In hopes to rectify the oversight in my account, let me add a brief comment on the subject of the post-moving truck unloading feast at the Texas Roadhouse right down the road from the Captain's new apartment.
We got to the restaurant about halfway through the first quarter of the Michigan/ Ohio State football game and got seats at the bar. Not only did this allow for a better view of the TVs, but we were also fortunate enough to get the attractive bartender (whom the Captain was more intrigued with) and the equally attractive bartending trainee (who more captured my interest) as our servers. We then proceeded to order way too much food at the Captain's insistence as repayment for our services in moving that day.
For future reference, a blooming onion (or whatever name the particular establishment wishes to impart upon such an item) is never so big as when the rest of your party isn't interested in having any. Every time I've ever ordered one in the past it was gone in like 5 minutes, devoured by a group of 6 or more. But when you're staring at it alone, that's a big plate of fried onion.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Holiday Travels
So before they become too far gone I need to recount my travels over the last few weeks before embarking again on a trip to Chicago this weekend with the family.
Two weeks ago I was just trying to make it through two paper deadlines and in to the weekend for my brother's birthday celebration in Chi-Town. I finished the papers and left that Friday morning for the Windy City, eager for a change of scenery and a hearkening back to the party days of undergrad. The trip delivered on both accounts.
Friday night was spent at a local bar in Lincoln Park where $15 got us an unlimited tab for 3 hours. I'm not much of a fan of the well drinks and domestic beers, but as it wasn't my party I wasn't going to complain. I had a few drinks, ate free pizza, and was glad to be around a livelier crowd than my graduate program cohort has been as of late. The fact that the lot of them were recent or soon to be MSU alums won't be held against them - they're still good people most of the time.
Feeling bad for not being able to offer me more than the floor the last time I stayed with him, my brother reserved the aero bed in his apartment for me, thus guaranteeing me a relatively comfortable sleep by the time we finally came back to his apartment. Seeing as we ended up with about 10 people crammed in there for the night, I made sure to claim that aero bed the minute I walked in the door.
When Saturday morning came I couldn't get out of that apartment and away from some of my brother's more annoying friends. As divine providence would have it, one of my brother's friends remembered mention of a diner down the street, so four of us set out in search of breakfast.
I have talked about this diner now for two weeks. We walked in just as a booth was clearing, and things just went up from there. The busboy and waitress cleared the table right off and got us drinks within like two minutes. The coffee was fantastic and if you took your eyes off the mug for even an instant it would be refilled by the time you looked back. The waitress took our order and brought our food out just as quickly, and it was outstanding. The fact that it was all cheaper than a comparable meal at Denny's only sweetened the deal, though I would have paid double for such a perfect dining experience.
From now on whenever I visit my brother, breakfast, lunch, or dinner we are going there.
After breakfast I packed up and headed for the suburbs in an attempt to whittle away at the debt I owe the Captain for all his assistance in moving. I got to Lizle just as he and some coworkers were starting to load the truck, and did as best I could to lend a hand in loading the moving truck. It was either that, or just carve out a kidney as repayment to the Captain.
The rest of Saturday was spent moving the Captain into his new apartment across town and helping him get things squared away. I left Sunday morning knowing I had another paper waiting for me back in Allendale.
Getting through Monday and Tuesday last week after taking my own mini-vacation was brutal. On the one hand I felt reenergized and uplifted by getting away for the weekend, but at the same time knowing that a meeting and two classes were all that stood in the way of Thanksgiving break made those days seem unreasonably long.
Thanksgiving Break was, however, fairly uneventful. Only being half and hour from home makes going home a lot less of a trip than driving 3 hours from Ann Arbor, certainly less taxing than coming back from North Carolina. I spent the break seeing family, doing a bit of shopping, eating a lot, and just like every Thanksgiving in recent memory unable to stop thinking about the due dates and deadlines that remain before the end of the semester and a real break.
