The RPR: Rants and Raves Edition

Every now and again, when collecting blog thoughts in my mind, I realize that I have enough rants and raves for a "Rants and Raves Edition". It doesn't mean that I'm in a crappy mood and it doesn't mean that I'm mad at the world. Just means that were just enough things out there today to get me all fired up.

- But first, I wanted to set the record straight from Brian's pictures. He wanted me to inform everyone that Buff is in fact a friend from Penn State, not a co-worker. Also, one of the pictures of debris is actually a casino barge that floated over a highway. He pardoned my mistakes and assured me that only 70% of what you read on the internet is true. Since I'm trying to hold the RPR to higher standards, I needed to keep a clean slate in order to surpass my quota.

- And secondly, the Jessica was upset that I didn't give any weekend recap. No worries, I have not forgotten. Checked out Mesa Grill on Friday night for Restaurant Week and definitely worth it. My entree was $27 on the normal menu, but with the pre-fixe menu, I got the entree plus appetizer and dessert for $35. Now that's a deal. Highly recommend the 16 Spice Chicken, and the BlackBean Risotto. Big ups to Bobby Flay for his restaurant, especially since my Mom and Grandmom are such big fans.

Another highlight of the weekend was plowing through the first 7 episodes of Entourage, Season Two. I was disappointed that the HBO On Demand didn't have the second set of 7 episodes, because the Jessica and I could have easily made it through them as well. We'll just have to wait until mid-February to finish off Season Two. First half was excellent though. Can't wait to see what happens with the whole "Aquaman" movie shoot. (Don't tell me!) Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon really make the show what it is...excellent acting and excellent writing.

Saw a ton of people this weekend: Alison & Reza on Friday night. (Congratulations to them for moving into their new house!) Eric & Abby on Saturday afternoon and evening. Karen & Alex on Saturday evening as well. (Shout-out to Karen for keeping up with my blog. She's busy with her Wall Street job, but has a few minutes to read the RPR. Now that touches my heart...really does.) Even saw Alexis and Amy on Sunday....holy crap! Leave it to Jessica to be the social butterfly and just bring me along for decoration.

Now on to the rants and raves:
- You know what pisses me off? FOXSports.com. Honestly, I don't know what kind of dog & pony show they are running there, but their stories are a load of garbage. I have MSN.com as my homepage for Internet Explorer, simply because it has quick access to my Hotmail account. Since they are affiliated with FOX Sports, they always show the 2 most prominent sports stories on the front page. It's come to the point where I have to double check any sports story they show-- with ESPN.com -- just to make sure it's real. I kid you not. The way I see it, if the Worldwide Leader in Sports doesn't have the story, then it's of zero significance to me. Case in point: This evening, I click on the homepage and a story shows up titled "Van Accident Shakes Up Seahawks". You'd think,"Oh my goodness...is it serious? Is this going to keep someone out of the game?" And then you read the story. They weren't broadsided, rear-ended, clipped, or jack-knifed. The van was hit by an automatic parking gate. And no one was hurt. Thank goodness for that, but is this really a top story? Although this was written by the Associated Press, FOX Sports needs to get their act together and publish some stories of higher quality that mean more to the sports fans' world. I'm boycotting the site.

- Hey, T.O. is back in the news! He decided to "sit down" and chat with Mike Shanahan of the Broncos. Apparently, the Broncos may be interested in acquiring T.O., but are probably not willing to give up anything in order to get him. It's pretty simple. Wait until March, right before the Eagles would have to pay $7.5 million in bonuses to T.O., at which point they'll cut him and some team can pick him up without having to give up anything. The Eagles ought to cut some deal where they could at least get a cheerleader, a few footballs, some beer cups, or maybe a parking lot attendant or two in return for Terrible Owens. If you read the article, it looks like deja vu all over again, as the Broncos are kidding themselves into believing that they can make T.O. conform to their rules and regulations. Gee, I've never heard that one before. See, you can't kid yourself. That is the Ross Rule of Life #2: Don't kid yourself. If Denver is kidding themselves, then history is doomed to repeat itself.

By the way, Drew Rosenhaus didn't have any comments.

- This James Frey story is all over the place -- and the bloggers love it. I think it's great when someone creates a blog (i.e. from the blog application like the one I use) and it's just for mocking a person or event in the news. Perfect example: James Frey Owes Me Money. These people are pretty angry and some are demanding a refund for their book purchase. I don't know what's funnier: the guy who created the site gave himself a nickname of "It's_Oprah's_Fault" or the post that is titled "Dear James, F*** You". And yet I remind everyone that even though Frey might be the most hated person in the literary world, he's still raking in the dough.

- File this under "Questionable Personal Space Ethics": So I'm on the train on Sunday afternoon and I was sitting on a three person bench, by the window. A lady walks by and asks if the seat is taken, and I say, "Nope. Go ahead." Meanwhile, she's carrying a duffel bag and a few shopping bags along with some other assorted junk. This lady then proceeds to sit in the middle seat and lay her bags down on the aisle seat. Not that I have any problem with people sitting directly next to me, but doesn't this defy some sort of social etiquette? On the three person seat, you occupy the window, then the aisle, and in the extreme case that the train is so crowded that you must use all three, then it's acceptable to sit side-by-side. I gave her the "Are you for real?" look for a short time and then lost interest and read my magazine. Very awkward situations that need to be addressed more in our everyday lives.

That's all I have for this evening. The rants and raves may not have been overly opinionated, but it does the job. I'll return in 23 hours and 59 minutes.

Brian's Blog Update from Mississippi

As mentioned last week, Brian is down in Biloxi, Mississippi, for work. He's becoming rather accustomed to the Gulf Coast states, and was kind enough to send an update for the blog. He also sent some pictures that can be viewed below this post and I added some commentary. Here's what Brian has to say....
-Ross

I'm running a loan program in Mississippi right now and wanted to send an update for the blog. Everything within about a half mile of the Gulf Coast here got totally destroyed. On an intensity scale, the damage here is far worst than anything i saw in Louisiana. I have no internet connection in my hotel or at the office (they won't even let me in until my background check is squared away) , so I sit in the parking lot of another hotel to pick up their wi-fi.

Weather is beautiful-- mid 80s, sunny, blue skies. I'm staying right on the beach-- although I found out later you shouldn't walk on it without combat boots due to all the debris. You have to watch out for random uncovered man holes, and there's so much debris in the water you can't go in that either.

Two great quotes from the EconoLodge in Biloxi:
-A women on her cell phone standing outside the door: "He stole $3,000 from the safe and bought a gun with it, now we can't get him out of the hotel room so we called the police."
-Two men negotiating with prosititutes in the next room: "I don't wanna buy it, I just wanna rent it for a few minutes"

Beauvoir, MS-- Jefferson Davis' house (the first, last, and only President of the Confederacy) is within walking distance from the office. How many people do you know that got their picture taken there?

