Friday, April 28, 2006

Soul Patrol on SNL

Saturday Night Live has not been great for a while but from time to time they do have some gems. Check out Taylor Hicks being interviewed by Tina Fey. Luckily they weren't on speaker phone with the boss....

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Dial Idol

So far I have found American Idol 5 to be probably the best season so far [which should not be confused with the best singer to come from AI, who is unarguably two time Grammy award winner Kelly Clarkson]. It has been really fun trying to guess the bottom three each week and the one contestant who is not going to be back next week. Just as an aside my predictions for this week's Bottom Three are Kellie Picker, Paris Bennett, and Elliott Yamin [in that order].

In my wayward travels, I have found a site called dialidol which measures busy signals in order to guess the bottom three and the contestant going home. This is an interesting [but not the most scientific] approach to measuring something that only Fox really has the real data for and should be viewed mostly for fun.

I took a look back at the past 6 weeks of dialidol data and found that as the number of contestants gets smaller there predictions become more accurate. The last three weeks they have almost been perfect. This week dialidol has the following predictions [note the lower the DialIdol Score the lower the number theoretical votes]:

Elliott Yamin 23.721
Katharine McPhee 22.467
Kellie Pickler 19.421
Paris Bennett 17.36

As we know from last nights show, Kellie and Paris were the bottom two and Kellie was sent home with the least votes. At least for one week I have predicted correctly and dialidol was just a bit off.

Also I would like to thank Simon for correcting his statements regarding Katharine's performance. She is not Whitney Houston but she was great in her own right and it was good to hear Simon give her the props she deserves.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Couple Title

We have all heard the terms Beniffer, Bradgelina and TomKat [and I really hate them all] but it did give me an idea to if any of my friends names make an interesting [or hopefully amusing] new word for our everyday lexicon. So here we go:

Lisa + Ed = Led [or Lied, on second thought I think I'll stick with Led]
Susan + Michael = Suschael [I got nothing here]
Scott + Kym = Skym [but since her name is actually Kim, maybe it should be Skim]
Kim + Joel = Koel [pronounced kōl]
Coleen + Steve = Cove [or maybe Steveen, but that is much to hard to say]
Tim + Jaimie = Timmie [or is that just a pet name for Tim???]
Brian + Suzanne = Brianne [or Suzan, either way it's just like one of their names]
Ken + Nancy = Kancy [not sure about this one]
Joe + Allie = Jollie [only if Joe looked like Angelina Jolie]
Dave + Sandy = Dandy [oddly enough that is the name of their bar, coincidence?]
Michelle + Paul = Michaul [rolls together nicely just doesn't mean anything]
Allie + Stephanie = Allanie [sounds like a new medication, call Sepracor]
Karen + Steve = Kareve [this is the brother to Aleve]
Frank + Liz = Friz [although I still love Frank and Beans]
Rachel + Chuck = Rachuckel [this is the one, I can see it in the tabloids now]

I think Rachuckel is our winner.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Blog on Blog

My good friend Kym [who was not being difficult] asked me this weekend, "what is a blog?". She didn't want me to tell her, because as most of you know I could have since I do know way too much useless knowledge, but rather she asked me to post the answer in my blog. Kind of ironic.

On the other hand, maybe she was just trying to get a mention in the most popular blog on the net! Ok maybe not the most popular on the net, but definitely the most popular with my circle of friends. Ok, ok it's the only blog in my circle of friends but that doesn't make it less popular, but I digress.

Anyway, a Blog is short for Web Log. I guess Wlog just don't roll off the tongue. The Blogging phenomenon really started back in the mid 90's as an online personal diary and the term blog was coined in the spring of 1999 by Peter Merholz, in his blog of course.

So there you have it Kym, my blogrific blog entry about blogging. Hey I think I just coined a new word, a terrific blog entry shall now be known as Blogrific. Well maybe not, but one can always dream...

Monday, April 24, 2006

Outside vs treadmill

Ok fellow harpoonfest participants, so you've been running on the treadmill faithfully for the past month but are finding outdoor running much more difficult. Inside your covering 3 miles for over 30 minutes but when you get outside your out of breath after 5 minutes not even getting past the first mile. So what's the problem?

