Being that I work at Women's Adventure, I took yesterday to have an adventure with a woman. Karina and I indulged in a sweet, sweet powder day at Copper, which included a rogue run of a back bowl right as the snow got heavy. It's a beauty way to go :)
Now, of course I have 2 days worth of work to jam into about 8 hours--which will probably morph into like 12 hours. Oh well, it was worth it!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
I work for a women's magazine, so I thought to myself--how can I think more like a woman? I started here:
I followed this up by watching a weepy movie on Lifetime with several good looking middle aged babes-- I mean WOMEN-- talking about their feelings, having revelations in their well-lit and tidy kitchens and realizing all men are pigs except the mysterious, sensitive drifter who is new in town.
I started to watch What Not To Wear but "accidentally" switched to Spike during a commercial break and ended up watching like 4 episodes of MXC back-to-back. Now all I want to do is load concrete into a pick up truck via a crane, spit a lot and start calling people whose names I don't remember "buddy".
By the way, does this shirt make me look fat?
And this one too!
Ready to be terrified. TX has a myspace page as well!
This is gettin' weird.
I followed this up by watching a weepy movie on Lifetime with several good looking middle aged babes-- I mean WOMEN-- talking about their feelings, having revelations in their well-lit and tidy kitchens and realizing all men are pigs except the mysterious, sensitive drifter who is new in town.
I started to watch What Not To Wear but "accidentally" switched to Spike during a commercial break and ended up watching like 4 episodes of MXC back-to-back. Now all I want to do is load concrete into a pick up truck via a crane, spit a lot and start calling people whose names I don't remember "buddy".
By the way, does this shirt make me look fat?
And this one too!
Ready to be terrified. TX has a myspace page as well!
This is gettin' weird.
Monday, March 26, 2007
I'm gathering photos galore from my visits from Karina, Paul, Bill and Erin and they'll be posted soon! In the meantime...
Recently, I posted the famous "A Case Of Spring Fever" video here on my blog (as well as on my myspace page). The delightfully frightening short was some sort of campaign by the American Spring Council (?) to let you know we're all damned to hell in a world without springs. The harbinger of this message is Coily the Spring Sprite, a gnashing little demon with triangle teeth who delights in the springless world of a doughy, frog-like man. We follow the poor dope as his world collapses due to the absence of energy retaining springs. Luckily, he takes back his wish to rid the world of springs and spends the rest of his day berating his cliche 50's friends on the importance of springs, like some kind of lunatic converted into Coily's dark army.
Now this particular "short" was shown as the filler for "Squirm" a MST3K classic featuring such memorable lines as "YOU GONNA BE DA WORM FACE!" and the infamous squealing tires on dirt. I figured this movie was a long forgotten B-classic but as it turns out, my friend Sarah not only remembers this movie but was forbidden to watch it (along with Porky's) as a child. Smart parenting to be sure, but why on Earth would any broadcast station use valuable airtime to show this wormy wonder? Who would dare show Squirm?
The answer HAS to be WTXX 20, the local Waterbury access channel that has stooped lower in recent times and is a WB affiliate (or something like that). Sarah is a Waterbury girl and it seems like the only logical place to show a b-rated movie about a wimpy New Yorker and a colossally inept worm farmer squaring off against a legion of electrified mutant annelids.
This train of thinking brought back a wonderful memory for me, one that caused a lot of trouble at the time. During my brief stint as a Cub Scout (I never reached the embarrassingly titled rank of "Weeblo") my troop was invited to be on the Channel 20 Kids Club, a live program that ran between afternoon cartoons and featured a live kid-infested audience. Part of the fun was helping Dr. Mel, the poor clod, give the weather report. A handful of us lucky scouts were selected to hold the maps, which we grabbed on one side while a puppet of some sort held the other. My moment of triumph came on live TV when, much to the delight of the children and the horror of my mother, I forcefully picked the puppets' nose I was sharing the map with! As the laughter rose in the studio, I couldn't help myself--the target audience (hyperactive kids) loved it! And so I dug into the fuzzy nostril of the aforementioned puppet and Dr. Mel went on reading his report. As soon as the cameras were shut off, I felt a forceful pinch on the back of my arm and I was yanked off the program by...some adult, I don't remember who. And oh, the shame that followed! I got is sooooo much trouble, even though Dr. Mel himself didn't seem to mind.
I hadn't thought about the incident in many moons, but in reflection it's pretty tame--and darn funny! The man, the marionette the moment--Me picking the puppet's nose on live TV--proof I've always been a goofball in the most important settings!
