First off- to whomever may read this on Blogger- I messed up and last week's post stayed in "draft" mode while I did export it to MySpace- where no one else seemed to be reading my shit the last couple weeks- until I saw I had 22 views today there- for no good or particular reason
Anyhow- I still weigh whether or not I should export the link to Blogger from my Facebook page- Have had the usual harrowing amount of 1-degree-of-separation thoughts on there in recent days- but occasionally have to come back to Earth and realize that some of those I see there- probably don't want to talk to me just as much online in 2009 as they didn't want to in person through whichever incarnation of school I was attending with them in the 1980's or 90's- which gives me reason to do an online, virtual "Whew!" with requisite forehead wipe
Onto January's assorted bullet points-
- Chalk up the local burrito establishment as another place offering less for more in this economy- Went to what was the second-closest one to me in Somerville the other night- not the one closest to where I used to live- the one that is awesome and at end of old street- but known as surly, even to Spanish-speakers- but the other one- which has a clientele that's largely clueless white people who seem to act like tourists in a land that's across from the
Cambridge city line and the MBTA's Red Line and commuter rail and what could best be described as a quasi-organized ordering system by the staff there
Anyhow- learned after awhile to ask for "everything" on their wares- whteher I wanted it or not- since it was a crapshoot whether I'd either get/ get charged for "everything" and figured even one variation was too esoteric for the counter help to deal with- Like everything else for me- I just want to get my shit and get the fuck out- even if it means stuff I don't want/ don't want to pay for
The supposed 'nut' of this story is me going the other night for the first time in a few months- usual line- usual white people (myself included) and usual counter help- Order same stuff as I usually do- super steak burrito and 2 chicken quesidillas with whatever they usually put on them- get smaller-looking offerings at $17 and change- after last visit was $13 or so- I could not help but think about the fucked-up ordering system there (told girl who was skipped ahead of me that the orders there were "always a crapshoot") leading to the larger price tag
I don't know- but was thinking of "the alchemy" of their ordering/ pricing system when I got back to my place and stopped in the middle, ice-free, lit area of the parking lot here to try and open/ shut my car's hood after I made an aborted try at adding more wiper fluid before Wednesday's huge snow-to-rain event here in the Boston area- ended up blocking one of the building's owner's from his spot and had to move my car- He came over and asked why I was looking at engine- Felt like homo as I told him I couldn't fully open or close hood- he sprayed some lubricant on latch and opened/ closed it in a few minutes- He asked why I thought there was a problem and all I could say was "It must have been something with the alchemy of it for me"- with the word on my mind- He asked "What?"- I had to respond "Oh, it didn't work a few years ago in a similar situation"- feeling like a complete douche for using the big $ word in that situation
-Speaking of food- bought Ramen noodles at store last week- for first time in about 15 years or so since I graduated college- Tasted about the same as they always did- felt kind of odd to re-visit them at this point (3 more left to eat)
-Another Facebook observation- I see a lot of people uploading only old, goofy photos of themselves there- This really brings my old theory on bad-license/dumb-recent-photos on the news idea I had thought about years ago- seems news outlets will now go to MySpace or Facebook for photos of crime/ tragedy/ et al- victims- Always have to think whenever you post the on-line phots- could readily be the TV/ news-media epitath for anyone when you post your short-lived 1990 experiment with the Arsenio fade cut or a bad mullet as your profile photo
-Not surprised that Mickey Rourke is actually challenging real wrestlers (Chris Jericho) now after his (thus-far) award-season success with "The Wrestler"- one site I regularly visit- pointed out Vince McMahon is probably offering Rourke a bigger payday at the upcoming 25th WrestleMania than he got for the film- seems to work for both sides- McMahon can benefit from glow of awards for film and sort of co-opt star that depicts the tragic scenario for old pro wrestlers and Rourke can sort of strike while the iron is hot and get a chunk from McMahon and the WWE- seems to work for both sides
-Boston-area speaking- Has there been a bigger supposed-local-celebrity circle-jerk than the recent Ernie Boch Jr./ Andelman Brothers ("Phantom Gourmet")/ Bruins cheerleaders ads?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Jack London of suburbia
So, while thinking about this blog entry the past couple days- I've thought of a few things this particular blog site couldn't exist without- if not for the ability for me to complain about (in no particular order)
-The weather
-The stupidity of myself and/or the general public
-Driving
-Local Boston-area "celebrities"
-Television news (could also be folded into the local celebrities subheader, I guess)
And probably a few other items (the time I lived in California, the New York Football Giants and grammar among them) that these occasional threadbare entries would be mere absolute air without
Tonight, memory permitting, I will touch on most of the above topics- I just hope no one (other than myself) is drinking to the aforementioned references
-Had what has to be considered one of the worst-ever wintertime drives I've ever made in 22 years or so of licensed driving this past Sunday night (18 January)- The thing that got me thinking about the above preamble is the fact I just wrote about how cold it was last week ("Too cold for any good proverbs"- 14 January)- and for those who've seen the preceding few years of these entries on MySpace- I seem to complain about this shitty winter weather and the resulting behavior thereof on a regular basis here
But Sunday night's ride for me was the stuff of worst-case scenarios and those "Be prepared with a flashlight and 50-pound bag of sand"-level TV news reports one would ordinarily laugh at or say "Well, duh" to- until you're in what could be the possible resulting scenario
