A blog about the various things that speak the most to me and for anyone brave enough to want to decipher what rolls onto the page. Enjoy it.
"Voices inside my head,
Echoes of things that you said."
-The Police
It's late and I'm still smarting from how poorly the Ravens played today against the Bengals. So why not a little comedy to cheer me up?
I found this picture courtesy of Deadspin.
This is former Oriole and know bat corker Sammy Sosa and no this is not some kind of Zombie Halloween costume that Slammin Sammy put together last week.
It's all explained here:
He is going through a rejuvenation process for his skin," [Rebecca] Polihronis said. "Women have it all of the time. He was surprised he came out looking so white. I thought it was a body double. Part of (the photo appearance) is just the lighting.
"He is in the middle of doing a cleansing process to his skin. The picture is deceiving. He said, 'If you saw me in person, you would be surprised. When you see me in person, it is not going to seem like the picture.'"
Ok, fine I guess it's not side effects from steriods but I can dream can't I.
No way to get out a blog post last Friday and here's why.
I spent all day in meetings at school. That shouldn't be much of a big deal but you've obviously never sat and listened to people attempt to screw up something so simple. I don't even really feel like recounting the whole ordeal. It makes my head hurt.
So after that we attempted to sell my wife's Jeep. We were still just dating when I went with her to purchase it so I figured it would be hard. The only hard thing was driving 30 minutes towards the Busch River and having the guy who wanted to buy it from us repeat himself over and over and over. He must not get many visitors.
Then a quick bite at the Double T. Quick with three kids means about an hour and a half but there were no injuries just full stomachs and that's all you can hope for.
By that point we put everyone to bed and I decided to crack open a special bomber of Clipper City's Imperial Octoberfest and enjoy a bad movie. But I can't just watch a bad movie by myself so I had to watch it with Joel and three robots.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 presents: Hercules Against the Moon Men
What a great old show. You take really bad films and record dialogue around it just like you'd crack wise with you and your friends if you watched such garbage.
I didn't get to the end though, not like it matters. After the second Octoberfest at 9% each I nodded off with ease.
Who knew that yet another iconic television show would also have its 40th anniversary this year?
Sesame Street first appeared on television on this day in 1969. It has since spawned iconic characters that every pre-school child knows. It appears in languages all over the world. It even still has most of the same human characters like Bob and Maria. (aren't they 80 by now?)
But to be honest one of the greatest things about being a dad is having my kids experience things that I did as a kid.
I have a feeling the Street will be around when I'm a Grandpa.
Just a few of my favorite bits.
Sesame Street was supposed to be a fictional street in NYC. So it would have made no sense to not have at least one grouch who lived in a trash can.
No they are not gay. In fact I think they are supposed to be kids, which made me wonder more why there were never any parents around and how they lived in a swanky two floor walk-up in New York since they didn't appear to have jobs.
The first clip I showed to Connor. He sang it all day.
And finally my favorite sketch ever. Lots of soul in shapes. "I know who a square is!"
I missed this because I was so preoccupied with Halloween but around Mid-October IFC was planning to invite the circus to their channel to celebrate it's 40th year.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
But 40 it is, commemorated by a six-part documentary, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) (IFC, Sunday-Friday, 9 ET/PT); a book, Monty Python Live!, which chronicles the touring days and sketches in the 1970s; and, starting Friday, a 10-day channel dedicated to Python on Sirius XM Radio. And tonight, the five surviving members — Palin, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Terry Jones (Graham Chapman died in 1989) — will be honored in New York City by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Python inspires either love or hatred. You can't seem to be in the middle with their brand of comedy. I know British humour can be a bit hard to get but there are certain Python bits that make me laugh until I collapse onto the floor. So if anything celebrate their longevity and ability to influence others, HBO's Mr. Show comes to mind.
Of course I think this should probably have been a topic during the Halloween phase of the blog in October but I guess I can't seem to shake the theme just yet. But as you can see even though Mr. King is known more for his horror stories he can pretty much write anything.