Recently, I posted the famous "A Case Of Spring Fever" video here on my blog (as well as on my myspace page). The delightfully frightening short was some sort of campaign by the American Spring Council (?) to let you know we're all damned to hell in a world without springs. The harbinger of this message is Coily the Spring Sprite, a gnashing little demon with triangle teeth who delights in the springless world of a doughy, frog-like man. We follow the poor dope as his world collapses due to the absence of energy retaining springs. Luckily, he takes back his wish to rid the world of springs and spends the rest of his day berating his cliche 50's friends on the importance of springs, like some kind of lunatic converted into Coily's dark army.
Now this particular "short" was shown as the filler for "Squirm" a MST3K classic featuring such memorable lines as "YOU GONNA BE DA WORM FACE!" and the infamous squealing tires on dirt. I figured this movie was a long forgotten B-classic but as it turns out, my friend Sarah not only remembers this movie but was forbidden to watch it (along with Porky's) as a child. Smart parenting to be sure, but why on Earth would any broadcast station use valuable airtime to show this wormy wonder? Who would dare show Squirm?
The answer HAS to be WTXX 20, the local Waterbury access channel that has stooped lower in recent times and is a WB affiliate (or something like that). Sarah is a Waterbury girl and it seems like the only logical place to show a b-rated movie about a wimpy New Yorker and a colossally inept worm farmer squaring off against a legion of electrified mutant annelids.
This train of thinking brought back a wonderful memory for me, one that caused a lot of trouble at the time. During my brief stint as a Cub Scout (I never reached the embarrassingly titled rank of "Weeblo") my troop was invited to be on the Channel 20 Kids Club, a live program that ran between afternoon cartoons and featured a live kid-infested audience. Part of the fun was helping Dr. Mel, the poor clod, give the weather report. A handful of us lucky scouts were selected to hold the maps, which we grabbed on one side while a puppet of some sort held the other. My moment of triumph came on live TV when, much to the delight of the children and the horror of my mother, I forcefully picked the puppets' nose I was sharing the map with! As the laughter rose in the studio, I couldn't help myself--the target audience (hyperactive kids) loved it! And so I dug into the fuzzy nostril of the aforementioned puppet and Dr. Mel went on reading his report. As soon as the cameras were shut off, I felt a forceful pinch on the back of my arm and I was yanked off the program by...some adult, I don't remember who. And oh, the shame that followed! I got is sooooo much trouble, even though Dr. Mel himself didn't seem to mind.
I hadn't thought about the incident in many moons, but in reflection it's pretty tame--and darn funny! The man, the marionette the moment--Me picking the puppet's nose on live TV--proof I've always been a goofball in the most important settings!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Here's an interesting story on Hans Island in the Arctic. I've been there and I assume you'd be hard pressed to meet anyone else who has visited this rather unspectacular chunk of rock!
Short update today...sorry :)
Short update today...sorry :)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Ya gotta love Paul Lenhart! The man comes to Colorado to relax and ends up spending two hours configuring a wireless network on my PC and laptop--done all of his own freewill. You can take the nerd out of Connecticut, but uh...well, Paul is a nerd. And a much better nerd than I, because I wouldn't have figured out the system he set up.
I still have a few more fun days in the mountains before I have to re-engage reality, so I'm going to actually relax and go with the flow a bit. Spring is in the air, which is the season of rebirth, renewal and cats shedding an incredible amount of fur. I plan to celebrate by indulging in the new spirit of my soon to be 31st year--and if you'd be so kind, try not to point out the bales of cat hair on all my clothes.
I still have a few more fun days in the mountains before I have to re-engage reality, so I'm going to actually relax and go with the flow a bit. Spring is in the air, which is the season of rebirth, renewal and cats shedding an incredible amount of fur. I plan to celebrate by indulging in the new spirit of my soon to be 31st year--and if you'd be so kind, try not to point out the bales of cat hair on all my clothes.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Hey, it's March 21st--time for a new season! But I hear back east, there is NO SPRING!
LOLOLOL! Gotta love this short!
It's only MARCH and I'm psyched for the new Rush album, Snakes and Ladders due out May 1st. The new single, "Far Cry" makes me giddy with the sound--sort of Hemispheres meets Roll the Bones. I'd buy the mp3 single right now if it wasn't on iTunes, crappy, crappy iTunes.
