I watched what appears to be the final new episode of The Office tonight. Next week is listed as a repeat and a few other shows the rely on writers to act, like 30 Rock, appear to be ending soon also. I'm pretty bummed about this only because there aren't really many shows worth watching on TV right now and they will be going into reruns. The only reason I have cable anymore is because of sports programming. Since I got cable nearly two years ago my reading has declined and since I pay an absolute fortune here in Seattle for cable I'm not sure how long I'll keep it. The shows I want to watch the most are mostly on network TV already and I could find lots of other things to do with my $$ besides cable.
I do side with the writers in this case. The networks have really screwed the writers out of revenue from the internet and other online sources. The networks have problems but paying the source of the revenue shouldn't be something they screw around with. ">
I also added an Office widget to the blog. I'm not sure I'm going to keep it because it's kind of big but you get fresh Office videos as soon as they come out. This was a good Office episode... sigh... I'm really going to miss new episodes.
Two Husky games down and I'm still not sure what to think. I love their little stadium but the crowds have been a little underwhelming so far. Maybe once the big games and the Pac-10 schedule start things will start to pick up because compared to MU games they're not up to par. The Huskies in general need some help, I haven't been able to sell two tickets for this weekends football game for half price so my worst case scenario is going to the game.
My family is hosting Thanksgiving this year. I haven't seen a lot of family since last Christmas actually. Between my trip to Europe and the move to Seattle I haven't been home in a long time so this is a good chance to see more people than I would normally be able to. I hope I get snowed in for a few extra days.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
American Gangster
I watched a lot of movies this weekend and it was great. Saturday I watched a lot of football and watched the Marquette game on the internet. I'm not sure the video stream is legal but it was nice to be able to watch the game instead of listen on the internet, which I think I'm going to do tomorrow for lack of other options. MU won for what it's worth, we might be in the top ten when the new poll comes out since Michigan State lost an exhibition game.
Today, Sunday, I watched the Vikings get blown out by the Packers until they switched to a more "competitive" game. That hurts when the game is so lopsided they switch away. Depressed about the game I decided to go to the movies. I saw American Gangster, based on a true story about a New York based drug dealer and his rise to power. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe put on a good show and is well worth the inflated price of admission. I learned the best way to remove blood from an Alpaca rug is to blot it with club soda - NEVER RUB! An Alpaca is a dromedary that lives in the high plains of South America and is a close relative of the Llama - fyi.
Two random facts from the first movie - there is going to be a new Rambo movie. Apparently remaking one successful film franchise wasn't enough for Stallone, I wonder if Rambo can fight Rocky somehow or possibly we could get Over The Top II. I heard a quote a long time ago and I'm going to paraphrase it here. 75% of black men in movies are Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Morgan Freeman, the remaining 25% are Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx, and other. Denzel puts on a good show in American Gangster, Cuba Gooding Jr., has a cameo, and Will Smith had a movie in the previews, and Morgan Freeman was doing the voice over / narration in another.
On the way home I noticed this classic cinema was playing Blade Runner The Final Cut. I hadn't seen Blade Runner in since college and having never been inside this retro theater I took the plunge and watched two movies in the same day. This version of Blade Runner is more violent than the version I remember and it had the narration removed. I liked this version a lot with the changes and I was really excited to hear Tyrell in a movie. It's weird to think this movie is 25 years old but I guess everything gets older and looking at Wikipedia and IMDB it turns out this is pretty universally considered a top 100 movie of all time. Both Alpaca's and Blade Runner have Wikipedia articles almost as long as the entry for North Dakota.
I'm a big fan of the Cinerama as a place to watch a movie. I might go see the first movie I ever saw in a theater, Ghostbusters, there in a couple of days. In a few months I'm totally going to see Tron, and maybe Space Odyssey 2001. How can you ignore HAL? I'm pretty sure Tron is not a top 100 movie of all time but Space Odyssey might be.
Today, Sunday, I watched the Vikings get blown out by the Packers until they switched to a more "competitive" game. That hurts when the game is so lopsided they switch away. Depressed about the game I decided to go to the movies. I saw American Gangster, based on a true story about a New York based drug dealer and his rise to power. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe put on a good show and is well worth the inflated price of admission. I learned the best way to remove blood from an Alpaca rug is to blot it with club soda - NEVER RUB! An Alpaca is a dromedary that lives in the high plains of South America and is a close relative of the Llama - fyi.
Two random facts from the first movie - there is going to be a new Rambo movie. Apparently remaking one successful film franchise wasn't enough for Stallone, I wonder if Rambo can fight Rocky somehow or possibly we could get Over The Top II. I heard a quote a long time ago and I'm going to paraphrase it here. 75% of black men in movies are Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Morgan Freeman, the remaining 25% are Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx, and other. Denzel puts on a good show in American Gangster, Cuba Gooding Jr., has a cameo, and Will Smith had a movie in the previews, and Morgan Freeman was doing the voice over / narration in another.