Started out innocently enough- snowed overnight Saturday into Sunday- a storm that was originally forecast to arrive about 6 hours later than it did- storm # 3 of the current 4 in a row the local TV-meteorological community has blown the past couple weeks- to wit- a predicted 8-12 inch storm that started late and came up short by half 10 January, a 3-5 inch storm that never materialized in the Boston area 15 January, the early snow above on the 17th into the 18th and Sunday night
Was watching the NFC and AFC Championship games at my friend's house Sunday- caught the news on one of the stations between the games- weather as of 6:25 Sunday night had about a dusting - 2 inches of snow at most coming overnight after the current snow lull ended- Knew I had to go to work after games were over- but wasn't worried- even when it was snowing before halftime of Ravens-Steelers game- l wasn't much worried when I had to brush my car clean to leave for work after 10:25 or so and still wasn't concerned during trip to Waltham where I encountered few cleared streets and about the 2-inch maximum that was forecast
It wasn't until I had worked a few hours and was leaving around 2:15 AM or so that I noticed it was snowing harder than any previously-noticed portion of the evening, has snowed more than advertised and hadn't seemed to be cleared anywhere in the vicinity around my work- that I became a little concerned about the conditions- particularly when I got down to the center of Waltham and could barely move after stopping for a red light that I started to think it hadn't been such a great idea to venture out at that time- but was too late to re-think it or turn back
It was rather bad the whole way back- ended up running most of the red lights on the way back- for fear that stopping would have meant getting stuck (in a Saturn) at either that intersection or a coming incline of any import- the lack of snow-removal efforts to that point led to a general feeling that the slightest wrong move would take me off the street into a parked car, light pole or worse increased as snaked thorugh Waterown into Cambridge and finally, back to Somerville
Whatever relief that gave me abated as I reached the hill that my residence sits near the top of- Had not- through last winter and this- encountered any type of situation where that hill had been allowed to get that snow-covered (as one of the "Hospital Hills" here near Somerville Hospital)- but got behind cab that had a bit of difficulty getting up it- as I shortly encountered- could see smoke from both tires and engine getting up it, alternately afraid of letting up the gas for fear of getting stuck and fearing stepping on it- in an automatic transmission's 1st gear and burning out my engine and/ or steel belts in doing so
Finally get to home stretch- near top of hill and entrance to driveway of my place- back up and rev for run into narrow, relatively short driveway to parking lot here- no avail- get stuck in first 10 feet or so- make a few efforts to back up and rev through- but realize that futility is going to be the least of my problems if I spin out sideways and hit either the brick facade of my building or the fence to the adjoining house- Decide I have to get out and shovel my way at 3:15 or so in the AM- unless I want to be either woken up in morning or ticketed for blocking sidewalk (Yeas it was the MLK Day holiday- but have more belief in the ticket than the being-woken-up scenario)
Grab shovel- try to make the optimistic least-area shovel job- like when you're a kid and tell your folks all they'll need is the 2 tracks to get through- was lucky a couple cars in my lot weren't there and could make more linear path to my usual spot- had to clear a couple times- sans hat or gloves and in wool overcoat- was so wound up by this point- didn't even occur to me until after I was done- Finally got car through after a couple of initial failed attempts to move a foot or so- and got back inside about 3:40 or so- feeling I had lived out the worst (I hope) of what I thought were the worst of the worst-case scenarios to parking in this particular neighborhood
I can think of a lot of particularly bad drives in the snow- a couple-inches an hour storm where I couldn't stop/ spun out once each when I lived only 10 minutes away from Waltham about a little over 5 years ago (and had to help my brother-in-law shovel out a parking lot spot the next night) and even the first few times in snow and was an absolute ass- especially my first full winter when I almost wrapped my car around both a telephone pole and the brick sign outside my school while going too fast and fishtailing- and this may have been worse than both of those
Relative Bullet Points
-Watched more of the Obama Innauguration coverage than I expected to- could not get over high-five/ Indian handshake Bush gave him on way to chopper- Level of near-camradarie between Obama, Bush and their wives at end was almost stunning compared to last transition eight years ago
That is why I watch- no matter whom I vote for or whom gets into office- The orderly transfer of power is always stunning to watch- as it was 32 years ago when I was a 7-year-old second-grader with no better idea and a TV wheeled into the classroom for the Ford-Carter transition- I can't quite feel the euphoria of some (especially among about 90% of my Facebook friends) and am almost envious of it- because I don't think I could ever be into/ believe as fully in an idea as hopelessly optimistic as to what some ascribe to/ for the Obama Administration- But as an American- I hope for the best, as always- and I will agree it seemed sort fitting that Dick Cheney finished out his eight years a VP in a wheelchair, wielding a cane- could not have been scripted better otherwise
-Speaking of Obama- told lady at work who's had Obama pin since practically the end of John Kerry's 2004 concession speech- who also gave me free newspapers for a few years until the fascists cracked down last year and ended it (OK, I was lucky to not pay for a newspaper for about 6 years- and may have sped the industry's sharp decline by doing so)- I would get her at least one of the Boston Globe afternoon extras published today (20 January) if I could- since I live closer to the city than work and she- and the Globe's extras were available for the 1991 Gulf War, O.J.'s being found not guilty and the Red Sox championships in these parts (Patriots and Celtics were covered by regular AM editions)
