Looking for Something New?

Procrastination is something I am very good at. If there had been a major for it in college, I would have gone for the degree (and never finished it, of course). I have had some things I was going to make posts about but I just don't really like to take the time to write a bunch of crap that nobody reads. That being said, I am currently looking for a new place to host my blog as I can no longer stand the bland and generic layout of my current home. Here are some random thoughts for February 2nd, 2009:

-I saw "The Killers" at the Grand Ole Opry last Saturday. It was an amazing show at an amazing place. I'm sad that it had to end as the band put on one of the more amazing concerts I have ever seen. If you get a chance to see them live then you should do it. I assume you would do it anyways. Well worth the drive to Nashville. Even worth the $30 for the t-shirt I bought that I waited in line in for 30+ minutes.

-Superbowl was a great game. I wanted the Cardinals to win but I can't be too disappointed because I am very happy that football season is over. Now ESPN can focus it's coverage to Duke, North Carolina, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees for the next 3 months. Yay!

-How the hell is it February already? I seem to think this every month but January went quicker than any month in recent memory. Seems like just yesterday I was in California for Christmas. Oh well. Let's hope February goes equally fast so we can be done with winter (nevermind what a groundhog has to say).

-Manny Ramirez can go fuck himself. Sorry, that was a bit harsh but C'mon! $25 Million dollars for one year and you turn it down? Jesus.

My Top 5 Christmas Food Items

So, I realize that is a picture of beer. That's fine, as I consider it a food item. Also, it has a nice holiday feel to it. I don't eat very much and generally do not get as excited as food as I used to. That being said, I do enjoy the feast that is had on major holidays (although this Thanksgiving the said "feast" was limited to a bag of chips and some summer sausage). These are my favorite items to eat on December 25th (and 26th, 27th, etc...)

5. Cheese!

I realize that cheese isn't necessarily a "holiday" food. However, every party or gathering I've ever attended during December has had some assortment of cheese and cheese related products. I prefer the cheese cubes, as picture above, because you can pop them like pills. I'd also recommend popping cheese instead of pills this holiday season as cheese will most likely not cause you to blackout and trip over the Christmas tree. I also like cheese in a can but don't get me started on that.

4. Turkey

I love turkey. While I eat it throughout the year in the form of lunch meat, nothing can compare to the turkey served on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some people opt for ham on Christmas because they are still eating turkey sandwiches from Thanksgiving. However, I prefer the taste of a golden brown bird to that of pink pork. Just don't let the crazy Bumpass dogs get to it

3. POPCORN TIN!!

I mentioned the infamous popcorn tin in an earlier post. I also mentioned that it had been at least ten years since I'd sampled its genius (yes, it is genius to put 3 flavors of anything into one package. Who doesn't like Neapolitan ice cream?) I think I like the popcorn tin more for nostalgia than anything else. The buttered flavor tastes like absolute ass and the cheese isn't that great either. The caramel popcorn is really the only somewhat satisfying aspect of this tin of corn and as you can see by the picture, they give you twice as much of it. I remember my family getting these when I was younger and by Christmas you would have a tin with an empty caramel chamber, a half-full cheese section, and a full "butter" section. On some occasions there would actually be more butter popcorn in the tin than there had been when we bought it. Not sure how that happened...

2. Mashed Potatoes

I never really eat potatoes anymore. I love french fries but I can't remember the last time I ate them or even had a baked potato for that matter. However, if it is Christmas, you have to have mashed potatoes. Why? I have no clue. I do know, however, that there will always be a huge bowl of mashed potatoes sitting on the kitchen table come December 25th. I don't really have anything witty or clever to say about potatoes, so I'm going to leave it at that.

1. Green Bean Casserole

The single greatest culinary invention of all time (besides using a krispy kreme donut as a hamburger bun). The one dish I look forward to gorging on every year, Green Bean casserole has become a staple for the holiday season in my mind. The great thing is that only my mother and I actually like it so there is always plenty to go around and around and around...One day I may actually try to make it myself but first I have to learn how to work the microwave.