I'm learning all about Mississippi, particularly the Confederacy. Some interesting facts-- 1/3 of the GDP of Mississippi in the year after the war was spent on artificial limbs. Almost everyone had at least one close family member killed in the war-- in some towns, no men at all came back alive. It's called "The War of Northern Aggression", not the Civil War--even though everyone just refers to it as "The War." The British Royal Family is the single largest private landholder in the state of Mississippi (it received land in payment for war debts). There is one county (the Independent State of Jones) that even seceded from the Confederacy. Southern states still are banned from making contracts or agreements with one another.

The Stars and Bars have a totally different meaning there than up north. Biloxi was founded by the French. Gulfport by the British. The two still hate each other.

By law, all casinos there must be built on barges. Slight problem: many of them floated away-- two floated over the highway eventually crashing into hotels.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, enjoy.

Remember the Confederacy

Brian in front of Jefferson Davis' house. He looks pretty pumped to be in the picture. 

Some of the Damage

This serves as a pretty good reminder that Louisiana wasn't the only state with unbelievable damage from Katrina. 

Gulf Coast Sunset

Looks pretty nice to me 

Pirate Ship/Former Casino

This ship wasn't meant to float ashore 

A Native Mississippian with an Assault Rifle

This is Buff. He's Brian's co-worker and he received this gun for his birthday. 

Brian with some sort of rifle

Next thing you know, he'll be the head of the NRA

They Love the 2nd Amendment

Would you trust Brian with guns? I'm scared just looking at this picture 

They have zambonis in Mississippi?

Brian riding a zamboni in the parking lot of the office in Mississippi 

The Stars & Bars Has a Completely New Meaning

The Stars and Bars proudly displayed
 

George Carlin's New Rules for 2006

This was sent along to me in an email (from Jessica from Alexis) and thought it was worth posting. I'd assume it's original material from George Carlin, because it reads about the same way as he'd deliver it. Regardless, it's funny enough for the blog. Enjoy....

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days: mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Trout?

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged. I have a better description for these kids: lucky bastards.

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're a dope. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If you're a grown man , they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop f***ing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the ass hole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge ass hole.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering my PIN number, pressing "Enter," verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want cash back, and pressing "Enter" again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN recently televised the US Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait. They're already doing that. It's called "The Howard Stern Show."

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&M. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy, old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: and this one is long overdue: No more bathroom attendants. After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell if he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your webcam, dude. I just want to wash my hands.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to know in months. "27 Months." "He's two," will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

Right Around the Corner: The Weekend

Congratulations everyone, you've almost made it through the week. Your reward: the weekend. But before that arrives, here's what the RPR has in store for your Friday.

-First off, Brian's manager must think that he loves the Dirty South, because they sent him back down there after spending about 2 months in Louisiana. Where is he now?

"Yep, I'm in Mississippi. I'm enjoying it so far. Amenities are lacking, however I got my picture outside Jefferson Davis' house today. Will send an update and stuff for blog when I get a little free time."

Next thing you know, Brian will return with a mullet, Lynyrd Skynyrd World Tour 1977 T-shirt, a Stars & Bars license plate holder, and a porn mustache.

- Some celebrities just call attention to themselves and it's not always for the most positive publicity. One easy target that I usually don't cash in on is Kevin Federline -- until I saw this video clip of him inside a studio while he plays his new song, "PopoZao". There's comedy and then there's high comedy. This is high comedy. If you enjoy that, then I suggest checking out a parody titled "Cottage Cheese Thighs".

- So I heard that Oprah was all jacked up today when she had James Frey on her show. You may have heard about Frey, the author of A Million Little Pieces, a book about his time in drug rehab, which Oprah greatly endorsed on her show. The book goes on to sell over 3 million copies (because if Oprah says it's good, then the brainwashed population of the country will go out and purchase it), and then we all find out that the author fabricated many of the stories in his memoirs. I heard clips of the show when I was listening to the radio on the way home from work today, and boy was she pissed. What's amazing is that due to this controversy, I'd imagine A Million Little Pieces will continue to sell in great quantities. People are drawn to controversy like tigers to the carcass of a wildebeest in the middle of the Serengheti. They love it. Now that this nonsense about Frey's lies has been all over the media, we'll all want to find out what the story is about. So they'll go out and get the book. Frey will keep raking in the dough, and laughing all the way to the bank, yet his credibility as a writer has vanished. I'm not sure where I stand on all of this, but I thought Oprah's freak out was priceless.

[Look at this face. We haven't seen her this pissed since Letterman tore her up at the Oscars in 1995.]

-
[Picture courtesy of Gawker.com]

- Let's call this section "For the Record":

1. Highly underrated fruit: Grapefruit. Polished off an entire grapefruit the other night and it was delicious.
2. I wouldn't necessarily call myself the most aggresive driver on the road because it's just not worth it to be, but what's with this maniacs who feel it's necessary to go 85-90 mph in the 55 mph zone? 70-75...sure. 85-90?....that's a recipe for trouble.
3. Singer/Songwriter worth checking out: James Blunt. Take a listen to "High" and "You're Beautiful". 2 very nice songs.
4. Would I consider "sleeping in" to be one of the top 3 things I look forward to on the weekends? You bet.
5. Weekend Preview: For those Food Network fans, the Jessica and I are going to Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's restaurant) on Friday night with Alison & Reza. It's apart of NYC Restaurant Week, a.ka. get a pre-fixe price on a meal that you otherwise couldn't afford. Also, in the spare time, Entourage Season 2 is on the HBO On-Demand, so I will be checking that out.

Have a nice weekend, and find something worthwhile to occupy yourselves on Sunday, as there's no football on (!) What ever shall we do??

Wednesday Night Short Post

Gonna make this real quick....let's jump right in:

- I'm giving an RPR shout-out to Sarah B. since she informed me that she's finally become a regular reader of this blog. I was harassing her for quite some time about her not reading, but she said she is now up-to-date and enjoys what I have to say. And just for that, I'll give her the shout-out of the evening.

- I find myself laughing at these commercials everytime they come on: The Citi Simplicity Card with the guy who goes through hell in order to connect with a live person on the phone. The one when he almost sets the kitchen on fire, and the other one when he finally connects to an operator, but loses when his train goes into a tunnel. I think it's a pretty creative ad campaign. Let me know if you disagree.

- Here's an interesting article that I came across: Frank Bruni, a writer for the NY Times, worked undercover as a waiter in Cambridge, Mass. In this article, he writes about his experiences, what he learned from the wait staff, and what he learned about the dining public. It goes to show the main lesson that many people learn while working with the public: they're all crazy.

