1-Playing baseball instead of frisbee for a change.
2-I HAVE to get close to closing out these state highpoints before the lands shifts and I need to bag a new set!
For the highpoints, I'm at 35/40. Here's what I have left:
Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, California, Oregon, Nevada, Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. So if anyone wants to go on a good road trip, let me know :)
If I can get a week off and a car that won't explode, I should be able to rip off the 7 midwest states in an epic sweep. Idaho and Montana are one trip, Cali and Nevada another. Alaska is still at least a year off...and maybe Hawaii soon?
PS: That episode has perhaps my favorite quote of all the Simpsons: I'm seeing double! Four Krustys!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
I dare you to watch this whole video without cracking up! The good stuff starts about 1:15 if you want to skip the intro--the second half is the funniest! Living in Colorado, I'd LOVE to see this stuff!
Friday, February 16, 2007
So there I am peacefully sleeping, the torrents of wind blasting down from the mountains soothing me to dreamland. How rude was it that the wind should lift the neighbor's lawn chair and slam it into my bedroom window, terrifying the cat sleeping on the windowsill, causing her to leap onto my naked chest with claws akimbo. In my half-lucid state I felt like I had just been attacked by a rogue elephant with a piping hot metal rake for a trunk. My heart was beating so hard I could take my pulse in my eyes.
And speaking of the claws on the chest; I've seen similar wounds in soap operas on the hunky, hairless studs of the daytime drama world. Theirs were caused by something sexy: a firefighting injury, wrestling a wild tiger, leaping through a plate glass window to foil diamond thieves. Mine was caused by an 7-pound house cat and a poorly anchored lawn chair. I shouldn't be surprised though, most people who wear eye patches in real life either have pink eye or gouged themselves with a pencil while doing the Sunday Sudoku. Or else they only have one eye. The soap opera world has myopic heart throbs going pirate-style from some hot, steamy eye injury, perhaps the jagged press-on nail of a scorned lover who just couldn't resist the bad boy's irresistable studliness/lack of steroscopic vision.
Oh, and those guys probably never wear bright yellow Spongebob pajamas either.
It's a fun but though provoking question: If you could be any person who lived in the 20th century, who would it be? It's a tough question because we assume we'd still be ourselves simply thrust into the role of another. Absent are all the individual traits and mindsets unique to the actual person; present is our perspective and the way we feel about the world. Still, it brings up a lot of interesting discussion. I've narrowed mine down to four people:
Howard Carter, Gene Cernan, Edmund Hillary or Geddy Lee.
Howard Carter discovered the past; Gene Cernan lived the future. Edmund Hillary has had an incredibly full and long life (with many great adventures beyond Everest--as we speak he's in Antarctica!) and Geddy Lee has amazing talents that he expresses in a unique and pure fashion. I've toyed with being a famous athlete, a war hero or incredible novelist. Still, outside of old' Ged, being an explorer of the unknown or discovering relics of the past appeal to me more.
Honorable mention goes to Albert Ellingwood, Reinhold Messner, Jacque Cousteau, Brian May, Cal Ripken Jr., Greg Graffin, Sigfried Sassoon, Michael Palin and Wayne Gretsky.
Though ultimately, the role of James Dziezynski ain't too shabby when I think about it!
No real news afoot today, so I present you with Evan Marshall--the guys shreds on a mandolin, it's amazing how many sounds he's able to cleanly! Really impressive stuff--enjoy!
And speaking of the claws on the chest; I've seen similar wounds in soap operas on the hunky, hairless studs of the daytime drama world. Theirs were caused by something sexy: a firefighting injury, wrestling a wild tiger, leaping through a plate glass window to foil diamond thieves. Mine was caused by an 7-pound house cat and a poorly anchored lawn chair. I shouldn't be surprised though, most people who wear eye patches in real life either have pink eye or gouged themselves with a pencil while doing the Sunday Sudoku. Or else they only have one eye. The soap opera world has myopic heart throbs going pirate-style from some hot, steamy eye injury, perhaps the jagged press-on nail of a scorned lover who just couldn't resist the bad boy's irresistable studliness/lack of steroscopic vision.
