THE DARK TOWER

Out with the old and in with the new.

2007-12-31T18:52:00.000-05:00

Not sure who is left coming to this page. I have been away for some time. Away from this page not away from anywhere else. Anyway, I have to say I am glad to see 2007 go into the books. It really wasn't a very good year at all. There was a lot of sickness, death and injury to friends and family, myself included. I guess the end result for most of it turned out for the best. Still I think it is something I would rather have not gone through at all. Ah the new year approaches in hours and I am looking forward to something new. Bring it on!

Peace and happiness to all in 2008!

Diamond Jim

Dream a little dream

2007-04-17T18:29:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting and weird dream the other night a couple of weeks ago and I am just getting around to posting it. As soon as I woke up I put pen to paper so I wouldn't forget it.

I was out front with my mom as she was removing some weird looking scaffolding/ladder type contraption from the front of the house. Her and two men were taking it apart, breaking it down. She lifts one long section and rotates it so that it comes off the roof. In doing so she hits and ends up knocking down the power lines across the street. They come crashing down on top of my brothers white car. Sparking, snapping and whipping all over the place.

I ran into the house to call 911 and get someone out here to take care of it. As I enter the house the phone is ringing and my dad is answering it. I grab it from his hand telling him "I need the phone right now!” I say into the phone "Who is this? We are going to have to call you back!” I turns out it was my Uncle Arthur and he quickly gives me a new phone number for him (I only remember the last 4 numbers of it and it was the first thing I wrote down upon waking up. I keep meaning to play it for the Lottery).

I hang up with him and dial 911. I end up with the most infuriating 911 operator ever. I tell her the situation, power lines are down and could she send someone over to take care of it? She proceeds to tell me to go grab the wires, tells me how to tie them off and what else to do with them. I was like "I am not touching downed power lines! No Way!" She responds with "I can't send anyone. You are going to need to do it.” Again I tell her "No way!” She tells me to "Stop being a baby!"
Now the dream me is thinking to myself something like, I remember all those GI Joe cartoons with all the knowing is 1/2 the battle. I know touching power lines is a very bad idea. I tell her again "Send some one! There is no way I am touching those power lines!"

At this point I am beyond frustrated. I am unsure of what to do about it. A group of people walk into the house. One of them, a contractor/construction looking dude in heavy dark brown work boots accidentally knocks the phone jack from the wall disconnecting me from the 911 operator. I watched the jack, which had some sort of adaptor (which was bright orange) attached to it, skid across the kitchen floor. I look at him in his corduroy jacket and he has this sheepish grin on his face. I scream at him "WHAT THE FUCK!?”

I plug the phone jack back into the wall and dial 911 again. At first I get something other than 911 confused I hang up and make sure I dial correctly this time. Nine-One-One. Of course I get the same operator. I explain to her that I did not hang up on her I was disconnected. "Good thing." was her response. "The phone was disconnected. It would have been rude for me to hang up and I am not like that."

We get into it again and she tells me something like "We don't have enough _______. She was referring to fire trucks but she used another word and I couldn't remember it but it was an odd word. For the last time I tell her “I am not touching them. Send someone and send them NOW!" and I hand up the phone.

I look around the kitchen and there are many many people in the room. I am so pissed off about the 911 woman. I tell them “I am going out front to scream." I head out the front door, take a deep breath and start to scream. The scream gets caught in my throat and doesn't come out as loudly as I wanted. It was not nearly satisfying enough to relieve the frustration I had built up talking to 911.

The yell in the dream did one thing. It woke me up. I most definitely made some sort of noise. I waited to see if anyone came looking to see if I was all right. I guess it wasn't that loud. Just loud enough to wake me.

Daywatch

2007-03-24T08:11:00.000-05:00

This (Daywatch) looks awesome. I can't wait for it. It is a sequel to Nightwatch which was excellent. Never saw it? Go rent it or better yet go buy it right now. It is totally worth it.

Do it!
Do it!

Fresh Ink

2007-03-16T11:54:00.000-05:00

Well I think I had mentioned to a few of you at least that I was going to go and get another tattoo. Well I went and did Thursday night. I went back to the same tattoo place in JP, Pumpkin Tattoo. I did go to a different artist (at the recommendation of the guy who did my first) because the dude who did my Turtle was booked through next year. I went to this other kid Justin, after going through the books of the other tattoo artists. He had some very cool stuff and I thought he could do an excellent job for what I wanted.

Here she is.

Save Boston

2007-02-24T10:06:00.000-05:00

It is time to save Boston! Play this game to protect our city from evil.

Still Funny

2007-02-11T18:30:00.001-05:00

This is still one of the funniest things ever.

Return of the Bride of the Zombie Son's Movies 2006!

2007-01-03T19:14:00.000-05:00

1) Munich
2) Hostel
3) Saw 2
4) Underworld Evolution
5) Final Destination 3
6) Ultra Violet
7) Night Watch
8) V for Vendetta
9) Silent Hill
10) Notorious Bettie Page
11) MI 3 (twice)
12) Monster House (3D)
13) Lady in the Water
14) Superman Returns
15) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
16) The Descent
17) Crank
18) The Departed
19) The Prestige
20) Saw 3
21) Casino Royale
22) Clerks 2
23) Children of Men
24) Rocky Balboa
25) X-Men: The Last Stand
26) The Protector
27) Nightmare Before Christmas ( in digital 3D)

Well that is 2006 in Movies for me. Over all I enjoyed most everything I saw. The better ones were Children of Men (awesome), The Departed (awesome), Night Watch (great) and Clerks 2 (hilarious). The only ones I can say I was disappointed with were Ultra Violet which was not nearly as good as Equilibrium and Saw 3 which tried to do too much.

Books, Check em out. 2006

2006-12-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

It is time yet again for me to share with you the books I have read over the past year.

The Black Echo: Michael Conlley

Time of the Twins: M. Weis and T. Hickman

Cell: Stephen King

Fire in the Grove: John C. Esposito

The Broker: John Grisham

War of the Twins: M. Weis and T. Hickman

Dhamphir: Barb and JC Hendee

Imajica: Clive Barker

Velocity: Dean Koontz

Monster Island: David Wellington

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: L. Frank Baum

Agents of Light and Darkness: Simon R. Green

The Black Ice: Michael Connlley

The Godwulf Manuscript: Robert B. Parker

Strangers: Dean Koontz

Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck

The Ruins: Scott Smith

His Majesty's Dragon: Naomi Novik

Night Watch: Sergei Lukyanenko

Monster Nation: David Wellington

Nightingale's Lament: Simon R. Green

The City of Towers: Keith Baker

The Shattered Land: Keith Baker

The Gates of Night: Keith Baker

Another year done, another list full of books about detectives, dragons, zombies, George, nightclub fires, wizards and killer flowers. Check them out and Amazon or Borders. There is some good stuff here.

Until next time true believers

RIP

2006-12-25T12:45:00.000-05:00

2006-12-19T19:50:00.000-05:00

Little Drummer Boy

2006-12-17T18:10:00.000-05:00

Got Ink?

2006-12-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

I finally got my tattoo. I have been saying for years that I wanted a tattoo, I just need to decided what I wanted. No small decision right? It is going to be there for a very long time. I wanted something I wasn't going to regret in a year. I have been a Stephen King fan ever since I received It as a Christmas gift back in 1986. I remember that it was 1138 pages long (weird the shit we remember huh?) and it was the longest book I had read at the time. The design I chose for my tattoo comes from another Stephen King epic, The Dark Tower. Notice the name of my blog? I picked one of the Guardians of the Beam, the Turtle. The Turtle factors greatly in the Dark Tower series as well as It. That is how I came about my decision.

I also wanted to go to the right place. I certainly didn't want some hack putting something as permanent as a tattoo on my body. So I did some research and got some advice from others (Thanks Scott or rather Scott thank Neil for me). I settled on Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo" in Jamaica Plain. The shop won the 1st and 2nd annual Weekly Dig awards for Boston's best tattoo parlor. I choose the owner, Ram, after looking through his portfolio which has some truly amazing work. I had to wait 6 months for the appointment because he is so booked but it was well worth the wait. I am very pleased with how it came out.

2006-10-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

Every month Entertainment Weekly runs a column called "Stupid Questions with (insert celebrity here)". This time it was Rachel Ray. She is hot by the way and if you want, check out the pictorial from FHM a few years back. I digress. One of the questions that was asked of her was this.

"Do you ever worry that there can be only so much happiness in the universe, and that every time you smile, a unicorn gets punched in the face?"

This cracked me up. Funny as that was, here is her answer.

"I would smile all day long, every day, if it guaranteed a unicorn getting punched in the face. I find them really annoying."

That cracked me up even more.

Hot, funny and she can cook. What more can a guy ask for? Maybe for her to dump her husband and take me as her kept man. I could use a sugar momma like that. I can dream can't I?

2006-10-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

"This debate is occurring because of the Supreme Court's ruling that said that we must conduct ourselves under the Common Article III of the Geneva Convention. And that Common Article III says that there will be no outrages upon human dignity. It's very vague. What does that mean? Outrages upon human dignity. That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation."

George W. Bush President of the United States

"In politics never retreat..., never retract...never admit a mistake."

Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of France

"I don't have to listen. I'm the president"

Gaius Baltar President of the Tweleve Colonies

300

2006-10-05T19:05:00.000-05:00

This looks ridiculously awesome

300
Copyright © 2007 Warner Bros. Pictures

"Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite."

300

Too damn scary

2006-10-02T17:18:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to be saved?

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2006-09-27T18:13:00.000-05:00

I thought this web cam was kind of cool so I wanted to share. It is on from 7am-7pm Pacific Time. Enjoy.

Live Web Cam

Too damn funny.

2006-09-25T17:57:00.000-05:00

This story rules.

Man threatens bikers, gets hit with car
September 23, 2006

PITTSBURG, Calif. --An alleged drunken motorist who brandished a pool cue while driving at a group of motorcyclists was hit by his own car after he attempted to approach the bikers on foot, authorities said.

Richard Brooks, 50, of Concord, was pulled to safety by the motorcyclists after his car -- which he left in reverse -- knocked him into the highway on Thursday, said Officer Scott Yox of the California Highway Patrol.

Brooks, who was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence, told authorities he was offended by skeletons some of the riders wore on their leather Harley-Davidson jackets and what he perceived as their attempts to appear tough.

"It was his impression that they thought they were better than him," Yox said. "They were irritating to him and he felt he needed to do something about it."

Yox said authorities had no evidence the riders instigated the incident. "Instead of mocking him for going after them, they perhaps set their own safety aside to reach over and rescue him from a position of danger," he said.

Brooks, who was treated at a hospital for cuts and scrapes, remained jailed Friday in lieu of $30,000 bail.

© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Eragon

2006-09-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

I read this book when it first came out and thought it was pretty good stuff. The movie is coming out in Dec and looks very good.

2006-09-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

I know some people that will have some fun with this site.

CLICK HERE

The Hoff!!!!!

2006-09-06T18:53:00.000-05:00

This is quite possibly the best video ever. Pure. Fucking. Genius.

The eviction of Pepe Le Pu

2006-08-21T16:31:00.000-05:00

About a week and a half ago I was sitting in our family room reading or watching TV. It was probably around 9 or 9:30. All of a sudden I get a very strong skunk smell wafting through the windows. I immediately call out to my parents. "Is the dog in the house?" "No" was the response. "Shit". I get up and go to the back door and call Phoebe. She comes bounding up the steps and runs into the house. I didn't really think she stunk like skunk. She was however rubbing her face on the carpet and we figured from that that she definitely had gotten sprayed. A quick search of the internet produced a recipe consisting of hydrogen peroxide, dawn dishwashing liquid and some other stuff. Dog goes into sink and gets a good scrubbing and comes out mostly not that stinky.

The rest of the week we could still smell skunk every once in a while coming from the back yard. At first we thought it might have been the lingering effects from the dog getting sprayed. Then my dad noticed a hole dug near the foundation. We were thinking that Pepe Le Pu had taken up residence under our family room in the area where we store the lawn mower, snow blower and various pool items. We decided to start to take some stuff out a little at a time, just to see if we could determine if the skunk was really living under there. In our daytime search, as we were moving the snow blower which was way back in the corner (near where we saw the hole) Pepe pokes its head out and we all bolt from under the porch. This leads to another search of the internet. , this time looking for exterminators/pest control. A phone call gives us the information that it will cost $250.00 per trap. My mom says thanks but no thanks.

