New On Fox...

I turned on the tape to watch the Wednesday episode of The Apprentice that I thought was taped for me, but I found myself watching some Fox reality documentary called, “When Women Attack”. Or was it?
Stacie J. is gone. What happens now? The weakest link at the moment is Elizabeth. Everybody Attack Elizabeth! Sadly, the only time they work as a cohesive unit is when they single out one of the herd for sacrifice.
The task was for each team to literally put a restaurant together in a day and get it off the ground
As far as the tasks go, the men have started to work together. Raj was smart enough to rally support for the workers who could bring it off the best. Like a dogsled team., you put the one or two best dogs in front. Raj I thought did a good job, and I’m trying to remember any disagreements but I don’t recall any. Raj was a little tentative about the stockbroker training them as waiters, but he let his instincts win out.
I don’t know what the women’s plan was. It almost seems as though they’re just each one biding her time until only one is left. They started and ended without any organization. Jennifer had no leadership style. For example at on point she thought she should stay in the restaurant, but there really was no reason for her to do that.
The men won the task of getting the best review for their restaurant and their reward was time alone with Rudy Giuliani, which I think is one of the coolest rewards either team has gotten.
Jennifer as Project Leader was responsible and The Donald gave her a choice of two or three people to bring back with her into the boardroom.
...And she sealed her fate right then. She chose Stacey and Elizabeth (Neither of whom was a bad worker) for purely personal reasonx. The Donald actually said this was easy and canned Jennifer.
Please somebody help them (Pamela goes back to the women’s side next week – Sorry Pamela) they’re not entertaining to watch, just destructive.
I have to say here at the top, the thing that made my eyes go widest was how close in score the women were to the men. That was just amazing
.

List Time

This was extricated (cool word, eh, Zoot) from Beth pretty much while she was looking away. I’ll answer questions (probably) without naming names…Madonna!(dammit! Said I wasn’t gonna do that)
(Per Beth’s Instruction’s)
Bold the ones you've done... (you know the drill.)

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree had to, I was so wasted...
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise (many times)
15. Seen the Northern Lights in Alaska
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars love camping
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteor shower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath Fell asleep in the bathtub for 4 hours. My skin hurt for like three days after that. So stupid.
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days (yeah for 2.5 years)
44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking Mucho drunko
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment I was seventeen and I remember thinking that I must remember this moment.
48. Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50 states (Almost)
50. Loved your job on all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit-faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip (more than a few actually)
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love Had a lot to do with the Seventies really sucking.
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Benchpressed your own weight
68. Milked a cow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed all day
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Been to a drive-in theatre
80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86. Toured ancient sites (Indian Burial Grounds)
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Swordfought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie (3)you may have seen me
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn't have
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
105. Got flowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107. Got so drunk you don't remember anything (only a couple of times)
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents

120. Been on a cruise ship
121. Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
125. Read - and understood - your credit report
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. More than once? - More than thrice?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
137. Had an abortion or your partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane Took some lessons
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being (so far, so good on this one)
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle (owned it)
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school (bunch of times but to no avail)
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
180. Read The Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Scrimshaw)
185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed your hair
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own role playing game
200: Been arrested

What Happened To Feisty Barbie?

Just finished Scrubs and I figure the writers do some sort of free association comedy because the jokes, as hilarious and well crafted as they are, seem to appear from out of thin air. The show reminds me a little bit of Northern Exposure in the disjointed quirky way you ride through an episode, but when you reflect on what happened in the show you can pick out a theme.
I know there are some nay sayers about Heather Graham, but hey, really sorry, but she is a great actress (who can easily be forgiven for Lost in Space). Her and Sarah Chalke (who's bothering less and less to cover her Canadianess) are a good comedy team. I love the cast, but the writers are my hero's.

Cox has belittled JD in front of JD's students causing JD to lose credibility. Cox agrees to be 'slightly' admonished by JD in front of the students so that JD can regain his credibility.

JD: And another thing, Perry...
Cox: (whispers) The next time you're alone, I'm going to kill you!
JD: (higher pitched, softer whisper) worth it.

One Flew Over (and subsequently got herself kicked out of) the Cuckoo's Nest

Well, it was no surprise that someone got fired. The Surprise was how.

This part is getting tired. None of them play well together. Especially the women. It's more than obvious that they don't even like each other and that comes across even when they are speaking civilly to each other.

