Spot The G

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:28:51 GMT

I talked to my friend, Dave, tonight. Of all of my friends, Dave is the most driven. He *always* has something in the works; he's in constant motion. He has been an example to me. Not necessarily because of his drive, but there is the wisdom that comes along with it. You see, he's been an EMT/paramedic for all the years I've known him. Coupled with hardships he's experienced, his insights are often "splashes of cold water" reality to me. We all need friends like Dave. Back in college. I never would have though we'd continue to be friends so many years later. (I can say that about at least 2 other friends as well). It only goes to show that we often don't know all that we need to know but we find out in our own time.

Here's to the ignorant bliss of life... *clink*.

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:42:10 GMT

I was talking to a friend. He had an insight which was completely, I mean completely unexpected. What he had to say brought soo much into perspective. But now I'm left with a strong need to do something --- to save someone based on what was shared with me. The trouble is that I have no idea of what to do. And I know that you can't help everyone or shouldn't even try.

By coincidence, I was listening to NPR yesterday when they were talking about (in my own words) the perception of doing the right thing. Part of the discussion focused of the survey based on 2 questions (please forgive me if my recollection is not verbatim):

Question 1: If you were walking along and observed 5 people working on a train track, you see a train approaching. You're too far away to get their attention and they have no idea the train is coming. However, you can save the five people simply by pulling a lever that switches the train to a side track. But in doing so, the train hits the lone person working on the side track. Would you pull the lever.

Question 2: You're on a bridge overlooking five workers working on a train track. A train is coming. They don't know a train is coming and you're too high up to get their attention. You notice a VERY large man standing next to you. You also know that if you pushed this man off the bridge, he will stop the train saving the five workers. The man will die in the fall. Do you push him?

By far the hosts said that most people asked would pull the lever but would not push the man. The overall discussion then goes in a different direction centering on brain chemistry and such. I was too fascinated at the questions to care. Because instantly, as they were detailiing the first question, I'd decided that I think I would do nothing. It's not that I would not want to do anything. But what causes my hangup is that to pull the lever, I would know that at least one person would still die. I don't know that I can accept that as an option. I think I would desperately try to find a way other than to consciously cause a death. I simply would not believe that pulling the lever would be the best choice.

*sigh*

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:55:21 GMT

The Washington Post has, in my opinion, a very fitting tribute to the troops who have fallen while serving in our "fight against terror". The print edition lists the fallen at the end of each quarter (if I understand it correctly). The online edition maintains a complete list since the start of the conflict. I have not seen or looked for a similar list at other sources but I will say that the Washington Post's implementation is most honorable. Take a look: Faces of the Fallen

While I'm unnerved by the media's tendacy to objectify a death by keeping a tally, I see such a tally as a reminder of the true cost of war.

Guilty: good movies or bad that I will watch over and over

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 03:23:54 GMT

1. Grease 2. Bad movie; very bad movie. If it weren't for Michelle Pfeiffer's gyrations, the only redeeming quality this movie would have is all the innuendo.
2. Real Genius. I'm a geek, an 80's geek.
3. Weird Science. See #2.
4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris is the real asshole of the movie. But his friends have no backbone and everyone else buys his bullshit. His powers had an almost mutant quality.
5. The Money Pit. Tom Hank's hysterically miniancal laugh is one of the funniest things I'd ever seen in a movie. Who would have thought that he cross-dressed in a primetime sitcom?
6. Brewster's Million's. Outside of witnessing Richard Pryor's comic genius, pricariously living someone else's rags-to-riches dream is always fun.
7. Trading Places. Same as #6 except with Eddie Murphy.
8. Grease. Soundtrack. That's all.
9. Revenge of the Nerds. See 2 & 3.
10. Police Academy. I like stories about ambiguous police academies in an ambiguous city.
11. Die Hard. Lots of gun play and catchy lines.
12. Bridget Jones' Diary. Rene and the fire pole...
13. Superman II. Sarah Douglas and stupid decisions...
14. Stripes. That's a fact, Jack.

more to come later...

P.S. had a good talk with Da Wife today...

Old guy in the minivan...