Went grocery shopping late Tuesday- got my shit and checked out- not thinking that supermarket on Waltham/ Watertown line would have any Globe extras- see stack of them as I left- decided "Fuck that- not getting back on line for the goddamn newspaper and can probably get it anywhere if it's here"
Sure enough, stop at a few stores on way home- either never got the extra edition or sold out- awesome- Feel kind of bad for woman at work- not myself, since the Obama shindig wasn't really going to be a keepsake for me anyhow (gave my day-after-Election Day papers to my old roommate)- But now wonder if I should just tell her the untrue "I never found it" versus the "I walked past about 50 of them"
-The weather
-The stupidity of myself and/or the general public
-Driving
-Local Boston-area "celebrities"
-Television news (could also be folded into the local celebrities subheader, I guess)
And probably a few other items (the time I lived in California, the New York Football Giants and grammar among them) that these occasional threadbare entries would be mere absolute air without
Tonight, memory permitting, I will touch on most of the above topics- I just hope no one (other than myself) is drinking to the aforementioned references
-Had what has to be considered one of the worst-ever wintertime drives I've ever made in 22 years or so of licensed driving this past Sunday night (18 January)- The thing that got me thinking about the above preamble is the fact I just wrote about how cold it was last week ("Too cold for any good proverbs"- 14 January)- and for those who've seen the preceding few years of these entries on MySpace- I seem to complain about this shitty winter weather and the resulting behavior thereof on a regular basis here
But Sunday night's ride for me was the stuff of worst-case scenarios and those "Be prepared with a flashlight and 50-pound bag of sand"-level TV news reports one would ordinarily laugh at or say "Well, duh" to- until you're in what could be the possible resulting scenario
Started out innocently enough- snowed overnight Saturday into Sunday- a storm that was originally forecast to arrive about 6 hours later than it did- storm # 3 of the current 4 in a row the local TV-meteorological community has blown the past couple weeks- to wit- a predicted 8-12 inch storm that started late and came up short by half 10 January, a 3-5 inch storm that never materialized in the Boston area 15 January, the early snow above on the 17th into the 18th and Sunday night
Was watching the NFC and AFC Championship games at my friend's house Sunday- caught the news on one of the stations between the games- weather as of 6:25 Sunday night had about a dusting - 2 inches of snow at most coming overnight after the current snow lull ended- Knew I had to go to work after games were over- but wasn't worried- even when it was snowing before halftime of Ravens-Steelers game- l wasn't much worried when I had to brush my car clean to leave for work after 10:25 or so and still wasn't concerned during trip to Waltham where I encountered few cleared streets and about the 2-inch maximum that was forecast
It wasn't until I had worked a few hours and was leaving around 2:15 AM or so that I noticed it was snowing harder than any previously-noticed portion of the evening, has snowed more than advertised and hadn't seemed to be cleared anywhere in the vicinity around my work- that I became a little concerned about the conditions- particularly when I got down to the center of Waltham and could barely move after stopping for a red light that I started to think it hadn't been such a great idea to venture out at that time- but was too late to re-think it or turn back
It was rather bad the whole way back- ended up running most of the red lights on the way back- for fear that stopping would have meant getting stuck (in a Saturn) at either that intersection or a coming incline of any import- the lack of snow-removal efforts to that point led to a general feeling that the slightest wrong move would take me off the street into a parked car, light pole or worse increased as snaked thorugh Waterown into Cambridge and finally, back to Somerville
Whatever relief that gave me abated as I reached the hill that my residence sits near the top of- Had not- through last winter and this- encountered any type of situation where that hill had been allowed to get that snow-covered (as one of the "Hospital Hills" here near Somerville Hospital)- but got behind cab that had a bit of difficulty getting up it- as I shortly encountered- could see smoke from both tires and engine getting up it, alternately afraid of letting up the gas for fear of getting stuck and fearing stepping on it- in an automatic transmission's 1st gear and burning out my engine and/ or steel belts in doing so
Finally get to home stretch- near top of hill and entrance to driveway of my place- back up and rev for run into narrow, relatively short driveway to parking lot here- no avail- get stuck in first 10 feet or so- make a few efforts to back up and rev through- but realize that futility is going to be the least of my problems if I spin out sideways and hit either the brick facade of my building or the fence to the adjoining house- Decide I have to get out and shovel my way at 3:15 or so in the AM- unless I want to be either woken up in morning or ticketed for blocking sidewalk (Yeas it was the MLK Day holiday- but have more belief in the ticket than the being-woken-up scenario)
Grab shovel- try to make the optimistic least-area shovel job- like when you're a kid and tell your folks all they'll need is the 2 tracks to get through- was lucky a couple cars in my lot weren't there and could make more linear path to my usual spot- had to clear a couple times- sans hat or gloves and in wool overcoat- was so wound up by this point- didn't even occur to me until after I was done- Finally got car through after a couple of initial failed attempts to move a foot or so- and got back inside about 3:40 or so- feeling I had lived out the worst (I hope) of what I thought were the worst of the worst-case scenarios to parking in this particular neighborhood
