Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Not So Sure This Was a Move Up in My Career
Monday, November 29, 2004
If you put the word menudo in your blog
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/53/2405/320/monterosso.jpg)
Courtesy of Mundochachi
Original Post about the Pearly Gates of St. Peter on A Nod to Nothing
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Where I Learn Some Jewish History
So I went and looked it up, not realizing the Revolt of the Maccabees is the event that led to Chanukah. The site I cite states:
"...the holiday of Chanukah celebrates:
the defeat of Antiochus"
This was all sounding sort of strange - there's a major Jewish holiday to celebrate defeating a king who was already dead? I though at first it was some sort of Jewish irony, but Wikipedia finally set me straight - he wasn't dead yet when the revolt started, he was simply sending armies from afar and only died later when he started to personally march on the Maccabees, and the real significance was the foundation of Israel (for one hundred years) and the establishment of a royal line (the Hasmoneans), though the first of the links above notes:
"The Maccabees' successful revolt against Antiochus' antisemitic persecution was ended about a hundred years later by their own self-destruction. Their downfall was due to greedy family members who wanted the country for themselves."
Now I know that instead of a dreidel, I can get Mean Mr. Mustard an Antiochus IV doll to burn in effigy on the 25th of Kislev (pretty much Christmas - note that some believe Christ was actually born on this anniversary of the founding of Israel) - it's good to have options.
45 minutes of poker with the elephants
Some notes:
1.) I'll be interested to hear where Brad ended up because I think he should have been out fairly quickly - he seemed to actually be playing aggressive-tight, like his book recommends, which I don't think works so well with a table full of old guys who will call anything. I also think he got a fortunate break when I called his all-in with an A-6 suited and had outs for the straight, the flush (from the flop) and the high pair - that's a lot of outs. I probably should have also taken him for a bit more money when he was playing against my three kings earlier in the game, but pushing harder seemed inappropriate so early - I guess if it's about winning that shouldn't be an issue (although it would have just been more money I lost later, but then maybe I wouldn't have lost so much to him on the A-6). He was playing quite a bit better than me in aggressively playing against the junk the other side of the table was playing and picking up a lot of stray (though small) pots. He's got a pretty good sense of when someone is going to cave.
2.) Elephants suck. They really do. An elephant is someone who calls you pretty much no matter what's out there if they think they have anything that vaguely looks interesting in their hand - at one point I pulled two aces in the hole, half my stake went in and the other guy just kept tagging along on the hope of a straight (which he pulled on the river). One could (rightly) argue that I should have raised harder to force him out, but I think the result would have been him calling all my money and me being out in 30 minutes.
3.) Do not, do not, do not, play anything less than a perfect hand against the big stake in the out position. Whatever I threw in, he matched, after all, it was only a portion of his stake, so what did he really care. That was the one that got me out.
4.) $800 blinds in a $10,000 (fake) stake is pretty steep after just 40 minutes - I had a bigger stake than I thought when I pushed hard at the end (about $4000), but the $800 blind was making me think I was ponying up about a 1/4-1/3 of my money at at that point which made me feel like I had to push to get a better stake when I should have let it ride.
All in all, however, I think I learned some important poker lessons. Primarily, I learned that by reading a book, I can now get a pretty good idea of the playing types of the rest of the players and determine exactly how they're going to beat me, not just if they will.
Overheard on X-Play
Ming and Jenna Bush
I had a dream. In this dream, the U.S. government was sending invitations for free tickets to the Vikings/Packers game to minorities living in Minnesota. Ming received one and unable to resist a free football game, went down to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome where they promptly interned him along with a dome full of others and then posted armed guards. The strange part was that while he was there, Ming befriended Jenna Bush, who wasn't there because she was offering support for those locked in, but because she'd accidentially been sent an invitation as well and shown up expecting a free game and beer.
The rest of the dream can be pretty much summed up as me going to the Metrodome, sneaking in, and sneaking out both Ming and Jenna Bush (who wasn't all that hard to sneak out).
Thursday, November 25, 2004
If we're a blue state
If we're a blue state, then you have to wonder what the hell it must be like for people in red states. Exorcism in St. Paul Cathedral to because of gay communion.
