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Living the Dream – WDGTINT
17 hours ago
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
In the Process of Moving to Word Press
I have had lots of issues with Blogger over the last 24 hours, and have pretty much had it up to hear with this terrible platform.
As such, I am in the process of moving over to Word Press. It's not being done in the way that I want to, but since Blogger has decided to blank out my posts hours after I post them, where the only remedy is deleting the most recent post to make the blog show up again, I've decided to start the move.
I'll post a link when it is done, as well as the most recent random thoughts. In the mean time please hang tight while I work out the kinks and get everything working again.
As such, I am in the process of moving over to Word Press. It's not being done in the way that I want to, but since Blogger has decided to blank out my posts hours after I post them, where the only remedy is deleting the most recent post to make the blog show up again, I've decided to start the move.
I'll post a link when it is done, as well as the most recent random thoughts. In the mean time please hang tight while I work out the kinks and get everything working again.
The Perplexity of Women on a Cold Winter Morning
Women of the Washington DC area, you perplex me this morning.
Because I cannot decide if a common trait among them on this freezing cold morning is bravery normally reserved for the movies, or stupidity possibly warranting a moron of the week nomination.
When I checked the weather report this morning, it said the temperature outside was 23 degrees, feels like 10 degrees.......10 DEGREES!!
That's cold. I feel like I need to mention this every time I discuss cold weather, but alas, I don't care if you are from New England, like me, Alaska, or Florida. 10 degrees is cold. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just lying and being an idiot.
Yet this morning, I was SHOCKED at the number of women I saw heading to the metro or walking to work in skirts. And we aren't talking Amish women skirts that go hip to ankle. We're talking chic business suit skirts.
So much of the leg exposed...so much frostbite.
That was my thought as I walked to the metro wearing jeans, a polo shirt, a wool sweater, a hoodie over said sweater, and an overcoat over the hoodie over the wool sweater.
And I was still cold. Comfortable, yes, but cold. And as I walked to work I passed several women, bundled up just the same as me, except for the fact that they were wearing skirts. I do not know how they do it. If someone told me I had to wear shorts to work today, I would tell them to shove my shorts up their ass (preferably before or after, but not while I had them on).
Do they make panty hose out of some sort of magical wind and cold-resistant fabric? As far as I know, nylon is not all that warm. That has to be the answer. There has to be some sort of secret to the panty hose. Like how guys reason that womens rest rooms are actually 5-star spas, because how else could they spend so much time in the bathroom together.
However it is you do it, my hat goes off to you. I'll add "exposed legs while walking to work in the winter" to the list of "things women do that I probably would never, ever want to do in my life."
But, at the same time, I pose a question...women of the greater Washington DC area...are you absolutely and completely insane?
They have pants suits. I know they do. Idiotic non-supporters of Hillary Clinton made reference to the ones she wore almost every day for the entire campaign season. And you know what, as a man (not that you are seeking a man's approval in what you decide to wear to work) but as a man, I can tell you that women look really nice in pants suits too.
So why, when it is freezing cold outside, why would you decide that opting for the less-warm of the two options for work clothing would be a better idea? What is the rationale behind deciding to expose your legs to 10 degree weather (and even more importantly, to the gusts of wind)?
Sure, it's rather brazen and hardcore of you to brave the cold like that, but it is also incredibly stupid. The health benefits of being bundled up or wearing a pants suit have to outweigh whatever positives wearing a skirt possibly could give you.
Right?
Because I cannot decide if a common trait among them on this freezing cold morning is bravery normally reserved for the movies, or stupidity possibly warranting a moron of the week nomination.
When I checked the weather report this morning, it said the temperature outside was 23 degrees, feels like 10 degrees.......10 DEGREES!!
That's cold. I feel like I need to mention this every time I discuss cold weather, but alas, I don't care if you are from New England, like me, Alaska, or Florida. 10 degrees is cold. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just lying and being an idiot.
Yet this morning, I was SHOCKED at the number of women I saw heading to the metro or walking to work in skirts. And we aren't talking Amish women skirts that go hip to ankle. We're talking chic business suit skirts.
So much of the leg exposed...so much frostbite.
That was my thought as I walked to the metro wearing jeans, a polo shirt, a wool sweater, a hoodie over said sweater, and an overcoat over the hoodie over the wool sweater.
And I was still cold. Comfortable, yes, but cold. And as I walked to work I passed several women, bundled up just the same as me, except for the fact that they were wearing skirts. I do not know how they do it. If someone told me I had to wear shorts to work today, I would tell them to shove my shorts up their ass (preferably before or after, but not while I had them on).