We ended up getting some powdered fox urine which we were to sprinkle in different spots under the porch to try and make the skunk vacate the premises. Well with all the stuff still under the porch we have no way of really know if it left. The internet said to put flower on the ground out side the entrance to its den then when you see tracks indicating the skunk has left block up any/all the entrances. We tried that and never saw the tracks so we had to take everything out from underneath. We did this on Saturday, very slowly so as not to piss off Pepe. We saved the snow blower for one of the last things because we had a good idea that was where it was sleeping. Sure enough that was where it was and he comes out and darts off to the left and again we bolt and my mom slams the doors shut.

A few minutes later after I had looked through the cellar door and saw no sign of Pepe we open the doors and once again venture into the lair of the stink beast. There was another hole in the direction Pepe had gone but no one had seen it leave from there. I pointed out that once we closed the doors we had no idea where it went. It might have gone out either of the holes but we had no real idea at all. We slowly removed the last remaining things. There was two pieces of lattice work leaning up against the far wall. Can you guess what was hiding behind the lattice work? Yup. It was Pepe. Another dash out from underneath. We could see Pepe trying to hide up against the far wall. We carefully dragged the lattice work away using a broom handle. Now with no cover Pepe makes a dash of his own and exits out the hole in the far corner.

Once Pepe had exited we went in and blocked the holes as best we could with what we had. Dirt and cinderblocks. Then it was off to Homedepot for chicken wire (apparently it is now called poultry mesh) and moth balls. After getting this stuff we made a check to be sure that Pepe had not gained re-entry. The cost was clear. We ran the chicken wire all along the inside and placed the cinderblocks in strategic spots. Moth balls wee scattered all over as well as something called Critter Ridder should get rid of skunks and raccoons and that sort of thing as well as dogs and cats. It was Havaheart so it wouldn't hurt Phoebe plus it was on the inside anyway. Hopefully that is the last we will see of Pepe. Pepe you have been evicted.

Redline has Jimmy seeing red.

2006-08-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

God damn I hate the fucking redline. Every fucking day there is a fucking delay of some sort. EVERY FUCKING DAY!!!!!! The trains are too fucking crowded. They are too fucking hot. The stations are fucking ovens. It is just a aggravating fucking god awful cluster fuck of misery and despair going and coming to work. And they want to raise the fucking fares? Fuck that! Ass fuckers! Fix the fucking service! Make it so I don't have to fucking sweat to death before I get into work. Make it so shit runs on time! How old is this transit system? One of the oldest if not the oldest in the USA? You would think the might have fucking figured it out by now!!!! FUCKING A!!!!! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!

2006-08-12T18:26:00.000-05:00

This movie looks like it could be very interesting in a totally badass kind of way. Ya know what I mean?

Renaissance

Word to your mother.

2006-08-03T18:41:00.000-05:00

OK I realize that I haven't posted in quite some time but I just haven't.

But words of wisdom from Vanilla Ice are always worth mentioning.

Backyard National Geographic

2006-06-10T17:47:00.000-05:00

I was talking with Scott this afternoon while standing on my back deck, doing my best to stay dry. (Will this fucking rain/cold/shitty weather ever fucking end?!? FUCK!!!!) I was watching the birds feast at the bird feeders in my neighbor’s yard. It was a bunch of small birds, sparrows or some shit. Next thing I see is a couple of bigger black birds swoop down to the feeder. Not sure what kind of birds they were but they were much too small to be crows. One of the black birds attacks one of the sparrows, they are fighting in the air then they are fighting on the ground. Blackie gets the upper hand (or wing) and starts kicking the shit out of sparrow. Jab Jab with the beak. Sparrow struggles to survive, tries to fight back or at least get away. Jab jab again. Sparrow struggles no more. Blackie starts chowing down on dinner. I can see bits of feather in his bill. Then one of the neighborhood cats (a fat black one) pounces into the yard. This causes all the birds to scatter up into the trees where they chirp angrily. It lurks under the back steps of my neighbor...waiting. Eventually another cat comes into the yard (a fat white beast with a black tail). The black cat eventually slinks out from under the stairs. The black cat and the white beast stare each other down. Black cat turns its back on the intruder walks over to where Sparrow lies dead in the grass and walks away in triumph with a meal in his maw.

Peace out.

Snakes on a motha fuckin plane! For real.....

2006-06-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Pilot finds snake stowaway inside cockpit
June 3, 2006

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --Monty Coles was 3,000 feet in the air when he discovered a stowaway peeking out at him from the plane's instrument panel: a 4 1/2-foot snake.

Coles was taking a leisurely flight over the West Virginia countryside in his Piper Cherokee last weekend and was preparing to land in Ohio when the snake revealed itself.

"Nothing in any of the manuals ever described anything like this," said the 62-year-old Cross Lanes resident.

But advice given 25 years earlier from his flight instructor sprung to mind: "No matter what happens, fly the plane."

Coles attempted to swat the snake but it fell to the pilot's feet, then darted to the other side of the cockpit.

While maintaining control of the single-engine plane with one hand, Coles grabbed the reptile behind its head with his other.

"There was no way I was letting that thing go," he said. "It coiled all around my arm, and its tail grabbed hold of a lever on the floor and started pulling."

The next step was to radio for emergency landing clearance.

"They came back and asked what my problem was," he said. "I told them I had one hand full of snake and the other hand full of plane. They cleared me in."

After a smooth landing, Coles posed for pictures with the snake, then let it loose.

"That snake resides in Ohio now," he said.

© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

LOST

2006-05-25T04:47:00.000-05:00

OK here is my theory on what is going on with Lost. It is all an experiment. An experiment on us, the viewers. What if the writers and producers just had the basic plot of plane crashes on deserted island. The survivors find a mysterious hatch, there is something in the jungle and there may be other people on the island.

The next thing the writers do when the show takes off is to read all the message boards. They take the best theories and ideas from the fans themselves and add them into the show. One of the reasons I say this is because some of the theories that fans have put forth since day one are correct. The electromagnetic pulse/charge is what brought the plane down because someone didn't push the button. The whole thing is a phychological experiment on these people. All these theories have been here since near the beginning but at first they were all separate theories. Now at the end of the second season with many of those theories proven correct. They have all been incorporated into the plot.

What if those theories were not correct but simply used by the writers and producers who got them from the message boards, from the rabid fans themselves?

peace out

Meet Pheobe

2006-05-10T16:26:00.000-05:00

Well we went and got another dog. I knew it would happen eventually. We went from no more animals at all! Then it was well maybe a cat. Then we had all the neighborhood cats in our yard using it for a litter box. Time for a dog to chase them out!!! This was a friend of a friend of a friend that no longer wanted any dogs. Her kids wanted the dog then evenyually moved out and she was left with the dog. So we went to look at her last night. The intent was to look, come home and discuss it but that didn't happen. She came home with us that night. Her name is Pheobe, we kept the name they gave her. It might not be the best name but it is better than some other names. Fifi,Foofy or Cuddles. She will be 3 in Oct.

10 years and counting

2006-05-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

Today they gave out the service awards at work. They give them out for every five year anniversary that you achieve. I reached the ten year mark at the company. It was actually last year but that was during my ummm sabbatical, time away or whatever you want to call it. The good thing is that when I came back into the fold they reinstated my time from before. I was only gone a few months and this is something they do for most if not all people who boomerang back.

All the recipients gather in one of the conference rooms and the CEO gives a little speech. This is followed by the Chief Operations Officer. He tells who has been there how long. He has each group stand up as their names are read starting with the longest service. There was a 35 and a 30 year. There was a small group of 25 and 20 years. A bigger group of 10 year (Yay me!). The biggest group was the 5 year.

Now they don't just give you a pat on the back and say good job (although that does happen, more of a handshake than a pat on the back.). They give you a choice of some sort of company shirt, fleece, bag or some other trinket. That isn't all, you also get to pick from a set of different gift certificates from places like LL Bean or Decenzas jewelry or a travel voucher from the travel agent the company uses for corporate needs. The $$ amount of course depends on how many years of service you have reached. I picked the travel voucher, I figured I'd use it for the trip in Nov I'll be taking. Good timing with that thank you very much.

Well I hope to be back in that room in another 5 years and many more after that.
Ten years and counting.

SILENT HILL

2006-04-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

I went to see Silent Hill this afternoon. It is based on the video game of the same name. The basic premise is that a couple's, Rose and Christopher, adoptive daughter (Sharon)is sick. The medicine they have been giving her is of no help. Sharon keeps sleep walking and saying the name Silent Hill. Silent Hill is a deserted town in Wyoming that is supposed to be haunted. Something bad happened at Silent Hill (isn't that always the way?).

Rose decides to take Sharon to find Silent Hill and get some answers. On the way there she crashes the car and when she wakes up Sharon is gone. Rose spends the rest of the movie following a mysterious young girl whom she never quite can catch. The entire town is deserted, covered in endless fog and there is ash falling from the sky. Along the way she does run into some people, some that are trying to help and others....not so much. There are some seriously fucked up creatures walking around this haunted town. Twisted zombie/mannequin type things, if you played the games you know what I am talking about.

Rose finds clues along the way in her search. Pointing her to her next destination. The school, the church, the hospital and a hotel. At various points an air raid/siren/horn goes off and then things get really fucking weird. Everything goes to darkness, everything changes and the big guy comes out. The big guy dragging his giant sword/knife.

The acting was not so great but where this movie really shines is the sets and the camera work. I really think you have had to played the games (or at least be familiar with them) to appreciate this aspect of it. The sets were spot on, looked exactly how they are pictured in the games. Everything looked great and they had all the same type locations from the game, an old school, hospital, hotel/apartment building etc. They even had scenes where Rose runs away from something or other and goes through this door then another. Rose even had a cell phone (in the game it was a transistor radio) that would blare static anytime one of the creatures would come near. I swear it was perfect. They also made good use of the spooky camera angels used in the games. Lots of high third person shots as Rose walked down an alley and around the corner. They did a bang up job with this part of the movie.

Over all I had a good time with this movie. The end was excellently gory. Lots of razor wire and fire involved. I kept thinking to myself as I watched Rose progress from section to section getting out of one scrape after another "Don't forget to save". I was looking for the red squares on the walls that were save places in the video games (didn't see any, maybe she was playing on the extreme difficulty setting).

2006-04-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

So I went to CVS this morning to purchase so cold medicine. I caught a spring flu/cold or something and it is kicking my ass! Spring colds are the worst aren't they? Anyway, I picked up the CVS brand dayquil and a bottle of Alleve. They needed to take down my info before they would sell me the cold meds. Apparently dayquil and the like are used to make meth.

2006-03-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

I know you all remember Creature Double Feature. That show got me through many a rainy Saturday afternoon. I would plunk myself down on the couch and get ready to watch Godzilla stomp all over Tokyo, Gamera spinning across the sky (always one of my favorites) or The Creature from the Black Lagoon carry the girl away. There was one episode that I could never remember the name. The only thing I did remember was one scene. Which was this:

It is a black and white movie. The setting is a laboratory of some sort. There is a scientist in his lab coat. Oh yeah and there is a woman’s severed head on a table. It is hooked up to laboratory type stuff and it is alive! Alive I say!!!! What I remember most is the science guy gets his arm ripped off and he then staggers up a set of stairs at the back. He leaves streaks of gore along the wall as he makes his way out the door. That is all I had to go on, could remember anything else about the movie.

Well thanks to the Internet and especially IMDB I have my answer. I was just kicking around the site and came across this little gem. I look at what the movie really is, just a comedic redub of a movie called The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. I was intrigued, the movie I was trying to find the name of had a head on a table that was still alive, so could this be the answer? I clicked and read the synopsis. I was convinced this was the movie; it had all the right elements. Mad scientist? Check! Decapitated woman? Check! It even had a monster in a closet, which could definitely lead to the ripping off of and arm or two. I added it to my Netflix queue and bumped it to the top of the list.