- We all love the JumboTrons at our favorite stadium or arena, especially when they are like 500 ft wide by 500 ft tall, and are loaded with the latest video technology. Seems like a part of sports that you can take for granted, but as this ESPN.com feature story points out, it's actually an element of the game that the players and coaches depend on. (Be sure to watch the video clip as well.)

Short post this time around. I'll swing by for more tomorrow.

All the News That's Fit to Blog

What's funny about the dynamic of the blog is that I often (or should I say, always) write late at night before I go to sleep. Which means that most of you read what I write the next morning/afternoon, with the exception of Jared, who gets so excited for my posts that he often reads them right after I upload to the site. Of course, he has the benefit of being 1 hour behind in the Central time zone, but we'll let him slide. Any case, the point of mentioning all of this is because I never know how to reference the current point in time. When I'm describing something, it seems natual to say "today" or "tonight", but by the time you read this, it would make more sense for it to say "yesterday" or "last night". But of course, that'd be bizarre for me to write because I'd be typing about a topic or a thought at the current point in time, which for me would be "today" or "tonight", and not "yesterday" or "last night". I don't want to get the present and the future mixed up because I'd mess up the space & time continuum, and might get the NASA folks on my case. [Note: At this point, I would use one of my favorite transition terms "But I digress", but how can I digress from a topic when I started this post with the rambling you just read? And, no, I'm not high.]

- If anyone bought the Wedding Crashers DVD: take a look at the special features when you get a chance, specifically the "99 Red Balloons" deleted scene. Absolutely hilarious and probably good enough to have been left in the movie. Besides that, it encouraged me to download "99 Red Balloons" tune from the 1980's one-hit wonder, Nena. She's from Germany, and originally, this song was titled "99 Luftballons", before they translated it all to English. And in other news, my last name in German means "white bread". My ancestors were bakers in Eastern Europe, so that's my two degrees of separation.

- We all love television, and when there's news about TV stations, I need to pass on the story. This fall, we will all say hello to the new CW Network, which will be a joint venture of the CBS Corporation (parent to UPN) and Time Warner(parent to the WB). However, that means that UPN and the WB will cease to exist....not that I actually watch anything on either of those networks. Don't worry though, because "Gilmore Girls" and "Everybody Hates Chris" will still be on the air on the new station. I don't see this merger affecting me very much, but if I'm missing something, please let me know. (Thanks goes out to the Jessica for informing me of this story, and also to co-worker Adam for passing on the link as well.)

- Regarding Alexis' comment in my previous post about the ongoing contract issues between the TWU and MTA... I'm waiting for that one to play out. Not sure if the "aura" of a possible transit strike entices me anymore since I beat the story to death back in late-December. But, let's see what happens, and if the story becomes interesting, we'll pick coverage back up. Unless of course everyone opposes it and threatens to strike from reading the RPR, in which case, I'll refrain from mentioning it at all. Or I might just strike along with the TWU. Either way, let's just hope these clowns don't walk off the job again.

-Just curious: Are you one of those people who calls a friend on your cell phone while you're attending a concert? While you're on the phone, tell your friend if they had to the show with you, then you wouldn't have to give them a call with 20,000 people yelling in the background. Add this to my pet peeve list.


(Picture courtesy of stereogum.com)

- I know I've been doing a lot of news articles & internet links lately. If anyone has any ideas for a feature story, I'll be glad to entertain them. With all of this being said, that's all I can you tell for this evening. I will check back in tomorrow (or the next day, however you want to look at it.)

What Can I Scrape from the Bottom of the Barrel on Monday Night?

Monday night, let's see what's on tap.

- I love when I flip through the TV channels and see that I have the free preview of the NBA League Pass this week. Let's hear it for being able to watch 5-10 NBA games each night!

- Everyone always gives the Eagles' fans a hard time for being a bunch of degenerates, but those Steelers fans can be pretty cruel. I mean seriously, shouldn't this guy be fired? At least reprimand him in some way. Ridiculous.

- We know that many people have way too much time on their hands. Creative energy isn't channeled toward useful things in people's lives, but instead goes toward getting themselves in trouble. Case in point: 2006 No Pants Subway Ride. Some pantless riders were arrested and others weren't. Hell of an item to have on your record. Brilliant work.

- Everyone loves some good mugshots from recently arrested people in Florida. (Hmm, two items in a row about people being arrested. Is it bad that we find humor in other people's misfortunes? Eh, it's their own fault...)

-Eh, I'm gonna keep it short tonight. Didn't find too much else worth reporting on, so that is my queue to go to bed. Back tomorrow.

Sunday Night is Like a Kick in the Ass

Yes, the title of this post says it all. You have a new weeks staring right at you, with the next weekend as far away as possible. Not a good feeling. But we have to get through it, just like we always do. That doesn't mean we can't complain in the meantime...

- So it warrants mentioning that this was the first NFC Championship game since the 2000 season not to include the Philadelphia Eagles. So the hype of the game wasn't there for me, especially since the Birds went down this season in blaze that wasn't very glorious. Regardless, we'll see an intriguing match-up in Super Bowl XL between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks. A few initial comments on the Conference Championship games...

One thing that sports writers and analysts will always tell you during the playoffs is that it doesn't matter how good a team's record is, but rather what's more important is how they played toward the end of the season. That's the momentum that they'll bring with them to the playoff games. Not the performance of some blowout that occured in Week 5. Case in point, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let me step aside for one moment. After living in Central Pennsylvania for 4 years during my time at the Penn State, I befriended many Steelers fans. And believe me, there were many arguments that ensued between the Philadelphia faithful and the Pittsburgh faithful during that time. It was a constant battle. Incessant bickering with a competition of who could put the other person's team down harder. I grew accustomed to this. In fact, I don't really care for the Steelers, but since I have many good friends who are Steeler fans, I've taken a neutral position on them these days. And since they had a great season, and the Eagles self-destructed, there isn't much of a battle that I could put up if I were to see these friends of mine on an everyday basis. (Good luck to those current PSU students who are Eagles fans....) Anyway, I figured this was a good set up before I made my comments.

The reason I give all of that background is because I will put into play the Ross Rule of Life #3: Always give credit where credit is due. The Steelers were like an unstoppable force in the playoffs and absolutely steamrolled their 3 opponents, all on the road no less. Great offense, great defense, great coaching, and almost mistake-free football. And when all of those things come together in the playoffs, you are going to be representing your conference in the Super Bowl. The Bengals, Colts, and Broncos all seemed like they had a tough time figuring out the Steelers gameplan, and and each of them let Pittsburgh dictate the pace of the game. And even though it might be a bland variety of football (except for the occasional trick play that Cowher comes up with), they play a solid game and get it done. How else can you put it?