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:50:53 GMT

I was talking with a friend of mine a few weeks ago. We were talking about how weird it is that of all our college friends, that we'd end up as close and good friends (still boggles my mind). Then the conversation turned to "where we are now". As a happily married man with two great little boys, he'd related a epiphany he'd had while driving the young'uns around. While at a stoplight, he sees a really hot chick in the car next to him. Naturally, he checks her out. Then he suddenly realizes: "Wait, I am the weird old guy driving the minivan." So much for revving the engine to impress her... What's funny is that he's the same age as I am.

Some things just have to be done

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 03:02:43 GMT

"Some things just have to be done." That's been my attitude about doing *really* difficult things. For instance, at the end of my junior year in high school, I attended jrotc summer camp at Ft. Bragg. It was quite an experience all the way around. Naturally, I read about the activities we'd be doing throughout the week. Two of the activities were: rappelling and the 34ft jump tower. No big deal, right? Well, if you're terrified of heights, yes, it is. I figured that once all of the activities started, I'd be okay. Ironically, the rappeling tower is the same tower where I first learned of my fear of heights years earlier**... it is the monster in my closet. As the cadet activities started, I was really enjoying myself. There was: land navagation, I got to fire an M16 and a M60, participated in an artillery fire team AND fired a howitzer, water survival, confidence course, drill, and let's not forget mess hall food (yum!). Incidentally, part of the experience of the week included cadets being "randomly" selected for leadership roles each day of the camp (squad leader, platoon sargent, platoon leader, company commander, etc.). For whatever reason, I was chosen for leadership roles for most of my time there. I ultimately obtained the role of platoon leader for the latter half of the camp. Where am I going with this? As the squad- and then platoon leader, I, at the very least had to be an example. And that meant facing the monster in the closet.

As I stated earlier, the rappeling tower brought my fear to light. And here it is again, the exact same one. There was no turning back this time, I was the squad leader. And not only that, I was a "hometown boy" representing my high school, my comrads, my hometowns of Fayetteville AND Fort Bragg. As a matter of pride, I could not chicken out. Looking up at the tower, the fear crept back and it stayed until it was my turn. All I knew was that I had to do it, it needed to be done no matter what. If I failed, I would lose whatever respect I needed to have as the squad leader. It must be done. I listened to instructions carefully and went off the edge of the tower as I was supposed. Funny thing is, I enjoyed it. Despite my fear, I enjoyed the rush of rappelling down the tower. Once everyone went down, only volunteers went back. I went back, twice. Each and every time, I was scared shitless, but it had to be done. I realized then that my fear could be controlled especially when I felt that there was a greater a purpose.

The next day, I was selected to become the platoon leader. Great, more responsibility, more exposure. And still, there was the jump tower, a bigger monster in the closet. The rappelling tower as about 18ft. tall, the jump tower, 34ft. The jump tower is basically a zip line like you'd find at company picnics or carnivals. Except in this case, the tower is much taller and the participant is outfitted in parachute gear to simulate military jump out of a plane. Even worse, is that those who are not "jumping" are seated in bleachers right below the platform... everybody's watching. As platoon leader, I was first to go in my platoon. I get harnessed and "stand in the door". They tell you to look at the horizon. I caught a peek at the ground below. Big mistake. I became numb but did not freeze. The advisor said "go!"; I went. It was not so bad (except for having my jewels shoved up into my abdomen because of the harness). We only had time for 2 "jumps" each. I went twice.

When I see a purpose greater than my own fear, I feel a drive to conquer said fear. Nowadays, things have become more a matter of principle vs fear: I give my word, I will follow through(whatever it takes); Or for the sake of friends or family, I will do what must be done; Or I just feel the need to do the right thing. I know for sure that my fears and hangups will be brushed aside under those circumstances. If I can't live up to my principles, then what's left? The fear? That's no way to live.

**The rappeling tower became a demon to me at the age of 14. I was a part of the civil air patrol and a fellow cadet thought it would be prudent that I learned how to rappel. When it became my turn to go, I turned into a blubbering whimp and begged to come down from the top of the tower. Since then, I'd carefully chosen less intimidating activities ( or at least activities I had no fear of doing).

Excuse me, I voted...