Oh, and those guys probably never wear bright yellow Spongebob pajamas either.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's a fun but though provoking question: If you could be any person who lived in the 20th century, who would it be? It's a tough question because we assume we'd still be ourselves simply thrust into the role of another. Absent are all the individual traits and mindsets unique to the actual person; present is our perspective and the way we feel about the world. Still, it brings up a lot of interesting discussion. I've narrowed mine down to four people:Howard Carter, Gene Cernan, Edmund Hillary or Geddy Lee.
Howard Carter discovered the past; Gene Cernan lived the future. Edmund Hillary has had an incredibly full and long life (with many great adventures beyond Everest--as we speak he's in Antarctica!) and Geddy Lee has amazing talents that he expresses in a unique and pure fashion. I've toyed with being a famous athlete, a war hero or incredible novelist. Still, outside of old' Ged, being an explorer of the unknown or discovering relics of the past appeal to me more.
Honorable mention goes to Albert Ellingwood, Reinhold Messner, Jacque Cousteau, Brian May, Cal Ripken Jr., Greg Graffin, Sigfried Sassoon, Michael Palin and Wayne Gretsky.
Though ultimately, the role of James Dziezynski ain't too shabby when I think about it!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
No real news afoot today, so I present you with Evan Marshall--the guys shreds on a mandolin, it's amazing how many sounds he's able to cleanly! Really impressive stuff--enjoy!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Ah women! As Def Leppard said:
"Women
Callin' every girl
Women women
All around the world
Women - Women!
Women
Oh, we can't live without them
Women women"
Ok, that doesn't really explain much. Allow me to elaborate! It looks like ol' Jimmy has found himself employment at Women's Adventure magazine right smack here in Boulder. I'll be doing much of the same things I did at Hooked, albeit much more behind the scenes. No one wants a stupid man gumming up the works, but still...it's a great crew I'll be working with and I'm psyched to get started.
In other news, I've been looking for good snow and ice routes to climb in the summer and I'm seriously contemplating making the arduous trek to the Lost Man Wilderness (nice name, eh?) at the top of Colorado's famous Independence Pass. The pass is closed to vehicles in the winter, so snowmobiles or skis are the way to go. It's just an idea now, but the area looked spectacular for relatively safe ascents. We'll see...
Oh, and to the person who asked about the odd graphic in the upper left hand corner of my myspace page, yes that's a pelican gripping the head of an unsuspecting Japanese boy. While I'm far from being an addict, myspace has been sort of neat in finding old friends and a few new ones here in Boulder.
One more thing: one of my favorite bands has a myspace page--Broadside Electric! Check them out and give them a listen. While they have better songs than the ones offered on the page, it's a good idea of what they have. "With Teeth..." is one of my favorite albums of all time!
A very happy birthday to Sheila on this fine day! May your upcoming trip around the sun be the best one ever! Cheers to a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent woman who is a true-blue, authentic and one of a kind, in the best way possible. She's smart too--case in point, she's gripping a Gerber Daisy in her teeth rather than a spiky rose. Happy Birthday--and many mooooore!
At one time or another, you've probably had the conversation with your friends: what's the weirdest thing you ever ate? Note that I always took the question to mean things that were eaten intentionally, not the menageries of bugs eaten mountain biking nor the healthy heaping of dirt and snow courtesy of high velocity face plants. I certainly don't hold the crown for the weirdest stuff, that would go to a journalist named David I met on a press trip who travelled the world specifically searching for odd things to eat. From turtle to frog, mouse to moose if it walked upon the earth with a heartbeat, chances are he's eaten it.