With that being said, I will be tired of all the Steelers coverage for the next 2 weeks. I'll be nauseous of the fact that Duce Staley might actually get a Super Bowl ring. I'll be sick of that little smirk that never seems to come off of Hines Ward's face. Of course, Joey Porter will inevitably make some dumb comment during Media Day. I will be annoyed with the press beating the "Jerome Bettis going home to play the Big Game in his hometown of Detroit before he rides off into the sunset" story to death. And I'll have to endure 2 more weeks of that awful Ben Roethlisberger beard. But like I said before, I give credit where credit is due. And that team is damn good. I always think back to that time that Shaun Mason deemed me "The Classiest Eagles Fan" he's ever met. I have to live up to that status.

As for the Seattle Seahawks, don't think they'll just roll over and give up because they've had a pretty impressive season in their own right. Shaun Alexander is the league's MVP for a reason. Even Matt Hasselbeck's finally come around as a decent quarterback, finally. I bet you couldn't name 5 guys on the Seattle defense. Most people can't. But they shut down Steve Smith on Sunday, didn't they? I'll give them some credit too. Maybe they'll give Pittsburgh a run for their money in 2 weeks. They've had a history of crapping the bed in the playoffs, so maybe this is their season of destiny. We have 13 more days to ponder the matchup.

By the way, the early line in Vegas has the Steelers at a 4 point favorite.

- The Jessica and I didn't end up seeing any movies this weekend, simply because the options weren't overly enticing to us. So I'll have to wait until later to see Glory Road. By the way, doesn't that movie seem like a basketball version of Remember the Titans? If anyone saw it, let me know if this assumption stands true.

- Has anyone ever been to a Trader Joe's Supermarket? Went to one on Saturday and it's great. I'm usually not one for organic food. Personally, I enjoy preservatives because that often goes hand in hand with "good taste". However, I found a lot of good food at the Trader Joe's, and should help in my attempt to eat a little healthier. Let's be serious, if the food tastes basically the same, and could be a little cheaper, and it's organic, I'll give it a whirl. I'll check back later on this topic once I've had a chance to eat some of the items I purchased.

- Sunday was just a nutty day in the NBA. The 76ers were down a whole bunch of points for most of the game against Minnesota, and came back to win on a buzzer-beater by Andre Iguodala. Also, there was a game between Seattle and Phoenix that went into 2 OT's. Phoenix scored 149 points......and lost. Unbelievable. Also, as much as I dislike Kobe Bryant, he put his name in the record books, recording the second highest scoring performance in NBA history. He poured in 81 points on Sunday night, which makes Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game the only performance better than Kobe's.

With all of that being said, that's it for this evening. I'll check back in tomorrow.

The National Enquirer, Star, Globe, and the RPR?

Bryant: The only question I have is... When will the RPR be on my local grocery store checkout line shelves?

The Ross: With all the junk I come up with, I'm right on par with these tabloids. Maybe some day we can publish all of my BS and you can pick up a copy at the same place that you get your milk, bread, eggs, cereal, and orange juice. Maybe I'll throw a picture of Brad & Angelina on there, just for good measure.

Breaking News: It's Almost the Weekend

By the time you read this, we'll all be that much closer to the weekend. And even better, if you close down your web browser, open it back up, come back to this site, and re-read that first sentence, it will still stand true at that time as well. Unbelievable.

- So I need to start out with a public poll: The Jessica and I may see a movie this weekend but not sure which one is most worthy of our time. Therefore, I call upon you, my loyal readers, to let me know if any of the following are/aren't worth our time and money to see:

a. Munich
b. Match Point (although I believe it comes out nationwide on Friday)
c. King Kong
d. Glory Road

- I'll admit it: I'm a geography nerd. I've always been fascinated by it, and for some reason, I like looking at maps and knowing my way around places. I also have a good sense of direction, which is a positive trait to have no matter how you cut it. Anyway, I came across this site, where they transposed Manhattan and put it near other major cities in the US, and guess what? The other cities absolutely dwarf Manhattan. Check out The Errant Isle of Manhattan if you're at all interested. Something cool to look at.....or at least I think it is.

- In a strange twist of events, it seems as though packs of Marlboro Lights are falling from the sky. Read two articles about it. First read this one and then there's a follow-up story here. Go figure this one out...

- How about this teenager in Oregon who got arrested for driving under the influence twice.....in the same night....and was caught by the same cop. You couldn't make this up if you tried.

- If you're like me, you check ESPN.com about 10 times per day. If so, you were in for a surprise on Thursday morning when you saw a new design on the website. I think it looks pretty cool, but will take a little getting used to. I guess that stands true for anything that's new to you. Regardless, I'll still check the site about 10 times each day. Let's be serious, what am I going to check otherwise? FOXSports.com? CNN-SI? Don't kid yourself.

That's all I can come up with this evening. Just hanging out over the weekend. Everyone should enjoy their weekend and be sure to stop by and say hi on the blog some time.

Sorry Folks - Punking Out Again

Gotta get some sleep, and unfortunately, the one activity that gets the axe is the blog. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Three quick items:

1. The weather was absolutely ridiculous here today. What's with the 50 mph winds? Trees down on houses and roads, car accidents everywhere. What a freakin mess. The whole atmosphere is collapsing on top of us.

2. The 2006 Orange Bowl (Penn State vs. Florida State) was re-run this evening on ESPN Classic, and of course I ended up watching a good piece of it. Just a fantastic game, and it's nice that Penn State could top off a phenomenal season with such a performance. I know I've said these comments before, but warrants reiteration because ESPN Classic has shown the game several times over in the last 2 weeks.

3. Great article from Bill Simmons recapping last weekend's NFL Playoff games. I really do think I have a man-crush on this guy. I'll admit it. Even though the guy is a little too biased on the Boston sports, his excellent writing and sense of humor more than makes up for it.

We'll give it another go tomorrow night. Until then, have a good Thursday.

Items from the Random Bucket

Several items from the random bucket this evening:

- Just an unbelievable story about how being a sports fan can actually be hazardous to your health. This Pittsburgh Steelers fan had a heart attack only seconds after Jerome Bettis fumbled the ball late in the 4th quarter of last Sunday's game. (Thanks goes out to Andy for originally linking this article in his profile, and to Julie for passing it along as well.) Julie's comments: "It's fortunate that the paramedics who happened to also be watching the game at the bar weren't sloshed like everyone else there!" Remember, if anyone ever tries to convince you that sports aren't as dangerous for the athletes as they are for the fans, just point them in the direction of this story.