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:32:09 GMT

I voted yesterday. It wasn't a bad experience by any means. I assume that since I waited until after work to vote, I'd missed the some of the organizational and technical issues that put Montgomery County in the national news. I was in and out fairly quickly. I did get a kick out of being mobbed by campaign workers that rushed to hand me pamphlets and paraphernalia when I got of my car. I quipped: "too bad this isn't money". They all laughed and thanked me for voting.

The act of voting was fine. The electronic voting machines made the process easy and direct. But I have to admit that I don't quite trust them. At least with the old paper ballots you had a physical manifestation of the act of voting that you simply hand off to an official. Not being able to see a hardcopy myself unnerves me. I'm pretty sure my skepticism comes from my IT background... I *know* that no process is perfect (especially anything based on *Windows*). I've seen even the simplest of programs screw up (for whatever reason). And then there's the fact that the voting machines, for the most part, are built by one company whose leadership has a certain political focus. I don't know. Maybe I can be reassured by seeing where in the voting population did my vote get cast. "Thank you for your vote. You were the #182,432nd person to cast your vote today. Don't forget your sticker."

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:37:29 GMT

I was at work on that bright and beautiful September 11th morning. Not quite 12 hours before, I'd just flown into Dulles after from visiting Cathy in Atlanta. I was feeling quite good and energized after a wonderful long weekend visit. As normal, I was at my desk listening to the radio and working through 2 days of overdue tasks. Then, all of a sudden the lead DJ breaks in amid song and states that a plane of unknown size has crashed into one of the towers of the WTC. What? I knew immediately that it was no accident. It just seemed apparent to me that air traffic was not likely routed anywhere close to the Twin Towers, even by accident. But I still hoped that it was just an awful accident. I Retrieve portable TV I keep in my office (every since the attack in Oklahoma City, I vowed to keep a tv at work) and immediately turn change to the first news I come to. I saw what everyone else saw: a towering, majestic landmark smoldering. I desperately wished for some super power that would allow me to teleport all of the survivors to safety. But all I could to do was a watch and listen. I picked up the phone and called Cathy. I can't remember what she was doing at the time; I can't remember if she knew or not. But at some point we were both watching the coverage. Then the second tower was hit. At this point, it was blatantly obvious that this was part of a larger, coordinated attack. I thought to myself, what next, surely this is not over. Then, the I'd heard that the Pentagon was hit. We have friends that live pretty close to it. What did they see??? At a certain point, Cathy and I agreed to call each other later, we both have family to call. I called Mom. She was at work. I told her that I was okay and that Cathy was alright. Mom assures me that she's also okay. I tell her that I will call again later.
Next and even more horrifying, came the sight of one of the Towers actually collapsing. How many people are still in there? How many have gotten to a safe distance? What of the other tower? My God, what of the firefighters and the police officers who'd rushed to the the scene? And then came the collapse of the other Tower. Shock. Dismay. Immobility. I feel helpless just sitting there watching all of this unfold. It's not like I can run down to the Pentagon and offer help, I'd just be in the way. What does one do? Watch and watch and watch and watch. Do I go home like a lot of my coworkers? I can't, my loved ones are all at some distance away from me. Going home would do no good. I stay at work to try and retain some vestige of a "normal" work day. Except on a normal work day, I'm not watching endless replays of tragedy. I'm kinda numb. What more could happen now? And then, what happened in Shanksville? Where is it in relation to us? Could we have seen that plane fly overhead on it's way to DC? How many more lives were saved? There were many, many heroes that day. Let us not forget.

I have one gripe. One thing that particularly irks me is the claim that we have not been attacked since 9/11. We were. Remember the anthrax attacks? Are we anywhere close to finding the parties responsible. Why is it continually overlooked?

Mantra candidate

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:47:31 GMT

I heard this great quote this morning:

"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal" - Russ Parr Morning Show.

my day

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:48:24 GMT

Was shot. Only two carloads of items to the apt. I had hoped to get quite a bit more done. NOOOOO. Stupid cable company contractors. My "window" was from 2-5pm today. Plus, I was told that I'd be called once the guy was on the way. What time did he show up? 6pm. Did he call? Nope. Apology? No. Explanantion? "I'm just a contractor, I can't account for what the company says." Not only that, but he asks to use my cell phone to have the service activated ...ooookay. 10mins later, his well-hidden blackberry phone rings. *what*? Grr!