Do they make panty hose out of some sort of magical wind and cold-resistant fabric? As far as I know, nylon is not all that warm. That has to be the answer. There has to be some sort of secret to the panty hose. Like how guys reason that womens rest rooms are actually 5-star spas, because how else could they spend so much time in the bathroom together.
However it is you do it, my hat goes off to you. I'll add "exposed legs while walking to work in the winter" to the list of "things women do that I probably would never, ever want to do in my life."
But, at the same time, I pose a question...women of the greater Washington DC area...are you absolutely and completely insane?
They have pants suits. I know they do. Idiotic non-supporters of Hillary Clinton made reference to the ones she wore almost every day for the entire campaign season. And you know what, as a man (not that you are seeking a man's approval in what you decide to wear to work) but as a man, I can tell you that women look really nice in pants suits too.
So why, when it is freezing cold outside, why would you decide that opting for the less-warm of the two options for work clothing would be a better idea? What is the rationale behind deciding to expose your legs to 10 degree weather (and even more importantly, to the gusts of wind)?
Sure, it's rather brazen and hardcore of you to brave the cold like that, but it is also incredibly stupid. The health benefits of being bundled up or wearing a pants suit have to outweigh whatever positives wearing a skirt possibly could give you.
Right?
Make Your Moron of the Week Nominations
It is that wonderful, glorious time of the week again. That time of the week where we highlight the stupidest of all stupid behavior. The most moronic of all moronic people.
It's time for this week's Moron of the Week nominations.
You know the drill. Click on that little "comment" button, and make your nomination. Or, if you are more comfortable, use your favorite online method of communication to tell me who you want to nominate, and I'll make it for you.
Tune in tomorrow to find out which nominees make the cut!
It's time for this week's Moron of the Week nominations.
You know the drill. Click on that little "comment" button, and make your nomination. Or, if you are more comfortable, use your favorite online method of communication to tell me who you want to nominate, and I'll make it for you.
Tune in tomorrow to find out which nominees make the cut!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Problems with today's FTW/FTL
Hey everyone,
So I posted today's FTW/FTL and just realized after going to the blog on my home computer that something in the encode was causing the blog to disappear.
I'm not sure if this happened to everyone, but if so, I apologized.
Because I couldn't figure out what in the post was causing the issue, I had to delete the entry. If I can figure it out I'll be sure to repost it.
For the time being, if you were able to actually view today's FTW/FTL, can you please reply to this thread to let me know, along with the browser you were using and whether or not you were signed into blogspot when accessing the blog.
I'm just trying to figure out why it is doing this.
Thanks in advance!
So I posted today's FTW/FTL and just realized after going to the blog on my home computer that something in the encode was causing the blog to disappear.
I'm not sure if this happened to everyone, but if so, I apologized.
Because I couldn't figure out what in the post was causing the issue, I had to delete the entry. If I can figure it out I'll be sure to repost it.
For the time being, if you were able to actually view today's FTW/FTL, can you please reply to this thread to let me know, along with the browser you were using and whether or not you were signed into blogspot when accessing the blog.
I'm just trying to figure out why it is doing this.
Thanks in advance!
On Attending a Mixed Martial Arts Fight For the First Time
While my job (yes, I still have one) focuses mostly on political organizations and campaigns, over the last couple months I have been working with the Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC). The UWC is a mid-Atlantic and greater Washington DC area professional Mixed Martial Arts organization. The organization puts on several top notch mixed martial arts fights a year.
This past weekend I had an opportunity to work at and watch UWC 5: Man "O" War.
Prior to getting attached to this client, here was my thoughts on MMA: "Two guys get into an octagon shaped arena, chaos ensues.
And after attending the event...well that is still a relatively fair assessment of MMA, as long as you add in various martial arts techniques, flying kicks, knees to the head, submission holds, and one hell of a good time.
The event itself surpassed all expectations I had going in about MMA.
I'm not saying any of this to prop up a client either. I am talking strictly about my virgin experience of watching MMA live and in person. It is captivating.
Watching an MMA fight is essentially like watching two generals conducting a pitched battle.
There is such an unbelievable amount of strategy and technique that goes into each and every fight, due in large part to the wide variety of backgrounds that the fighters come from. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, Judo. The list goes on and on and on, and with each discipline having its strengths and weaknesses when put on display in the octagon, so to do the many ways in which a fighter can gain an upper hand by using the right techniques against a certain fighter.
If you're a Muay Thai guy and the fight goes to the ground against a wrestler, you're in trouble. If you're strength is your ground game and you end up trading blows with your opponent, you're going to lose. It's so cool watching all the calculations and months of training come to a boiling point in person.