And now just as I was two weeks ago, I am trying to finish a paper that is due next Monday before leaving for Chicago for the weekend. This will be different from my brother's birthday celebration, as this trip is the annual family Chicago experience with my mom's siblings and their families. Aside from the benefit of my parents paying for meals, this will be my first journey to Chicago via Amtrak. And really, this will be the first time I've been on a train in close to 15 years.
Two weeks ago I was just trying to make it through two paper deadlines and in to the weekend for my brother's birthday celebration in Chi-Town. I finished the papers and left that Friday morning for the Windy City, eager for a change of scenery and a hearkening back to the party days of undergrad. The trip delivered on both accounts.
Friday night was spent at a local bar in Lincoln Park where $15 got us an unlimited tab for 3 hours. I'm not much of a fan of the well drinks and domestic beers, but as it wasn't my party I wasn't going to complain. I had a few drinks, ate free pizza, and was glad to be around a livelier crowd than my graduate program cohort has been as of late. The fact that the lot of them were recent or soon to be MSU alums won't be held against them - they're still good people most of the time.
Feeling bad for not being able to offer me more than the floor the last time I stayed with him, my brother reserved the aero bed in his apartment for me, thus guaranteeing me a relatively comfortable sleep by the time we finally came back to his apartment. Seeing as we ended up with about 10 people crammed in there for the night, I made sure to claim that aero bed the minute I walked in the door.
When Saturday morning came I couldn't get out of that apartment and away from some of my brother's more annoying friends. As divine providence would have it, one of my brother's friends remembered mention of a diner down the street, so four of us set out in search of breakfast.
I have talked about this diner now for two weeks. We walked in just as a booth was clearing, and things just went up from there. The busboy and waitress cleared the table right off and got us drinks within like two minutes. The coffee was fantastic and if you took your eyes off the mug for even an instant it would be refilled by the time you looked back. The waitress took our order and brought our food out just as quickly, and it was outstanding. The fact that it was all cheaper than a comparable meal at Denny's only sweetened the deal, though I would have paid double for such a perfect dining experience.
From now on whenever I visit my brother, breakfast, lunch, or dinner we are going there.
After breakfast I packed up and headed for the suburbs in an attempt to whittle away at the debt I owe the Captain for all his assistance in moving. I got to Lizle just as he and some coworkers were starting to load the truck, and did as best I could to lend a hand in loading the moving truck. It was either that, or just carve out a kidney as repayment to the Captain.
The rest of Saturday was spent moving the Captain into his new apartment across town and helping him get things squared away. I left Sunday morning knowing I had another paper waiting for me back in Allendale.
Getting through Monday and Tuesday last week after taking my own mini-vacation was brutal. On the one hand I felt reenergized and uplifted by getting away for the weekend, but at the same time knowing that a meeting and two classes were all that stood in the way of Thanksgiving break made those days seem unreasonably long.
Thanksgiving Break was, however, fairly uneventful. Only being half and hour from home makes going home a lot less of a trip than driving 3 hours from Ann Arbor, certainly less taxing than coming back from North Carolina. I spent the break seeing family, doing a bit of shopping, eating a lot, and just like every Thanksgiving in recent memory unable to stop thinking about the due dates and deadlines that remain before the end of the semester and a real break.
And now just as I was two weeks ago, I am trying to finish a paper that is due next Monday before leaving for Chicago for the weekend. This will be different from my brother's birthday celebration, as this trip is the annual family Chicago experience with my mom's siblings and their families. Aside from the benefit of my parents paying for meals, this will be my first journey to Chicago via Amtrak. And really, this will be the first time I've been on a train in close to 15 years.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Bond. James Bond.
Bond is back.
Before coming down to Chi-Town for the weekend (more on that later), I went and saw a midnight screening of Casino Royale Thursday night.
Fantastic.