But I've known you for years...

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:17:06 GMT

What's more annoying than to overhear a conversation where one person refers to a third party as "what's-his-name" and find out that they were talking about you? Uhm, hello, I'm in earshot and it's not as though we'd met just a few minutes ago. Just refer to me as "that guy" or "dude". You'd use less syllables.

Leave early, avoid the idiots

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:20:29 GMT

On the way to work this morning, I saw a porsche nearly get run off the road. I was some distance back but my view of the incident was completely unobstructed. The offending vehicle was an SUV. The driver of the SUV moved into the porsche's lane without looking or signaling. And the porsche's driver was able to recover quickly in his nimble little car. That's it right? Nope. Instead of just letting it go the porsche driver tailgated, weaved, and sat on his horn. The guy never let up on his horn for 3 miles (plus stoplights). The SUV eventually turned but the porsche drive kept being an jerk as he continued on. So what was his point? When I was able to pass him , I was curious to see what kind of person would behave in such a way. It turned out to be an old guy. Clearly, he forgot his ED pills this morning.

storky stork..

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:45:48 GMT

I had an interesting conversation today with a good friend from work. Nice lady, about my age. Anyway, she revealed to me today that she's 5mos. pregnant. Cool. She's very happy. Even if she did not come out and say, it very obvious that she's quite happy about it. It was kinda funny in that when I saw her yesterday, I did not notice anything different about her. However, when she did reveal her news,"I saw"! Based on that, we talked about how awkward it is for her to tell her friends at work, particularly the male counterparts. In one case, she talked about how she ran in to a colleague in the kitchen and she was debating on whether or not to tell -- she'd wondered if he'd noticed her belly (remember, she's 5mos. now). I told her that it's likely that he did not notice for the simple reason: men at work aren't supposed to "see" anything between the neck and the ankles. That's a rule that I follow, I don't know about anyone else. But I think she understood what I was trying to say.

Anyway, my friend's news was quite exciting and it was neat to see her so happy about it. It most certainly lifted my spirits.

Blackouts: Catalysts to Activity

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 05:26:55 GMT

For the second straight night, the power went out in my neighborhood. Interestning phenom in that, people love to speculate on "what the hell is going on". Technically, it's Sunday already. I suck and should have posted sooner. Whatever. I will write as though it were still Sat. Anyway, yesterday, one of the things I decided to do during the blackout was to sit on the front porch and watch the world around me (truthfully, I wanted to know how my neighbors reacted to the event. And I wanted to know which neighbors knew which neighbors - who knows who. Know what I mean?). I sat and watched while pretending to play with my pda and listening to my mp3 player. There was not much fodder. The Af-Am family directly across from us seem to have a reportoire with the our local handyman (and the woman he's shacking with). Nothing else was compelling. Fortunately, as I was about to jump from the precipice of boredom, Mom called. She's been checking up on me a lot lately (I suspect that given my current life crisis, she's fearful that I might do something desperate; You see, she was a victim of suicide. "Victim" you say? Yes. Her brother, my uncle committed suicide when I was very young. Why would I call her a victim? 'Cause it is my stern belief that when an individual commits suicide, they are indeed, victimizing every single person that has loved them. They no longer suffer but their loved ones do.). Anyway, while I don't believe Mom thinks I will do anything like that, I do think she's hypersensitive to what might be affecting her loved ones. Fair enough since I'm her son. Anyway, to alleviate my blackout boredom, I'd asked her to look at some new sites to see if she give me any insight was to what might be happening locally. Nothing. But the process for was funny in that I had to keep repeating the sites I wanted her to checkout. "No, Mom, the dot goes before the com....". She's not computer illiterate but takes some goading. Nevertheless, it was good (as always to talk to her. I then called up F. He was able to find some info. From what he told me, I had a two hour wait before the power came back. I then called H & N, they had power (which directly contradicts one of the rumors one of my neighbors was shouting in the neighborhood). They invited me over. So I went over to visit. N was preactically shoving food down my throat; H was geekin' and wanted my opinion about something. So, I hung out with them and we watched the movie: "the island". "The Island" is the type of movie one would watch if it were already on or already paid for. I would not go to the movies to see this one. Wait for cable. All of this leads me to today, Saturday. The power goes out again. Grr! Well, actually I was not all that irritated, though I should have been since I was "reading in the library"**. Instead of staying home or calling H&N, I decided that a different activity was in order. So, I went to a movie [it was weird to just go without weighing opinion]. I saw "Accepted". It was fun, not award winner but entertaining. Just think of a cross between "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". I am still in a "mental evaluation" of the movie but I will say it was...fun. Cheesy cliche for a near-ending but fun.