The atmosphere is also incredibly intoxicating. The nice thing about it being a regional professional league is that nearly all the fights had at least one, if not both fighters hailing from a nearby town or city. The hometown fans chanting and cheering for their man in the octagon gave the arena the same feeling that I imagine a packed house at a UFC fight would give. It was incredible to experience, and I really felt like the fighters relished it. Those fighting at home wanted to make the fans proud, and the ones fighting at what essentially amounted to an away game did their best to hush the crowd.
And my coworker who said attending the fights in person are second to none is absolutely right. The first thing I noticed about 30 seconds into fight #1 was the sound. The cracks of a fighter land body shots in rapid succession. The whap of a kick to the thigh. The knock of a knee making perfect contact with the head of an opponent (more on this later). It makes you wince, it makes you gasp, but holy shit is it cool.
The fighters themselves are great too. I have a deep respect for guys (and girls) who put themselves into the octagon. They are in tip top shape. Literally looking like they are carved out of stone. Never before have I been in a place where so many people could so easily kick the crap out of me if they wanted to. Not to mention they go in there knowing either they or their opponent is going to leave physically (and possibility mentally) hurt. It takes a lot of guts to do that, and an incredible amount of skill to succeed in ensuring its the opponent feeling the pain when all is said and done.
As for this specific event, there are certainly things that stick out in my mind.
A guy named Ron Stallings punished his opponent with a knee to the head that was probably the knock out of the night. Ron goated his opponent into lunging at him, and then just connected perfectly. His opponent went down and was out cold for about 10 minutes. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Unreal.
One of the best fights of the night took place between Jose Villarisco and John Dodson. They were fighting at 125 lbs which essentially is code for "look at all the crazy acrobatic shit we can do." John Dodson did a flying kick (Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat style, no I'm not kidding) two or three times. Jose Villarisco had the quickest hands I've ever seen.
Two women also made their pro MMA debuts at the event; Felice Herrig and Iman Acchal. Incredibly good fight that Acchal won in a split decision.
All in all, I would definitely go back for more MMA. I have probably been spoiled rotten since the work I was doing allowed me to be ringside for the entire event, but I think I still would have enjoyed it if I had been up in the nosebleeds. As I've always said; I appreciate people who engage in occupations I myself could never do. This holds especially true for the tactical, physical freaks of nature who call themselves MMA fighters. Lots of respect to all of you. I can;t wait to catch another MMA event in person
This past weekend I had an opportunity to work at and watch UWC 5: Man "O" War.
Prior to getting attached to this client, here was my thoughts on MMA: "Two guys get into an octagon shaped arena, chaos ensues.
And after attending the event...well that is still a relatively fair assessment of MMA, as long as you add in various martial arts techniques, flying kicks, knees to the head, submission holds, and one hell of a good time.
The event itself surpassed all expectations I had going in about MMA.
I'm not saying any of this to prop up a client either. I am talking strictly about my virgin experience of watching MMA live and in person. It is captivating.
Watching an MMA fight is essentially like watching two generals conducting a pitched battle.
There is such an unbelievable amount of strategy and technique that goes into each and every fight, due in large part to the wide variety of backgrounds that the fighters come from. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, Judo. The list goes on and on and on, and with each discipline having its strengths and weaknesses when put on display in the octagon, so to do the many ways in which a fighter can gain an upper hand by using the right techniques against a certain fighter.
If you're a Muay Thai guy and the fight goes to the ground against a wrestler, you're in trouble. If you're strength is your ground game and you end up trading blows with your opponent, you're going to lose. It's so cool watching all the calculations and months of training come to a boiling point in person.
The atmosphere is also incredibly intoxicating. The nice thing about it being a regional professional league is that nearly all the fights had at least one, if not both fighters hailing from a nearby town or city. The hometown fans chanting and cheering for their man in the octagon gave the arena the same feeling that I imagine a packed house at a UFC fight would give. It was incredible to experience, and I really felt like the fighters relished it. Those fighting at home wanted to make the fans proud, and the ones fighting at what essentially amounted to an away game did their best to hush the crowd.
And my coworker who said attending the fights in person are second to none is absolutely right. The first thing I noticed about 30 seconds into fight #1 was the sound. The cracks of a fighter land body shots in rapid succession. The whap of a kick to the thigh. The knock of a knee making perfect contact with the head of an opponent (more on this later). It makes you wince, it makes you gasp, but holy shit is it cool.
The fighters themselves are great too. I have a deep respect for guys (and girls) who put themselves into the octagon. They are in tip top shape. Literally looking like they are carved out of stone. Never before have I been in a place where so many people could so easily kick the crap out of me if they wanted to. Not to mention they go in there knowing either they or their opponent is going to leave physically (and possibility mentally) hurt. It takes a lot of guts to do that, and an incredible amount of skill to succeed in ensuring its the opponent feeling the pain when all is said and done.
