Live From Mt. Washington

March Madness!

2009-03-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! (I was singing that, in case you couldn't tell from the sterile emotions that a keyboard elicits - yes, I was singing the Christmas tune). Woooooooooo! It's March! This is the best month of the year, as you would know if you read my rankings of the months, which was on this blog but I am too lazy to link to right now. Oh March 2009, how I love thee; let me count the ways!

1. The Weather - I'm no fan of winter. I don't like cold. I resolved back in May that I wouldn't allow the weather to dictate my happiness, and I've been pretty good on that, but still...nobody likes winter. You are lying if you say you do. March is when the pattern finally breaks; when we are reminded that there are things other than snow, frost, frozen nostrils, and seeing your breath. There are still remnants of the winter (see: this morning), but that is what makes March great: it has such a personality. It's a little like Jekyll and Hyde, which is how I see myself...which might help to explain why I feel its such a glorious month.

2. The Basketball - Oh, the basketball! It's such a simple game, and I know there are people out there who don't like it; I don't know how they don't like it, I just know they don't. Consider the basketball schedule for every week and weekend this March.

First week (Mar 2-8) - Final week of the regular season. Many things are decided here in the major conferences like the Big East. Where will my Panthers end up seeding-wise for the Big East tourney? As a fan, I have dual rooting interests here. I root for the regular season conference championship, obviously, because that's what you play for: championships. However, the #1 seed plays a noon game in the Big East tourney. I work...therefore, I don't mind if they get the #2 or #3 seed, which play at 7 and 9 pm respectively (but I'm getting ahead of myself). That is all to be decided this week, when the Panthers play top 15 Marquette and #1 UConn, both at home. Quick question: what has two thumbs and will be at both of these games? Answer: THIS GUY! (Quick realization: that doesn't work over the computer). Also in this first week of March, the smaller conferences begin their conference tournaments. These are the most fun. I have made it a life goal of mine to see all 31 conference tournaments in person. So far, I have seen I think 4: Big East, America East, Patriot League, Ohio Valley. I am going over to Robert Morris for a game or two of the Northeast Conference Tournament, which will be#5. These tournaments are so sweet because you see teams that are legitimately excited to win, and you always get teams that come from nowhere to steal an automatic bid from the NCAA tournament. When those teams do the March Madness dance on the court...I get tears.

Second week (Mar 9-15) - This is when the Big Boys come out to play. All of the major conference tournaments start between Tuesday and Thursday of this week. The basketball is at a major high. In fact, if I'm being honest, Championship Week is probably my favorite week of the year. So much at stake, so much good basketball. I really try not to leave my house during March. It's just a bad idea. The week culminates at 6pm on a Sunday (one of the only things ever known to make a Sunday night bearable): the NCAA selection show. Who's in? Who's out? Who are the one seeds? Who's playing where? It's probably the most fun administrative show that's ever been created. Literally the best hour of the year. EVERY YEAR.

Third week (Mar 16-22) - Now we get to the nitty gritty. Everybody is in a daze Sunday night, but Monday morning, everyone is back in form. Brackets are printed out en masse, and people start analyzing every matchup.

"Well, Cornell is a smart team...but they are playing the only other smart team in the tournament, Stanford. Plus playing in California is a bonus for the Cardinal; Cornell travels across the country."

"I like Long Beach as a sleeper. They can really shoot the three, and Vandy has trouble defending. I like the 49ers in the upset!"

"Memphis, I don't trust them as a #1 seed. I think they could lose to McNeese State!"

Seriously, from Sunday night until Thursday morning I will probably have 15 conversations and spend about 5 hours dissecting the field with friends like Keith, Colin, Greg, Chris, Luke, etc. This doesn't include the seemingly countless emails that will be sent. We will all make arguments for why we have X going to the Sweet 16 (and by X, I mean fill in the blank, not Xavier). Then, on Thursday, the fun starts. As two days go, Thursday and Friday of the tournament are unbelievable. I will always in my work life save two vacation days for these two days, because I just won't be able to work knowing that Coppin State is in the process of upsetting a 2 seed like South Carolina. I just can't do it. The first weekend of the NCAA tournament...continues the trend of the month.

Final week (Mar 23-29) - Now is when the big boys play, again. The Sweet 16 matchups pit great teams against each other, seeing which comes out on top. Hopefully this will be the year when my favorite team advances beyond this round.

If you couldn't tell, I ran out of energy talking about basketball there. It's mentally exhausting!

One more reason why I love March before I go:

3. Spring training - baseball starts, and I love baseball. In fact, it's hard for me to pick what I like more, basketball or baseball. I would guess I love whatever season it is more. Anyway, hope springs eternal in March for all teams, even the Pirates.

Well, that was an uneven analysis of why I love March. There are many other reasons, but I think this is enough! March Madness baby! Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The Calhoun Rant

2009-02-26T05:12:00.000-08:00

This is only semi-sports related. After his team's victory over South Florida last Saturday, UConn coach Jim Calhoun sat at his press conference, ready to ask questions. The first question came from a political activist acting as a reporter, and from there it got ugly. It began innocuously enough, with the guy asking about his salary. Calhoun attempted humor (he's a very caustic individual) by saying he's not giving a dime back and that he wants to retire someday. It quickly escalated, with the "reporter" talking about the budget crisis and Calhoun's high salary. After attempting humor again with his "I make a lot more than that" remark (that admittedly some could find off-putting), he became angry and started citing his statistics. The UConn men's basketball team makes the university $12million a year, according to Calhoun, and that's from where his salary is generated. It ended with him screaming at the guy to come back at him when he gets his facts straight. The "reporter" also angered the real reporters in the room by making a comment along the lines of "if you guys covered this, I wouldn't have to", for which he was roundly booed.

The fallout from this incident has been severe. He has been on every Sportscenter episode since, talking about the reaction to his comments. The governor of Connecticut spoke out and said that she is sure that Calhoun regrets the "embarrassing" incident. Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio have been discussing it all week. It reached its nadir for me this morning when I flipped on Good Morning America and it was the topic of discussion. Obviously, people are heated about this question.

So, I am jumping into the ring. It may or may not surprise you, but I side firmly with Jim Calhoun on this one. There are many problems with the "reporter" and his line of questioning. First of all was his timing. The press conference came about 15 minutes after the victory. This is no time to catch people in a trap, unless you are trying to set him up to look bad by catching him off guard. I think its important to note that Calhoun's victory over South Florida was the 799th of his career. With his win at Marquette last night, he became only the 7th coach in college basketball history with 800 career wins. It seems disrespectful to me to ask about his salary in wake of his momentous personal achievement.

Secondly is whether the question is right to ask at all. I will say this: I don't have a problem with the discussion taking place. Is $1.6 million (or more if you believe Calhoun) too much for a state employee to be making during a tight budget (not to mention a possible budget deficit)? Mike and Mike said that they had state workers from Connecticut calling in all week saying that they were being forced to take a reduction in salary, so why shouldn't he? This gets back to a pet peeve of mine with Americans. We have this tendency to want everybody to have it as bad as we have, when in my opinion we need to focus on getting everybody to have it as good as Calhoun has it. Why hate on someone who's worked hard and gotten to the pinnacle of his profession and is now being rewarded for it?

Lastly, there is the question of markets dictating the going rate. Obviously if Connecticut cut his salary, Calhoun could find approximately 324 schools that would fire their guy to hire him in a second. He's been loyal to UConn and built that program by himself, so it seems like he wouldn't do that. If he did, however? He'd be lambasted and hated in New England. That just doesn't seem right to me.

So, on this question, I fall decidedly into Camp Calhoun. I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but I think he's dead right about this. And, he speaks out on a lot of issues surrounding college athletics, and I think he's usually right. I just don't like his whiny press conferences after his teams get manhandled by my Panthers. Where do you fall on this issue?

Here's the link to the Youtube clip, if you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdz05ql-j_E

A New Pirate Generation

2009-02-25T04:52:00.001-08:00

So, I don't know if you know this, but in January I became a first time Pittsburgh Pirates season ticket holder. Sure, there were a few seasons (maybe 2 or 3) back around the turn of the century when my dad split a 40 game package with Shrec (that was just to ensure our seats at the newly built PNC Park). But I don't count that, because at that time, I went to those games on my dad's dime. This January, I made the decision to become a season ticket holder by myself and for myself.

I bought one seat. Left field bleachers, section 135, row B seat 17. I'm basically in the good part of left field, not down the line but not too much down the center; probably right where a good left fielder would normally position himself. Here's the kicker: I bought the full season plan. Yes, that's right, 81 games!

Now, the nice thing about the plan is that it's more like 81 tickets than 81 games. What do I mean by this? I mean that I have 81 tickets for people to go to games. I'm hoping to go to somewhere between 40-50 myself. For the games I don't go to, I can trade them in ahead of time and get another ticket to a certain game. So say Patty calls me up and wants to go to the game tomorrow. I can take my Sunday ticket (just as an example, but I probably don't plan on going to too many Sunday games) and trade it in for a ticket next to me, for my mother. It's really a first class operation - which lends credence to the fact that the Pirates are first class all the way, right up until the product they put onto the field.

So this past Saturday was the season ticket holder open house at the ballpark. I scheduled an appointment with my account rep (Kevin - a nice guy). I met him at 12:30 and he took me on a tour of the park. I went into the locker room and saw the weight room, batting cages, film room, etc. We went down the tunnel and up the stairs into the dugout. I stood on the dugout steps, looking out at the view of both the most beautiful ballpark and the most beautiful city in the country. I went to see my seats, which I knew were good, but it was cool just to be there anyway.

Kevin was telling me about all of the perks of being a season ticketholder. They will have a few battice practice sessions for us, so before games I'll go down into the batting cages and take some cuts against the machine (the machine knows every pitcher in the game and can pitch like it; same arm angles, same pitches, everything. I will stand in against a 98 MPH fastball from Randy Johnson, or maybe Mariano Rivera's devasting cutter). Then after the season, they have a "field day" for us, where we go out ONTO THE FIELD and take BP and shag some flies. My dad is very concerned about my performance on this day. I think he's ready with my medical insurance card and an ambulence - luckily AGH is a few blocks away.

Anyway, it really is a new Pirate generation for me. I've always been a fan but this year I am taking it to another extreme. I'll be looking for people to go to games with; let me know if you are interested!

My Pittsburgh Problem

2009-02-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I will respond to Blake's desire to have another blog from me. I've had a bunch in the hopper recently (like when I met the comic Larry Miller...)but I find that after spending 8 hours a day at work in front of a computer, the last thing I want to do when I get home is type more. I started a new shift at work this week, working from 8:30-4:30, so I have to catch the 7:27 bus to make it on time. This means that I'm at work between 7:45 and 8...so maybe I'll have time to blog in the mornings.

Anyway, I've been living on Mt. Washington for almost 8 months now; in fact, my lease runs out at the end of June at my current place. Recently I've been thinking of whether I want to move or stay where I am, and I'm thinking of moving for many reasons, the least of which is I can save some money. It's like an artificial raise; I pay X for my apartment, then I move somewhere that's, say, $50 cheaper a month. All of a sudden, I'm paying X-50 and saving $600/year...that's a raise! So this is one consideration. The most important consideration, though, is what is referenced ominously in the blog title. It's not what you think though. My Pittsburgh problem is that I love this city so much, and I love so many areas of it, and I think that so many places would be fun to live for various different reasons. So, when looking at apartments, I have a hard time deciding where I want to look and I end up looking at all of them. I could see myself living in at least 7 different Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Let's look at the list:

1. Mt. Washington - obviously my current place of residence. I love the commute from up here, at least to work, having the choice of a bus that is 20 yards from my door, or the incline. The views are great, and its centrally located - I can get to the airport, Monroeville, Gibsonia, Cranberry, and down 51 all pretty quickly. On the downside, it's a tough place to live in the snow when the roads get bad. Ultimately, if I stayed on Mt Washington, I think I'd strongly consider moving to the other side.

2. Northside - There are various neighborhoods over here that I would consider but I'll place them under the "northside" umbrella. I love this idea because it's walking distance to PNC Park (I'm a first time Pirates season ticket holder this year) and it could be walking distance to work as well, at least when its nice out. The bad part is that the Northside is maybe the most "dangerous" neighborhood I'm considering (dangerous for Pittsburgh, that is).

3. Southside - It's probably tied for the most expensive place that I'm looking. However, when I imagine city living, Carson Street is what I imagine. I think of waking up on Saturday mornings and walking down to the corner to get breakfast or coffee and a paper. I imagine going out on Friday night, being able to walk to bars and clubs, and being able to come and go as I please. I imagine being able to get all different types of ethnic foods in a matter of minutes. I love the Southside and would love to live here.

4. Squirrel Hill - The other expensive place I am looking at. Murray Avenue has the same sort of feel as Carson St, without all of the young people. Still, it's a cool neighborhood with many of the things I'm looking for. Downside is that I don't want to move to the east of downtown, it's by far the worst way to get where I need to go. Of course, I'd take the bus, but still...

5. Brookline - The "T" (subway) has a line through Brookline, which is one of the main reasons I like it. It has the feel of the suburbs while being in the city, which is a good and bad thing.

6. Beechview - Another neighborhood that has a "T" line running through it. That's really the only reason I'm considering it.

7. Bloomfield/Lawrenceville - While these are two distinct neighborhoods, I will condense them because they are beside each other. Lawrenceville has the reputation of being where all the artists are moving, so I'd like to stay away from there. But I love Bloomfield, Pittsburgh's Little Italy. It has a great "Carson St" street that runs through it, the section of Liberty Ave. When I originally thought of living in the city, Bloomfield is what I had my heart set on. I will continue to look here as one of my primary options.

So those are my choices right now. I have started the process. Any feedback? What am I forgetting to consider? I know one thing I didn't originally consider was the title of my blog... Josh in Brookline doesn't have the same ring. Anyway, I welcome any thoughts that you may have.

Super Steelers

2009-02-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

Well, in honor of our six time Super Bowl champs, I will offer six thoughts on the big game:

1. I am the original Santonio fan in Pittsburgh. Draft day 2006, I lived in Knoxville. I was watching while writing a paper, and the Giants were on the clock with the 25th pick. I called Keith and said "Dude, I have a feeling we're trading up here to take Santonio." As we were on the phone, Tags went to the podium and said, "With the 25th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Giants..." and I started to say the words with Tags..."trade the pick to the Steelers. The Steelers select..."and by now I'm shouting..."Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State". I was ecstatic. I hate Ohio State, but I loved this guy, and one thing said all I needed to know. They showed Santonio in his living room, and somebody there busted out a Terrible Towel and started waiving it, and he was genuinely thrilled to be a Stiller. He had a rough rookie year (remember when he fumbled punts seemingly every week?) but ended that year with a long TD catch to keep the Bengals out of the playoffs, and he's been pretty good ever since. Breakout star waiting to happen.

2. Ben is very, very, VERY underrated. People talk about his ability to keep plays alive, and he's fantastic at that. But he has become great in the pocket, making his reads, checking down when he has to. He hasn't even reached his prime yet.

3. I love Coach Mike. I was very skeptical at first, and I still don't think he's reached his potential as an X's and O's guy or a game manager. There were lots of mistakes in the game yesterday that a more seasoned guy I hope wouldn't make (the admission that he would take a safety scared me - that's the wrong call there). Still, he pushes the right buttons and guys respond to him. He seems to have a great relationship with Ben, and that's important. And it said it all when Willie complained about running, and Mike responded: "I walk past 5 Lombardi's, not 5 rushing titles." Eat it, Willie.

4. Larry Fitzgerald is a man among boys. He's my favorite player in the league, bar none. Of course, he starred collegiately at Pitt, and that's why I love him. I started loving the Cardinals when they drafted him, and then obviously the Cards became Pittsburgh West. He's still the best in my book, and it was a Steeler/Pitt fans dream yesterday with Larry having a huge game, but the Steelers still winning. I have to admit, I wasn't crushed when he scored to go ahead with 2:30 left in the game.

5. It's not enough to win a Super Bowl anymore. You have to do it in an historic way. The 2005 Steelers became the first 6 seed ever to win the game. This years' team has a few marks in history. First of all, they overcame the hardest schedule in league history, with opponents winning percentage just below 60%. Second, the defense was impenetrable for most of the year. They got All Pro seasons from Polamalu and Harrison, but other guys stepped up so well too. Woodley was a terror on the edge. Aaron Smith remains one of the most underrated DEs in the game. Casey is a huge bowling ball in the middle. Timmons, Farrior, and Foote held the middle down. However, the most important aspect to me this season was the coverage skills of the DBs. This was the best defensive backfield that the Steelers have had since 1992. They had legitimately 7 DBs that could cover (Ike, Deshea, McFadden, Willie Gay, Polamalu, Carter, Clark). That allowed LeBeau to sit back and let the 3 or 4 rushers do their job, which they were able to do a lot of the time. The third historical factor is in our QB. Ben will end up in the HOF if he continues this pace.

6. The Boss was good at halftime. Not nearly as good as Prince in the (purple!) rain in Miami in 2007. But Bruce was still good. I was hoping for Glory Days, it's my favorite Bruce song, probably because I remember it as a 7 yr old, and I was pumped when he and Little Stevie introduced it ("It's Boss time!"). Who could possibly play the halftime show next year? I have no idea.

Well, that's enough from me. What did you think of the Super Bowl?

Emerging from my January Coma

2009-01-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

So seriously people...to find out that people want me to blog, I have to log onto my mothers blog? I'm a "words of affirmation" type of love language person; I need to hear that I'm wanted in order to feel wanted.

So anyway, I hate this month, it's the worst month of the year, and all this snow has been pretty depressing. What has been going on this month while I've failed to blog?

1. Steelers - I was at the AFC Championship game, and it was a blast. One of the best moments at a sporting event that I can remember was when "Here We Go" was playing and 65,000 people in unison were singing "Pittsburgh's goin to da Super Bowl". You could even heard the Pixburgh accent in the chorus. It was awesome. And, I think I blacked out during the Polamalu interception. My buddy Colin went with me to the game, and when he intercepted it and crossed the endzone, Colin squeezed me so hard in a hug, and I had tears of joy streaming down my face...then I don't remember anything for about 40 seconds. What a moment!

2. Cavs game - I went with Dave, Keith, and Luke to the Cavs game the other night. The weather was frightful on the way home and it made for a bad commute. At Cavs games, the fans are so lame that they have to flash hated teams logos on the Jumbotron while the opposition is shooting free throws, in the hopes of getting the fans to boo. So they flash teams like Michigan, the Yankees and Red Sox, the Celtics and Pistons, and the Ravens and Steelers. They did the Steelers more often than most. So the last time they do it, with about 4 minutes left, it got real quiet, and I just shouted: "Here we go Steelers, Here we go!" I was immediately booed, and I got a couple of people who screamed an "f--- you!" to me from the section next to us. Everyone around us was laughing real hard though.