I watched it over the weekend and let me tell you it was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. Don’t get me wrong it is a terrible, terrible movie. The acting is awful, the special effects are silly (granted it is 1962), the plot is goofy and did I mention the terrible acting? God damn is this movie funny! It is one of those true gems of bad movies that are unintentionally a laugh riot. I was rolling, just killing myself laughing. It has all the things I mentioned before, severed head, mad scientist, and monster ripping off limbs. It also has a stripper catfight (complete with meow sound effect!), a swimsuit competition (with plenty of lascivious leering), a Bettie Page like model (with a scar!) and sexual innuendo to beat the band!

That one scene that I remembered comes towards the end of the movie. I have to say that I found that it was surprisingly gory (at least by what I thought would 1962 standards). Granted it is in black and white so maybe they can show more because it isn’t bright red blood squirting everywhere. There was another scene that involved biting which I also thought was a little bloody for the times (guess not). How times have changed. Just take a look at Hostel.

Overall this movie was entertaining in it’s awfulness. I wish more movies could be like this one.

Peace out.

What up Natalie?

2006-03-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

This is from SNL the other night. Not as good as the Narnia clip but it has moments. Somehow Natalie Portman is even more hoty hotness.
Damn!!

Nat Attack

Sometimes you can go home again

2006-02-25T20:03:00.000-05:00

I am an official member of the boomerang club. I have put in my first week back at my old job. It wasn't a full week thanks to Presidents day. Ease back in. I have to say it feels good. Everyone seems very happy to see me back which make me feel good. A lot of people have said as much. It really almost feels like I never left in the first place. There are some differences, such as we are in three different buildings now. The three buildings are a pain if it is cold or rainy but spring/summer are right around the corner. I won't mind going to the other buildings then. For the most part things are exactly the same. Same people, same job, same attitudes (good and bad) same everything. It feels good, feels like home. I keep telling people I pulled a Theo. Back in the saddle again.

Peace out.

Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin

2006-02-22T18:55:00.000-05:00

Short little post tonight.

Joan Jet(t) was at Keohane Funeral Home today. I guess a friend of hers passed away recently and the services were held at my mom's work. My mom did not get to meet her or even see her. Someone else told her she had been there. I guess she is very short.

Nothing else to report at this time.

Peace out.

restaurant etiquette

2006-02-13T18:01:00.000-05:00

I was checking out Boston.com today and there was a section asking people about restaurant etiquette. I came accross this absolute gem.

"I agree and admire H2's enlightened responses and adivse all to take this tact the first time. The second time however calls for action. My story is slightly different than a table being snagged and goes like this. My girl had run out of Marlboro lites, so I left the restaurant and found a place that sells them a few minutes walking distance away. After my return we seperate to talk to people, when she appears and says her cigarettes are gone. I figured they fell on the floor or something when she points at the table across from us with a brand new pack of Marlboro lites on their table. My girl had left the pack on the table to talk to her friend and when she returned to our table they were gone. The catch, I had asked this same table before I left if they could spare a cig for my girl, and they said they were out.

So, I sat down and stared at them hard. One of the three raised his glass at me and toasted me. I lept up, asked them if something was funny, because I thought it was very funny they had a brand new pack of Marlboro lites. As they were shaking, one of them grabbed my arm, I put a JuJitsu move on him and put him back in the chair. The other two froze. I picked up the pack, told them stealing was lame, my girl took my arm and we strode out of there, heads held high. Now I cannot recommend this for everyone as I trained at the Boston Karate Club for 12 years. But it felt great. Sometimes, not all the times, but you do need to stand up for yourself."

What a jackass!!!

Peace out.

WHAT IS OLD IS NEW AGAIN.

2006-01-31T21:54:00.000-05:00

It seems like people giving their notice at work is contagious. I did the same thing or more correctly I will be doing that tomorrow morning. I have had enough of my current job. It is boring, mind numbingly boring. I am basically in a file room by myself all day long. My boss or someone else occasionally walks in to do or get something. I get files, I put back files I scan files I send files to off site storage. Files, files, and more files. The part that drives me nuts is being by myself. There is no one to talk to when it is slow which isnÂt always but it happens enough to drive me up a wall. Even the stuff I do when it is busy is monotonous. The days drag by at a snails pace and I end up watching the clock which just doesn't help. So I have been miserable at my new job, hating it.

It isn't all 100% bad. I like the people they are all for the most part very nice. It is a good company with excellent benefits. I also get to have lunch on a regular basis with A. If the job is fucking terrible all the perks in the world wonÂt help.

So, I reached out to my old company because I new that they would possibly be looking. The company was growing in size. They were acquiring another company and the number of employees was getting larger. They are in three separate buildings. It turns out that my nhadhade come up before I reached out to them. So end of story I am going back to my old company in a somewhat combined roll of mailroom and facilities. Mostly it will be mailroom but I donÂt care. I get to go back to the same salary, benefits and vacation. It will be the whole nine yards, like I never left. I am very excited about going back. I really canÂt wait. I missed the people. I missed the company. I missed the job. I missed it all. Now I am going back. Hopefully it is the right decision, I believe it is, at least the right decision for me.

Peace out.

BOOKS...CHECK EM OUT

2006-01-29T07:09:00.000-05:00

A little later than I promised but here none the less. All the books that I read in the year 2005. I put a little star next to the ones I particularly enjoyed or would recommend.

1)The Princess Bride: William Goldman*

2) Wizard of Earthsea: Ursula K. LeGurin (heard good things, didn't like it at all)

3) McSweeny's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories: Michael Chabon (ed)

4) Hammered: Elizabeth Bear

5) The Narrows: Michael Connelly*

6) The Alchemist: Paulo Coelo

7) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams*

8) The Taking: Dean Koontz

9)Lazy Bones: Mark Billingham

10) Games of Thrones: George R. R. Martin *

11) Clash of Kings: George R. R. Martin *

12) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: J. K. Rowling *

13)Storm of Swords: George R. R. Martin *

14)Dragons of Autumn Twilight: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

15)Dragons of Winter Night: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

16)Dragons of Spring Dawning: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

17)Prey: Michael Crichton*

18)The Colorado Kid: Stephen King

19)Vector Prime: R.A. Salvatore

20) A Feast for Crows: George R. R. Martin *

21) Massacre in Munich: Dr. Michael Bar-Zoher & Eithan Haber

Only one Non-fiction book this year and a lot of sci-fi/fantasy. I was on a kick this year. We will see what comes of books in 2006. I am all ready three books into the new year.

Peace out.

IRON SPONGE!!!!!!!!

2006-01-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

Check out Iron Sponge. It is silly but still kind of cool.

Holy Shit Batman!

2006-01-17T17:53:00.000-05:00

What fiendish foe is this?!?

I know you are all a bunch of jealous bastards. Fucking green with envy! Except for J & A cause they saw the Batmobile as well!!!!!

Hell Yeah!
Awesome!

Thanks for the pic and the quote J & A!

Tune in next time.
Same Bat time
Same Bat channel

Peace out.

2006-01-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

When we had to put Snickers to sleep because of her being so sick we had decided to have her cremated. She came to us via UPS and she was in a little wooden box. It also came with a brochure with the different urns and boxes you could purchase, a place to keep the cremains. We were not going top buy any of those we have a metal tin that I purchased a few years ago in England. It is in the shape of a delivery truck. It originally contained bite sized knickers candy so that is what it says on the side of the truck. Snickers. We thought it was an appropriate place to put her and she now sits on the desk along with her ceramic paw print that the vet made for us.

Along with the brochure came a card with the following little poem on it.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...

Peace out.

2005 MOVIES

2006-01-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

All right here we go now. My list of movies seen in the year 2005.
I'll put a star next to the ones I highly recommend

Elektra
Sideways
Million Dollar Baby*
The Life Aquatic
Hotel Rwanda*
Constantine
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior*
Sin City (twice)*
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Hostage
Crash*
Unleashed
Revenge of the Sith (thrice)
Layer Cake*
Lords of Dogtown
Mr. & Mrs. Smith*
Batman Begins (twice)*
Deep Blue
Land of the Dead
War of the Worlds (twice)*
The Devils Rejects
March of the Penguins*
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Bad News Bears
Red Eye
Sound of Thunder
Wedding Crashers*
Transporter 2
Wallace and Grommit*
Corpse Bride
Serenity*
History of Violence*
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (twice)*
Chronic(what)cles of Narnia*
King Kong*
Syriana
Walk the Line*

forgot about this one...
Good Night and Good Luck*

Next up books, check em out.

Peace out.

2005-12-24T12:46:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Bad week for pets

2005-12-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

Well, Snickers is gone.

As you know Snickers was having some sort of seizures. When we brought her to the vet the most likely cause was a brain tumor. They gave us a prescription, something to prevent future episodes. The medication was making her loopy, she seemed out of sorts and would wander aimlessly around the house. Another side effect was increased appetite and thirst. That led to a few "accidents" around the house. She couldn't help it. She also seemed to loose some motor function or at least muscle control because she was having an increasingly hard time going up/down the stairs. Sometimes she would have a difficult time standing if she was on a hardwood or tile floor. Her legs would slowly slide out from under her.

With all that we decided to cut the medication in half. We didn't want to take her completely off just reduce the dosage. That seemed to help things for a little bit. She seemed less loopy and more aware of what was going on around her. She stopped wandering and looking into space at nothing. Her appetite was more normal although she did still drink a lot of water. She seemed to have an easier time with the stairs. Things were looking better.

Over the past couple of weeks things got worse. She was having an extremely hard time with the stairs. It got to the point where we had to carry her up and down. Her appetite went way down hill, very very picky about what she would eat. She appeared sad all the time very lethargic. She could barely stand. Her breathing was ragged. Over the past two days she wouldn't eat anything at all (unless it was hand fed people food).

My mom made an appointment with the vet tonight. We took her in and the vet didn't like what she saw or heard. Her gums were pale, her breathing was very labored and her stomach was distended. The breathing and stomach in her opinion were possibly spreading cancer from the tumor. We could have had all sorts of diagnostic tests done to see what were the actual problems. The vet said with a dog her age it would be more for us than for Snickers, we would have answers. If she were younger we would have done that, tried it all to see if she could be saved.

In the end we opted to put her to sleep. It was quick, painless and she was getting patted the entire time. She went with much attention and love. It was for the best. Sad as it is, it was for the best.

She was a good dog and a great pet. Loved people and was great with little kids, putting up with all their poking and prodding. She will be missed.

All dogs (and cats) go to heaven right?
All pets go to heaven. Yeah that sounds right.

Snickers 1991-2005

Mr. Pryor. R.I.P.

2005-12-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

He was a funny funny man.

Here is the transcript to one of the funniest things from SNL. DEAD HONKY

Peace out

Can you find them all?

2005-12-03T11:58:00.000-05:00

I found this on MSNBC site under the Test Pattern column by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper.

"• Virgin Digital says there are 72 band names hidden in this picture. Note: At least one part of the image is not for children. I know at least one office that has posted this on the wall next to a blank sheet of paper with 72 numbered lines so employees in need of a mental break can fill in a few lines at a time."

Find the band names.

I give Jason an hour to complete this.

Peace out.

What is up with me.

2005-11-30T18:58:00.000-05:00

I have been away from the blog for too long and for that I am sorry. I just haven't really had the ambition to post anything at all. It isn't that I don't have things to share or discuss just like I said, lack of motivation.

First up is my dad. He is going in for minor surgery tomorrow morning. He has a small surgical hernia (from the last operation) that needs to be repaired. It is basically a split along the inside of his scar. It is pushing out his intestines, causing this bump/bubble thing on his gallbladder operation scar. He needs to have it taken care of before it gets any bigger. He goes into the hospital tomorrow morning and he should be home tomorrow night. That is the plan at least.

My new job is not the best thing going. It is very boring at times and I hate being bored. I am stuck in my windowless room for most of the day. I do get out sometimes, I have been delivering the files the lawyers and paralegals have been requesting. Before I would just place them in the outgoing mail bin around the corner. I wasn't meeting anyone that way. One of the things I liked about my old job was that I was out and about most of the day and new everyone in the company. Hear it isn't that way at all. I know it is still knew and I'll need to give it more time. Hey it pays the bills and has good benefits and heath insurance, stuff like that is always a good thing.