There was a song in the sixties thick with social satire called National Brotherhood Week, by social satirist/MIT Professor Tom Lehrer, that had a passage in it:

Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews.

In terms of The Apprentice you can cross out "the Jews" and put in Stacie J. It was amazing how she was ganged-up on in the Boardroom. Really. Seriously.

But hey, let's get the regular business out of the way first. The two teams, dysfunctional as they are, were given the task of creating 'buzz' for a new toothpaste that is soon going to be marketed by Procter & Gamble. Each team was given 50 grand for a budget (remember that, it's important) and told to go do there thing. Each team did come up with nifty ideas, but in at least one scenario there were to many uncontrollable variables that could cause the team to briefly crash and burn. Which again was sad, because it really was a nifty idea.

Ok, so it was the men's team. Harvard boy had this idea for a million dollar giveaway (find a million dollars in the toothpaste tube or something like that) and in fact it was fascinating to see how that sweepstakes thing works in real life. They don't actually need a million dollars. What they need is an insurance company to cover them 'in case' somebody wins'. In the eleventh hour the legal department said "NO" to the million dollar giveaway, saying there were too many details to iron out. The team bounced back giving out smaller ($5,000) cash awards and hiring circus performers to perfom on the street.
Apex decided to hire a celebrity (stroke of genius) with an across the board appeal (Mike Piazza) of the NY Yankees, to do an appearance, sign toothpaste boxes and even brush his teeth. Whole thing was a huge hit, and exactly what P&G was looking for!

Remember when I mentioned to tuck away that budget information for a later time. Here it is. Apex went over budget. Not by a little bit either. One item was an extra $5,000. That looks bad for a couple of reasons. They went over budget by 10%. On say a 50 million dollar project, that's 5 'million' dollars. It was also for one thing, not spread out over a bunch of expenses. It was just one item.
As we all know in real life, you can pretty much do anything to anybody (goof off at work, steal office supplies, beat a coworker) and chances are you'll get away with it. The exception to that is when it involves money...
If you caused a money problem, that always beats everything else. Right, Martha?

Even though they had far and away the better day in terms of creating buzz, Apex did the unthinkable as well as unforgiveable in going overbudget.
So the boardroom infighting began and the three choices were whittled down to Elizabeth (bad project manager), Maria (bad financial manager), and Stacie J. (apparently for no other reason than that she is considered, yknow...bad).

They all fight when Elizabeth and Maria in a unified moment drag up the incident that caused them to think Stacie J. was a little wacko that occurred, now three episodes ago during a lunch break. In an unprecedented move, The Donald has the rest of the Apex team come back to the Boardroom to confirm that Stacie J. is crazy in their opinions. They do, so Stacie J. is fired. Truly the only moment so far that the team worked together. Who knows what they're gonna do now without the scapegoat, er uh, Stacie J. rather.

fall n (13c)

2b the season when leaves fall from the trees : AUTUMN

thank you Mr. Webster

I'm a native New Englander and sorry, argue all you want, when you start talkin' Fall, it means more here in New England, than anywhere else. And I've been anywhere else. The leaves are starting to turn now and fall. These days the air is a little nippy in the morning. Coffee tastes better against a cold morning. School has become a pervasive topic, although for me this also includes Driver's Ed.
Today is actually, officially, the first day of Autumn (12:37pm EST). Welcome back old friend. The fireplace was cleaned last Spring so it is poised and ready for the nights ahead. There will be probably more than one post from me about Thanksgiving (far and away only the best holiday) but it deserves a mention here since it comes in the Fall and helps play a major part in making the season great.
I have off and on, like for a week once a year in the Fall (I guess it's a ritual)smoke a pipe. I'm not a smoker, except during a few teen years, but my Dad was, so I guess the ritual is born of some kind of tribute. Anyway, there is a special tobacco that smells like burning leaves and for me it's like a connecting moment to be taking a walk with trees all around bright fall colors, there air is kinda cold, and that smell of burning leaves.
Oh man, lest we forget, hot cocoa.

Two Words

Squirrel Army. Yes, I got to see Scrubs, and aye, lads and lasses, it did please me. Can't wait for Thursday.

Congratulations, Feisty Girl!

Yes, you, Feisty Girl, were lucky visitor number 3,000!

I tried to keep the spirit of the occasion as special as I could and I felt that it was only proper to have a huge gala event honoring your special visit.