- From the "Go Figure This One Out" Department, I didn't have any cold water in my apartment for about 24 hours. Usually, the problem is reversed and apartments are left without hot water, but not this place. Last night, I turned on the faucet in the bathroom and I had hot water when I turned the hot on. I also had hot water when I turned the cold on. Same thing happened in the kitchen sink. Figured, "Oh well, this isn't the end of the world, let's just hope I don't burn myself in the shower". I think I might know how all this came about: A couple weeks back, the washing machine (it's right next door to my apartment....one washer and dryer per floor) decided to have problems with the spin cycle, the rinse cycle, or whatever. Either way, the washing machine cycle would end, and the clothes would be soaking wet. So I decide to be a good samaritan and call the maintenance issue in to the company who handles the laundry facilities. They said they'd send someone out. Stupid maintenance worker shows up, apparently just to take a look at the damn thing, and then realizes he needs to get a new part. Way to go jackass, you should have been able to figure that out because they had the same problem on the machine on the other floors in the building. So finally, on Monday, this clown comes to fix the washing machine, and must have been futzing with the hot water heater. It all makes sense, huh? I think the cold water just came back at around 11pm Tuesday night. Such is my life.

- For my fellow diehards of "The Sopranos", we have confirmation that this will indeed be the last season for our favorite mobsters. The good news is that we'll be treated to 12 new episodes beginning on March 12th, and then we'll have to wait for the final 8 episodes coming in January 2007.

In other TV news, I did watch the new CBS show "Love Monkey" this evening about the life of a record executive in New York City and I'd say it was pretty good. Might have to add it to my TV repertoire. Again, I'd like to remind everyone that I have issues getting into wildly popular shows like "24" and "Lost", yet I'll latch on to a new show like "Love Monkey". I have a tendency to shoot wide of the bullseye on my choices sometimes. Hey, at least I'll admit it.

- In breaking news, the AP finds out that "blacks are more likely than whites to commemorate Martin Luther King's birthday". Somehow I find that absolutely hard to believe.

- I watched The Doors a couple weekends back...you know, the Oliver Stone flick with Val Kilmer playing Jim Morrison. Well, besides the fact that it was completely off the wall and a gripping film, it also renewed my appreciation for the music of The Doors. So, I instruct all of you who own music by The Doors, whether it be on CD, MP3, or if you have any records (!), to go back and enjoy this excellent music all over again. By the way, Mom does have a copy of the self-titled debut LP, and swears that it isn't hers. Yet it's in the house. The mid-1960's must have been a wild time...

- I'm gonna go ahead and pack it in for the night. Back tomorrow night with some more of whatever I can dig up.

The Blue Men Attacked Me

And we're back after the weekend and the obligatory "punk out" night, last night. What can I say? Here at the RPR, you get what you pay for!

The weekend was a good time. Eric and I went to see Blue Man Group as a belated Hanukkah gift from the Jessica and Abby. Let me tell you, it was excellent. For anyone who finds themselves in New York City, Boston, Chicago, or Las Vegas, you need to see the Blue Men. Fantastic performance. The music was great, the skits were great, and it had just enough "off the wall" factor to put it into the great show category. The Blue Men even used me as a prop to one of their skits. It basically went like this...

At one point early in the show, the 3 Blue Men were climbing into the crowd, literally. They were walking over people in the audience, stepping carefully on the armrests of the chairs. After making fun of a few people, they made their way over to me. I was sitting right near an emergency exit, and I happened to have a big fuse box right above me. So the one Blue Man comes up to me and pulls me out of the seat. Then, he grabs my right arm and raises it toward the fuse box which reads in big red letters: "DANGER - HIGH VOLTAGE". I look at him and I'm thinking to myself, "Uh I don't know if I should follow along with this". So I give him a look and the crowd is starting to chuckle at this point. So then he points to the box again. So I go over and grab the Blue Man's arm and raise it toward the fuse box. He backs away. Then I go, "Have him do it," as I point to Eric while he's just cracking up. Finally, the Blue Men get aggravated because I'm holding up their routine and push me back into the chair. The Blue Man reaches up, and pulls on the lever and the lights go out in the theater. When a spotlight shines back on him, he's standing in the corner eating a bowl of cereal. Doesn't sound all that funny, but guess you had to be there.

By the way, wouldn't it be cool to be a Blue Man? Now that'd be something to put on a resume.



Burger King is doing a new set of those football commercials where they transpose the King over a football player in a classic clip. The one with the old Steve Young play, and the one with the Lambeau Leap are great additions to the Burger King commercial library.

I watched part of the Golden Globes but don't have too many comments on it. Awards shows don't really do it for me because odds are that I haven't seen half the movies and don't watch half the shows. Plus, it bugs me that they put emphasis on movies that have just been released and often miss out on potentially great movies from more than just a few months ago. What if a top notch flick gets released in the next couple of months? You think it'll be on the nominee list come next year's Golden Globes? I don't think so.

Speaking of TV, that new show, Love Monkey, debuts on CBS on Tuesday night at 10pm. Looks like it could be worthwhile, so I'll give it a shot. By the way, I was going to watch the season premieres of 24, but of course I failed in that attempt. I always miss out on the shows that everyone loves.

File this one under "Kick in the Ass": When we were up at the Penn State, we never had the Martin Luther King Day off from classes. People complained at first, the people started the MLK Day of Service, and apparently now, the African-American students protested and the university administration gave in and called it a holiday. (Of course, for this story, I haven't done any research and only passed on what my sister told me. That's the great thing about the internet, you can put whatever you want on there.) Anyway, what a bunch of crap. My string of crappy MLK Day luck continues in the working world as I was in the office today, just like any other Monday. Oh well, at least I have Presidents' Day to look forward to.

It should be noted that the RPR is nearing and/or surpassing the 4,000 hit mark. I'd like to reiterate that many of those hits are from the same people checking back each day, but regardless of that fact, thank you again for reading my nonsense and supporting my crazy little blog. In the spirit of the Golden Globes, I would do some sort of acceptance speech, but we'll save that for another time.

And since I have nothing else to add this evening, I'll call it a night and give it another go tomorrow.

RPR Will Return Tomorrow

Have another early meeting on Monday morning, so I'll have to postpone my next blog entry until Monday night.

Hope the weekend treated everyone well, and for those of you who have off on Monday, enjoy that too. Think of me while I'm at work. Booo.

Thursday Night SuperQuick Post

Gotta make this real fast because I have to get up at the crack of dawn for work tomorrow. Not cool.