In a word, pacing. On the treadmill, you find a comfortable pace and the machine regulates your running however when you hit the street, it's all up to you to keep the correct speed. The first time I "took it to the streets", I got about 50 yards before I had to stop completely out of breath. It happens to ever first time runner. So what can you do about?

Well for me the answer is in the music. If your like me, you love to run with your MP3 player listening to your favorite songs [recently for me that has been the Goo Goo Dolls]. I recommend using the beat of the song to run to which will control your pace. So how do you go about finding the right music?

Next time your on the treadmill running at your comfortable speed sample a bunch of songs until you find one where the beat matches your steps. I find rock songs to be the best for this process because they typically follow a 4/4 beat pattern, which means the beat of the song is Snare, Base, Snare, Base [with the high hat keeping time at two to four beats between Snare hits]. You will find this in many many songs and I personally like to run where my right foot is hitting the ground on every snare and bass beat. Once you have found the "pace" song, then you can use a tool to measure the Beats Per Minute, I recommend the ALL8 Beat Counter. Once you have this value, which for me was 40 when I started, you can BPM other songs and find more with the same tempo.

After you have collected enough to carry you from start to finish you are ready to make your play list and get out there an run a few miles. You never know, your new tempo based play list might just carry you an extra mile on the next run!

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Spam comment

Does the fact that I have received my first "spam" comment on the Red Sox Billboard post mean The Bottom Of the Barrel Blogspot has reached mainstream readership? Probably not but thank you to brentb for the offer to take surveys for money. I'm not sure I want thousands of spam messages in my inbox for cheap pharmaceuticals, hot stock tips or other items I'm sure I don't want or need.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Red Sox Billboard

This is a billboard that was put up in the Fenway neighborhood this spring by the Red Sox to promote the 2006 season:



what is actually in the photograph is something so much more then just Trot Nixon and a couple of Sox fans. This photograph was taken after Trot hit a home run in the 11th inning against the Oakland A's in the 2003 divisional playoffs and pictured is Dennis Thomson [pictured on the far left, rally cap on] and two friends, one of whom had caught the ball in the center field bleachers [second person in the picture - note ball in hand]. They immediately tried to find Trot and get the game ball signed, which they did. The Red Sox picked this photograph [out of literally thousands] to use for their billboard this spring but what they didn't know was "the rest of the story".

You see, Dennis Thomson is a member of Red Sox nation, baseball player and a young man serving in the US Air Force. Dennis was able to get to Boston to see game 1 of the 2004 World Series, which of course your very own Red Sox won after 86 long years of waiting for another World Series title. On the day of the Red Sox championship parade in Boston, Dennis was in a car accident [collision with a drunk driver] while he was on his way to his base in Florida. He died a few days later, only 20 years old. He was laid to rest in a Red Sox jersey because his mom said "you don't dress a baseball kid in a suit".

ESPN had the most wonderful video clip about this billboard but unfortunately it is no longer available on their website. Maybe someday it will get posted again. In the meantime, both HDH Channel 7 and WBZ Channel 4 have short articles on this and please disregard HDH's misreporting that the ball came from a Yankee game, it was an A's game.

Call it fate, call it divine intervention, call it what you will but for this picture to be used can not be a coincidence and it stands as a reminder of how short and unpredictable life can be. Please take today [and this weekend] and live it to the fullest.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

2006 Summer Movie Guide

Here are the upcoming movies I am excited/intrigued about:

Mission: Impossible III [May 5] - Ok Tom Cruise is a bit crazy and cookie but with J.J. Abrams directing [thank you for not allowing John Wu to make another MI film] this could be a great action movie. I'm not sure about Phillip Seymour Hoffman [who I think is a great actor] in the villain role but we'll see. Hopefully this will be a big bang to start the summer movie season. Note: Lisa has already said she is not interested in this film.

The Da Vinci Code [May 19] - So everyone on the planet has read the book, which was great, and yes this movie features Tom Hanks and Ron Howard [note 3 Oscars between them] but will it really live up to the most popular book in the past 5 or 10 years? I'm not sure any movie can really live up to the book but I'm betting millions will still flock to see it none the less.