I admit to a lot of trepidation over the new Bond. I really liked Brosnan as 007, but I could also see the weakness in the stories he was a part of. I advocated that Brosnan could have done at least one more picture, but it makes perfect sense now that in order to bring the franchise back to reality and changing directions, a new actor would be needed. I really didn't like Daniel Craig when I heard the initial casting announcement, but after having seen him in action I can say that I was wrong.
Casino Royale, with Craig's depiction of 007, represents everything good about what a covert agent in the 21st century war on terror should be. Without giving away too much of the plot, there were all of the necessary little things to make it a Bond movie without all the gimmicks and cliches that sometimes run the risk of taking away from the believability of the movie. There was action, intrigue, sex, and suspense without the cheesy gadgets and easily escapable traps.
The new 007 is a bad ass. From the opening sequence until the last frame of the movie, there is no doubt that 007 is a world level professional killer. He's not killing guys with his watch or dropping them in a pit of mutated sea bass - he's taking them down with his bare hands and a bullet to the head. And really, a Walther pistol is the only gadget he needs.
I've read a few articles saying that Casino Royale is "not your father's Bond". I grew up watching Connery, Moore, and Dalton, so I can definitely agree. For what was more or less an origin story with a rougher, dirtier, grittier 007, none of the other actors would have seemed right. But by the end of the movie, you could see Daniel Craig start to become smoother and more suave while still being capable of cold, detached, ruthless efficiency.
If he can keep brining what he brought to Casino Royale, Daniel Craig now has my vote for more Bond movies.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Cancel The Simpsons
Make no mistake - I love The Simpsons for all the years of memorable quotes and innumerable good times. But at the same time, all good things must come to an end. And as with many things in this world, it is far often better to go out in a blaze of glory rather than fade away as a shadow of one's former greatness.
A few years ago, one could tell that the writing staff of The Simpsons had started phoning it in and the series had become derivative. Even worse, as I have described before, the show became a parody of itself. Instead of being the relevant, poignant example of an animated series that defied expectations, it just tried to mooch off of all the success that its imitators had enjoyed. Family Guy was never anything more than a Simpsons rip off that tried to distance itself from its source material by being more offensive, shocking, and unpredictable. Family Guy is a rip-off of The Simpsons, and when The Simpsons tried to make itself more like Family Guy... well, a copy of a copy is never as sharp as the original.
And now The Simpsons has sunk to a new low.
Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) is now trying to be just as much of a bleeding heart commie as Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy). Every episode I've seen of the repeats of last season leading up to the new episodes, and the two new episodes thus far, have been chock full of asinine liberal commentary.
It isn't smart. It isn't hip. It's the same tired jokes that every other voicebox in Hollywood has already made 10 times before.
There's nothing left to copy. Nothing else to imitate and mooch off of to attract the next generation of viewers. Just limp along until the movie is released next summer, and let that be the end of it.
Try to go out with some dignity.
A few years ago, one could tell that the writing staff of The Simpsons had started phoning it in and the series had become derivative. Even worse, as I have described before, the show became a parody of itself. Instead of being the relevant, poignant example of an animated series that defied expectations, it just tried to mooch off of all the success that its imitators had enjoyed. Family Guy was never anything more than a Simpsons rip off that tried to distance itself from its source material by being more offensive, shocking, and unpredictable. Family Guy is a rip-off of The Simpsons, and when The Simpsons tried to make itself more like Family Guy... well, a copy of a copy is never as sharp as the original.
And now The Simpsons has sunk to a new low.
Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) is now trying to be just as much of a bleeding heart commie as Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy). Every episode I've seen of the repeats of last season leading up to the new episodes, and the two new episodes thus far, have been chock full of asinine liberal commentary.
It isn't smart. It isn't hip. It's the same tired jokes that every other voicebox in Hollywood has already made 10 times before.
There's nothing left to copy. Nothing else to imitate and mooch off of to attract the next generation of viewers. Just limp along until the movie is released next summer, and let that be the end of it.
Try to go out with some dignity.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
It's Time to Put Up or Shut Up
So the Democrats have regained control of congress for the first time in 12 years.