It's so touching the Pope is working to foster a spirit of Christianity in the world.
Spain's dramatic left turn infuriates Catholic Church (Pioneer Press - requires sign on)
- Europe's secular trend has deeply disturbed the Vatican, which was angered recently when Rocco Buttiglione, an Italian friend of Pope John Paul II's, had to withdraw his candidacy for European Union justice commissioner last month after making what were perceived to be derogatory remarks about homosexuals and single mothers.
- Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, spokesman for the Spanish Bishops Conference, said on television last month that allowing homosexual marriage was akin to "imposing a virus on society."
- The Spanish public — like most of its European counterparts — does not seem to agree. An August survey by the Center for Sociological Research found 66.2 percent of Spaniards in favor of same-sex marriages. In a separate poll, 61.5 percent said they had "little or no trust in the Catholic Church."
Thanksgiving
My favorite passage from Equal Rites (by Terry Pratchett)
The blacksmith shrugged.
"Bad Ass," he said.
"Bad--?"
"Ass," repeated the blacksmith, his tone defying anyone to make something of it.
The wizard considered this.
"A name with a story behind it," he said at last... (p. 3-4)
Don't Start New Thanksgiving Traditions
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
I'm old
Yesterday I was taking Eryn to buy her first video game (Best Buy in Apple Valley - she chose a Blue's Clues game because she really likes Blue - so she was wandering around Best Buy mumbling "Blue, Blue, Blue, Bow, Bow..." Occasionally punctuated by "Bob!" [lots of SpongeBob SquarePants games at Best Buy {both PC and Playstation 2 which we currently don't have because we left it with my brother in law %who's supposed to bring it back for Thanksgiving, so maybe that would have been soon enough *but we told him he could keep it until Christmasdamn, I have to do my shopping $which reminds me, all the McVays lost their Secret Santas, I better resend them #I hope my Secret Santa program dumped a copy in a folder somewhere#$*&}]) and a car passed us and I thought, "Hey, that looks like Nidhi", immediately followed by the thought, "Maybe not, looked a little old to be Nidhi."
A little old to be Nidhi. So I checked. The icon from the first project I was on with her here is dated 9/27/1999 (the actual project, as far as my involvement, preceded that by about 5 months) - so I've known Nidhi for over 5 years - almost as long as the people with whom I went to High School and 20% of her life so far. Next thing I know I'll be referring to Erik as that young whippersnapper.
Monday, November 22, 2004
120 movies, 330 days
If I had to recommend a few favorites out of the following list, they would be:
- The Station Agent
- The Bicycle Thief
- The Fog of War
- In America
- The Cooler
- Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (really)
- Dirty Pretty Things
- Rabbit Proof Fence
- The Gleaners and I (not for everyone, but a really interesting documentary)
- Beijing Bicycle
The Antifavorites, the really stand out ones, there were a lot that were bad, just not horrendously bad:
- The Human Stain (if boredom had a title, this would be it)
- Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (we took a chance it might make the best, and it failed fabulously)
- S.W.A.T.