I can think of a lot of particularly bad drives in the snow- a couple-inches an hour storm where I couldn't stop/ spun out once each when I lived only 10 minutes away from Waltham about a little over 5 years ago (and had to help my brother-in-law shovel out a parking lot spot the next night) and even the first few times in snow and was an absolute ass- especially my first full winter when I almost wrapped my car around both a telephone pole and the brick sign outside my school while going too fast and fishtailing- and this may have been worse than both of those
Relative Bullet Points
-Watched more of the Obama Innauguration coverage than I expected to- could not get over high-five/ Indian handshake Bush gave him on way to chopper- Level of near-camradarie between Obama, Bush and their wives at end was almost stunning compared to last transition eight years ago
That is why I watch- no matter whom I vote for or whom gets into office- The orderly transfer of power is always stunning to watch- as it was 32 years ago when I was a 7-year-old second-grader with no better idea and a TV wheeled into the classroom for the Ford-Carter transition- I can't quite feel the euphoria of some (especially among about 90% of my Facebook friends) and am almost envious of it- because I don't think I could ever be into/ believe as fully in an idea as hopelessly optimistic as to what some ascribe to/ for the Obama Administration- But as an American- I hope for the best, as always- and I will agree it seemed sort fitting that Dick Cheney finished out his eight years a VP in a wheelchair, wielding a cane- could not have been scripted better otherwise
-Speaking of Obama- told lady at work who's had Obama pin since practically the end of John Kerry's 2004 concession speech- who also gave me free newspapers for a few years until the fascists cracked down last year and ended it (OK, I was lucky to not pay for a newspaper for about 6 years- and may have sped the industry's sharp decline by doing so)- I would get her at least one of the Boston Globe afternoon extras published today (20 January) if I could- since I live closer to the city than work and she- and the Globe's extras were available for the 1991 Gulf War, O.J.'s being found not guilty and the Red Sox championships in these parts (Patriots and Celtics were covered by regular AM editions)
Went grocery shopping late Tuesday- got my shit and checked out- not thinking that supermarket on Waltham/ Watertown line would have any Globe extras- see stack of them as I left- decided "Fuck that- not getting back on line for the goddamn newspaper and can probably get it anywhere if it's here"
Sure enough, stop at a few stores on way home- either never got the extra edition or sold out- awesome- Feel kind of bad for woman at work- not myself, since the Obama shindig wasn't really going to be a keepsake for me anyhow (gave my day-after-Election Day papers to my old roommate)- But now wonder if I should just tell her the untrue "I never found it" versus the "I walked past about 50 of them"
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Too cold for any good proverbs
The winter here in New England thus far has been rather unrelenting- seems to have been either snowy or unusually cold the past month or so- I complain every winter no matter what anyway- just complained last week about lackluster snow/ ice removal in some towns here- and recall doing so last December when weather seemed to turn super-cold instantaneously- and recall a few years back where December was a rainy, balmy preface to a cold, snowy January, etc., etc., etc.- ever since I moved back East from California over 9 years ago
As I've stated previously- the cold does not bother me as much as the snow- and the snow never bothered me as much as it has in the intervening years since I came back from the West Coast- and- this seems to be the first winter since I've been back- that California has enjoyed a warm, dry winter- of course, prefaced by a fierce wildfire season that only ended seemingly a couple weeks ago- Recall gloating to myself about the shitty weather in the East while barbecuing with the stars out in Hollywood almost a decade ago on an 86-degree Valentine's Day
Anyhow- Its not so much that the weather here is cold and snowy or the weather in some of my previous environs is balmier (not including childhood stints in Maine and Michigan)- but its the effect the extreme weather has on people in general around here- shoveled parking spots and unshoveled walkways and reciprocal behavior resulting from both- Pedestrians and drivers that both seem that much surlier and more aggressive in spite of the conditions and the dueling workplace (wherever) extremes of one-person Weather Center blowhards- who will not stop talking about how cold it is, and how much colder and how much snow the next system in 6-8 days or so is going to make it- and the Chicken Littles who approach the same information as Death From Above (or Outside)
I'm tired of all of it- but as I've previously said- I don't think there's a perfect climate/ weather scenario- you get earthquakes, wildfires and volcanoes in a lot of the warmer climes in this hemisphere and the cold weather does make one appreciate the few really perfect days around these parts -though I'm just as likely to stay inside during those, too
-I post this on both Blogger and MySpace- have been a little lax in some of the editing from one sit to the other- Blogger last time- as I caught all the syntax/ spelling errors after I did the cut & paste job- never re-visited it here
Anyhow- the slight number of entries on Blogger before I started dual-casting/ blogging (or whatever the "New Media" term would be) the same content on both- I spent a decent amount of those lamenting the shortcomings of both MySpace and Facebook and the oddness I've encountered on each- I don't link this to my Facebook page- even though I spend a decent amount of time there- largely because there's less of a veil there- I did have eras of pseudonyms on both pages- was "W Doodleson" sending out e-mails and invites to people who rightfully had no clue as to my assumed identity
Lately- as I've spent time between the two sites- I've been kind of surprised by the people on Facebook who for no good reason- would practically give up their Social Security numbers, bank pin codes and blood types- I've seen people list job, marital and just general formerly-anonymous doings as moods, photos or postings there- incredibly odd to me- and this coming from someone who's had a number of regrettablly stupid and/or alcohol-fueled episodes on the internet (and enjoying a frosty beverage now before I have to work again in the morning)
