Ipod Project A-Z & NFL wildcard weekend

As I've mentioned over and over again, I started listening to my ipod in alphabetical order at the beginning of 2006, with the goal of hearing every song on it by the end of the year.

I might have made it too but when my original 30Gig model (with ~6500 songs) crapped out in September, I bought one of the new 80Gig ones, which had 11,940 songs on it by the end of '06.

As of 12/31/06 I was up to song #6457 of the 11940, just beyond half way. The song was "Money" by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas from the "Future Soundtrack for America" CD released by local label Barsuk Records in 2004 to raise money to beat Bush. Didn't work but there are some good songs on it anyway.

Shameless namedrop: Barsuk was founded by Emily Alford, who I worked with at Amazon, and her husband Josh Rosenfeld. They've got lots of bands we like on their label: The Long Winters, Nada Surf, They Might be Giants, and originally signed Death Cab for Cutie (who just moved to Atlantic for major bucks).

Now where was I? oh yeah, since the new one is 80G, I've continued to load lots more stuff on it, like all the Cds Irene and I got for Christmas, and now have 12,486 songs. I don't think I'll ever actually listen to everything on it, unless I stop loading stuff now, but I love buying Cds too much to do that

Pats-Jets playoff game is this Sunday. My prediction? PAIN! sorry - went a little Clubber Lang for a sec there. seriously though, pats will win.

PAIN!

I'll be at the Seahawks-Cowboys game tomorrow night - seems like we'll have another monsoon blowing through this weekend - AWESOME - BLACKOUT BOWL II! Time to break out the long johns & trash bag raingear.

New year's resolutions

1. Get into shape.
2. Try to eat better.
3. Visit a country I've never been to before.
4. Send a birthday card and present to my mom on time.
5. Try a new restaurant each month. Of course, this is something I agreed to do with Jim and our friends, Pat and Robin.
6. See a movie in the theater each month.

Happy new year!

Let's hope there'll be more peace and happiness around the world in 2007.

Look what I made!

Here's the result of my first attempt at frozen yogurt using the ice cream maker I got for Christmas. Guess the flavor? It's blueberry. It's not bad, but I think it could have used more sugar (but then, that would defeat the purpose of low-fat yogurt, eh?).

Kitties love wii

I couldn't resist posting these kitties who look like our Fred. I found these guys on the website, wiikityy.com, where their owners post photos of their wii-loving cats.

I'd Better Pick Up the Pace!

According to a recently published Italian study involving over a million people, drinking in moderation can extend your life, while over-imbibing may shorten it.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say "DUH!" to the second part, but the surprising part to me was that, in Italy, drinking in moderation means four(!) drinks(!) per day(!):

According to the data, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol — up to four drinks per day in men and two drinks per day in women — reduces the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent, the team reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Can you imagine if during your next physical, when the Dr. asks you how much you drink, you thought about it for a sec, and said, "oh I drink in moderation, Doctor, never more than 28 drinks per week." They'd med-evac you straight to rehab, and probably start an IV with lactated ringers, like Rampart was always telling Roy & John to do on Emergency!

The bad news? Here you go. Check out the calorie counts on these drinks:
Long Island Iced Tea (780 calories)
Margarita (740 calories)
Big Mac (not an actual cocktail) (704 calories)
Pina Colada (644 calories)
White Russian (425 calories)
Mai Tai (350 calories)
Champagne Cocktail (250 calories)
Fog Cutter (225 calories)
Gin/Vodka & Tonic (200 calories)
Mojito (160 calories)
Cosmopolitan (150 calories)

The good news? A Makers Mark Manhattan has around 135 calories. And Makers on the rocks is just 69 calories per ounce.

So don't be afraid to enjoy Makers up to 4 times daily! doesn't that look good?

Why does it always rain on me?

What is with the weather in Seattle? We broke records with nearly 16 inches of rain in the month of November, and we've had about 6 inches this month when the norm is about 5 inches. It's depressing to know that we have months ahead of us before it'll get nice again. While it's been raining here in Seattle, snow is getting dumped on the passes and further east. I just hope we'll get a break soon, and have some sunny days even if it's cold out.

Jim and I braved the heavy rains last night to do our annual after-Christmas-50%-off calendar shopping at the mall. We, then, realized that we somehow avoided the malls for the entire Christmas shopping season. Online shopping rules!

Merry Christmas to all

It's 9:30 Christmas morning. Jim and I were awakened by Ryan and Emily at 7:55am. They were told by their mom and dad that they couldn't open presents till 8am. It took less than an hour to finish unwrapping all the presents under the tree. Emily could hardly contain herself; I think she enjoyed ripping off the wrapping the most. Thanks to all for alll the great presents; I'm going to be busy making ice cream, trying out new sandwiches, and rocking out to my new cds and music dvds. :)

We'll be hitting the road later today, making it back to Seattle to feed Fred, and spend some quality time with him before the day ends.

Be afraid, be very afraid

The Martels from San Anselmo, CA just forwarded us photos from their trip this past summer. They did a rafting trip in Idaho, and lived to tell us about it. Luke and Will look like they're enjoying the raft trip more than Reed who's sitting between Julie and Jack.

