99% of my Friday nights/Saturdays have been, at least in some small way, altered by a religion that I don't practice.)

Still, I often find myself wishing I had that spark of belief in me. Too bad.

Six Flags

2007-06-17T23:03:04Z

On a beautiful June Friday, Joe, George and I headed to Great Adventure for a day of roller coasters. (At least George and I did. Joe hates heights and roller coasters. Why did he go? Who knows?) It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been and I was looking forward to two new rides: Kingda Ka and El Toro. George hasn’t been there for several years, so it would be his first time on several coasters.

We arrived at the park right around 10:30 and promptly headed for Batman The Ride. On the way we saw a sign saying Batman and Robin: The Chiller was closed for the day. I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Chiller, but George wanted to give it a shot.

We get to Batman and George and I head for the ride while Joe, despite our best efforts, waits outside. (We’d find out later that the reason he didn’t go in with us was he thought there might be a point inside where he would have HAD to get on the ride.) Batman is my “dear old friend” roller coaster. It’s been around since the early 90’s and I’ve ridden it dozens of times. For a while it was my over-all favorite, but the higher speeds of the newer coasters have left it in the dust. It’s still a lot of fun though because it has one of my favorite features. It’s an inverted coaster (which means the riders hang beneath the track) so on its loops it looks and feels like you can go flying off. I still love it after all these years.

Next we head to Nitro, a very tall steel coaster with a steep first drop and great horizontal loops. This supplanted Batman as my favorite ride because it’s really fast and you really feel like you could fly out of the car. Your only restraint is a lap bar and the sides of the cars are low, so it’s a great effect. Also, the lack of upper body restriction means you can ride it with your hands up the entire time. On the way up the hill, I tried to convince George that this was the best way to ride Nitro. The couple sitting next to us agrees with me and also tells George he has to try it. We try to peer pressure him into it the entire way up with no success. But when we get to the picture booth after the ride, the lady has her hands up, but the guy doesn’t. He rattles off some lame excuse. I love hypocrites.

After Nitro we head to Skull Mountain, the only ride we think we’ll get Joe to go on. Its hook is it’s an indoor, in the dark coaster. We figured if Joe couldn’t see how high we were, he wouldn’t object. It’s a really lame ride.

Medusa was next. Decent ride, but it doesn’t possess the speed of the newer ones or the nostalgia of Batman. Barely worth mentioning.

Now we head to El Toro, my first new ride in years. It’s a new wooden coaster built over, under and around another older wooden coaster Rolling Thunder. As wooden coasters go, El Toro is the third fastest (70 mph) and has the steepest drop (76-degrees) of any in the world. It has great headchoppers and lots of hills with ejector air. The best part of the ride is about three-quarters of the way through when you’re thrown through a series of highly banked turns that throw you from side to side. Nitro is out. El Toro is by far the new champ.

We decide to break for lunch and head for Johnny Rockets for burgers and shakes. We’re waiting in a long line, when I hear a roller coaster going. The only one it could be is the Chiller. I point this out to George and he runs (literally) over to check. Apparently “closed for the day” isn’t. $60 later (thanks Joe) we enjoy our meal and head to The Chiller, which is also not worth discussing.

We make our way over to Superman, but Joe or George suggests we stop and go through this Houdini thing. It’s really stupid, and… let’s just say they’re both going to Hell.

There’s a long line for Superman, so we go on the Great American Scream Machine, which is a good ride that I hate. For whatever reason I always end up with my head being banged against the restraints. I feel concussed after every ride.

We try to go on Kingda Ka but George says the line is too long. We go on Rolling Thunder instead and have to deal with an annoying announcer. He’s one of these guys that is always making very bad jokes just because he has a microphone.

Speaking of things that are annoying, now seems like a good time to mention something that drove us crazy. Each train has 30-40 seats on it and each ride has a theoretical capacity of thousands per hour. Of course that assumes that every seat is filled. Sometimes three people sit in a row of four and there’s no “singles” around to fill the last seat. That’s not so bad. Dozens of times we see trains going by with empty rows. Once we pointed to an empty pair of seats and suggested a duo about 10 feet away take them. They looked at us like we had two heads. I hate people. Back to the recap…

I’m dying to go on Kingda Ka, but George is wary (i.e. punking out). We get to the line for the second time and it’s still at least an hour wait. As we’re debating what to do, a guy with a flash pass (an electronic device which lets you bypass the line) comes over and says he can take us in five minutes if we give him $5 each. Joe passes immediately and is followed quickly by George. Since it seems to be the best alternative, I pay the guy the money.

Kingda Ka, or “Holy Shit” as I renamed it, is the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world. Hydraulics propel the train from zero to 128 mph in less than 4 seconds. You go straight up 456 feet into the air, turn around and come back down while twisting. While Nitro and El Toro are all about g-forces and turns, Kingda Ka is all about acceleration and speed. When the car took off, for a split second I started to think, “This isn’t so bad.” I got to the “n’t” part, when the acceleration really kicked in and I yelled “HOLY SHIT!!” Did I mention it’s fast? Five seconds later we were cresting the top of the hill and I got the best/worst view ever. Imagine being 45 stories in the air with nothing around you. Would that be amazing or terrifying? It’s both. Now I managed to just say, “Holy shit.” Then we started heading down. Straight down. 90-degrees vertically down. It’s so steep that as your going over the top, you wonder if they forgot to finish the track. As you go down you twist clockwise horizontally 270-degrees so that you finish traveling to the left from where you at the top of the hill. Now you realize that the worst is over. I say “Holy shit” one more time for good measure. The ride is over and I come stumbling out to meet George and Joe, still in awe. Kingda Ka isn’t long enough to top El Toro or even Nitro (from launch to coasting is at best 20 seconds), but it’s an amazing experience. (BTW, as I’m reading up for this post I find out that occasionally the train only makes it about 450 feet up and rolls back down. Luckily I read this after I went on it.)

We head over to Superman. It’s another inverted roller coaster with a twist. Instead of sitting, your chair is lifted so you’re held in a flying position.

By now, George is tired and cranky but Joe seems fine which is the exact opposite of what I expected. I’m more than willing to stay until closing but that’s not going to happen. We decide to ride El Toro and Nitro than head home. (We added Batman since it was on the way out.)