For those who noticed, Jamesfaqs was down for a few days as I was off playing in the mountains! The domain name is being phased into my new site, Mountainouswords.com. Everything should be back to normal, whatever that is.
Happy birthdays today to Karina (who I almost disabled by suggesting a tree/mogul run in Vail) and super Dave Etzold. Today is the anniversary of the van being stolen too--back in '98. Which reminds me, tomorrow must be my 9th anniversary when I got married to Christina so we could buy a deck of cards. She's a great wife, even if I only see her once every 4 years or so (she's my leap year wife I suppose!)
I'll have pics from the weekend soon--note that on the same run Karina twisted her knee, Paul Retrum sliced open his finger. I felt like Wyatt Earp at the OK corral as the only one to survive without injury. Though I did get a bruised toe sometime in the day!
LOLOLOL! Gotta love this short!
Monday, March 19, 2007
It's only MARCH and I'm psyched for the new Rush album, Snakes and Ladders due out May 1st. The new single, "Far Cry" makes me giddy with the sound--sort of Hemispheres meets Roll the Bones. I'd buy the mp3 single right now if it wasn't on iTunes, crappy, crappy iTunes.
For those who noticed, Jamesfaqs was down for a few days as I was off playing in the mountains! The domain name is being phased into my new site, Mountainouswords.com. Everything should be back to normal, whatever that is.
Happy birthdays today to Karina (who I almost disabled by suggesting a tree/mogul run in Vail) and super Dave Etzold. Today is the anniversary of the van being stolen too--back in '98. Which reminds me, tomorrow must be my 9th anniversary when I got married to Christina so we could buy a deck of cards. She's a great wife, even if I only see her once every 4 years or so (she's my leap year wife I suppose!)
I'll have pics from the weekend soon--note that on the same run Karina twisted her knee, Paul Retrum sliced open his finger. I felt like Wyatt Earp at the OK corral as the only one to survive without injury. Though I did get a bruised toe sometime in the day!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Hurray, Karina gets into town tonight and we're off for a few days of Winter Park fun! I always like hosting people, as evident as Paul Lenhart coming into town on the heels of Karina's visit--you should ALL come out! Xanadu is very friendly and as of March, I still have cable! What more could you want?
One last thought before I'm outta here like Vladamir. I like old timer-talk, ya know like the talkies from the 30's. I was at the Super Market the other day and the cashier, who must have been at least 112, noted a girl in the other line was "making eyes" at me. Now, keep in mind this cashier may have been mostly blind since the only other female within viewing distance was a woman about 50 with two kids in tow, but nonetheless--"making eyes". Think of that literally. Someone creating optically sound organs by some process and doing so in my general direction--manufacturing retinas and corneas at me! I love it! What else can we possible make at someone? I'd like to think if someone is eavesdropping on me, they are making ears at me. If I smell nice are they making a nose at me?
Ok, I'm leaving now!23-ski-doo!
One last thought before I'm outta here like Vladamir. I like old timer-talk, ya know like the talkies from the 30's. I was at the Super Market the other day and the cashier, who must have been at least 112, noted a girl in the other line was "making eyes" at me. Now, keep in mind this cashier may have been mostly blind since the only other female within viewing distance was a woman about 50 with two kids in tow, but nonetheless--"making eyes". Think of that literally. Someone creating optically sound organs by some process and doing so in my general direction--manufacturing retinas and corneas at me! I love it! What else can we possible make at someone? I'd like to think if someone is eavesdropping on me, they are making ears at me. If I smell nice are they making a nose at me?
Ok, I'm leaving now!23-ski-doo!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Man, my song playlist is more emotional than a mid-western housewife watching an Oprah special. Back to back I just had "Dead Embryonic Cells" by Sepultura followed by "Shiny, Happy, People" by REM. Earlier it was "Death by Manipulation" by Napalm Death then "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle (those who know me KNOW I'm not making this up). I'm left feeling perky and angry, I think. Or that could be because of our premature daylight savings time shift.
The hour time change comes at a rather bad time for me, since I'm already on an 11AM-2AM schedule these days. I woke up at at 11:50 AM today, which is a tad late for being productive. I need to get a lot done in the next three days, as I have company coming in for the next week and a half (Karina on Wednesday and when she leaves, Paul L.) There's a lot to do, even if my music has me either enraged or blitheringly happy.