Thanksgiving was good, went to my aunt's house as per our tradition. I made a pie, pumpkin maple, (and yes I cheated on the crust) it was delicious. I also made an apple pecan cobbler which was also good and required no crust homemade or otherwise. I like going somewhere else for Thanksgiving, all the good food and none of the mess!!!

I finally got my car inspected. I went to the dealership on the 19th to get it inspected I sat in the nice lounge area for all of 10 minutes when I was informed that my registration hadn't gone through. More aggravation! So the dealership gave me a knew bill of sale with that date on it to act as my temp registration in case I was pulled over during the week. After a few calls to the insurance company I got it all switched over and went back to the dealership to get my sticker this past Sat morning. This time it went with out any problems and they did comp my the sticker (fuckers better have).

That is all for now
Peace out.

Tooting ones own horn.

2005-11-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

So on Thursday I went over to the Mazda Gallery over in Norwood to pick up my new car. I finished up all the paper work, signing my life away and all that jazz. They give me the keys and I am on my way! As I get off the highway coming onto Burgin Parkway, the bend just before you come to the light right by Home Depot and Quincy Adams T station, some asshole starts to drift into my lane almost clipping my brand new car*. I lean on the horn and all I hear is ... silence (and my own cursing).

New car and the stupid horn doesn't work. As soon as I get home I call the dealership and leave a message for the salesman. He calls me back 15 minutes later telling me to bring it in Friday night or Saturday morning. I schedule something for 8:30 on Saturday. He calls me on Friday and lets me know that they probably won't get to it on Sat so they will give me a loaner car (part of my warranty agreement). I say OK, nothing I can really do about it anyway.

Later on Friday I send him an e-mail about how I was a little disappointed in Mazda Gallery that they didn't do a better job checking out the car before they handed it over to me. I asked him to comp me the price of my inspection sticker. If I had gone and tried to and get it inspected it would have failed because of no horn. He wrote back that he was sorry about the horn and would ask his boss about the sticker.

I bring it in this morning and they actually took a look right away and ended up swapping out a horn from another car and putting it in my car. I was happy with that I really didn't want a loaner car I wanted my car. I am sure you understand that. Anyway I am going to get my car inspected there next weekend. He still is going to talk to his boss about comping the cost of the inspection. I think it is the least they can do.

Here are a couple of pictures.

Mazda3

Mazda3

* If the person had hit my car I would have killed them dead.

New Car Smell (almost)

2005-10-26T17:15:00.000-05:00

I have been putting serious consideration into getting some new wheels. In the past month I have sunk just about $1000 into my car. The car has treated me well, it is a 95 which I purchased in 1996. It looks like putting money into it is going to be a trend, a trend I am none to pleased to be seeing. So I started looking.

Some of the cars under consideration are, Mazda 6, Mazda 3, VW Jetta, Kia Spectra and Hyundi Elantra among others. Now the last time I bought a car I didn't really do any research, it was something I saw in the paper and it was in my meager budget at the time. It was one of the only cars I test drove and I pretty much said yes right away. I lucked out since it really was a good car as far as reliability.

This time I decided to do a little more in the way of homework. Get something I liked the look of as well as something that was rated well on Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds. I was flip flopping from getting a brand new car or a used 1-2 years old car. I also did a few test drives, more than the last time at least.

SATURDAY:First stop Quirk Mazda (is there any other place in Quincy beside fucking Quirk?). I pull in and a young Asian man approached me to give me the old sales pitch. I told him I was interested in looking at the Mazda 6. I let him know right off the bat that I was not looking to buy today. I just wanted to do a little homework and take something out for a test drive. you know, get a feel for what was out there. The Mazda 6 was very very nice. Sporty and slick looking. Took it for a spin around the way and liked it very much. I liked the way it looked, felt and handled. One problem. It really was out of my price range. Plus it had way too many bells and whistles, way more than I wanted or needed. It had rims that had special locks to prevent theft for chrissakes I don't need that shit I don't care about that shit. I am 34 not 18 or 21 or even 25. Yeah I want something that looks good but all that other shit forget it. I took the kids car and told him I would keep looking and might be back.

Later that day I went to Tom Obrien Hyundi (not Quirk!) in Quincy. I meet with an older white gentleman named Jim (cool name, easy to remember). We took out a used Elantra. I like the looks of these cars, there is one red one down the end of my street. Taking it out though I was not really impressed. It was more in my price range but it was nothing special. I also talked to the GM of the place he asked me if I was planning on buying soon I said probably not that soon. He told me "OK I will not call you, I usually do a follow up call with in a week or two. I'll wait to here from you"* I said good that is fine. I took the salesman's card with his hours and went on to my next stop.

Quirk (AGAIN!) Kia in Braintree. I wanted to check out the Kia Spectra. I walk in the door and was greeted by a black man, probably late twenties. I told him I wanted to look at the Spectra and he showed me the gold one they had in the show room. I was immediately turned off by the car. Didn't really like the looks of it in person. I told him as much but since I was there I might as well take one out for a test drive. While he was making a copy of my license my eye was caught by the sport edition of the Spectra, it looked much nicer. Better lines, spoiler and it was blue a much better color than the gold. We went out to the lot and there were no sport editions out but the regular EX version they had plenty of, in various colors. I took a maroon one out and it was really the gold color I didn't like. The maroon was sharp looking. Took that out and liked it, it had a nice ride. I told him the same thing I told the others. I wasn't looking to buy today, just doing some checking, homework. They never like to here that. They want their commission! I liked this car a lot. I also after coming back in noticed that it also comes in the 5 door version which I also liked. I liked the look of it better than the 4 door. I took this guys card as well and asked him to but his hours on the back. If I was going back to any dealership I was going to deal with the same sales person, it is only fair. Well the Kia sales person works everyday except Wednesday. The thing is when he wrote it down he first wrote "ecept" he then looked at it with a puzzled expression on his face, knowing it was wrong but not sure why. Then he throws an s in there for good measure so it now says Every day "escept" Wednesday. He seemed satisfied with this and gave me his card. He also had trouble with spelling Mirage and I had to help him (twice) to spell it out. I know I am not the best speller in the world but... damn! I looked at the card a few minutes ago and just got the giggles.

I came home and was feeling really good about the KIA. I liked the way it looked I liked the ride. Price was in my range for the most part. I was leaning towards the 5 door. I just wanted to do more research.

* I come home that afternoon and the GM at the Tom Obrien dealership, the one that wasn't going to call in a week or two, I just missed his call. Well he didn't actually lie now did he?

SUNDAY:I did some more looking online and didn't like what I was reading about the KIA. It just wasn't getting good marks on Edmunds or Kelly Blue Book. They were not necessarily giving it a bad review just not saying great things about it. So I had doubts. More online looking lead me to the Mazda 3. This also had a 5 door that looked good. I didn't want to go back to Quirk so soon. It might give them the wrong impression, that I was too eager. So I ended up at Mazda in Norwood. This time I had my mother in tow, extra ears and eyes. I took out the Mazda 3 (2006) 5 door out and it was really really nice. Other than the Mazda 6 this was the best car I had been in for a test drive. Unfortunately it was also out of my price range. Although I did try. It just wasn't going to happen. Ah but they did have a 2004 Mazda 3 5 door on the lot. A color that I wanted. It has a moon roof and a six CD changer. A price that I can afford.

I pick it up Thursday.

Yo, Wendal where's my battery at!?!

2005-10-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been having cel phone issues. More exact I have been having issues with my cel phone holding a charge. I charged it last Saturday afternoon, took it off the charger around 4:30. It was completely dead by Sunday night and I didn't even use it (maybe one phone call). This is a brand new phone that I picked up in August (end of the month). So I headed to the Verizon store in the South Shore Plaza. I waited in the customer service line for 10-15 minutes before I spoke to Wendal. I explain to Wendal my situation and he proceeds to tell me that cel phone batteries are only good for about 500 charges (which I had heard before). I tell him "It is a brand new phone, I bought it in August." He starts in with "Well if you charge the phone 3 or 4 times a day..." I break in here and say "Yeah, but I am not doing that". Wendal with a little attitude "You didn't let me finish". He goes on in the same vain about the 500 times and charging it for 8 hours and the phone has to be off to charge it correctly and to let the battery drain all the way blah blah blah.

OK lets do a little math here. Lets just say for the sake of argument I was charging it 3-4 times a day. Hell just say 4 times a day. Also we'll do it for all of August and Sept. 61 days x 4 = 244. That isn't even 1/2 the battery life. Fuck it, add in Oct and we are at 75 days x 4 = 300. Nope still not 500 Wendal.

Now he also says "Yes the battery is still under warranty but we don't have any right now. What you will need to do is, Verizon wants people to pay for the battery now ($41.99) and then on Thursday when or shipment comes in you will be reimbursed". I ask "So the batteries will be in on Thursday, definitely? "Yeah. You could just come in then and take care of it instead of paying now." I walk out and plan on coming back Thursday. Wendal told me he would be there he gets on at 2.

When I get home I look through my instruction book to see if it says anything about charging with the phone off or charging it for 8 hours. Nope it doesn't say that at all. Are you surprised? It says you can use the phone while it is charging (phone would need to be on for that right?) but that if you do that the phone isn't charging while in use. It also says it charges faster while off but nothing about the 8 hours.

On Thursday I head back to SSP and Verizon. On my way I am thinking in my head "Yo! Wen-del! Where's my battery at!?! and how funny it would be if I actually burst into Verizon and hollered it at the top of my voice. (funny up until he kicked my ass.) Turns out when I get there Wendal was on break and I talked to Jamal. He told me more of the same but with less attitude. He gave me my battery and off I went.

So FYI
Charge your phone only while it is off
Let it drain all the way
Charge it for 8-12 hours.
Don't over charge it.

Can you hear me now?
Peace out

Tale of a Horse

2005-10-01T06:14:00.000-05:00

Last night I went into Boston to see some old friends from my (old) work. We all went to a place on State Street called McFadden's. They have plenty of TVs around the bar for me to catch all the Redsox/Yankees excitement. GO SOX!!!! Interestingly enough there was just as much excitement outside of the bar as there was inside. The outside stuff had nothing to do with the battle between Redsox and Yankees. It was a battle, a battle of man versus beast.

When you walk into McFadden's the bar runs straight back on your left. Across from that bar is a row of tables with benches. If you were to take an immediate right when you came in you would find a set of stairs leading down. Above the first landing is a huge picture window facing onto State Street.

At one point while watching the ballgame, people started looking out the giant picture window. Something was going on out front. I wandered over to see what all the excitement was about. There was a horse down on the ground. It was right on the corner of State and the street that runs behind the Custom House. It was from one of those horse drawn buggy rides that are normally in the area. I could see the driver but not the buggy so the horse must have been on the ground for a few minutes. The driver tried to keep the horse calm but the horse was having none of that. Every few minutes the horse tried to get up and each time the horse couldn't get one of it's legs under him/her. The horse just ended up rolling over onto it's back kicking wildly and coming to rest on it's others side. People started to gather outside the bar watching the spectacle. The driver did his best to keep the horse calm.

Eventually the police came along to see what they could do to help. The only thing they could do at this point was to keep traffic moving on State Street. They seemed to be waiting for someone else to arrive. Then a horse trailer appears and backs down the Custom House Street. These are obviously the owners of the horse or the buggy company (both?). They have another horse inside the trailer, which they lead out and bring off to the side. The owners along with the police try to coax the hurt horse up and into the trailer. No dice at all. It tries to get up and ends up crashing back down to the ground. More rolling, kicking and flailing. This goes on and on each time with the same results. They tried putting a board leading up into the trailer like a ramp to see if that might help. That didn't work either. The horse kept falling back down stayed on the ground. At some point some had placed a blanket on the horse to keep him warm.

All the rolling and kicking the horse was doing I am very surprised that no one was kicked in the head. That certainly would have caused some serious damage with a good chance of death. The owners looked like they were basically trying to drag the horse up the ramp. Any time the horse would get up part way, that was only really up to a kneel position, they pulled on the reigns. Crash back to the pavement. The horse rolled so much it went from one side of the street to the other, ending up next to a parked car.

By now more and more people were showing up to help. The fire dept arrived (with a ladder truck), several ambulances (in case someone was kicked in the dome), more police and even some guys from the big dig (with a back hoe). All these people with all the lights and noise of State Street were making the situation worse for the horse. I am sure it was scared to death anyway. All the extra stuff was just frightening the horse more. Inevitably a couple of camera crews showed up to film the situation. The police tried to get some of the people to move out of the way.