On the way home I noticed this classic cinema was playing Blade Runner The Final Cut. I hadn't seen Blade Runner in since college and having never been inside this retro theater I took the plunge and watched two movies in the same day. This version of Blade Runner is more violent than the version I remember and it had the narration removed. I liked this version a lot with the changes and I was really excited to hear Tyrell in a movie. It's weird to think this movie is 25 years old but I guess everything gets older and looking at Wikipedia and IMDB it turns out this is pretty universally considered a top 100 movie of all time. Both Alpaca's and Blade Runner have Wikipedia articles almost as long as the entry for North Dakota.
I'm a big fan of the Cinerama as a place to watch a movie. I might go see the first movie I ever saw in a theater, Ghostbusters, there in a couple of days. In a few months I'm totally going to see Tron, and maybe Space Odyssey 2001. How can you ignore HAL? I'm pretty sure Tron is not a top 100 movie of all time but Space Odyssey might be.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Jimmy Johns Superior to Subway
Seattle has a lot of sub shops. Some of them are national, like Subway and Jimmy Johns, and some are local, like - I can't think of one offhand - but they exist. Normally I wouldn't write about something like this but I can't resist. There are tons of Subway's in Seattle and I'm not really sure why they are so popular but they're everywhere. I try to eat at the Jimmy John's by my office and it's not quite as exciting or unique as the one on the Marquette campus I used to deliver for but it is still pretty solid. JJ's is superior to Subway because I frequent a Subway by my apartment and literally there is a woman who works there who cannot remember anything for more than 10 seconds. Literally, she will ask me a question and ask the same question 20 seconds later, it's so bad I'm to the point where if see she's working I won't eat there. Jimmy John's is superior, and when I win the lottery I'm going to open my open Jimmy John's or possible an Internet cafe.
Kermit the Frog is "assisting" on deal or no deal tonight. Apparently he is helping to keep with the trumped up "green" theme that GE Universal is putting on in some sort of BS environmental theme. GE is one of the hugest polluters in the country FYI. I'm glad most of the shows on Thursday night (The Office, 30 Rock, Earl) made fun of the concept.
This weekend the Packers play the Vikings. I soooo hope the Vikings win it hurts. Now that I no longer live in the Cheese state of Wisconsin I don't mind the Packers as much but I still hope the Vikings win. I'm OK with a good story and the Favre resurgence is pretty fun to watch FROM AFAR. I can't wait for Adrian Peterson to run wild on the Packer defense! Cold medicine drugs with Pseudoephedrine are illegal because they can be used to make farmhouse meth, a big problem in the Midwest, but dang to they REALLY work well. It's worth going on the potential drug dealer list to get the good stuff.
The dude Kermit was helping won $129,000 - but Kermit wasn't all that useful - he could have won $400,000+ if he would have played the game out. However, the guy playing might have talked a briefcase girl into a double date with Kermit and Piggy - how can you do wrong with that.
Kermit the Frog is "assisting" on deal or no deal tonight. Apparently he is helping to keep with the trumped up "green" theme that GE Universal is putting on in some sort of BS environmental theme. GE is one of the hugest polluters in the country FYI. I'm glad most of the shows on Thursday night (The Office, 30 Rock, Earl) made fun of the concept.
This weekend the Packers play the Vikings. I soooo hope the Vikings win it hurts. Now that I no longer live in the Cheese state of Wisconsin I don't mind the Packers as much but I still hope the Vikings win. I'm OK with a good story and the Favre resurgence is pretty fun to watch FROM AFAR. I can't wait for Adrian Peterson to run wild on the Packer defense! Cold medicine drugs with Pseudoephedrine are illegal because they can be used to make farmhouse meth, a big problem in the Midwest, but dang to they REALLY work well. It's worth going on the potential drug dealer list to get the good stuff.
The dude Kermit was helping won $129,000 - but Kermit wasn't all that useful - he could have won $400,000+ if he would have played the game out. However, the guy playing might have talked a briefcase girl into a double date with Kermit and Piggy - how can you do wrong with that.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Writing Again
I haven't written a lot the last couple of weeks, mostly because I was out of town and tired, but also because I was tired and didn't feel like writing. I dropped my friend off at the airport nearly two weeks ago and since then I worked for two days and flew to Appleton WI.
Worked for a day in Appleton. Rented a car and drove to Milwaukee on Thursday night and spent a few hours with the friends I could round up on relatively short notice. It was a pretty good time and I got to eat a Sobelman burger and drink a Spotted Cow. On Friday I met up with a few people from Roundy's for coffee and conversation. I've been gone for 7 months and it is kind of surreal to be back and seeing how things have changed (and stayed the same).