I soon found out that such an undertaking, which I felt should be on the level of say, an Emmy or Oscar Awards show, was gonna take a long time in planning and cost some real bucks (I don't even want to think about the Canadian dollar equivalent, whew!).

Rather than make you wait around while the staff of 100's put this whole thing together, I thought I would display the check that would have been used to pay for everything.



So, Feisty Girl, congratulations and enjoy the equivalent of the huge web gala event honoring your crossing the threshold that is the blog of A Connecticut Yankee.

Who is it going to be?

Who is going to be my 3,000th visitor? Will there be prizes? A starring role in a major motion picture? A shot at their own talk show? Or just a hearty handshake. Only the lucky winner will find out.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

I went to see this last night, Saturday, the 12:20am (midnight show). It was visually stunning. Story wise it was OK. The whole movie was in a sepia tone, art deco style that was just really cool to look at. In the opening scenes giant robots as tall as NYC buildings are walking through the streets (of previously mentioned NYC) and it looks amazingly real. Sky Captain (Jude Law) saves the day somewhat by slowing them down, although they still complete their mission for that point in the movie.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Giovanni Ribisi (one of my favorite actors, so a pleasant surprise when he showed up) are in it, and to be honest I thought the story was kinda, eh. The look of the movie was over the top amazing. Truly visual art. SO in terms of recommending it before it goes DVD, I'm torn. I was intrigued by the promos and I'm ok with the 9 and change I paid for the ticket so that I could see it on the big screen. If you really want to see it and don't have expectations other than, "I bet I'm gonna see something really special", then go to the movies. If you're on the fence at all, wait for the DVD, but definitely see it.

Ivana the "ohmigodohmigodohmigod" girl

Well, a surprise was promised and By Gum, a surprise was had. But why rush things. Let's take a moment to recap.
It's been a few days now since I saw the show, but the Apprentice 2 feelings are still pretty strong.
The task was to sell ice cream. In downtown Manhattan. During a regular business day, which means by default, the street will have a lot of pedestrian traffic. On a hot summer day. That's all they had to do. And yet...
The men this time grasped the concept with the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) and they raked in the dough. Althought they had a weak player, Pamela, of whom we can now say that it has become obvious that her snobbiness cripples her creativity and teambuilding abilities, they still triumphed big time. It wasn't a complete team effort yet, but it was definitely 180 degrees from the last time around.
The women on the otherhand were still in that 'we don't want to work together because it diminish our individual position mode' and it killed them. I didn't think Ivana did as bad a job as was perceived by the group. That is until the boardroom where everyone was saying that she was indecisive, then as the Donald was quizzing her she kept changing her answers, making her appear, well...indecisive.
Y'know what? Why don't we just focus on the board room right now, because really that was where the big action happened.
The women lost. Big. The usual rampant finger-pointing was going on mostly at Ivana for indecisive leadership and Stacie for being just Stacie. Quick aside: A very important rule that was added to this season's game is that if you were the Project Manager of the winning team the previous week, like for example, Bradford, and then your team LOST the following week, like for example, Bradford's, you, the former Project Manager (again, Bradford) were exempt and could not be fired (unless you like, killed a guy, or somethin'). Essentially, you are completely safe and don't even need to bring your luggage to the boardroom because you're definitely riding back up to the suite (like, you guessed it, Bradford!)
This is completely true and as they say, carved in stone. Unless of course, you wave the exemption, like dumb stupid Bradford.
Oh, but where were we? Ah yes, the boardroom. Getting down to the wire, the Donald allows Ivana to pick two or three people to bring with her for the final decree. Ivana of course waffles back and forth, and DS Bradford says that he waves his exemption and is will to go down just like anyone else (he believed that this move would give him credibility with the team that he was sincere and thereby gain power within the team). So Ivana picked Jennifer, Stacie (no shock there) and of course, DS Bradford.
They face The Donald. They fight more amongst themselves. The Donald takes the women to task while praising, heaps of praise, on Bradford. And then The Donald with legendary corporate killer instinct announces that Bradford because he made such a huge decision to wave his exemption based on impulse, could destroy a company just as easily. SO Bradford, "You're Fired!
An absolutely amazing moment. I really don't think anyone saw it coming. Which is when Ivana uttered her famous, "ohmigodohmigodohmigod". But I think it was a good call. In that moment I thought that it was too bad because Bradford was seemingly getting into the game, that the others in the room were never going to finish.