3. Idol - well, the auditions rounds have kind of sucked. I'm afraid that America might not have any talent that is unmined anymore. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I do love the Hollywood rounds; they start next week.

4. TV - so the sound on my TV stopped working and I took it to Best Buy to get fixed. They ship it out and I pick it up three weeks later (last night)...only to find that its not fixed! I took it back tonight, it will take another week or two before it's back. Argh!

5. Pitt hoops - thinking of the 'nova game is just going to make me angry. Jer and I went to Morgantown, first time I'd ever been there for a hoops game. It was sweet, we played well and killed them, and all those dumb WVU fans...well, they just looked dumb.

6. Bachelor - I like the way the show is shaping up. I think I favor Melissa. I'm still waiting for someone to nominate me for the Bachelor. My mom won't do it, and dates like the one that they had last week in the tent aren't going to make her nominating me any more likely. So if someone else wants to volunteer, let me know.

Fortunately, this month is almost over.

Favorite Things: American Idol Edition

2009-01-13T19:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the season 8 premiere just finished, and I have to admit, I will be hooked again to this show for at least the next 6 weeks or so. This favorite things edition precedes my favorite things about winter. You may ask this question: why? Well, I just can't come up with many things I like about winter. I mean, consider this: $200 gas bills to heat your apartment to 55 degrees, standing at the bus stop in 20 degrees, cold/flu season, cold floors with no socks in the morning, frozen nose hairs, having to warm up your car for 8 minutes...what is there to like? I suppose a few things. One of them is American Idol, which led me to this, the favorite things of Idol.

1. The auditions - I love the first few episodes because of the great mix of hysterical performers and good performers. There are certainly things you could get annoyed about, like how it seems the producers pick out their favorites and push them every year. Just let the cards fall! But, I like to see the start of the journey; therefore, I like the audition rounds.

2. Hollywood Week - this is the best part of the show. I love the drama that the pressure creates. I love the teenage girls that get into catfights because they are divas and prima donnas and they don't want other people screwing it up for them.

3. The Room Selection - I don't think they even did this last year, but by this I'm referring to the fact that they put Hollywooders into four hotel rooms and select entire rooms to continue on in the process. Who doesn't love to sit there and say, well this room is going home because of X, or that room...how did A and B end up in the same room?

4. Democracy - nobody can ever complain about who wins this contest, because you can influence it. OK, like most democracy, it's not pure; the producer problem discussed earlier comes to mind with this (they influence the "election" process, they are the media of the show). But, lots of people cast lots of votes for Idol; I am not ashamed to say that I have cast many votes before (usually for the cute girls).

5. The Sex Appeal - C'mon, we need more hot girls to look at every year. I need the sex appeal factor to be way up there this year. Need more Kellie Pickler's and fewer Gina Glocksen's.

6. Mike Slezak's reviews on EW.com - So Slezak reviews every show and he does a great job, DVR-ing, catching names and places, making sure to watch and re-watch...it's a great review. I don't have exactly the tastes that he has, but that's ok.

7. Elliott Yamin - still the best singer to be on the show since I've paid attention. I also was a big fan of Blake Lewis and his creativity.

8. The Opening - This...is American Idol. Classic. Gives me goosebumps, especially like tonight during the season opener.

9. Feel good stories - there are always people whose parents have died, or have cancer, or whatever else (kids involved is a plus). Tonight we saw the blind guy. Of course I'm rooting for Blind Guy; I love Blind Guy.

10. The Weirdos - For those who have ever been to a Curry family function, you'll understand. I like the confirmation that there are weirder people out there than my family, and I think this is universal. Like tonight, the Deep Voice Guy. High comedy at its finest.

11. Seacrest - My friend Colin swears he's gay; he points to tonight, when Bikini Girl wanted to make out with him and he was reticent. I think he's not gay, just very professional. He's a great host, I love his corny jokes, and I love his hilarious jokes. He gets good zingers in on Cowell too.

Well, those are some of my favorite things about the show. What are some of yours? Do you even watch?

Gran Torino and Assorted Notes

2009-01-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

So this morning I braved the elements to head down to the South Side Works to see the new Eastwood movie, Gran Torino. I've been looking forward to this movie for a couple of weeks; without further ado, my review:

It was astounding.

More? OK. Fantastic. Marvelous. Magnificent. Get the picture? Maybe the best movie I've seen in the theaters since The Last King of Scotland.

Clint Eastwood stars as a Korean War vet who's racist, anti-religion, old and stubborn, and he's just lost his wife, and you can see throughout the movie that she was really his world. He's a retired laborer in the Detroit Ford plant, and he lives in a neighborhood of Detroit that is becoming "overrun" with minorities in his opinion. His sons and their families are spoiled and embarrassing to him. He rejects the attempts of the local priest to discuss the death of his wife. He's alone in the world except for his dog Daisy and his '72 Gran Torino.

Living in this section of the city, he is confronted by his racist tendencies every day, sometimes often. What transpires through the movie is a changing of attitudes through a series of events. I think that this movie is what the stupid movie Crash was trying to be four years ago. You may recall Crash, the movie that Sandra Bullock told you determined whether you were racist yourself. It took a bunch of people of differing colors and ethnicities and made them interract with each other in insipid ways, and forced you to believe that this was possible, and said "racism is bad." Well, Gran Torino is a much more believable and relatable discussion of prejudices and self-exploration. It was just very well done. I would say that you need to see this movie right away.

A couple of other notes from the weekend:

1. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the #1 basketball team in the land, my Pitt Panthers! Sure, they'll lose a few games, probably won't win the National Championship this season, but it's a big step for us (it's the first time in school history). I can't wait to watch them take on the Johnnies tomorrow at noon as the top team in the land.

2. I have found out a few times recently the perils of living on Mt. Washington when it snows...

I think that's it. Go Steelers!

Resolutions for New Year

2009-01-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

So, this year I am making some New Years resolutions so that I can track myself on how successful I do regarding these.

1. Less fast food – I eat too much fast food. It’s unhealthy. I am resolving to eat fast food only once a week, if that. Fast food is defined as anything like Arby’s, Wendy’s, McDonalds, Sonic, etc. I don’t include places like Subway or Jimmy John’s, because otherwise I’d starve during the day at work.

2. No soda – Soda is expensive and bad for you, even when you drink diet soda almost exclusively, as I do. Instead I am drinking tea and water.

3. Working out – I’m currently in the process of looking for some exercise mechanism, like a treadmill or a punching bag. I am going to work out to lose some weight.

4. Hobbies – my new hobby is going to be writing a screenplay. I am going to get a rough draft written this year, with Keith, my writing partner. We have an idea, and I purchased software, so now we have to get going.

5. Church shopping – I am going to find a new church where I am comfortable in the next few months. I am wary of putting a timeline on it, because I don’t want to force myself anywhere. But my church search was lackadaisical in 2008; in 2009 it will be more focused.

6. Time in the Word – I will be spending more time reading the Bible this year. Also, I am going to make a concerted effort to read more books on theology this year. I am going to get into Christian Apologetics this year; it has long been an interest of mine.

These are my resolutions for the new year. Help me stay faithful to these! For example, if we are out to lunch somewhere (Mom), remind me that I don’t drink soda anymore!

Slumdog Millionaire

2008-12-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

So, I saw this movie Sunday afternoon, after the Steeler game. This movie has been hyped as the Oscar favorite for Best Picture, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

The movie is adapted from a novel written by an Indian author. It takes place in Mumbai, and it's basically built around a man's attempt at the Hindi verson of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He gets to the last question before the show runs out for the day, and they doubt that he would be able to answer 19 questions correctly before getting to the 20million rupee question, so they take him into custody for questioning, thinking he's cheating. The first 3/4 of the movie is spent telling his life story, and demonstrating how he knows all of these answers based on events in his life. The last quarter is when he attempts the final question and everything going down. (All of this still really hasn't ruined the plot for you).

I have to say, this movie reminds me a lot of the movie "Crash". It's probably better than Crash (I actually hated "Crash" - worst best picture winner of my lifetime, and that's an incredible feat to be worse than "Titanic"). It's just implausible to believe that 19 questions he's asked on a gameshow he knows because of events in his life. I've been delaying this post because I've been trying to think of an example of how to show this from my life, and I just can't because it's too stupid. For example, one of the questions he answers is: "What is in the right hand of the God Rama?" He knew this because of some event in his life. This would be like me going on "Millionaire" and being asked: "What are the four symbols in the CMA church's logo?" Obviously I'd be able to answer this because I have attended this denomination my whole life. Ask my Presbyterian friends, even someone like Dave, and the chances that they'd know this are slim, I think. (Answer: cross representing salvation, laver representing sanctification, pitcher representing physical healing, crown representing the Coming King; these are the four pillars upon which the CMA is built, to my knowledge).

Anyway, the movie is just a highly implausible love story but it is touching. This movie I wouldn't recommend either way. If you were going to see it, you should, but if you were undecided, you'd have to look elsewhere for advice.

Frost/Nixon

2008-12-27T08:28:00.000-08:00

Basically there are three movie seasons: summer movies, holiday movies, and everything else. Summer movies are the fun "popcorn" movies; they are blockbusters, usually action films or franchises that have a built in audience and make a lot of money. Holiday movies can be these blockbusters but also is the time where the arty Oscar films are released. That's why the holiday season is tied for my favorite movie season.

One of the Oscar-type films this season is called "Frost/Nixon". It's based on the play that has been running on Broadway for a couple of years now. The play is based on the series of interviews that was performed in 1977 between British talk show host David Frost and the disgraced 37th President of the US, Richard M. Nixon. Going deeper than just the interviews, the movie delves into the process of getting the interview set up, as well as the psyche of both Frost and Nixon, to show what each man had riding on these historic interviews. Here are my thoughts on this movie:

1. It's a fascinating subject. I think too often in movies, people just assume "Nixon" as a subject (as an example) and make a movie about him. I think I find that what makes movies and people more interesting are singular events that are told in great detail. That's what this movie is. Obviously we could see Oliver Stone's "Nixon" or watch something like "All the President's Men" to hear about Watergate. This movie is original in its singular focus.

2. Frank Langella plays Nixon. He is getting Oscar buzz for his role, and with good reason. He reprised the role that he played on Broadway, opposite Michael Sheen, who plays David Frost. Michael Sheen, it has to be noted, was excellent in "The Queen", which was a movie that was similar to this one, where it examined the nascent stages of Tony Blair's time as Prime Minister and his relationship with the Queen, which coincided with the death of Princess Diana. Both actors are brilliant in this movie. Langella gets to the psychology of Nixon with gusto. He nails his paranoia, his sixth sense of cheapness, his hatred of people, and his feeling of inferiority.

Well, really, those are my only thoughts on the movie. Go see it. But here are more holiday movie season thoughts:

3. I love going to the movies, but I really hate that most people don't know theater etiquette anymore. Here are a few hard and fast rules: (a) When you enter a theater, get a seat as far away from everyone else as possible. Do not sit directly behind someone. If you are sitting in the row behind them, sit a couple of seats to the right or left; (b) do not kick the seat in front of you. I repeat: DO NOT KICK THE SEAT IN FRONT OF YOU. If you are old enough to leave the house and go to the movies, you are old enough to mind your feet the entire time. There is nothing more annoying that having your seat kicked throughout an entire movie.

4. Here are other movies that I am looking forward to before the Oscars on February 22:
-The Wrester: Mickey Rourke is garnering a lot of Oscar buzz.
-Gran Torino: I'm not an Eastwood guy, but this movie looks thrilling.
-Rachel Getting Married: Anne Hathaway is getting major props for her role as a recovering addict.
-Slumdog Millionaire: Getting a lot of hype as the Best Picture.
-Doubt: an intriguing tale of racism in the Catholic church in the Bronx
-Revolutionary Road: Leo and Kate together for the first time since Titanic, which I refuse to see
-Ben Button: It might be too long though.

I may be forgetting some others. What are you looking forward to seeing?

Ten Years Ago Today

2008-12-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

It is with a heavy heart that I blog about this topic.

It's kind of cliched in our world; a senior in high school with lots of promise is tragically killed in some type of accident. Ten years ago today, December 23, 1998, this cliche came to life for my senior class. Our friend Jim Kennedy was killed in a car accident. Jim was in my class, we were seniors, and he was a great guy. He was popular, funny, sarcastic, friendly, and loyal. He was a star soccer player, becoming the school's alltime leader in assists.

He was someone who I had known since I was 9 years old; we played baseball together. When we were 10, my dad was the manager of our team. It was Dad's first year managing, and he didn't know too much about the players that were my age. I remember the night that he came home from the draft. He showed me the roster; one of the 10 year olds on our team was Jimmy. My dad recalled that when he drafted Jimmy, not knowing anything about him, another manager (Mr. Molnar) winced in agony; he was hoping to get Jimmy as a steal later in the draft.

I remember the events of December 23, 1998 very vividly. It was the last day of school before Christmas break, and it was a Wednesday. It was a half day of school. I was in the library during 9th period study hall with two friends, Joe Gramc and Justin Bonus. We were hanging out, counting the minutes until school would be left out. About 10 minutes before the day ended, Joe's older brother Matt came into the library with a grim look on his face and told Joe that he had to go. I didn't think too much about it at the time.

I went home from school, and I honestly don't remember who called me a few hours later. All I remember is that I called Bonus. He was taking a nap, and his mom answered the phone. I told her that she probably should wake Justin up for this. He came to the phone, and I broke the news to him: Jim had died in a car accident that morning. Justin was incredulous; I could hear the agony in his voice as he didn't want to believe it.

There was a big group grieving session at the house of Jim's girlfriend, Ali. She was in the car with him, and walked away; she was wearing a seatbelt, he was not. I can't remember who all was there; I just remember that it seemed like our entire class was there. We were grieving together.

Jim's viewing was on Saturday, which was the same day as our family Christmas party, which was at our house. I had to dress up and leave the family party early in order to see Jim in his wake. It was a horrible experience. His funeral was three days later. It was at Northway Christian Community, which is a huge church, and it was packed to the gills. I remember Meghan Ott singing "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLaughlin; to this day, I prefer not to listen to McLaughlin songs because they remind me of Jim's funeral. The pastor that day, Scott McCabe, told a story about Jim being at the Rams' hockey game the Sunday night just three days before his death. According to Pastor McCabe, he had a conversation with Jim about his faith, and Jim was saved that night - a clear sign of God's divine plan.

As a senior class, we grieved for most of the rest of the school year. There was a basketball tournament at the high school for the holidays the week of Christmas break. At the first game, we had a moment of silence for Jim. We also began the tradition that week of preserving Jim's parking space. He was particular about this space; parked there every day. Our class decided to save his space for the remainder of the year. We spray painted our farewell messages to him on this space, and for the rest of the year kept people from parking there. At the holiday basketball tournament, someone parked in his space, and about 30-40 students walked outside to physically move the car of the person parked in the space. They lifted it and moved it to another space (I was not involved, as I was the PA announcer for the tournament).

I remember that earlier that fall, I had gone to the football game at Hampton with Jim and a couple other friends. We were parked up by the high school, and walking to the football field, when some kids in a Mustang drove down the street. In my estimation, they were driving way too fast, and I yelled at them to let them know that. They stopped, and invited me to talk with them in not so many nice words. We were yelling at each other, and they wanted to fight. Jim stepped in, told them they were being stupid, and got them to get going on their way.

These are just a few of my memories of Jim. I can't believe that it was ten years ago today that he passed. Ten years ago today, we were sitting in the middle of a living room in Treesdale, consoling each other over the loss of one of our best friends. Ten years ago today that Jim's life was cut tragically short. The only thing that gives me comfort to this day is the fact that, someday, I will see him in Heaven.

Most Quotable Movies

2008-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

So, Keith and I were discussing this today. I was making the argument that "Dumb and Dumber" is the funniest movie of our generation, and I think this is true because of its endearing quotability. He disagrees; he says he doesn't find himself quoting this movie often. So, I've been pondering this, and hereby offer my list. One caveat: Seinfeld is the most quotable piece of media ever, but is not a movie, so it's not here obviously. In no particular order:

1. Dumb and Dumber - the story of Lloyd, Harry, and a briefcase is the funniest movie of my generation, I will always make this claim. How many quotable lines from this movie? Well, offhand: no food, no jobs; how do they know I got gas?; soup du jour; eat up and we'll tell ya; how's your burger; totally redeem yourself; big gulp; nice hooters...this is just off the top of my head. Now, of course, some of these would never have relevance in everyday life. I'm not going to say the "nice set of hooters you got there" to just anybody for any situation. But, a lot of these lines fit any situation. It's as close to a fact as you can get that this is the funniest movie of my lifetime.

2. Tommy Boy - this is the runner up to the funniest movie of my lifetime. Some great lines in this movie. A particular favorite of mine: "I've got a fridge. You can put six packs of b...soda in there, candy bars in the freezer...anything, you wanna keep cold, Tommy!"

3. Grease - probably the most quotable movie musical. Obviously I sing all of the songs, but some great lines in this movie exist. A personal favorite: "A hickie from Kenicke is like a Hallmark card. We care enough to send our very best." Or, how about Danny: "I didn't go with her, I just went with her."

4. Rounders - one of the most quotable non-dumb and dumber characters in John Malkovich's KGB. He uses a horrible Russian accent, but his quotes helped facilitate the poker boom that we've experienced in the last 10 years.

5. Karate Kid - my buddy Quattro's favorite movie. My favorite line? Probably: "Put him in a bodybag, yeah!"

6. Father of the Bride - this one would have been higher on the list, even though its not in any particular order, except that I just remembered it and I'm too lazy to go back and change the order. Some examples of my favorite lines: the exchange about the cake (a cake, Franc, is flour and water!); "I don't think you want the word 'pit' on a wedding invitation, George"; the George rant at the supermarket about wieners and buns; the opening monologue.

7. The Wedding Singer - full of 80s jokes, this movie has lots of great lines. "See, Billy Idol gets it!" "The best man! The better man!" Any Glen Guliya lines. A treasure trove of great quotable lines.

8. Home Alone - "Look what you did, you little jerk!" "You're what the French call 'les incompetents'!" "Yeah, we did, but it's all gone, so somebody's gonna have to barf it up!"

Well, this is my list for starters. What are your favorite lines from these movies? What other movies would you add to the list?