X-Men: The Last Stand [May 26, 2006] - The third installment is minus director Bryan Singer [who left the franchise to take over Superman Returns from Brett Ratner who is directing X-Men 3] but the entire cast is back plus new characters such as Callisto, Juggernaut, Angel and Beast. The realism of the mutants [such as Mystique or Nighcrawler] never disappoints and I am really excited to see Beast and Angel in action.

Click [June 23] - The next Adam Sandler dramedy where he receives a remote control which can slow down/speed up/pause time. It looks to have some pretty funny moments and will surely have a moral [like Bruce Almighty] side to the story.

The Break Up [June 2] - This is the film that Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn made while she was really going through her real life break up with Brad Pit and could be one of those sleeper comedies [like The 40 Year Old Virgin] that does really well even though it seems like just another summer comedy.

Superman Returns [June 30] - The Superman franchise didn't fair so well with the last few installments but with Bryan Singer directing and the recent passing of Christopher and Dana Reeves, this film could be the surprise hit of the summer. Plus we get to see Kevin Spacey return to a villain role as Lex Luther.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest [July 7] - I was skeptical about the first movie but I really loved it [and purchased the DVD] so I am excited about the sequel. Plus the studio is shooting back-to-back POTC films so we won't have to wait another 3 years for the third installment [due out next summer].

Lady in the Water [July 21] - M. Night's fourth movie since he hit it big with The Sixth Sense. This time he is putting together a apartment building superintendent and a drowning women he saves from the buildings pool, but is she really just a woman? I look forward to seeing how Paul Giamatti is used in this film and it will be interesting to see if M. Night moves away from the suspense since this film is being called "A Bedtime Story".

My Super Ex-Girlfriend [July 21] - Ivan Reitman directs Uma Thurman as the Superhero Girlfriend to Luke Wilson. When Luke dumps Uma, she takes it out on him and his new love interest using her super powers of revenge instead of good. Could be interesting and you can count on Ivan for laughs [see Stripes, Ghostbusters, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Ect.]

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby [August 4] - Will Ferrell's latest project which he co-wrote with Adam McKay [the duo that brought you Anchorman] so this looks to be the bounce back film after a few less than notable Ferrell movies in 2005.

World Trade Center [August 11] - This will be the second 9/11 movies of the year [United 93 is due out in April] and it will be a game time decision if I can actually go see a movie about 9/11. Maybe I'll decide after I see United 93, which looks heart wrenching.

As always there are a number of films that I think are must skips and this summer that list includes Apocalypto [Mel Gibson is great but this time I think he's off the mark], Miami Vice [do we really need a remake of a bad 80's show?], Poseidon [love to cruise, no need to see a boat sink], The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift [although the driving looks great that will be about all it has] and Zoom [which stars Tim Allen, enough said].

Enjoy the summer movie season and don't forget to visit your local drive-in if you can.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

New Watch

So it's my 35th birthday, we are on a cruise to the warm southern caribbean and I was looking for a new watch. In St. Thomas we looked in several stores and found many expensive watches and this one guy tried to convince me that a $3500 watch was a good purchase because, in his words, "Everybody has a Rolex". I really wanted to try it on because I wanted to see what a big [in this case huge watch] would look on my wrist. I wish I could remember the manufacturer's name. Anyway, the watch was really cool but 3500, no way.

So back on the ship they had a watch sale and so I bought myself a watch. A really slick looking $10 watch. So I wear my new 10 dollar watch to dinner and Garry from Canada comments that he has the exact same watch and did I know where the design came from. Honestly I hadn't and he told me it was the Men In Black watch and he got his when the movie came out back in 1997 at a cost of $250. Well the next night we both wore or MIB watches and they were almost identical, except mine was a bit larger [and less expensive, which happens when you get a knock off]. So in the immortal words of Chief Zed "Let's put it on... The last suit you'll ever wear. "