I continued onto O'hare and flew to St. Louis. I spend Friday night in St. Louis with friends from Marquette in a non-wedding setting. Saturday was the wedding and Sunday I flew out later in the day so I went to the top of the Gateway Expansion Arch or whatever it's called. It was pretty fun but it's a little strange, the Arch isn't all that old, it was built in the 60's. That got me thinking - what was the last monument of massive scale that was built in the US? I know the Korean and Vietnam war memorials came after but they aren't huge structures like the Arch. I'm sure the 9/11 memorial will be huge whatever it ends up being.
This week at work nothing crazy happened. I did carve a pumpkin that won an award for precision. Happy Halloween is a time consuming pain in the ass to carve. Nothing else worth nothing about Halloween. The rest of the week was pretty laid back. I watched a lot of football this weekend and listened to a Marquette game streaming on the internet. I have my first UW game tomorrow as well. The Huskies are playing a local college, Seattle Pacific, in an exhibition game. Normally I might skip this game but I want to see the venue and see the team I'm going to start cheering for.
I just bought a plane ticket home for Christmas. This is getting expensive.
Worked for a day in Appleton. Rented a car and drove to Milwaukee on Thursday night and spent a few hours with the friends I could round up on relatively short notice. It was a pretty good time and I got to eat a Sobelman burger and drink a Spotted Cow. On Friday I met up with a few people from Roundy's for coffee and conversation. I've been gone for 7 months and it is kind of surreal to be back and seeing how things have changed (and stayed the same).
I continued onto O'hare and flew to St. Louis. I spend Friday night in St. Louis with friends from Marquette in a non-wedding setting. Saturday was the wedding and Sunday I flew out later in the day so I went to the top of the Gateway Expansion Arch or whatever it's called. It was pretty fun but it's a little strange, the Arch isn't all that old, it was built in the 60's. That got me thinking - what was the last monument of massive scale that was built in the US? I know the Korean and Vietnam war memorials came after but they aren't huge structures like the Arch. I'm sure the 9/11 memorial will be huge whatever it ends up being.
This week at work nothing crazy happened. I did carve a pumpkin that won an award for precision. Happy Halloween is a time consuming pain in the ass to carve. Nothing else worth nothing about Halloween. The rest of the week was pretty laid back. I watched a lot of football this weekend and listened to a Marquette game streaming on the internet. I have my first UW game tomorrow as well. The Huskies are playing a local college, Seattle Pacific, in an exhibition game. Normally I might skip this game but I want to see the venue and see the team I'm going to start cheering for.
I just bought a plane ticket home for Christmas. This is getting expensive.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Redhook Beer
Whew! Long weekend and another long couple of days coming up. Friday another friend arrived for the weekend (Don't worry I'm almost out of friends) and we did a lot of touristy stuff but got to enjoy the city a little bit as well.
The weekend in brief goes like this.
Friday
Pick up at Airport
Drive around in the unusually heavy rain.
Eat lunch
Drive to Chinatown
Drink a beer or three
Get some food at a Seattle landmark (Dick's for those who're curious)
Saturday
Go to the Market
Walk around downtown Seattle
Go to Gasworks park
Go on Redhook Brewery Tour
Go to UW Husky football game (they lost)
Eat very fresh seafood on the waterfront
Drink another beer.
Sunday
Go to promo for Budweiser and get tickets to Seahawks game (connections are helpful)
Seahawks Game (They won)
Shopping in downtown retail core
Eat at asian restaurant
Go to Belgian beer bar. (had a Triple Carmelite)
Monday
Back to Market for Fresh Seafood
Drive to Cascade Mountains (it was an amazing day in Seattle today)
Drop buddy off at airport...
Go to work.
It was a busy weekend and looking back at all the stuff we did, brewery tour and football games, it was a very inexpensive weekend. Due to fall schedules we didn't get a chance to take the ferry or a tour of the Seattle underground that I wanted to but I guess that was a lesson learned on my part. I did a lot more exploring of Chinatown this weekend than I had done previously as well. Every time somebody has visited I've tried to do something new that myself and the guest would appreciate and it's worked out very well so far.
The AB promo was held at a bar called Cowgirls. It was a Coyote Ugly type bar with girls dancing on the bar (at 11AM!!) and creepy dudes watching them. It was very surreal because it felt like it should have been much later - and in a city like New York or something. I actually felt a little strange in the bar because it's not a place I would have chosen to pre-game at myself. Personally I would have tried to find a sportsbar with all the games on but I'm not complaining too loudly either - especially with free tickets.
The UW Huskies and the St. Louis Rams are awful. I've learned that 1000 yards of offense between two college teams are pretty rare. Ridiculous is a funny word to say at a football game. Qwest Field (where the Seahawks play) is incredibly loud. Dry Cleaning is expensive.