Favorite Things – Holiday Edition

2008-12-12T12:42:00.001-08:00

So, I can’t do favorite winter things yet, because it’s not winter until December 21 or so. That’s also the shortest day of the year, and one of my favorite, because the sun sets at approximately 2:30 pm. It’s like we are living in Alaska for a day!

So, here’s a list of my favorite holiday things. Feel free to blog about your own favorites!

1. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” – hands down, the best song of the holidays. I don’t officially consider it Christmas season until I hear this song. I love singing it, it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. She has such a great range (8 octaves!) and it really is in use on this song. A magical part of the Christmas season.

2. Christmas Eve service – as a child, this was one of the worst parts of the season. It just seemed like church would last forever (when it reality I don’t think it was ever more than 1.5 hours – we did have some interesting “special visitors” but that’s for another time). As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to have a better appreciation for what this service means. It is a favorite moment of mine when our church makes a circle around the sanctuary, lighting candles and singing “Silent Night”.

3. Family Christmas party – Mom’s side of the fam has a party on a Saturday before or after Christmas every year. The best part about this party is the “Card Game”. It is a simple game of deception. You need two decks of cards, 5-6 gifts/objects to “win”, and a memory. You hand out the cards to everybody, then call out the cards from the second deck. When your card is called, you select a prize. Then, once the prizes are all in circulation, you have to request the prize from another person. It leads to a lot of laughter when people are made to look stupid because they don’t remember who has the prize they requested. They all have specific names, like “green package with red bow” and if you don’t call it that, you are wrong and don’t get the prize. So yes, I love the card game.

4. Gift opening traditions – in our family, we open presents from the kids Christmas Eve and from Santa Christmas morning. It’s always fun to race home from church and get excited to open gifts. Then, we always beg (to this day, even!) to open more gifts until we are reminded that Santa hasn’t come yet (for the kids, of course).

5. Waking up early – I still, as a 27 year old, cannot sleep on Christmas Eve. It’s not as bad as it once was, but I wake up at 7 am. I’m like my father in this way; he and I are the ones that make everyone else get up early. This has caused a lot of consternation with Beth, because if you know her, she’s not really a “morning” person, at least not that early.

6. Old Videos – I remember when Dad and Mom used to videotape our opening of gifts. One of my favorite memories is when Jer was a young lad, maybe 3 or 4, and he would open a gift and scream (in his other-worldly low voice for a kid), “hey mom, I got this!”

7. Gifts gone awry – no, this does not refer to Moulin Rouge; instead, it revolves around my penchant for asking for things that I don’t really use much. Past items include a telescope and an acoustic guitar. I’m sure my family can chime in with other gifts that I have wasted.

8. Christmas cereals – when you grow up in a family with three kids, there are bound to be disagreements about stupid things. Two of our most vehement disagreements were over fast food (Jer always wanted McDonalds, I wanted Burger King) and cereal. As a treat, mom would buy each one of us a box of cereal that we wanted for Christmas. It stopped probably when I was in high school but it is a fond memory of mine.

9. Christmas music – I’ve already covered Mariah, but there are a plethora of other great songs that we hear for approximately 6 weeks a year, both secular and Christian. It was an even bigger joy to know that Jer enjoys Christmas music a lot.

10. New Years Day – New Years Eve is consistently the most disappointing day of the year (except for this year—Brut Sun Bowl!) but NYD is awesome. Memories of our family going to breakfast (not at Bob Evans) and then going to the mall are very fresh. Then we get home and watch football all day. One of my favorite traditions is ordering grilled cheese from Eat n Park at 9am on New Years Day.

Well, I originally intended this post to center on the whole holiday season, but was able to come up with a lot about Christmas exclusively! I love Thanksgiving as well, but I guess you’ll have to wait to hear about it until next year.

Catching Up

2008-12-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been gone from the blogging world for awhile. I spent last Wednesday and Thursday in Harrisburg, then was home Friday after work but went up to Grove City all day Saturday, then headed back to Harrisburg yesterday and got back today. For some reason, my internet wasn't working all weekend, but I fixed it today (and by "I fixed it", I mean that it came to work through its own volition). So, here are some thoughts:

1. I was in Harrisburg for staff meetings last week, then yesterday had to go back for our State Nurses 2nd step grievance meetings. In our state contract, the nurses file grievances at their facility, and if it is denied, they can appeal to the 2nd step procedure. The 2nd step meetings are every 3 months, and there is a panel of 3 management and 3 union people listening to the cases. I acted as a sort of attorney for the three cases. I was able to settle all three, I am happy with 2 of the settlements for sure. It was a good experience and I will go back in February.

2. It's a good time to be a Pittsburgh sports fan. The Steelers are playing well, Pitt football is going to the prestigious Sun Bowl, and the Pitt hoops team is #3 in the nation. I can't help but feel that this won't be complete until the Pirates contend for their division...

3. OK, I'll stop dreaming now.

4. Tomorrow I am attending a meeting in Oakland of people who are trying to start up the Pittsburgh chapter of PA Pro Life. I will let you know how it goes.

5. These gas prices are great! It is nice to fill up an empty tank and not spend $20. However, gas is about $.35 cheaper in Carlisle than Pittsburgh. How is this possible?

6. I will be posting my Favorite Things: Holiday Edition pretty soon. Look for it!

7. Small group is venturing down to the Mount next Monday night! I need to do some cleaning before then, although I generally keep a pretty clean apartment.

8. Gossip Girl is the best show on TV right now. And it stinks that Dirty Sexy Money's best episode aired the week after it was announced that it was canceled.

9. Beth only skims my blog. She probably won't even see this!

10. Well, that's about all I have!

Love these easy posts!

2008-11-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

1) Song that encourages you?
Getting Better - the Beatles

2) Song that you'd encourage others with?
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship

3) Song that always makes you smile/happy?
Kiss by Prince - it's my favorite song

4) Song that always makes you cry/sad?
Purple Rain - Prince; it's just such a beautiful song

5) Song when you're angry?
Probably Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine, or other Rage songs

6) Song when you're frustrated?
Mr. Brownstone - OK, not seriously (it's a song about heroin for those who don't know)

7) Break up song?
I'll steal from Beth on Since U Been Gone; that song still rocks!
Also, Tuesday Heartbreak by Stevie Wonder and I Used to Love Her by GnR

8) Song that describes your love life right now?
The Waiting is the Hardest Part by Tom Petty

9) First dance song (does this mean slow or fast?)
Hey Macarena - Los Del Rio (obv fast)
Slow - Let's Stay Together (Al Green) or Adore (Prince)

10) Mother-son dance song?
My Girl - Temptations

11) Song that best describes your life in general right now?
Today Was a Good Day - Ice Cube

12) Contemplative song?
Against the Wind - Bob Seger (I don't appreciate songwriting)

13) Writing song?
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

14) Dance song?
well, Electric Slide, Chicken Dance, and the Macarena

15) Road trip song?
Just Like Heaven - The Cure

16) Most meaningful song?
Meaningful to what? there are lots of songs that have lots of meanings

17) Most memorable song?
I can't name just one or ten

18) If you play an instrument or sing, song you were most proud of learning?
Piano Man on the Harmonica

19) Favorite worship song?
One Name
Enough by Jeremy Camp

20) Song you think about when you think of family?
Beth - Ghetto Superstar
Jer - probably Lord Tariq and Peter Guns
Mom - My Girl, It's My Party, Leader of the Pack
Dad - anything where you can substitute our names in, e.g. I Fought the Law (ex. "The Grubbs' fought the school and the Grubbs won!")

21) Song you think about when you think of friends?
In no particular friend order:
Jarv - very many, probably Big Poppa and Yesterdays mostly
Jig - Mid the Pines (the Grove City College alma mater), I Wanna Be Ur Lover
Weng - AC/DC like Thunderstruck
Greg - I Jus' Wanna Luv Ya (Jay Z)
Quattro - Bruckner's 9th
Kif - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down (when we karaoke'd this song...he was Ma$e, I was Puffy)
Luke - Jump Around
Colin - Say It Right (Nelly Furtado)
Tim - Return of the Mack, anything Weird Al (seriously Tim is the biggest Weird Al fan in the world, although he didn't call off sick from work to go to his show in Gatlinburg!)
Moz - Lose Yourself

Stolen from Jaim'

2008-11-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

Although I am adding my own comments to some (what I've done is bolded):

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (does Disney World count? I say yes).
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (this was in Jamaica, although we were in the Caribbean and then took our trunks off. But I'm counting it.)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (both Kickball and IM Softball)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Il regazzo mangio le pizza!)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke (obviously I'm a star)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (assuming McDonalds counts)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (also in Jamaica plus probably other places)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (well only the second level, but I'm counting it because the top was closed)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (three words - Grubbs Detective Agency)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I guess I'd have to have a daughter to do this?)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (can't, I'm iron deficient, or at least my mom is and I think I am by extension)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Santa's going to bring me a...GI JOE!)
85. Read the entire Bible (shame, thou name is Josh)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (and a hornet--7 times--at church!)
100. Read an entire book in one day

Some of these things, frankly, I do not want to do.

Celebrating Chinese Democracy!

2008-11-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

No, not the country, but the album! This album has been in one of the longest gestation periods known to man. It has been in the works for 15 years! Think back to 1993. Guns n Roses were the biggest band in the world, Appetite for Destruction ruled the late 80s, they had put out Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, which were epic masterpieces. Then...nothing. For a long time. Axl goes into hiding. Words leaks that he's working on a new masterpiece, called Chinese Democracy. He fires most of the original Guns members, hires new people, fires them, becomes more of a recluse. Eventually he returns, overweight, at the 2001 MTV VMAs. He has trouble making it around the stage because he's out of shape. That same year, Michael Jackson's long awaited studio album Invincible came out, leaving Axl as the sole writer of the world's most anticipated album. There are rumours that Chinese Democracy will come out in 2002, then again in 2004, and 2005. When there were rumours of it coming out this year, it was too hard to believe. Then, in late September, they announced that Chinese Democracy would indeed be coming out, and it came out today, November 23, 2008, 15 years to the day that Use Your Illusion 2 came out.

Sebastian Bach (of 80s hair band Skid Row) called the tracks that Axl had written for this album "f---ing epic" a few years ago. After listening to the album all afternoon, I have to concur. This is just a fabulous record. The title track is menacing, there are at least two November Rain style ballads in Catcher in the Rye and Street of Dreams, the guitars are classic soaring GnR, and Axl's trademark wail is still in full force. While I'm disappointed that years of Chinese Democracy jokes will now be forgotten (Josh, will you take the trash out? Sure, once Chinese Democracy comes out!), it surely was worth the wait.

Other news and notes:

1. Justin Timberlake is the man. He is so prolific. His latest endeavor was to take over SNL when Paul Rudd hosted last week. He is a staple of SNL, whether it's the Color Me Badd style music videos, or the Barry Gibb talk show, or his impressions that he does so well. He's the best guest host, the best guest musician, and a guy who generally takes himself lightly at all times. That is the key to being a good SNL host. Mark me down as a Timberlake fan.

2. I finally talked to the girl on the bus last Friday afternoon; of course, this was after I sat next to her on the morning bus and didn't say a word to her. I asked her her name (Mandy) and told her that she had a beautiful smile, which of course went over real well (but it is the truth). I was going to leave the ball in her court, and a minute later she asked me about where I work and we engaged in a conversation while the bus went up the mountain. We'll see if she remembers my name tomorrow.

3. I also had a date on Friday night. This girl's name is Melissa, she lives in Washington, PA. She's a teacher (as Jer noted, a good wife job). We hit it off really well. We went to Buca di Beppo in Robinson, and sat there and talked for three hours. Since it's a family style restaurant, we shared the salmon (bonus, she likes salmon!). It went well enough that I have scored a second date; we're going out Wednesday night. I have a few ideas what I'd like to do; dinner and a movie (always a classic), maybe ice skating at PPG Place, maybe bowling...I'm soliciting any other ideas that people have.

Well, that's about it for me.

I Love Me Some Me!

2008-11-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

So, I figured I would do this as well. I will bare my soul to yinz.

1.. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I think I was named after the son of the pastor that married mom and dad. Is this right?
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Well, I usually cry at stupid points during movies and tv shows.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
my handwriting is wonderful if I take my time
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
chicken breast, unless bacon counts
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
nah
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
probably. I like sports, and I like guys that like sports, so I would like me
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
yes
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
yes, i really want to bungee jump
10. WHAT IS YOUR favorite CEREAL?
probably cinnamon toast crunch but I like a lot of cereals
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
nah
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
no
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
I'm not really an ice cream person; something peanut buttery?
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE
dudes, probably nothing, chicks, their smile
15. RED OR PINK?
pink...errr, ummm...
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I have a big mouth and it gets me in trouble
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
my grandmother Carolyn
18. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
socks--black
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
red grapes
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW ?
well, in my CD player is Futuresex/Lovesounds
21.IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
vegas gold baby!
22. FAVORITE SMELLS?
freshly cut grass, vanilla, clean linens
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Jer via text
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Pitt Basketball or the Pirates
25. HAIR COLOR?
dark brown, almost black
26. EYE COLOR?
blue
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yes
28. FAVORITE FOOD?
Green peppers, peaches, pineapple
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
there is a time and place for both
30. LAST MOVIE WATCHED?
Stranger than Fiction
31 WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Orange (Vols sweatshirt)
32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer
33. HUGS OR KISSES?
nah
34. FAVORITE DESSERT?
dutch apple pie with caramel sauce
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
just finished a Feinstein book, trying once again to read Moby Dick but I'm never successful, and people made me read "The Shack"
37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I have a regular schedule; last night was 90210, the new one. I also watched a DVR'd Gossip Girl.
38. FAVORITE SOUND?
Prince
39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
There is no question it's the Beatles
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Paris
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
My mom says I'm a catch.

Considering the 44th American Presidency

2008-11-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

So, this is question that I've been pondering recently. I know I will be able to give this President-elect a chance at governing. The question is, what does he have to accomplish in his (first) four years in order for me to consider his administration a success. I will choose three things that I want to be done:

1. Getting us out of Iraq - I'm not anti-war, and I will admit that I was for this war at the beginning. However, the conduct of the war has been embarrassing; it's the overriding reason that this current President is hated as much as he is. We need to get out of Iraq; there really isn't debate about this. Now, of course we want to "win", although I'm not sure how that's measured. Anyway, in four years we need to be out of Iraq and the world needs to be a safer place. President-elect Obama originally planned on having our troops pulled in 16 months; I'll give him 48.

2. Health coverage for all - another reason that he was successful in beating John McCain was because of his willingness to discuss the horrible situation our healthcare industry is in. He wants to nationalize insurance coverage, which to me is different than socializing medicine. Nationalizing coverage means that every citizen will be enrolled in some type of insurance program. If you get it through work, great! Not much will change. If you don't, you can get it through the government. The beauty of a government run system is twofold: it cuts down on the overhead and red-tape that exists in the current private insurance system, and it eliminates the "pre-existing condition" that keeps many from receiving the care that they need. Isn't it strange that a government run health insurance program would cut down on red tape? It's true, though you conservatives may not want to believe it. Do some real research about the situation in Canada, and you will see this as one conclusion that can be drawn about a nationalized insurance system.

3. Expansion of the middle class - This is a catchall that encompasses everything that needs to be done to grow the middle class. Healthcare is a part of this, as is better energy, lower taxes on the middle class, more fairness in the union election process, and many other issues. The middle class has been shrinking and struggling for a long time in the U.S., through both Democratic and Republican presidents. It's time that the middle class started to be the focus of the White House and Congress. I have hope that this will happen under this administration.

So, those are my three things. Now, I will open it up to you to list the three things that you'd like to see this President do in order to be successful in your mind. One caveat, there can be no discussion of the life issue. He's not on our side on the issue of life, and we know this. Broaden your mind to get past this. Coming later this week, I am going to post an outline of my perception of where the life movement needs to head during the next four years with what will be a hostile administration to our cause. For now, consider this question without the issue of life in its context.

Too much rapid posting, I know...

2008-11-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

but, I had to blog about this latest news. Kelly Clarkson has finished her 4th album, the new single will be out in either December or January, and Kelly has her own blog. I am going to add the link to the side of the page (btw if anyone else wants me to add their blog over there, just ask...I didn't want to assume people wanted to be linked, but if you do I will put it there). Anyway, in one of her blogs, Kelly reveals that she is reading "The Shack"! If she hates it like I did, then forget about the girl on the bus...Kelly and I are meant to be!

Girl on the Bus

2008-11-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

The girl on the bus has not been on the bus in the morning since I saw her on it in the afternoon last week. Perhaps I should clarify this situation a bit, because my loyal readers are maybe not understanding the situation fully. Over the summer, she was on the bus every morning, as was I. Then, one day the bus didn't come, so I took the Duquesne Incline and enjoyed it so much that I did that for about 10 weeks straight. The day after Election Day, I was scheduled to leave a little early, so I did leave at 4:30. The 43E (Mt Wash Express) leaves 6th and Smithfield at 4:38. So I got on, and she was on that bus (I had never seen her on the afternoon 43E). I have woken up each morning since, hoping that she'd be on the morning bus that she used to be on over the summer, to no avail. Six mornings in a row I've woken up at 7am and boarded the 7:25 bus. All I do is shower, brush teeth, and dress. No frills. I like it. However, she has not been on the bus since that fateful day last week. So please do not think that I am not going to attempt to talk to her, which seems to be the assumption made in the avalanche of comments I have received in the past few days.

Mission: Obsession

2008-11-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

So, if you happen to be a college football fan, you may know that Texas Tech is in the top 2 in the country. What you may not know is that their head coach, Mike Leach, is certafiably eccentric, and its great! He has given me the desire to try what he does.

Every year, he picks one topic. That topic is the topic that he reads about and obsesses over all year. One year, he chose to obsess over pirates (swashbucklers). It became a lifelong obsession of his. He has delivered a 3 hour lecture on pirates and how they band together to his football team. He has an extensive collection of pirate flags and other paraphenalia. He loves pirates.

Anyway, I want to do this. Starting in January 09, I will pick something to obsess over and learn everything possible about. The only books I read in 09 will be about this topic. So why am I blogging about this? I want to ask for your help in choosing a subject. Give me some ideas! What can I obsess about? A few things that are off limits: sports, American politics...that's about it. Everything else is fair game. I'm thinking something along the lines of: poetry from a certain era, or some type of classical music, maybe architecture, maybe a war, maybe a civilization (like the Ottomans), maybe the history of the Roman Catholic papacy, maybe the Reformation...there are so many options!

What do you think I should obsess over in 2009?

A Debate Considered

2008-11-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

This is my 50th post, and what better way to celebrate than with a debate.