Me? Well, I hate to say it (there may be serious repercussions from Raffi) but I've eaten Beluga whale. Sweet, cute, curious and edible Beluga whale. This isn't to be confused with Beluga caviar, which is an awful smear made from salmon eggs. Before you call Greenpeace and order a harpoon driven through my chest, let me explain! My Beluga snack was from a freshly killed whale being pulled behind a Toyota 4-Runner on a children's toboggan In Qaanaaq, Greenland. The locals had just made the kill and were dragging the enormous bloke back to town for butchering. Neat squares were carved out of the flesh, appetizers for those who just couldn't wait. As the bumbling white tourist (TM), a friendly fellow who had hunted the beast noticed I was very curios at what I was seeing. In heavily Canadian accented English, he said to me, "Beluga very good, a good treat for friends! Try some eh?" While he was saying this, he skillfully cubed a piece out of the Beluga and presented me with it. A lot of people were watching at this point, both locals and other folks from the icebreaker I was on.
And without thinking too much, I smiled and ate the cube. It was pretty bad, sort of like a coagulated bar of soap covered with a strip of duct tape (that skin is thick!) Much like lard, it is very dense and incredibly rich. Despite the fact it was raw blubber, it did have an appealing quality similar to eating a tub of Crisco.
So I admit it, I've sampled the sweet sea canary,though my penance is every time I bite into a Klondike bar I can visualize it being the aforementioned chunk. I promise it's the last endangered species I intend to eat. Oh, and that doesn't include my long dreamed about dodo-egg omelet, should the occasion ever arise.
Hidden in the dark, seedy heart of a nefarious wookie is hate...lots of hate. While most of us were distracted by the Super Bowl, Chewy decided to lay the smack down on a pair of unsuspecting Japanese tourists. Are any of us truly safe?
As for the big game, I have no major comments other than the replay ref did an excellent job! Quick, efficient and accurate. Oh and the Bears are who I thought they were (slams desk!)
"Women
Callin' every girl
Women women
All around the world
Women - Women!
Women
Oh, we can't live without them
Women women"
Ok, that doesn't really explain much. Allow me to elaborate! It looks like ol' Jimmy has found himself employment at Women's Adventure magazine right smack here in Boulder. I'll be doing much of the same things I did at Hooked, albeit much more behind the scenes. No one wants a stupid man gumming up the works, but still...it's a great crew I'll be working with and I'm psyched to get started.
In other news, I've been looking for good snow and ice routes to climb in the summer and I'm seriously contemplating making the arduous trek to the Lost Man Wilderness (nice name, eh?) at the top of Colorado's famous Independence Pass. The pass is closed to vehicles in the winter, so snowmobiles or skis are the way to go. It's just an idea now, but the area looked spectacular for relatively safe ascents. We'll see...
Oh, and to the person who asked about the odd graphic in the upper left hand corner of my myspace page, yes that's a pelican gripping the head of an unsuspecting Japanese boy. While I'm far from being an addict, myspace has been sort of neat in finding old friends and a few new ones here in Boulder.
One more thing: one of my favorite bands has a myspace page--Broadside Electric! Check them out and give them a listen. While they have better songs than the ones offered on the page, it's a good idea of what they have. "With Teeth..." is one of my favorite albums of all time!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
A very happy birthday to Sheila on this fine day! May your upcoming trip around the sun be the best one ever! Cheers to a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent woman who is a true-blue, authentic and one of a kind, in the best way possible. She's smart too--case in point, she's gripping a Gerber Daisy in her teeth rather than a spiky rose. Happy Birthday--and many mooooore!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
At one time or another, you've probably had the conversation with your friends: what's the weirdest thing you ever ate? Note that I always took the question to mean things that were eaten intentionally, not the menageries of bugs eaten mountain biking nor the healthy heaping of dirt and snow courtesy of high velocity face plants. I certainly don't hold the crown for the weirdest stuff, that would go to a journalist named David I met on a press trip who travelled the world specifically searching for odd things to eat. From turtle to frog, mouse to moose if it walked upon the earth with a heartbeat, chances are he's eaten it. Me? Well, I hate to say it (there may be serious repercussions from Raffi) but I've eaten Beluga whale. Sweet, cute, curious and edible Beluga whale. This isn't to be confused with Beluga caviar, which is an awful smear made from salmon eggs. Before you call Greenpeace and order a harpoon driven through my chest, let me explain! My Beluga snack was from a freshly killed whale being pulled behind a Toyota 4-Runner on a children's toboggan In Qaanaaq, Greenland. The locals had just made the kill and were dragging the enormous bloke back to town for butchering. Neat squares were carved out of the flesh, appetizers for those who just couldn't wait. As the bumbling white tourist (TM), a friendly fellow who had hunted the beast noticed I was very curios at what I was seeing. In heavily Canadian accented English, he said to me, "Beluga very good, a good treat for friends! Try some eh?" While he was saying this, he skillfully cubed a piece out of the Beluga and presented me with it. A lot of people were watching at this point, both locals and other folks from the icebreaker I was on.