After 12 years in the minority, and 6 years spent whining and complaining about how they don't like what's going on, now is their chance to do something.
I honestly and genuinely hope that the next two years can be a time of progress and real accomplishment in addressing the issues that face our great nation. At face value I have no quarrel with the Democratic Party, but I take great issues to the sections of the party that have embraced a sense of radical liberalism. Just as the Republican party made efforts to purge itself of a lot of the extreme right in 1994, I hope the Democrats can distance themselves from the radical left.
I really want to take Nancy Pelosi at her word that the newly elected majority won't be out for vengeance and personal pettiness, but I still have to admit to having a very hard time trusting her. She's going to have to prove that she's not as crazy as many of her comments over the last few years would lead many of us to believe she is.
I can't really say I disagree with a lot of the proposed ideas that the Democrats have right now...
Pelosi has already outlined a “First Hundred Hours” agenda.
The plan includes promises to reform lobbying, enact the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 commission, raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, cut the interest rate on student loans in half, streamline MedicareÂ’s prescription drug program and expand federal funding for stem cell research.
She said she wants to work with Bush on a "new direction" on Iraq.
I'm just wondering why we haven't heard any of this over the last 6 years. Ever since the 2000 election the only thing I've heard from Democrats is that they would always do the opposite of whatever President Bush did. That's not a platform or policy, that's just petty partisanship. So where have they been hiding this laundry list of goals for Congressional control?
Please Democrats, prove me wrong. Prove to me that you really did have some ideas of your own. Prove to me that things will be better under your guidance. Prove to me that you're not as crazy as you have often looked.
You've got what you asked for. Now put up or shut up.
After 12 years in the minority, and 6 years spent whining and complaining about how they don't like what's going on, now is their chance to do something.
I honestly and genuinely hope that the next two years can be a time of progress and real accomplishment in addressing the issues that face our great nation. At face value I have no quarrel with the Democratic Party, but I take great issues to the sections of the party that have embraced a sense of radical liberalism. Just as the Republican party made efforts to purge itself of a lot of the extreme right in 1994, I hope the Democrats can distance themselves from the radical left.
I really want to take Nancy Pelosi at her word that the newly elected majority won't be out for vengeance and personal pettiness, but I still have to admit to having a very hard time trusting her. She's going to have to prove that she's not as crazy as many of her comments over the last few years would lead many of us to believe she is.
I can't really say I disagree with a lot of the proposed ideas that the Democrats have right now...
Pelosi has already outlined a “First Hundred Hours” agenda.
The plan includes promises to reform lobbying, enact the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 commission, raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, cut the interest rate on student loans in half, streamline MedicareÂ’s prescription drug program and expand federal funding for stem cell research.
She said she wants to work with Bush on a "new direction" on Iraq.
I'm just wondering why we haven't heard any of this over the last 6 years. Ever since the 2000 election the only thing I've heard from Democrats is that they would always do the opposite of whatever President Bush did. That's not a platform or policy, that's just petty partisanship. So where have they been hiding this laundry list of goals for Congressional control?
Please Democrats, prove me wrong. Prove to me that you really did have some ideas of your own. Prove to me that things will be better under your guidance. Prove to me that you're not as crazy as you have often looked.
You've got what you asked for. Now put up or shut up.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
A Geeky Tangent
I know, two posts in one day...
I'm going to take a minute here to indulge my inner fan-boy. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, or even heard about it, the Original Star Trek episodes are being aired with remastered sound and special effects. You'll have to check your local listings... I don't even know what time it's one because I just let TiVo take care of it for me.
At the risk of sounding cliche, this process really is bringing the original Star Trek to a whole new generation. I grew up watching the reruns in the days before Star Trek the Next Generation was around, and even though my dad picked up the entire series on Collector's Edition VHS I still feel like I'm rediscovering the original series for the first time.