- First off, from the "This Looks Familiar" Department, we have Steve Francis being suspended indefinitely from the Orlando Magic for "conduct detrimental to the team". Something tells me that this story won't gain nearly as much media publicity as another certain athlete in the NFL who was suspended by his team. But we won't mention any names. (Thanks to co-worker Adam who informed me of this story)

- Next, from the "Follow Up to a Previous RPR article" team, the state of New Jersey has come up with their new slogan: "New Jersey: Come See For Yourself". I give them credit for trying to find a new state slogan, but I don't see how it's all that creative. In fact, they continue to make it too easy to make fun of the Garden State. Come see for yourself how many idiotic traffic rules we have. Come see for yourself how dirty Atlantic City is. Come see for yourself how much crime there is in Newark. Come see for yourself how many fat Philadelphians make their way down the shore each summer. Come see for yourself all the people who've gone broke, gotten divorced, had their kids taken away from them, gone into rehab, had their lifestyles go down the tubes, all becuase of gambling. I can go on and on. [Before anyone freaks out... I am just joking.]
Thanks to Julie who sent me the link to this story.

- Janet, a.k.a. JMo, wanted me to tell everyone that she's been cigarette-free for 5 days now. She says that quitting is not easy, but promises that she's "dunzo" (old school Laguna Beach reference). Here's to hoping that Janet succeeds in the cease-smoking effort and never touches those damn things again. Also, Janet wanted me to remind everyone that wine is delicious.

That's it for tonight. I'll be in the NYC over the weekend, and going to see Blue Man Group with Eric on Saturday afternoon and then the Jessica & Abby are cooking us dinner. Should be a good time. Enjoy the weekend.

Not Sure What Will Come Out of This Post

So every now again, I come to a dry spell in material for this blog. This is one of those times. The progression goes as such: I'll punk out one night, and in this case, it was Tuesday night. I really was tired and besides that, I just couldn't think of anything off the top of my head to write about. Then skip ahead 24 hours. Here I am again. Except I can't punk out 2 nights in a row because then people start asking questions like, "Dude, where you been?" and "Come on, where are the updates on the RPR?" We all know that we don't want to upset the readers. And as a result of all of this, you get a product that looks like this. Like what? Like me opening up a new post on the Blogger dashboard and just start typing whatever comes to my mind -- even about the fact that nothing's been coming to my mind. It's quite fascinating that I can even get this far with nothing of substance, but let's face it: I have a captive audience and you'll probably continue to read all of my nonsense. I think I've just decided that I'll turn this into a ramblings article.

- Haven't had a music update in a while.

Records that I've been extremely pleased with:
1. Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights
2. System of a Down - Hypnotize (come on, you didn't know that I like some quality hard rock?)
3. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
4. Wilco - Kicking Television: Live in Chicago

And for good measure, I had heard a lot of good things about Minus the Bears' "Menos El Oso". I gave it one listen through and there was something about it that I didn't quite like. I don't like to pass judgement on albums before giving them the due diligence of at least 2 listen throughs, so we'll see what I think after I give it another go.

- The blogging community has been going crazy over a band from Minneapolis called Tapes 'N Tapes. You can download a few songs from their record by entering the website and then clicking on "Tapes". I'd recommend downloading the three tracks they have available from their latest record The Loon. ("Insistor", "Cowbell", and "Omaha") You watch, these guys could be the next big thing...

- I keep forgetting that the 2006 Winter Olympics are coming up next month. We had the Summer vs. Winter Olympics debate at work the other day and I may have been the only one who stood up for the Summer games. Winter games are ok. I'll watch the hockey, speed skating, and some of the skiing, but other than that, you can keep it. Regardless, at least I know there'll be something to watch during that time as NBC announced that they'll have about 416 hours of coverage between NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and USA.

- File this one under "I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again": Wednesday's are the worst weeknight for TV. Seriously, there's nothing on which is very disappointing. At least ESPN and ESPN2 decided to have college basketball doubleheaders. Plus, I got to watch #3 Villanova squeeze past Rutgers tonight (it was a surprisingly close game that went into OT). Since I've always been a fan of college basketball from Philadelphia, gotta support the hometown schools who have solid programs. You know, one year it's St. Joe's and another year it's Nova. I'll jump on the bandwagon since the Penn State basketball team will be lucky to match the number of wins that the football team put up this year.

- Someone want to give me a small update on these Samuel Alito hearings? I'm ignorant to anything political, but I'm always curious about items that are constantly in the news.

- I need to get a trip planned for Las Vegas. It needs to happen. The fact that I've been of legal gambling age for 3 years now and have yet to set foot in the paradise known as "Sin City" is a sin in and of itself. I need to get out there this summer. It'll be a few days full of coke and hookers, just like Pat O'Brien would have dreamt it. Who's with me?

(There's Pat. I'm sure he'd be down for a Vegas trip. Wonder if Betsy would join?)

- Lastly, a great news story about this guy in Santa Cruz, CA, who decided it'd be a great idea to run a marathon... while he was collecting workers' comp. Something tells me that if you can run a marathon, you can drive a bus. Way to go, hotshot.

That's it for this evening. I'll be back tomorrow night.

The RPR Will Return Tomorrow

The RPR was interrupted from its regularly scheduled blogging because the staff is tired and needs the night off. Besides that, there isn't much to report on this evening, so I'll let the world produce some more interesting news, or give me an idea for a good write-up sometime between now and then.

Please make sure you have a pleasant Wednesday.

Monday Night Short Post

When I was up at the Penn State for Homecoming back at the end of October, a few of us grabbed some lunch at Jimmy John's before heading up to the game. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, Jimmy John's is a sandwich chain, similar to Subway.) Anyway, they have a lot of stuff on the walls in the restaurant that's extremely random. Signs and pictures that just leave you scratching your head with their random nonsensicalities (?) Point of the story is that they had this one list titled "16 Things That It Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn" and I thought it was a great list. Sure enough, some 3 months later, this list surfaces in the form of a forwarded e-mail from the Jessica. It's blog-worthy, so I'm gonna go ahead and post it here:

16 THINGS THAT IT TOOK ME OVER 50 YEARS TO LEARN:
by Dave Barry , Nationally Syndicated Columnist

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
5. You should not confuse your career with your life.
6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
7. Never lick a steak knife.
8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can seean actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
14. Your friends love you anyway.
15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
16. Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

=============================================

Courtesy of Bill Simmon's "Sports Guy's World" Quote of the Day:

"I told them we're bowl-eligible. We've got 7 wins." -- Larry Brown on his New Year's message to the Knicks

Larry Brown might have coaching commitment issues, but he's good for a funny comment every now and again.

=============================================

And since I have nothing else to add, let's hear it for the 10 year anniversary of the Blizzard of 1996 . Remember that one? It was a doozy. 30 inches of snow in the Philadelphia area and if I recall correctly, we ended up essentially getting another winter break from school because it took about 5 days to dig out of that mess. Ah, those were the days. Don't see storms like that anymore. Let's hear it for global warming!

