Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Betrayal Five

The yakkety-yaks at work are driving me nuts today! Thank Jebus for headphones.

I'm going to have to make a decision about Police tickets today, and it looks like it's going to be quite an expensive proposition. I would think my best chance at getting tickets would be to get in on the fan club presale, which starts tomorrow, but the fan club costs money to join. Then you still have the ticket price to pay. So do I pay a pretty penny for a guaranteed ticket or do I take my chances with scalpers trying to unload excess inventory in front of the arena? Decisions, decisions.

I posted about this scene on Scrubs when it aired last year, but there was no video at that time. Well, now there is. This scene really cracks me up.



Today's birthdays:

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Oscar Bot 2000

Being a big movie freak, I always look forward to the Oscars. So here in bullet-point style I present my thoughts on this year’s telecast.

* Ellen DeGeneres – meh. I have nothing against Ellen, she can be very funny. I just thought she wasn’t funny enough for this. She seemed kind of nervous maybe. Let her host the Emmys. There were a couple of good bits – the vacuum cleaner comes to mind – but overall she was kind of bland. I much prefer the more sarcastic take of Chris Rock or Jon Stewart. Billy Crystal always did a good job too. Hell, I even like Whoopi. And did you notice Ellen’s girlfriend in the audience? Love the Portia.

* I loved the bit with Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly. Although Black and Ferrell did something very similar before, bringing in Reilly kicked it up a notch. And was that Will Ferrell’s real hair, or was that for a role? This is the way to showcase JB to best effect – keep it short.

* The sound effects choir – Kind of cool, but boy did those people look weird making those noises. Can you really make a living making stupid noises like that?

* The dancers? Making the shapes? Kind of cool but more weird.

* I would like to nominate Jessica Biel’s boobs for something. But it won’t have anything to do with the word “supporting”.

* Did you notice that Abigail Breslin had her stuffed Curious George with her? Aww.

* Man I hope that Jack Nicholson look is for a movie. Scary!

* Chris Connelly sucked.

* Celine Dion? Bathroom break.

* So Mr. “Academy award winning screenwriter” Ben Affleck, where’s that second screenplay? Nine years wasn’t enough time for ya? You know, you being such a well-known writer and all. And seriously, they couldn’t find a real screenwriter to introduce the segment paying tribute to screenwriters? Whatever.

* I love that Wes Anderson commercial, but is that the same one they showed last year? I can’t remember last year’s so I’m really not sure, but I remember there was one. Eh, I’m too lazy to research this.

* Apparently Bill Condon, the director of Dreamgirls, is a “genus”. That’s pretty impressive, skipping right over the obvious species route and going straight for your own genus. Way to go Bill!

* Was Eddie Murphy crying, or does he just have really watery eyes? Every time they showed a closeup of him his eyes looked filled with tears. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just askin'.

* Hey, Clint Eastwood, could you have mailed in your Morricone intro any more than you did? He did say at the end that he should have worn his glasses, and maybe that's what it was. If so, quit tryin' to look macho and wear your damn glasses! C'mon!

* Pan’s Labyrinth not even winning Best Foreign Film is shite. In fact it’s a big ol’ shite sandwich, with horseradish.

* That would have been so great if Borat would have won best adapted screenplay. I still don’t understand exactly how that movie had a screenplay ( I guess to set up the segments - ‘Borat walks into an antique shop’), but it still would have been funny. At least we got to hear Helen Mirren say “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Khazakhstan.”

* Seeing Robert Altman in the memorial segment made me remember that I mentioned that when A Prairie Home Companion came out on video I was going to watch it. Well, I did, and I thought it was really good. It’s kind of a meditation on mortality, made all the more poignant because it turned out to be his last film. I enjoyed it, and this is coming from someone who can’t stand the radio show.

* I’m glad Forest Whitaker won, I’ve always liked his work.