Bart Simpson Picks this week's NFL winners

FoxSports has had a different Simpsons character pick the winners every week this season and have finally gotten around to Bart for week 16 (of 17):

"Yo, Bart Simpson here with my NFL picks for Week 16. I guess they didn't trust me the first 15 weeks 'cause they were afraid I'd say something like, 'Green Bay sucks! If those Cheeseheads wanna stick their heads in something yellow, why don't they try my butt?' Just kidding, I love Green Bay."

The Czech War on Santa

from my new favorite magazine: The Week

War on Santa
Prague
"The Czech Republic has launched an ad campaign to discourage businesses from putting up Christmas ads that feature Santa Claus. "This stupid, fat guy with the red outfit is taking over our television ads, and we say it's enough," ad agency head Martin Charvat told the London Independent. In the Czech tradition, on Christmas Eve, instead of Santa, it's the baby Jesus who flies magically into the house and leaves presents in children's stockings. Czechs do have a St. Nicolas figure, but he comes by earlier. Each year on Dec. 6, men dress up as St. Nick or the devil and walk around town in pairs asking children to sing or recite. Good kids get candy from St. Nick, while bad ones get whacked with the devil's stick."

I like the reward/punishment aspect of their Christmas tradition--maybe we should start that system here as well. I don't remember seeing any official "Devil's Whacking Stick" for sale among the marionettes and nesting dolls when we were in Prague. Sounds like a marketing opportunity for the nouveau capitalists over there.

Speaking of nesting dolls - they sell them painted every way you can imagine over there--soccer, basketball, football, baseball players, simpsons, shrek, Disney characters, South Park, etc, etc:I regret not buying the one with David "Big Papi" Ortiz on it for my dad for Christmas. Sorry dad--maybe if he wins MVP next year I'll find one for you.

NERD ALERT!

Title of Harry Potter 7 revealed

From the "No Thanks" Department

3 things:

1) Pete Rose has come out in favor of Mark McGwire's Hall of Fame bid. He goes on to mention that he deserves to be in the HoF as well.

McGwire on phone soon after hearing about this: "hi Pete Rose? This is McGwire. SHUT the **** UP!! You're not helping!!"

I bet that when Big Mac looks at the life Rose has made for himself it scares the crap out of and/or depresses the hell out of him. Probably both:

"In the Dec. 16, 2005, file photo, Pete Rose sits at a table waiting to sign autographs at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Rose said Tuesday that both he and Mark McGwire belong in the Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken/file)"

2) Daryl Strawberry has stated that "Jeter must 'embrace' A-rod". I don't think I can add anything to make that any funnier, except maybe this bit straight from the straw's mouth: "He's a sensitive guy," Strawberry said. "He's only played in Seattle and Texas. It's not New York. It's a big difference. You don't get booed in Texas. You don't get booed in Seattle when you play there."

If there's one thing Straw knows, it's when a teammate needs a hug. Check out this awkward moment with a bewigged Joe Pepitone:

3) Lastly, the Iraqi army celebrated the handover of Najaf from US Army control by eating frogs and live rabbits. I guess they didn't have as good a year as the Turkish airport workers Irene wrote about the other day. Either that or they couldn't find a camel.

Sorry but I just had to include a photo of this one too:

Baby goes through L.A. airport x-ray

The morons at the TSA x-rayed a one-month old baby! The grandmother spoke no English, and was confused about the security measures. Somehow the baby ended up on the conveyor belt to be x-rayed, and wasn't noticed till the screener saw its skeleton on the screen. The baby was taken to the hospital to check if it was okay. Duh!

Poor Poor Britney

This girl needs help! When will her friends and family stage an intervention? She looks awful, and she's developed quite a horrid taste in fashion (yes, worse than before). At least she's started wearing underwear again.

A Christmas present bound to be fun for everyone

This is an instant classic -- a SNL digital short as funny as Lazy Sunday. Yes, that's Justin Timberlake in the video. Go to NBC, http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/videos/, to check out the video.

How would you celebrate a job well done? Sacrifice a camel!

This week maintenance workers for Turkish Airlines sacrificed a camel to celebrate a job well done. They all pitched in to buy the camel, and then sacrificed it at Istanbul's Ataturk airport. The camel was seen being led into the airport grounds, and workers were later seen holding up bloody pieces of meat after the sacrifice. Who knew that one camel can provide 1,540 pounds of meat? I'm sure the members of the European Union are just rolling their eyes on this news.

Jolie-Pitt Superbaby Revolution Redux

That Shiloh is sure cute! Angelina + Brad = perfect baby!

Feel free to reread Jim's theory on the superbaby revolution here.

Smart or Stoopid

Take a simple IQ test at http://www.flashbynight.com/test/ and see how you score. You can compare your score to others that have taken the test.

Germany real winner of World Cup: report

check out this article from yahoo today

The article talks about how Germany's image improved worldwide because of hosting the World Cup and made lots of Euro$ too, as their GDP growth was 3 times higher than last year's.