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

110th Boston Marathon

For the first time, I went to the starting line of the marathon and it was awesome [and motivating]. I actually biked from home to Hopkinton [which wasn't bad since route 85 was basically closed off]. Once there, the town park had a carnival atmosphere with Fried Dough, French Fries and Italian Sausage for sale. Many of the runners were walking around trying to stay loose and soaking in all of the starting line environment. Meet two nice guys from California who were running for Team Hoyt, who I got to see at the starting line. At race time, the streets swelled with cheering fans and we encouraged the runners [starting with the wheelchair division, through the elite men and women and finally to the general field] to run off to Boston. It was great to see all of those folks getting out there and attempting to conquer probably the hardest marathon in the world. It is really encouraging for me as I begin to prepare for my own this fall. The only downside to yesterday was I got lost on my way home and ended up in Holliston and rode several miles out of my way. Oh well, at least I got some good exercise on a beautiful day.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Deal or No Deal, SNL Style

If you have watched the show Deal or No Deal, you will find this SNL clip pretty funny. The Howie Mandel impersonator has really got him down.


Also, check out the online game and you decide.... Deal... or No Deal.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

She does me proud, again

Yesterday, Lisa ran her first 3 miles and she was great. After about 2.5 I know she wanted to stop and I'm pretty sure she wanted to curse the 5 mile build up schedule but she made it and has not after effects. Good Job Honey.

Happy Easter to all.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Girl You Know It's True

Unfortunately I was right [again]. You can buy Milli Vanilli's cds online [Amazon has All Or Nothing, Girl You Know It's True and The Remix Album (do we really need a remix album of Milli Vanilli???)]. Liz, Men Know Facts!

Friday, April 14, 2006

Good Friday

Recently I was thinking what makes this Friday so good? I mean for the man that had to endure it, it wasn't so good but for the rest of us it turns out to be a pretty good day. I guess I struggle with the term good which would seem to indicate a nice, happy or fun day which I'm sure it was not back about 2000 years ago. Thank you to my wife for giving me another vantage point to understand the term good was meant for me so I'll take it that way and thank her for keeping me grounded.

Speaking of Good Friday, recently the National Geographic Society made The Gospel of Judas public. The 13 sheets of crumbling papyrus discovered in the Egyptian desert in the 1970s seems to be authentic and the big "revelation" described within the document is that the author's indicate Jesus asked Judas to turn him over to the high priests. Being the Gospel of Judas, I'm not sure this is such a surprising statement.

I have to say the best theory of what happened on the original Good Friday is one that has been put forward by William Barclay, author of the widely used ''Daily Study Bible". Braclay writes that what most likely motivated Judas was impatience with Jesus and his slowness in overthrowing the Roman overlords. By betraying Jesus, Judas may have been hoping to force the master into action [sounds like managing your manager] however what does happen is something completely different and Judas also pays the ultimate price, most likely from remorse over his actions.

So on this Good Friday let's not forget the past and work toward a greater future...

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Zippy Shrimp

Made grilled shrimp for the first time this spring earlier this week and I had almost forgotten how great it tastes. The actual name is Zippy Grilling Sauce [made up of water, citrus juice, sugar, salt, wheat, soybeans, sesame oil, olive oil, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper and spices] and it is available from the Tavvino Restaurant [267 Water Street, Warren, RI 02885 - 401.245.0231]. They use it for tuna, shrimp, steaks and various other dishes.

If you get your hands on some, marinade your uncooked shrimp in the sauce for 10 minutes and then grill [I use a wok on the grill and it works great] - it only takes about 8 minutes to cook. In the meantime make some zippy dip by mixing the sauce with mayonnaise and some poppy seeds to taste. Once the shrimp are grilled, just dip and eat. Mmm mmm good.

Maybe even Scott would like this. Well maybe not, he is allergic after all.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

This morning

This is what I saw outside my bedroom window this morning at 6:30 am:


It's going to be a gorgeous day! Get out and enjoy it.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Queen + Idol = ???