I taped Scrubs

Thursday! Love Thursday. Nowadays, even if there are bad shows, and there are some mighty bad shows, there is something really decent on Thursday. Oft mentioned is that I work at night so those younger, seemingly faithful, smaller versions of me tape the whole NBC block of Thursday, so that I might get to enjoy it like reglar folk do.
Which brings me to Scrubs. I don't know why. Some whimsy was performed on me at some point and I stroll a different mental road that has memory potholes, but until I was reading DeAnn's blog sometime on Wednesday I somehow believed Scrubs, one of my favorite shows, was on Thursday. I think it was me trying to create some default great night of TV (which would be Thursday) in my head. So I'm reading about her (DeAnn's) feelings about Heather Graham and it dawned on me AARAARGGGGH! Scrubs was on two nights ago(Tuesday) and I didn't request to have it taped. Double Dammit AAAAARRGH! (I realize that sometimes my anguish begin to sound a little too piratey, but hey, I was in anguish). So for a variety of reasons my Thursday (day) was crappy but I'm thinking, ah, THursday night! Woohoo. (I guess I need a life too, y'know what, I'm going out tomorrow night.) So this Thursday afternoon in amongst all crapiness big and small, I pick up my duaghter at school. I let her know I'm having a bad day, but it would help immensely if she told me about her good day at school. So she procceeds about her good day at school. And it was helpful. Somehow I don't remember how but it came up that I forgot Scrub's. And my beautiful little girl (well she's moved on to teenagedom now so I guess she's a radiant youth) says, "I taped it!" AAAAAAAHHHH! That's GREAT! She then continued on to say that, "It was at the beginning of the tape." Hopes dashed. Renewed pain. Let me explain... My daughter gets out of school shortly after 2 in the afternoon. Passions, where we live, starts at 2. So each day for my beloved daughter I rewind the tape to the beginning since it's a daily soap (You probably can figure out where this is goin' by now) and tape Passions.
So close...yet, so far. I knew it wasn't her fault, but I made her walk home anyway. Kidding....but I did think about it.
Anyway, Thursday, woohoo!

social rules concerning embarrassment

Have you ever been someplace, like say, oh...work, and you've just finished some food item that may be a pastry or scone that has some messy fruit quality about it, like say, oh, I don't know...blueberry? And you have this nagging suspicion that maybe fruit or more likely a stain from the fruit might still be on display on say your face? That suspicion grows and of course you're sure that no one will tell you, because that's part of the social rules unless it's a real friend, then they'll tell you. I don't believe that you usually have real friends at work. An example, one afternoon some months ago I prepared at home for work, showered, got dressed as usual, and went to work. I made my rounds checking in with different folks at work. I was there I guess about half an hour/45 minutes and after coffee decided it was an appropriate time to hit the little workers room. Upon stepping up the plate, as it were, I discovered, ah no need to unzip, it's already been taken care of! Hey! Wait a minute...I don't recall doing that at any point between now and when I got dressed. Dammit! Dammit! Dammmit!
Can somebody tell me why no one tells you when you have a 'situation'. If the panty section of a woman's panty hose gets exposed due to gross clothing negligence, no one says anything. Why? Of course, that's actually kinda funny now that I think about it.
Oh, all clear on the blueberry. All that worry for nothin'.

I Got a Shiney New Car!