But for me this makes the article worth reading:

"Germans were no longer regarded as humorless beer drinkers who ate sausages in their lederhosen trousers. Now there was an image abroad of Germany as a modern, efficient and tolerant nation full of enthusiastic soccer fans."

ummm...yeah, sure, uh-huh. There wasn't any beer drinking done by Germans during the World Cup. nope. Just the Brits. they were the ones.

No more of this:

Here's Germany's new image:

see? no lederhosen here

Wii have a problem

It was only 6 weeks ago that I first ever heard of Nintendo's Wii. Now you can't watch TV without seeing its commercials featuring 2 Japanese guys who randomly show up and introduce the game system to unsuspecting people. Apparently Wii has been selling like hotcakes, and now people have begun posting problems they've had with it. Apparently the remote controllers for Wii tends to slip out of your hands and fly across the room and cause damage to television sets and furnitures. Check out the photo of the busted screen of a 48" TV. Bummer, man!

Zombie Chickens

I haven't completely made the switch to organic cage-free chicken and eggs. After reading an article about zombie chickens, I can't continue to support massive chicken farms and egg-laying factories. Chicken farms in Sonoma County, Northern California alone dispose more than 500,000 "spent" hens (meaning they no longer produce eggs). In the past these hens were processed for soups and canned meat. Processing plants stopped accepting them because it was deemed not cost effective. So now these farmers put tens of thousands of chickens into a sealed box and fill it with carbon monoxide to kill them. Eventually they become compost. The bad thing is that some chickens don't die. Locals near these chicken farms claim that they've found "zombie" chickens wandering on their properties.

Add Sparkles to your life

If you've never seen the show, How I Met Your Mother, you're missing a pretty funny show. You can't go wrong when the show stars Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doogie Howser, and Nick from Freaks and Geeks? It's on Mondays at 8. Last week was one of the funniest ones ever! Check out the myspace page for Robin Sparkles. Her song will be stuck in your head (and that's a good thing). Don't forget to watch the video too. Canadians rock!!!

More Amazing Race than ever

Amazing Race Asia premiered this week to blockbuster ratings in Asia. Similar to the original Amazing Race, teams of 2 persons race for a cash prize. Amazing Race Asia is limited to traveling around Asia, and the grand prize is only $100,000US. It'll be kind of interesting to see how this show unfolds with the diverse cast racing around Asia. The show is in English, but most of them are of Asian descent so they speak at least another language. Will they have problems with foreign languages? Will they have problems eating weird foods? Don't they already do?

Back in the land of ice cubes

Finally back home after visiting Berlin, Dresden, and Prague. Jim and I had a great time, but it was nice to sleep in our own bed after being away for nearly 2 weeks. Everytime we go away for a trip, it reminds us that Americans have it pretty good.

What do we miss when we're travelling?
1. Ice cubes - You rarely get any ice cubes when you order cold drinks. Jim got a soda at a McDonald's in Berlin, and there were probably 5 ice cubes in his "large" 16 oz. soda.
2. Free water at restaurants - Whenever you ask for water, they always ask "with gas" (carbonated water) or "no gas" (mineral water). This means that you're getting water, and they're charging you for it.
3. Double-ply toilet paper - Europeans must come to America and think they've gone to heaven when using our toilet paper -- once they get over the shock of seeing bulk toilet paper available in packs of 24 double rolls.
4. Paper or plastic? - There's no option in Europe. It's assumed that you have your own bags when shopping at the grocery store. They just ring up your stuff and shove it down the belt. You need to ask for a bag, and you'll get charged for it too. We've finally got hipped to this a few years ago, and carry a canvas bag whenever we're out.
5. Alarm clocks - What's up with no alarm clocks in European hotels? We simply pack a travel alarm clock nowadays.

Cool T-Shirt Store

Check out VintageCotton.com. This one from Sean of the Dead is my favorite so far:




Also...we're heading off on our 12 day Berlin-Dresden Prague trip tomorrow, so postings may be infrequent for the next 2 weeks but we'll try to post some updates when we can.

Good News & Barker update

first the good news:

















Bob Barker update: I've been thinking of some replacement possibilities, along with how happy each would make me, from 0 - 100:

Seacrest 0 (no tanks!)
Tiki Barber 50 (he's got to do something after retirement, right?)
Andy Richter 80
Tom Bergeron (former host of Granite State Challenge!) 70
Magic Johnson (a longshot, but could be some good unintentional comedy) 75

Irene told me that the fix is in & that they've already picked out some cbs weather man - I hope not. I'll post some more thoughts on replacement possibilities later

Who wouldn't want this for Christmas?

Mr. Potato Head Darth Tater!

A Sad Day for All of Us

The day we all hoped would never arrive has just been announced:

Veteran TV host Barker to retire after 50 years

He's stepping down next June. He is 82, after all. He couldn't do it forever I guess. I'm not sure what else to say--just glad we have another eight months left. Maybe Irene and I can take a trip down there & see a taping in person, but tix will be impossible to get now.

I'm sure not looking forward to when seacrest or some other idiot takes over--No Tanks!