As for this specific event, there are certainly things that stick out in my mind.
A guy named Ron Stallings punished his opponent with a knee to the head that was probably the knock out of the night. Ron goated his opponent into lunging at him, and then just connected perfectly. His opponent went down and was out cold for about 10 minutes. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Unreal.
One of the best fights of the night took place between Jose Villarisco and John Dodson. They were fighting at 125 lbs which essentially is code for "look at all the crazy acrobatic shit we can do." John Dodson did a flying kick (Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat style, no I'm not kidding) two or three times. Jose Villarisco had the quickest hands I've ever seen.
Two women also made their pro MMA debuts at the event; Felice Herrig and Iman Acchal. Incredibly good fight that Acchal won in a split decision.
All in all, I would definitely go back for more MMA. I have probably been spoiled rotten since the work I was doing allowed me to be ringside for the entire event, but I think I still would have enjoyed it if I had been up in the nosebleeds. As I've always said; I appreciate people who engage in occupations I myself could never do. This holds especially true for the tactical, physical freaks of nature who call themselves MMA fighters. Lots of respect to all of you. I can;t wait to catch another MMA event in person
The Oscars
So I sort of watched the Oscars last night. They were on my television. Mickey Rourke was showing up in all his glory, in HD, which probably wasn't necessary. I wondered to myself why anyone cares about Zac Efron, especially to the point that he was present at the Oscars. I remembered what a good singer Hugh Jackman was. I thought about whether or not the several friends of mine who have man crushes on Hugh Jackman (names withheld to protect the...well...the man crushers) were oogly eyed and smiling at their TVs for four hours.
But I also didn't really watch the Oscars, because yesterday I discovered the game "Scattagories" and played it for no less than 8 hours (11:30 AM - 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM-10:30 PM, with some breaks). Such a fun game. It ran into the Oscars though, so I was only half-heartedly paying attention to the awards show
Nonetheless, I was able to make a few observations about the festivities.
I was a little confused why 45% of the women in attendance showed up looking like they were getting married. It looked like video clips of those "let's get a bunch of couples together and marry them on Valentines Day" deals. White (or off-white, I guess, if we're going to get really specific) seems like an odd "trend" color. It's not that they looked bad. I just found it strange.
I also initially found strange the complete change in how they presented the acting awards. When the five previous supporting actress winners came out on stage and started talking about the nominees, I was perplexed. Then each and every nominee began crying, and I decided that this was completely over the top, and a terrible idea. As the night progressed, however, and they did it three more times for each of the categories, I kind of got into it.
For the newbies it was cool to see these cinematic titans and...titanesses? anyone know the female version of a titan? praising up and coming talent. For the ones who had been there before it was cool to see them getting praised by other legends of film. I have a sneaking suspicion that the shine will wear off on this new format pretty quickly though, so I hope it doesn't become a regular deal. As a way of changing up the show and maybe reinventing itself a little bit though, it ended up working well.
Daniel Craig looks better in a tuxedo than any human being alive today. I am jealous beyond belief.
Is it still too soon to show reaction shots of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie when Jennifer Aniston is presenting?
I also saw Angelina Jolie last night and said, "wow, Andy made a great pick in the female celebrity draft." She is not aging at all.
I was supremely confused by the way "Best Animated Film" was presented. Did that Space Monkeys movie really get nominated or were they just showing random clips of animated films from 2008?
I am so happy that Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor. I am SO FREAKING PISSED THAT I MISSED IT LIVE. Like an idiot I went into my room for a hot second to watch the end of whatever NASCAR race was on yesterday. When I came back out, Ledger's mother and sister were already speaking. Ugh. The only thing I truly cared about the entire night is the one thing I missed completely. I've watched it again. So sad. He truly deserved to win the award though.
I hear Sean Penn was incredible in Milk, but I was really hoping to get a chance to hear what Mickey Rourke had to say. Considering the direction that his life has gone, this movie really allowed him to make a rather stunning transformation. It would have been great to see that feel good story have the perfect ending (they probably could have made a movie about that in and of itself). Alas, I have not seen either film, so I don't know if I should be outraged or not.
There is a 100% chance that I need to see Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire as soon as possible. I also really want to see The Wrestler and Milk. Hopefully this can be accomplished in the near future.
Considering I don't think I saw a single film nominated for Best Picture, I can't really comment on the win by Slumdog Millionaire except to say that not a single person I know who saw the movie commented in any way except by saying it was the best movie they had seen in a very long time and I absolutely had to see it. Using their comments as a gauge, I'd have to say the right film won.
Those are my thoughts. Feel free to share your own in the comments section.