- Teknolust
- Pistol Opera
- Swimming Pool
- House of the Dead (wow, just so so so bad)
- Something's Gotta Give (Jen rented it, but it was so bad I have to add it because it overshadowed much of what is on this list)
The Complete List:
Shipped Returned Title
11/11/04 11/16/04 Hidalgo (2004)
11/10/04 11/16/04 Returner (2002)
11/08/04 11/11/04 The Human Stain (2003)
11/05/04 11/10/04 Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)
11/04/04 11/08/04 Timeline (2003)
10/26/04 11/05/04 The Sopranos: Season 4: Disc 1 (2002)
11/01/04 11/04/04 North by Northwest (1959)
10/18/04 11/01/04 Mean Girls (2004)
10/18/04 11/01/04 Ella Enchanted (2004)
10/19/04 10/25/04 Saved! (2004)
10/14/04 10/19/04 The Good Girl (2002)
10/13/04 10/18/04 The Gold Rush (1925)
10/13/04 10/18/04 Chopper (2000)
10/04/04 10/14/04 Super Size Me (2004)
10/05/04 10/13/04 The Hunting of the President (2004)
10/06/04 10/13/04 Dark Heaven (2002)
10/01/04 10/06/04 Night and Fog (1955)
09/28/04 10/05/04 The Lathe of Heaven (1980)
09/28/04 10/04/04 Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)
09/21/04 10/01/04 The Company (2003)
09/23/04 09/28/04 The Station Agent (2003)
09/21/04 09/27/04 Shaolin Soccer (2001)
09/20/04 09/23/04 Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)
09/17/04 09/21/04 Roger & Me (1989)
09/02/04 09/21/04 Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War (2003)
09/15/04 09/20/04 Taking Lives (2004)
08/31/04 09/17/04 The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
08/31/04 09/15/04 The Bicycle Thief (1948)
08/30/04 09/02/04 Clerks: Uncensored: Disc 1 (2000)
08/16/04 08/31/04 Miracle (2004)
08/24/04 08/30/04 The Dreamers (2004)
08/16/04 08/30/04 Party Monster: The Shockumentary (1998)
08/17/04 08/24/04 Heaven (2002)
08/09/04 08/17/04 The Sopranos: Season 3: Disc 4 (2001)
08/09/04 08/16/04 Bully (2001)
08/11/04 08/16/04 Session 9 (2001)
08/05/04 08/11/04 Equilibrium (2002)
07/28/04 08/09/04 S.W.A.T. (2003)
08/04/04 08/09/04 A Boy and His Dog (1975)
07/30/04 08/05/04 Cold Mountain (2003)
07/26/04 08/04/04 Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999)
07/26/04 07/30/04 Teknolust (2002)
07/20/04 07/28/04 Chicken Run (2000)
07/08/04 07/26/04 Bad Boys II (2003)
07/20/04 07/26/04 Gothika (2003)
07/13/04 07/20/04 The Butterfly Effect: Director's Cut (2004)
07/16/04 07/20/04 Dark Days (2000)
07/06/04 07/16/04 Masked & Anonymous (2003)
07/06/04 07/13/04 The Sopranos: Season 3: Disc 3 (2001)
06/29/04 07/08/04 Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
06/30/04 07/06/04 Monster (2003)
06/30/04 07/06/04 Wonderland (2003)
06/23/04 06/30/04 The Sopranos: Season 3: Disc 2 (2001)
06/17/04 06/30/04 Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)
06/15/04 06/29/04 The Sopranos: Season 3: Disc 1 (2001)
06/15/04 06/23/04 Runaway Jury (2003)
06/14/04 06/17/04 Paycheck (2003)
06/02/04 06/15/04 Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003)
06/10/04 06/15/04 Big Fish (2003)
05/28/04 06/14/04 Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
05/18/04 06/10/04 The Fog of War (2003)
05/26/04 06/01/04 The Last Samurai (2003)
05/21/04 05/27/04 In America (2002)
05/19/04 05/26/04 Japanese Story (2003)
05/17/04 05/21/04 American Gun (2002)
05/11/04 05/19/04 Vampyr (1932)
05/11/04 05/18/04 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
05/11/04 05/17/04 The Cooler (2003)
05/05/04 05/11/04 21 Grams (2003)
05/05/04 05/11/04 The Rundown (2003)
04/26/04 05/10/04 The Sopranos: Season 2: Disc 4 (2001)
04/29/04 05/05/04 Matchstick Men (2003)
04/26/04 05/05/04 Wisconsin Death Trip (2001)
04/22/04 04/29/04 No Good Deed (2002)
04/16/04 04/26/04 The Sopranos: Season 2: Disc 3 (2001)
04/20/04 04/26/04 Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)
04/16/04 04/22/04 The Matrix: Revolutions (2003)
04/14/04 04/20/04 Brother Bear (Home Viewing Version) (2003)
04/12/04 04/16/04 Ginger Snaps (2000)
04/05/04 04/16/04 House of Sand and Fog (2003)
04/08/04 04/14/04 The School of Rock (2003)
04/05/04 04/12/04 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
03/29/04 04/08/04 The Missing (2003)
03/30/04 04/05/04 Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
03/23/04 04/05/04 The Sopranos: Season 2: Disc 2 (2001)
03/23/04 03/29/04 Stevie (2003)
03/24/04 03/29/04 Lost in Translation (2003)
03/18/04 03/24/04 Killing Zoe (1994)
03/16/04 03/22/04 The Sopranos: Season 2: Disc 1 (2000)
03/10/04 03/22/04 Pistol Opera (2001)