Point - I, as a single guy, hate when girls wear a ring on their wedding ring finger. I guess I can't tell between married girls and single girls if it's a diamond, but that's the genesis of the problem. There is a rule for noble men that says that you don't think about dating girls with a ring on this finger. That makes sense, right? Well, then, girls need to stop wearing anything on this finger unless they are engaged or married. There is a girl on the bus that I'd like to talk to, but she wears a black stone on this finger. Is she engaged? Is she poor? I have no idea. All because of this ring, I feel like I shouldn't talk to her. What if they are some weird couple that doesn't believe in diamonds and wears something different? How would I know that I'm violating the man code? I wouldn't, and that's a problem.

Counterpoint - Jaime argues that there are lots of creepy guys out there. Girls wear a ring on that finger to keep the creeps away.

Point - I say no. Creepy guys are more likely to not be worried if you are engaged or married. You need to keep that finger bare so the good guys know if you are available!

Counterpoint - I don't know what she would say to that.

Analysis - I am right.

A Blog About Election Results (No question mark)

2008-11-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

Well, this long and arduous process known as the American presidential election is finally behind us. Congrats to President-elect Obama; this was a truly historical election and it speaks a lot about our country that so many people came together over our first minority President. Here are some quick thoughts about the election that I have:

1. This is the time, whether you voted for Obama or not, to stand behind him. I did not vote for him (it was a protest vote) but I am now proud to call him my president. He deserves a chance to govern, and hopefully he will do this from the middle. I think it's also important that Republicans do not act like he owes them or has to cater to them now that the election is over. This is how Democrats felt in 2004 and it really annoyed me. You won an election; you get to work on your ideas.

2. The Republican campaign of John McCain failed because it was never about ideas. It was about personalities and attacks. Example: McCain had a genuinely interesting idea about health care. Would it work? Maybe, maybe not. But it was something he needed to explain and debate. Illegal immigration - get out there and talk about the ways in which we can ensure the rights of these workers in our country! Social Security is about to fail in America; it will start drawing from the trust fund it set up in something like 2017, and it won't be long before it is bankrupt. Discuss ways in which we can either fortify this system or move away from it! Instead of talking about "ensuring the right to a private ballot in a union election", talk about ways in which you could amend labor law to negate the extremely unfair advantage given to employers in a union election (I can talk about this in depth if you are interested). These ideas never materialized. Instead, it was "I'll cut taxes for everybody" and "I'm the guy you want in charge of the military". People didn't buy this.

3. One more thing about this: McCain was a bad candidate. The party with the better candidate wins. End of story. For examples, see Al Gore, John Kerry, Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole...and those are just from my lifetime.

4. One thing to watch is the composition of the federal judiciary now that the White House is switching parties. Under Bush, Democrats filibustered many judges. McCain was part of the Republican group that felt this was wrong, and he joined the "gang of 14" - 7 D's and 7 R's - to get votes on the floor for judges. Now that there are only around 41-43 R's in the Senate, it will only take a few of them to join to break a filibuster on judges. Will McCain become the 60th cloture vote? An interesting position for him.

5. Sarah Palin has got to run for Ted Stevens Senate seat in the special election, doesn't she? Imagine her filibustering on the Senate floor! Maybe she'd do her Tina Fey impression?

6. The apparent thing about this contest was that it is way too long. There needs to be a law on the books about how the presidential process works. The money spent on this campaign is disgusting ($5.3 billion!). My proposal: allow candidates to file and start fundraising on Jan. 1 of the election year (2012 in this case). Have a national primary - maybe April 1, or somewhere in there. Allow every state an equal voice in the primary process, which doesn't happen now. After the primary, fundraising and campaigning allowed with restrictions for two months. On June 1st, we swing into full campaign mode. Vice Presidential candidates must be chosen within a 6 week window from June 1 to July 15. Conventions in August. Boom! You've cut at least 10 months out of the process. And I wouldn't have a problem with moving these timelines back.

7. One thing this election crystallized for me is how important the sanctity of life really is to me. I am going to join the Allegheny County chapter of the PA Pro-Life group. They have a chapter in the North Hills, one in the South Hills, and are trying to start one downtown. A quote that they have on their website really symbolized the way I feel about this. It was something to the effect of this: "When a fireman comes to a burning house, I don't care about his tax policy, his stance on Social Security, or whether he wants to deny equal rights to gays. All I care about is that he saves mother and child." We can't worry about anything else if we don't protect the innocent children that are slaughtered selfishly every year. If you are interested in joining me and my mom in this endeavor, let us know!

8. Reports that Rahm Emanuel has been chosen to be Obama's Chief of Staff are a little troubling. He's a fellow Chicagoan (cronyism!) and he has served in the Clinton White House (change??). He's also highly partisan (a uniter??) who once reportedly told Republicans that they could "f--- themselves". It's a bad foot to start on, in my opinion, for this President.

That seems like enough election analysis from me.

A Quick Story

2008-11-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

This story is in three stages:

1. Maybe 6 weeks ago, our family went to Cleveland to visit Aunt Joyce. She is great and we try to get out there and visit her as often as the 5 of us can get together. It's an easy trip, it's family bonding...it is a solid endeavor. So, we were going to Cleveland and we took two cars (I can't remember why). Jer, Mom, and I were in my car, and we're driving along, listening to the radio and singing. All of a sudden, a Tom Petty song comes on, with a lot of harmonica parts, and I pulled out my harmonica (out of the glove compartment) and started playing along. For some reason, Mom and Jer lost it, they were laughing very hard.

2. At small group a few weeks later, this story is brought up, and everybody laughs at me. I still don't understand how this is so funny.

3. This weekend, I drove down to Knoxville. Last week I had taken my harmonica out of my car and put it in my pocket to take it into small group. So, I forgot to put it in my car. Then, when I was driving to Knoxville, there were at least 3 times that I reached for the harmonica...only to find that it was not there. Disappointing.

That is all.

Quick Thoughts

2008-10-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in awhile and don't have much time, so a few quick thoughts:

1. I'm really glad that Election Day is just 6 days away. I haven't posted my endorsement yet (I know, I'll probably be the last major figure in the U.S. to endorse a candidate) but I plan on doing that on Monday. I'm still undecided as of now.

2. My mom, trying to convince me to vote for McCain, says "scissors" any time that I say anything to her about the election. "Scissors" as in the Born Alive Infant Protection Act (or whatever it's called) and how they kill these babies. As in, a vote for Obama is a vote for this act. I'm not going to lie, it's getting annoying.

3. HIPAA - the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - (not HIPPA as so many people think) and specifically the "privacy rule" - has to be the most ill-conceived piece of unimportant legislation maybe in the history of this country. Nobody has any idea what its intent is, but anytime somebody wants to get a hospital, doctor, workplace, or worker in trouble, invariably they shout about supposed (and false) HIPAA violations.

4. Baseball postseason has been a little dull; c'mon, Rays, we need one series to last more than 5 games!

5. I'm still really depressed about the Pitt loss to (sigh) Rutgers.

6. I would be remiss if I didn't welcome into the world my first 2nd cousin on dad's side of the family. Welcome Jacob Michael Burns! Congrats to Grandpa Grubbs who is a first time Great Grandfather (although a longtime great Grandfather - that was way too easy), to Aunt Carol and Uncle Mike on their first grandchild, and specifically to Chad and Charissa. Congrats!

My Love Letter to Kelly Clarkson

2008-10-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

Oh Kelly,

You are the one that I want. You are perfect in every way; even perfect in your imperfections. I love you as a blonde, I love you as a brunette. I love you singing r&b, I love you singing harder types of rock. You have a wonderfully snarky sense of humor, on exhibit every time that I've seen you perform. You have the "joie de vivre" that I am searching for.

I am the guy for you. You are successful, and I have no ego, so I will be able to handle that. I will do the things around the house for which you don't have the time. I will accompany on your tours and take care of whatever you need me to do.

In other words, you complete me. If I had just 15 minutes to talk to you, I am sure that I could convince you of this.

Signed,

The Future Mr. Kelly Clarkson

*off to my 5 year college reunion today! Crazy!

A Revelation at Work!

2008-10-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

So, I haven't posted about my job. I've been there for just over 5 months now. It's good, sometimes stressful, sometimes frustrating. I work closely with three other people; the four of us have desks in a room together, and we are the union's "resource center".

So anyway, our workload is directly correlated to the number of people calling. Sometimes it gets slow, so we get to talking about stuff. And yesterday, the one male coworker, Chris, said something that I've been saying for years now. Basically, both of us are sick of this whole "breakfast for dinner" movement. Instead, we want "dinner for breakfast".

I never thought I'd meet someone else who wants this. Ask anyone who knows me well and has gone to IHOP or Eat 'n' Park for breakfast with me. I am just as liable to order a grilled cheese sandwich at 7 am as I am a stack of pancakes.

So this was a bonding moment for Chris and I!

Future Wife Trait #14 - Appreciation of Pittsburgh

2008-10-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

This is an important one to me. The city of Pittsburgh is such a great place. It is so unique in so many ways. Think about the ways in which it is great. It has such a awe-inspiring natural beauty with the mountains and the rivers. It has great transportations options with all of the riverboats and the inclines, plus more traditional buses and something resembling a subway. It has a multitude of ethnic neighborhoods, each with its own character and personality. The architecture is top-notch, with great downtown skyscrapers like PPG Place and Fifth Avenue Place, and churches like Heinz Chapel in Oakland. Quality of life ranks among the best in the nation. It has a great sporting tradition, with the Steelers, Pirates, Pens, and good college sports. It has many things that anyone would want in their city.

There are some people who "get" this, and some who don't. And to be honest, I think there are many more females who don't get it. There are some things about Pittsburgh that people may have problems with. The weather is variable, and the sun sometimes doesn't come out for days at a time. It's way behind the times; there isn't a post office downtown where you can buy stamps in a machine with a debit card! Even Knoxville has that. Fashions are decidedly 80s. If you are a female who is interested in the latest trends, you won't find them walking down East Carson St.

So, my future wife has to understand "the majesty that is the city of Pittsburgh" (a quote that can be attributed to me, circa 2001). She doesn't have to want to live here forever; I'm not sure I want to either. But she has to inherently "get" this city; if she doesn't, she can take the "T" all the way to South Hills Village as far as I'm concerned.

Future Wife Trait # 92

2008-10-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in awhile, and I thought I needed to say something, since that's what the people (a.k.a. Beth) want. I thought I'd give you another wife trait, and also let you know that I am prepping a big post on my presidential vote.

Wife trait #92 - The ability to iron clothes

I can't iron for the life of me. I can't even say iron. I'm from Pittsburgh, we don't say it right, we say it "arn". Anyway, I love to do things around the house. I love cooking and baking, especially desserts but I can make dinners with the best of the non-professional chef males. I get on cleaning binges every week, dusting and sweeping and polishing, etc. Doing laundry and dishes gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

The one thing I cannot do is iron clothes. I have tried everything, to no avail. Now I have to resort to getting my clothes out of the dryer immediately when they are finished and hanging them up. This leads to hot buttons that burn when you touch them. I've tried the spray stuff that takes wrinkles out; it doesn't for me. I've tried actually ironing, and I suck at it. Basically, I've gone around my adult life (when I've been away from my mom's help) looking like a rumpled mess. "Nothing stays wrinkled" - this is an axiom relayed by my cousin Frank. Well...it stays wrinkled when I'm wearing it.

So, if you are gonna suggest a girl for me to go out with, take a look at her pants and see if they are wrinkled. If they are...NEXT!

My Favorite Things: Fall Edition

2008-09-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sitting at a bar in the San Diego International Airport. I am on my way home; although my flight doesn't get in Pittsburgh until 9:30 tonight (I fly through San Fran). Being in the perpetual summer weather of SoCal, it has made me appreciate fall (as if I didn't already). That, plus being on the precipice of the second best month of the year (see below)...well, I thought it was time to reveal my favorite things of the fall.

1. Fall weather - the weather and I are a good match. While I love it hot, I love it cool too (not cold, mind you). October weather is fantastic. I love stepping out of the house and feeling totally comfortable in a hooded sweatshirt.

2. Fall smells - bonfires, apple cider, just the general smell you get while walking outside. It's a little bit of freshly cut grass but more with the bonfires.

3. Fall baseball - this is thoroughly mined territory for my readers and me. I love baseball, I love the Pirates, fall baseball and the Pirates haven't gone together for 16 years now. But it is still magical to see the passion and the fire in these games. I long for the days when it will matter in Pittsburgh again; this is a good fix until it does. Plus, the drama of ending a game with one swing is just something that other sports cannot match.

4. High school football - wearing a hoodie, driving to the stadium with the sun going down, high school bands...it's a great tradition in Western PA. High school football brings back so many memories for me (remember, I was voted the class of '99's "Rams biggest fan"!). Even when I don't know the participants, it brings a rush to watch kids play football on Friday nights.

5. College football Saturdays - High hopes for Pitt this year, so there is more stress involved. But I love waking up, watching GameDay, then scanning to see what the best games of the day are.

6. NFL - Steelers. Need I say more?

7. Holiday season - the holiday season begins in earnest around Halloween.

8. Bonfires - I hit my pyro phase much later than most boys/men. I love fire, even at the age of 27 (I was never fascinated by it as a child, being so practical and cautious as to stay away for fear of my safety). Bonfires are obviously the most healthy, large-scale manifestation of fire in which one can partake. So I'll take it.

9. Darkness - I love when it's dark at 5pm! I may be the only person in the world. But it's such a peace to be out in the darkness. Added bonus for starry nights in any season.

10. College hoops - Pitt basketball being my 1A love to the Bucs, this needs to explanation. Obviously I count on this team to carry me through the dregs of post-holiday winter, but it's a fun appetizer for October through December.

11. Fall movies - after the summer movie season, full of popcorn movies, September is really lame. Then, October brings about the holiday movie season, which extends into January sometimes. Fall movies are great. Lots of arty movies, movies that directors and studios think deserve Oscar consideration. Lots of interesting fare, and this fall is no different.

Well, that's just a sampling of the reasons that I love fall. It's probably my favorite season! Even if its not yours, I wonder what you love about the season. Why don't you tell me?!?

Ranking the Months

2008-09-29T07:09:00.001-07:00

Well, it's just after 7 am here in San Diego, but I've been up since 5:30 or so. I can't get used to the time thing in 2 days. I've been having a great time in SoCal, and will blog extensively about it in the future. But, I was thinking about this at the Angels game yesterday, so I wanted to do it. Ranking the months; which months are best and worst, in my opinion? Here you go:

12. January - not much beside bowl games and playoff football. Kind of a barren month that extends into...

11. February - my birth month, but that is all that makes it different (and a bit better) than the preceding month.

10. June - U.S. Open (golf), baseball not usually over for the Bucs fans...this month is grasping.

9. May - I don't think there is anything spectacular about this month. Horse racing's first two legs of the Triple Crown? I mean, I watch and I'm a fan, but not enough to make this month sweet.

8. April - Baseball season starts! Big plus.

7. July - I'm not a big fireworks fan, so the 4th is OK. It's hot. I like hot.

6. August - the laziest month of the year, because everyone goes on vacation during this month.

5. December - unlike other months for me, this is judged mostly on the holidays. It's hard not to be cheerful during this month.

4. September - football starts, school starts, high school football, college football saturdays, indian summer. good month.

3. November - Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it starts the holiday season. Football kicks into high gear. Weather from October can carry over. Still get giddy with the first snow.

2. October - fall baseball, even without the Bucs, is special. College and pro football get into high gear, and college hoops practice starts. Plus, the weather is awesome. Fall is typified by this month, which is a great thing.

1. March - conference basketball tournaments. March Madness. Spring Training. "In like a Lion, out like a Lamb". Following Pitt hoops all over America. All make this the best month.

Hating the 'gate

2008-09-26T07:08:00.001-07:00

Well, this is an entry from a previous attempt at blogging. We were discussing this in the office and it reminded me of my hatred for the "-gate" suffix. So, here are my thoughts on it:

Ok, it's happened once again. I now officially hate Richard Nixon and anyone associated in any way with his administration and the whole Watergate scandal. Before you accuse me of being a good American, wait until you hear why. I am sick of a trend that's got to stop. This trend? Calling every little scandal that ever occurs in the US (fill in the blank)-gate!Right now, we are in the middle of Van Gundy Gate (as dubbed by ESPN). We also have Paula-gate. And Jennifer Wilbanks-gate. So many freaking gates!We've had Monica-gate, Whitewater-gate, Enron-gate, steroid-gate, and seemingly every other type of -gate known to man. I for one am sick and tired of all this -gate action.Therefore, I am proposing we remove this term from our vernacular, so that the incessant media would stop shoving it down our throats any time a hint of impropriety creeps up. I will no longer refer to anything, ever, as _________-gate...will you pledge to join me?

I still feel this way!

Vacation Destination: San Diego

2008-09-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday morning I am leaving for a mini-vacation to the paradise of San Diego. I am leaving early Saturday from Pittsburgh, layover in Denver (where I'll watch the Pitt Panthers), then arrive in San Diego around noon local time. The purpose of the trip is to catch baseball games at Petco Park in San Diego and Edison Field in Anaheim. The Bucs are in San Diego this weekend, which is an added bonus.

This gets me to another list: the list of MLB stadiums I have graced with my presence. My buddy Moz and I are having a contest to see who can get to all active stadiums first. This means that, if they tear the building down or stop playing there, it no longer counts. So, this offseason both Sean and I will be losing Yankee and Shea Stadiums in NYC. Therefore, here is my updated list as of today, in order from worst to best:

11. Metrodome (Minneapolis) - I liked it but there is no denying it's a dinosaur. It will be discontinued for baseball use in the very near future.

10. Turner Field (Atlanta) - This is the old 1996 Olympic stadium that was converted to the Braves park. Nothing very significant about it.

9. Great American BallPark (Cincinnati) - I got a kidney stone when I was in Cincy for some Bucs games a few years ago. Maybe that taints my memories a bit.

8. Comerica Park (Detroit) - There is just nothing very memorable about this stadium. Ford Field is right next to it, and that's cool...does that count?

7. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia) - Red brick...original.

6. New Busch Stadium (St. Louis) - see #8.

5. Nationals Park (Washington DC) - This stadium is meant to fit in with the DC architecture and look like a monument. Success!

4. Wrigley Field (Chicago) - The classic, one of only two left. It's so historic that it's hard not to feel overwhelmed when you first see the diamond. Bonus points to Wrigleyville.

3. Progressive Field (Cleveland) - One of the few good things about the town, this is one of the original "new" parks. Great location downtown.