Having Queen songs on American Idol could be the best week ever or it could be a complete disaster, depending on song choice and if the contestants can really make these legendary songs their own. Note: Their was only one Freddie Mercury so do not try to imitate the originals. On that note, here are my song selections for the remaining Idols:

Paris Bennett - Killer Queen, I picked this song only because I think Paris feels she is a Queen [or at least a princess] so this song really fits. Plus their is not a "kiddy" type song in there for her to sing so this is the best she's got.
Bucky Covington - Another One Bites The Dust, If for no other reason just as foreshadowing his departure this week. Bucky + any Queen song = Sayonara.
Chris Daughtry - We Will Rock You [A cappella], Can you just see Chris standing on stage stomping his feet and clapping his hands and belting out this classic song. The audience would go crazy for it.
Taylor Hicks - Somebody To Love, Although I love both Queen's original and George Michael's rendition on the Five Alive album [taken from the Freddie Mercury tribute concert], I think this is a song that Taylor could really get into and have fun with.
Katharine McPhee - You're My Best Friend, Katharine [with some arrangement alterations] could really rock this track and show some real personality in this competition.
Kellie Pickler - Fat Bottomed Girls, This was the hardest song/singer combination to pick. Pickler will struggle this week but this might be the closest thing to a country song in the Queen library.
Elliot Yamin - Don't Stop Me Now, This is a great song with quick lyrics which would fit Elliot's singing style and probably the only singer left that can actually sing a Queen song and stay true to the original.
Ace Young - Bohemian Rhapsody, The song has a soulful range in the beginning, which would give him plenty of opportunity to "stare" into the camera but it would only be a great performance he could sign the entire song including the Wayne's World head banging part.

By the way, why do they call him Ace? His name is Brett and should be called that since Ace is not his given name [Asa is his middle name]. Oh yeah, Brett please do not show us your scar again, once was enough thanks.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Got Steroids?

Baseball season has begun and the Red Sox are off to a great start [5-1 and the starting pitching is looking pretty good so far] and with the release of Game Of Shadows, the issue of steroids in Baseball is once again brought to the forefront of the media's attention. It is good to see that some folks still have a sense of humor when it comes to dealing with these serious issues. The question "Did you pour?" is soooo classic and the picture of Javier Castillo drinking with Dave Laden looks very similar to the one and only Jose Canseco. For the record, I poured just this morning.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Lucky Number Slevin Movie Review

On Saturday night, Lisa and I took in Lucky Number Slevin staring Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Stanley Tucci and Sir Ben Kingsley. We went to see Inside Man but the 7:20 showing was sold out, which is odd since it only made 9 Million and was 4th in the box office. I guess it was only overly popular in Bellingham this week. Anyway, Lucky Number Slevin is a interesting movie blending several styles of movies such as Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects and the The Sixth Sign [although not as good as those movies] where the movie gives you bits of information, which at the time do not seem to makes sense, but it pulls it all together in the end. I was surprised but the level of violence in the movie but being a film about gangsters it should have been expected. This was my favorite Josh Hartnett performance to date and Bruce was, well, Bruce. Morgan Freeman played a bit to soft for me being The Boss and Ben Kingsly's rambling Rabbi character I could have done without. All in all, I give Lucky Number Slevin 3.5 out of 5 stars. Good [and worth seeing] but not great.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Name Carla and Turk's Baby

The TV show Scrubs is having a contest to name the newly conceived baby of Nurse Carla Espinosa and Doctor Christopher Turk. I have submitted John Duncan Turk as my name. Why you ask, well:

John [for Turk's obvious man love for John "J.D." Dorian]
Duncan [for Turk's middle name, reportedly given to him by his father because he loved donuts]
Turk [because it like takes a Man to make a baby - just kidding girls, see Scream]


On a side note, they could also call their baby JD Turk [John Duncan] or Mini Me in a reference to John Dorian. The jokes are endless. I can hear it now... "Paging Dr. Lavalette".....

Check it out stat [medical term] and enjoy.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru

Sudoku [pronounced suh-DOE-koo in America] is a Japanese abbreviation of a longer phrase, "suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru" meaning "the digits must remain single". There is only one rule to follow when solving a Sudoku puzzle:

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3 x 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.
Sounds easy right? Well the puzzles can be anything from ridiculously easy to fiendishly difficult. Give one a try on MiniClip.com. You can try an easy, medium or hard puzzle and there is a new one each day. Note their site requires Macromedia Flash Player plug-in for your browser and if you don't have this already, it can be downloaded from Macromedia.com.