Enjoy Tuesday, and don't forget, if you go to drop something in the mail, you need an extra 2 cents because the USPS raised postage to 39 cents. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with the wrath of your local disgruntled postal worker. In fact, here's a quick disgruntled postal worker story. At home in the Lafayette Hill, we used to have Postal Lady, Mary, deliver our mail for many years. She was always very pleasant, we left her a Christmas gift, you know, all that cordial stuff. Recently, she must have retired or what have you, and we have a new postal worker delivering the mail. Ok, now some background details. Since we'd have 3 cars at home when I'm in town, Mom and Dad's cars are parked in the driveway, and I park just past the top of the driveway in our little access road (it's cut off from the main street so you don't have to pull out of the driveway right into traffic.) Of course, I end up blocking the mailbox. So when I come home at night on those weekends, I'm usually reminded by Dad to pull the car on to the top of the driveway as to not block the mailbox. When I was home a couple weeks back, I forgot to move the car one night. Sure enough when she came to deliver the mail, she saw the mailbox was blocked and left a note saying she wouldn't deliver it unless we moved the car. What a bunch of horseshit. The postal workers will deliver mail is the rain, sleet, snow, and ice, but can't get out of their little mail truck and walk 5 steps to put a few envelopes in a mailbox. What a bitch. Just confirms the fact that the postal workers are among the 3 most disgruntled employees, right up there with folks at the DMV and Transit Workers in NYC.

Now I'm all pissed off. Good night.

No Weekend Recap...Other Items Instead

Whoa, no weekend recap?!?!? That's correct, and for good reason. I didn't do much this weekend because I had to work for a good portion of it (no fun), so no fun places or happenings to report on. The Jessica was sweet enough to come visit me on Friday night and stay through Saturday afternoon, but other than that, can't say it was all that exciting.

I did watch all of the NFL playoff games and here's my short review for each:

- Washington over Tampa Bay: 120 yards of offense and you win a playoff game? Means your defense is pretty solid. Don't count out Joe Gibbs.
- New England over Jacksonville: It seems like the Jaguars just showed up and rolled over. Imagine if they would have given themselves a chance. Doesn't matter since the Pats would still beat them. Don't count out the defending champs.
- Carolina over New York Giants: Eli Manning will be good....some day....just not now. Come on, Giants' fans. Did that awful performance including 3 INT's really surprise you? Be serious now.
- Pittsburgh over Cincinnati: It's a shame Carson Palmer got his ACL blown out on their 2nd offense play because I think the Bengals would have given the Steelers a tougher game. I'll be honest, Steelers did look pretty solid. Might be the best 6th seed in years. What can they do against Indianapolis next week?


- We all know that Joe Paterno is never one to hide his feelings, and often times his brutal honesty gets him in a little bit of trouble or amidst a controversy. A few months back, it was his comment on African-American athletes and how they've made college football a more exciting game. This time around, people are getting all up in arms because of his comments that apparently made light of an alleged sexual assault. The National Organization for Women (NOW) in Pennsylvania wants him to resign. Read this article, and I think you'll understand that JoePa didn't mean any harm in his comments. [Thanks to Janet Moccia for sending the lead on this article to me!]

- Some of you may or may not know that I did spend 2 summers (1999-2000) working for one of Americas' finest corporate institutions, Starbucks (back when they didn't have stores so close to each other that you could stand in one spot and see two different locations.) Anyway, I have plenty of stories from working there, but when I came across this article, I thought it was worth posting. This guy figured out one of Starbucks' little known secrets - the 8 oz. "short" size that you can ask for -- and be served -- yet it's nowhere to be found on their menu. It's ok, this won't put them out of business...

- I'm keeping it short tonight. Anyone have any good ideas for articles, let me know. I get the feeling I may be light on material this week. Suggestions are welcome, Mondays are not. Back tomorrow night.

"Where Happened to These Movie Stars?" Rant

Let's start off with a bang...

- So today was a day of movie randomness, where I asked myself on multiple occasions, "So what happened to that actor/actress?" First off, I'm in the Target tonight (managed to get out of their with only spending $40. I've said it before, this is how Target and Wal*Mart stay in business....they draw you in when you need a thing or two, and you end up dropping $40 to $50. But I digress.) So I'm walking through the store and I always look at what DVD's are on sale. You never know what you'll find for $7.50 in that store. One movie on the rack was Snow Dogs starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Let's be serious, I've never seen this flick, nor do I plan on seeing it. In fact, if anyone that was watching this movie in the theater got up to take a bathroom break, there was a good chance that by the time they returned, it had already been released on DVD. Case in point, what happened to Cuba Gooding, Jr.? Everyone loves him in Jerry Maguire and Pearl Harbor, and then the next thing you know, he's in Snow Dogs and Boat Trip.

Next point: I'm sitting here watching the HBO, and I come across First Daughter , starring Katie Holmes. I checked and this came out in 2004, which meant it was probably filmed before the time she became involved with Tom Cruise. However, from the 10 minutes of this movie that I watched before I wanted to bite my arm off, she had this crazy look in her eye. You could tell she may not have been completely stable at this point. Now it all makes perfect sense, because a short time after First Daughter, she started dating Tom Cruise, got brainwashed into becoming a Scientologist, and is now carrying TomKat Jr. It's a lovely world we live in.

Katie Holmes was in "Dawson's Creek" and this would be a perfect segueway into a discussion about Joshua Jackson (or Pacey as you'll remember him). What was I watching?
D3: The Mighty Ducks. He played the captain of the Ducks, Charlie Conway. I'll put it on record as saying that I thoroughly enjoy the Mighty Ducks trilogy. Come on, admit it, they were great. The first one came out in 1992, D2 came out in 1994, and D3 came out in 1996. And I bet you loved every one of them just like I did. So the point here is what happened to Joshua Jackson? Not that I care for him one way or another, but the guy fell off the face of the earth. More importantly, what the hell happened to Emilio Estevez? You'd have an easier time finding a hooker in a church than finding anything impressive this decade in his IMDB.com entry .

While I'm on this rant, can someone once and for all, please explain to me what happened to Chevy Chase? I need to know these things.

- So if you take a look at last night's post, I made my own subway sign from a website I came across. So now, the guy had a gallery of all the signs that have been made. If anyone's bored at work, can you sift through and find which gallery mine's in? It'd be greatly appreciated.

- I'm not going to lie to you, but I think Radiohead's OK Computer will always be in my Top 5 Records of All Time. Just don't ask me to name any others on that list right now. Just an arbitrary and general statement. (By the way, seeing them live at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on August 24, 1997, will also be one of my all-time great concert experiences.)