2. Camden Yards (Baltimore) - This is a great park. The warehouse and walkway that extends from right to center field is a must visit for fans. There aren't bad seats in the place, either.

1. PNC Park (Pittsburgh) - Some things never change. I'm biased, but the architecture, the views...if someone could put a good baseball team in there, it could be magical.

So that's the list. I am planning (coincidentally with Moz) a trip next June where we will hit Phoenix, San Diego, Anaheim, LA, San Fran and Oakland on a 9 day adventure all over the West Coast. That will add at least 4 stadiums to my list. Exciting!

"The List"

2008-09-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted for awhile, and this is because I have been out of topics to discuss, kind of. I don't want to discuss the election in every post, so I'm trying to space it out.

So, I decided that my love of lists, and my rekindled Steeler love, mandated that it was time for me to post "The List". This is the most important list you will ever see. "The List" is the listing of my favorite sports teams, in order that I love them. The criteria for this is quite simple: they are ranked in order that you want them to win a championship. In other words, if you could only have teams that you root for win one championship for the rest of your life, which team would it be and why, and then in what order? Without further ado, my favorite teams (all Pittsburgh teams - other teams I don't care enough about to win):

5. Penguins - I will freely admit that I am a bandwagon Pens fan. When they are good, I like to watch on TV or even go. When they aren't good, I don't think twice about it. However, since I work downtown now, it would be cool to see the enthusiam of the town if they were to win.

4. Steelers - I know this will seem like sacrilege to many of you, but despite my rekindled joy of watching Steeler football, they have won a championship recently and won 5 in the last 30+ years. It would be exciting, to be sure, but it's only 4th on my list.

3. Pitt football - I have suffered through a lot of bad football as a Pitt fan. Remember the 72-0 loss to Ohio $tate in 1996? I do. I remember all of the heartache. We haven't won 10 games in a year since 1981, the year of Danny Marino, 48-14, and my birth. Now we have pieces in place to start the rebirth of Pitt football, but Wannstedt isn't a great game coach. Anyway, the future looks OK for Pitt football, but it will be tough to get to the place where we are competitive with the USCs, O$U's, and SEC teams of the world.

2. Pitt basketball - this is almost 1b. I have been a Pitt hoops fan as long as I can remember. I remember watching Big East games with mom and dad and running down the stairs as a kid, having dad introduce me as the point guard for the Panthers. Now, with our run of the last 7 years, it has been spectacular as a fan: 3 Big East regular season championships, 2 Big East tournament titles, numerous high seeds in the NCAAs, and 4 Sweet Sixteens. Now it is time for the next step. Our recruiting is getting better as our profile gets higher. Our expectations for this year are huge. This could happen relatively soon, and it would be a joyful day for me, because Pitt hoops mean so much to me and to my family.

1. Pirates - I am one of the few remaining Bucco fans in Pittsburgh, and it breaks my heart to say that. I just genuinely love the game of baseball. The strategy, the history, the statistics, the ballparks...it's a magical game that hasn't been tainted very much for me with the stench of 16 years of losing. I have so many fond memories of the Pirates that it isn't even funny. When I was 5, my grandpa, dad, and I went to a Bucs-Phillies game at Three Rivers. We left early because I was a kid, and we missed Mike Schmidt's 500th career homer. I remember going to the NLCS in 1992 and Jim Leyland receiving a standing ovation. I remember the day that Barry Bonds signed with the Giants; I was home sick from school and watching "The Price Is Right" and it went right into KDKA News, where it was the top story. I remember various other moments in the 16 years of losing, although they run together quite a bit. The last time the Bucs were anywhere near .500 was 1997, which is recalled with glory by the diehards. We went 79-83 that year but were in the division race until the last weekend of the season. That year, September baseball mattered in Pittsburgh. It's been 11 years since that was the case. And that's a shame, because fall baseball is one of the greatest parts about the fall. I can only imagine what our beautiful PNC Park would look like with 38,000 rabid fans hanging on every pitch in the NLDS. It's probably the one thing in life that I want the most, which might: (a) seem sad to many of you but I promise it's not, and (b) explain why I am still single. I'm buying season tickets to the Bucs next year, because I don't want to be left out when fall baseball returns. I want to have my ticket when the Bucs make the playoffs. It isn't going to be next year, but at some point in the near future, it will come. When it does, I'll be the happiest guy on Mt. Washington.

So, that's my list. What does yours look like?

A Rejuvenated Steeler Fan

2008-09-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the first Steeler game of the year, and they won, so it's a good start. It's a good start for my fandom of the team as well, as when I lived in Knoxville, my love of the Steelers had waned a bit.

I think it traces back to the Super Bowl win. I really didn't think we deserved to win that game; we didn't play well, and the refs made a bunch of bad calls that went our way. Then, we suffered through the 8-8 season, Cowher's retirement, the Faneca situation, and the first year under Coach Mike (not to mention the current status of ownership). For me, I just was kind of tired of being a Steeler fan. I'm a huge Pirate fan, and I've seen them lose for a long time, and I'd rather that the Pirates won a championship before the Steelers win another. I think this started wearing on me, as it seemed as if everyone in Pittsburgh is only a Steeler fan (except when the Pens are good).

Today, I was rejuvenated, and this was made possible by my friend Brandon. He and I are Pine Richland grads (Class of '99) and we also graduated with graduate degrees from IUP at the same time (Class of '05). He works for the Houston Texans. I met him in Jacksonville last NFL season to go to the Texans Jags game in town, and it was a good time. When I saw that the Steelers and Texans played in Pittsburgh this year, I told him we'd have to meet up. He did it one better: he offered my brother and I the opportunity to work for Texan radio.

We were paid $50 to stand on the sidelines (!) and hold the parabonic microphones; you know what I'm talking about. They are the mikes with the big glass shields that are used at the line of scrimmage to pick up the sounds on the field. We had to follow the ball around the field all day, and it was an awesome experience.

One of the best aspects was the fact that we got to listen to Texan radio while working. It was interesting to hear what they had to say. They were very disappointed with the Texan effort. They also sang the praises of our beautiful city, especially the North Shore sports complexes and, of course, our confluence of rivers.

This gave me such a renewed interest in the Steelers. The fans were extremely loud all day, until we had the game wrapped up in the fourth quarter. It was cool to see all the black and gold from the field perspective. It really was a once in a lifetime type of experience. Now, I'm looking forward to every fall weekend not only because of Pitt football, but Steeler football as well. It feels good to be back.

My Personal Political Philosophy

2008-09-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

After the vice presidential picks, and then the conventions, over the past two weeks, the discussion of presidential politics has been heated, and we've discussed it a bit in the comments. Some of you have asked for more of my opinions, so this is my start. I thought that it would make sense to first outline my philosophy, before I got into the particular candidates, their beliefs, and why I am one of those crucial undecided voters in a swing state.

I will start by saying this: I have changed my political beliefs over the years. I think as I've gotten older and received more education, I've become more open minded and tolerant. And to be honest, it seems like I'm the only open-minded person left!

I am not, any more, an ideological person. I believe in doing what works, and I believe in compromising. It always startles me when I hear ideological people talk; they seem to think that if a candidate doesn't agree with them on everything then the candidate is useless. How in the world can you expect a candidate to agree with you on everything? That would assume that you are right about everything, and guess what: you aren't. Neither am I, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that I am open to trying new ways of doing things.

I have basically learned over the years that there may not be a place in either party for me. I can't be a Democrat, because I am a Christian. I agree with Democrats on a lot of things:

healthcare is a moral issue, something that should concern all Christians
the conduct of war is a moral issue, and especially the poor prosecution of it, and when lies are told about why we go to war? unacceptable
other social programs (welfare, social security, etc) are also issues that should concern Christians (of course, I'm opposed to Social Security, because IT DOESN'T WORK!)

Now, because I'm a Christian, there are other things that I am vehemently opposed to in the Democratic Party:

I believe in the consistent life ethic (CLE), which is against abortion (along with the death penalty, euthanasia, and war)
I'm against sex education in schools
I want intelligent design mentioned in science class (even though I fully acknowledge that it isn't scientific)
and other reasons

Then again, the Republican party doesn't fit me either, really:

I'm not a neo-con, who believes in war first and everything else fifth
I'm not a fiscal conservative. I understand these principles, I don't think they are necessarily wrong, but they aren't my highest priority (humans are imperfect, therefore GREEDY!)
I'm not a libertarian; I believe the government has a place in life and needs to make laws (for example, I'm OK with wiretapping - it has a clear purpose--stopping terrorists)

I guess the group I could most closely be identified with is the religious/social conservatives, but I am for the issues I outlined above (social programs). Religious conservatives think this stuff needs to be done through the church. I couldn't agree more. If it can be done in this manner, by all means, DO IT! However, the church can't do it all. They just can't. The disappearing middle class, the high divorce rates, high rates of birth out of wedlock, single parent families, poverty...these are problems that the church just isn't addressing well enough (instead, we are building multimillion dollar facilities with air conditioning and other excesses, but this is another rant for another day). My philosophy is, why can't the church and the government both take care of social problems? The church does what it can, then the government helps fill in the holes. This is what forms the core of my belief.

I can, at later times, get more specifically into how I believe things should operate, but I will just close this first discussion by saying that ideology is an evil in the system of government that we have. People complain all the time about the two party system, saying that we need more parties. Why? So we can yell at each other more? James Madison wrote about the idea of factions in the Federalist Papers (No. 10), talking about how dangerous they could be. Guess what: he was talking about parties and interest groups! Factions of people that had beliefs and divided people.

So, to sum up, I am for two things: whatever works, and bipartisan cooperation. Maybe at some point in the future I will reveal my list of actions that attempts to disprove the myth that George W. Bush is a divisive president (it's not true; Democrats have hated him since 2000 and never gave him a chance at all). Thoughts and/or comments?

*Disclaimer: I wrote this while on the phone with Verizon techs (I'm at the office). It may be disjointed, contradictory, or nonsense. Please excuse the grammar and sentence structure and try to focus on the ideas.

Good News!

2008-09-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick note. I got an email today notifying me that I have passed my comprehensive exams. I am now, officially, Joshua J. Grubbs, ABD.

ABD = All But Dissertation. Meaning, I have fulfilled all of the requirements of the Ph.D. except for the dissertation.

Woohoo!

A Quick Hello

2008-08-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

I am writing this from Columbia, MO. This is the most west I've ever been in the central time zone (although I have been to Vancouver and Salt Lake City in the other time zones). I am attending the Missouri Illinois game tomorrow in St. Louis.

Heather, I will give my opinions about the VPs in detail next week, also the DNC and, at that time, the RNC. Quickly though:

Biden - not a great pick; he's a good guy, solid middle class guy with good Catholic values. Not going to really get anyone to vote for Obama but does shore up his foreign policy weakness.

Palin - really a great pick, except for her lack of experience. This is an interesting debate since it's a charge that McCain continuously throws at Obama. I think I'd rather have the inexperience steps away from the Oval Office instead of working in the same place. Plus, she's really attractive.

Overall, I'd say that my chances of voting for McCain went up. I'd say it used to be maybe 65-35 in favor of Obama. Now I'd say maybe 55-45 or even 50-50 but I'm definitely one of the undecided voters. If anyone is interested, I can get into the reasons why I like/don't like both candidates during September and October. Let me know if this would interest you.

Tuesday Morning Random Thoughts

2008-08-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging as much as I wanted recently (i.e. internet was down at home last night for some reason) so I have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of time to expound on them. Without further ado:

College football this weekend! I am very excited for college football this season. For once, I have high expectations for my favorite team (the Pitt Panthers). I have season tickets but only will be able to go to 3-4 of the games. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing Shady, Romeus, Billy Stull, McKillop, and the rest of the boyz taking the Big East by storm!
I am also traveling to St. Louis this weekend for the best matchup of Week 1 - Mizzou v. Illinois. Colin is a Mizzou grad, so I will be donning Tiger black and gold.
The Olympics were awesome, but something needs to be kept in perspective about China's performance. Besides the fact that they were cheating, the home team always does well in events like this (look at soccer's World Cup for proof). China's swimmers, gymnasts, etc. will have a tougher go when they have to travel across 7 time zones in London for the 2012 games. They won't come near 51 golds again; that's a prediction you can take to the bank. Although they will still dominate diving.
This is the first time since I was about 4 years old that I haven't been in school for the fall semester. Very weird feeling.
I will have my fall TV preview at some point soon, but the CW gets things started early with fall premieres next week (starting Labor Day). Gossip Girl is one to watch, and I'm intrigued by the 90210 relaunch.
Joe Biden? Good guy. Evangelicals will find his position on abortion pretty acceptable, for a Democrat. However, he's not the candidate to woo me over to the Obama camp. I am still an undecided voter for the fall election. Obama and McCain have strengths and weaknesses. McCain is hindered by the 2nd Bush term, which may go down as one of the worst presidential terms of all time (it was much worse than the first term). The Republicans don't deserve the White House, but the Democrats haven't proven that they do either.
By the way, I am a 100% full supporter of the Electoral College. It gets a bad name in American politics, but is extremely necessary. If you wanna know why, we can discuss it.
I have been listening to the Beatles a lot recently. I bought Sgt. Peppers back in March, and instantly loved it. It's a great album. I recently purchased both Rubber Soul and Abbey Road. Abbey Road is phenomenal; the first six songs are always stuck in my head (in order: Come Together, Something, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Oh! Darling, Octopus' Garden, I Want You). Rubber Soul I don't like nearly as much. I like Drive My Car (probably because of the image of Danny Tanner leading the family in a rendition of it), In My Life is good, but I just don't think it compares to the others I've mentioned. Next on the list for purchase is either Revolver or The White Album. Any suggestions?

The Event Weekend Hangover

2008-08-21T06:10:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you know what I'm referencing in the post title. It's the feeling you have on Monday and Tuesday after just finishing a weekend that you've been looking forward to for weeks or months. In my case, I had a bachelor weekend with my Grove City friends, which started to be planned in April. It finished early on Sunday, with the last guys leaving by 2:30 pm. And the feeling of dread set in...

Then, I remembered my Advil - my friend Sean would be coming into town for two nights. Sean works for BLESTO (Bears Lions Eagles Steelers Talent Organization). That's right, he works in the NFL! At BLESTO, they have teams who are their clients and contribute to this scouting organization; it adds another set of eyes to the evaluation process. Sean has been there for about a year, and he recently got a promotion to be an area scout in the Northeast. His territory is as far west as Pittsburgh, as far south as Virginia, and all the way north to Maine (although the furthest he has to go this year is the Boston area). Which means that he will be in Western PA a couple of times, the first of which was Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Sean and I met as interns for the Buffalo Bills in July 2002. We became friends at this point; I remember one of the first discussions we had was about Brian Giles (the Pirate OF) and how underrated he was. After we left our internships, we remained friends (the only intern of the 6 I remained friends with). He has since lived in New York, London, and Jacksonville, and I've visited him in every one of those places. We also have a race going as to who can go to games at all 30 active baseball stadiums first; by active, I mean that, if they build a new stadium, the old one no longer counts. So we both will be losing the New Yorks (Yankee and Shea) after this season. I am ahead now (I've been to 13: PIT, PHI, BAL, WAS, CLE, CIN, NYM, NYY, DET, CHC, MIN, STL, ATL, soon to add SD and LAA).

Anyway, Sean came in on Tuesday night after driving from Charlottesville, VA - a grueling drive. I took him to one of the best places to eat in Pittsburgh - Fatheads. If you've never been there, there are probably 100 different sandwiches on the menu. He liked it so much that we went back there Wednesday for dinner. I had two great sandwiches, the Red Pepper Sirloin and the Bacon Jalapeno Steak. Wow, were they good. Sean tried the one that was voted #5 sandwich in the US by Maxim Magazine, the one with kielbasa and pierogies. He said it was awesome.

Anyway, that was a treat for Tuesday and Wednesday. Now, all of a sudden, it's almost the weekend, and next week I head to St. Louis for a 5 day Labor Day weekend extravaganza, and it's also the start of football season!

Travel Note

2008-08-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

So, I've changed my route to work somewhat. I've been taking the bus in the mornings (although it didn't show up yesterday) and walking to the Duquesne Incline at night. When I walk to the Incline, I walk down Penn Ave. to the Point. Then, I walk across the Fort Pitt Bridge, which leads right to the skyway to the Incline. It's about a 20 minute walk, and it's awesome walking across the Mon.

Yesterday, my back was hurting so I found a bus that was to drop me off at the Duquesne Incline. It was the 33X, which is the West Busway Flyer. It was packed to the point of the aisle being full of people standing. So, he stopped at my stop, right across the river, and a few people got off, and I had to get past all of the rest. So I did, people were shouting "make sure this guy gets off at this stop" to let the driver know...it was a big scene. So I get off the bus, and I notice that everybody else that had gotten off was getting back on. I was the only person on the bus that was getting off here and I caused about 8 people to vacate just so I could get my stop.

Very embarrassing.

Jim Breuer - A Funny Man

2008-08-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday night when my buddies were in town, we went to see Jim Breuer live at The Improv down on the Waterfront. You may remember Breuer from the movie Half Baked, a movie starring Dave Chappelle, or from his stint on Saturday Night Live, with his famous character "Goat Boy". One friend, Jarv, had seen him before at Slippery Rock University, and said he was hysterical...and he didn't disappoint on this night.

Maybe the most remarkable aspect of his show was that he cursed maybe four times; one time he said s--- in the context of a story where his daughter said the word, and he admonished her (in the story) by saying that the family doesn't talk like that. It was really refreshing.

There were many highlights, but I will point out a few. First, he told the story of the movie Half Baked, a "pot" movie. I remember seeing this movie in high school. One of the funniest parts of the movie, to me, is when they decide to go on a late night shopping spree after smoking some weed, and their grocery list is long. At the end of the list, Breuer, in his best stoner voice, adds: "...and Funions!" So, anytime anyone makes a list of anything, I add "funions" to the end of the list. Nobody ever gets it. Anyway...he's telling the story, and he continually pulls out his Chappelle impression, which is spot on, funny every time he does it. So he talks about how he was actually not high for every scene in the movie...minus one. In that scene, in which he "saved the movie" (literally...the bad guy was about to quit, so he filmed a scene after smoking weed so that production could continue) he delivers his famous line: "sucks to be you, man!" He set it up in the show, and delivered it. It killed.

Then, he started talking about success. As his measure of success, he said there were two things he wanted: leather pants and a kangaroo. He went on a riff about this that was priceless; my favorite moment of the show. He was hopping around stage like a kangaroo, then observing the reactions of people as they noticed his kangaroo: "man, is that guy successful". It was a very funny combination of visuals and dialogue. Funniest part of the show, to me.