Recommended blackout activity: go to a movie (sitting on the frontsteps sucks for voyeurs}.

BTW, there's nothing like loudly listening to Snoop Dog's "Notthin' but a G Thang" at a stop light in the dead of night. You learn to not give a shit.

Old Biddy Beat Down???

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 04:49:11 GMT

Went to see the O's (Baltimore Orioles) last night with good friends, F and R. Not a bad games except that the O's lost 11-2. UGH! Anyway, we got $15 seats in the section 92 of Camden Yards. These seats were in homerun territory with a straightline view to homeplate. I really liked the seats and the point of view. Before I sat down, I went to get a burger and beer. When I got to our seats, F was in one seat over from the seat next to R, therefore I had to sit in a seat that wasn't ours. No big deal. Shortly thereafter, a gaggle of old ladies came up to the seats near us. Recognizing this, F moved over one to his correct seat and I did the same. We are now in our correct seats. Nothing more need be said right? Well, the gaggle of biddies appeared to be agitated at the fact that we were there at all. Nevermind that we'd *just* bought the tix *at* the box office not 20mins. before. They apparently took exception and started to give us a hard time. Not wanting to be known as an asshole to old ladies, I whip out my ticket to lend crendence to our right to be where we were. One of the biddies, (I'm not sure which) acutally, actually, snatched the ticket out of my hand!!! WTF??? Okay, grandma, don't get me uppity! And then she jabbed the ticket back in my face when she realized we were right. Eventually, the dust settled and we were left alone. The "snatching" bugged me, of course. But what annoyed me most was that not one of the old ladies sat in the seat next to me. After all of that, they did not even claim the seat they rightfully owned (for the duration game). So, their rude, yes rude, behavior was for nothing. The snatch was the for nothing. Grrr! F speculates that they prolly didn't belong there themselves else there would have been a bigger stink. Grrr! there's nothing worse than rude, old people who act like children.

Dismissed..

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:36:44 GMT

I read my hometown paper (online) daily. It's kinda my way of keeping tabs on things that might have an effect on my family. And plus, it's my hometown. Today, I read an article the one of high schools there ( my alma mater, in fact), was threatened for closure because a clerical error made it appear to fail requirements for No Child Left Behind. I can go on for days about the absurdities surrounding this (uhm, clerical errors can mean a school's closure, the ridiculous beauracracy that lead to the clerical error, the dismissive and groundless standards used for NCLB, etc...). What angers me is the recognition of a problem with public schools and the lack of desire to fix them. What do I mean? There's a problem, take away the resources that would help solve it, and allow it to disintegrate. While, I don't believe in throwing money at a problem to solve it (something that clearly does not work for the Washington Redskins), turning away from the problem is not going to help solve it. The plain of it is that a global approach cannot effectively apply to local/regional problems. Here's what I think:

1. Standardized tests should be considered a diagnostic and not a goal. It is my belief that test numbers are used to cut funding and not to fix defficiencies.
2. There needs to be a comprehensive look at what is making a school work the way it is (good or bad). That means *everything* about a child's school experience needs to be looked at from where the student lives to the path he/she takes to get to school, classmates, cafeteria staff, teachers, principal, *everything*.
3. Teachers need to be looked to with respect. They will see and hear what the parents will probably never experience. Teachers do their job under an unfairly powerful microscope, are given limited bounds to operate in, and draw horrendously bad pay. Yet people aspire to be teachers still. Why?
5. Parents need to be stop being selectively blind when it comes their children in school.
6. Education is a right in this country. While it's not secured constitutionally, it is still a right, and should be protected as such. That means that no politician should mess with it; In fact, a founding principle should be to make sure that everyone is guaranteed a certain level of education.
7. School funding should not be based on tax district. There is no reason why one child's education should be different from that of a child across town.
8. Teach logic and team building to children as early as possible. We need to adopt creative approaches to teaching (and learning); What works for a 5th grader is not going to work for freshmen; kids aren't cattle. And schools aren't an assemly lines or should they be? (at least with assembly lines there are q/c
checks along the way)

While I don't have all the answers, it is clear to me that what we are doing now is not helping. Closing a school for "poor performance" is nothing less than dismissive of the children that attend it.