The worst ride by far is the stupid cable car that takes you from one side to the other. It was also closed early in the afternoon, but since we were tiring and it runs between El Toro and Nitro, we decided to take it. We get on the tram and Joe confirms with the attendant that we’re not too heavy for the ride. Of course it’s only after leaving the station that Joe notices the sign that the weight limit for the ride is 680 pounds. Doing a little math, we realize we’re within 15 pounds of the limit. Now all of a sudden Joe AND George are afraid of heights. Still we survived the day.

All in all, a whole lot of fun.

Oscars

2007-02-26T07:14:43Z

Oscar night baby. One of my favorites. Ok. Not really. But I do enjoy writing about them. My predictions are: Helen Mirren and Scorcese are Titanic/Jamie Foxx in Ray locks. Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson will both win. Walhberg was surprisingly good in The Departed, but Murphy will probably win (though I wonder if the Academy will be comfortable voting for him). I hope Babel wins because The Departed is probably the most overrated movie in the history of movies. I’ll elaborate…

Baldwin and Wahlberg were good. Leo was a’ight. The wet-blanket girlfriend was ok with what she has to work with (the dumbest character in history). Those are the only positive things about the movie. The premise should have led to an excellent. Damon was AWFUL. Jack was TERRIBLE. The plot holes were gigantic. The pacing was bad. The drama was non-existent. After the movie, I wanted my money back and I hadn’t paid to see it. How it got nominated for anything is beyond me.

On to the show…

I can’t decide if that nominee thing is cool or lame. I think I’ll go with lame.

WTF is Ellen wearing? I hate political jokes, but that Gore thing was funny. Hey she’s dancing. Who knew… besides everyone? What a mediocre monologue. No jokes were terrible and none were hysterical.

Great. Its Will Ferrel and Jack Black. Shoot me now.

(Fast forwarding through what I’m sure are annoying kids)

Special effects choir?!?! Weird. Not bad execution, but where was Michael Winslow?

Poor Eddie Murphy. At least he has Norbit.

It’s pretty scary that the only good things tonight have all been about Al Gore. Wait. They just accepted for An Inconvenient Truth. Not good times.

Happy Feet wins… something. Score one for penguins.

Once again the winner for Best Costume is dressed like crap. That should be the criteria. What you wear Oscar night, not how the costumes looked in the movie.

How does a 10-year-old get nominated? Seriously. Her’s was the fifth best performance? That’s what we’re going with? Thank god there’s no chance of her winning.

What’s with this silhouette thing they’re doing? It’s freaking annoying.

Jodie Foster with short hair = bad.

Second star to the right, and straight on ’til morning.

Mike told me about this, but I can’t believe Coppola, Spielberg and Lucas are presenting Best Director. Apparently we think we know who is going to win. Did the Oscars just finally decide to rig it so Scorsese wins? Now I hope he loses.

Hey. Martin Scorses won. Hooray. Over/under on his acceptance speech: 3 minutes.

Please don’t let the Departed win. Please don’t let the Departed win. Please don’t let the Departed win. Crap. Disappointed.

What a boring presentation that was. Here's to next year.

Phoenix

2007-01-13T23:50:04Z

Since Tseeps complains, here's a cut for you guys...

George and I decided to push through to Phoenix instead of spending the night in El Paso, so once again the blog was delayed by lack of driving. The good news is I’ve added some pictures s. You can view them here. This will be the next to last blog. I’ll try to write a final recap or something when I get back Sunday. (Speaking of Sunday, I’m insanely excited about 24 starting.)

For those of you wanting more pictures, you can view them here.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=151198420/a=8917651_8917651/t_=8917651

Unfortunately, you have to register, but it’s free.

Final impressions of NO. The French Quarter didn’t actually flood and we didn’t leave the French Quarter, so we were spared seeing the worst of Katrina’s effects. There was still plenty of damage around but it’s hard to tell what Katrina related, what’s people doing work and what’s just New Orleans. I guess that sounds like a major dig, but it’s not. The design of that group of houses hasn’t changed… ever, so a completely remodeled building can be identical to a rundown building.

(Side Note: I thought the Rio Grande would be more Grand… or at least more Rio. Instead it’s more mud than anything.)

While the state of the (dis)repair of the buildings is in doubt, the effect on the population are undeniable. Katrina came up frequently and every time it was quite obvious how hard it has been on the residents. One of our waitresses and her son lost everything. They spent eight days “living in a bathroom.” She was still outwardly cheery as waitresses tend to be, but her voice dropped a notch when she was talking about it. We overheard a conversation between a small business owner and a newly elected/appointed community leader. The SBO was talking about how bad it has gotten and how she feels forgotten by the-powers-that-be “since.” It makes me wonder what I would have sounded like right after 9/11. I really wish I’d met these people before Katrina.

More from New Orleans… George had a bit of a sore throat and wanted something hot. The bartender made him something with hot chocolate and rum and whipped cream. He took a sip and loved it so much he immediately named it the George. 5 minutes later he threw most of it away. When I inquired why, he said it sucked.

On to cheerier stuff: food.

Gary, our new best friend, recommended the County Line BBQ along the Riverwalk and it was awesome. Luckily there’s not one in Brooklyn or my weight would sky rocket (instead of the slow steady upward climb it’s on now). Beef ribs are twice, maybe thrice the size of baby back ribs.

Aside from the thousands of extra dudes floating around the area, the Riverwalk was pretty cool. Lots of bars and restaurants with outdoor seating. Could have been great. We didn’t bring cameras, but here’s a link.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hmpi/Projects/SanAntonioRiverwalk/SanAntonioRiverwalk.htm

(Side Note: Passing though New Mexico, the 21^st state I’ve ever been in. And that’s the most interesting thing I have to say about our trip through New Mexico. Oh, look at that nothing over there behind nothing. I can’t wait to get out of here.)

We arrived in Phoenix Wednesday night and basically passed out.

Thursday morning was spent shopping and putting together furniture. George’s new roomie Paul’s boat had to take his boat out to run the engine so we got to spend an hour on Lake Pleasant. Did I mention I can’t swim? The idea of being on a boat smaller than the QE2 is daunting, but I went anyway. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

The ladies in the pictures are George’s new neighbors Lauren (in the sunglasses) and Nikki. The five of us and joined by Meghan and Sam for some liquid refreshment. The night begins with shots of something Paul’s father made. It ends with us sprawled all over the living room watching Beerfest.