But I also didn't really watch the Oscars, because yesterday I discovered the game "Scattagories" and played it for no less than 8 hours (11:30 AM - 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM-10:30 PM, with some breaks). Such a fun game. It ran into the Oscars though, so I was only half-heartedly paying attention to the awards show
Nonetheless, I was able to make a few observations about the festivities.
I was a little confused why 45% of the women in attendance showed up looking like they were getting married. It looked like video clips of those "let's get a bunch of couples together and marry them on Valentines Day" deals. White (or off-white, I guess, if we're going to get really specific) seems like an odd "trend" color. It's not that they looked bad. I just found it strange.
I also initially found strange the complete change in how they presented the acting awards. When the five previous supporting actress winners came out on stage and started talking about the nominees, I was perplexed. Then each and every nominee began crying, and I decided that this was completely over the top, and a terrible idea. As the night progressed, however, and they did it three more times for each of the categories, I kind of got into it.
For the newbies it was cool to see these cinematic titans and...titanesses? anyone know the female version of a titan? praising up and coming talent. For the ones who had been there before it was cool to see them getting praised by other legends of film. I have a sneaking suspicion that the shine will wear off on this new format pretty quickly though, so I hope it doesn't become a regular deal. As a way of changing up the show and maybe reinventing itself a little bit though, it ended up working well.
Daniel Craig looks better in a tuxedo than any human being alive today. I am jealous beyond belief.
Is it still too soon to show reaction shots of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie when Jennifer Aniston is presenting?
I also saw Angelina Jolie last night and said, "wow, Andy made a great pick in the female celebrity draft." She is not aging at all.
I was supremely confused by the way "Best Animated Film" was presented. Did that Space Monkeys movie really get nominated or were they just showing random clips of animated films from 2008?
I am so happy that Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor. I am SO FREAKING PISSED THAT I MISSED IT LIVE. Like an idiot I went into my room for a hot second to watch the end of whatever NASCAR race was on yesterday. When I came back out, Ledger's mother and sister were already speaking. Ugh. The only thing I truly cared about the entire night is the one thing I missed completely. I've watched it again. So sad. He truly deserved to win the award though.
I hear Sean Penn was incredible in Milk, but I was really hoping to get a chance to hear what Mickey Rourke had to say. Considering the direction that his life has gone, this movie really allowed him to make a rather stunning transformation. It would have been great to see that feel good story have the perfect ending (they probably could have made a movie about that in and of itself). Alas, I have not seen either film, so I don't know if I should be outraged or not.
There is a 100% chance that I need to see Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire as soon as possible. I also really want to see The Wrestler and Milk. Hopefully this can be accomplished in the near future.
Considering I don't think I saw a single film nominated for Best Picture, I can't really comment on the win by Slumdog Millionaire except to say that not a single person I know who saw the movie commented in any way except by saying it was the best movie they had seen in a very long time and I absolutely had to see it. Using their comments as a gauge, I'd have to say the right film won.
Those are my thoughts. Feel free to share your own in the comments section.
Your Moron of the Week: Sandra "the Chimp Owner" Herold
This week's Moron of the Week voting, interrupted for several hours on Thursday afternoon due to Blogger ineptitude, was actually rather close. After all was said and done, it turns out keeping a 200 pound chimpanzee in your suburban house is enough to get you the shiny Moron of the Week certificate.
So congratulations, Sandra "the Chimp Owner" Herold*. Contrary to what I can only imagine would be just about anyone with even the most basic knowledge of jungle animals, you decided that keeping a chimpanzee in your home in Connecticut would be a good idea.
Sure he was domesticated, sure Travis may have been your best bro (or maybe BFFL is more appropriate), sure Travis has been in the movies, but you missed one rather important fact about Travis.
Travis is a damned chimpanzee. And sometimes, Chimpanzees go a little crazy, because they are Chimpanzees.
Naturally when Travis started acting up last week, you decided to call your friend Charla Nash, who as far as I know is not an expert in any field that would allow her to know how to calm down a chimpanzee. It's been a bit hard to ask Charla Nash if she has any experience dealing with Chimpanzees, because she's been in the hospital enduring hours and hours of surgery after Travis mauled her face. She's now in critical but stable condition.
But beyond all of this, you gave the chimpanzee Xanax...XANAX! Who gives a wild (and don't pull this domesticated nonsense, Travis was still a wild animal) a prescription drug? Can anyone find me a single person who would think this is a good idea? A toked out dead beat kid who hangs out behind the Super-Mart would probably cower at this idea.
You may have had good intentions throughout all of this, but unfortunately good intentioned moronic behavior is still moronic behavior (see: Suleman, Nadya). And the comedy of errors you exhibited throughout this whole debacle (including the "wait a second, I didn't give the Chimpanzee Xanax, even though I said I did and stuff like whether or not I gave a chimpanzee Xanax is probably something that isn't blurry in my mind") mean that you quite easily sowed up, Moron of the Week.