03/12/04 03/18/04 Swimming Pool (2003)
03/09/04 03/15/04 Thirteen (2003)
03/02/04 03/11/04 Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
03/01/04 03/10/04 Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
03/01/04 03/09/04 The Bone Snatcher (2003)
02/16/04 03/02/04 The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003)
02/02/04 03/01/04 Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001)
02/20/04 03/01/04 Spellbound (2002)
02/16/04 02/20/04 House of the Dead (2003)
02/04/04 02/16/04 Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
02/09/04 02/16/04 Bruce Almighty (2003)
01/30/04 02/09/04 Frida (2002)
01/28/04 02/04/04 The Deep End (2001)
01/26/04 02/02/04 Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
01/20/04 01/30/04 Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
01/21/04 01/28/04 Scarface: 20th Anniversary Edition (1983)
01/16/04 01/26/04 Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
01/14/04 01/21/04 Tart (2001)
01/12/04 01/20/04 The Gleaners and I (2000)
01/09/04 01/16/04 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
01/06/04 01/14/04 Underworld (2003)
01/05/04 01/12/04 Tadpole (2002)
01/02/04 01/09/04 Beijing Bicycle (2002)
12/31/03 01/06/04 Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
12/19/03 01/05/04 Pulp Fiction (1994)
12/18/03 01/02/04 Love Liza (2002)
12/22/03 12/31/03 Happiness (1998)
12/09/03 12/22/03 Owning Mahowny (2003)
12/09/03 12/19/03 Max (2002)
12/09/03 12/18/03 About Schmidt (2002)
Monday, November 15, 2004
Um...yikes...just yikes
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Posh Spice - Blue State Supporter
Movie Review - Hidalgo
I give it 97 out of 100 dead horses.
Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me....
(Not pictured: nerf pistol with night acquisition technology from Christy, a toy everyone and everypet in my family has grown to hate, accept for Eryn who takes the darts and yells "stuck, stuck!" before pinning them to the t.v., and my Twix bar from Lisa, who loves me always, although my wife just doesn't care.)
(Also pictured: sexy-yet-sarcastic card from wife).
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Happy Veteran's Day
Calendar of Dead in Iraq
Recent Pictures from Fallujah
To my friend Dan, to Jay, my Dad, to B.J. and to everyone else who's ever served, a heartfelt Veteran's Day. Thank you.
Addendum: To ABC, the FCC and anyone involved in yanking Private Ryan on Veteran's Day because of indecency worries...an unhappy Veteran's Day to you too.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Morals
"That's very important," said Twoflower seriously. "If there were more morals about we wouldn't be crashing into stars." - The Light Fantastic
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Get Real
This Ain't No Heartland - the only political documentary, and probably the one I liked least. It was interviews with Midwesterners about the war in Iraq and their opinions on politics. It should have been titled - find some serious hicks from the Midwest who don't watch anything other than the SciFi channel, interview them while they're drunk or off their meds, and see what happens. Contrary to the link, it's not chilling. It might be chilling that they vote - it might be chilling that their vote might cancel yours - but overall, simply not chilling. It's more like heading down to the corner bar in St. Michael or Hawk's in Monticello (or worse, The Zoo), sitting down with the "regulars" and trying to get a coherent political opinion. Not that the discussion about whether America or China would win in a war (be worried about those "2 billion screamin' Chinamen") wasn't enjoyable, and likewise for the drunken yokel mooning and racist jokes, but it could have used some balance. By balance I don't mean drunken yokels with opposite leanings - I mean some of those conservatives from larger Midwest cities, and a wider variety rather than the few they focused on. I understand that most documentaries focus on just a few people and let them talk, but this one could have benefited by a wider base and speeding it up and adding at least one other (younger) woman to those interviewed. Finally - I now know why people like Erroll Morris more than other documentarians - he's willing to let the camera sit - no panning up and down, no focusing on buttons and clothes, no trying to frame the scene correctly with slow pans - all very distracting.