Friday found us recovering from Thursday. George said he’s a bigger nerd than I am. And he was serious. I think the Phoenix heat is starting to get to him. After a long afternoon, we head out across town. The one real highlight: me defeating George in ping-pong. (For those of you keeping score, I’m 2-0 in athletic competitions versus George on the road trip.)

Now it’s a fine Saturday afternoon, we’re watching football and my flight is rapidly approaching. That’s all for now.

Memphis

2007-01-08T07:22:52Z

The day was uneventful until we got to Memphis. George made great time so we made it in time to see the end of the Colts/Chiefs game at the hotel. How did the Colts shut down LJ so completely? Last week I would have bet I could rush for 100 yards against them. Anyway, time to eat.

Of course, we’re starting with bbq. The plan was to go to a famous eatery, Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous. When we get there, we find out they’re closed for winter vacation until Thursday. DISAPPOINTED! It sure would have been nice if there were someway for them to let the public know this ahead of time. A website perhaps. Maybe I should have checked to see if they had one. Oh. Wait. I did. Was there a big “We’ll be closed soon” banner? Of course not. People suck. So we head to Beale Street.

The walk to Beale was weird. We were in downtown Memphis, but it looked more like a ghost town. If we saw 10 people between our hotel and the immediate vicinity of Beale, I’d be shocked. 6pm on a weekend and no one’s around. It was like one of those Twilight Zone episodes where all the buildings are intact, but there’s one guy walking around wondering where everyone is. Very creepy.

We eat at the Blues City Café where we watch the start of the second playoff game and get the rundown on the rules of Beale. Not only are there no “open container” laws, but lots of places sell booze to passersby through windows. Good deal. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the bars at Beale stay open until 5am. I was expecting 2am like most other places not named New York.

The bbq was much more like what we’re used to. Nice and tender smoked pork ribs with sauce. My only regret is getting a half rack instead of a full. The NC bbq made a good sandwich, but this was a meal. Of course it came with Texas toast. What’s Texas toast? I don't know since it seems like… toast to me. Not sure where the Texas part comes in. We’ll ask in San Antonio.

George has a heavy rooting interest in the Seahawks-Cowboys (he hates Dallas) game so we head to Jillian’s so we can hear the rest of the game. We find ourselves surrounded by Cowboys fans that George riles up, but of course they love him anyway. That George… making friends everywhere we go. One sitting next to me decides we are his new best buds and tells us all of his dumb jokes and his opinions on the game. I hate people.

The game, however, was absolutely amazing: lead changes, great plays, bonehead plays and a ridiculous ending that leaves George ecstatic and the ‘Boys fans crying in their beers. Triumphant (at least George was) we head out to explore Beale.

Beale Street is a very odd place. It’s only three blocks long, with maybe 15 places. Most of the places are blues joints so there was not a whole lot of variety. I can only think of one bar we went into that didn’t have some sort of musical act and of course it was pretty empty.

Not much in the way of highlights…

Wet Willie has a decent five-piece blues band and only served frozen drinks. George buys us the two strongest: Attitude Improvement and Call-A-Cab. The band was good but the drinks tasted like shoo-shoo.

George sees one of the street bartenders reading “Angels and Demons” and commends him on his choice. A while later we buy some drinks from him and discuss Dan Brown a little, saving him from the pain of his other books. He repays us later by getting us into his club avoiding the line, the bouncers and the $15 cover. Since he will be spared “Deception Point”, we’re more than even.

(Side Note: We’ve been driving through Mississippi/Louisiana today. We passed 3 abandoned cars in the first half hour. George insisted I write about it in the blog. I refused since I didn’t think it was that odd, but we’ve seen 20 more since then, so I yield. You’re welcome.)

There were only two really good places. Silky’s and 152 (or was it 125? The place with the $15 cover, whatever it’s called). Silky’s had a cool “dueling piano” thing going. The pianists were funny and played some good bar music. 152 has three floors with different music on each one. The first floor was our hangout with a good live band playing dance and hip-hop. 152 was by far the busiest place on Beale, with a long line to get in at 2am. Because it was the busiest, it was also the most diverse. They had hicks, thugs and wiggas, the middle aged and young punks all hanging out together. Pretty impressive.

Knowing we had to get an early start the next day, we did not stay out until 5 am. On the way back, there were even less people than on the way in. We heard loud dance music coming from what looked liked a club, but there was no one inside. Like I said, creepy.

On to more sobering matters, it’s hard to be witty while driving to New Orleans. I remember standing at our office windows and staring down into the hole at the WTC. Now we’re heading into an even bigger disaster area. It’s been over a year and I know a lot of the damage has been cleaned up (or at least made pretty for tourists) and the French Quarter was the first area to be restored, but it’s still kind of scary to think about what we’ll be seeing.

BBQ, a night out and another night out

2007-01-06T23:33:35Z

Our first foray into the bbq triangle was a success. Neil, George and I go to Lexington BBQ where we each get "coarse chopped on big bun" sandwiches. NC bbq isn't into sauce, using a much thinner, vinegary concoction than we're used to. Also, they put cole slaw (which I'm not usually a fan of) on all their sandwiches. It's far from what I think most New Yorkers would consider bbq, but it's pretty good.

After bbq, we try to go out. Not 'we go out'. We try. Winston Salem is one dead town. We have a drink in one place that's about a tenth full, and then pass by seven bars. They each have three people in them. I didn't understand why they didn't close down six bars and just have one happening bar. The eighth bar has about 10 people in it, but requires - not a cover – but a membership fee. One dollar per year with unlimited guest privileges. George, or "Billy Smartass Guy", as his new membership card says ponies up the buck. After 10 minutes the bar has six people in it, including one androgynous individual that prompts a he or she debate in my mind as George discusses skydiving with some weird guy. Did I mention Winston Salem sucks?

Neil goes to work Friday leaving George and I to fend for ourselves. We go to what Neil described as the hot spot for breakfast, but it's really more luke warm.

(Side note: Do you think the people of Carthage, Tenn know about Carthage? Do they call themselves Carthaginians? We need to know these things.)