Check back later tonight for the thread where you can make this week's nominations.
* The poll on the side bar incorrectly listed Sandra Herold's last name as "Hanold" my mistake. Unfortunately the polls (with good reason) don't allow you to edit polls once someone has voted on them, and I didn't catch this until after the voting had started. My bad, I hope I didn't offend anyone with the last name "Hanold."
So congratulations, Sandra "the Chimp Owner" Herold*. Contrary to what I can only imagine would be just about anyone with even the most basic knowledge of jungle animals, you decided that keeping a chimpanzee in your home in Connecticut would be a good idea.
Sure he was domesticated, sure Travis may have been your best bro (or maybe BFFL is more appropriate), sure Travis has been in the movies, but you missed one rather important fact about Travis.
Travis is a damned chimpanzee. And sometimes, Chimpanzees go a little crazy, because they are Chimpanzees.
Naturally when Travis started acting up last week, you decided to call your friend Charla Nash, who as far as I know is not an expert in any field that would allow her to know how to calm down a chimpanzee. It's been a bit hard to ask Charla Nash if she has any experience dealing with Chimpanzees, because she's been in the hospital enduring hours and hours of surgery after Travis mauled her face. She's now in critical but stable condition.
But beyond all of this, you gave the chimpanzee Xanax...XANAX! Who gives a wild (and don't pull this domesticated nonsense, Travis was still a wild animal) a prescription drug? Can anyone find me a single person who would think this is a good idea? A toked out dead beat kid who hangs out behind the Super-Mart would probably cower at this idea.
You may have had good intentions throughout all of this, but unfortunately good intentioned moronic behavior is still moronic behavior (see: Suleman, Nadya). And the comedy of errors you exhibited throughout this whole debacle (including the "wait a second, I didn't give the Chimpanzee Xanax, even though I said I did and stuff like whether or not I gave a chimpanzee Xanax is probably something that isn't blurry in my mind") mean that you quite easily sowed up, Moron of the Week.
Check back later tonight for the thread where you can make this week's nominations.
* The poll on the side bar incorrectly listed Sandra Herold's last name as "Hanold" my mistake. Unfortunately the polls (with good reason) don't allow you to edit polls once someone has voted on them, and I didn't catch this until after the voting had started. My bad, I hope I didn't offend anyone with the last name "Hanold."
Friday, February 20, 2009
My Thoughts on the Hot Female Celebrity Draft
Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast!
-Ron Burgundy
The Fantasy Female Celebrity Draft has come and gone. Voting ended on Wednesday, and as you can see from the poll on the side bar, Andy has won. First off, a hat tip and congratulations to Andy for assembling the hottest team of Female Celebrities. A round of applause should also go to Miller who seemed to be the only one of us able to mount any sort of real challenge to Andy.
So why did the voting go the way it went? I've been thinking about this since it became abundantly clear 3-4 minutes after after the post went live that my team was not going to win. Personally I was stunned. I thought I had assembled a great team. I honestly thought I was going to run away with it.
After looking at the teams though, I can see why I lost. Andy did a great job of mixing his personal favorites with celebrities who everyone could readily recognize. Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Aniston, Salma Hayek, Beyonce. 94% of the male readership of this blog grew up picturing these women when asked who the hottest female they could think of was. That's not to say he sacrificed anything in picking them. They are gorgeous women. Mix in women like Hillary Duff and Anne Hathaway, and you have a really formidable team.
On the other hand, you look at a team like Miller's, and he did well for a different reason. I look at two specific picks as the reason Miller did so well; Megan Fox with the first overall pick, and January Jones in the 10th round. Dynamite. I also underestimated the model/SI Swimsuit edition factor in making my picks. I don't read it all that often, and don't know the cover girls from any other models. Evidently I am in the minority on that one. I got more comments about Bar Refaeli this week than I have in all the weeks of my life prior. Maybe these women weren't as well known, but click on their pictures and suddenly Miller's team immediately stands out.
So why did Jimmy's, Stick's, and my team lag in the voting? Why did Jeff's team of Britney Spears' almost beat us? I think Stick lost points with his run of prospects. Dakota Fanning turned into the Akili Smith of the fantasy female celebrity draft. Even Scarlet, Rihanna, and Elisha Cuthbert couldn't overcome that pick. She was universally panned.
Jimmy probably would have done better if we had allowed him to pick "all of the Pussycat Dolls" in the 8th round. He also had a very specific type of girl he was drafting. Girls that appealed personally to him and maybe not to others, but it doesn't matter because he's a black belt and he'll kick your ass if you diss them.