UPDATE from Simpsons/NFL Picks: Monty Burns went 9-3-2 this weekend. I went 4-10. (but he didn't have to pick against the spread)

A Stunner

Despite (because of?) my certainty that the NL champ would not win a World Series game(documented here), the Cards are a win away from shocking the Tigers, and the rest of us, and taking it 4-1. I've never seen a team have every lucky break go their way like the Cards did last night (the centerfielder slipped & fell down chasing what should have been an easy out, a key hit tipped off the leftfielder's outstretched glove, another killer error by a Detroit pitcher, etc,etc), and all without the benefit of even a single blown call, which is headline worthy by itself. Maybe it's just their time to win one. Now they'll blow it for sure.

Another stunner: For this whole NFL season, the Fox Sports web site has had different Simpsons characters picking the winners of each week's games. This week: Monty Burns. Next week: Kang & Kodos. How did I not hear about this until today? Not a clue.

Homer picked them in week one (and went 10-4-2). A sample of his wisdom: "I don't like Miami because the dolphin on the helmet is wearing a helmet that doesn't have a dolphin on it. Which side are you on, man?"

Queue it up

There are over 300 titles in our Netflix queue. I can't imagine ever getting this down to a reasonable number. Each year we add the movies that were nominated for the Oscar's Best Picture that we hadn't seen. As of today, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, and Walk the Line aren't even in our top 50.

Here's a glimpse of our queue, limited to our top 10 foreign language films.
An Amazing Couple
Floating Weeds
Schultzie Gets the Blues
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi
Monsieur Ibrahim
The Battle of Algiers
On The Run
The Barbarian Invasions
Jet Lag
Empire of the Wolves

Set your Tivo

Tonight is the premiere of the latest celebrity interviews for Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel. Tonight Eddie Vedder interviews Laird Hamilton. This is the second season of this series with celebrities interviewing celebrities. Last season's highlights was Tom Ford interviewing Jeff Koons, Michael Stipe with Mario Batali, and Robert Redford with Paul Newman.

Fred's Latest Trick

I taught Fred a new trick. I don't have any video to show you but I came across a video of another cat doing exactly the same thing. Check it out!
'

Opening soon at a theater near you

Here's the first 4 minutes of the Borat movie.

It's My Birthday!

I'm sipping Bacardi like it's my birthday. And you know I don't give a f***. It's not your birthday! Oh, that 50 Cent can really write lyrics like no one else. Well, I'm not actually sipping Bacardi because there's none in the house. I am enjoying some rum that the Walshes donated before moving to Virginia. I raise my rum and coke to Keith and Julie and give thanks! And I'm watching/listening to my U2 Live in Sydney dvd that Denise (thanks Geeg) got me; Larry Mullen was looking pretty hot that year. Jim's treating me to dinner at the Met Grill. I hope they have strawberry shortcake because that's what I really want for my birthday cake.

Forbes' List of the World's Most Expensive Restaurant

Every year Forbes lists the world's most expensive restaurants. Aragawa, a steak house in Tokyo tops the list for the second year in a row. Dinner can be had at an average cost of $370 per person. Looking down the list, I saw the name of a restaurant where Jim and I actually had the liberty to enjoy a meal -- Queue de Cheval. Back in 2000, Jim and I made a trip up to Quebec and Montreal. We stumbled across this steak house in Montreal, and enjoyed lunch. I didn't realize this place was an institution. We would definitely recommend this place if you're ever in Montreal.

Crypted from Jim's Rant on Spezio

I'm posting this from Jim's email.

In case any of you haven't been following this--despite hitting a Cirillo-like .196 during his 2 years here (in Seattle) including a remarkable .064 (that's 3 for 47! - I looked it up) in 2005, Scott Spiezio has been killing the ball during the playoffs, hitting 2-out triples etc etc. Jack Buck said "Spiezio again!" after another big hit. This either proves that the NL really really sucks or that he was seriously tanking it when he was here with his buddy Bavasi. The answer's probably a combo of the two.

Spiezio has even turned into a folk hero in St Louis, like Johnny Damon was in 04 for the Sox, with fans are even wearing fake bright red soul patches to look like him (see attached photo at bottom). weirdo

OK I'll stop my rant now--just remember that I was the first one who told you that the tigers will sweep whoever comes out of the NL (sorry Keith)

I agree that the fad has gone to people's head.

Snakes on a Plane revisited

I know Jim (and Fridge) would appreciate that the USC marching band played the theme song from Snakes on a Plane during half-time. It's quite a catchy tune. Which version do you like -- USC's or Cobra Starship's?

I miss Buster

I across this and wanted to share. I totally love the show, Arrested Development, and I'm sad that it never got the viewership it deserved. I absolutely love Buster.

Irene's Reading List for September

The Red Notebook by Paul Auster
The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
Istanbul, The Imperial City by John Freely
Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley
The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I'M LAME

I haven't blogged in what seems like months - here's what's been happening:

I'm very happy to report that I finally finished reading Don Quixote about 2 weeks ago. It was L-O-N-G, and to me not all that great, to tell the truth. I'm sure it was cutting edge back in 1605 and an important step in the development of the modern novel, but it just kind of goes on and on, and there's not much of a story line carried through the whole thing, other than DQ being Craz-ee. And that whole windmill thing? Done & forgotten in the first 50 pages (of over 1000). I think it may be so well known because that's as far as a lot of people make it.