The producers aren't remastering the episodes in order - they're just taking it an episode at a time and for right now seem to focusing on the most popular episodes. So far I've seen "Balance of Terror", "The City on the Edge of Forever", "Arena", and "The Trouble with Tribbles". Arguably some of the best episodes of the entire series, and next week's episode is "Mirror, Mirror", another classic.
But unlike the "Greedo shooting first" and "Replacing guns with flashlights and walkie talkies" type fiascos of Star Wars and E.T., those in charge of the Star Trek project aren't doing anything to change the stories or characters. The changes are all visual - updating models with CGI, digitally enhancing the backgrounds, etc. More importantly, the color has been sharpened which gives the episodes a much more modern appearance over the very faded and washed out colors I remember.
And yet even though the episodes only have a few seconds of remastered material, the feeling of watching the episode is one of a totally new experience. Even though I've seen every episode that will be aired, I look forward to finding a new one in my TiVo list every week as if I had never seen it before.
For those of you who have never watched Star Trek before and just can't understand its appeal, I would invite you to check it out now. I can't think of a better way to introduce someone to it.
Hang 'em High
Though I'm still waiting for Kofi Annan, the ACLU, and the worldwide federation of hippies to weigh in on it, the fact remains that justice will be served.
Saddam sentenced to death by hanging
Before any crazy leftists jump in to use this as an opportunity to decry the United States for imposing its morals and values on the rest of the world, let me remind you that we had nothing to do with this trial. If we wanted to execute Saddam ourselves, we could have put a bullet in his head the minute we pulled him out of his spider hole. Instead, we turned him over to his own people to conduct the trial and arrive at the verdict above.
Any arguments about the morality of effectiveness of capital punishment aside, the simple fact is that the man deserves to die. Unlike all the morons who call President Bush and his administration a "fascist regime", I can draw a comparison between Saddam and fascists such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco and actually know what I'm talking about. Just like the fascists of the early 20th century, Saddam perpetrated grievous crimes against humanity, and as a result he's getting what's coming to him.
As I said - I can draw a comparison between Saddam and Hitler that actually makes sense. In fact, I did just that more than 4 years ago before the US took action in Iraq.
In his speech before the United Nations, President Bush made the simple truth clear. The Iraqi regime and the danger it poses is precisely the purpose for which the United Nations was created over fifty years ago, learning the lessons of the failure of the League of Nations through its appeasement of Hitler. Following World War I, Germany was forbidden to keep or manufacture weapons for fear of the nation once again becoming hostile. In 1933 Adolf Hitler rose to power through legitimate elections, and in 1936 remilitarized the Rhineland in direct opposition to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany annexed Austria and the Sudetanland in 1938, and in March of 1939 Germany declared Czechoslovakia a part of the greater German empire. British Prime Minister Chamberlain supported the policy of appeasing Germany, hoping to keep "Peace in our time." In repayment for the Allies' good faith, Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and in 1940 the blitzkrieg marched through Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and France.
Now let's do a little compare and contrast for all those who do not believe Saddam Hussein is a threat. In 1979 Hussein rose to power in Iraq, and summarily invaded Iran in a pure act of aggression. The war between the two nations lasted until 1988, killing over two million Iranians and one million Iraqis. In August 1990, Hussein declared Kuwait the 19th province of Iraq and invades the nation, and began launching Scud missiles into Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel. In January and February of 1991 Operation Desert Storm liberated Kuwait and forced Iraq into a series of weapons reductions and no-fly zones which were enforced until 1998. In 1997 Iraq forced the withdrawal of UN weapons inspectors, following years of deceit and evasions of the provisions of the inspection mandates. From 1998 to the present Iraqi air defense has repeatedly fired upon British and United States aircraft in the no fly zones. It is no secret that Iraq has weapons labs and research facilities, but what is unknown is the extent to which these weapons have been developed in the secret and "presidential" sites the UN was barred from inspecting. Those sites allowed to be inspected proved that Iraq has the capabilities for biological and chemical warfare, and they have been trying their damnedest to procure weapons grade uranium for use in nuclear weapons. Hussein has given shelter to al-Qaeda, praised Osama Bin Laden as a hero, and celebrated the terrorist attacks of September 11. Given their track record, to assume that they are not planning or are not even considering an attack upon the United States is a fool's delusion. ~ Written 10/22/2002
Seriously, though, I hope that this can bring closure to the Iraqi people, and help to create the unity that its leaders hope for. Saddam represents everything that is violent, hateful, and partisan about themilitantslitants, and the world can hope that his death will deflate their cause.