-Watching the local news earlier- for the latest weather report- naturally, after my opening screed- and saw the local Boston-area furniture store- that used to have two local-celebrity brothers selling their wares and now only has one (both are still alive- one merely quit, if anyone was truly concerned- despite the defiance of convention that either them should be considered VIP's in this region) that's advertising a "Free Blu-Ray DVD player"- if you merely spend at least $597 at their store, assume the cost of the player's shipping and handling by Monday and pay only $19.95- Not "free" as the continuining brother states in the first seconds- Even the most mentally-challenged could figure that out- I guess its truth-in-advertising at some level- considering the guy sits in front of what could literally be a Coleco-Vision level Blu-Ray player
-Yes, the run of the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants came to an ignominous end last Sunday- the Giants performance and play-calling reverted to 2006 levels, the Philadelphia Eagles beat them, some idiot Giant "fans" torched a car in the parking lot and YouTubed it and loud-mouth Patriots fans (not all I encountered, mind you) came out of the fucking woodwork of not even making the playoffs this year to act as though the National Football League was going to strip the G-men of last year's title for being "lucky"- as though the idea wouldn't cost the local squad at least one of their three Lombardi trophies - either the first one in 2002 or the third (2004-05) where Donovan McNabb showed just how clutch he is by literally getting ill on the football itself late in the game
Anyhow- I find it amusing how some of this region's sports fans will tie anything into their crushes on the local squads- even 11 1/2 months later- and 4 years after their last Super Bowl championship- All I can root for at this point is Arizona knocking off the overrated McNabb and the Eagles and the Steelers beating either one of them should they reach "The Ultimate Showdown"
As I've stated previously- the cold does not bother me as much as the snow- and the snow never bothered me as much as it has in the intervening years since I came back from the West Coast- and- this seems to be the first winter since I've been back- that California has enjoyed a warm, dry winter- of course, prefaced by a fierce wildfire season that only ended seemingly a couple weeks ago- Recall gloating to myself about the shitty weather in the East while barbecuing with the stars out in Hollywood almost a decade ago on an 86-degree Valentine's Day
Anyhow- Its not so much that the weather here is cold and snowy or the weather in some of my previous environs is balmier (not including childhood stints in Maine and Michigan)- but its the effect the extreme weather has on people in general around here- shoveled parking spots and unshoveled walkways and reciprocal behavior resulting from both- Pedestrians and drivers that both seem that much surlier and more aggressive in spite of the conditions and the dueling workplace (wherever) extremes of one-person Weather Center blowhards- who will not stop talking about how cold it is, and how much colder and how much snow the next system in 6-8 days or so is going to make it- and the Chicken Littles who approach the same information as Death From Above (or Outside)
I'm tired of all of it- but as I've previously said- I don't think there's a perfect climate/ weather scenario- you get earthquakes, wildfires and volcanoes in a lot of the warmer climes in this hemisphere and the cold weather does make one appreciate the few really perfect days around these parts -though I'm just as likely to stay inside during those, too
-I post this on both Blogger and MySpace- have been a little lax in some of the editing from one sit to the other- Blogger last time- as I caught all the syntax/ spelling errors after I did the cut & paste job- never re-visited it here
Anyhow- the slight number of entries on Blogger before I started dual-casting/ blogging (or whatever the "New Media" term would be) the same content on both- I spent a decent amount of those lamenting the shortcomings of both MySpace and Facebook and the oddness I've encountered on each- I don't link this to my Facebook page- even though I spend a decent amount of time there- largely because there's less of a veil there- I did have eras of pseudonyms on both pages- was "W Doodleson" sending out e-mails and invites to people who rightfully had no clue as to my assumed identity
Lately- as I've spent time between the two sites- I've been kind of surprised by the people on Facebook who for no good reason- would practically give up their Social Security numbers, bank pin codes and blood types- I've seen people list job, marital and just general formerly-anonymous doings as moods, photos or postings there- incredibly odd to me- and this coming from someone who's had a number of regrettablly stupid and/or alcohol-fueled episodes on the internet (and enjoying a frosty beverage now before I have to work again in the morning)
-Watching the local news earlier- for the latest weather report- naturally, after my opening screed- and saw the local Boston-area furniture store- that used to have two local-celebrity brothers selling their wares and now only has one (both are still alive- one merely quit, if anyone was truly concerned- despite the defiance of convention that either them should be considered VIP's in this region) that's advertising a "Free Blu-Ray DVD player"- if you merely spend at least $597 at their store, assume the cost of the player's shipping and handling by Monday and pay only $19.95- Not "free" as the continuining brother states in the first seconds- Even the most mentally-challenged could figure that out- I guess its truth-in-advertising at some level- considering the guy sits in front of what could literally be a Coleco-Vision level Blu-Ray player