The owners trailer pulled away with the horse still on the ground. Another trailer backed down into its place. Now this new group, from my vantage point inside the bar, looked like animal EMTs. They had red jackets on with a cross on the back. They also moved quickly like they at least knew what they were doing. They took stock of the situation checked on the horse with a stethoscope. They brought out a huge board with handles all the way around the edges. My guess it was like a backboard. They were going to try and get the horse to roll onto that then have everyone lift it into the trailer. One of the Redcoats seemed to be talking to everyone letting them know what to do and when to do it.

This was the first sign of an organization in this entire ordeal. Mind you this had been going on for three + hours. Three fucking hours this horse was on the ground hurt and scared out of its mind and nobody seemed to know what to do. I was switching my attention from the Sox to the horse. I was just fascinated by the whole thing. I felt so bad for the animal. At least the red coats were trying to do something in an organized effort to help the horse.

The Sox game (Woo Hoo they won!!) was long over when I left McFadden's. The horse was still on the ground and people were trying to help it. I'll check the news this morning to see the end result. I hope the horse was OK in the end but it was a pretty bad situation.

Peace out.

This & That

2005-09-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

Excluding winter, I really love the start of each season. I enjoy that first warm spring day after winter; that first really hot day in summer when you just walk down Newbury street and enjoy the sights. The fist cool day in fall, the one you need a sweater to go outside. It is just great.

I have noticed that for the most part the blogs have run silent. Becky was harassed by the spammers. Neither Bryan nor Kerry have said anything in ages. The Morrissey clan has also gone MIA. Where have all the blogers gone?

This is my last week of extended vacation before joining the ranks of the employed. I really should do something but I won't. I'll just do more of the same. Watch Bob Barker for another week. I would so love to go on that show and play PLINKO!

I recently started a subscription to the Boston Globe for no other reason than why the hell not. I find that the paper is mostly filled with bad news so I am not sure why I read it, I guess to stay somewhat informed about what is going on in the world. I save the comics for last to help balance out the bad.

I am really digging Lost, Threshold and Surface for TV shows. I look forward to them each week and scan the message boards after to see what people have to say about what is going on with the plot.

I am drinking various Octoberfest beers. I like the Harpoon Octoberfest and the Sam Adams variation is also good. I had the Rocktoberfest from Rock Bottom and it was just OK. Trying to find the Petes Wicked Ale Octoberfest but haven't found it yet (only looked in one store).

Well that is enough of this and quite enough of that.

Peace out.

P.S. I finally posted my reviews of Wedding Crashers and Transporter 2

the eagle has landed

2005-09-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

As you all know I have been out of work since March. I have been looking on and off since then, gone on a few interviews applied to many positions. I recently had two interviews at a company called Wolf Greenfield located in the Federal Reserve Building. By recently I mean that I had the second interview yesterday. I got the call today. The phone rang and I saw from the caller ID it was someone from Wolf Greenfield. I crossed my fingers and answered the phone......

THEY HAVE MADE ME AN OFFER!

I asked them to send it to me in writing so I can take a look at it and make my decision from there. I did mention to the HR woman I was definitely interested. She said she understood and that it was an important decision. She verified my address and I should be getting the offer in the mail. Probably tomorrow via FedEx/UPS? Any way the money is the same I was making at EV and the benefits are good. As a bonus I already have a friend in the building!

Jimmy is happy!!!!!!
Jimmy is excited!!!!!!

Peace out!!!

Update

2005-09-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

I have been guilted into posting something. I also have been ignoring my space here. Not that I ever have too much to say but I like to keep people aware of what is going on with me and mine.

I have been ignoring my movie reviews, I have gone to see Wedding Crashers and the Transporter. I'll post both review at some point soon. I just need to get off my lazy ass and do it. It isn't like I don't have the time I just lack motivation

On the job front I have not heard anything else from Brown Brothers. I called them a week or so back. They said they have not made any decisions yet. I also had an interview at Wolf Greenfield, a lawyer firm, located in the Federal Reserve Building. I have a second interview for this position (Record Clerk) on Wednesday. Crossing my fingers on this one because it seems like something I want. It has good benefits and good location, hopefully the pay will be acceptable. Hopefully they will offer me the job.

Snickers had an episode today. She was lying on the floor near me as I was lying on the couch watching the Sox and Pats lose. She gets up, starts walking but she is weaving like she is drunk. She stumbles into the entertainment center and then collapses. She didn't seem to be breathing, at least not normally. Then I think she had some sort of seizure, she was lying on her side and her body arched into a C. Her head was going back and her whole body was tensed. She relaxed after that, lying motionless (and peeing). I thought she was dying right in front of me. She got up after a few moments but was very groggy and disoriented. I put her out back for some air while I cleaned up her accident. She seems OK now but it was a little scary for a bit and very weird. She is old, 14, so I guess it is to be expected. She just went to the vet about two weeks ago. The vet gave her a good clean bill of heath for a dog of her age.

Well that is an update on what is gong on with me at this point in time.

Peace out.

Dee Dee's

2005-09-04T07:24:00.000-05:00

So last night I went to Dee Dee's lounge to check out a band (We're All Gonna Die) that Scott recommended (He knows the bassist/singer). I was sitting alone at the bar watching some of the other bands. I was finishing up my second Harpoon Octoberfest (yummy) and ordering another when this guy walks up to me. He is drunk, very drunk.

Drunk Guy: "Hey"

Me: "Ummm Hey"

He stands there for a few seconds just looking at me, staring. He is also right up next to me def in my space.

Me: "Do we know each other?"

DG: Nods and sticks his hand out "Adam"

I do not know this guy but he just stands there. I try to ignore him but it is impossible because he is right there. He keeps looking at me. Then he says something but he is mumbling and all I hear is "Wanna walk out?" At least that is what I think he is saying. At first I was thinking "Is this guy hitting on me?" I didn't think that for very long. I turn to him shrug my shoulders because I have know idea who he is, what he is saying or what he wants. He looks at me at shrugs his shoulders as well. One of the bands was playing so it was hard to hear anything. I am seriously weirded out at this point. I say to him "I don't have any idea what you are talking about." He just stares and nods like he thinks I know exactly what he is talking about. Then he starts to nod his head in the general direction of the rest of the bar. Conveying with his head and eye movement that I should look around me. I look around then back at him. He does it again. Then he says to me "I'd like to go to Israel too." This is followed by more knowing head nods like he is aware of some secret of mine. He starts walking away at this point turns to me again and says "You be careful."

He goes back to where he was standing before and finished his drink. I see him lean over and talk to someone who worked at the bar (owner or manager). That guy glances in my direction. I am thinking more trouble was coming but nothing happened after that. Drunk Guy Adam heads to the bathroom then I see him leave. I kept my eye on the door just in case he was just having a smoke but he never came back.

A little later my brother calls and I tell him where I am and he comes by for a couple of beers. We're All Gonna Die have their set next and it was very good. They are heavy and loud I liked it enough to buy the CD. I always like to pick up some local music you never know what is out there.

Peace out.

Pet Peeve

2005-08-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

I was wandering around Newbury Comics the other day and noticed something disturbing. Hilary Duff has a greatest hits CD. What is this all about? How many albums could she possibly have? Two at the most. It is ridiculous and offensive in a way. There should be some sort of rule or guideline when it comes to a "Greatest Hits" compilation. Here is a list of what I think should be some of those guidelines/rules

1) At least 10 years of making albums.

2) At least one song that has been in the top 10.

3) Maybe 2-3 songs that have been in the top 20

4) No new songs on a greatest hits compilation. Most times these new songs suck ass. Nobody wants to hear them. (this is kind of a pet peeve within a pet peeve)

Short list of guidelines I know. I am sure that some of you out there (ahem Jason ahem) could give me fine examples of bands that do not fit the above guidelines who deserve to have a greatest hits album. You all know what I mean, you know what I am getting at. People like Hilary Duff and I am not just referring to that type of music it goes for all genres have no need of greatest hits albums.

I may have ranted about this before but I saw it over the weekend and wanted to share again.

Peace out.

Round 2

2005-08-23T10:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I went and had my interview last Thursday. The first person I met was a woman from HR. That interview went just OK. I wasn't getting a good vibe from her at all, I mean she was nice but it just didn't feel right. I guess my main concern was that the job she was describing was very vague. I certainly didn't want to rush into a job with vague responsibilities. I need something more concrete. I want to know what I am getting myself into before I do anything.

The second woman I met that day was my potential boss's boss. The mailroom supervisor was not in that week so I met with her instead. I felt that went a little better but not great. She was also vague, but with her it was different. She asked if I would be willing to incorporate this or that into a job. Was I willing to do this or that? She seemed more interested than the HR person at least. She asked me more questions about experience and whatnot. Like I said better but not great. I was told that HR would call me to set up another interview early this week to meet with the mailroom manager. Even with that I left very discouraged not really sure if this was something I wanted at all.

My second interview, this time with the manager, was today at 9:30. I was dreading this very much. I didn't even want to go interview. I was just so uninterested at this point. I told myself just go and see what it is like and take it from there. Positive attitude. Positive attitude. I can't go into this with anything but a good attitude. If it isn't what I want I can just say no thanks.

This interview went much better. I learned more about the position and what they really wanted. It is a typical mail room position but they want someone who can do more than just deliver and pick up the mail. They want more of a utility infielder. Someone who could do and cover all the jobs in the mailroom (and there was many). I was feeling much better after talking to this guy. I had more concrete answers to what I would be doing. We talked for close to an hour and he told me that there was 2-3 more people that he was going to see. He said if I haven't heard in a couple of weeks to call HR and see what was going on with the position. I thanked him and went on my way.

I went and had breakfast (salt bagel toasted with cream cheese on the side & OJ) satisfied that I gave good interview and hoping for the best.

Peace out

For your amusement......

2005-08-19T17:48:00.000-05:00

Click here

BBH

2005-08-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

I was laying in bed last night trying to fall asleep. I was thinking about how I wasn't getting any response at all in my job search. I knew if a kept that thought process up I wouldn't get to sleep for a while so I said fuck it rolled over eventually fell asleep.

Last week I applied to Brown Brothers Harriman, a mailclerk position. I remembered that someone at my old job new some people over there so I asked her to ask over there. I heard nothing really from her or Brown Brothers. I asked my friend if she had inquired about my resume, she said they never heard of me (she was joking).

A little while later my phone rings and it is someone from Brown Brothers asking if I was still interested in the position (of course I was). She asked me a few questions. When was I available for an interview? (Wide open). Was I working now? (no). Why did I leave? Now this is a tough question to answer, I hate this question. My answer was something along the lines of, "Well I was there for 10 years and felt it was time for a change." Then she said she would call back and set up an appointment time.

Now I am thinking, why do they need to call me back? I said I was wide open. Set it up now! I thought I might have blown the short phone interview. Anyway 50 minutes later another woman calls (trupti khatri, yeah that is her name). I will be interviewing with her on Thursday at 9AM. It gives me time to get some facts and figures about the company, ready myself and hopefully give good interview.

Bring it on!!!
Peace out.

Happy Tree Friends

2005-08-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

Check out some of the episodes of Happy Tree Friends. They are sick, twisted and full of random cartoon violence. Great stuff.

Peace out.

Serenity/Firefly

2005-08-02T17:47:00.000-05:00

I just want to bring to everyone's attention the movie Serenity which is coming out in late Sept. If you watch the trailers and they look good to you make sure you put Firefly on your Netflix queue. You don't want to be lost.

The show is very good and the movie looks awesome. I can't wait.

Peace out.

2005-07-25T14:19:00.000-05:00

So at 12:44 while I am sitting in front of the computer my cell phone rings. I look and it the caller ID says Mom.

Me "Hello."

Mom "Where are you?"

Me "Home. Why?"

Mom "Go see where your father is! He called me. He fell down and hit his head!"