No poll ego now...

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:41:48 GMT

Now I have a problem with the poll I participated in last night. Why, you say? 'Cause the same stupid company called me again today after work. The guy was like:"blah, blah, blah, conducting a poll with voters in your area." I said: "is this the poll concernig my the Montgomery County executive?". The guy says:"yes". I say: "I did all of this last night". He goes:"oh." I say:"Bye." Uhm, WTF? Now I know for sure that polls are crap. Should I be more forgiving of an honest mistake? Nope. Not when these polls are used to determine strategy and platform. And that these are often used to sway opinion. What happened to accuracy? A simple check should have eliminated me for today's call. Oh, and by the way, the polling company/callcenter is in FREAKIN' Canada (the interviewers seemed quite proud of this fact). So, not only is the poll crap but it's outsourced/"offshore" crap. We are in trouble.

Finally Poll Participation.. it was annoying

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:09:47 GMT

I am a registered voter (of course). I simply feel that one can complain if one does not vote, right? Anyway, I answered the phone tonight just because. [usually, anonymous callers get the cold shoulder, if you can't identify yourself, then you don't get my time]. Anyway, usually, I complain about all these damned polls that come out about the local politics that never seem to call me (I'm egocentric that way). This poll focused on the "county exec" for Montgomery County [it's like a city mayor but on a county level). And I have to say, that given the questions about the major candidates in the demo race, we are in trouble. I don't even want to consider the crap about the repub candidates. I don't want to go into any detail but the central focus of the questions I had to answer was disappointing. I expect that these people live in the county and so their issues should be realistic I see them. But I am woefully disappointed. We are in trouble because politicians suck. (duh!).

Chick Flick (CF) Confessions...

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 03:11:04 GMT

I don't give a shit.. I admit that I like them and now I'll tell you which ones and why (in no particular order):