Next stop is the Verizon store to exchange the car charger for George's cell phone wasn't working. We walk in, explain the problem and the nice southern boy tests the charger and confirms it isn't working. Unfortunately, he can't swap it with us since George bought it in NY. We'd have to go to the local "central" store about 4 miles away. George asks if it's an easy 4 miles with only a couple of turns or a tough one with lots of turns, explaining that we're just passing through. The guy thinks for a second, says "Fuck it", grabs a new charger off the wall, hands it to George and puts George's broken charger in the case. "I'll sell it to the next chump that comes in. That's how we do it in North Carolina," he says as he hangs it up. Sweet hook up except we end up passing the central store anyway later and we're forced to endure this guy's stories about his 5,000 sq. ft. mansion for which he pays $1500 a month, his car detailing business and his grandfather, the king of Nascar.

Lunchtime. We debate several places before deciding on East Coast Wings. We peruse the menu and see the following heat index: Mild, Medium, Hot, X-Hot, Lava Flow, Magma, and Insanity (Patrons must sign disclaimer before consuming). Of course we inquire about the disclaimer. The young lady behind the counter explains that Insanity can cause a lot of pain in your mouth and throat, and there might be some burning when you go "shoo-shoo." Shoo-shoo becomes the official phrase of the trip. (Side Note: BIG ass sign on the side of the road with the Ten Commandments. Gotta love the Bible Belt.) The have a one wing sample of the insanity for $1.29. If you finish all the meat of the wing, you get your picture up on the "Wall of Flame" George considers it for a while, before punking out. Neil calls and we agree to meet at his place at 4:45. At 4:40, when we're on the way to Neil's, he calls to say he's at ECW. Why'd he go there when he knew we shouldn't have been there? Not sure, but it might be time to get him out of NC.

Back home we make plans to meet up with a couple of Neil's female coworkers later that night. I decided to take a quick nap. George and Neil, scumbags that they are, wake me up first to take a shower, when neither of them has showered or is anywhere close to ready. So instead of sleeping an extra half hour, I get to sit and watch tv while they get ready. Scumbags.

We go to the first bar we'd visited the night before to meet up with the girls: Julia, Amanda and Cathy. The waitress we'd spoken to most the previous night, welcomes us back, says she'll be our waitress for the evening, and chats for a few minutes. I guess I tuned her out for a second because she uses my name to get my attention. I was shocked she remembered my name. The girls show up and the evening begins for real. We end up at a nearly empty dance club. George is the life of the party of course. He tries to dance with a heavy, older black chick only to get rebuffed by "That's not a good idea. You'll probably get your ass kicked," as her man approached. The other cool thing is the bartender knew what a 'Flaming Dr Pepper' is. I started explaining it to him, and he said he knew it. Very impressive for a small city.

Anyway by the end of the night, the trip has a new official phrase: Stupid .

Road Trip Day 1

2007-01-05T16:55:45Z

Ok… The trip has officially begun. George and I got on the road at ~5:20am, an hour I usually only see when I've been out drinking. Now, I remember why. It's really fucking early. In any case, the wild adventure has begun and the Buddha wants breakfast.

So here's the deal. Every one has heard of the Philly cheesesteak, right? Two restaurants in Philly claim to be "the best." (Ok. Now George and I are arguing over what qualifies as a restaurant. He says these two "cheesesteak places" don't qualify. I disagree and since it's my blog, I win.) As luck would have it, these places are literally across the street from one another, so most people who try one, try the other and fight about which is best.

We made great time to Philly, but Geno's immediately loses points when we get lost because their website gives us the wrong directions. Seriously, the internet had been around for 20 years and people still can't get the simplest things right. Pat's is going to win. I can feel it. The upside of this is we get to see a lot of South Philly. We get a parking spot right next to Pat's about a quarter after 7. I will have consumed two heros before 7:30. My stomach hates me.

Visually, you can't compare the two. Pat's looks old-school. It has a plain white façade and a simple red on blue sign. (Side note: An older chick, I'm guessing 45-50's is checking me out and smiling as I'm writing this on I-95. What's up with that?) It has old faded pictures up of lots of people I've never heard of, so I assume they're old. Pat's just looks like a place that has been making the same thing for years

Geno's looks like a Vegas casino, with lots of neon and bright colors. It also has pictures but, even though I don't know who these people are, I assume the pictures are recent. Even the t-shirts they have for sale seem awfully garish. Simply put… Geno's is ugly (George thinks gaudy is a better word. I defer.)

First stop: Pat's. We're there so early, they have to start the cooking just for us. There are signs all over instructing you how to order. Apparently it's harder than you'd think. Luckily, given the hour, we don't have any problems. George opts for provolone. I go with the more traditional, and possibly disgusting, cheese whiz. I must say, my sandwich looks pretty bad. They slather loads of this oozing, yellow slop all over my hero and god does it taste good. Seriously, it's amazing. The meat and the cheese and the ooze meld together to form a wonderful mess of flavor. Excellent start.

Geno's is a bit of a disappointment (surprise, surprise), albeit a tasty one. George, wisely, opts for the whiz. Two big differences. First, Pat's chops their meat up and stuffs it into the bread. Geno's uses flat steaks. Also Geno's speads the whiz on the bread under the meat. It still tastes pretty good, but can't compare with the texture of Pat's.

So we have a clear winner: Pat's. However, for all their direction problems and garishness, Geno's makes a very tasty sandwich. In fact, had there not been a Pat's, I might be praising them.

Back on the road. More later.

George makes me stop in Lynchburg of all places. Thanks George!!!

Ok. Anyone who is a sports fan has their hallowed halls. It could be Wrigley Field or the old Boston Garden. There are certain places that have such a storied past that just walking into them can invoke feelings of awe.

I'm lucky enough to have two: Yankee Stadium, home of… you know, and Cameron Indoor stadium, home of the Duke Blue Devils. Obviously I've been to Yankee Stadium many times, including a World Series game (the Clemens/Piazza bat throwing game) and, arguably, the greatest baseball game ever, the Aaron Boone game. But something has always been missing

Today, no only did George and I get to see Cameron Indoor and go inside Cameron Indoor and walk on the court at Cameron Indoor, we shot hoops at Cameron Indoor. We played 1-on-1 at Cameron Indoor. We took free throws at Cameron Indoor, standing in the same spot as Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Shane Battier and JJ Reddick (not to mention Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Tim Duncan) had before us.

I can't begin to describe the feeling of walking onto that court. I've watched so many amazing games there over the years and never really thought that I would ever visit the building, much less be on the court.