And me? I'm really not sure. I thought the first nine rounds were picture perfect. So solid. Mena Suvari was a terrible pick. Terrible. Just miserable. If I could go back through again I would have picked Mary Louis Parker instead of her. I also got a lot of flack for Miley Cyrus and Michelle Trachtenberg. All it takes is one or two picks that people view as inexcusable to really sink a team. If the draft went 10 rounds I think I would have faired a lot better, even though I would go to bat with nearly all of my round 10-18 picks.
The beauty of this draft though is that none of it really matters. Everyone sees hotness in different ways. I definitely raised my eyebrow and said "no freaking way did he pick her" more than once during the draft. I'm sure the other guys said the same thing about some of my picks. That being said, I wouldn't trade my team for any other, I'm sure Miller, Andy, Jeff (definitely Jeff), Jimmy, and Stick wouldn't trade their teams either (well, maybe Jimmy would want that Cat Osterman pick back). All I know is that it was a hell of a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do another one next year.
On Chef Geoff's ::salivates::
Last night I had my second and final Restaurant Week experience at Chef Geoff's Downtown.
I'd been to the restaurant before but never actually eaten there. It has a much different feel than Bobby Vans did. While I felt like I was being inappropriate if I raised my voice above that of a normal inside voice at the Steak House, Chef Geoff's was hopping when I got there for my 8:00 PM dinner reservation. The crowd is much younger, there is a legit bar (which is seemingly popular for people just getting off of work) and an expansive drink menu.
Which happened to be the first thing I took advantage of when I sat down at the table. Unfortunately as an amateur "foodie" I didn't take the time to write down the drink that I got, and the cocktail menu provided on the Chef Geoff's website is different than the one I had last night. I know it was a margarita (not frozen) of some sort, and that it tasted delicious. Be prepared to pay for your cocktails though at $9 a pop.
Even though I only went with one other person, Chef Geoff's Restaurant Week deal is perfect for large groups of people. The restaurant offers each person one item from their list of "Lil Snacks," appetizers, or soups & salad, one entree, and one desert for the $35.09 price. Amazing.
My friend and I spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to figure out what our appetizers were going to be. We ended up landing on the Crispy Calamari with Trio of Sauces, and the Mini Crabcakes with Tropical Salsa. The Calamari was incredibly good. The trio of sauces offered were a simple marinara sauce, a tartar sauce, and my personal favorite, a yogurt sauce. Sure you can get calamari at most places, but perfect calamari is hard to find, and Chef Geoff's rose to the occasion in a big way.
The mini crabcakes were equally good. They weren't lump crab cakes like I had expected, but rather prepared with the crab meat shredded and rolled almost like a meatball. I'm not a huge crab fan, but I would eat these all day and die happy.
The entree ordering was equally difficult since no less than 10 offerings looked amazing. Unfortunately the restaurant had run out of several of their offerings including the Filet Mignon, the TBone Steak. the Double Cut Pork Rib Chop, and the Pan Roasted Duck Breast. Nonetheless, we were able to find great entrees to go along with the great appetizers.
One of the very cool aspects of the Restaurant Week menu at Chef Geoffs was that they included their specials along with the regular menu. My friend took advantage of this and got the Day Boat Scallops, Mushroom-Asparagus Risotto, Truffle Oil, and White Balsamic Reduction. I am not a fan of scallops at all, but was forced into trying one. I am sure they were incredibly good if you like scallops, but I was personally not a fan. She seemed to enjoy them quite a bit.
I opted for the New York Strip with Blue Cheese Cream. As a steak from a restaurant that doesn't bill itself as a steakhouse it was actually really good. The blue cheese cream came in a side dish allowing you to add as much or as little as you wanted to the steak. I thought this was a nice touch. The steak was cooked very well with a minimal amount of fat. I would have loved a little Bobby Vans steak sauce to go along with it, but alas, the blue cheese cream sufficed.
Perhaps the best part of the meal though was the dessert. I got the S'mores Brownie Sundae, which was just God-like good. It included a fluffy chocolate brownie with a marshmallow fluff melted on (and burnt perfectly, like a s'more), caramel sauce, and a scoop of honey graham ice cream. One of the best desserts I have had in a really long time. The brownie was perfectly baked, and I love the hot/cold combination of the brownie and the ice cream. My friend got the Creme Brulee Duo which was also very good. Coffee drinkers would especially love this dessert because the espresso flavor is overpowering, but not to a fault.