Ultimately, he was the best comic I've seen live. I've seen a few, including Jerry Seinfeld (who took the Lord's name in vain way, waaaaaaaaaaaay too often) so I think that I can make a good comparison. But, it was a pleasant night out, and I'd recommend to everyone taking in comedy shows at the Improv.

Lots to catch up on!

2008-08-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have time to post everything I need to post. I had 9 friends from college in town this weekend to celebrate my buddy Jimmy's pending nuptials, and there is a lot to discuss. I need to talk about West Side Story which my mom and I saw Wednesday night, plus talk about the Jim Breuer comedy show we saw Saturday at the Waterfront (he was hysterical!).

But the most important news needs to be relayed: I met Olivia Wilde! You probably don't know who she is. She played "Alex" on The OC; the girl who dated Seth, and then Marissa (yes, she was into dudes and chicks). We were at The Shiloh Room on Mt. Washington, sitting on the deck, enjoying the night, when my friend Strong started freaking out. He claimed that Olivia Wilde and Nick Stahl (from Terminator 3, among other things) had just walked in. I went inside to scope it out (since I'm the world's foremost OC fan). I told a disappointed crowd that it wasn't her. He said he was sure it was, so I checked it out again, and sure enough, I was wrong. So Jimmy and I went in and sat at the next table, pondering whether we should talk to them.

I talked to Nick first. There were five people at their table (3 producers were the other three), so he was kind of just sitting there, and I said hey, are you Nick Stahl? He was very friendly. I asked what they were doing in Pittsburgh, and he told me of a movie they were filming up on Mt. Washington called In Northwood (it's on IMDB so it has to be true!). So we talked a bit more; he liked Pittsburgh, went to the Steelers-Eagles preseason game, is a Cowboys fan. I told him that Dallas would be playing in Pittsburgh this season; he immediately told the producer he wanted to go, and the producer said he'd get tickets. So, if at the Cowboys-Steelers game you see a shot of Hollywood star Nick Stahl, you can know I had something to do with it.

Then, I interrupted the conversation that Olivia was having with another producer (I apologized to both of them profusely, but they had been talking for 15 minutes with no pause for me to interrupt, so I figured what the heck). I told her that I was a big fan of hers, especially on the OC, and she laughed and said thanks (seriously, I love The OC; I almost started quoting her lines from the show, like this one: "Yes, I've been kicked out of Corona, Mater Dei, and even Newport Union"--only Jer probably remembers that). We talked some more, I asked if she liked Pittsburgh and she said they had only stayed in Green Tree so she hadn't seen much of the city. Finally, I asked if I could take a picture of her. Her response? "With me!" So, Jimmy took a pic of me and Olivia. I told them that I really hoped they enjoyed our wonderful city and that I would look for the movie in about a year.

It was just so weird because you never see anyone in Pittsburgh (besides the occasional minor Pittsburgh celebrity--I saw Ken Rice on the street the other day, but I didn't care enough to bother him...I mean, it's Ken Rice...). So, it was really neat, and they were really down to earth and eager to talk to us. Definitely a highlight of a fantastic weekend.

My Peach Problem

2008-08-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

I am taking an aside from Olympic blogging to complain about this. I can't pick out peaches to save my life. I love peaches; love them. They are a top 3 fruit for me (with watermelon and pineapple). However, picking peaches is hit or miss for me. Too often I get the mealy, dry peaches that you just can't eat.

This is a serious problem for me. Serious enough that one of the qualifications for my future wife will be for her to have this hidden talent. So, those of you that are trying to fix me up on blind dates (and let's be honest, I'm always down for that), ask her about her peach-picking technique. It's on my top 100 qualities my future wife must have. In fact, this sounds like the start of a new list. I will tentatively place this ability at #47.

Beijing's First Magical Moment

2008-08-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sure that there would be great debate about this. Honestly, I can't ever get into the opening ceremonies besides the spectacular music from NBC (see below) and the Parade of Nations. So, I didn't find Friday night all that grand.

For me, Beijing's first magical moment was last night's 4x100 freestyle relay. The U.S. Men's team had set the world record in the prelims, but they were not the favorite in the final. We hadn't won gold in this event since 1996; before that, we hadn't lost the race in 32 years. So this is an event that we used to own, but the world is catching up.

The French were the favorites. They have three sprinters who are members of their team, all of whom have chances to medal in the 50 and 100 freestyle races. They had come out of nowehere; 7th at the Athens games, 3rd at the Worlds last year. And, they were talking lots of trash. Their anchor leg, Alain Bernard, had claimed that the French would "smash" the Americans.

And of course, there was another intriguing subplot: Michael Phelps was a member of the team that would swim the finals. In the finals they added three swimmers who didn't swim the prelims: Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Jason Lezak. Cullen Jones, the fourth member who had been on the prelim team, would swim the 3rd leg. This was Phelps least likely chance at a gold, the one that might preclude him from eclipsing Mark Spitz.

As they dove into the pool, something looked wrong. Phelps was swimming the lead leg, and was right at the front of the pack, but didn't give the Americans a lead like Rowdy Gaines said he would. Second was Weber-Gale, who was up to the challenge of keeping the Americans near the front of the pack. Third was Jones. He almost made the American coaches look like fools, as he fell way behind. The fourth leg was Jason Lezak, who is 32 and has seemingly been an Olympic swimmer forever. He was swimming fast, but the French lead was about a body length, which was just too big; wasn't it?

As he made the turn, I got up off of my feet. I was standing, hoping for a comeback so that Phelps' dream would still be alive. Rowdy Gaines started saying how Bernard was tightening up, and slowing down. In the last 20 meters, Lezak started to make his move. At 15 meters, he was about a half a body length behind. At 10 meters, I started jumping up and down, screaming for Lezak to finish it off. At 5 meters, he had pulled within a foot. At this point...I was really wishing that I was watching it with someone else, because I was so excited. They touched the wall, and it took a second for people to realize it, but Jason Lezak and the rest of the team started reacting, and it was just...it was great.

I started screaming, yelling at the arrogant French, celebrating with this huge American victory. It was such a thrill to watch this comeback. I talked to my friend Hemant afterwards, who said that all the guys in Knoxville (Hemant, Jamie, and Colin) were going nuts too.

Like I said, the first magical moment of the Games.

My Favorite Things - The Summer Olympics Edition

2008-08-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

I love sports. Almost all sports. I love major sports, like baseball, basketball, football, golf, tennis, hockey, and soccer. I love minor sports, like swimming, track, curling, speedskating, and gymnastics. So obviously, for someone like me, the Olympics represent one of the most exciting two week periods every two years.

This year's Summer Olympics, of course, are taking place in China. I ventured down to Mt. Lebanon to watch the opening ceremonies on Friday night with my friends Jim and Beth. That got me thinking about the reasons that I love the Olympics.

So, I decided to come up with a list of my favorite things about the Olympics. Recently I did a list of my favorite summer things. This list follows in the same vein. There will be a little more explanation for these favorites of mine. Also, you may have noticed that I like lists, and order:). On with the show...

1. The Olympic Theme Songs - there are two of which I am speaking. John Williams is the composer of the first favorite. You have heard his music in other places besides the Olympics, as he has created many memorable movie theme songs, like the songs for Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones. The "Olympic Theme and Fanfare" was created for the '84 Summer Games in LA but has withstood the test of time (or at least 24 years). This is the song that NBC uses to set the scene (always successfully, by the way) for the important events, with the slow build of the horns and the steady beat of the percussion. The second favorite is called "Bugler's Dream" by Leo Arnaud. This is the song that is recognized as the NBC opener. This song is simply majestic; it really is regal-sounding. If I were a king, this would be my theme song. These songs give me goose bumps every time I hear them, and on Friday night my eyes welled up with tears because of the beautiful music, and the special meaning that it has to me: The Olympics are here.

2. Late night Olympic events - Most people watch the Olympics during the day on the weekends, and prime time every night. However, only the true hard core fans watch the coverage that comes on at midnight. For example, if you want to watch the USA Men's or Women's volleyball team, you have to watch at this time. It's always a fun way for me to wind down a long day of Olympic watching.

3. Swimming - I can't swim to almost literally save my life, but I love this sport. I would watch it more often if it were on TV, but since it's not, my following this sport really amounts to 8 days of Olympic coverage. Lots of memories through the years about Olympic swimming. Who can forget the showdowns between Alexander Popov of Russia and America's own shadowboxing sprint swimmer, Gary Hall Jr.? OK, probably a lot of you can, but I can't. They swim the 50 free, which is the swimming equivalent of the 100 meters. Always an exciting dash. I love the individual medleys, where proficiency in four strokes is required to compete. I just love swimming at the Olympics; my favorite Summer Olympic sport.

4. National Anthems - Anytime an American wins the gold, the flag is raised and the anthem is blared? Tears and pride for my country. But, the Olympics are the best time to get to hear other great anthems. One great one is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g. It's called "La Marseillaise", the French National Anthem. I bet you know the tune. Very catchy. Another great one is the Russian National Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fRU_k4tjoU. This is one that, as a Russian national, you could be proud of. But, there are many lesser known anthems, which makes it fun to hear if NBC shows that medal ceremony.

5. Underdogs - Every Games features the competitors who come out of nowhere to score that medal. These people have the "joie de vivre" that is refreshing to see, just a pure pleasure of competing and the awe of being victorious. Even if they aren't American, these are always enjoyable stories to watch.

6. Chick gymnastics - I'm not as down for the dudes, but watching the 1996 US Olympic squad is one of my favorite sporting moments of my young adolescenthood. From the huge crush I had on Dominique Moceanu, to the heroics of Kerri Strug, and everything in between. Can I name all 7 members of the team? Dominques (Dawes and Moceanu), Strug, Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Amanda Borden, and Amy Chow. Yes, I am obsessed.

7. Basketball - Especially this year with the "Redeem Team". I just love the way that these supposedly egomanianical pro hoopsters show up in Beijing, walk with the rest of the American delegation, and walk through the crowds of Chinese people that adore them. This was evident with Kobe; I've been a harsh critic of his, but to see him walking through the crowd of fans at the venue was awesome, as he dealt with rock-star like adoration in the best way possible.

8. Costas - Has grown overrated for some things, but his coverage of the Olympics is second to none.

9. The Today Show - broadcasting live from the international media centre. That would be such an awesome job to have; you get to guide the American public into what is going on from the epicenter of the biggest event in the world.

10. Expansive coverage - NBC is broadcasting 3,200 hours of coverage this year. That's a ton of coverage, and my DVR won't hold nearly that much. So, my nights will be spent watching the DVR'd action from the day, while recording the action at night to watch when I'm done.

This is just a partial list. I love the track events, especially the decathalon. Water polo is a great event that isn't covered nearly enough. Of course, baseball and softball (dying their Olympic death for awhile) are entertaining. But it's just the feel and excitement of the games that overall gets me pumped. Do I like the Summer Games more than the Winter ones? Hard to say. I guess you'll have to wait until Vancouver 2010 to find out my favorite things of the Winter Games!

The End Isn't Near, It's Here!

2008-08-08T05:54:00.001-07:00

I am finished! Woo-hoo! All told, it came out to be 11,353 words and 41 pages. Will I pass? I don't know. It's always tough to say. Were there things I could have done better? Probably. But, I did the best I could given that I work a full-time job, so I really only had a few hours each night during which to work on the exam. Oh well, thanks for the prayers! Now, I have to wait probably 3 weeks to see if I passed.

Now, the August fun can begin!

The End is in Sight

2008-08-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it's come down to the final day. 24 hours and 19 minutes from this second, I will be turning in my exam. It is going fine. Yesterday, I had a breakthrough on the question that was giving me the most problems (about public officials acting as budget-maximizers). One aspect of the question asks what this explanation leaves out; it finally hit me yesterday, in the Giant Eagle parking lot, that it leaves out the "public service motive". PSM is the belief in public administration that people serve in bureaucracies because of a "calling" to serve in government. It has a very Christian ethic and feel to it. And, one of my professors at Tennessee is a leading expert in the field...so, it will obviously look good to have that as part of an answer. The exam will get done; it will be a late night tonight, hopefully I can get home and get started right away and maybe get to bed by 3am, but I'm not counting on it. Oh well...by this time tomorrow, it will be done.

On to more exciting news...

The little things in life are the ones that matter most for enjoyment, and yesterday I experienced what I would consider to be a little thing, and it gave me great joy. However, when I shared this news, I really didn't feel as if people appreciated it.

I reserved a plane ticket yesterday to San Diego (I have until midnight to buy it, and I'm waiting to hear back on whether I can get the days off of work). The travel dates are Sept. 27-30, a Saturday through Tuesday. That's the last week of the MLB season, and the Pirates are playing the Padres in San Diego, so I thought it would be fun. Plus, I owe a trip to San Diego; I was supposed to go in 2005, but I got a kidney stone that prevented me from going (the kidney experience deserves a post all its own). So, I thought it would be nice and relaxing to go to what is hailed as America's Most Beautiful City. Hit the beach, drive up to LA for a day, hit the San Diego attractions...seems awesome.

So, what made this remarkable to me? The cost of the plane ticket: $240. Two hundred and forty dollars!!!!!!!!!!! Do you understand how great of a deal that is? I just paid forty dollars more to fly half as far (to St. Louis over Labor Day). I'm a bargain flyer, and I don't think there could ever be a greater deal in the history of man, given the cost of gas and the struggles of the airlines.

So anyway, that made my day. Something to look forward to...

It's Early!

2008-08-06T02:30:00.000-07:00

Currently, it's 5:23 a.m. I have been awake for about an hour. I have already gone through a pot of coffee. The reason that I am up so early is because of my exam. This is also the reason that I haven't posted since Saturday. The exam is taking up all of my time (besides being at work) and this is now going to continue until the exam is handed in at 8:30 Friday morning. In fact, it may include an all-nighter tomorrow night.

The good news is that I know the correct answers to the questions. I know what I want to say and have lined up the correct sources and outlined good answers. One piece of good news that I received Monday morning was that the exam is limited to 12,000 words total for the 3 questions. This comes to about 40 pages, whereas the former limit would have made the exam around 75 pages. So that was nice to hear.

Anyway, I have nothing interesting to blog about until I am done with the exam. Sorry!

Whether the weather...

2008-08-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is something that I've been thinking about since posting my favorite things about summer, mostly because I love summer weather and it played prominently into my favorite things about this season that we are in.

The weather is a subject that is often discussed. People ask about the weather all the time; is it gonna rain today? How much snow are we getting? It also is a source of complaints; it's too humid today! How many days in a row can it rain? Where's the sun today, I can't see it through all of these clouds!

People often make their decisions based upon the weather. "Do you want to go to Kennywood this Friday?" "Is it supposed to rain?"

Or: "We're going to Florida for a few months during the winter; it's too cold in Pittsburgh!"

As Milli Vanilli (fake) sung in the late 80s, people like to "Blame it on the Rain"...or any other type of weather.

I freely admit that I am part of the chorus. When I was deciding whether to move for a Ph.D. program in the summer of 2005, the weather played a role in my decision. I was sick of the cold and the snow of Western PA. The heat and the constant sun beckoned me to Knoxville, TN. Equally, I remember when I started getting the itch to move back to Pittsburgh. I was at the U.S. Open that was being played at Oakmont in June 2007, and I was on my way home, and was just marveling about the wonderful summer weather in my familiar surroundings. This is partly what contributed to me looking for jobs and moving back to the 'burgh when I finished my classwork.

Stop and re-read everything above. How ridiculous does it all sound? And yet, we all make decisions in our life based upon something over which we have no control. Does this seem absurd to anyone else?

I made a decision back in the winter, when Knoxville was experiencing the coldest winter that I had had yet down there (20s and 30s for a period of about 6 weeks...this was cold to me, and I know that you 'burgh people think that's nothing, but after moving to the South I lost my ability to adjust to cold weather). My decision was that I was not going to let the weather affect my disposition. I wasn't going to be happy, angry, annoyed, lazy, sad, or excited based on something which only God can control.

I would challenge everyone to join me in this goal. Realize that God has reasons for everything, and this includes the weather, regardless of the best laid plans we have made for ourselves.

Final Points (some of which relate and some of which do not):

1. Does the above mean that I am skeptical of the concept of global warming? Yes, it does. Notice I didn't say it doesn't exist; I just said I'm not as willing to accept it as a lot of the public.

2. One thing about all of the global warming alarmists interests me in particular. Many, if not most, of them also believe in evolution. Wouldn't the human race evolve to survive the widescale flooding that global warming would bring (nevermind the fact that God promised to never flood the world again)? I, for one, am ready for humans breathing underwater with gills.

3. Progress is being made on my exam; the first question has been largely organized and I'm reading through things and figuring out which articles I want to put where.

4. I am very happy for Jason Bay in his Red Sox debut, as he walked twice, got hit by a pitch, tripled in the 12th and scored the two Sox runs, including the winner after his triple. He also made two fine catches in LF. I hope that the rest of American baseball fans discover what Pirate fans have known for four summers: Jason Bay is a heck of a baseball player.

Annie, Get Your Gun

2008-08-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

The other night, my mother and I had tickets to the second of our three shows at the Benedum this summer. It was the musical based on the life of Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun. First, we had a nice treat as Beth decided to join us; all it took was a trip over to the box office on my lunch break to procure a $12 student ticket for her with my UT student ID. We went to dinner at the Six Penn Kitchen. This place is pretty good, but my family eats there wayyyyyy too often. I just had dinner there last Friday night with my mom and dad! There are tons of good places to try within a few blocks of the theatre, but you know our family; we stick to what we like. I had the Buffalo Chicken Mac'n'Cheese, which was very good.

We then headed over to the theatre. I am annoyed to now find out that I think they made us sit in the wrong seats. Well, I can say this: the tickets for the first two shows were the same section, but for Mame we were 7 rows from the stage, and for this one we were in the first balcony. This is annoying because we paid to sit lower. It wasn't that big of a deal I guess, as Beth was able to come sit with us in our seats.

I don't know if anyone has ever seen this show, but it's really weird. The story is peculiar: Annie Oakley challenges the world's best shooter, beats him, falls in love with him, runs him off because she's better, then gets him back. The actress playing Annie was fantastic; she had a great voice, she was funny, and she played the country-girl gone good role pretty well. Everyone else was fine too.