Ok, a little backtracking… We got to Cameron Indoor at about 2:15 and were told we couldn't go on the into the actual court area. Unfortunately, Penn was practicing there, even though Duke wasn't on their schedule. We could go walk around, look at pictures and see the Hall of Fame, but that was it. We decided something was better than nothing and took a quick tour. (Side Note: We just saw a sign for all you can eat KFC buffet. Needless to say we almost crashed the car, even as our bodies screamed, "Please, no more.") We are able to peek inside the gym and see the court and the National Championship banners. At about 2:45, we give up and head outside. I realize that the bus parked outside is probably Penn's and ask the bus driver when he's supposed to be leaving. "3pm" Sweet. We ask if they're usually on time. "Never more than a few minutes late." Sweeter. We go back inside to wait the 15 minutes. 40 minutes later, they're still shooting free throws and we're aggravated. We decide to give it 5 more minutes. After that passes, George says "When I come back from the bathroom, we're out of here." When he returns, we look inside for one last time and start to leave when the coach blows the whistle to end practice. (Anyone who thinks there's no god is nuts. Only an intelligent being can have this sick a sense of humor.) So we run around the stands taking some pictures and then it's down to the court. No one was around so we did whatever we wanted.

George shot 50% from three-point range. I missed my first 16 free throws attempts before finally making one. Of course the only thing that matters is winning percentage and I am UNDEFEATED at Cameron. That's it for now. BBQ later.

Golfing

2006-10-29T03:57:23Z

I spent yesterday afternoon playing on two different courses in Long Island.

The first was the Peninsula, a 9-hole par 37 and relatively short course. It's pretty cheap at $16 for the first 9 and $13 for the second round of the day. Despite that, it was in surprisingly good shape. It was in better condition than every course I've played this year except Bethpage. The other good thing is it has a lot of yardage markers, which makes Frog happy.

One very weird thing. It had a number of bunker shaped depressions that only have sand in 1/5 of the area. The rest of it is covered in grass. Luckily I didn't find any but they looked tricky to play out of. (Twice I had balls going right at bunkers. Once it took a hard kick to the side and it bounced over on the other.)

Since it was only 9 holes, I decided to walk it and to make it a bit easier I trimmed the number of clubs I was carrying to 11. Turned out to be a good decision as my hybrid was working off of the tee, my chipping was good and I would have posted a 48, except for one hiccup. I was playing with three guys, two of which were riding. On the seventh hole, I hit a great tee shot down the right side. Unfortunately, it hit something and kicked into the right rough. The other walker tee off last, flubbed his shot, took off immediately after it, flubbed his second shot into the right rough near mine. (Guess where this is going.) I spent a couple of minutes talking with the two riders before we all made our way down the fairway. Obviously, I'm behind everyone else when I arrive at the spot where the two balls are, one five yards ahead of the other. When I get there, they point to the closer ball and say, "This is your ball." I look down and see the "TE" at the end of Top Flite, confirming this is my ball, because the other guy was playing Titlelist. So I grab my club make a great swing and the ball ends up four feet from the pin. Excellent. Not so much. The other guy goes forward and realizes, that this ball is a different model of Top Flite ball that he had apparently started playing 2 holes ago. I go over and see, to the surprise of no one, my ball. So to recap: They were all there at least two minutes before me. They said quite clearly that one ball was mine indicating, at least to my ears, that they'd checked. One of them said it was mine even though he was playing the same brand of ball. And who gets stuck with the two-stroke penalty?

Anyway, that 48 on a par 37, would have equal ~95 on most courses we play and that would have been my second best round ever.

The next course is called Heartland Golf Park. It was about a 20-minute drive from Peninsula so my legs had a little time to recover from the 3000-yard walk. Its main feature is that is replicates 9 famous par-3 holes from around the world, including what is arguably the most famous (and intimidating) hole in the world, the 17^th island green from the TPC-Sawgrass. This was the ninth at Heartland and I was really looking forward to it.

Since it was dark and late fall, I had the pleasure of playing the round by myself. That meant I could take multiple shots whenever I wanted which was often. I took two tee shots on every hole, landing both shots on the green three times.

The one thing that is counter-intuitive is that this course is actually a little easier than the other par-3 courses we've played for one important reason. Everything for me was a full swing. A 40-yard shot is a lot easier to navigate if you've never played golf. Once you have a reasonably repeatable swing, the half swings are, in comparison, much more difficult. Five of the holes play right around 115-120, which is a smooth 9-iron for me. It's not surprising that my score ended up being a respectable 35 with 3 pars.

As for the island… I had been very good with my 9-iron all day and this one was 115 to the center of the green. Of course, I hit it a little fat, but it still looked like it had a chance… right up until the splash two yards short. My next shot found the middle of the green and I two-putted for a five.

All in all, a great day of golf, which is a pretty good way to end the season.

The NLCS

2006-10-20T14:31:14Z

Some random stuff on the NLCS.

The NL is HORRIBLE. I know the quadruple-A thing has been floating round for a while, but it's really true. I wouldn't give either of these teams more than a puncher's chance against the AL.

My prediction before the game was that the Met's will prevail. Historically home teams win game 7's. Then I realized that it was a match up of Suppan, who owned the Mets in game 3, and Oliver Perez. This might be bad.

Is the fact that the Mets are still playing with starting pitching like Mayne and Perez more indicative of how good the Mets are or how bad the rest of the NL is?

I watched none of this game until the sixth inning, one pitch before the "Endy". I don't think "Holy Shit!" is strong enough. If the Mets win this game 2-1, we'll be seeing that play 50 years from now. Best play ever in a game that matters? (More AAAA… how do you get doubled off on that? Why on earth is Edmonds more than halfway to third? It's either a home run or an out. You're either trotting or retreating.)

Perez goes six innings allowing one run. Did I mention how bad the NL is? I'm sure this is a tense pitcher's duel for NY-StL fans, but my guess is for everyone else it's awful.

Home run by Molina after LaRussa moves him up a spot in the order. This is like Torre staring Vizcaino.

WTF?? Where is Isringhausen? Note to self: Pay a little bit more attention to fantasy baseball next year. A rookie closer? Can we trade them Mariano for the night? My only solace is Beltran bats 6^ththis inning. (That sound you hear is Fate laughing at me.)