* Having seen all of the Best Picture nominees, I think they were all fine movies. If I had to vote between those 5, I would have voted for Babel, although I’m cool with The Departed winning too. But to me it kind of seems like one of those “career achievement” type deals because The Departed is no Goodfellas or Raging Bull. I liked Pan’s Labyrinth the best of all the 2006 movies I saw, although it was ineligible for Best Picture since it was foreign-funded. A lot of people thought United 93 was the best movie of 2006, but I haven’t seen that yet. I also heard that Children of Men was very good – I’m waiting on the DVD since it comes out next month. Despite the fact that it seems lightweight, I thought Borat was an excellent movie. But overall I’m glad Scorsese finally won.

You all didn't think I was going to do birthdays after all that, did you? Well, you didn't think wrong (huh?).

Today's birthdays are brought to you by The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation:

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Monday, February 26, 2007

SPC - Black & White 4


This photo came from last week's photo shoot in the backyard. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, but I knew I wanted something kind of stark. I played around with gray in this image, but in the end I decided to go with a literal black & white. I think this would make a fine T-shirt for my revolutionary followers. Couch potato revolution, anyone? Actually, I think that revolution is doing fine without my help...

To see others' take on this theme, click here.

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Nothing Beats Duck Humor

I am working on my Oscar recap post, I won't be able to post it until tomorrow since I still haven't seen all of the show. Damn day job.

I think I'm getting better, but I'm not sure how much my ear has cleared up. There still seems to be a slight popping when I swallow, but the pain is definitely less than it was. It's the last day of the Mucinex and antibiotics, which is good because my mouth is starting to taste funny. Although that could just be from all the paste I've been eating.

I got an email this morning that had the subject line "New Scam To Watch Out For". I thought: "Uh oh, one of those damn chain emails about some bogus scare." It actually turned out to be pretty funny:




These gangs are working in teams and patrolling many streets and neighborhoods. Be careful!!




It's a shockingly slow day in birthdays today:

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Dust In The Wind

The weather here today is super-freaky. It's extremely windy (about 39 mph) and this afternoon dust started blowing in. The wind keeps making my power go out intermittently. Pretty soon all of West Texas will be in my yard. Here are some pictures of the dust. Keep in mind there are no clouds at all.


There's something you don't see in the weather report every day - "blowing widespread dust"







I thought these first 3 pictures were dramatic. Uh, yeah, not so much...












Today's birthdays are brought to you by Lemon Pledge:

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Busy Little Beaver

I'm feeling better today. My eustachian tube seems about the same, but I'm not nauseous or dizzy. Hopefully the ol' tuberini will be showing improvement by tomorrow. So far I have seen no mucus, clothed or otherwise, defecting from my body.

Today I have been busting my hump trying to get as much homework done as I can so on Sunday I can squeeze in a screening of Letters From Iwo Jima and then watch the Oscars. I have Babel at home right now and I'm hoping to get Little Miss Sunshine in the mail tomorrow. If I do then I will have seen all of the Best Picture nominees before the show. I also had some stuff to do at work today (which isn't always a given) so it has been a pretty busy day. I think I'm going to skip the birthdays today. Now it's back to work!

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

I Be Illin'

I am currently wavering on the fine line between sickness and health. Last night my ear pain pretty much turned into throat pain, and then this morning it was between-ear-and-throat pain. It doesn't hurt all that much, though. The doctor thinks it is residual congestion from a cold that I had a couple of weeks ago. My ears look a little red inside so I was given a script for antibiotics to keep this from becoming a sinus infection. I also was advised to buy some Mucinex. Damn that stuff is expensive! I guess you have to pay for it if you want to see mucus wearing a tuxedo exiting your body. I felt perfectly fine this morning except for the swallowing thing, but now I'm not feeling so great. I couldn't finish my lunch, I'm feeling kind of nauseous and dizzy. Maybe it's the medicine. I think I'm going to leave work early today, I feel like I need to lie down.