Much of Part2 (which originally came out in 1615, 10 yrs after part 1) is DQ & Sancho staying at the castle of a Duke & Duchess who play practical jokes on them for laughs, so I guess you could also say it may have important in the development of modern prank TV, like Candid Camera and Punk'd. I say read Les Miserables if you're looking for a brick-sized classic--that was great, a genuine page turner (really!).

Irene and I went to DC this past weekend to see Joe & Andrea. Had an awesome time, did a few museums, dinner with my Hoya buddies at the ginormous new downtown Clyde's and a crab feast at the Quarterdeck in Arlington with our newly relocated friends the no-longer Seattle Walshes, some boozing, a movie (Jackass #2!), saw Robbie Fulks live-- we were busy! We'll be going to Berlin, Dresden and Prague with J&A next month - can't wait for that!

to be continued tomorrow - gotta catch my bus

Lost is back

What's my opinion of the season premiere episode of Lost? I had high hopes, but I soon grew frustrated and annoyed by the show. What was with all the commercials? Luckily we fast forwarded through the commercials since we tivoed the episode. Book club for the Others?! Planet of the Apes thing with Sawyer?! The aquarium under which Jack is held captive?! Kate eating fish biscuits after sitting down with Henry for a meal of eggs, bacon, and coffee? Henry Gale aka Ben?! Eesh -- I hope the season gets better than this.

If you haven't seen ABC's Ugly Betty, you can still see the first episode online.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face

Jagshemash

"Greetings!" as Borat Sagdiyev would say. Yesterday Borat, or rather Sacha Baron Cohen, held a press conference in front of the Kazahstan embassy in Washington, DC; it's hilarious. The Washington Post has some video footage. I only wish they included the footage of Borat running to the White House with reporters and cameras chasing after him.

The Terrible M's

Have you seen this mascot recently?

Last night we ended our 16-game season with the M's losing to the A's, 7-6. Of our group of 13, we were missing half of the crew -- the Walshes now live in Virginia, Phil is wandering around Europe with a munchy-red-eyed Rick Steves, and Matt's cavorting in the sun with Amy and hairy Greeks. Shout out to Mark, Pascal, Kris, Ben, and Shelly for showing up. The A's had clinched a spot in the playoffs the night before, so they didn't even have all their top players out there. We did end our season with a winning record of 14-2 13-3 as corrected by Jim; we really lucked out even with a losing team. Let's hope for a better season next year.

It's #%#$# o'clock in the morning

Guess who decided to show up an hour early to work today? Yup, yours truly got to work by 5:20AM. 5:20AM!!! Why, you ask? Somehow, I changed the time on my alarm clock so I got up earlier than I was supposed to. Actually, it was so early when I got up that I don't actually remember hearing my alarm go off. I wonder now if I just imagined it, or simply checked the clock (without my glasses) and thought it was time to get up. I didn't realize my mistake till I was already on the bus and notice that it wasn't 5AM yet. I thought my watch battery was dying and lost time. What an idiot I can be!!!

Of course, I'm going to blame all this on King County Metro. They recently changed the bus schedule, and I was completely caught unaware Monday morning when my usual 6:04AM #18 Express never showed up (it would take about 15 minutes to get to work). I had to take the local bus, so I was 15 minutes late getting to work. For some reason, King County Metro decided that people don't need any express buses leaving from Ballard till 6:30AM. I guess they think people who work before 7AM should suffer a mind-numbing, stop-at-every-freaking-bus-stop-between-Ballard-and-downtown bus ride.

Guerrilla Art

I haven't heard of a famous guerilla artist since Keith Haring. I remember taking the train around New York City, and seeing his drawings at various stations. I loved them then and still love them now.

I recently found out about another guerrilla artist, Banksy. He has sneaked his work into the British Museum, Tate Gallery, MOMA, the Met, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. He recently had a show in Los Angeles. True to nature, the location of the 3-day exhibit was kept secret till hours before it opening. People weren't given the exact address, merely a street name; I'm sure people had to consult with the Thomas Guides to figure out where to go. BBC posted some photos of the LA show.


Banksy's definitely subversive and provocative, but I love his work. Thanks to Angelina Jolie for bringing him to my attention. No, she didn't call or email about the show in LA. I happened upon a story about her going to the show, and it peeked my curiosity.

YHHABOR!

For those not versed in pirate text messaging, YHHABOR stands for "yo ho ho and a bottom of rum"! Today happens to be Talk Like a Pirate Day! Coincidentally ABC's reality show Wife Swap premieres tonight featuring a "family" of pirates from Seattle.

Now that's a burger!

I had one of the best burgers EVER at the lovely home of Kris, Ben and KPJ. Luckily for us, Kris captured the offerings before they were devoured.