I run upstairs and my dad is standing at the sink holding a towel to his head. There is a huge pool of blood on the floor near the radiator. That is what he must have hit his head on when he passed out. He was covered in blood, all over his chest, arms, face and his shorts. The sink was a mess as was the floor. I think I said something like fucking hell or fucking something or other. I run to the phone (even tho I still had my cell phone in hand) and called 911. I told the operator what happened he said someone will be right there. Back in the bathroom I tried to get my dad to sit down. He kept saying he was OK and he was fine. He had managed to get the bleeding stopped. I went down to open the door for the emergency crew and saw that my mom had just pulled up to the house.

A couple on minutes after that the fire engine showed up and took a look at my dad. Then the EMTs showed up on the scene. They asked him a few questions. He doesn't remember much at all. He got the day of the week wrong when he was asked. He thought it was Tuesday. He was more coherent then the times before when this has happened. He knew that he fell. He knew what was going on around him. Still a little shaky and confused just not as bad.

They asked us a few questions. What happened? Who was home? Is he on meds of any kind. Stuff like that. I had heard nothing. I had been out earlier, when I can home at around 11:00 I heard the shower going so I new my dad was awake. At 11:44 ( I looked at all the times later)the phone rang once. I looked, saw that it was my mom's cell phone and hollered up stairs asking my dad if he had picked it up, he had. I went back to the computer and one hour later my mom called my cel phone telling me that he had fallen.

I just got of the phone with my mom they are stiching him up. They think it could be dehydration+his blood pressure was low. They really have no clue to an exact reason why it happened. He will be home later today, hopefully we might have more answers then but I doubt it very much. He still drinks and drinks too much. That is what causes the dehydration I am sure. He told my mom at the hospital that he is going to give up drinking. Believe it when I see it.

One other thing. Cleaning up blood is a bitch. It takes forever and it goes everywhere. So if any of you are planning murder in the future do it somewhere that you will not need to get rid of the blood. If you need to clean it up CSI will nail your ass to the wall.

Bus Brawl!

2005-07-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

So last night I had the chance to go to my second Redsox game of the season. My mom received the tickets from her work. It was a work outing for her. All the employees had two tickets each. My mom asked my dad first but with his bad back he wouldn't be able to sit comfortably in the Fenway seats. I then said Brian could have first dibs (nice brother that I am) on the ticket and he declined (I knew he would).

The way it was set up was everyone was to meet around 5 at the Adams Inn in North Quincy (the old Quincy Bay Inn). They were serving free hotdogs, hamburgers, sausages and corn on the cob. You could get a drink or two at the bar and sit out on the nice back deck. They had a bus all set to take everyone to the game. Now, it wasn't just the people from the funeral home it was also employees from The Adams Inn plus a few other people. The bus was set to leave at 6.

We get to the game no problem and head to our seats in the bleachers. I had a fenway frank (you have to have one when you are there it is the rule). The game was good and Manny hit a homerun, Schilling got the save and the Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devilrays 5-2. Dirty Water was playing as we exited the park and headed for the bus.

Finding the bus was no small task. We had the number of the bus but it wasn't in the spot where it dropped us off. So after some searching the bus was located down the street and around the corner. All aboard. It was slow going at first because of all the traffic in the area all trying to get out and go home. The bus is crowded. It is a tour bus like a Peter Pan or Greyhound. At the back of the bus there was about 10-12 people standing up because there wasn't enough seats.

Round 1:

Now, we aren't even away from the Fenway area when a fight breaks out on the bus. Yes a fight. A scrum a brawl a ruckus, a rumble, a scrap. A donnybrook on the bus. It broke out amongst the Adams Inn group and it was the people standing. Fists were flying. Everyone was shouting, pushing and cursing. People went back to break it up and the offenders were pulled apart. Three guys left the bus and we were on our way again. Order was restored.

Round 2:

A girl comes walking from the back of the bus up to the front she sits down for about three seconds and then heads back the way she came. Another scrum starts with more shouting. The girl who walked back grabbed another girl by the throat and started choking her, lifting her off the seat. I could see the people trying to pull them away from each other. People were swearing more pushing and shoving until finally they were separated. The girl came back to the front of the bus and sat down.

Round 3: (Verbal)

It was quiet for a while. The bus pulled onto Mass Ave heading towards the highway. We were about 1/2 way down Mass Ave when the girl who was choked started hollering to be let off the bus. She and her friend wanted to get off. Her father was going to meet them and pick them up because she had called him. No one was going to let them off. Good thing to because that part of Mass Ave (at 11:00 at night) isn't the best place for a couple of blonde white girls to be walking around in their cute little redsox outfits. She hollered the entire way back.
"Why won't you let me off the bus?"
"I didn't do anything your douchebag daughter started it."
(From what I understand the Adams Inn has a lot of family working there. Fathers daughters cousins that sort of thing).
"I come out of the bathroom and get shoved for no reason."
"I never did anything to you. Why won't you let me off this bus?"
"I wasn't even drinking tonight."
Blah blah blah.

It went on like that the rest off the way back to the Adams Inn. Nothing else happened when they let everybody off the bus. The choker girl was let off first and the bus then pulled away and dropped the rest off us off at another part of the parking lot. Everyone went their separate ways and that is my story.

Peace out

National Security.

2005-07-17T17:07:00.000-05:00

What should happen to Karl Rove and Lewis Libby is much different than what will happen to them. If indeed they are the source of the leak, which of course our friends in the Bush administration have been denying for these past few years. What better way to enhance our National Security? People in our own country, people in power, are leaking info for what? Revenge? Seriously, if that was "Joe Citizen" or God forbid someone in the Democratic party it would be game over. In jail, in some deep dark dungeon with the key melted down and tossed away.

I am sure that every administration has secrets to cover up and things better off not coming out to the light of day. The Bush administration seems to just do what they want and say FUCK OFF to the country. To the whole world. You don't like what we are doing? Fuck you! You are an unpatriotic anti-american son off a bitch.

Three more fucking years. Good Lord.

Word of the week kind of says it all.

PACK RAT

2005-07-09T08:13:00.000-05:00

Hello my name is Jim and I am a pack rat. I keep everything and I mean everything. On Wednesday I decided to clean my room. I have been meaning to do this for a while now. It had been a long time since my room has seen the business end of a duster. It was time. First order of business was to get all the magazines, CDs, books and papers off the floor. Most of it was tossed on the bed to be sorted out later. Once the floor was clear of obstacles and I could actually see it I brought out the floor duster. I cleaned everywhere, in the corners, under the bureau and beneath the bed where the dust bunnies were huge and evil looking. I cleared off the top of the bureau, desk and entertainment center (which had more books, magazines and papers for me to go through). Soon the dusting was done and the windows were squeaky clean. It was time to go onto the hardest most time consuming part of this cleaning adventure.

I put all my Cds back in the rack in the appropriate alphabetical spot. All my little nick-nacks placed back on the shelves. I put the books on one of the bookcases. Sorted through the magazines and kept the ones I wanted and placed the others in a bag to go out for recycling. I piled all the papers together until I was done with everything else. My plan was to bring those papers downstairs and look through them while I was watching the news the next morning. That didn't happen until Friday. It was mostly bank statements and old check stubs from EatonVance. I put everything in separate piles threw out stuff I wouldn't need and brought it back upstairs to be filed.

I also had a separate pile for stuff I wanted to shred. This was mostly credit card offers and things of that nature. I have a small shoebox in my room with more of the same a lot of that was also paid bills that had account numbers and my name and address. With all the identity theft going on these days you can't be too careful. I grabbed the shoebox and plugged in the shredder. Let the shredding begin!

By the time I reached the bottom of that shoebox I found stuff dated back to December 2001. Obviously it has been quite some time since I did this last. Pretty bad huh? I mean 2001? Wait. it is going to get worse, much worse. I finished shredding that stuff including a box of checks I had, the bank had fucked up the number sequence and they were useless. I went to go file the stuff from earlier and saw that my file box was crammed full. No more room. So I became ambitious and decided that I would thin those papers out and make the room that I needed.

This is where you will see my pack rat nature. I had kept all my check stubs from Eaton Vance. I would just file them away. Placed them in my EV folder and they piled up. I also saved piles of memo's regarding stock purchases. 401K quarterly statements profit sharing statements and other useless paper. Going through all this stuff I found my very first check stub from EV. Way back in 1995. I also came across my 6-month review from when I first started (along with all the ones after). I found outdated healthcare pamphlets and benefit package books. Why was I keeping all this crap? To what end? 98% of it went to the shredder. I kept the stubs from 2004-present and the stock purchase memos that tells me how much at what price with the date.

I came across my taxes from previous years, which of course I wanted to keep, but there was three years in the middle missing I couldn't find them. Then I remembered. I had another box upstairs with "important papers" to be filed. I found the tax stuff in a full corona box. Great, more stuff to sift through.

I have (or had) all my bank statements, with the cancelled checks. All of them. All from Citizens Bank (my current bank), Quincy Savings (which was bought out by Citizens), and ...are you ready for this? BayBank. Remember BayBank? I had that account back when I was at Dean Junior College. That was 1990/91 (and my first checking account). I had cancelled checks all the way back to 1990. Fuck! I figured all I really need is maybe the past 5 years of bank statements. Everything else went to the shredder.

I did the shredding off and on all day/night Friday. I still have a few more things to do today. The end is in sight. One small pile left. I think I filled three garbage bags (kitchen size). I probably burnt out the shredder as well.

Hello my name is Jim and I am a pack rat.

Peace out.

Trip to the North End

2005-07-05T18:45:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day. My mom and I went into the North End for a late lunch/early dinner. My dad who isn't a big fan of the Italian food declined to join us. We decided to take the Harbor Express in from Quincy (right before the Fore River Bridge). It lets you off right next to the Marriott Hotel beside the Aquarium It was a perfect day for the boat ride. The weather was hot but it was nice out on the harbor. It takes about 40-45 minutes same as the train would have but much much better. No crowded car with no AC and someone with BO crammed up next to you.

We really were not sure where we wanted to eat and decided to just poke around Hanover St. and Salem St. Until we found something that interested us. We finally picked a place on Richmond Street (connects Hanover and Salem) called Pagliaciua(sp?). It was fantastic, soooo good. We started off with Apps, mom got an Insallata Salad and I had a salami peppers and provolone cheese plate that was awesome. We ordered some wine, a Ruffino Chianti (mostly because it was the only thing on the wine list that came in a 1/2 bottle). The wine was also very very good. We each got about 2 half glasses out of that and we ended up ordering another glass each (which were nice and full to the brim).

It is a very small place and the restaurant was a little busy when we got there about 2:15ish and it was very crowded as we sat there enjoying our meals. It didn't help that there was only 2 waitresses working when we got there. They were both running around crazy like trying to keep everyone happy. This caused the service to be on the slow side but if I am in the North End it doesn’t bother me in the least. I like to take it slow and enjoy it all at my own pace.

For my main course I ordered the veal/eggplant Parmesan plate which in retrospect I should have just ordered the eggplant parm. The veal was just OK nothing spectacular. The eggplant on the other hand was great. (As I typed this I realized what I didn't like about the veal, it wasn't breaded like I would normally get veal parm). My mom ordered Veal Verdiccio, which had peppers and artichoke hearts and butter all in a wine sauce and that was excellent. So good.

After that we headed to the spice store on the corner of Richmond and Salem. I wanted to see if they had any cheese. I wanted to get a hunk of Provolone because it was so tasty in the restaurant. I love that little store because of the way it smells. All those spices and herbs, the scents mingling together, it is fantastic.

After that we headed over to Mike's for dessert. Yeah I know Modern is better and that Mike's is the touristy place to go. I wanted a Florentine canole and as far as I know they don't have them at the Modern Bakery. So there! Mom picked up some macaroons for herself and some other cookies for my dad. Dessert in hand we headed back to the boat eating along the way.

I got home and went for a nice swim because it is hot and muggy here again after a beautiful weekend. All in all it was an excellent day and I am stuffed and a little sleepy.

Peace out.

Good Time in Memphis

2005-06-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

Memphis was a blast. It was so good to see everyone (well most everyone cause some of the people couldn't make it) especially all at once. It so rare that we all can get together like that with the bi costal thing going. Heading up to Dodges Chicken and Gas for fried food, smokes, gas and malt liquor. All your vices! One Stop!

Great time and we get to do it again in Oct. Looking forward to that very much. Hope everyone had a safe trip home.

Jeff this link is something that I think you will enjoy.