But, unless it's a star like Ashley Parker Angel (who mom and I happened to see as Link in Hairspray--on Broadway!) it doesn't matter that much who it is. Musicals come down to two things - singing and dancing. The songs have to be memorable, and the choreography has to be big. So, when I found out the first number of the show (and its two reprisals) was the Broadway standard "There's No Business Like Show Business", I was expecting a lot. To be honest, this number disappointed me. I can't help but be bothered by the melody; the word "business" in the refrain is sung at the same note, but I think it needs to drop each time. I'm not huge into reading music and stuff so I can't explain it better than that. Anyway, that number was a disappointment to me, as was the entire first act.

However, the second act was superb! There were at least 2 numbers that met my criteria for a good musical. The first was "Who Do You Love, I Hope", which was sung by two minor characters. This is a necessity, I think, for musicals in the beginning of the second act. It's a bit of a breather from the story (which, because it's a musical, probably isn't great) and it elevates the rest of the cast a bit. The second was the other famous song from this show, "Anything You Can Do". The actors really made this song happen well. I really thought I sensed the competitive nature of their relationship by the way they spat challenges at each other ("Anything you can say, I can say faster..."). Very entertaining, to say the least.

In the end, of course Annie and Frank end up together. My rating would be 2.5 stars out of 4. I think I liked it better than Mame. The third show, in less than two weeks, is West Side Story, which has been a source of controversy my whole post-high school life. More on that later.

To finish, I'd like to invite everyone to take in the shows at the Benedum. There is a lot of good stuff coming through in the next year, including at least four blockbusters - Wicked, Jersey Boys, Spring Awakening, and A Chorus Line. For various reasons, the arts are dying in this world, and it is something that our society simply cannot live without. There are always stories in the Post-Gazette about how the CLO loses money every year. Will you going to one show stem the tide? No, but good word of mouth has never hurt a product in the previous history of capitalism before.

Hectic week!

2008-08-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the next week is going to be pretty busy for me. I am taking my Ph.D. comprehensive exam in the field of public administration. I received the exam at 8:30 this morning and I have until 8:30 next Friday morning to finish the exam. It is 5 questions, of which I have to answer three, and each question is limited to 7500 words (which turns out to be between 25-30 pages...apiece!).

The questions that I am going to answer deal with congressional delegation of legislative power to the bureaucracy, the bureaucrat as a rational actor, and the recent attacks in the literature on the bureaucracy as an organization. Yes, it will be as fun as it sounds.

I will be blogging a little bit during this time; I know I still owe a review of the show the other night, I will do that sometime tonight hopefully. Anyway, once the exam is done, I have a lot to look forward to in August...

The Olympics
DirecTV installation
Bachelor weekend (Aug 15-17)
Weekend in Missouri (Aug 29-Sept 1)
Start of College Football

...just to name a few.

So, pray for me on my exam! Especially for concentration and focus.

Favorite Things - Summer Edition

2008-07-30T05:27:00.001-07:00

Well, it's time for the initial "Favorite Things" post. Since I've only done these in my head, I need to explain what I am thinking here. These favorite things can be anything about summer. I will describe why each is a favorite in one sentence. Then, I would encourage all of my blogging friends to do the same. Without further ado...

Freshly cut grass - such a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, it looks great, and the smell is distinct and one of a kind
Summer movie season - the days leading up to a big summer movie are filled with anticipation; this was recently seen in the two weeks leading up to The Dark Knight
Baseball - ties in with freshly cut grass; my favorite sport, and nothing beats sitting in the ballpark on a sunny summer evening, even when you are watching the Pirates
Summer mornings - the sun rises early, it's relatively cool out, and it is very tranquil; it's just breathtakingly beautiful
Summer nights - tell me more, tell me more; how much dough did he spend? Seriously though, the moon and stars on a clear summer night; it's one time I wish I had a girlfriend
Summer songs - the inevitable tune that dominates the airwaves because it's the ultimate "driving on a hot summer day with the windows down and systems up" song; any nominations for this summer's song? I say Rihanna's "Disturbia" but I could be persuaded otherwise
HEAT! - I love hot weather; I love to step outside and sweat
Farmer's tan - my arms, face, and the back of my legs tan with the best of them; the rest? not so much. It's feast or famine with my chest, back, neck, etc.
Sandals - I hate wearing shoes; I wish I could wear sandals all year round (in Tennessee, I almost could!)

Well, that's a good list to start. How about you? What are some of your favorite things of summer? Feel free to talk about this in the comments.

Tonight, my mom and I are going to see "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Benedum, the second of our three show series. Look for the review tomorrow.

(Partial) Summer Movie Recap

2008-07-28T05:15:00.001-07:00

It seems like years ago that Ironman kicked off the summer movie season and renewed Robert Downey, Jr.'s career. Since then, there have been a lot of big budget summer "popcorn" movies that have been released. Well, I keep saying that I am going to post reviews of some of these movies that I have seen. Without further ado, my paragraph analysis:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - we waited 19 years for that? I mean, they kept delaying the movie because of bad scripts. So, this was the one that you thought was passable, Lucas and Speilberg? It was fine for the first half or so, but the ending of this movie was highly disappointing. Do not see it.
Wall-E - I didn't expect much from this movie; I thought it would be Pixar's first miss. I was wayyyyyyyyy off. A surprisingly complex movie, it touches on themes of consumerism, the environment, and the pathetic plight of the human race. The main character, Wall-E, also shares a predilection for the movie Hello, Dolly! so of course he and I would get along fine (for those who don't know, I was a waiter/singer/dancer in Pine Richland High School's Spring 1999 production). This movie is a must-see.
Hancock - Will Smith is arguably the biggest star in the world; inarguably, he is the highest paid right now, as he commands well over $20 million per movie. He's also one of my favorite movie stars; movies like Hitch, I Am Legend, Ali, Independence Day, and The Pursuit of Happyness prove his versatility and depth. That's one reason why I was disappointed in this movie. I guess that fan reactions of Hancock range from horrible to great, but I don't see how anyone can like this movie. The first half was very funny and interesting; after a certain point, it's horrible. I don't want to give anything away about the "twist" - don't worry, the movie will make it plenty clear that something is coming. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what happened in the last 20 minutes; I was so bored, I was following the Pirate game pitch for pitch on my cell phone. Do not see this movie.
The Dark Knight - I've already covered this movie, but I need to say more about it. I saw it in IMAX the other night; to be honest, I didn't see a difference (and there is no difference in IMAX as far as audio; the audio is dependent on the theater). Anyway, the second time seeing it revealed a few things. First, I was wayyyy off about Heath Ledger's performance; it was much, much better than even I said it was, and I was effusive in my praise. Second, the story needs to be praised. It's totally different than Batman Begins, which was an origin story; Knight was the battle of good vs. evil, where there were no clear lines who WAS good and evil. This was just a stunning movie; it really could win multiple Academy Awards, in many different categories. If you haven't seen this, you should drop everything and see it immediately.
Step Brothers - Will Ferrell has been on a downward spiral in his career for a couple of years. I think he hasn't done anything hilarious since his cameo in Wedding Crashers. Ricky Bobby was promising and would have been fine if the previews didn't show the only funny parts. Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro were just awful. This movie had a few funny moments, and John C. Reilly is a welcome addition; they have a good comic feel for each other. However, it was unbelievably raunchy. There were crude words used as insults repeatedly, and it really went over the line of funny, I thought. I really wouldn't recommend it unless you are a male from the ages of 18-35; those are really the only people that might find it remotely funny. The descent of Ferrell continues.

Anyway, that was a rundown of a few movies that I have seen this summer. There are a couple others that I will see; I am eagerly anticipating Pineapple Express, and I will see Tropic Thunder. Other than that, I can't think of anything very promising in the last month of the summer movie season. If I have missed anything, let me know.

What are your opinions of the movies I've mentioned?

Finally!

2008-07-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Verizon Online technician who came by at 9:30 this morning, I now have (wireless!) internet in my home!

This means that I will be blogging much more frequently. Although right now, I am going outside to cut the grass.

Meanwhile, on my lunch break...

2008-07-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

So, today was the first day this week that I didn't bring my lunch, and I went out around noon to get some food. It started off badly, as 11:58 was the time that it started to rain. So, I had my umbrella, but I was still getting soaked by the rain as I walked to Jimmy John's. I walked into Jimmy John's and it stopped raining a minute later; no joke.

So I eat, and then I was gonna stop at CVS for a co-worker. I was getting a soda and a bag of chips. So I'm standing in line when the alarm at the door goes off. The worker at the cash register starts screaming "shoplifter...shoplifter". Two other workers run out the door; one had to get by me, as she was coming from behind me, and I didn't realize she was there, so I may have aided and abetted the crime. Anyway, as they are running out the door, they ask the clerk for a description. His response? "She was black!" So we know from this her race and gender. And I can attest, as I saw her walking out, that those were the only characteristics you could see; maybe I'd add that she was wearing a pink shirt.

The ladies that ran out after her come back in a minute later. She got away. They asked for another description; he responded in the same way. So that was exciting; I witnessed a petty crime. The clerk, by the way, said that CVS just presses charges and sends shoplifters to jail. It seems like a bad idea to steal a lipstick and end up in jail.

So, by now there was a line about 7 people long. One of the ladies who had run outside opened a second cash register. She said, "Can I help the next person?" I took a step toward her, when this short lady stepped up to the counter. The lady at the register said, "I have to help him (pointing to me), he was next in line." The short rude lady just screams "WELL YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID NEXT THEN!"

This made me lose some of my faith in humanity. We are doomed when people like this roam the Earth.

Takin' the Bus to Revive the City

2008-07-22T05:07:00.001-07:00

Well, the last two mornings I have decided to take the bus to work. Yesterday (Monday) I had to be in early because of a conference call that I had to be on, so I decided to take the 43E (Mt. Washington Express) which drops people off at various points downtown. The bus stops at the corner of Oneida and Grandview, which is right across from the Duquesne Incline (two streets west of my street). So it was a 5 minute walk to the bus stop. Then I got on the bus, and was downtown within 10 minutes. It was so fabulous!

Today I took the bus again. It was a little slower because of all the people driving to work today (the rain caused this, I think). However, it still has its benefits. I said this earlier this month about the "T", but I can say it's true of the bus system as well. There are a lot of cute girls that ride the bus. In particular, there is one girl that I can't get out of my mind; she had a great smile and cute curly blonde hair. I remember the sentiment when I was in college that Western PA has no cute, single girls; from my experiences so far, I can't believe I ever agreed with this.

So the whole public transportation thing gets me thinking many times about politics and beliefs that people hold. Public transportation is vital to cities and urban life, yet in many places (including Pittsburgh) it keeps facing budget cuts, which leads to a cut in services. Our cities are dying. Look at the declining population in the traditional Rust Belt cities (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, etc) and look at the cities that are gaining population, like Aurora, Colorado. I have never been there, but it's basically a suburb of Denver. This isn't a city! Yet it has more population than we have in Pittsburgh. The same thing, "white flight", is happening in Western PA, where people are fleeing to the suburbs.

This gets to a whole bunch of problems, including the racial inequalities and disparities that exist because of this situation. When the Port Authority cuts services, who does it disproportionately affect? Minorities that live in the city. And why do they cut services? Because people don't want to pay a little more in taxes.

I believe in the necessity of urban growth and renewal for the sake of the country in the 21st century. One of the most important ways that this happens is with a vibrant public transportation system. That's why, when I am Allegheny County Executive, I am going to expand the "T" to all corners of the county.

"Literally"

2008-07-21T04:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a huge letdown, and it started off so promisingly. Day by day:

1. Friday - after work, I was meeting friends Keith, Luke, Steve and Dave at the South Side Works for the 6:30 showing of The Dark Knight. They made it around 6:18 (they were coming from Grove City) so we went into the theater (I had bought tickets on Tuesday of the week) and the only seats seemingly left were in the first three rows. However, Luke came up huge and found seats in the last row. Sitting through the previews was torture (although Bond previews are always sweet, even if the name of the movie is Quantum of Solace).

When the screen came up, I got goose bumps...literally. And this is not literally in the figurative sense. I'm gonna rant a minute here. Go look up "literally" in the dictionary, like on www.dictionary.com . They now have two definitions: (1) the literal definition and (2) the opposite definition, also known as "figuratively". You know, like "I literally ate 8,000 pounds of hamburger this weekend." No you didn't; you figuratively ate that much. This is just unconscionable to me, that in the dictionary it has two diametrically opposed concepts for the same word. Unbelievable.

Anyway, the opening scene is the scene that they had been showing sporadically in theaters for the past year, the bank heist with the Joker leading the way. This confirmed what I and many others had thought since first seeing the Joker on screen: he was going to steal the movie.

Here's my personal rundown of the movie: Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger. Obviously I need time for it to digest, I need to see it again multiple times, but it may be my favorite performance from an actor ever. I mean, it stole the movie that much. Every scene without Joker onscreen, I was waiting for the next one with him on. I just fell in love with his portrayal. It was creepy, scary, yet hysterical at the same time. He was a manic psychopath and it was extremely entertaining to watch.

I will say this: I liked it better than Batman Begins. I thought Begins was excellent and really raised the bar for comic book movies. Knight stands alone without the necessity of the "comic book" tag. The other performance, I thought, ranged from below average to fine. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine did their thing, Maggie Gyllenhaal is obviously a better Rachel Dawes than Katie Holmes (about this there is NO debate), and Aaron Eckhart was very good as Harvey Dent. Disappointing for me was actually Christian Bale. He's usually good in everything (including the first time he filled the role of the Caped Crusader) but this movie, I thought he lacked depth. His Batman was a one note character, almost grunting his lines and generally being ticked off at the world.

This movie really explored the concept of good vs. evil in an interesting way. I felt that, at times, there were political and biblical overtones, but that could be my penchant for interpreting everything that way. Overall, this movie was fantastic. Equally fantastic was the shrimp and bacon club I had at The Cheesecake Factory after the movie. Seriously, if you have never tried it, get it the next time you go there. I could eat them all day; literally.

2. Saturday was a HUGE bust. I was supposed to get Dish Network installed. I had already had my problems with Verizon Online, so I was hoping this would go smoothly. I did not.

I set alarms for 7:15 and 7:30 so that I would get up and get a cup of coffee if I felt like it. I didn't, so I moved out to the living room, waiting with my phone for the Dish guy to call. My service window was from 8-12. I sat there reading all morning; I literally read thousands of pages of this book this weekend. At 11:20 a.m., he called saying that his first two jobs were in Beaver County and that he was on his way. At 2:30 p.m. the Western PA office called and asked if he was there yet. He was not. At 4:00, they called and said he was backed up, and we needed to change it til tomorrow. Whatevs. I did nothing the entire day.

3. Sunday, I woke up early to go to the 9:00 a.m. service at the South Hills Bible Chapel (www.biblechapel.org). It's a non-denominational church that teaches a lot of the same things that I've grown up believing (with less emphasis on the process of sanctification, which is big in the CMA church). I went, and they are doing this summer series on the "B-sides of the Bible". The concept is tied to Beatles songs, which coincidentally were the A-sides of their respective singles. B-sides are the lesser known sides of singles, and that was what they were trying to capture in this series, short books of the Bible that get overlooked. Yesterday was about the book of Jonah, and other books that will be examined this summer include Obadiah, Nahum, 2 and 3 John, and Philemon. They are trying to preach a book a week. It was a good message, and I was even able to get over the cheesy packaging of the message (side note: this is a pet peeve of mine, when churches try to spice up the Bible. As if people won't be as interested because the Bible is boring, they need to attach some type of relevant cultural significance to sell what God has to say. Luckily, like I said, I was able to get past that here--hoping I didn't offend my pastor and friend Dan here, but I don't think he does this, which I appreciate and makes Bakerstown Alliance the best church to which I have ever been--literally).

After church, I went to the information center to get info on men's Bible studies, appropriate Sunday School classes, and small groups. The guy who was greeting me was none other than former Steeler lineman and current Steelers color guy Tunch Ilkin. I talked with him a bit, it turns out he's the director of men's ministries there, and he gave me his cell number, telling me to call with any questions or to meet him this week and talk. So I might do that.

Anyway, this church was visited; it was two I had found that I wanted to try (the other being USC Alliance). They are each about 10 miles from my house, so not that far.

Then, I waited around for the Dish guy again. He came at 2:30, asked for my landlord permission form that I didn't have, and said he couldn't install it. I told him that my landlord lives in NYC, its hard to get stuff to/from him, I could have forged it, I could have gotten a friend to be my "landlord", etc. Nothing worked for him; he didn't "need" more accusations of house damage. Whatever. Dish and Verizon Online lost my business to Comcast now. Even though it costs freaking $108 to install! Something needs to be done about the cable business.

Here's to literally another week without cable or internet. I am hoping that the next discs of The West Wing get here shortly for me to continue watching.

*I hope you appreciated my brazen use of the word "literally" in this post. I'm going to continue to use it in both the correct and incorrect manners. If you use the word incorrectly, I won't call you out, but consider this a lesson. IT CAN'T MEAN FIGURATIVELY!

Well, I certainly hope Patty went to bed...

2008-07-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Verizon, my DSL connection is not working. It was a very frustrating experience where the tech person kept me on the phone for 40 minutes, all to tell me to turn off the computer and modem, wait 15 seconds, and start them up again. For those of you who have never done this, that was the fourth time I had been told that would solve my problem: first, the written directions said this, second it was on the installation CD, third was on the voice recorded phone message while waiting for the tech person, then fourth was the tech person. When you aren't an idiot, this is extremely irritating, to be told something four times. And that's all the tech person had for me! Forty minutes for that. So now they are sending a technician to my apartment, of course not til next Saturday, and they think they are billing me for service starting yesterday.

Yes, this angered me very much. To the point that I couldn't do my favorite things of summer post. I will do that at some point this week. Of course, I'll have to venture out to a Panera or other wireless friendly place to do this. Thanks a lot, Verizon Online.

Dedicated Data Line

2008-07-17T08:35:00.001-07:00

So, today will be an exciting day on Mt. Washington, for at my humble abode, I will finally be getting internet access. I chose to go with Verizon's DSL (hoping to switch to FiOS when they bury the fiber-optic cables on my street--I don't know what this means, but that's the reason they told me that its unavailable right now for me...) which comes with a wireless router, which is sweet.

So, there will no longer be a lag between the time something happens to me, and the time I get to blog about it. Which means Beth will no longer beat me to the punch on blog items, or even Patty for that matter.

It also means that tonight, I will be back with...wait for it...

Favorite Things - Summer Edition (part I)

The Weekend - Part II

2008-07-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday started out slowly. I woke up early expecting Dad and Grandpa to come down and have breakfast with me on the South Side. However, Grandpa was feeling sick, so they didn't come down. I couldn't go back to bed, so I watched The West Wing on DVD (I started a Netflix subscription...maybe I'll write about the West Wing at some point).