OK, that's sort of a small lie. The car is new to me. An '88 Camry LE (Toyota). And I got it for a song. OK, that was a lie too. Cash, but only a little as the vehicle just had a 16th birthday. I love the car. We already have a minivan (or as I like to refer to it, 'the chick magnet') and a defunct Firebird, so to fill the we really need two cars gap, I bought the Camry.
A few vehicles ago I bought, brand new, an '86 Corolla LE, and by far it is the best car (IMO) ever produced. Moved the family across the country twice. A truly great car. Then one night it was stolen and we were lucky enough to recover it about three hours later, but that was because the joyriders had broken the transmission after getting rid of the kids car seats and Big Wheels that were in the trunk. So anyway, we couldn't trust the car anymore after that, little things kept going wrong and it was obvious that we should get rid of it. So we did.
That being said, I've been looking for over a year now for one ('86 Corolla LE or something similar) to be the second car and *PRESTO* finally the Camry came along.
In truth this post was supposed to be about my trip to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Why? Because DMV stories are always horror stories. Except today. I can't begin to tell you how much I wanted to regale you all with stories of hours of too many different and probably wrong lines filled with people whose sole ambition is to be privileged enough to be forever in line at the DMV. I hurt so much that I'm unable to wax philosophic about the people who work at the DMV with their bad hair styles and equally poor fashion sense.
But not today. I arrived at 9 AM with sleeping bag and a few days worth of clothing and rations, fully prepared to do battle with never-ending long lines, bitter employees and a general lack of deodorant in the crowd. Such was not the case. I strolled into the building (I'm pretty sure it was the first time since the '80's)and was greeted by roped areas where lines could form if there were people around, elevator music playing over the muzak, a small concession stand, where one could purchase coffee, pastry, etc. But nobody was in line because there was no one to be in line. I was the sole customer at 9AM on a Thursday where they had already been open for two hours!
There is a comical part. You have to 'Take A Number'in order to be waited on. So they had me take a number and I was handed ticket #27 in the initial processing line, and the overhead display read 'serving #26', so I felt pretty confident I was gonna get some quick service. And I did. It was a very Seinfeld moment but I moved over to the official processing line and one of the clerks called out, "27". so I stepped up. The clerk took my number, did my paperwork, gave me my new plates, and she was very pleasant the whole time. I venture to guess, start to finish my trip to the Connecticut DMV, once the bane of any motorist who wanted to drive legally in Connecticut, was about, give or take a minute, 6 minutes. BOOWAH!

"Forkless Gourmet Bun Meals - Authenthic Ethnic Meals in a Bun!" and Cellular

That cracked me up. That was printed on the register coupon that pops out with your receipt when you check out at our local Super Stop & Shop. I often think to myself, "Geez, I wish somebody would invent an authentic ethnic meal that could fit in say, oh...a bun! I bet they would make a fortune if they did!" Yippee I-yoh ky-yeah! Somebody did it!
Man, again, that just so cracked me up.
But that's not why you're here. You wanted to hear about Cellular, so here we go. For our wedding anniversary we decided dinner and a movie. Ah, but what movie to go to? The choices were Vanity Fair, which had good reviews, or Cellular, which also had good reviews, but I was skeptical that it was a one note concept. Even after the intriguing previews I had seen at earlier movies and Ebert and Roeper giving 'thumbs up'. Ebert said it was ingenious, so that cinched it for us and we opted for Cellular.
It was awesome! Kim Bassinger as a highschool science teacher (as resourceful as MacGyver, and Gilligan's Island would have been rescued within a few days had she been a passenger instead of the loser Professor).
Very bad guys break in and kidnap Kim Bassinger from her home in the morning. They take her to a remote house and lock her in the attic. There is a wallphone in the attic, but before they leave her they smash it to bits and bits. They lock her in and leave to do their bad guy stuff. She starts twisting wires together until she gets someone, who turns out to be ne'er do well w/hero potential Chris Evans.
This is about the first 5 to 10 minutes of the movie and so many surprises! Most of them had to do with the wonders of cell phone technology. Extremely well acted. Everyone was believable! It was so great given the premise of a movie about a cell phone. Pace was incredible, and the implausible things worked because of how they were executed.
I don't believe it was intended but I would have to say that this movie qualifies as William H Macy's debut (with all do respect to Mystery Men) as an action hero.
I did not put any spoilers here, so go enjoy. IT IS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.
There is someone else who needs a special mention, Rick Hoffman, who plays an obnoxious lawyer. He stole the few scenes he was in. Outstanding job.

Did you see the carnage?

Couple of things...
I was very pleased with Joey. There was no time during the show I thought to myself, "Gee, when is Ross or Rachel gonna pop in?". Better yet, I never thought about Friends during Joey, which stood up well on its own. Good and funny supporting cast, but I hope they work out some of the kinks with his agent. She's a very funny actress, Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde) and I think that the character needs some direction.
Thursday was taped for me and the tape ran out at the beginning of the other new show, Medical Investigation, that came on after The Apprentice. I had wanted to see it and I thought it looked good. I only saw the very opening when Michael Nouri dropped to the pavement. Ker-chunk...End O'tape. Pissed.
But the real story is of course The Apprentice. Was that amazing or what? I confess after we met the candidates I didn't like anybody. Like the first season (yes, the inevitable comparisons) this was a group of type-A's and I figure we're gonna watch them beat each other with hi-tech clubs and good old fashioned psychological treachery and sabotage. The first time around the group was a little tentative as they were feeling each other out (searching for weaknesses), but this group is just overbearing (except for of course Mr. Waiting for success to come to him Rob, or should I say, see ya' next April, Rob, buh-bye)and clashing. OMG when Wes said, "Here's to the men dominating the women" and watching the jaws actually drop on the the women, I thought, "Wes, you're talking out loud buddy", "oh and you'll never finish the game...
Wes's evil comment as it turns out, was only one of many that sprang from the group as a whole. The particularly brutal comments about the kids, man..., backtalking to Carolyn in the boardroom. It was unbelievable. And Sam, oops, I mean Raj. Does the class clown ever win anything besides class clown.
My overall impression was that there was absolutely no teamwork or attempts at teamwork and that is what is critical at the beginning. Just gotta say, Pamela is a piece of work.