Two singles, a walk, a strikeout and a bullet right at Edmonds later and guess who's coming up with the bases loaded and two outs. Could this be scripted any better? This at bat could go down in history… or not. A 0-2 curveball and Arod, um… Beltran leaves his bat on his shoulder. Shouldn't you be ready for that pitch since it froze Floyd one batter ago?

Painful loss, but since they didn't have Pedro and would have gotten smoked by Detroit anyway, it shouldn't hurt TOO much.

Detroit in 5. 6 if Pujols get red hot.

The Colbert Report

2006-10-13T14:35:35Z

What a blast!!! Here were my highlights.

After much internal debate, I decided I was better off missing George Lucas. If I had been at that taping, it would have been all about him and not Stephen Colbert. Also, the monitors are pretty small and pretty high, so the green screen clips would have lost something.

One of the crew standing outside looked exactly like a younger SC and I did a double take when I saw him outside the studio. He had glasses and dark hair with the same haircut, and I can't imagine how many times everyone has referred him to as 'Stephen Jr.'.

It seemed like everyone on the crew was funny. The starter, the stage manager, and the welcoming hostess all got genuine laughs everyone except Stephen Jr. who seemed peeved the entire time. My guess is he's one "Hey Jr." away from a killing spree.

I went with three friends and each of us got some abuse from the starter. Here is mine: A minute after he came out he pointed to a guy and said, "You! Come down and touch the desk." A little while later after we started a 'Colbert! Colbert!' chant, he commented on how pumped we all were and joked, "Everybody come down and touch the desk." Finally, a little while after that, he asked, "Where are the republicans? There are always a few." Then he looks at me and says, "Well, you're black, so you're not." My friend immediately said, "Actually, he is." I don't think saying I was the love child of Alf and Lynne Cheney could have produced a more confused look on his face. He asked, "Really? A black republican?" a few different ways, and after I swore I really was, he said, "Screw the desk. Everyone come touch HIM."

The set is nice. Even there we couldn't get close to it, it was cool to see all the interesting stuff adorning the walls.

The Governor of Montana is either a really down to earth guy or a phenomenal politician. I wasn't within 20 feet of him and I'd still bet after 5 minutes he'd have your vote, regardless of party.

And finally to Stephen: He was very funny, of course. Unfortunately, we didn't get a "The Word" which was the segment I most wanted to see. We got a quick glimpse of him out of character before the show when he was talking about his role on L&O, but I wished we'd gotten a little more Steve instead of Stephen. Still I was far from disappointed.

All in all, a highly recommended experience.

Five years later...

2006-09-12T03:47:56Z

So you'd think today would have been an emotional day. Thinking back to how I felt on that day…

The shock of the second plane hitting and the realization it wasn't an accident. My "spider-sense" tingling telling me to leave the area (which is the only reason I wasn't covered in dust, or worse, minutes later). The wonder as I heard the rumbling, looked up and saw the first tower coming down. The fear as I ran. The numbness as I walked across the Manhattan Bridge, even as the second tower came down, seemingly on top of my head. The pain in my legs as I walked. The relief as I found a dollar van to take me most of the way home. The exhaustion as I collapsed in my bed. The sadness at the loss of live and knowing that the world was never going to be the same again. And mostly, the anger.

I can't imagine what I would have said if asked "What will you be doing 5 years from today?" I probably wouldn't have been the world would still be turning. Nuclear bombs, anthrax, weaponized ebola… All of them would have been floating around my mind as I was convinced the worst was yet to come.

And today… there was nothing. No emotional response what so ever. I didn't feel sad or angry. It could have been the 10^th or the 12^th and it wouldn't have made any difference to me.

Does this mean I'm in the "I forgot" stage of "Never forget" or am I just "better"? ?

So it's Emmy night.

2006-08-29T03:06:46Z

I rarely watch the Emmy's. They're just not as interesting as the Oscars. That said, I lost quite a few shows this past year and I want to see how they do.

Predictions. No one I want to see win will. Martin Sheen will lose to House (more on this later.) Chandra Wilson and Jean Smart will lose to Sandra Oh. Will Arnett will lose to Jeremy Piven (A Lock. It's not quite Titanic or Jamie Foxx for Ray, but he's close.) And West Wing will probably win for Best Drama, even though I don't want them to.

On to the Show…

Conan does a surprisingly good job tonight. The opening bit with him flashing through various shows, while done before, was very funny. I loved the flashback to the South Park scientology episode, especially since Tom Cruise is still in the closet.

The new fall lineup doesn't contain one show I'm even remotely interested in watching. I've LOVED Dana Delaney since the first episode of China Beach and even she can't make what these TV people are coming up with appealing. Netflix is going to get a workout.

The Sheens are running through their presentation like they have to catch a flight. (Weird musing – I wonder what Emilio Estevez is doing right now. Does he wish he'd stayed with "Sheen" so he'd still have a career?)

Chandra Wilson loses. Sigh. Dr. Bailey is officially one of my favorite characters on television along with Jack Bauer and… NO ONE BECAUSE MY FAVORITE SHOWS KEEP GOING OFF THE AIR.

I have some sort of weird memory block when it comes to Kelly MacDonald (Winner for The Girl in the Café). Three times I've seen her in something, thought 'She's cute. I wonder who she is', went to IMDB and remembered looking her up before.

SNL wasn't nominated for Best Variety/Comedy Series. [sarcasm]That's shocking considering the quality stuff they've turned out lately.[/sarcasm]

Howie Mandel has not been funny since St. Elsewhere. Not once. Not even by accident.

This is why the Emmy's suck. WAY too many categories. How is Andre Braugher a two-time Emmy winner? How is Guest Star a category?

Steven Colbert is about… 1000 times funnier than John Stewart. It's not even close. His delivery is perfect. "I LOST TO BARRY MANILOW!"

Both Don Knotts and Don Adams died this year, which is weird since I always got them confused when I was a kid. In fact, there's a pretty good chance I didn't realize this earlier for that same reason.

Goodbye Mr. Myagi.

Seeing John Spencer on the screen makes Baby Jesus sad.

Just saw a commercial for The Office. The female lead looked really good on Celebrity Poker Showdown, but terrible everywhere else.

Everyone from Will and Grace was nominated (including three guest stars) except Will. That must sting a little.

WTF?!?!? HUGH LAURIE WASN'T NOMINATED!?!? How is that possible? Was I drunk the entire week nominations came out? He's probably the character that is most individually responsible for his show's success (they spend too much time on other people in 24). If House is nominated for Best Drama, he HAS to be nominated. I'm officially annoyed even though this means Sheen probably wins now… or not.