And without thinking too much, I smiled and ate the cube. It was pretty bad, sort of like a coagulated bar of soap covered with a strip of duct tape (that skin is thick!) Much like lard, it is very dense and incredibly rich. Despite the fact it was raw blubber, it did have an appealing quality similar to eating a tub of Crisco.
So I admit it, I've sampled the sweet sea canary,though my penance is every time I bite into a Klondike bar I can visualize it being the aforementioned chunk. I promise it's the last endangered species I intend to eat. Oh, and that doesn't include my long dreamed about dodo-egg omelet, should the occasion ever arise.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Hidden in the dark, seedy heart of a nefarious wookie is hate...lots of hate. While most of us were distracted by the Super Bowl, Chewy decided to lay the smack down on a pair of unsuspecting Japanese tourists. Are any of us truly safe?As for the big game, I have no major comments other than the replay ref did an excellent job! Quick, efficient and accurate. Oh and the Bears are who I thought they were (slams desk!)
Saturday, February 03, 2007
What the heck, this week has been like a reality TV show, except for:
1-The stuff is really happening
2-It's not on TV (at least any channel I get)
First, Dave Etzold emails saying he's getting married, tying the knot, butterin' the biscuit, reuniting the triforce of love with the triforce of happiness, dunkin' the clown etc. THEN I get an email from Pat Whittle telling me he's getting a PANDA!
No, wait.
The email says he too is getting married (to a different woman than Dave) (and not a Panda either, I don't think)(though it may be Dave). The title of the email was "Sam and ..." so obviously I first though it was Sam & Max (my favorite PC detectives) news and updates. Actually, Pat and SAM (short for Strategic Air Missile) are getting hitched, butterin' the triforce, etc. I'm pretty sure she's a female missile.
So I have dig into my reserve bag of congrats and congrat them too! You're lucky, I saved some from last halloween. Here it is:
CONGRATS!
Me? I tried to get the PSX game Legacy of Kain to run on the supposedly backwards compatible PS2 last night. It didn't work so well so I stayed up until 3 AM watching ESPN2 presents: Super Bowl Highlights. This is why I live vicariously through other people, otherwise my blog would be rather dull, don't you say? Be happy, most nights ESPN2 is showing Mariusz Pudzianowski and the boys from the World's Strongest Man competition!
1-The stuff is really happening
2-It's not on TV (at least any channel I get)
First, Dave Etzold emails saying he's getting married, tying the knot, butterin' the biscuit, reuniting the triforce of love with the triforce of happiness, dunkin' the clown etc. THEN I get an email from Pat Whittle telling me he's getting a PANDA!
No, wait.
The email says he too is getting married (to a different woman than Dave) (and not a Panda either, I don't think)(though it may be Dave). The title of the email was "Sam and ..." so obviously I first though it was Sam & Max (my favorite PC detectives) news and updates. Actually, Pat and SAM (short for Strategic Air Missile) are getting hitched, butterin' the triforce, etc. I'm pretty sure she's a female missile.