Come visit me people!
The weekend in brief goes like this.
Friday
Pick up at Airport
Drive around in the unusually heavy rain.
Eat lunch
Drive to Chinatown
Drink a beer or three
Get some food at a Seattle landmark (Dick's for those who're curious)
Saturday
Go to the Market
Walk around downtown Seattle
Go to Gasworks park
Go on Redhook Brewery Tour
Go to UW Husky football game (they lost)
Eat very fresh seafood on the waterfront
Drink another beer.
Sunday
Go to promo for Budweiser and get tickets to Seahawks game (connections are helpful)
Seahawks Game (They won)
Shopping in downtown retail core
Eat at asian restaurant
Go to Belgian beer bar. (had a Triple Carmelite)
Monday
Back to Market for Fresh Seafood
Drive to Cascade Mountains (it was an amazing day in Seattle today)
Drop buddy off at airport...
Go to work.
It was a busy weekend and looking back at all the stuff we did, brewery tour and football games, it was a very inexpensive weekend. Due to fall schedules we didn't get a chance to take the ferry or a tour of the Seattle underground that I wanted to but I guess that was a lesson learned on my part. I did a lot more exploring of Chinatown this weekend than I had done previously as well. Every time somebody has visited I've tried to do something new that myself and the guest would appreciate and it's worked out very well so far.
The AB promo was held at a bar called Cowgirls. It was a Coyote Ugly type bar with girls dancing on the bar (at 11AM!!) and creepy dudes watching them. It was very surreal because it felt like it should have been much later - and in a city like New York or something. I actually felt a little strange in the bar because it's not a place I would have chosen to pre-game at myself. Personally I would have tried to find a sportsbar with all the games on but I'm not complaining too loudly either - especially with free tickets.
The UW Huskies and the St. Louis Rams are awful. I've learned that 1000 yards of offense between two college teams are pretty rare. Ridiculous is a funny word to say at a football game. Qwest Field (where the Seahawks play) is incredibly loud. Dry Cleaning is expensive.
Come visit me people!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Trip to Appleton/Milwaukee/St. Louis
This weekend a friend from Milwaukee is visiting for a couple of days. We've got lots of safe drinking to do at the Redhook Microbrewery (we both worked in the beer industry with Redhook in the past) and lots of football between the UW Husky and Seahawks games. The rest of the weekend is up in the air however so who knows what we'll be doing the rest of the weekend. The weather is rainy/cloudy/sunny/nice/cold/crappy/windy and that's before noon. Seriously, it's a little hard to plan when the weather is so erratic, something I didn't anticipate when I moved out here. What are you going to do.
As mentioned in the title next week I'll be in Appleton for work, Milwaukee for a night, and onto St. Louis for a wedding. If anybody wants to meet at the Lodge next Thursday around 8:30 - 9 just show up... a place to stay would be nice too.
Friday I'm going to be running errands all morning before I drive to O'hare. It might seem like a waste of time to fly out of O'hare instead of Milwaukee but it saved me over $300 bucks in airfare. Time well spent if you ask me since I'm paying for this one myself.
Random thoughts... Iman Shumpert should have gone to Marquette. The Big East has pretty good football programs. The Office is my favorite show on TV no questions asked. I eat too much pizza. The Red Sox are as bad as the Yankees now. Joe Torre made the right call. That's just Manny being Manny.
As mentioned in the title next week I'll be in Appleton for work, Milwaukee for a night, and onto St. Louis for a wedding. If anybody wants to meet at the Lodge next Thursday around 8:30 - 9 just show up... a place to stay would be nice too.
Friday I'm going to be running errands all morning before I drive to O'hare. It might seem like a waste of time to fly out of O'hare instead of Milwaukee but it saved me over $300 bucks in airfare. Time well spent if you ask me since I'm paying for this one myself.
Random thoughts... Iman Shumpert should have gone to Marquette. The Big East has pretty good football programs. The Office is my favorite show on TV no questions asked. I eat too much pizza. The Red Sox are as bad as the Yankees now. Joe Torre made the right call. That's just Manny being Manny.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Husky Tickets
Well, I got my UW mens basketball tickets in the mail today. I give Marquette a lot of credit for giving the tickets out in a book or booklet format as opposed to the Baseball Card sheet. I took a picture with a beer bottle for reference as most people know how big a beer bottle is... and because I had one handy but the picture included some person data that probably best not on the web so I cropped the photo a little bit. Just know the tickets are about 18 inches high and 24 inches wide, which is dang big. The beer was a Leffe, which is basically a tasty yet mainstream Belgian. A little spendy but better than most beers and certainly with trying.If anybody wants single game UW tickets let me know.
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