Saddam sentenced to death by hanging
Before any crazy leftists jump in to use this as an opportunity to decry the United States for imposing its morals and values on the rest of the world, let me remind you that we had nothing to do with this trial. If we wanted to execute Saddam ourselves, we could have put a bullet in his head the minute we pulled him out of his spider hole. Instead, we turned him over to his own people to conduct the trial and arrive at the verdict above.
Any arguments about the morality of effectiveness of capital punishment aside, the simple fact is that the man deserves to die. Unlike all the morons who call President Bush and his administration a "fascist regime", I can draw a comparison between Saddam and fascists such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco and actually know what I'm talking about. Just like the fascists of the early 20th century, Saddam perpetrated grievous crimes against humanity, and as a result he's getting what's coming to him.
As I said - I can draw a comparison between Saddam and Hitler that actually makes sense. In fact, I did just that more than 4 years ago before the US took action in Iraq.
In his speech before the United Nations, President Bush made the simple truth clear. The Iraqi regime and the danger it poses is precisely the purpose for which the United Nations was created over fifty years ago, learning the lessons of the failure of the League of Nations through its appeasement of Hitler. Following World War I, Germany was forbidden to keep or manufacture weapons for fear of the nation once again becoming hostile. In 1933 Adolf Hitler rose to power through legitimate elections, and in 1936 remilitarized the Rhineland in direct opposition to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany annexed Austria and the Sudetanland in 1938, and in March of 1939 Germany declared Czechoslovakia a part of the greater German empire. British Prime Minister Chamberlain supported the policy of appeasing Germany, hoping to keep "Peace in our time." In repayment for the Allies' good faith, Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and in 1940 the blitzkrieg marched through Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and France.
Now let's do a little compare and contrast for all those who do not believe Saddam Hussein is a threat. In 1979 Hussein rose to power in Iraq, and summarily invaded Iran in a pure act of aggression. The war between the two nations lasted until 1988, killing over two million Iranians and one million Iraqis. In August 1990, Hussein declared Kuwait the 19th province of Iraq and invades the nation, and began launching Scud missiles into Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel. In January and February of 1991 Operation Desert Storm liberated Kuwait and forced Iraq into a series of weapons reductions and no-fly zones which were enforced until 1998. In 1997 Iraq forced the withdrawal of UN weapons inspectors, following years of deceit and evasions of the provisions of the inspection mandates. From 1998 to the present Iraqi air defense has repeatedly fired upon British and United States aircraft in the no fly zones. It is no secret that Iraq has weapons labs and research facilities, but what is unknown is the extent to which these weapons have been developed in the secret and "presidential" sites the UN was barred from inspecting. Those sites allowed to be inspected proved that Iraq has the capabilities for biological and chemical warfare, and they have been trying their damnedest to procure weapons grade uranium for use in nuclear weapons. Hussein has given shelter to al-Qaeda, praised Osama Bin Laden as a hero, and celebrated the terrorist attacks of September 11. Given their track record, to assume that they are not planning or are not even considering an attack upon the United States is a fool's delusion. ~ Written 10/22/2002
Seriously, though, I hope that this can bring closure to the Iraqi people, and help to create the unity that its leaders hope for. Saddam represents everything that is violent, hateful, and partisan about themilitantslitants, and the world can hope that his death will deflate their cause.
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