If you want some game tips, check out Sudoku.com's help which includes how to get started through advanced logic methods.

Good luck and good night.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

New PSA Announcements

I don't know if anyone caught The Office Public Service Announcements over the weekend but they were funny. I saw "Relationship" and "Bears" and they looked like the real deal NBC PSA's you see from time to time [as Jack McFarland said on Will & Grace "... and shooting star"]. They were an April Fool's Joke by the folks over at The Office and you can check out the spots they shot on The Office video page. Jim's "Jellybeans" made me actually laugh out loud. Thanks Jim, I'll keep it in mind.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

What's the weather?

Given today's wonderful weather I thought I would write about the old John Hancock Tower, now called the Berkeley Building, which has a set of lights which flash red and blue to broadcast the weather.

The flashing weather beacon's, which has been in use since 1950, predictions have inspired this poem:

Steady blue, clear view
Flashing blue, clouds due
Steady red, rain ahead
Flashing red, snow instead.


And, since the fall of 2004, to further the poem:

Flashing blue and red, when the Curse of the Bambino is dead!

For those of you who have always wondered what the lights up there signified, now you know [and knowing is half the battle - Yo Joe!].

Monday, April 03, 2006

Bowling For Beer

Friday night we tried bowling and I emphasis tried. Unfortunately the AMF Shrewsbury doesn't allow beer at the lanes because I think it may have helped my game because it certainly couldn't have made it any worse. Here is individual review of each player, in alphabetical order:

Devon: Thought she was a ringer because she came out blazing and had the highest score in the first game. Found out she was human when she didn't score as high in the second game. Thanks for the round, Devon.
Ed: Started off slow [actually scoring a 0, 1 and 6 pins in the first 3 frames is a pitiful start not slow] but I got better as the game rolled on and finished strong in the first game - just edging Frank for last place and ended up in second place in the second game.
Enoch: He has an "interesting" throw but remained consistently inconsistent throughout the 2 games and ended with the old backward-through-the-legs shot to beat out Devon for last in the second game. We give him credit since this was his first time bowling.
Frank: Started strong in both frames but then faded as they went along. On the brighter side of things, Frank defiantly won for furthest average distance thrown from the end line and he was the only player to have a ball drop behind him during one frame. A big thanks for the round of beer.
Lisa: She says she's not competitive, but she does like to win. Played good in the first game and even better in the second as is now the reigning Bowling Champ with the highest combined score over the two games. Good job honey!
Liz: Former member of the Gutterballs Bowling team and only person who actually has bowling trophies. She bowled consistent throughout both games unless you made her laugh while bowling, then all bets were off.
Ryan: He quietly went about his games and gave his patented shrug when he hit a strike or spare. Not sure if the body language meant "I don't know how I did that" or "I am the man, of course I got a strike/spare". Ryan did pick up his game when the pressure was on in the second game to make sure he didn't come in last place.
All-in-all it was a fun night and the "disco" bowling was fun although it did make it a bit harder to bowl in the dark. Can't wait to see Lisa's trophy - thanks Liz.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Bye Birthday Month

So birthday month is over and so is the first quarter of 06 but don't be sad A) we are all most fully into spring B) we had a great [and mild] winter and C) it was a awesome start to the year.
A few Highlights:
  • Cruise to the southern Caribbean, especially Barbados
  • The bathroom is back together and it looks really good
  • Lisa is taking an drawing class and soon to be creating master works of art
  • Logged 150 miles running working toward the Chicago Marathon
  • The refrigerator is now it's rightful place and it is now server filtered water and ice cubes
  • Started this blog
  • Drank a bunch of good wine

All in all, a pretty good quarter. Well welcome to Q 2 and can't wait for the first BBQ of the summer. I can smell the grilled pizza now.... When in Rome [that's doesn't apply here].