Jimmy, You're So Funny

Jim and I are probably the only people we know that watch Jimmy Kimmel Live. If you're ever up past midnight, you should definitely check out his show.

Better Known As...

Feeling particularly smart today? I came across questions from a local bar's trivia quiz. I asked Jim and Steve, two of the smartest guys I know and they were stumped on quite a few of these.

I'll provide the alternate name for something or something, and you'll have to come up with its more famous name. Highlight the space after the question to see the answer.

Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor Charles, Prince of Wales
fluoxetine hydrochloride Prozac
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu Mother Teresa
The Battle of Pittsburg Landing The Battle of Shiloh
Trimountaine Boston, MA
The Leather Girls and The Mankillers Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Roshambo Rock, Scissor, Paper
The Cynic’s Word Book The Devil's Dictionary
Shoeshine Boy Underdog
Elizabeth Short Black Dahlia

BBC headlines rule

The BBC sure has some talented headline writers - check out these fine examples, all from today's list of most read BBC stories:

Fresh surgery for 'mermaid' girl

Prince jailed for smuggling coke (this one's not about William, Harry or that Purple Rain guy our friend Robin likes so much)

Human heads dumped in Mexico bar

and my favorite of the day:
'Goat-free roads made me speed'

here's one of the goats that caused a Swiss driver to speed by not being in the road

Jimmy 101

No, I'm not teaching an intro course about myself, nor will I be releasing my own version of Depeche Mode's great live album. Nope. 101 is the score I posted yesterday at the West Seattle golf course. Since that represents my best score ever, you'd think I'd be bragging about it, but actually I'm going to complain instead. I had a 91 with one hole to play, only needing only an 8 to finish with a 99, and break 100 for the first time, but I CHOKED badly, carding a TEN(!), to finish with a 101.

oh well, if I played golf more often I'd have the right to be mad, I guess. or maybe the four 16 oz Coors had something to do with it? Don't blame me - they were only 2 bucks. Here I am lining one up like Ty Webb (photo courtesy of Phil Vandecar) and no that's not a putter.

BTW, yesterday was the farewell round of golf with my pal Keith Walsh, of the SeattleWalshes, soon to become the NorfolkWalshes, though I'm not sure if that means they'll be registering for a new URL. Bon Voyage Keith, Julie, & Jackson! Best of luck in Virginia!

Irene's Reading List for August

never drank the kool-aid by Touré
The Ethical Assassin by David Liss
The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky

Sox Lose! Sox Lose! Sox Lose!

Yes, it's true. Sadly, the Sox lost all 3 games my dad and I saw last weekend here in Seattle. Can you tell from this photo how things were going?

(Photo courtesy K.H. Chick Copyright 2006)

And look how ashamed Fred is after losing a bet to his kitty pal, Mariner fan Aunt Liza (aka KPJ):

More Monkey News! (sort of)

OK, so maybe this entry should really be called 'Laotian Rock Rat News', but this thing looks pretty much like a monkey, right?



And it looks a LOT like the Sumatran rat monkey that carried the zombie-causing virus in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, which I've just found out is also known as Braindead.

See?


OK - maybe not an exact match, but still, it gave me an excuse to run this picture.

It's also the first movie I've ever seen that featured zombies doing it and a subsequent zombie baby, which runs around like a chucky doll after escaping from its barbed wire covered baby stroller (or pram since the movie takes place in New Zealand).

Please don't consider any of this a recommendation to see this movie.

Real Madrid v. DC United

Here are a couple photos I took of the Real Madrid - DC United game Irene and I went to a couple weeks back. Madrid scored first but DC tied it up less than 5 minutes later, and the 2 sides played to a 1-1 draw. Very lame of me to take almost 3 weeks to post these, I know, but, well, you know....

The man who would win any election in England.
Lucky for Prince Charles he can't be voted out.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!

Check out the huge crowd (66,000+) and they only announced the game 2 weeks before it was played.

What? There's a dress code!

If you're ever looking for a laugh or two, check out this blog, Go Fug Yourself. I love love love this site. It's way better than what you'll find in USWeekly, InTouch, People, National Enquirer, or Star. This picture of Britney Spears is a classic! Where does one start?

this headline made me laugh

Booty finally gets the call for Trojans

yeah it's real--about USC's new starting QB John David Booty, which is a funny name anyway. (Here's some Booty family trivia: John David's brother Josh was once drafted by our hometown Seattle Seahawks, and is married to one of Barker's Beauties.)

Here's my alternate suggestion for a headline--too obvious?

Trojans finally make Booty call

Here's another headline that got me to click-through:

Women players to get approved supplements

Turns out the article's about women tennis players now being allowed to take certain kinds of vitamins and nutritional supplements. As Homer Simpson would say: BORING!

Psycho Killer Raccoons

There is a pack of "crazy" raccoons in Olympia, WA that have killed 10 cats, attacked a small dog, and bitten a human being. WOW! Owners say they can hear when the raccoons attack, kill, and tear apart their cats. OH MY GOD! The neighbors are warned not to feed the raccoons. I personally don't like raccoons; they're simply large furry rats with fingers.