Triple X Gold Teeth

Peace out

hot hot hot

2005-06-21T08:13:00.000-05:00

For those of us who are bound for Memphis it looks like the weather is going to be great if just a little on the toasty side. Nice and sunny.

Memphis Weather

New Feature on my Blog

2005-06-18T19:35:00.000-05:00

OK you may have noticed on the left I have added a "last movie" link. I was putting a link to the movies official website. I changed it to another site where I give a review of that movie. I'll see if I keep up with it, I'll do it for a while and see what comes of it.

On a side note the spell check on blogspot did not recognize the word blog. Don't you think that is a little silly?

Peace out and enjoy the reviews.

Good reading

2005-06-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

If you are a reader of fantasy novels, I have a recommendation. I have probably mentioned it in another post but I wanted to say it again. The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin is fantastic. The first in the series is A Game of Thrones. I guess the main plot through the entire series so far goes something like this. Kings, Queens and Knights with their murderous, betraying and vengeful ways. There are some supernatural aspects to the plots and subplots. Plenty of twists and turns as well. Martin is not afraid to kill off main characters if he feels it helps the plots along.

I found myself caring for the people in the story. Yelling (in my head) when they did something stupid, cheering when they finally got it right. To me that is a sign of a good story teller. If you start caring about what happens to a fictional person, the author has done his/her job well. There are three books in the series so far, with the fourth scheduled to come out in July. It has been a while since I read them so I am starting at the beginning again so I will be caught up when the new one finally comes out.

If you like this type of stuff and I know some of you out there do I highly recommended this series. Go to Amazon, Borders or Barnes and Noble and pick the first one up and give it a try. Better yet check out a local used book store (Scott the one down the street from you rules and should have it). I'll leave you with a link to the author's website.

Peace out.

Jam Sweater

2005-06-06T19:26:00.000-05:00

Jam Sweater fucking rules in is hilarity.

2005-06-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Really looking forward to these two documentaries.

March of the Penguins

Deep Blue

Peace out.

Son of another last 8: The Next Ten Netflix

2005-05-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the next ten titles in my Netflix queue.

1 Oz Season 4

2 National Treasure

3 Phenomena

4 Dead and Buried

5 Suspiria

6 Blown Away

7 Whale Rider

8 Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla

9 Nip/Tuck season 1

10 The Shining mini series

Calvin & Hobbes

2005-05-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

This was one of the best comic strips ever. Soon you can own all of them in a nice hardcover set. It is expensive but I just might pick it up. The Complete Calvin & Hobbes isn't coming out until October.

Peace out.

The Force was not with them.

2005-05-26T08:51:00.000-05:00

It is all the fault of George Lucas!
All Star Wars films should be pulled from store shelves!
Protest! Protest! Protest!

This from Boston.com

"'Star Wars' fans hurt replicating sabers
May 25, 2005

LONDON --Two "Star Wars" fans were critically injured when they tried to replicate the light sabers used in the movie by filling glass fluorescent light tubes with fuel, police and a news report said Tuesday.

The pair, Mark Webb, 20, and an unidentified 17-year-old girl, were planning to make a video recording of a duel like those in the just-released blockbuster film "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," Britain's Press Association news agency said.

They were injured when one of the makeshift sabers exploded Sunday evening in the woods in Hemel Hempstead, north of London.

Hertfordshire Police said a third person present when the explosion happened had been questioned. The department said the two who were injured were in critical condition at a burns unit in Chelmsford, Essex.

"At this stage we are unable to confirm the exact circumstances, but glass tubes and traces of accelerant (flammable substance) were found at the scene," police said."

I hope they are alright but what a couple of dumb asses!

Peace out.

Global warming?

2005-05-23T11:01:00.000-05:00

Global warming my ass! This is just bullshit. It is fucking cold out. This is the end of May it should be 70 out.

All of you out west before you start with your "100 degrees it is too hot here" Just cram it!

This is bullshit!!!!

Peace out!

Weird dream

2005-05-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

My dream last night was a little on the odd side. I was riding a bike near a low one story building. It was large though; it took up a lot of area. I was going to take a turn onto the road this building was on when I hear sirens, lots of them. I look around and police cars and fire trucks start pulling up from all directions. They were all in around this building. They announce through the loud speaker. "Everybody in the building, stay in the building. Everyone outside stays outside!" Then I saw a flash of light in the distance, up in the skyline (Boston?). There was an explosion near the top of a skyscraper. I had to start moving to my left to get a better view; another structure near me was blocking my line of sight. Then the building starts to collapse. I said, "Mother Fuckers did it again!" This is when the building erupts in a giant explosion. People around me are running and screaming. I look away from the light and then felt the concussion blast. Then the debris rains out of the sky. Big chunks of buildings, whole sections come pouring down on the area. At one point one piece of wall is coming at me and I can clearly see the FedEx logo on the side. That one lands near me. I think it is time to go.

At this point a little purple dot appears in the sky getting closer and closer. As it gets near I can see what it is. A monster. It reminded me of a something from "Where the Wild Things Are". It was jumping not flying through the air, like the way Hulk gets around (It was about Hulk size too). It lands in the area and now it is really time to go. My bike some how has turned into a bigwheel so that isn't going to do me any good. I run off down the street and duck into a bank. Inside the bank there was like a coat check room right to the left as you went in. This is where I decided to hide. I could see the reflection of the street in the glass of one of the doors so I could tell what was going on. A little old lady comes from inside the bank oblivious to the chaos outside. She stops short at the door because by now the monster has made its way to in front of the bank. The bank has the big glass doors and I didn't want the monster to notice her standing there so I got her attention and waved her into my hiding spot. In the reflection I could see the monster attacking a brunette woman. We were not getting out the front. I turn to the old lady and said, "There has to be another exit. At the back?" So we go looking while the monster is distracted. There are exit signs that lead us down a flight of stairs to a basement area of the bank. The next exit sign is over a door that when I opened it to see that it lead down a darker twisty set of stairs, I could hear rats. My thought process in the dream was "No way am I going down those stairs. I have seen plenty of horror movies to know that is a bad idea” So we turn around to look for another way out...

That is when I woke up.
Weird huh?
Peace out

Riddle me this Batman.....

2005-05-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

so sad. I loved this show as a child. I am waiting and waiting for it on DVD.

This was taken off of Boston.com

'The Riddler' Frank Gorshin dies at 72
By Jeff Wilson, Associated Press Writer | May 18, 2005

BURBANK, Calif. --Actor Frank Gorshin, the impressionist with 100 faces best known for his Emmy-nominated role as The Riddler on the old "Batman" television series, has died. He was 72.

Gorshin's wife of 48 years, Christina, was at his side when he died Tuesday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, his agent and longtime friend, Fred Wostbrock, said Wednesday.

"He put up a valiant fight with lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia," Mrs. Gorshin said in a statement.

Despite dozens of television and movie credits, Gorshin will be forever remembered for his role as The Riddler, Adam West's villainous foil in the question mark-pocked green suit and bowler hat on "Batman" from 1966-69.

"It really was a catalyst for me," Gorshin recalled in a 2002 Associated Press interview. "I was nobody. I had done some guest shots here and there. But after I did that, I became a headliner in Vegas, so I can't put it down."

West said the death of his longtime friend was a big loss.

"Frank will be missed," West said in a statement. "He was a friend and fascinating character."

Gorshin earned another Emmy nomination for a guest shot on "Star Trek."

In 2002, Gorshin portrayed George Burns on Broadway in the one-man show "Say Goodnight Gracie." He used only a little makeup and no prosthetics.

"I don't know how to explain it. It just comes," he said. "I wish I could say, 'This is step A, B and C.' But I can't do that. I do it, you know. The ironic thing is I've done impressions all my life -- I never did George Burns."

Gorshin's final performance will be broadcast on Thursday's CBS-TV series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

These are not the droids you are looking for.

2005-05-14T13:10:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to numerous Star Wars Trivia quizzes. Some are very difficult, others are a piece of cake.

Have fun!

Peace out.

Another last 8

2005-05-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

Last 8 movies I saw.

1)Crash: Very good movie. Highly recommended

2)Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: I liked this very much. It was quirky and silly just like the book.

3)Sin City: I saw this twice. It is fucking fantastic! So fantastic that I saw it twice.

4)Hostage: Cool Bruce Willis movie nothing spectacular but still decent suspense action movie.

5)Ong-Bak The Thai Warrior: One of the sickest most awesomest truly kick ass mother fucking unbelievable kung-fu movies ever made. It rules.

6)Constantine: I liked this it was very cool action/super natural demon movie. Cool special effects the story was pretty good and I had a good time watching it.

7)Hotel Rwanda: Awesome movie. Very sad but very very good.

8)The Life Aquatic: This was a very fun quirky movie. I think if you like fun and quirky you will enjoy it. If quirky isn't your thing you would probably hate this.

I think this is the last 8 movies I saw. I have been very bad with logging movies into my notebook so I may have missed or skipped something.

Peace out.
Say True.

The last 8

2005-05-11T15:13:00.000-05:00

These are the last 8 albums I purchased.

Queens of the Stone Age: Lullabies to Paralyze - It is good but I don't care for it as much as the last one. This one doesn't rock as much.

The Konks: The Konks - Bob Wilson's band. Good rockabilly punk type stuff.

Garbage: Bleed Like Me - Much better than the last albums they have put out. More back to the way it was. Definitely better than I expected.

Ravonettes: Pretty in Black - I like this too but like the Queens of the Stone Age album it doesn't rock like the previous album.

Johnny Cash: Essential Johnny Cash - I heard Ring of Fire while I was in The Border Cafe the other day and just had to go get it.

Iggy & The Stooges: Raw Power - Now this is different then the one I have by the same name. Not really sure of what it is it has songs like "Head On" "Death Trip" "I Got a Right" "Hard to Beat" and "Pin Point Eyes" plus about 4-5 more. Jason you have any ideas?

Dio: The Very Best of Dio - I wanted to hear "Rainbow in the Dark" OK? The guitar riff in that rules!

Ramones: The Chrysalis Years - $20 for three discs of Ramone punk rock. Good deal!!!!

Peace out
Say True

Insurance Question

2005-05-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

Lets say I let my brother use my car for work because his is in the shop.
Lets also say that while using my car for work he rear ends someone that stopped short in front of him (a truck had pulled in front of that car).
The hood of my car is crimped a little bit. You can open/close it with only a little difficulty.
There was no damage to the ladies car other than a small paint chip. She said something about replacing the entire bumper.
I am getting all this info from my brother since I was not there.
My main question is this.
I know that the insurance company will determine that it was Brian at fault since he rear ended her. Will it effect Brian's Insurance or mine since he was driving my car?
Anyone have any idea how this works?

Peace out.

"Your friends have failed!"

2005-05-06T17:55:00.000-05:00

Bush or Palpatine? Can you tell the difference?

and the beat goes on.

2005-05-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

I heard from the UNICCO people today. They decided to go with another applicant. I know it is fairly early in my job search but it still sucks that I didn't get it. I thought the interview went well. I was pleased with that part of it. I know at that point it was out of my hands. I did all I could. I did everything I needed to do. The ball was in their court as the saying goes. They decided to take the ball and go home. Well I'll just keep looking I have applied to another place in Watertown. It is another facilities related position. It actually combines facilities and mailroom type duties. I have applicable experience in both areas. I have heard nothing from them yet. More wait and see.

Peace out.

Jedi Mind Tricks

2005-05-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

I found this Jedi Quiz in my roamings around the internet. If you want to find out what kind of Jedi you would be click and take the quiz.

I ended up being a Guardian Jedi. I guess I would be like Obi One Kenobi.

More Jedi Mind Tricks here.

Peace out and may the Force be with you.

The interview.

2005-04-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

Today I went on my first interview in 10 years. It is a little scary and intimidating. I always get nervous before stuff like this. Once I am there and doing the interview I am fine. I was glad that I have had access to Keystone Associates. They are a career consultant firm that helps people in transition from one job to another. They helped me with my resume, prepped me in questions that might be asked that sort of stuff. I believe that it helped a great deal.

I think the interview went very well. It felt like a positive experience. The woman I spoke with seemed very nice. She explained the job, which would be to take phone calls from different customers with their various facility related problems. This particular job is at Harvard Medical/Dental . I would be working for Unicco but the only customers would be Harvard Medical people. They have a contract with Unicco.