All in all, I was very impressed with my meal at Chef Geoff's. I also completely understand why so many of my friends were in shock that I had never eaten there before. The place is definitely pricey, but the younger crowd makes it a bit more of an appealing option than some other pricey restaurants in the DC area. The menu is expansive, and I could probably go back 3 or 4 more times under the restaurant week menu plan and have completely different food. My friend and I have very different takes on what "good" food is, but we were both able to find things we liked on the menu. I actually prefer the way Chef Geoff's did Restaurant Week as opposed to the Bobby Vans style (where the restaurant picks menu items for you to choose from).
As for a comparison of the two? It's really not possible. One is high quality American and comfort food. One is a high quality steak house. They were both fantastic in their own rights and I would gladly go back to either (preferably if I wasn't footing the bill).
I'd been to the restaurant before but never actually eaten there. It has a much different feel than Bobby Vans did. While I felt like I was being inappropriate if I raised my voice above that of a normal inside voice at the Steak House, Chef Geoff's was hopping when I got there for my 8:00 PM dinner reservation. The crowd is much younger, there is a legit bar (which is seemingly popular for people just getting off of work) and an expansive drink menu.
Which happened to be the first thing I took advantage of when I sat down at the table. Unfortunately as an amateur "foodie" I didn't take the time to write down the drink that I got, and the cocktail menu provided on the Chef Geoff's website is different than the one I had last night. I know it was a margarita (not frozen) of some sort, and that it tasted delicious. Be prepared to pay for your cocktails though at $9 a pop.
Even though I only went with one other person, Chef Geoff's Restaurant Week deal is perfect for large groups of people. The restaurant offers each person one item from their list of "Lil Snacks," appetizers, or soups & salad, one entree, and one desert for the $35.09 price. Amazing.
My friend and I spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to figure out what our appetizers were going to be. We ended up landing on the Crispy Calamari with Trio of Sauces, and the Mini Crabcakes with Tropical Salsa. The Calamari was incredibly good. The trio of sauces offered were a simple marinara sauce, a tartar sauce, and my personal favorite, a yogurt sauce. Sure you can get calamari at most places, but perfect calamari is hard to find, and Chef Geoff's rose to the occasion in a big way.
The mini crabcakes were equally good. They weren't lump crab cakes like I had expected, but rather prepared with the crab meat shredded and rolled almost like a meatball. I'm not a huge crab fan, but I would eat these all day and die happy.
The entree ordering was equally difficult since no less than 10 offerings looked amazing. Unfortunately the restaurant had run out of several of their offerings including the Filet Mignon, the TBone Steak. the Double Cut Pork Rib Chop, and the Pan Roasted Duck Breast. Nonetheless, we were able to find great entrees to go along with the great appetizers.
One of the very cool aspects of the Restaurant Week menu at Chef Geoffs was that they included their specials along with the regular menu. My friend took advantage of this and got the Day Boat Scallops, Mushroom-Asparagus Risotto, Truffle Oil, and White Balsamic Reduction. I am not a fan of scallops at all, but was forced into trying one. I am sure they were incredibly good if you like scallops, but I was personally not a fan. She seemed to enjoy them quite a bit.
I opted for the New York Strip with Blue Cheese Cream. As a steak from a restaurant that doesn't bill itself as a steakhouse it was actually really good. The blue cheese cream came in a side dish allowing you to add as much or as little as you wanted to the steak. I thought this was a nice touch. The steak was cooked very well with a minimal amount of fat. I would have loved a little Bobby Vans steak sauce to go along with it, but alas, the blue cheese cream sufficed.
Perhaps the best part of the meal though was the dessert. I got the S'mores Brownie Sundae, which was just God-like good. It included a fluffy chocolate brownie with a marshmallow fluff melted on (and burnt perfectly, like a s'more), caramel sauce, and a scoop of honey graham ice cream. One of the best desserts I have had in a really long time. The brownie was perfectly baked, and I love the hot/cold combination of the brownie and the ice cream. My friend got the Creme Brulee Duo which was also very good. Coffee drinkers would especially love this dessert because the espresso flavor is overpowering, but not to a fault.
All in all, I was very impressed with my meal at Chef Geoff's. I also completely understand why so many of my friends were in shock that I had never eaten there before. The place is definitely pricey, but the younger crowd makes it a bit more of an appealing option than some other pricey restaurants in the DC area. The menu is expansive, and I could probably go back 3 or 4 more times under the restaurant week menu plan and have completely different food. My friend and I have very different takes on what "good" food is, but we were both able to find things we liked on the menu. I actually prefer the way Chef Geoff's did Restaurant Week as opposed to the Bobby Vans style (where the restaurant picks menu items for you to choose from).
As for a comparison of the two? It's really not possible. One is high quality American and comfort food. One is a high quality steak house. They were both fantastic in their own rights and I would gladly go back to either (preferably if I wasn't footing the bill).
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