Speaking of being emotional, I really have to stop watching these new animal planet documentaries. Today was the journey of a young wildebeast as he traveled across the tundra with his herd. During the scene when he crossed the muddy river infested with crocodiles, I literally had my hands over my eyes. Hollywood can barely budge a tear out of me, but these trial-of-life specials always get me. I was torn when they showed the cheetah make an attack on the herd, since I love the big cats (and I learned a cheetah goes 0-40mph in THREE STRIDES or about 20 feet--amazing!) I almost wish we could just turn all of Africa into a wildlife preserve, the creatures there are so incredible--though I guess anywhere on Earth where there isn't too much human intervention has a rich diversity of life.
Oh, if you're curious, the little guy survived the river crossing and was a young adolescent when the special ended. I celebrated by listening to "Hammer Smashed Face" by Cannibal Corpse.
The hour time change comes at a rather bad time for me, since I'm already on an 11AM-2AM schedule these days. I woke up at at 11:50 AM today, which is a tad late for being productive. I need to get a lot done in the next three days, as I have company coming in for the next week and a half (Karina on Wednesday and when she leaves, Paul L.) There's a lot to do, even if my music has me either enraged or blitheringly happy.
Speaking of being emotional, I really have to stop watching these new animal planet documentaries. Today was the journey of a young wildebeast as he traveled across the tundra with his herd. During the scene when he crossed the muddy river infested with crocodiles, I literally had my hands over my eyes. Hollywood can barely budge a tear out of me, but these trial-of-life specials always get me. I was torn when they showed the cheetah make an attack on the herd, since I love the big cats (and I learned a cheetah goes 0-40mph in THREE STRIDES or about 20 feet--amazing!) I almost wish we could just turn all of Africa into a wildlife preserve, the creatures there are so incredible--though I guess anywhere on Earth where there isn't too much human intervention has a rich diversity of life.
Oh, if you're curious, the little guy survived the river crossing and was a young adolescent when the special ended. I celebrated by listening to "Hammer Smashed Face" by Cannibal Corpse.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Here's an interesting article:
To summarize, basically the mint misprinted several coins it put into circulation without the phrase "In God We Trust"--which means if you find one of these coins, hold onto it! Mistakes attribute to some valuable collectables such as the Honus Wagner basbeball card (he didn't want to endorse tobacco) and the "Jenny Biplane" upside down stamp. I always have my eyes open for those 1943 zinc pennies, though I'm not sure if they are actually worth anything.
Of course, I didn't even know there was a new dollar coin out there but still...keep you eyes open!
To summarize, basically the mint misprinted several coins it put into circulation without the phrase "In God We Trust"--which means if you find one of these coins, hold onto it! Mistakes attribute to some valuable collectables such as the Honus Wagner basbeball card (he didn't want to endorse tobacco) and the "Jenny Biplane" upside down stamp. I always have my eyes open for those 1943 zinc pennies, though I'm not sure if they are actually worth anything.
Of course, I didn't even know there was a new dollar coin out there but still...keep you eyes open!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ok, I know-- enough serious posts. I was burning some photos to DVD tonight and found a few classics. First, I present to you Scruffles:
Scruffles is a semi-stray cat who lives near Paul R. in Gypsum. He's awesome, a total tomcat with nicks out of the ears, thick bushy fur--but super friendly! Paul feeds him and brushes him when he can and I think it's just enough to keep the old guy happy. That's Scruffles, not Paul-- he's not QUITE an old guy yet. Cats are just the coolest animals, I never tire of them.
Now, photo 2 proves I was practicing my baseball skills this past summer, even if it was hitting dozens of rocks into an otherwise pristine alpine lake with a big stick. I get sidetracked easily by rocks and a body of water to throw them into--my inner caveman perhaps. I'm psyched to play ball again this summer--dare I say it's a better outlet for energy and manly macho aggression than ultimate frisbee? Yeah, I'll say it!
And finally, here's an oldie for goodie (and a little sampler for those who wonder what I looked like with long hair!) Sorry it's small and overexposed, I need access to a GOOD scanner one of these days. This is from the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire on a fine June day in 1998--almost 10 years ago!
Now, this picture is interesting for several reasons! First off, 3 of the people were my blog links a while back (with Barefootinthewoods gone, John is off the roster). Going left to right, first we see a giant sweaty man who didn't hike the mountain at all. Slacker. The top row we have Kevin Bresler, MEOW memeber EXTREME FIRST CLASS and all around decent dude. Then in the middle, Paul Lenhart of Daily Bugle fame and to the right, John "There's Fortune Cookies in my Sink" Ragozzine, of the ex-great blog barefootinthewoods. Bottom row: there's Lisa, the obvious girly in the crimson colors of Vassar--you may know her from Daily Illuminations (and the only person beside me who seems to actually update their blogs!) In the middle is yours truly with my cool do-rag and pony tail in effect. I would go onto step and destroy those sunglasses about a week after this photo. Finally to my right is dazzling Dave Etzold, who for the first time ever was in the front row of a photo shoot.