So I have dig into my reserve bag of congrats and congrat them too! You're lucky, I saved some from last halloween. Here it is:
CONGRATS!
Me? I tried to get the PSX game Legacy of Kain to run on the supposedly backwards compatible PS2 last night. It didn't work so well so I stayed up until 3 AM watching ESPN2 presents: Super Bowl Highlights. This is why I live vicariously through other people, otherwise my blog would be rather dull, don't you say? Be happy, most nights ESPN2 is showing Mariusz Pudzianowski and the boys from the World's Strongest Man competition!
Friday, February 02, 2007
First off, Groundhog's Day is upon us--which means it's the birthdays of both Jerry Brewer and Angelique Baffi. Happy birthday you crazy kids! Maybe you'll google your own names one day and find my site!
I've begun my official marketing spree for my book by snatching up my two domain names and even throwing up a lil' blurb on myspace! My page is www.myspace.com/bruplex Mock me if you will, but when my book has huge sales in the 12-16 age group, you'll know adding Justin Timberlake and Sponge Bob on my cover was a great idea!
Also, I'm certain someone else has already said this-- but Superbowl hype gets plain silly. I already hear the underdog Bears players mouthing off about the same things we always hear. I hope they don't win because we'll get the old "We shocked the world" routine. I hate to tell you this Mr. Bear (and I'm pickin' on the Bears because they are the underdog) but a farmer working in Myanmar probably wasn't the least bit shocked. Peruvian grocers? Not surprised in the least. Heck, given the choice, that pleasant New Zealander who harvests honey for a living might even anticipate a Bears' win. In a contest of two teams, most humans expect one side or the other to win. Shocking would be Prince dancing around again in those buttless chaps-- then being joined on stage by the cast of M*A*S*H all wearing similar outfits. Or Peyton Manning and Brian Urlacher french kissing after a failed 2nd and 8 attempt. But the Bears winning, not terribly shocking.
What the Bears player means of course, is that all those pompous sports writers and media types who picked the Colts can stick it up their goalposts should the Bears win. I don't blame players for hating the media--sports writers are supposed to write controversial, semi-informed opinions--it's all ultimately good marketing. There are too many shows with "sports authorities" yelling at one another, blabbering like buffoons (and I don't include P.T.I. in this, which has actually gown on me). For God's sake, some misinformed program director gave the horrible Dennis Miller a chance to be a "sports authority"--and this after his brief "minister of hip" phase with the MTV was dissolved by his bizarrely thought out conservative leanings.
My point: professional athletes have the right to defy the haters, but please don't catagorize the whole world in this assessement. Think about how silly it sounds when say, Romalino or Zodolof or whoever the hell soccer players are say the same thing about the world cup-- when 99.6 % of Americans would rather watch the fingernail clipping channel!! Here and there--say, the 1980 hockey USA victory or Argentina DISMANTLING USA basketball--then you can probably say the world may be slightly shocked.
Enough of my rants! I need to go out in the balmy 3 degree temps and get the frozen pieces of mail fused to the inside of my mailbox.
I've begun my official marketing spree for my book by snatching up my two domain names and even throwing up a lil' blurb on myspace! My page is www.myspace.com/bruplex Mock me if you will, but when my book has huge sales in the 12-16 age group, you'll know adding Justin Timberlake and Sponge Bob on my cover was a great idea!
Also, I'm certain someone else has already said this-- but Superbowl hype gets plain silly. I already hear the underdog Bears players mouthing off about the same things we always hear. I hope they don't win because we'll get the old "We shocked the world" routine. I hate to tell you this Mr. Bear (and I'm pickin' on the Bears because they are the underdog) but a farmer working in Myanmar probably wasn't the least bit shocked. Peruvian grocers? Not surprised in the least. Heck, given the choice, that pleasant New Zealander who harvests honey for a living might even anticipate a Bears' win. In a contest of two teams, most humans expect one side or the other to win. Shocking would be Prince dancing around again in those buttless chaps-- then being joined on stage by the cast of M*A*S*H all wearing similar outfits. Or Peyton Manning and Brian Urlacher french kissing after a failed 2nd and 8 attempt. But the Bears winning, not terribly shocking.