1. Superman Returns --- it is a CF in disguise, I realize this and still like it cause it's a superhero movie
2. Jerry McGuire --- Rene Zellweger is pretty damn hot. But let's face it, Crazy Tom gets to say what us fellas *really* want to say to our other halves (AND he's not accused of being cheesy; crazy maybe).
3. Sabrina(remake) -- Julia Ormond, never heard of her before this movie; Harrison Ford is a freakin' softy but we guys can empathize (he's rich and she still makes him chase her - we have no power, really)
4. Falling In Love -- Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro. Two superb actors, slow movie. I never liked the infidelity theme but the movie redeems with a not-so-cheesy ending (real life and consequences sorta thing)
5. Defending You Life --- Meryl Streep, Albert Brooks. Not a fan of Albert Brooks, it's all Meryl. What a woman. Plus, the theme is combined with a favorite theme, Heaven (idealized and the afterlife).
6. Bridges Of Madison County -- Again with the Meryl. Obviously, I have thing for her.
7. Beaches --- Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey. Sappy, lifetime girl buddy movie. Bette Midler pushed my "pushy girl, in your face" button. Barbara Hershey was just hot. (cut me some slack, I was in college and horny when this movie came out --- *real* horny).
8. Fatal Attraction - Okay, not really a CF but wasn't Glenn Close scary *HOT*?
9. Cousins --- Isabella Rosellini, Ted Danson. Well acted on Ms. Rosellini's part. Ted was kinda awkward. Still, the story/happy ending is all about the warm fuzzies.
10. As Good As It Gets --- Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson. I *really* Like Helen Hunt. But the fun one is old Jack. He's every-guy neurotic and he, like Crazy Tom, gets to say what we all really wants to say to our better halves. Except, he is taken quite seriously (especially 'cause of his neurosis). Translation: he gets to be an ass and still gets the girl.
11. Heart and Souls -- another afterlife theme. But there is one gut-wrenching scene that tugs at the old heart strings: when the "spirits" have to leave to keep the little boy from getting in trouble. To see the little guy cry when his spirit friends "go away" is tough to handle.
12. Made In Heaven. Kelly McGillis, Tim Robbins. Slow movie but it touches on quite a few of my favorite themes: afterlife, "recycled souls", utopian heaven, love that transcends life, death, life, and the whole soul mate theme.
13. Bridget Jones -- Love the curvy Rene. But she was fun to watch. Sinlgedom angst is fun to watch
and to relate to in another culture.
14. Crazy Beautiful. Kirsten Dunst. I really don't have an explanation for this one... for some reason, I got hooked on Kirsten Dunst cause of this movie. I really don't know why. I suck.
15. Brown Sugar. Queen Latifah, etc. This movie is a refreshing take on the lives of African Americans. Rap, hip-hop theme, still, but none of the stereotypical "bling" or gun violence. In addition, Mos Def's subplotted crush on Queen Latifah added a fun and humorous twist. A must see.
16. Oh, yeah, I have always liked the curvy Queen Latifah.
17. Deliver Us from Eva. LL plays the playa that falls for his prey. Yes, if he can fall, we all can fall.
18. Love Jones. Nia Long is just too damned hot. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Plus, there is the added bonus of the soundtrack for this movie. By far, the soundtrack is one of my absolute favorite albums of all times. It easily competes with Lost Boys, Star Trek II, Grease, Purple Rain, and Saturday Night Fever.
19. The Color Purple. Whoopi -superb; Oprah -pretty good; Danny Glover, good as the asshole. Excellent movie. I may have to try and read the book.
20. Better off Dead. One line: "I want my two dollars!"
21. Say Anything... --- Do I really have to explain this one? Every guy out there has identified with Lloyd Dobbler. Wayward but determined dude wins the heart of the smartest (prettiest?) girl in school? Dude, this makes me want to shout out: "Vote for Pedro!". And I got hooked on Lili Taylor's character: intense, artistic, not hot but sexy depth.
22. The American President --- Annette Benning, Michael Douglas. I liked Annette's character. You can *feel* her flattery. And why is it that fictional presidents are more convincing than the real ones?
23. Save the Last Dance --- yeah, yeah, yeah, total cliche but you *so* get sucked in.
24. Fever Pitch - Tell the truth, for "her" you'd give up everything, right?
25. Shallow Hal. Meant for the fellas to teach us something... that's why it's a CF.
26. 50 First Dates... Drew Barrymore is just plain hot. But to see her beat the crap out of Rob Schneider with a bat is funny as shit.
27. Big Daddy --- Joey Lauren Adams. Yummy.
28. Never Been Kissed. Is it obvious that I like Drew Barrymore?
29. The Wedding Singer. It should be obvious now...
30. Boomerang. Sorta like a CF. The brashness makes up for it.
31. 10 Things I Hate About You---another one line: "I hate you with the fury of a thousand suns". Outside of that, we (us guys) have , at some time, been compelled to write a poem for that one woman.
32. Sixteen Candles... Uhm, the "Donger"... 'nuff said.
33. Some Kind of Wonderful... female drummer... yuuuuuuuuummmm!
34. Mischief. The cool guy gets the hot girl. Need I say more?
35. Bend It Like Beckham. Parminder Nagra is even more hot when she appears on ER. Kira Knightly.. not as much. Too much like Winona Ryder.
36. Making Mr. Right. Ann Magnusen. Sexy.
37. Urban Cowboy. Debra Winger.... REALLY hot as vulnerable cowgirl.
38. An Officer And A Gentleman.. NOT a big Richard Gere fan by any means. But he is like us, just wanting to do the right thing and carry his girl out of her workplace to applause.
39. Pretty Woman. Rich guy doing Julia Roberts? COME ON!!!! Fantasy for us FOR SURE!!!
40. Skin Deep. Glow-in-the-Dark condom Sword play... not much can be said for that.
41. When Harry Met Sally. Sure, we start off as friends...

This is it for now. There may be more later...

Meme Hijack: List your favorite bands from A to Z.

