| A Perfectly Cromulent Blog |
| Put this feed on your website |
| Description: |
Pop culture related smart-assery |
| Format: |
RSS 1.0 |
| Url: |
http://www.whiterose.org/pete/blog/index.rdf |
| |
| Latest headlines |
A Perfectly Cromulent Blog
|
"I live in a single room above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley."
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:32:00 -0500
I mentioned that, post-Ike, the family is living in an apartment while repairs are being performed on the house. What I failed to mention is what a swinging joint this particular complex is. For while we've seen a few younger couples with kids, the overwhelming majority of tenants appear to be single folk in their mid to late 20s.
This is especially amusing at the pool, where the breakdown tends to be me, She Who Shall Not Be Named, and a dozen or so preening fuckwits with boring tattoos (tribal arm crap, flames-on-the-calf, and Chinese characters that undoubtedly stand for "Occidental skank"). They don't stoop to actually enter the pool, of course, so I just tell SWSNBN to keep her head down and hope she isn't at a stage where she'll be impressed by a butterfly surrounded by stars etched on the small of a woman's back.
But there are some benefits. We're closer to downtown and to SWSNBN's school, there's a hike-and-bike trail nearby, and we only actually share one wall with strangers. It's a bit of a departure from my college/grad school days of aprtment living, in that every room actually has furniture in it, and there's actually food in the refrigerator.
Then an incident last week took me all the way back to 1988.
I usually leave for work before 6 AM. It's a scheduling necessity, and the 15-minute commute more or less makes up for having to go to bed before midnight most nights. I've also noticed few people in the complex stirring at that hour, except for Thursday morning. I was driving out of the gate when I saw two young ladies who live a few units down returning - on foot - from some unknown assignation. They were still decked out in their evening togs, though hair and makeup looked rather worse for wear, and they were carrying their high heels (the better to navigate the treacherous parking lot).
They seemed mildly surprised that someone was leaving, but smiled briefly as I gave them a big shit-eating grin and a wave. Which got me wondering, is it really a walk of shame if you're not, you know, ashamed?
|
"Quimby: If you were running for mayor, he'd vote for you."
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:36:00 -0500
I see you there, stocking the bar and licking your chops in anticipation of tonight's VP debate/bloodbath. You've watched those YouTube snippets of Sarah Palin unable to answer Katie Couric's softball questions (and probably those Miss Alaska talent show clips as well) and are positively salivating at the way Joe Biden is going to "pwn" her ass.
Not a chance.
For starters, the McCain camp has been level-setting for weeks, "leaking" alleged rumblings about her lack of preparedness and predicting disaster Thursday night. Expectations are so low for Palin that as long as she doesn't show up drunk, it'll be declared a victory.
And the newly Palin-friendly debate format won't hurt her either:
The Obama and McCain campaigns have agreed to an unusual free-flowing format for the three televised presidential debates, which begin Friday, but the McCain camp fought for and won a much more structured approach for the questioning at the vice-presidential debate, advisers to both campaigns said Saturday.
At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.
But, but she's so experienced.
My prediction: Palin remembers her lines. Well enough, at least, that her supporters can claim it as proof that she's "ready to lead." The format will also reign in Biden's bloviating, and he'll mostly keep his tongue. He probably won't be able to resist a couple of body blows, which will likely prompt McCain to step in once again to defend his pit bull from the nasty Democrats.
Me? I'll be drinking myself blind. Which, come to think of it, is how I spend most election cycles.
|
"And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:27:00 -0500
Greetings from Insensitivity, TX:
What are the odds privatizing Social Security comes up in the debates?
|
"Nobody can eat fifty eggs."
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:02:00 -0500
DSL isn't hooked up at our apartment yet, so I'm only three days late in commenting - via cell phone - on Paul Newman's death:
Newman attained stardom in the 1950s and never lost the movie-star aura, appearing in such classic films as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Exodus," "The Hustler," "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting" and "The Verdict."
He finally won an Oscar in 1986 -- on his eighth try -- for "The Color of Money," a sequel to "The Hustler." He later received two more Oscar nominations. Among his other awards was the Motion Picture Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
"Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humanness," said Robert Forrester, vice chairman of the actor's Newman's Own Foundation. "His legacy lives on in the charities he supported and the Hole in the Wall Camps, for which he cared so much."
[...]
A portrayal as a race-car driver in 1969's "Winning" led to his actual competition in races; at 70, he participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona and he was still racing at age 80.
He stumped for liberal causes, including Eugene McCarthy's 1968 presidential candidacy, and earned a spot on Richard Nixon's enemies list -- "the highest single honor I've ever received," he said.
In 1982, Newman and his friend A.E. Hotchner founded Newman's Own, a food company that produced food ranging from pasta sauces to salad dressing to chocolate chip cookies.
"The embarrassing thing is that the salad dressing is outgrossing my films," Newman once wryly noted.
To date, the company -- which donates all profits to charities such as Newman's Hole in the Wall camps -- has given away more than $200 million. Newman established the camp to benefit gravely ill children.
Newman's body of work looks like you cherry-picked my top 50 movies list: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Hustler, Slap Shot, The Verdict...even in lousy flicks (When Time Ran Out or HWRNMNBSOL's favorite, The Towering Inferno) he was an exceptional talent, a fact unobscured by his belated "lifetime acheivement" Academy Award.
As the greats of music and moviedom continue to pass on, I keep wondering who's going to step in and fill their shoes. Is there any actor working today who's even close to the full package - artist, activist, philanthropist - that Newman was? In 40 years, is anyone going to look back on the life of Brad Pitt or George Clooney with the same mixture of sorrow and admiration?
Anyone besides US Magazine, I mean.