I was told that she looked at 50/60 resumes and made calls to the 5-6 people that had applicable experience. I am supposed to hear from her next week one way or another. No go or a second interview. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Peace out.

The Job Hunt

2005-04-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

Well today I applied for the following position via Monster.com. I have already heard back from someone and they asked me a few questions and then told me that they would be in touch (by Friday) to possibly set up an interview for some time next week. This job search is tedious and most times it is very discouraging. Hopefully this will go well and I can get back into the swing of things.

UNICCO Service Company, one of the largest facilities service companies in the U.S. is now seeking a Customer Service Facilities Dispatcher for the Boston Area. The successful candidate may possess experience, required qualifications and perform the following list of essential job functions:

Duties and Responsibilities:
Answering incoming calls for facilities service requests, following established standard operating procedures, documenting all required information into a database, escalating calls as required, dispatching technicians as required, filing, communicating work order status to customers and operations personnel and managing work in process.

Requirements:
College diploma preferred, high school diploma or equivalent required. 3+ years of call center experience necessary. Good written and verbal communication skills. Must be organized and detail oriented. The ability to analyze, interpret and apply procedure and client prepared documents. Effectively present information and respond to questions or customer service requests. The ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Also must deal with a variety of routine and non-routine issues.Must be computer literate and posses the ability to quickly adapt to an electronic environment. Strong data entry skills and email experience. Must submit to a background check.

Bangers-n-Mash anyone?

2005-04-18T21:18:00.000-05:00

Saw this on Boston.com

"Motorist injured by flying frozen sausage
April 18, 2005
LONDON --A British motorist, driving home from work with his car window wound down, had his nose broken by a flying frozen sausage, an official said Monday.

The 46-year-old man was driving near his home in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, east of London, when the sausage came through the window and hit him on the nose, a spokesman for the Essex Ambulance Service said on condition of anonymity.

"The man said he was making his way home after work and had the window down because it was such a nice afternoon," the ambulance spokesman said.

"He said he saw a car coming the other way and felt a searing pain in his nose.

"His nose was undoubtedly fractured and he had lost quite a lot of blood.

"It must have been an incredibly lucky, or unlucky, shot to get the sausage through a moving car window. I have never seen or heard of anything like this before."

Essex police said they were investigating the incident."

© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Worst Half Time show indeed...

2005-04-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

This is awesome
and by awesome I mean awesomely bad
by awesomely bad I mean funny as hell.
Just watch.

Awful Half Time Show

Google this!

2005-04-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

Check out the satellite view on the google maps. I think it is pretty fucking cool. I found my house. I think. Still it is cool.

Satellite View

peace out

2005-04-03T17:28:00.000-05:00

Go Red Sox!!!

The Commissioner's Trophy

Spiderman 3 casting

2005-03-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

I found this on the Dark Horizons web site. It is also mention on the AICN web site (linked on the left).

Church Turns "Spider-Man" Villain
Posted: Tuesday March 22nd, 2005 8:56am
Source: Reuters
Author: Garth Franklin

Thomas Haden Church, who was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor in "Sideways," has been cast as Spidey's new archenemy in the next chapter of the "Spider-Man" franchise reports Reuters.

Director Sam Raimi made the announcement Monday along with producers Laura Ziskin and Marvel Studios' Avi Arad. Who that villain is exactly remains a close secret for now.

"In addition to the ongoing relationship between Peter Parker and M.J., these films are driven by the great actors who have brought our villains to life," Raimi said to the press. "Thomas Haden Church will be a fantastic and challenging new nemesis, and we all look forward to working with him."

Now I hope that he plays Sandman. That would kick ass. Or Scorpion.

wiper madness & inspection fiasco

2005-03-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

OK. My inspection sticker was due to be renewed in Feb. As usual it slipped my mind until a few days into March. I intended to get it done over this past weekend. Well last Thursday as I was on my way to work the windshield wiper in front of me stopped working. I heard a straining/grinding noise then a snap. It must have been frozen due to this ungodly endless fucking winter. Well I obviously can't pass inspection with only one properly functioning wiper blade.

I couldn't do anything on Sat because of the weather. It rained all day then turned to more fucking snow. It wasn't like I could drive the car anywhere in rain/snow with out a wiper blade. On Sunday I took the wiper blade off to see if either the bolt or the wiper blade itself got stripped and I could just replace it myself. No dice, it wasn't that. So Monday rolls around and I head to Sullivan Tire in Quincy. They take a look and it turns out the I need a new wiper blade transmission bar. Sullivan Tire called the dealership (Quirk, which owns just about everything in the area) The part unfortunately is on national backorder. It was going to be awhile before it came back in stock. They Mickey Moused my other wiper blade so it would clean off my side of the windshield and said they would call me when the part became available. Ok cool. What could I do?

I still needed my car inspected. I had asked the guy at Sullivan Tire if he thought it would pass with the one wiper blade. He said it should because it does clear your line of site but if there is a problem tell them the part is on national backorder. He also said they could even call and talk to him about it. So I planned ahead a little bit. Instead of going to the place I normally get my sticker from I decided to get my car inspected at Sullivan Tire in Braintree (Quincy doesn't do it). That way if there is a problem they can call the other Sullivan Tire and they won't think I am just bullshitting them.

On Tuesday I went to the Braintree Sullivan Tire and had them start the inspection. I purposely left the work order about the wiper blade on the passenger seat. They said about an hour wait. I went and grabbed lunch at chilies (Buffalo Chicken salad mmmm mmmm good) while I waited. When I came back I heard the inspection dude talking on the phone about my car (he was talking to Quincy Sullivan Tire) and how he was going to fail me but saw the work order I had conveniently left for him to find. He hung up we talked and he made some calls and someone had the part in stock. It was to be delivered tomorrow sometime and he would call me when it came in. Turns out it came in later that afternoon so I set it up to come in early today and replace the part and get the inspection sticker. Coolness.

On my way to the inspection garage as I pulled pass Super 88 in Quincy right on Hancock St. About 3 minutes away from my house. There was a cop sitting/lurking there in the parking lot of Super 88. I saw him. I knew he was going to bust me I just had that feeling. I wasn't speeding or anything. I saw him pull out behind me and after a few seconds the flashers came on.

"license and registration."

"Here you go. Did I do something wrong?"

"You have an expired inspection sticker."

"OK, Honestly I am on my way right now to get my sticker."
Like he has never heard that before. This time it was all true.

"Why did you wait so long?"

"Well I had a problem with the wiper blades and the part just came in."

"You could have gotten a rejection sticker then you have a few days to get it fixed."

He walked away then and he only gave me a written warning. I told him again that I really was on my way to get the sticker right now. He then told me that he was going to check the registry computer at midnight to see if I had my car inspected and if not he was going to give me a citation.

Well right now my car is still at Sullivan Tire and I am waiting to hear from them. I guess there was a few people in front of me so it took a few hours. Hopefully I'll pass inspection and I won't get a citation.

Some how I think this would only happen to me.

Peace out.

UPDATE: My car passed inspection no problem. I know that cop was just being an asshole about the checking the registry and all that. Cops can be such pricks, ya know because they can.

KICK ASS KUNG FU

2005-03-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

Last night I saw Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior. It is a story of a guy named Ting who comes from a small village. When thieves run off with the head of the Buddha statue the people of the village pray to, Ting goes to the big city (Bangkok) to get it back. Of course he runs into all sorts of the local criminal element and the kung fu ensues. In this case the kung fu is the Thai martial art of muay thai. Which seems to consist of using mostly knees and elbows to render your opponent senseless. It stars this dude Tony Jaa a former stuntman making his martial arts debut. According to all the hype this guy is Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li all rolled up into one package.

This movies was fucking awesome. I am going to say it again. This movie was fucking awesome. If you like kung fu movies even a little bit you need to go see this movie. It was just amazing! The shit this guy can do will blow your freaking mind. There were no computer effects, he does his own stunts, no strings attached. I swear I have never seen anything like it. The kung fu action is spectacular. Off the fucking charts. Through the whole movie you could hear people in the audience mutter in disbelief at the shit that is on screen.

"Oh my God! Did you see that!?!"

"Whaaattt!?! That was ridiculous"

"How? How the HELL!?!"

"Unreal Un-fucking-real"

It was just crazy. Tony Jaa would do one thing, the sickest thing you have ever watched, then 5 minutes later he would do something even sicker. It was non stop. I highly recommend this movie. It instantly shot up into the best kung fu movie I have ever seen. I swear it blew me away.

Stop what you are doing and go see this movie right fucking now. Go!

Peace out

Superdickery.com

2005-03-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

This site comes to all of us thanks to Jason who sent me the link.
Make sure you click on image gallery then frames and pages. Some of the best stuff is in there. There is plenty of comedy through the whole thing so browse and laugh your ass off.

Superdickery.com

Peace out.

Sideshow Collectibles, Inc. - MARVEL 'VS' Series Dioramas Wolverine Vs. Sabertooth

2005-03-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

Wolverine Vs. Sabertooth

This Sideshowtoy company makes the coolest fucking shit ever. I just wish the stuff wasn't so crazy expensive. The
Wolverine Vs. Sabertooth statue that I linked to is just one example. Look through the other stuff. Very very cool and very very expensive.

Hey! Dats Nacho cheese!

2005-03-01T11:51:00.000-05:00

Nacho Cheese!!!

2005-02-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

I noticed I haven't posted in about a week.
I have updated "My word of the week".
I updated "What I am reading"
It is over on the left. Go ahead take a look.

Here is what is going on with me.

Time is winding down for me at my current place of employment. March 9th to be exact. I suppose I should find out if that means March 9th is my last day or if I am not supposed to show up on the 9th. I have been looking both inside the company and out. I have no real desire to stay it just seems right to at least pretend to look.
I did send me resume over to Northeastern University. There was a slot open for a Facilities Customer Service Coordinator. I have not heard back from them at all and the job has been taken off the site (sure sign it has been filled). My uncle is a biology professor with the school and he is going to with HR and see what is going down. Who knows though? I'll have to wait and see all while I keep looking.

----------------------------

My dad has to have relatively minor surgery to fix a couple of surgical hernias. That is on March 10th. Nothing too serious, he just has two bumps on either end of his surgical scar. He wants them gone and I don't blame him. Besides them make him look lumpier than he already is.

-----------------------------

I bought Champions of Norrath: Return to Arms for the PS2. It kicks ass. I am currently usiing a 18th level wood elf and I am running around the "Plain of Disease" fucking up the bad guys. What is cool about this game is you can right from the begiing play on the side of evil and the game is totally different. I'll need to go back and play the evil way once I get all the way through.

-------------------------------

I broke down and went to McDonalds for lunch today.
The McDonalds on Washington St in Downtown Crossing.
Turns out someone found a mouse (supposedly) in their burger at a McDonalds today.
Guess which McDonalds?
Glad I had the chicken selects.
Man if I ever found a mouse or anything in my burger.....
I'd kill people
Well first I would puke.
Then ...BLOODBATH

That is about it for now.
Peace out.

Zen Update

2005-02-15T19:10:00.000-05:00

I received my newly fixed up Zen Jukebox the other day. I have since put a total 392 tracks from 28 albums onto my computer and then to the Zen. This is a far cry from the 1000+ (and the 10,000 total capacity) I had on before the battery incident. That is all it was, a bad battery. Ah well it would have been worse if the whole unit was broken. It would have been $300 dollars down the drain. Hopefully I won't have any more problems.

Here are the first 10 tracks played when I set it to play any track:

1) Outrun: Thomas Bangalter(from the Irreversible soundtrack)
2) I Know: The Explosion
3) 12XU: Wire
4) Given the Dog a Bone: AC/DC
5) You Shook Me All Night Long: AC/DC
6) Shoot to Thrill: AC/DC
7) Peaches: Stranglers
8) You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory: Johnny Thunders
9) Hanging on the Telephone: Blondie
10) All Because of You: U2

I was listening to this on my commute to work on Monday. Most of it at the JFK stop on the Redline. I guess there was train trouble at South Station. Ironically at about song 13 the train started to move. Song 13 was Blitzkrieg Bop.

"Hey Ho. Let's Go. Hey Ho. Let's Go"

Peace out.