Tonight!

The Apprentice! Yes! Watch the foodchain right before your eyes! Toe curling excitement! Who is the one that will forever be known only as the first one to go.

Margo Channing : Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!

Too Small Clothes

This is a bit of a departure from the usual (at least I think it is) and lord knows, I'm no fashion expert, but I gotta ask,"What is up with the shirts girl's/women wear that are like they were shrunk in a hot water wash and then a hot dryer? Actually I don't have anything against the look, in fact dare I say I like it, but what I see are girl's/women spending 90% of their time tugging the bottom of the shirt down to stretch the material out defeating the open midriff 'look'. I'm thinkin', "What's the point?" You didn't know that if you bought a tight fitting/too small top that it wasn't going to naturally ride upwards (or downwards as in the case of the those (I'm sorry, but they're morons) who wear their pants 'low' so that their ass is all out in their boxers).
I don't get it.

Soldier

Soldier was on TV today. I really enjoy most all of Kurt Russell’s movies and it got me to thinking there are those movies 4 Star epics like Gone with the Wind, and then there are the movies you really watch. You never actually start them, they’re always already on. The ones that you’ll sit down and watch, not on purpose, but because you were had a free moment and you sat down and started channel surfing, and there it was. Then you get hooked into watching the rest of it because, well, it was a pretty entertaining movie, and there’s that one thing that happens which is later in the movie and you really like that part. You could also get pulled away from it with no great effort to do something else like, pick up kids at school, eat, etc. There might even be another movie you like on another channel, so you kinda volley back and forth. And so here’s my guilty pleasures list of, “Oh cool, look what’s on”:

Big Trouble in Little China
Tombstone
Judge Dredd
The Untouchables
The Thing (remake with Kurt Russell)
Fargo
Field of Dreams
Batman
Batman Forever
Beetlejuice
A League of Their Own
Philadelphia
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sixteen Candles
Creepshow
Needful Things
Switchback
Lethal Weapon (just I and II)
Hunt for Red October
Grease
Forever Young
The Fog
Swamp Thing
Point Break
Grosse Point Blank
Tootsie
Stripes
A Few Good Men
When Harry Met Sally
City Slickers
Jumanji
Rocky (just the first one)
Nighthawks
First Blood
Blade Runner
Planet of the Apes (the original one)
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Top Gun
Alien Nation
Rain Man
Big
Apollo 13
Sleepless in Seattle

…so many more, must continue later.

Something to nibble on...

Stole this, of course. Modified it a little too.

The bloggish chef

Are you a good cook?
Yes!

What’s your top 3 favorite things to make?
1. Strawberry Shortcake
2. Whiskey Cake
3. Roast Chicken with lemon and herbs.

What’s your top 3 favorite things to eat?
1. Pizza
2. Wendy’s
3. Strawberry Shortcake.

Vegetarian or meat lover?
Vegetarian seems like too much work figuring out the good edibles and trying to find plants that taste like meat.

Eggs: scrambled or sunny side up?
Scrambled made with heavy cream until they’re light and fluffy with no dark spots and topped with fresh chives, avocado, ground sea salt, and of course, fresh ground pepper.

Your most used ingredient?
Lemon. Fresh squeezed (squozen(?)) lemon juice brightens up a lot of foods.

I go insane when there is no .… in my fridge.
Meat (various sandwich types, hot dogs, fried chicken)

6 course menu or 1 big meal?
1 big gut busting meal

National food or multi cultural?
Multi cultural. Been doing a lot of good Mexican food lately and the table is always open for Filipino pancit or lumpia.