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:47:28 GMT

A. Art Of Noise
B. Bananarama/Basia/ Bjork
C. Commodores
D. Def Leppard/ Depeche Mode
E. En Vogue /Earth Wind and Fire
F. Fleetwood Mac / Fuel
G. Garbage / Go-Gos
H. Jimi Hendrix / Hole
I. Information Society
J. Janet Jackson/ Journey
K. Kittie
L. Courtney Love
M. Madonna/ Sarah McLachlan
N. New Order
O. Orgy
P. Prince And The Revolution
Q. Quarterflash (okay, I stracteched for this one)
R. REM / Bonnie Raitt
S. Swing Out Sister/ Lisa Stansfield/ Sade
T. TLC / Tribe Called Quest
U. U2
V. Velvet Revolver
W.
X.
Y. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Z.

Rate my choices: -1, 0, +1 for each of the entries per letter...
fill in my missing letters...

4 lesbians and a straight guy.

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:57:36 GMT

What's the next best thing to hanging out with your buddies at a local bar and talking about women? Hanging out with lesbians at a local bar and talking about women. It was fascinating to hear them (2 couples) talk. I can honestly say that at some point, I had to remind myself that these were, in fact, women. My subconscious confusion came just from listening to how and what they were saying. They were like: "Dude, we sympathize", or "yeah, that's women for you". I swear, I'd heard the exact same thing from my buddies in recent weeks. Here is all that we discussed tonight:

TV
Football
Lawn equipment
Beer
Women

Cool. I don't know if we'll all hangout again...

Not much to say...

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 01:50:51 GMT

My wife and I have been experiencing some difficult times. In fact, it's apparent that we may not ever recover from it. Things are pretty dire for us. She is a wonderful, kind-hearted woman so things would have to be pretty bad if we've reached this point. There's not much else to say except that I love her very much (which, obviously is not enough).

It works

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:11:19 GMT

I made a connection to another good friend from my college "clique". Apparently, she's a teacher back in our hometown. Pretty cool. There are a few more bodies from college I would like to talk to. High school largely sucked where friends were concerned but there are a few people that I'd like find out about. My wife managed to remain in contact with a lot of her friends from both high school AND college... a truly fascinating phenomenom for me to witness.

mp3 players are a fine thing

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 22:57:51 GMT

My posts on this journal have had a considerable slant toward music. While I'm readily conscious of it, music, as it turns out, is a "subharmonic thrum" in my existence. There's nothing like getting a euphoric rush of hearing an old favorite song that I haven't heard in years. Da Wife, through a well thought out gift, triggered a brand new hobby/passion for music. Nowadays, I can't get enough. Now I don't frantically buy up every track I hear. My first goal is to rediscover old stuff I like. Next, will be just about anything else. I like having some of my favorite things accessible at the touch of a few buttons... I can't remember that last time I used my 5-CD disc player. While I have a newer player, the "old" one has considerable sentimental value. Everybody should have one.

Out of the blue...

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:28:07 GMT

My best friend from college dropped me a line the other day after tracing me through classmates.com. I must say that it was pleasant surprise. What makes it a surprise is that, save for an all-too-brief converstation with her over the phone in 2004, we had not spoken directly to one another nearly (if not more than) 10 years. The lack of communication was not my choice by any means; the choice was hoisted upon me out of respect for her marriage. Her newlywed husband was/is (not sure what still holds today) distrustful male/female friendships as a result of what happened in his first marriage. I can understand that. And to add fuel to the fire, I understand that my skin color did not help matters much. You see, apparently his first wife cheated on him with his (I think) bestfriend who was also black/african-american/blah/blah/blah. Anyway, what was I to do? Here I am: my bestfriend is married to a man who distrusts me(albeit understandbly). Do I insist that I remain apart of her life of do "drift" off to the sidelines and hope to hear from her again? The choice is clear:I want her to be happy and I most certainly did not want her husband to ever be suspicious her (especially where I was concerned). And obviously, she was/is happy with him. Things were made a lot easier by the fact that I lived out of state and the fact that they were about to be stationed somewhere else. Plus, I remained in contact with her family, who, were largely still in my hometown.

I'd missed V over the years. My friendship with her taught me a great deal. I relished in the fact that our entire relationship was platonic. And being so, I gained a very unique perspective on things.

I have not heard back from my email response to her. But it doesn't matter. I at least know she's doing okay. I really would like for her to meet Cathy, though.