1-THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
Oddly enough this fantastic story barely covered it's operating budget due to lukewarm response in theaters. It only seems odd because this movie continues to pop up on best all-time movies lists time and again. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are fantastic.
2-THE SHINING (1980)
Just a great horror movie. Writer's block can be a killer.
3-THE GREEN MILE (1999)
A tremendously heartwarming story about a guard and his encounter with a supernatural Michael Clarke Duncan. "We each owe a death; there are no exceptions; but, Oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long."
4-THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
Christopher Walken thinks that Martin Sheen is going to end the world. Therefore he must die.
5-MISERY (1990)
Kathy Bates is so friggin' frightening. "Go to your room, Mister Man!"
I was so excited to see that Yahoo had posted a bunch of Halloween pictures of what celebrities were wearing this year. Not excited in a way that I cared what they wore but instead how easily I could make fun of them.
However a major problem I had was not recognizing most of the so-called celebrities. So here's who I did know.
Bette Midler? I guess she's still a celebrity. Is it possible she just pulled out an old singing outfit for this one. I also thought she was trying to be a zombie. Instead I think she's just really pale.
Hey Lamar Odom at least try. You have zillions of dollars playing ball and you just signed a new contract. Hobo Batman doesn't even seem like a real costume. Perhaps its just the angle but I think Khloe needed some special assistance to get in the latex.
Even dressed like a yarn haired doll Gwen Stefani still looks good. Damn it I got nothing.
And finally Seal has found a costume that takes full advantage of the more interesting features on his face. Heidi, how does it feel to look like your husband for a day?
Halloween is in the books and I have to say that even though it rained off and on during the day everyone still had a great time. The Cedarwood neighborhood parade went off without a hitch around three o'clock which was highlighted by young Maddie falling asleep in the wagon. There is a picture somewhere.
But later on the Davallis joined us for some Pat's pizza and then a solid haul of treats from the neighborhood. I never used to like Halloween all that much but I'm sure it will step up another notch once all three of the kids are running about the block.
Even though I do love letting the blog getting taken over by all things Halloween I am anxious to write about other things today.
So I'll begin with a movie that I'm actually ashamed that I liked. The Land of the Lost was a 70's TV show that most people my age would remember. It had cheesy effects, questionable acting, and wild plot lines. But most 8 year olds aren't Roger Ebert and all they care about is if it looks cool. It's about Dinosaurs and Lizard Men for God's sakes.
So when I heard that a comedy remake was slated with Will Ferrell I was intrigued but skeptical. Not taking the source material serious is definitely the way to go here.
So Ferrell is Dr. Rick Marshall which is sort of like making Carrot Top play the President. Ferrell has been playing the same character for years. Guys who love to scream but are essentially cowards. He even tries to mix it up with Matt Lauer and in the end Mr. Lauer's uppance does come. I can see the jokes coming a mile away and yet I still laugh for some reason. Marshall even though he is a blowhard is an accidental genius as he finds a way to go back to an alternate universe.
He's convinced by Holly, played by Anna Friel, a science groupie who thinks Marshall's theories have always been brilliant to actually test them out. Great move not making Holly Marshall his daughter as it would have made the plot line icky.
But my favorite has to be Danny McBride who once again is playing a Southern doofus but this time he owns a roadside oddity that Marshall and Holly use to jump into the past, I think.
He has some good lines and helps keep things from just being about watching Ferrell hurt and embarrass himself. Speaking of embarrassing, it takes a lot to take the worst character from the Tv show, Chaka and turn him into something you'd like to see skinned and used as a rug by the end of the show. This time around Chaka loves to quote show tunes and hump any part of your body that you let him.
So if you dare to watch this know what you are getting into to. This isn't high drama. It is what I thought it was and oddly enough I laughed and enjoyed it just the same. Guess I was just in one of those moods.
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