But before I tend to my health, who's birthday is today?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Room To Roam

Today at lunch I suddenly developed a pain in my ear when I swallow. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking this is probably not a good thing. I'm going to the doctor first thing in the morning.

Here are some photos I mostly took on Monday during my second bird stalking trip. Sometimes there are things that I don't like about living in Texas, but one thing about this place I have really grown to love is the wide open spaces and open sky. I think I would feel hemmed in by anything else.









A bird of another kind.














This little guy perched above my head as I was taking SPC shots in my backyard. I think he wanted to poop on me.


Had to switch over to color.


I like mockingbirds, even though they're not exactly cute and cuddly. They're kind of mean, and extremely territorial. They don't take shit from anyone, and I respect that.



Today's birthdays:

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

SPC - Black & White 3


I don't really have anything to profound to say here (do I ever?). I wanted to take a picture that was less "staged" than what I usually do, so I went out in the backyard and started snapping away. I really liked the results for the most part, and I had a hard time choosing just one photo. But I like this one because sometimes I get tired of looking so serious all the time. Maybe I'll post some of the others later.

See more SPC here.

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Thorns and Stuff

Due to a lack of good time management I do not have an SPC entry as of yet. I know you are all crushed. In the meantime, here are some more pics from my birding expedition on Sunday.







Yes, I did take a picture of this before, this is a slightly different composition.




Today's extensive birthdays:


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Monday, February 19, 2007

Little Birdy

Holy shit. I finally went to see Pan's Labyrinth today. What a great movie. It's like a fairy tale for adults, with all of the darkness and weirdness that that implies. If it wasn't a foreign film there is no doubt that it would be a deserving Best Picture nominee and winner. This is the kind of movie that restores my faith in what movies are capable of being. Go see it.

Yesterday I went out looking for the bluebirds that I saw a few weeks ago, this time armed with my telephoto lens. Unfortunately I didn't see the bluebirds, but I sure saw some red birds.


I like how cardinals stand out in the winter time, even when far away.










Well, I know what a cardinal sounds like now. Now I just need to figure out what a bluebird sounds like.


Cardinals are actually more skittish than I expected. They wouldn't let me get too close.



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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

I have been asked to point out that in association with LeVar Burton's birthday, which was a couple of days ago, that you remember not Kunta Kinte, not Geordi LaForge, but an Orb video. Apparently Mr. Burton is is the person at the beginning of the video asking "What were the skies like when you were young?" The audio came from a clip of the Reading Rainbow show on which Rickie Lee Jones appeared. Got all that? Turn it up, and enjoy*.



We have a veritable birthday smorgasbord today, brought to you by Phillies Blunts.

* Credit for this post goes to Holli.

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Reheated

Today's post is going to be a little bit like leftovers. You get a little bit of this, and little bit of that. And everything doesn't exactly fit together, but that's what you get.
Here are a few more pictures from my trip a couple of weeks ago.

This is downtown Atlanta.

Another view. I couldn't decide which picture looked better so I posted them both.

Air pollution, much?

I liked this view of downtown across the aisle as we landed.


I found a great link for people who have a hard time deciding where to eat. It's called the Wheel of Food, you put in your zip code and spin the wheel, and it tells you where to eat (or even to skip lunch!). It's genius, which means it's going in my sidebar.

Ever wanted to make your car talk, like Kit from Knight Rider? Now you can!

Today's birthdays are brought to you by Metamucil. Very strange group we have today, very strange.


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Thursday, February 15, 2007

In A Fog

A mighty fog descended upon the prairie on Monday night. I stepped outside to go for a walk and BLAMMO - it was very foggy. I wish I would have had more time to try and capture the look, but my early bedtime was fast-approaching.














P.S. - Damn I hate those orange sodium vapor lights. Yuck!

Today’s birthdays are a rather sad lot. In fact, I couldn't even find a sponsor!