-Yes, the run of the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants came to an ignominous end last Sunday- the Giants performance and play-calling reverted to 2006 levels, the Philadelphia Eagles beat them, some idiot Giant "fans" torched a car in the parking lot and YouTubed it and loud-mouth Patriots fans (not all I encountered, mind you) came out of the fucking woodwork of not even making the playoffs this year to act as though the National Football League was going to strip the G-men of last year's title for being "lucky"- as though the idea wouldn't cost the local squad at least one of their three Lombardi trophies - either the first one in 2002 or the third (2004-05) where Donovan McNabb showed just how clutch he is by literally getting ill on the football itself late in the game
Anyhow- I find it amusing how some of this region's sports fans will tie anything into their crushes on the local squads- even 11 1/2 months later- and 4 years after their last Super Bowl championship- All I can root for at this point is Arizona knocking off the overrated McNabb and the Eagles and the Steelers beating either one of them should they reach "The Ultimate Showdown"
Friday, January 9, 2009
Not built Stanley Tough
Among the moments from my recent holiday visit with my family not touched upon in my most recent entry- (6 January "Back like a rebel...") - is my ensuing amazement with the preponderance of programming on the HGTV channel(Home and Garden, for the none of you that need an explanation)
I sat through the unveiling show for the new "HGTV House" in Sonoma, California which at least 3 of my family members want to win and spent their holiday internet time submitting repeated entries for- I would have had more of a resistence to change the channel to it had the BCS not rendered the idea of meaningful New Year's Day college football bowls a complete joke or thing of history- and Monica Pederson and her purple jumper dress
Anyhow- over the time I spent watching TV in New Jersey not spent trying to catch up on Mike Francesa's-post Mad Dog existence on YES and theorizing about the Pahlanuik version of Urkel- I spent a great deal of it watching what my mom and sister wanted to- as a good family member and when there was no live sports or anything better on
Could not believe that "HGTV" seemed to be the female ESPN of sorts- the likes of "House Hunters", "Curb Appeal" and others as go-to programming was kind of surprising to me- even though I have a former roommate who used to TiVo "House Hunters" as some supposed sort of educational guide to him buying a place- like he was going to buy on the beach in Baja California or some of the other relatively exotic spots on the show- No one wants to see the best houses in the most boring areas of the world- but most people buying a house would like to buy a house in the quietest, more boring areas- by nature- and I can understand that (to some degree)
Anyhow- the real idea that I don't watch HGTV or any cable-TV home improvement shit seriously- is because I'm a real sissy (was going to say fag- didn't want to be un-PC) with the tools and paintbrushes, etc.
A great example is today- where I went and bought a new Brita filter for my sink- during a usually horrible visit to Target- I digress- was replacing the one I broke trying to replace filter while drunk a number of months back- took awhile for me to fit it even semi-succesfully while semi-sober- after a bit of effort- it is running water while filtering it without spraying it all over the place in my kitchen
The bottom line for me is- I'm pretty much a fag (or sissy like said before in some form of senstivity) when it comes to tools or home improvement-type shit
-Speaking of trips around here- the Walden Street bridge in Cambridge - "Fucking Cambridge" as I have thought to myself and would have otherwise titled this- is finally open again after the more than 2 years than was predicted before October 2006
I cannot believe it is open at this point (January 2009)- after they spent so much time advertising the "Autumn 2008" date so much- as much as I cannot believe the "Detour" signs away from there are still up on most of the other approaches to the Walden Street bridge-I thought it would be at least 2010 before the bridge was done- driving to it tonight- I was going to follow my now-usual left down Sherman Street
Kept going and was surprised by 4-way Stop signs and about hood-level speed-bumps at Raymond Street and Walden Street- that used to be a light and no bumps- I guess the whole street is going to have a lower speed limit and the last 2 years without it won't give anyone that lived without it an an alternative- but, good luck with that speed bump, like that and the painted traffic circle, et al.........
I will say- I've driven through a fair amount of both Waltham and Cambridge to annoint them equally on so-called snow/ ice removal- had to drive through one of the many back areas of the Watch City to get to Watertown the other day- still cannot believe there are towns around here that act as though we are in the south or something
I sat through the unveiling show for the new "HGTV House" in Sonoma, California which at least 3 of my family members want to win and spent their holiday internet time submitting repeated entries for- I would have had more of a resistence to change the channel to it had the BCS not rendered the idea of meaningful New Year's Day college football bowls a complete joke or thing of history- and Monica Pederson and her purple jumper dress
Anyhow- over the time I spent watching TV in New Jersey not spent trying to catch up on Mike Francesa's-post Mad Dog existence on YES and theorizing about the Pahlanuik version of Urkel- I spent a great deal of it watching what my mom and sister wanted to- as a good family member and when there was no live sports or anything better on
Could not believe that "HGTV" seemed to be the female ESPN of sorts- the likes of "House Hunters", "Curb Appeal" and others as go-to programming was kind of surprising to me- even though I have a former roommate who used to TiVo "House Hunters" as some supposed sort of educational guide to him buying a place- like he was going to buy on the beach in Baja California or some of the other relatively exotic spots on the show- No one wants to see the best houses in the most boring areas of the world- but most people buying a house would like to buy a house in the quietest, more boring areas- by nature- and I can understand that (to some degree)
Anyhow- the real idea that I don't watch HGTV or any cable-TV home improvement shit seriously- is because I'm a real sissy (was going to say fag- didn't want to be un-PC) with the tools and paintbrushes, etc.