The stick that John is holding is the famous beaver staff, an actual beaver forged stick we found when hiking Mount Frissell, Connecticut's highpoint. It's been around, that beaver staff. And finally, one last thing--chop off my long hair and I look almost exactly the same as I did 9 years ago---not sure if that is good or bad!
Scruffles is a semi-stray cat who lives near Paul R. in Gypsum. He's awesome, a total tomcat with nicks out of the ears, thick bushy fur--but super friendly! Paul feeds him and brushes him when he can and I think it's just enough to keep the old guy happy. That's Scruffles, not Paul-- he's not QUITE an old guy yet. Cats are just the coolest animals, I never tire of them.
Now, photo 2 proves I was practicing my baseball skills this past summer, even if it was hitting dozens of rocks into an otherwise pristine alpine lake with a big stick. I get sidetracked easily by rocks and a body of water to throw them into--my inner caveman perhaps. I'm psyched to play ball again this summer--dare I say it's a better outlet for energy and manly macho aggression than ultimate frisbee? Yeah, I'll say it! And finally, here's an oldie for goodie (and a little sampler for those who wonder what I looked like with long hair!) Sorry it's small and overexposed, I need access to a GOOD scanner one of these days. This is from the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire on a fine June day in 1998--almost 10 years ago!
Now, this picture is interesting for several reasons! First off, 3 of the people were my blog links a while back (with Barefootinthewoods gone, John is off the roster). Going left to right, first we see a giant sweaty man who didn't hike the mountain at all. Slacker. The top row we have Kevin Bresler, MEOW memeber EXTREME FIRST CLASS and all around decent dude. Then in the middle, Paul Lenhart of Daily Bugle fame and to the right, John "There's Fortune Cookies in my Sink" Ragozzine, of the ex-great blog barefootinthewoods. Bottom row: there's Lisa, the obvious girly in the crimson colors of Vassar--you may know her from Daily Illuminations (and the only person beside me who seems to actually update their blogs!) In the middle is yours truly with my cool do-rag and pony tail in effect. I would go onto step and destroy those sunglasses about a week after this photo. Finally to my right is dazzling Dave Etzold, who for the first time ever was in the front row of a photo shoot.
The stick that John is holding is the famous beaver staff, an actual beaver forged stick we found when hiking Mount Frissell, Connecticut's highpoint. It's been around, that beaver staff. And finally, one last thing--chop off my long hair and I look almost exactly the same as I did 9 years ago---not sure if that is good or bad!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
There's nothing more annoying than a child who continues to ask "why" for any given question. The frustration stems partly from the knowledge the child is not listening to the actual answers, partly from the fact every question eventually reaches a "why" point where it has no answer. It's even rougher when you are confronted with those questions as an adult...why?
9 Observations from the Weekend
1. I support the cookies but not necessarily the girl scouts.
2. Being too smart for your own good is worse than being stupid.
3. The full moon still enchants me, more so on cold winter nights.
4. The hardest things in life are dealt with alone; they have to be.
5. GTA: Vice City is a VERY GOOD game, especially when you look past the initial shock value of the violence.
6. Hearing Johnny I. on the radio (well, web radio) makes me really want to give music yet another go.
7. My kingdom for a home cooked meal!
8. It'll be good to play baseball again this spring, even though it's been a LONG time.
9. Cats may very well be enlightened beings, so I can forgive them for looking down on me from time to time :)
9 Observations from the Weekend
1. I support the cookies but not necessarily the girl scouts.
2. Being too smart for your own good is worse than being stupid.
3. The full moon still enchants me, more so on cold winter nights.
4. The hardest things in life are dealt with alone; they have to be.
5. GTA: Vice City is a VERY GOOD game, especially when you look past the initial shock value of the violence.
6. Hearing Johnny I. on the radio (well, web radio) makes me really want to give music yet another go.
7. My kingdom for a home cooked meal!
8. It'll be good to play baseball again this spring, even though it's been a LONG time.
9. Cats may very well be enlightened beings, so I can forgive them for looking down on me from time to time :)