RIP Reggie.
|
In Valhalla there is no beer
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:12:00 -0500
Via Hair Balls, which I am poised to make my triumphant return to Real Soon Now, comes this disturbing tidbit from Rice's Thresher:
Valhalla, Rice's graduate student pub, is closed indefinitely because of noncompliance with the dry campus policy that took effect during Hurricane Ike. Rice University Police Department Sergeant Carla Barnette said the pub violated alcohol restrictions that applied to the entire campus, which includes all graduate student institutions.
Valhalla manager David Fortunato said he could not comment on the matter, but that the official story was that the pub was closed for renovation.
The no-alcohol mandate began last Friday in preparation for Hurricane Ike and ended at noon Monday. The case is currently under review by the university, and the pub will remain closed until further notice, Barnette said.
I like to think Fortunato at some point cried, "For the love of god, Leebron!"* But it doesn't really work.
I only drank at Valhalla a few times. The most memorable, for me, was when I was accompanied by The Wife and several of her friends. Their presence raised the male:female ratio to about 40:4, which made for an amusing evening.
* As in, Rice Universtity President David Leebron
|
So that's where all the talent went
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:29:00 -0500
CD Baby really makes you feel good about yourself:
Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.
We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, September 26th.
I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did.
Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The CD in question? "Shades of Violet" by a young woman with a decidedly familiar last name. Her music is a little more...acoustic than what I customarily listen to, but I figure if I do this maybe she'll buy my book. Whenever it comes out.
And she does a wicked cover of Joni Mitchell's "River," once you get past a few minutes of annoying interviewer:
|
Angry Beavers
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:12:00 -0500
Little did I know, as I fled the house apartment last night to hang out with Sir Not Appearing On This Blog (and to avoid the 2-hour Grey's Anatomy premiere) that I'd be witness to one of the most satisfying college football upsets of all time:
It had been 41 years since Oregon State knocked off a No. 1 team.
Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers helped the Beavers pull off another stunner -- and Southern California was the victim again.
Rodgers ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Oregon State built a 21-point first-half lead before capitalizing on a late turnover and upsetting the Trojans 27-21 on Thursday night.
Beavers fans, clad in orange, rushed the field when the clock ran out after the 25-point underdogs shook up college football with a victory over the team that was expected to roll right through its conference straight to the national championship game.
"I think we made a statement, like we can come out and beat anybody on any given day. It's not always the best team that wins on a day. It's who plays hard," Rodgers said.
In that case, Oregon State probably should've played a little harder against Stanford and Penn State. They might be 4-0 or 3-1 instead of 2-2.
Rodgers was unstoppable, in spite of the fact the USC defenders were headhunting him on every tackle. Pete Carroll probably upped the bounty to $25,000 at halftime and he still ended up with almost 200 yards.
I love it when the #1 team loses early on (and it's even sweeter when it's USC). The field's pretty wide open now, though I fully expect the sports media to swing over to other coast and start singing the praises of Georgia and Florida, possible even leapfrogging UGA over Oklahoma. Though in all honesty, I see them losing to Alabama tomorrow, with four Big 12 teams in the top 10 next week.
Assuming an OU win over TCU, which is far from a given.
As an aside (and since it's apparently a popular topic), I'll just point out that my fantasy football team is 3-0 despite carrying Derek Anderson and Steve Jackson on the roster (the former on the bench for all three games). My visionary drafting of ATL running back Michael Turner and my annoying habit of swapping out kickers and D/STs every week has borne the succulent fruit of victory. Hell, I might make these updates a weekly feature here.
|
Et tu, Jorge?
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:10:00 -0500
As if the events of the preceding weeks weren't enough, the one possible bright spot in this shitty month was making it to the championship game in my fantasy baseball league this last Sunday. Riding a powerhouse lineup consisting of (among others) Josh Hamilton, Chase Utley, Jose Reyes, and Brandon Webb, I had cruised to a 16-8 record and was set to take my place in the fantasy firmament against a dude I'd already beaten twice during the season.
Unfortunately, not even bravura performances by Kevin Kouzmanoff and Brad Lidge (yes, that Brad Lidge) good stave off my opponent. I blame Jon Lester and Edison Volquez - who admirably shit the bed in their respective starts - and myself, who neglected to start Jorge Cantu at 1B ahead of Aubrey Huff. Cantu had 74 points, Huff had 18.5. The result?
I won't comment on the additional ignominy that comes from losing to a guy who names his team "Teabag."
|
The continuing saga
Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:15:00 -0500
As The Wife said when perusing my mother's list of TiVo recording, "Awesome; she likes the same crappy TV shows I do." In many ways, we're lucky to have been able to spend the last week of Ike exile up in Bryan where there's ample power, fuel, and satellite TV. On the other hand, I got to watch the season finale of The Closer. Twice.
Oh shut up, Pete...what of The House?
True to their word, the crew brought in by our insurance company had the trees cleared out and the roof covered by Thursday morning.
I forgot to ask the guys to save one of the bigger chunks for folks to have something in my backyard to urinate on during cookouts.
It's probably a good thing our neighborhood isn't supposed to get power back until next week, since two of the three connections on the now low-hanging service drop were pulled out of the weatherhead. I'd reattach them myself, except...
I don't think getting electricity back is going to make much of a difference at our house, air conditioning-wise.
|
Gig 'em
Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:59:00 -0500
Being a Longhorn alum, I'm more or less sworn never to cheer for Texas A&M unless they play someone I hate even more (Oklahoma, and even then, it depends on who's a bigger threat in the conference). I suppose I'd pull for the Aggies if they ever *snerk* made it to the BCS title game, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Like, way ahead of ourselves.
However, I think that right now I have no problem rooting for them today as they play the fucking Hurricanes. No sir, no problem at all.
EDIT: Couldn't even pull that one off for me, eh? Ingrates.
|
|