- That's it for tonight. I'll be hanging out this weekend and doing some work (gotta love that year-end close!). I may or may not blog this weekend, so we'll see. If I'm around and bored, I'll stop by. Enjoy the weekend.

By the way, the NFL playoffs just aren't nearly as exciting when your favorite team isn't in it. File that one under "Obvious".

This "Make Your Own Subway Sign" Tool I Found Could Be Dangerous

 

Randomness for Wednesday

I always sit down way too late to write on the blog and then everyone loses because I don't feel like writing too much. Then I lose again because I'm up late and lose out on sleep and I'm tired in the morning and the whole next day. It's basically a lose-lose situation all around.

So how about the Texas Longhorns beating the seemingly invincible USC Trojans? And further more, how about Jared Melzer, who enjoyed the Penn State win in the Orange Bowl with the rest of us PSU fans, and then his current school, University of Texas, wins the National Championship in the Rose Bowl the following night? Jared, you've had a good 24 hours my friend. Hook 'em horns!

By the way, I love watching national coverage of Joe Paterno, especially that Mike Tirico interview with JoePa and Bobby Bowden. When asked if either of them would surprise everyone by announcing their retirement after the Rose Bowl, JoePa responded to Tirico with a wisecrack along the lines of, "Eh, why don't you go ahead and retire?" We all love Joe Paterno.



(Picture courtesy of GoPSUSports.com)

Other quick items. Found this quote on the Bill Simmons website the other day. The quotes they find for "Quote of the Day" are absolutely classic:

"Honestly, this is probably going to strike a nerve with a lot of people. But my most memorable Christmas memory was having all of my uncles and aunties out of prison for one Christmas, and that includes me. We had a lot of run-ins with the law, and to have us all out at one time was great." -- Wizards forward Caron Butler

I don't get to watch Letterman as much as I'd like, but I found a clip on Gawker of when Bill O'Reilly was on. (P.S. I can't stand right-wing radicals, but this is not a politics forum. Don't shower me with pro-Bill O'Reilly comments.) Listen/watch the 11 minute clip of their back and forth bullshitting here. Best part is at about the 10 minute mark when Letterman calls him out and says that "60% of what he says is crap."

That's it for tonight. Back tomorrow with more.

Smells Like Oranges!

I'll be honest, I had a bad feeling about the Orange Bowl as it got later and later. How many chances could Penn State get to win the game? Miss a field goal at the end of regulation. Get a chance to win the game with a field goal in the first overtime and miss it again. Finally, in the 3rd overtime, Kevin Kelly can squeeze the field goal inside the upright.

Penn State wins a crazy Orange Bowl and I'm going to bed!

Happy New Year from the RPR

Hello everyone and I'm back after a short vacation from the RPR. First off, Happy New Year to all. Secondly, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes last week. 24 doesn't seem any different than 23.

Since we last spoke, I was at home for a handful of days while the rest of the world celebrated Christmas. I came back up here last Wednesday, and then went into NYC for a few days through New Years.

My sister, Jamie, came up here with a friend on Thursday to see Rent. I made the mistake of going to meet her in Times Square after the show was over. I can't tell you how many people were roaming around at 5pm on a Thursday during the week when it seems like Times Square is the busiest. The tourists drive me nuts. Anyway, went down to SoHo/Little Italy and roamed around. Quasi-celebrity sighting as I passed right by Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu. Wonder what he's doing in New York? Probably getting wooed by the Mets for all we know.

Friday was a fun day and I'll tell you why. The Jessica had to go to work for a few hours, which gave me the opportunity to be a bum and just wander around like all of the other crazies. I'm convinced that all of the people I'd see walking around in the middle of the day are unemployed. Maybe some of them had off of work, but there was just too many people out and about for everyone to have off. Some of them should standing in the unemployment line rather than roaming around spending money in the Barnes & Noble store in Union Square. So I end up wasting an hour roaming around the Virgin Music Megastore, then grabbed something to eat, and then sat in the middle of Union Square for a little bit. It was great just people watching and obseving all the crazies. You should all try this sometime.

Friday night was a good time as the Jessica took me to Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn, which has been rated the Most Popular Steakhouse in New York City for 20+ years in a row. And man was it good. This place is old school: the waiters are all older gentlemen wearing bowties and suspenders. Some of the decor in the restaurant looks like it's been around since it opened in 1887. The food was fantastic. The menu is limited and everyone pretty much orders the same thing -- the steak, a potato side dish, and a vegetable side dish. The steak is a porterhouse and it comes out so hot that the plate itself finishes cooking the meat when it arrives at your table. The apple strudel for dessert was delicious as well. Peter Luger's most definitely gets the RPR's highest recommendation.

It worked out well that we were in Brooklyn because it gave me the opportunity to meet up with good friend, Aaron, who lives not too far from the restaurant. We went to some crazy bar called the Spuytin Duyvil, but you wouldn't have known that this is what the bar was called because they didn't actually have a sign outside. Props to them for having a very large imported beer selection, and for having He'Brew on tap. (I tried the Jewbelation Ale!)

The next activity on the schedule was zipping back to Manhattan's Lower East Side to see my buddy Frank's band, Downtown Harvest, play at a small venue called Arlene's Grocery. I'm always saying how I'd need to see more live music but never get around to it anymore. At the same time, I was able to support the band, whom I had seen on December 23rd at a bar near home, but was too busy shooting the shit with others to pay much attention to the music. This time around, I was there to hear the band and was very impressed with the music.

Saturday was the New Year's Eve and after putzing around most of the day, a bunch of us had a nice dinner and then hung out at the Jessica's apartment. I'll tell you... we used to do these package deals at a bar, but were always disappointed with the outcome. These places were always way too crowded and never lived up to the hype. As a result, my friends and I have found that just going over to someone's place to hang out ends up being more fun than you'd have elsewhere. This may be a case of pointing out the obvious, but warrants mentioning.

Let's see what else has been going on. The miserable season for the Eagles is now over with a finishing record of 6-10 (4-3 with TO, 2-7 from the time TO was suspended, for what it's worth). I'm going to look forward to the offseason and hope they can snag a few key free agents and put the ship in the right direction in 2006.

Great article written by Larry David regarding his thoughts on Brokeback Mountain.

Also can't forget to mention that Tuesday evening is Orange Bowl between Penn State and Florida State. Looking forward to that matchup which is way more than a battle of two senior citizen head coaches, which is all the media thinks it's about. Jared thinks I should get a tankup like this one that Michael Robinson is wearing.

I think this person took the term "hot dog" a little too seriously...

(Courtesy of Gothamist.com)









That's all for now. I'll be back with regularly scheduled blogging this week. Hope everyone's holidays and New Year's treated them well.