I found out everybody was going to come down to my apartment, which includes Levi, in the afternoon. This is why living downtown is so fun; it's like an event for people to come visit. They all came down and we showed Levi my apartment. Then we decided to take him for a ride up and down the incline. We went over to Station Square and Levi played over by the dancing fountains while we watched (or played, in Beth's case). He was also thrilled when a train came by.

Then we went to eat at Joe's Crab Shack. This led to one of the funnier things that I've seen in awhile. Beth was sitting there and she decided to do her Donald Duck impression. She did it, it wasn't that bad, but Levi remarked: "That kinda doesn't sound like Donald Duck." This was hysterical, as he said it only as a kid can say it, very innocently but matter-of-factly. Beth was devastated; the rest of us were laughing. I was laughing so hard that I almost fell off of the bench. Anyway, Levi kept saying funny stuff. After lunch was over, we went back up the incline, to my apartment, and Mom and Dad left.

Next, we decided to go to the Mt. Washington neighborhood pool. It was about 5:30 when we got there, and we found out two things: (1) the pool costs $4 for an adult and $3 for a child, and (2) it was closing at 5:45 that day. This is very disturbing to me. First of all, I thought it would be cheaper than this. How often can you afford to go when it's $4 a day? Probably not too often.

Now what is the purpose of a city pool? It's a service to the people of a city; their tax dollars go to pay for it. Furthermore, it's really a way to keep kids off the streets and keep them out of trouble. The cost becomes prohibitive in this regard. Are city kids more likely to hang out at the pool, or hang out on the street corner where it's free? Secondly, it's hours are horrible! The hours are 1-7:45 Mon-Fri and 1-5:45 Sat and Sun. It's barely even open! We battle the weather elements here in Pittsburgh, so the pool already will only be open for 3 or 4 months of the year. I just couldn't believe that city services have been cut so much that the pool is hardly open and it costs so much. end rant

So our next goal was to go see the movie Wall-E. We headed down to the South Side Works cinema, and we were really early. This was a good thing, because there was a huge street festival going on down there. We hung out and did the sidewalk chalk drawing contest (I think Levi will win). He went and did the other kid stuff they had. Then we went in and saw the movie. This movie was good enough to merit its own stand-alone post, so the review of the movie will be coming soon.

After the movie was over, we headed up to my apartment, where Levi and Beth dropped me off and headed home. It was such a relaxing day, it felt like we were on vacation. Here's to more weekend vacations in the 'burgh!

The Weekend - Part I (Friday)

2008-07-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, there was so much that went on this weekend, I feel as if one comprehensive post won't or can't do it justice. So I'm gonna take it day by day. Another factor that led to this decision is that Mom and Beth both blogged about this already. So, I've decided that I have to do it BIGGER AND BETTER.

I'll start with Friday night was a prime example of the advantages of urban living. The headlining event was that Beth and I went to a concert. The concert was at Brillobox, which is in the Bloomfield section of the city. The band that we saw was the band headed by a college friend of mine, Ben Hardt, performing with His Symphony.

The concept behind the band is pretty grandiose. Ben was an '03 graduate of GCC, like myself; we went on a mission trip together to Jamaica in the spring of 2001. It was on this mission trip that I discovered Ben's vast talents on the guitar. Anyway, after graduation he was working a corporate job for a couple of years after when he decided that it wasn't the life he wanted to lead. So, he quit his job. While working, he was in a few bands. He quit his safe job to pursue his first love, which is music.

He embarked on writing an epic record, telling the tale of lovers in London during World War II. The first CD of the three part project was released in spring 2007. It contains 6 substantive tracks, and I don't think I am overstating it to say that it is brilliant. Ben wrote the songs with a string section in mind, meaning that his songs contain violins, celloes and even an upright bass. He recruited some musicians from Duquesne to play with his project. The results are fabulous; you can check out his band on YouTube, just search "Ben Hardt".

Anyway, the concert was very energetic as well. There was a band that opened that was called, I think, The Meeting of the Important People. They were entertaining, playing fast paced music with just percussion, bass and guitar. Ben's set was fantastic. He played 5 of the 6 tracks from the first disc, as well as some new music. He also proclaimed a love for "80s synth songs with string sections". This led to covers of The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" among others. They ended with a cover of "Stand By Me."

Maybe the only downer of the night was when Ben announced that this would be their last show until September. Ben is sequestering himself in Zelienople, writing the 2nd part of the story. It will be exciting to hear what he comes up with next.

All in all, a good Friday that was a precursor to a Saturday that can only be described as feeling vacation-like. More on that later.

Pittsburgh CLO presents Mame

2008-07-11T13:45:00.001-07:00

Well, last night Mom and I went to see Mame at the Benedum downtown. Mom met me on the corner of 6th and Penn, and we went to dinner before the show. It was an exciting time to be downtown; the Pirates v. Yankees game was being made up last night as well (this deserves a rant later, btw), so downtown was lively and bustling with activity. After considering a few places to eat, we settled for the Grille on 7th, which is diagonal from the Benedum. I ordered this fantastic piece of baked salmon with a pretzel crust and honey mustard drizzled over it. It was fabulous! I even got Mom to try the fish, and she really liked it! If you don't like fish, that doesn't mean you wouldn't like salmon. I would tell you this: when you see it on a menu, try a salmon caesar salad. That's a good starting point.

Anyway, after dinner we went over and we were in our seats by 7:30. I thought this would be normal, but we were some of the first people in there. I don't know proper theatre etiquette, but 15-20 minutes seemed appropriate in Pittsburgh. Also, I wasn't sure about dress; I went with biz casual, and that seemed ok. Some of the elder gents were wearing ties and coats; I guess that's to be expected from the old guard.

So as we are sitting there, we are looking through the program. I say to Mom, "hey, the person playing Mame was on Knots Landing, her name is Michele Lee." And Mom started freaking out! She was so excited because she knew her, and of course seeing a star adds a whole dimension to a show. This just adds to the thrill of seeing live musical theatre!

The show itself was just ok; my quibbles are more with the actual show and not the performers. I think the premise is interesting, but the script really didn't develop it well. The bond between Mame and Patrick seemed forced and rushed; the conclusion was anti-climactic; the second act was very bare (this is a problem of a lot of musicals). The musical numbers were alright, as well. "Mame" ended the first act and was on the Southern plantation; it was the best number of the show.

Michele Lee was great as the title character. The young boy from the South Hills that played 10 year old Patrick was awesome! Very talented kid. Agnes was the comic relief, and she was pretty funny for a generally humorless show.

So, that's one CLO production down for the summer and two to go. Our seats were really good; 7th row right-center. Our Annie Get Your Gun seats are even better, so that should be fun. West Side Story is the third show and we have good seats for that as well. Should be exciting for the rest of the summer!

Random musings

2008-07-10T08:29:00.001-07:00

So, this is my fifth blog post, tying it with another effort as soon as I moved to Knoxville as the longest I have blogged. I have faith that my interest will keep me around this time.

However, it's time for a notes blog! That can be a sign that the blogger is running out of ideas; in this case, I assure you it isn't.

On with the show:

1. I will agree with commenter "Bethlehem" - I am looking forward to Mamma Mia, and waiting for The Dark Knight just might kill me. It's only another week until the psychotic, manic, reportedly mesmerizing Heath Ledger-created Joker is unveiled to the general public, and I for one am ecstatic. Add me to the chorus of people that believe this role killed him; in fact, I think I was one of the first people saying this, I remember the stories of his psychosis and mania after the filming ended, before he died. The buzz surrounding his performance is deafening (Time Magazine is the latest to join the plaudits). The question surrounding this movie for me is this: which villian does the movie set up for the threequel? The obvious answer is Harvey "Two Face" Dent, the Gotham DA played by Aaron Eckhart (btw, there is an answer in the movie, as the Time review points out). Personally, I am hoping for The Riddler.

And Mamma Mia is a musical, so I'm obviously enticed. In fact, my original idea for a blog 4 months ago was for a comprehensive movie musical database, until I decided that the topic was too limited. We have seen a rebirth of movie musicals, with (ughh) Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Hairspray, etc. So this is a good time for us musical lovers!

2. Speaking of musicals, my mom and I tonight are seeing the first of our 3 show series that we subscribed to through the Pittsburgh CLO. Tonight's show is Mame, and I know next to nothing about it. It's about a socialite during the Depression; the lyrics are from the same guy who wrote the songs to Hello, Dolly! (which is the musical I performed in high school, btw)...and that's about all I know about it. I will have a report on it for you tomorrow. The other shows we will see this summer are West Side Story and Annie Get Your Gun. Then, for musical theatre lovers, it gets exciting this fall with Wicked and Jersey Boys coming to town!

3. Last night, I grilled a piece of salmon for the first time in my life. It turned out to be excellent. Salmon is quickly becoming my favorite food; there are a lot of ways to prepare it, and I hope to discover them soon!

4. I also went to the Bucs game last night. Disappointing result for the home squad, as a Doumit mental error led to two Astro runs in the top of the 8th. Not a big crowd; it hasn't been for most of the year at PNC. But, I sat in the Baseball Club seats in the second level, and in the first row. The view of the city there is absolutely stunning. It always sends chills down my spine. It just reaffirms the beauty of the city that I call home.

5. I also filled out my drivers license change of address; I should now be a voter in the city of Pittsburgh! It's only a matter of time before I challenge for Luke's throne. Be prepared, you will have never seen my campaigning style before!

Well, that's enough for now. Maybe I'll be back with something in the afternoon. We'll see.

Summer Movie Season

2008-07-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just love blogging, so some days maybe you'll get multiple posts out of me!

As the title suggests, I want to talk about summer movies. The summer movie season is one of the things I look forward to most every year; it's one of the best aspects of summer. The season starts with Memorial Day weekend, and the first big blockbuster of the summer; this year, it was Robert Downey, Jr. in "Ironman". The season ends by Labor Day, and usually it ends with a whimper.

However, the season really goes year round. You see previews for summer movies from summer before the movie comes out, then during the holiday movie season and into the summer. There is always news coming out about the movies. It's just an exciting thing to pay attention to, in my opinion.

So, I have been thinking about how I need to treat summer movies. I think I'll talk about the ones that I'm excited about, and I'll review some, so you'll be forewarned if spoilers are included. Sometime soon I will post the first review, of Hancock, which was monumentally disappointing (like other summer movies have been this year, including Indiana Jones).

Life is weird...

2008-07-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sitting on the Mon Incline this morning. I had just completed the 18 minute, .7 mile walk from my door to the incline. I was sweating. It was gloomy and grey out, which was a pretty interesting way in which to view Pittsburgh from atop Mt. Wash. And, as I said, I'm sitting on the incline, wondering what I am going to blog about today.

When all of a sudden, the incline car stops. About a quarter of the way down the hill.

There were only three people on the car: me, some other young dude, and this old lady (side note: my fears about long lines for the incline have been allayed). The old lady says to the young dude, "what's going on?" Nobody has any idea.

I am not panicking, but there are several thoughts going through my head:

1. I may be late for work, I should text Zach, my supervisor.
2. This might be my last trip on the incline--either because it hurls me to a previously unexpected death, or because I'm not willing to subject myself to those chances again.
3. How weird is it that, at the exact moment I'm searching for something to blog about, the incline stops?

Being a suburban boy, I haven't ridden the incline too many times in my life. So I don't know if this is par for the course or not, but it really seems like it shouldn't be. Do you know how the incline works? Check out these website to see: http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/customerinfo/inclines/tabid/119/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monongahela_Incline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duquesne_Incline

They are basically cars that are carried by cables up and down the tracks. I pay attention to Pittsburgh news, and I've never heard about "incline tragedies", so my guard wasn't up. It is now. I have decided that I will continue riding the inclines, but if this becomes a too-common occurrence...maybe the bus doesn't look so bad?

p.s. I have gotten word of at least two friends who are reading this. Comment please! I don't want to have to call you out, but you know who you are.

The Morning Commute

2008-07-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

Well, today was my second day of commuting from the top of Mt. Washington to Pittsburgh's Cultural District, which is where I work. There are a variety of options available to me:

1. Car - this is the suburban way of commuting, and is what I used when driving from Gibsonia. I didn't mind the traffic that much, and I enjoyed listening to the radio in the morning and relaxing before starting work. However, I didn't like paying $5 a day to park, in the Strip no less, which led to a 12 minute walk to my office. All told, the commute was usually about 52 minutes, costing $5 plus gasoline each way.

2. Bus - this is the working man's way of traveling. The bus system is relatively easy. You can get a monthly pass for $75/month in zone 1. There are two particular buses that are available to Mt. Washingtonians: the 41E and 43E (aka Mt. Washington Express). These buses drop you off right downtown at Sixth Ave. and Wood Street. The problem with the express is that, in the afternoons, it leaves basically on the half hour. I finish work at 5, so that would mean I'd have to wait 30 minutes for the bus, and I wouldn't get home until after 6. That doesn't sound appealing.

3. The "T" and Inclines - this is the glamourous way to travel down Mt. Washington. The inclines are included with a bus pass, as is the T. The inclines are super quick; I left early Monday morning because I thought there may be a line and it may take awhile. This was not the case. Monday I used the Mon Incline (a.k.a. the close one) in the morning. I got there, after a 5 minute walk from my apartment, and got right on the car. I was at the bottom of the hill in 5 minutes. Today, I walked to the Duquesne Incline (a.k.a. the not close one). It was an 18 minute walk along Grandview Avenue, looking at the still-rising sun, the bustle of traffic, and generally a city that was waking up to a new day; it was beautiful. Then I boarded the incline, again no wait, and was down at the bottom of the hill in no time.

The difference between the two inclines is their position in relation to downtown and Station Square; one is close, one is not. It just so happens that the one that is close to SS and downtown is the Duquesne, which as you may recall is the far one from my house. The Mon Incline leads to a long, long walk along West Carson Street, and its generally not desirable. The one option is to wait for the bus that comes there, but I don't know how that works. You press a button so a light flashes and a bus stops. Is it any bus that is along this route? Is there a particular bus that comes every 27 minutes? Or other intervals? I don't know, and don't want to ask. Maybe I'll try it once and see how it goes.

Taking the T, though, is so much fun. And let me tell you this: there are a LOT of gorgeous young professional girls that ride it to and from work. I can take the T to either Steel Plaza, Wood Street, or Gateway Center. Today I took it to Gateway, and stopped at Dunkin Donuts.

But taking the T has convinced me, as well, that as a region, southwestern PA needs an expanded T. One that goes to the airport, Cranberry, and Monroeville. There has to be a way to do this relatively inexpensively; you don't need to dig new tunnels like they are doing for the North Shore Connector. This is a way that Pittsburgh will be equipped to deal with the last 80 years or so of the 21st Century. When I run for Mayor, this will be one of the things I promote.

Anyway, that describes the morning commute. I just got back into the office from running over to the Steelworkers building for a press conference on healthcare. I ran into my dad on the way back. Small world, eh?

Moving to my 'hood!

2008-07-07T07:47:00.001-07:00

Well, I am officially a resident of the city of Pittsburgh! I have lived in Western PA almost all of my life, but it has always been in the northern suburbs. Last Tuesday I got my key to my place on Mt. Washington, and I moved all of my stuff in over the weekend. Of course, it doesn't come without a story.

As you may know, I was moving from Knoxville, TN, and I had been back in town for almost two months, working my new job. My "stuff" was everywhere; I had brought a carload home from Knoxville when I first came up, then I acquired some new things while at home (like a sweet sofa/loveseat set--thanks Beth!), and of course I had some things in Knoxville, like my luxurious bed. So the move commenced on Thursday night when Dad and I borrowed the "high top" van from the Lighthouse. We threw in the few pieces of furniture that were at Mom and Dad's house and took them to my new place.

Friday morning, Dad and I packed my clothes and other small things into my car and his car and headed down to the apartment. This didn't take long to unload, and then we were organizing a bit. Dad also made a clever little closet for my hang-up clothes; one drawback to this sweet apartment is that it doesn't have much closet space. Dad was innovative and created something in a little nook in my bedroom; once Mom adds the curtain, it will be complete.

Then Dad and I headed out to do a little shopping. I was planning on having a few friends over for the 4th (especially since Mom's dream was to watch the fireworks from Mt. Washington), and I had promised grilled meats, so I needed to provide. We went to Lowe's and bought a gas grill, which now is stored in my garage. Then we went to Best Buy, and I bought a 32" LCD HDTV, which was covered fully by my stimulus check!

Friends came over later; Keith, Dave and his girlfriend Marianne, Jim and his fiancee Beth, and my family. We had a great time sitting and talking, then heading out to Grandview to watch the fireworks. Everyone left soon after, because they knew I had to head to Knoxville in the morning to get my stuff.

The drive down to K-town was pretty uneventful. It took a little longer because I couldn't drive as fast as I would in my car. Otherwise, it was fine, besides spending A TON of money on gas. I got down there to realize that my K-town roomies had packed up a lot of my stuff, which was a big help. For everything that I either did or didn't like about Knoxville, I can say this: I made five friends that are friends for life. The one downside to moving back to Pittsburgh is that Colin, Noel, Tim, Hemant, and Jamie are still in Knoxville, and I will miss those guys (but maybe Tim will come to the 'burgh???).

Noel and Tim helped me pack my stuff into the van, so I took them out to dinner to thank them. We went to Calhoun's on the River. If you ever go to Knoxville, I would say this place is a must. The ambiance is great because it's right down on the Tennessee River, with Neyland Stadium and downtown in view. They have a good selection of food; the ribs are what they are famous for, but I prefer either the salmon or the pork plate. I got the pork plate with my favorite side, spinach maria; it was excellent. We had a great time.

I left early Sunday morning to get back to Pittsburgh. Everything was going fine; I was on pace for a 3:30 or so arrival, when, between Kirwan Heights and Carnegie, I smelled gasoline, and the van stopped moving. It was hemorraging gas! I was afraid it might blow up--I don't know if this is rational or not, but it sure seemed to be in the moment--so I walked 50 yards away and called Dad. He was downtown, planning on meeting me to unpack the van, so he was able to be there in 30 minutes. We had to call Mom to find us a Uhaul place in Carnegie, then call them to see if anything was available. It was, so we picked it up, drove back to the van, unloaded the van on the side of the road (!), then headed to the apartment.

Mom and Beth showed up to help, and I wasn't in a good mood at all. Sorry guys:( We took the truck back, then Dad and I ordered a pizza from Cestone's. Dad had a bad feeling originally about the place, but the bacon/banana peppers pizza was excellent.

And after all of that, all that is left to do is unpack all of my crap.