Who needs to watch Snakes On A Plane when you have "Raccoons on the Hunt."

what's worse?

I'm not going to talk much about this, but what part of this story has the most unfortunate wording: headline, sub-head, or the actual tale of woe it relates? (From today's Boston Globe).

Listen to me now & believe me later: I will comment no further regarding the events that occurred in Fenway Park over the past four days. So don't ask me!

Jeter's fister KO'd Papelbon
Yankee's blooper landed just right

By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | August 21, 2006

It was the perfect moment, the perfect matchup. The rookie against the captain. The game on the line. Everything down to a single moment in the ninth.

With Melky Cabrera on third base after a double and wild pitch, Jonathan Papelbon had struck out Bernie Williams and Johnny Damon. And so, with two outs and a one-run lead, Derek Jeter stepped to the plate, hoping to continue the Yankee dominance in the most crushing way possible.

It wasn't a hard hit, not a home run or a smash. But it was just enough to tie the game, a soft liner that dropped a few feet in front of charging right fielder Gabe Kapler and brought in Cabrera with the Yankees' fifth run, setting the scene for Jason Giambi's game-winning smash one inning later in the 8-5 loss to New York last ni...blahblahblah...jeter sucks...giambi's on roids...arod sucks worse... blahblah blah... posada's a shithead ... blahblah

Jolie's Superbaby Revolution

My friend Aaron has come up with a theory about Angelina Jolie and her three babies of different races, including her latest with Brad Pitt.

He says she's from another planet, sent here to assemble a platoon of superbabies of different races, all coincidentally, and conveniently, unrelated by birth:

Maddox, born 2002, Cambodia
Zahara, born 2005, Ethiopia
Shiloh, born 2006, her first biological child, born in Namibia

The theory goes on to state that when the earth is no longer inhabitable (presumably in the somewhat near future, as these plans have been put into action already) the human race will need to be relocated to another planet. Not everyone will be lucky enough to make that trip, but Angelina and her superbabies will already be there, having been sent on ahead to populate our new world. Presumably, the money earned from Jolie's highly successful film and modeling career is being used to help pay for the spaceship/ark.

Personally this theory makes a little too much sense to me. To check it out I googled "Jolie Superbabies" and what did I find? Only that Angelina's 'earth dad' Jon Voight happened to star in a movie called "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2" in 2004. More proof: have you ever looked closely at her 'brother'? He's weird--probably an alien too.

Planning their escape? You can bet there'll be room on the escape ships for Condi & Hillary too

Are all of these mere coincidences? I think not.

Do you think I'm kidding about all of this? I don't know--am I?

And Fred's Your Uncle

Here's a cute photo of the Martel boys. Before moving in with us, Fred lived with John and Julie in Oregon. These boys are their kids. They now live in Northern California.

Vogue's Pick of Top Dog

Vogue named the dandie dinmont terrier top dog of the summer. They're the rage in Europe, and they're quickly gaining popularity in the States. The fashionistas quip it's harder to get a dandie dinmont terrier than a Hermes Birkin bag (I'm assuming everyone has seen the episode of Sex in the City when the girls coveted the Birkin bag). I hate it when dogs become accessories. But how can you resist that adorable face?

Of course, this dog doesn't hold a candle to our favorite little dog, Bonzo.

Distressing thoughts of the day

from this NY Times Magazine Article:

Of the trillions and trillions of cells in a typical human body — at least 10 times as many cells in a single individual as there are stars in the Milky Way — only about 1 in 10 is human. The other 90 percent are microbial. These microbes — a term that encompasses all forms of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and a form of life called archaea — exist everywhere. They are found in the ears, nose, mouth, vagina, anus, as well as every inch of skin, especially the armpits, the groin and between the toes. The vast majority are in the gut, which harbors 10 trillion to 100 trillion of them. “Microbes colonize our body surfaces from the moment of our birth,” Gordon said. “They are with us throughout our lives, and at the moment of our death they consume us.”

I don't know what's worse - that 90% microbial number or the closing quote. Thank you Dr. Gordon!

Don't Try This at Home

As all our readers are fans of Fred Martel, you all know how much this cat has cost Jim and me in blood, sweat and tears (but we still love him to death). He hasn't been himself since late last week, looking sad and lacking an appetite. The loss of appetite really had us worry since Fred usually scarfs his food within minutes of it hitting his bowl. You can keep time since he always give you a 15 minute warning before each of his daily feedings at 7:30am, 5pm and 11pm.

We tried new food (salmon and sweet pea, and turkducken) but to no avail. Rather than pay through the nose for an emergency vet visit, Jim dropped him off at vet this morning. Diagnosis: Fred's constipated. The little guy got an enema, and it did the trick. The vet said Fred's happily eating duck and peas to replenish his strength from the trauma.

I can't imagine how the treatment went but Jim found this website, http://www.catenema.com/cat1.html, that's hilarious. Poor poor Fred. Jim and I never considered doing this ourselves.