A great example is today- where I went and bought a new Brita filter for my sink- during a usually horrible visit to Target- I digress- was replacing the one I broke trying to replace filter while drunk a number of months back- took awhile for me to fit it even semi-succesfully while semi-sober- after a bit of effort- it is running water while filtering it without spraying it all over the place in my kitchen
The bottom line for me is- I'm pretty much a fag (or sissy like said before in some form of senstivity) when it comes to tools or home improvement-type shit
-Speaking of trips around here- the Walden Street bridge in Cambridge - "Fucking Cambridge" as I have thought to myself and would have otherwise titled this- is finally open again after the more than 2 years than was predicted before October 2006
I cannot believe it is open at this point (January 2009)- after they spent so much time advertising the "Autumn 2008" date so much- as much as I cannot believe the "Detour" signs away from there are still up on most of the other approaches to the Walden Street bridge-I thought it would be at least 2010 before the bridge was done- driving to it tonight- I was going to follow my now-usual left down Sherman Street
Kept going and was surprised by 4-way Stop signs and about hood-level speed-bumps at Raymond Street and Walden Street- that used to be a light and no bumps- I guess the whole street is going to have a lower speed limit and the last 2 years without it won't give anyone that lived without it an an alternative- but, good luck with that speed bump, like that and the painted traffic circle, et al.........
I will say- I've driven through a fair amount of both Waltham and Cambridge to annoint them equally on so-called snow/ ice removal- had to drive through one of the many back areas of the Watch City to get to Watertown the other day- still cannot believe there are towns around here that act as though we are in the south or something
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back like a rebel making trouble
To borrow the Geto Boys lyric- I'm back for '09 after not posting the last couple weeks- Decided against trying to fight the weaknesses of my laptop, its keyboard and whatever internet connections I could finagle at my parents' house during my sojourn in New Jersey and decided to appease the bloodthirsty segment of my readership that prefers I post these with a few frosty beverages in me, not post some sort of lame placeholder-type entry (like I did 28 November 2008) and wait until tonight (Monday 5 January)- Bulletpoints to follow
-I had a great, low-impact holiday (limited gift exchange or revelry) visit at my family's house- and I don't mean to diss anyone- But its amazing how internet-savvy at least one of my folks becomes when it comes to discussing the computer dating sites- Had my mother used my computer and stumbled across any of the old porno bookmarks on it- I could have (somewhat) sold her on the idea that the entry of "European foot lesbians" (to paraphrase) was some sort of blog entry or something I had stumbled across or been mistakenly led to look at- But the minute the conversation turned to my recent dating life or lack thereof- she became the expert on stuff like Match.com, E-Harmony, et al and how her legions of friends/ co-workers had found the love, companionship and happiness that had previously eluded eluded them on those sites
The older I get- the more visits for the holidays have an almost-forced level of inspection/ introspection on my love life- past, present, near-misses, non-existent- not that my usual thoughts and Facebook membership usually don't provide me with those in ample supply- Not that I was the only focus of this- my younger sister also took her share of this during my visit- and gets a regular dose as a resident there
During one of these conversations with my mom I had the existentialist thought that life is little more than a series of disappointments bridged by periods of boredom or mundanity- not that my visits with my mom are attempts at Camus, Sartre or a "Sprockets" bit- but I think its a truth that no one tells you as young person- being an adult eventually becomes mundane either way- you get married, have kids or do neither- It truly seems to not matter in a lot of degrees- not that I'm making this some sort of credo for 2009- my parents also chided me over my attitude on my cursing, visits to the doctor (I follow the regular, prescribed schedule for check-ups unless sick) and prescription drugs among other topics I was harangued about
-Another side-effect of my visit was exposure of watching TV with my mom and sister- the joint football/ TV-viewing prohibition my dad had on me for laughing when Lawrence Taylor broke Joe Theismann's leg on "Monday Night Football" when I was 15-years-old in 1985 expired about 5 or 6 years ago- the two of us argued extensively and obstinately over a third-down call during one of the games we were watching last week
Anyhow- was exposed to a lot shows I'd never watch of my own volition- mostly bridal-themed shit like "Say Yes to the Dress", "Rich Bride, Poor Bride", et al- that make fancy weddings look like an ever bigger fucking waste than they already did to me from years in the hotel business
And there was stuff me and my sister watched- like the last ten or so episodes and two-part finale of "Family Matters"- a.k.a. the Urkel show- which neither of us had seen before- CBS ran the last season and burned off the last few episodes during the summer of 1998- after my sister had graduated high school and I had moved to Los Angeles
Having seen these episodes now- I really think there is a Palahniuk-ian style disconnect to Laura Lee Winslow- the girl Urkel chased for pretty much the entire run of the series and got to engage him in the last few episodes- she was also being actively courted by Stephon- the supposed male-model, suave alter ego of the nerd Steve- that I thought had been borne out of some sort of identity/ personality crisis Urkel himself had in a previous episode- guilty as a previos ABC T.G.I.F. viewer in the mid-90's- I really think Stephon became Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden to Steve's Edward Norton version of Tyler Durden/ anonymous (since I recall Norton was technically the anonymous protagonist of the story)