Appetizer or dessert?
Tough one. I have to say neither because the main meal is gonna make or break the deal. However, Outback Steakhouse has this thing called the Bloomin’ Onion that is just the most amazing appetizer. Kinda like when a movie is so special it needs its own category at the Oscars, like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Breakfast at home or on the way to work?
Breakfast at home. I work evenings so when ambition strikes I’ll make something other than a pot of coffee, but under most normal circumstances though, a pot of coffee is breakfast.

Escargots or frog legs?
Snails, hands down. With warm melted butter, mmmmmm, most tasty.

Take away or order by phone/ online?
Take out. I know its just paranoia that’s worsening, but there is something about some guy that I don’t know driving around town with my food. The idea has really begun to bother me that if he decides my pizza has too many pepperoni’s he might decide to ‘correct’ that problem.

I’ll never cook …..
Scrod. Just because of the name alone.

Favorite dinner drink?
Sangria. In a huge carafe. I like wine/beer too, but Sangria, for me, covers a wider variety of stuff.

BBQ or fondue?
Definitely BBQ. Fondue is too much work with those tinyass toothpicks and you can only get a crumby small portion so you have to have 15 of the little bastards at least to get a reading on whether or not it’s any good. BBQ – Use your hands! Messy! Primal. Love it. Food the way it should be.

Leftovers in the fridge or eat everything that’s on the table?
I only do leftover spaghetti because let’s be honest, it’s really better the second day.

Weirdest thing you ever ate?
I know you’ll laugh and wonder what is he talking about but it’s pork rinds. It’s not so much weird as it is gross. I can’t help thinking about all them tiny little hairs on the pigs skin which they can’t possibly get all off. Sure, I could down a fistful of those Tasmanian cave spiders like on Survivor (everybody knows they’re all pussies anyway) but pork rinds, no maam, I’ll pass.

Tidy cook or does your kitchen look like a war zone when you’re done cooking?
Anything used as part of the cooking process is tidied up so that it is ready to go for next time. That being said I’m afraid the kitchen itself doesn’t fare as well and pretty much gets cleaned up for company or a party.

KFC game?

I didn't know what to make of this other than it was briefly amusing

Scrubs

I know this is not what I usually do, but right this moment I'm compelled by unknown forces (not unlike Sam Beckett, though I really don't feel like making right what once went wrong)to get some information. I think most of the readership sways toward American Idol and reality shows, but I'm more of a sitcom, drama, dramedy, whatever tv kinda guy.

Did anybody see Scrubs? It was taped for me but I haven't had a chance to see it yet and I really want to know if it's still funny. I love Heather Graham (Awesome in Boogie Nights as was Julianne Moore) and I've got High hopes that it was good. Zach Braff is making a name for himself which is good because I think he's entertaining.

OH! OH! Wait a minute! Can I just take a moment here to mention, hey, the Olympics were great. It was like every body/country that competed got at least a little something. Which was nice. Lot of tv coverage while it was going on. To the point where I'm really glad it's over and we can back to real tv. Oh, but wait! The fucking Republican Convention is on now. Why? So that we can see rioting, people getting hurt (like in the old days). Who cares about GW? I don't. Can't wait till he's gone.

I want my tv back.

Hey, How's it goin' Mr. M.?

My son is a sophmore in high school this year. The same high school I attended some years back. A goodly number of years to be honest. A catholic boys private school run by the Brothers of the Holy Cross. The name of the school (sounds like Notre Dame, well ok, it is Notre Dame) is a popular name for that kind of school and there are many across America. It's almost like a chain (like Denny's or Walmart).
Anyway, last year when my entered as a freshman I realized there were many teachers still teaching there from when I muddled through. One of them seemed very, very, very old when I was there and he's still there and I'm thinking, "is this guy animatronic, or what?". And here's my point. Even though many years have passed betwixt me and my alma mater, I find I still can't bring myself to call teachers anything other than Mr. such and such, or Mrs. I hated your class. Why is that? At least one teacher I had was fresh out of college just beginning his career at the time he was molding my mind, so essentially, he was (and still is!) 7 to 8 years older than me, yet it is beyond me to say, "So Tom, how's it goin'" That would be just too weird. Why do we become kids in school again when we're around our former teachers. Since we are no longer in school and they no longer teach us, in fact they are part of our peer group. They have become people you can talk local politics with, or sports, or news stories, small talk, or just plain Grown Up Crap. But no not really because somwhere along the way we're always in school so we call them by there "teacher names".