Three Decisions That'll Change Your Life

This past Sunday Jim and I were stuck in traffic at the border after spending Saturday night in Vancouver, BC. Props to Morty and Kate for planning a vacation in the Pacific Northwest! We had an awesome dinner at Cin Cin, an Italian restaurant that wouldn't be out of place if it was in Las Vegas. Back to my b*tching -- to past the time, Jim and I played this game where you name 3 people and the other person has to decide which of the three to marry, f*ck or kill. The best one I came up for Jim was Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Rainn Wilson (that's Dwight Schrute for those who watch The Office). Jim countered with Manny, Big Papi and Nomar. You'll have to take a guess which ones we chose.

You're On Notice

Here's the link to make your own notice board.

They're on the pitch

It's been a long week where I haven't been going to bed before midnight. To quote Sergeant Roger Murtaugh, "I'm too old for this sh**." Last night Jim and I went to the soccer match with Real Madrid v. DC United. It was a friendly game, and the score was 1-1 draw. Both teams had scored early in the first half, and they went into defensive mode for the rest of the game. Not too exciting but it was definitely fun. There were over 66,000 fans at the game; arguably the most diverse crowd I've ever seen at a professional sports event in Seattle. Phew -- there are poc's (people of color for those who didn't know) in Seattle.

I had a hard time finding pictures of the Real Madrid team. I guess they keep a tight leash on these things. I did find a photo of some of the players in Seattle walking along First Avenue. Do you think they just came out of the gun exchange or at the adult video store?

Irene's Reading List for July

Bait and Switch, The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich
Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley
4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Carcassonne, France

This is today's Wikipedia* photo of the day - I just like the look of it:
(click on it to view it larger--it's worth it, trust me)

"Panorama of the fortified city of Carcassonne (Aude, France) and the Pont Vieux crossing the Aude River. The fortress of Carcassonne was considered impregnable and never conquered. It was begun by the Romans and built up through the years. It fell into disrepair, but was restored in the 19th century. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site."

*Bonus fact of the day: I love Wikipedia

Ranger Reed

here's my nephew Reed in his Park Ranger uniform he got on a family trip to Yellowstone:



Is that cute or what?

Monkey News: Da Return

I haven't found a good monkey news story for some time, until today that is. Here's a good one from msnbc that includes this classic quote: "There are too many monkeys" :

India Train Company Turns to Monkey Business

Fierce-looking primate employed to keep wayward monkeys off subways
MSNBC News Services

Updated: 7:02 a.m. PT Aug 2, 2006

NEW DELHI, India - They say it takes a thief to catch a thief, but India’s Delhi Metro has hired a monkey to frighten off other monkeys from boarding trains and upsetting passengers.

In an effort to keep monkeys out of the New Delhi subways, authorities have called in one of the few animals known to scare the creatures — a fierce-looking primate called the langur, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Wednesday.

The decision to hire a langurwallah — a man who trains and controls the langurs — came after a monkey got into a metro car June 9, the newspaper reported.

In that incident, a monkey boarded a train at the underground Chawri Bazaar station and reportedly scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops. It then disembarked at Civil Lines station.

Passengers had to be moved to another car while staff chased the dexterous creature, causing delays.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says it hopes the new hire will avert a repeat of that episode.

“It started working about a month ago and since then we’ve not had a single incident,” said Anuj Dayal, a metro spokesman.

The langur handler is being paid a retainer of India rupees 6,900 ($160) a month, and “he will be called whenever there is a monkey problem,” Dayal was quoted as saying.

“There are too many monkeys,” Dayal was quoted as saying.

Langur monkeys are similarly employed around the grounds of parliament and some government buildings in New Delhi.
© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14121007/

PS: I borrowed "Da Return" in today's title from this classic album which you too can own for $.01

stuff I've been meaning to blog plus Prague potato chip scam

my stream of consciousness, larry king-style:

Mom & Reg are here this weekend. They arrived last night and will be here til tuesday 8/8. Going to Ms-TB Monday night with them and Geegy & Mike. Was mom's 65th bday on Monday 7/31 but I promised not to tease her about being an official senior citizen, so I won't. Fred the cat, this blog's namesake, became a teenager that same day, so happy birthday to mom & fred. Happy 13th anniversary to ML & Julie too. Irene & I are heading up to Vancouver tomorrow to see Morty & Kate. Mom & Reg decided to hang in Seattle rather than sit in the car another 6-7 hours, since they'll be driving off to CA Tuesday and did the FL-NH drive in the past couple weeks.

That's it for now except for this important warning from a frommers email newsletter I received today:

Potato Chip Scams

"Other than the taxi drivers, only one other thing upset me about Praha; When you sit down at a restaurant, you'll find potato chips in a basket. You'd think those stale potato chips -- and the unrequested bread they later bring to the table -- are on the house. But no! Whether you eat the chips and bread or not, they still charge you. It's just a few dollars, but you still feel like you've been taken. TIP: Ask the server to remove the potato chips before you sit down, and say "no thank you" to the bread."

I think my favorite part is how the author linked potato chips to the photo he took, you know, as a public service, just in case anyone was puzzled about how to avoid this scam because of unfamiliarity with what Czech bowls of chips might look like.