I Like Killing Flies - my favorite from the festival this year! This is why I go to the Get Real Festival. All about Kenny Shopsin, a restaurateur focusing on breakfast who has a menu of over 1000 items, and his eccentric nature and move to a new restaurant. Absolutely fascinating as a character study. He told a story about his first date with his wife when they were stoned and visited the first McDonald's in the area as it was being robbed (his wife walked past the robbers to get some ketchup). You got to see all the little inventions he created for making breakfast easier/faster and hear his take on killing the flies that eventually enter the restaurant. You get to hear his take on life and about how the guy he's serving breakfast to is an investor and probably stealing money from little old ladies, but he still needs his chocolate chip pancakes. You meet his kid and wife and his customers and actually get a pretty good idea of the personalities of all of these people and how upsetting or exciting it is for all of them that the restaurant is moving. And you learn his rule that no parties of five are allowed. If you come in as a party of five, you can't split up, you're still five. If you leave and come back, you're still five. Next week, you're still a party of five. He's very adamant about the issue.
A League of Ordinary Gentlemen - Also wonderful - all about how a few Microsoft execs purchased the American Bowling League and tried to rework it to make it more exciting and profitable by hiring a Nike exec to come in and shake it up. It focuses heavily on the characters of the bowlers and how bowling has changed for them between the old ABA and the new MSABA, as well as the CTO, wives and fans. It even plays off the tension of bowling styles (if there can be such a thing) that arises between the old-school, dignified bowler, the bowler with an eye to making money by watching professional wrestling and integrating showmanship (PBW and his "crotch chop" - I told Pooteewheet it looked like something The Ox would do), the new bowler trying to break into the sport and support his family, and the bowler who feels he's been left behind in favor of a business model instead of a family model. The theater was pretty much packed and people were laughing and really enjoying it. At the end, as the credits roll past, they did the Monsters Inc. three second snippet montage, and it was funny to see PBW watching professional wrestling and lamenting that his crotch chop was perhaps growing stale for the fans and he needed something new.
The Incredibles - worth the hype. Really worth the hype. Take a 50's comic book and turn it into Toy Story meets James Bond. Ten o'clock at night and I was wide awake there was so much going on. There's a scene that looks a lot like the scene in the forest in Star Wars II (original series) with the air bikes - but in The Incredibles, the bikes are spinning while they move up and down and forward and backward, and because it's animated, they can really speed it up and change all the background speeds/etc. independently of the motion of the vehicles - I was getting a little motion sick watching it. The plot flew along and the characterizations were, well, incredible.
The Grudge - yeah, um...no. On rotten tomatoes it scored about 1/3 what The Incredibles scored - but I don't think seeing it three times would have in any way helped and I'm pretty sure 1/3 of The Incredibles would have been much better. Sarah Michelle Geller naked wouldn't have helped either. Well, a bit - but she looks so tired throughout the whole thing that you'd probably worry she wouldn't have the energy to get her clothes on again. It even got the benefit of me going right after early morning window work at the duplex - at which point pretty much anything seems like an improvement in situation. It feels pretty disjointed, as though they through in some of the scares without a thought as to how it was all interrelated, and although there are some scary parts (mostly they seem like rip offs of The Ring), that's never enough to carry a movie.
Friday, November 05, 2004
It might be considered ironic
November 4, 2004:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Charles J. Webb, 22, of Hamilton, Ohio died Nov. 3 in the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds sustained earlier that day when an improvised explosive device detonated in Baghdad, Iraq. Webb was assigned to the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), Bamberg, Germany.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
In case you were worried - Amendment XXII
Amendment XXII
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.
What was the Letter of the Day on 11/3
Alan Keyes, Victim of the Media and Democrats and Fellow Republicans
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Poor Joe
Note:
The Yahoo Search
1997: Samuel L. Myers Jr., Special section editor and editorial commentary. 1997. In the Case of Race Relations, Minnesota Nice Translates into Silence. Color/s 6(3):14-15.
2000: http://www.mnnow.org/times/w00-07.htm
2004: (Search the page on "nice")