What the Bears player means of course, is that all those pompous sports writers and media types who picked the Colts can stick it up their goalposts should the Bears win. I don't blame players for hating the media--sports writers are supposed to write controversial, semi-informed opinions--it's all ultimately good marketing. There are too many shows with "sports authorities" yelling at one another, blabbering like buffoons (and I don't include P.T.I. in this, which has actually gown on me). For God's sake, some misinformed program director gave the horrible Dennis Miller a chance to be a "sports authority"--and this after his brief "minister of hip" phase with the MTV was dissolved by his bizarrely thought out conservative leanings.
My point: professional athletes have the right to defy the haters, but please don't catagorize the whole world in this assessement. Think about how silly it sounds when say, Romalino or Zodolof or whoever the hell soccer players are say the same thing about the world cup-- when 99.6 % of Americans would rather watch the fingernail clipping channel!! Here and there--say, the 1980 hockey USA victory or Argentina DISMANTLING USA basketball--then you can probably say the world may be slightly shocked.
Enough of my rants! I need to go out in the balmy 3 degree temps and get the frozen pieces of mail fused to the inside of my mailbox.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Big congrats to my steller former college room mate Dave Etzold! Looks like the big fella is gettin' married, oh, next time the preacher is in town. Hurrah for he and Aislinn, may your life together be as Pauly Shore-free as possible, minus that one episode where he's the manager at the burger joint Al Bundy has to work at for a short time.
While Dave is busy finding lifelong bliss and happiness, I spent last night working on my definitive list of the top 125 NES games of all time. That may sound a bit excessive until you consider there are over 700 official (and many more bootleg) games available for the system. Most of the bad ones are downright awful, you could only count on a few companies putting out relatively solid games with every release: Konami, Capcom, Nintendo and to a lesser degree design studios at Rare, Kemco, Culture Brain and Koei. And for you nerds out there, I don't feel like debating publishers vs. designers right now, k? Thanks!
I'll be writing up an article in 25-game per article chunks in the next few weeks! Also, the newly named web site is going up soon (though intially, a lot of the stuff is just going to be redirected to Jamesfaqs). What will it be? Haha, that's my secret...well, except for and the two or three people I told about it. And the person who came up with the name :)
Oh yeah, my Super Bowl prediction too...right now, I'm saying Colts 34, Bears 10. Nothing against the monsters of the midway, but the NFC was kind of a cupcake conference this year. The AFC had several serious contenders, including the Ravens, Pats, Colts and Chargers. The Bears played the Saints in the NFC title game from cryin' out loud!
That's all for today. I have to resume writing 24 pages about spa treatments now.
While Dave is busy finding lifelong bliss and happiness, I spent last night working on my definitive list of the top 125 NES games of all time. That may sound a bit excessive until you consider there are over 700 official (and many more bootleg) games available for the system. Most of the bad ones are downright awful, you could only count on a few companies putting out relatively solid games with every release: Konami, Capcom, Nintendo and to a lesser degree design studios at Rare, Kemco, Culture Brain and Koei. And for you nerds out there, I don't feel like debating publishers vs. designers right now, k? Thanks!
I'll be writing up an article in 25-game per article chunks in the next few weeks! Also, the newly named web site is going up soon (though intially, a lot of the stuff is just going to be redirected to Jamesfaqs). What will it be? Haha, that's my secret...well, except for and the two or three people I told about it. And the person who came up with the name :)
Oh yeah, my Super Bowl prediction too...right now, I'm saying Colts 34, Bears 10. Nothing against the monsters of the midway, but the NFC was kind of a cupcake conference this year. The AFC had several serious contenders, including the Ravens, Pats, Colts and Chargers. The Bears played the Saints in the NFC title game from cryin' out loud!
That's all for today. I have to resume writing 24 pages about spa treatments now.