I take back what I said about the girl from The Office (Jenna Fisher) who looks really good again on stage. They must uglify her for the show.

24 wins. Hooray. Too bad their best work was two seasons ago.

Bonus: The show finished on time.

And it's official. The eras of The West Wing, Arrested Development and Everwood are over. They were the best show (for the first four years), the cleverest show and the most painful loss of a show, ever in my life and now they're gone. The good news is that I'll have more time for posting, so I have that goin for me.

Rock Climbing

2006-08-27T22:32:46Z

Pain. That about sums up my rock climbing experience.

Yesterday was my first time trying to climb routes that weren't the easiest. (Routes range from 5.0 to 5.10. They do go higher but, IMO, anything over that is for people bitten by radioactive spiders. I spent the day climbing 5.3's to 5.6's.) As difficulty goes up technique becomes more important (thank you Capt. Obvious) and since my technique is pretty poor, I end up relying more on physical strength. Using more strength means more stress on the body, which equals pain today.

So why do I keep subjecting myself to this? Good question. Off the top of my head, I can think of three main reasons. The biggest reason is that even though I always remember there will be soreness, I always forget just how sore I'll be. Next is that, like golf, anyone can do it, but it's hard to do well. Picking a challenging route and making it to the top is (almost) always rewarding and falling is frustrating enough to make you want to try it again. Even in my debilitated state, I really want to go again. The final reason is that I enjoy making fun of Frank, my belayer (the guy who keeps me from going splat when I fall).

Making next time I'll bring a camera so you can see me in action.

The nerve...

2006-08-25T07:48:44Z

So George and I stop at White Castle after a night out drinking. A homeless guy is standing outside the door and asks George for help getting something to eat. George says ok and walks into White Castle. HG says "Hey. Do you mind if we go to McDonalds?" George says, "I want White Castle." HG says "C'mon. I really wanted McDonalds." George, in an uncharacteristic display of self-control, manages not to tell HG to 'Fuck off' and says, "I'm eating here, so it's this or nothing." (Why George can show restraint to homeless guys and not to girls in bars that might be considering sleeping with him is a question for another day) HG gives up and proceeds to order the most expensive item on the menu. (Not that it's a soup versus lobster thing. It's 79¢ versus $1.79, but still.)

I really hope I'm never in a situation where my next meal comes from the 'kindness of strangers' (or the British), but if I was, I think I'd be appreciative, not upset that I'm getting a Slyder instead of a Big Mac.

The Greatest Song Writer Ever!!!

2006-07-30T06:46:30Z

I think it's time he got some respect. Of course, I'm talking about none other than Chef from South Park.

Open up a packet of my gravy,
Baby it's burnin' just for you child,
would you like another helping of gravy,
say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Watch out, don't let it get in your eyes now!!!

Gonna make love to ya' woman
gonna get a little freaky to,
with lingerie of leather and a bottle of super glue,
let's make a human pretzel dip it in
love gravy, love gravy, love love love

With fine lyrics like these, how can you dispute his greatness. Let's give him the status he deserves and declare him GOAT.

Random

2006-06-14T21:22:18Z

While waiting in line at the library (one of my most favoritist places in the world), I saw the person in front of me taking out "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" on video. I'm not sure why this disturbed me as much as it did, but I immediately started reassessing the probability that this guy was a serial killer. (Ok. You caught me. I hadn't actually assessed the probability that he was a serial killer before this.)

I think I'll add this to my list of first date tests. "Do you like Pluto Nash?" could join "Mets or Yankees?" and "What's so wrong with you that you agreed to go out with me?" as my must-ask questions.

Pet Peeve #2

Obviously parents and guardians have to cross the street accompanied by children sometimes. I'm sure it happens millions of times a day. But why is it, SOME PARENTS INSISTS ON BRINGING THEIR CHILDREN THREE OR FOUR FEET (1-1.3 meters for you international types) INTO THE STREET WHERE THEY'RE JUST INCHES AWAY FROM THE TRAFFIC WHIZZING BY?!?!

Are the two or three seconds they're going to save worth the risk? Have they never heard of a tire blowing out? Or brakes failing? Or bad drivers? Just stay on the freakin' curb people.

The other

2006-06-13T04:13:02Z

So it turns out I started another blog and completely forgot about it.

http://nycroger1972.blogspot.com/

Strangely enough, I wrote about the Oscars there too. Hmmm... I did much better on my predictions that year. Maybe I should switch back.

Drunk Spelling is fun

2006-03-30T22:54:05Z

So I entered a "Drunken Spelling Bee" recently. Before you spell a word, you take a shot (all of which are included in your entrance fee). If you get it right, you move on. If you get it wrong, you're out. Simple as pie... until about round 6. That's when the alcohol and the increasing difficulty of words collide.

Eight people enter and everyone cruises through the first two words (I got errand and voyage). My friend George misses in round three and four people miss in round four, leaving myself (preeminent and venom were my words) plus two others. The remaining woman is the defending champion. The other guy was my favorite to win before the game started. He just looked like a speller. I found out later that he had the dubious distinction of having gone out first the last two times, including a first round exit.

My first word is pistachio. I debate 'c'/'cc' for several seconds before choosing the wrong one. I HATE pistachio ice cream and never order or purchase it but I still feel like I should have gotten it. While I go off to a corner to berate myself, my two competitors also miss. Another shot and I get garnishee. The judges, who were clearly out to get me, give me the transitive verb definition (to take (as a debtor's wages) by legal authority) and not the noun definition (a person who is served with a legal process of garnishment). For a person it would obviously be 'ee'. I chose 'y'. The judges' evil plot is foiled when my competitors bail me out again. (I've had six shots, btw)

My next word is minacious and I'm done (after the seventh shot). The guy rebounds from his early exits and takes down the defending champ several rounds later. I feel less bummed about my departure as the words get tougher and I realize that I my chances of actually winning were about 0%. Still it was a fun time and if you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend it.

The Oscars, Part II

2006-03-06T06:35:20Z

Wow… Has it really been an entire year since I've posted? I should do something about that for all my adoring fans. I was all set for another wonderful night of the Oscars. A late afternoon phone call sent me off to the ER instead. Fortunately for all of you, a TV was in the waiting room and I got to watch some of the awards show.