Some (all) of these foods are pretty standard and boring Christmas fare but that is why I like Christmas. I generally know what to expect and am not surprised when i sit down at the table and see smoked salmon and spaghetti.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: 8 days!

My Top 5 Christmas Movies

Continuing in the blogging spirit of the Holidays, I am presenting my own personal top 5 Christmas movies. I don't necessarily expect anyone to agree with the order or even the films but there is one thing we can all agree on: all Christmas movies suck when you watch them in April.

5 Christmas Vacation

This is kind of a default pick. Growing up, my mother would watch this film every year and while I never really liked it when I was younger, I definitely appreciate the humor now that I am older. I don't think it is as good as the original "Vacation" movie but it is still a holiday classic. Randy Quaid really makes this movie for me in his portrayal as the obnoxious cousin Eddie Johnson. I still cringe when he empties his RV's septic tank into the street. I try to catch this one at least once every year.

4. It's a Wonderful Life

This movie is not only a holiday classic but a true gem in the history of cinema. I have always been a fan of James Stewart and he truly shines in Frank Capra's story of a man who finds out what would have been if he had never existed. I also love this movie because I thoroughly enjoy annoying the crap out of people with my horrible Stewart impressions. "CLARENCE!! CLARENCE!!" This is actually one of the few movies that I don't mind watching outside of the Christmas season.

3. Bad Santa

One of the more recent holiday films, Bad Santa offers everything I want from a Christmas movie. A drunk Santa, a fat kid obese with getting a purple elephant, and a foul-mouthed midget. This movie is definitely not for anyone under the age of 18 (or anyone over the age of 30 for that matter), however, it provides plenty of laughs for the person like me who enjoys his Holidays with a shot of whiskey.

2. Home Alone

I had to think for a moment about which "Home Alone" I prefer. While "Home Alone 2" is a great movie on its own and a more than worthy sequel, I still side with the original. This is one film that I cannot go through the holiday season without watching at least once. I'm pretty sure every kid I knew growing up wanted to shoot action figures into the laundry chute with a BB gun and Kevin McCallister lived that dream. I never really knew anyone that wanted to take a blowtorch to Joe Pesci's head, though, but I didn't know a whole lot of people.

1. A Christmas Story

The Holy Grail among Christmas movies as far as I am concerned. Year after year I drive my family crazy by insisting that we leave the TNT 24 hour marathon on the television as we open gifts, eat, and be merry. For me, the holiday season cannot officially begin until I see "A Christmas story" and once the marathon is over, so is Christmas. Most people I talk to are either absolutely in love this movie or despise it as though it is the Grinch that stole Christmas. Regardless, this movie will always be a staple of my Christmas traditions.

Blog isn't dead...just on life support

So, I haven't posted on this blog (which coincidentally shares my name, original, eh?) in quite some time. I don't have a real excuse, aside from I'm convinced that I may be the only person in North America that reads it (I'm huge in Europe, though). I've thought about things to write about but nothing interested me enough to actually type out a post about it. I'm going to try to update it during this glorious Holiday season, beginning with this post. Here are some random thoughts for Monday December 1st:

-I thought it was cold last week. Today, however, is cold. Wind sucks. Snow sucks. Cold sucks. Sucks.

-I really want to buy one of those popcorn tins that they sell during the holiday season. We're talking three different kinds of popped corn. If I had to rank the flavors in order, Cheese would be the unanimous number one, followed by caramel, and the bland "butter" flavor a distant third. Truth be told, I haven't eaten popcorn from one of these in a good ten years, so nostalgia may be a factor here. If I buy one, I'll write a full review. (I know you can't wait for that).

-Cherry coke zero may be the greatest "diet" soft drink I've ever had. Goes very well with slim jims. Don't ask me how I know.

-I didn't leave the house on Black Friday for the first year in quite some time. In fact, I still have dvds from last Black Friday that I haven't even opened yet. I hope my relatives want dvds for Christmas...