I don't think there's ever been a full psychoanalysis of "Family Matters" and it 9-season run- from Steve/ Stephon and whether it was a figment of Laura's imagination- to whatever latent meaning there was to dressing Jaleel White (buddy of Charles Barkley and TV's "Urkel") in drag as Mabel Urkel- who practically squirted for Eddie Winslow- played by Darius McCrary- who was involved in an altercation with porno's own Karinne "Supahead" Stephens- to the idea they had an actual cast member go on to work in pornography- Jaimee Foxworth who played younger sister Judy Winslow in the early seasons
Then again- any psychoanalysis of this blog could figure I have some sort of problems if I'm theorizing about a deeper meaning to the Urkel show- Maybe all I'm thinking of is some sort of reunion special along the lines of "Chuck Pahlaniuk Presents TV's Family Matters" where one of the cast members is instituionalized and traces back the Urkel story from some level of personal dissonance
-Real-life update- go away for a bit and get no mail I would have waited on daily- no word on speeding ticket I got 1 December on Massachusetts Turnpike- supposed 88 in 65 driving in pack of traffic that couldn't have been possibly been going over 80 safely- mailed it out day I got it requesting hearing- no word thus far- did affect my drives to/ from NJ- Consciously didn't go much over 80 if at all- even on open road- let myself get passed number of times- Maybe for best in that respect- though brought my travel times down across the board
-I had a great, low-impact holiday (limited gift exchange or revelry) visit at my family's house- and I don't mean to diss anyone- But its amazing how internet-savvy at least one of my folks becomes when it comes to discussing the computer dating sites- Had my mother used my computer and stumbled across any of the old porno bookmarks on it- I could have (somewhat) sold her on the idea that the entry of "European foot lesbians" (to paraphrase) was some sort of blog entry or something I had stumbled across or been mistakenly led to look at- But the minute the conversation turned to my recent dating life or lack thereof- she became the expert on stuff like Match.com, E-Harmony, et al and how her legions of friends/ co-workers had found the love, companionship and happiness that had previously eluded eluded them on those sites
The older I get- the more visits for the holidays have an almost-forced level of inspection/ introspection on my love life- past, present, near-misses, non-existent- not that my usual thoughts and Facebook membership usually don't provide me with those in ample supply- Not that I was the only focus of this- my younger sister also took her share of this during my visit- and gets a regular dose as a resident there
During one of these conversations with my mom I had the existentialist thought that life is little more than a series of disappointments bridged by periods of boredom or mundanity- not that my visits with my mom are attempts at Camus, Sartre or a "Sprockets" bit- but I think its a truth that no one tells you as young person- being an adult eventually becomes mundane either way- you get married, have kids or do neither- It truly seems to not matter in a lot of degrees- not that I'm making this some sort of credo for 2009- my parents also chided me over my attitude on my cursing, visits to the doctor (I follow the regular, prescribed schedule for check-ups unless sick) and prescription drugs among other topics I was harangued about
-Another side-effect of my visit was exposure of watching TV with my mom and sister- the joint football/ TV-viewing prohibition my dad had on me for laughing when Lawrence Taylor broke Joe Theismann's leg on "Monday Night Football" when I was 15-years-old in 1985 expired about 5 or 6 years ago- the two of us argued extensively and obstinately over a third-down call during one of the games we were watching last week
Anyhow- was exposed to a lot shows I'd never watch of my own volition- mostly bridal-themed shit like "Say Yes to the Dress", "Rich Bride, Poor Bride", et al- that make fancy weddings look like an ever bigger fucking waste than they already did to me from years in the hotel business
And there was stuff me and my sister watched- like the last ten or so episodes and two-part finale of "Family Matters"- a.k.a. the Urkel show- which neither of us had seen before- CBS ran the last season and burned off the last few episodes during the summer of 1998- after my sister had graduated high school and I had moved to Los Angeles
Having seen these episodes now- I really think there is a Palahniuk-ian style disconnect to Laura Lee Winslow- the girl Urkel chased for pretty much the entire run of the series and got to engage him in the last few episodes- she was also being actively courted by Stephon- the supposed male-model, suave alter ego of the nerd Steve- that I thought had been borne out of some sort of identity/ personality crisis Urkel himself had in a previous episode- guilty as a previos ABC T.G.I.F. viewer in the mid-90's- I really think Stephon became Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden to Steve's Edward Norton version of Tyler Durden/ anonymous (since I recall Norton was technically the anonymous protagonist of the story)
I don't think there's ever been a full psychoanalysis of "Family Matters" and it 9-season run- from Steve/ Stephon and whether it was a figment of Laura's imagination- to whatever latent meaning there was to dressing Jaleel White (buddy of Charles Barkley and TV's "Urkel") in drag as Mabel Urkel- who practically squirted for Eddie Winslow- played by Darius McCrary- who was involved in an altercation with porno's own Karinne "Supahead" Stephens- to the idea they had an actual cast member go on to work in pornography- Jaimee Foxworth who played younger sister Judy Winslow in the early seasons
Then again- any psychoanalysis of this blog could figure I have some sort of problems if I'm theorizing about a deeper meaning to the Urkel show- Maybe all I'm thinking of is some sort of reunion special along the lines of "Chuck Pahlaniuk Presents TV's Family Matters" where one of the cast members is instituionalized and traces back the Urkel story from some level of personal dissonance
-Real-life update- go away for a bit and get no mail I would have waited on daily- no word on speeding ticket I got 1 December on Massachusetts Turnpike- supposed 88 in 65 driving in pack of traffic that couldn't have been possibly been going over 80 safely- mailed it out day I got it requesting hearing- no word thus far- did affect my drives to/ from NJ- Consciously didn't go much over 80 if at all- even on open road- let myself get passed number of times- Maybe for best in that respect- though brought my travel times down across the board
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