A few predictions. Ang Lee wins, but Brokeback Mountain doesn't. Reese is a lock. I think Weisz is the favorite, but I'm picking Michelle Williams thinking the "mediocre actor on a bad TV drama to Academy Award winner" streak continues. Clooney has to win something, so he wins. Brokeback has to win a couple lest Holllywood feel homophobic, so Ledger wins.

I liked Jon Stewart's monologue. Lots of subtle humor that I think is going to be a little too subtle. Are most people going to get why this is the first time most people in the room have voted for a winner? I doubt it. As promised, he kept it pretty light, which makes baby Jesus happy. The HoYay tribute is funny, but not as funny or as well done as the internet's "Brokeback to the Future." (If the creator happens to read this, good job.)

Clooney wins and I'm one for one. He starts his speech by acknowledging there's no way he's winning best Director now. The Oscars are a joke.

WTF is the matter with Ben Stiller? Does he think this is even remotely funny? Any molecule of my body that didn't hate him before hates him now.

Apparently I'd forgotten just how enormous Dolly Parton's breasts are. I'm amazed she doesn't tip over.

I don't remember the first time I saw an awards show use an animated presenter, but I hope this is the last. It's just lame now.

Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep are pretty funny together.

And we're back home watching the end of the Awards. A quick check of the internet tells me that Ledger and Williams lost, so I'm two for four. Not too bad since, once again, I haven't watched any of these movies.

Ang Lee wins. It's nice to see the Academy making up for the Hulk snub of a few years ago.

BTW, if I was a member of the Academy I would have voted for Brokeback. I have no idea if it was the best movie, but I like pissing the far right off more the far left. Since one of the far's will be pissed off either way, I guess I can't really lose. Is there any chance Hollywood gives it's highest honor to a gay cowboy movie…

Nope. Crash wins and I'm a respectable four for six.

Once again, sorry for the abbreviated review. I'll do better next year.

PS. Just re-read last year's. Dustin Hoffman screwed up presenting again this year. Factor in his forgetting Tom Cruise when accepting his Rain Man Oscar, and maybe he should just stay home next year.

The Oscars

2005-02-28T15:58:05Z

I haven't seen one movie nominated for any major category. Shrek 2 is probably the most critically acclaimed movie I had the pleasure of seeing this past year. So of course, I'm going to watch the Oscars. Randon thoughts…

Political jokes. Wonderful. At least they spared us a Tim & Susan shot.

Catalina Sandino Moreno is FINE. She should wear that dress (or one like it) everyday for the rest of her life. Going grocery shopping, washing the car, whatever…

Morgan Freeman just won an Oscar. I think the words "BOUT FUCKIN TIME" sum up my feelings. (BTW, the fact that Forest Gump beat out Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture still pisses me off. Gump was certainly a good film and could certainly have won one another year, but it's FAR behind those two.)

If I'm ever a presenter, I'm going to get a copy of what they want me to say and you know… read it. Are these guys really SUCH big stars that they can't take two minutes to read these things beforehand so they don't sound like idiots? (BTW, if I'm ever a presenter/nominee, I'm wearing a simple, single-breasted black tux with a white shirt and a black tie. Seriously, what the hell is Johnny Depp wearing around his neck? Why is Robin Williams wearing a red shirt? Don't these people have mirrors? Or friends who aren't sycophants? I don't understand.)

Scarlett Johansson has no waist. What are her measurements? 32-12-32?

Shouldn't the people nominated for Best Costume be dressed better?

I hadn't thought about Johnny Carson in five years and I still miss him now that he's gone.

Emmy Rossum is cute, but a little weird looking.

When Kate Winslet is just talking and not acting, she sounds like a man.

I'm probably of the few, but I'm taking Penelope Cruz over Selma Hayek.

Hey. Jamie Foxx won. There's a shocker… Speaking of shockers, Clint Eastwood's mom is there. Flashback to 1993… Which would you have bet was more likely, that in 2005 the guy from In Living Color would be beating out Edward Scissorhands and the kid from Growing Pains for a Best Actor Oscar or that Clint's mom would still be alive?

Eminem has an Oscar. That girl from 90210 has two. Martin Scorsese = zero. I think I may win one before him.

I bet this is the last time we'll see Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand hand out an award together.

Chris Rock could have been funnier, but I guess he's hampered by the lack of F-bombs so I'll live. Thank god for tivo. Never would have gotten through this without it.

YUMMMM...

2004-12-17T20:16:22Z

Birthday Cake!!!!!!!!

nycroger1972 @ 2004-12-15T15:05:00

2004-12-15T20:06:39Z

Do you think if I ever get my 15 minutes of fame someone will find out about this journal, come here, read it and think I had ABSOLUTELY nothing to say EVER?

So if I you're reading this because I ran into a burning building to save a small child, for the record, I do have some things to say, just not a lot worth writing, especially since I don't think there are 4 people on this planet who have any interest in what I write. (Before you start counting, remember you're only reading this because you saw that video of me fighting off that mugger.) Ok. I feel better now.

On the agenda for the next two weeks: poker, snowboarding, getting NO sleep.

Pet Peeves

2004-11-01T18:18:40Z

New to this Livejournal is the pet peeve section... basically anything that bothers me.

Pet Peeve #1: GET YOUR SLOW-DRIVING ASS OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!!!!

nycroger1972 @ 2004-10-08T09:36:00

2004-10-08T14:22:17Z

So I played in a $50 MTT last night. 49 entries and I finished 7th. Unfortunately only the top 4 got paid. Oh well. I played pretty well for someone who sucks at poker. One major misread that dumb luck bailed me out of, but pretty good the rest of the night. The worst part is I played well enough that by the time I was knocked out it was too late to play anything else, but not well enough to make any money.

The only good thing is I know I can hang with those guys. No one seemed to be MUCH better than me and quite a few were considerably worse. My tourney skills definitely need work though. Maybe next week...

nycroger1972 @ 2004-08-01T22:42:00

2004-08-02T02:42:16Z

I'm driving along the Belt Parkway yesterday and go over a bridge. Not an unusual occurrence. What makes this particular instance different is that on a clear day on September 10, 2001 or earlier, you could see the Twin Towers from the crest of said bridge. Last night without thinking, I decided to look to see if I could see the towers. Needless to say, they weren't there.