Congrats to Rays, Phillies. Farewell to Manny?

It's been a while since I've made a post on here. Hell, I didn't make a single post for the Dodgers entire postseason run. Why? I'm not quite sure. The whole postseason felt like a dream to me. To actually see the Dodgers win a playoff series (and to do so in convincing fashion) was and still is somewhat mesmerizing to me. It was great to sweep the Cubs and I can't really be disappointed that we lost to the Phils. They're the better team. It was hard for me to focus on anything knowing that the Dodgers had a legitimate shot at making the World Series. I just kept waiting for them to lose and once they finally did so, I was able to resume normal activity. I'm not trying to say that I didn't have faith in my team. I've been with this team the entire season. Through the ups and down. Manny and no Manny. Andruw Jones. However, I didn't really know how to react to the team doing well. That being said, the Dodgers season is over and now the front office needs to focus on what will be a very trying offseason.

Since the final out of game 5 of the NLCS there has been much speculation of what uniform Manny Ramirez will wear next year. Will he stay in what he so eloquently reffered to as "Mannywood" or will he piss off Boston fans even further (is that possible?) by donning pinstripes? While Manny's future employer may be unknown, one thing is certain: he will be filthy rich. I love baseball more than any other sport on the planet. I grew up playing it and now devote my summers to following it as if it were my job. That being said, it has a problem that no other sport has: the players make too much damn money. Once a player gets that big contract, they have much less to play for. It is all guaranteed money and that is where the problems begin. Why should Andruw Jones get more than 18 million dollars this year when pitchers on his own team had better offensive stats? The Dodgers should be able to cut him and not pay him a dime. Sure, the Dodgers were dumb to even give him that contract (cough*Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt*cough) but what does Jones care? To hear him complain about being booed when he is hitting below .150 with two home runs, you'd think the poor guy was struggling just to make it in this world. But he's not. He'll get paid almost 20 million dollars next year. Poor baby.

Would Manny fill the seats? Damn right he will and the team would definitely retain the big bat that they have lacked for several years. Manny has been consistant his whole career. You know he can hit, when he wants to. But what happens once he gets that 4 year, $100 million dollar contract and has nothing to play for? "Mannywood" was great but let's not change the sign just yet.

We're In

Rollin' down Imperial Highway

With a big nasty redhead at my side

Santa Ana winds blowin' hot from the north

And we was born to ride

Roll down the window, put down the top

Crank up the Beach Boys, baby

Don't let the music stop

We're gonna ride it 'til we just can't ride it no more

From the South Bay to the Valley

From the West Side to the East Side

Everybody's very happy'

Cause the sun is shining all the time

Looks like another perfect day

I love L.A. (We love it)

I love L.A. (We love it)

We love it

Obligatory Magic Number One Curtain Call

Well, Well, Well. Magic number is one. Thanks to Manny. Thanks to Nomar. Thanks To Clayton Kershiser. Thanks to, uh, well, you know where I'm going with this. The Dodgers won another decisive game over a team that they should be winning decisive games over, defeating the San Diego Padres 12-4. The Dodgers also got a little help from their new best friends, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost to the Cardinals 4-2. I know that I have been hesitant to proclaim that the division will be won by the dodgers but I'm almost ready to do so. The D'backs play today at 2:15 which means that on my way home I may be stopping by the liquor store to pick up my own bottle of champagne. Of course, now that I've actually mentioned it, the Dodgers will lose and the d'backs will win. Well, whatever. I honestly have nothing to do with either outcome so I will sit in my cubicle and watch the box score update because for some reason, my MLB.TV does not work on my work computer.

Jake "how did this team get so bad so fast" Peavy 9-11 (2.77 ERA) VS Greg Maddux 7-13 (4.31 ERA). Ok, so Maddux has been far from amazing since his return to L.A. and may not even make the playoff roster (blasphemy!). However, he may not even have to win today. We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'm off to watch the Kirk Gibson home run for the 15,000th time. THINK BLUE!