Who is in line for an iphone right now? Anyone? Anyone?

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30 Years

I'm thirty today. Which means my sister Heather is thirty today as well. I know there's that whole thing about how you're not supposed to tell a lady's age or ask a lady about her age or something along those lines, but hey...too late.

Too many memories to recount, too many stories to tell so I'll just say this: There are very few people that I love and respect as much as my older sister.

Happy birthday Heather Shea.

Don't Stop Believin'...Ever

There's been a dim chatter in the media recently about the use of the song "Don't Stop Believin'" as the last thing you'll ever associate with The Sopranos. If I'm not mistaken, the same song was the 'theme' of "Monster", that film I didn't see with Charlize Theron in makeup where she won the Oscar but the person who did her makeup didn't even get nominated. Maybe it was another Journey song they used, I'm not sure.


There was a time years ago, when I'd be riding in a car with someone I didn't know very well and a Journey song would come on the radio and I'd chuckle and say "Journey" in a tone often associated with Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan. Journey was an automatic subject of ridicule, despite the context. And I played along, like a sheep.

These days, I find my confidence in my musical appreciation is much stronger and I'm proud to admit that I like Journey. I'm not sure if it's pure nostalgia or if it's simple pleasure centers in my brain interacting with the irony neurons strengthened during my college years. Perhaps, it's just good music from a bygone era that my heart will no longer allow my mind to ridicule. Whatever it is...it rocks. So don't be surprised if you're in the car with me, you hear that bass line that I taught myself to play a few years back, and you hear me confidently ask "would you mind if I turn this up?".

I'm not sure WHY this is as funny as it is, but I can't stop watching it OVER and OVER and OVER again.

Do Not Taunt Föm

Micro-bead-filled Föm pillows have unusually large tags filled with warnings. Reminded me of SNL's Happy Fun Ball, a classic.

On the Road

Hello there. This is a truly mobile blog post. I'm cruising down 81 South through Virginia as I type this. It's Dad's turn at the wheel of the 22 ft. rental truck. I'm not sure if we'll make it all the way through to Georgia tonight. It'll be pretty late. Erin and Matthew are safe and sound at my folks' house waiting for all their stuff to arrive. It's been a very strange fortnight and I've been continually reminded of the love and support that's helped me and my family through so much over the years and for that, I'm grateful beyond expression.

directed by Mikael Håfström!!!

I was just watching TV and an ad came on for the new film 1408 starring Sam Jackson and John Cusack. At the end, you hear the disembodied trailer voice say: "directed by Mikael Håfström". Can ANYONE tell me why they make a point to tell you that this fellow directed the film? Has ANYONE ever heard of Mikael Håfström??

I can understand "directed by Martin Scorsese" at the end of an ad for The Departed. That could certainly persuade a person to see the film, but Mikael Håfström? My only conclusion is that the studio's trying to build name recognition for the guy because they believe he has potential to be the next Scorsese. I think it's a fairly new phenomenon. I've noticed it over the last five years or so, I guess. Does anyone else have a theory about why this is done?

Obama on Faith & Politics

I just finished listening to Barack Obama's keynote address on faith and politics at a Call to Renewal conference in June of '06. It's worth a listen, no matter your political beliefs or faith. If you'd prefer to read it, click here.

This is fun...and nerve-wracking.
I thought I'd get 'em all no problem.
I missed THREE.
**Erin only missed two.
Add a comment. Let me know how YOU did.

Head

If you're my age, you're familiar with The Monkees from the incessant re-runs that plagued Nickelodeon in the 1980s. What was I supposed to do? Play outside?

Anyway, TCM played their film oddity, Head, in the middle of the night. Curiosity won and I TiVo'd it. A few fun facts: Terri Garr is in it, but her name's spelled Terry. Also, Zappa's in it for like 15 seconds. Very odd. The film was co-written by Jack Nicholson with director Bob Rafelson. The two made Five Easy Pieces together a couple years later. Toni Basil (Hey Mickey!) choreographed the thing, and there's a section of the credits where the names and roles are spelled backwards.

How was the movie? Well, I watched it primarily in fast-foward and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss much.

Knocked Up

If you enjoyed The 40 Year-Old Virgin, you'll probably love Knocked Up as much as I did. It's a very funny comedy from the same director, Judd Apatow, and actors Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, and other funny folks. I just looked at the box office numbers for Friday night and it looks like it's doing very well. About three quarters as many screens as Shrek and it's grossing more so far. There's an abundance of memorable scenes & supporting characters. Let's just say I'm really glad our obstetrician wasn't at a bar mitzvah in San Francisco when Erin gave birth to Matthew.

Converting Sugars into Hydrogen

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Sounds promising, no?

Here's the full report on the research at the Public Library of Science.

Doc, can I get a prescription for oxycodone? I have island withdrawal.

If you didn't see the Lost finale, that headline ain't gonna make much sense. Stop reading now.

The wife can confirm that I called the flash-forward within the first hour. So many answers and even more questions. Who died? Who's waiting for Kate? Who else made it off the island besides these two? Why was Jack's beard graying on the island and jet black in the future?

Unbelievably good television, folks. And let's take a moment to mourn our favorite washed-up (on the beach) rockstar, Charlie.
Honestly, I almost shed a tear.

Cell phones

I've got a pretty normal cell phone, I think. It takes pictures & video. It didn't cost anything when we got it because we renewed our contract with Cingular (sorry...the new AT&T). I've been hearing for years that cell phones are the future and I'm just starting to believe it. I'm discovering new things I can do with it all the time. I recently downloaded the mobile Gmail application which has been working pretty well. I can check my email just about anywhere and my phone doesn't notify (annoy) me with emails when I don't want them like an expensive Blackberry would. I can twitter and blog text from my cell, which I had never done before. I've gotta test whether I can take a picture with my phone, then post it to the blog. Maybe this weekend.

Studio 60 isn't coming back next season. I'm bummed.

This is pretty cool. I was in the subway station at Forest Hills in Queens this morning and snapped this picture on my phone. It's remnants of a poster for Three Kings that have been there presumably since the film's release in 1999, buried under other posters.

Rating Reasons

Every now and again, the NY Times runs clever little explanations of the ratings of some theatrical releases. Check out this one:
"28 Weeks Later" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Rabid zombies feast on living flesh, which causes their potential victims to utter an occasional obscenity.

St*@k in a box!

I debated even posting this because I think giving Donald Trump any more screen-time is a morally questionable enterprise, but I passed this giant display poster at the mall today and had to bring your attention to Trump Steaks. Apparently he found something that he owned that he hadn't put his name on yet. Something he thought he could sell that he had yet to declare "the world's greatest".

You walk into Sharper Image and they have one of these "distinctive" black and gold "presentation" boxes that they ship the steaks in. These are the colors that let you know you're receiving elite beef. The prices are ridonkulous. Anyone buying these steaks is paying $200 to say "hey, you know, Donald Trump eats these steaks!".

online photo editing with Picnik

I've been using a site called Picnik for a month or so to make some simple edits to photos. They've just added some nice features and I think it's going to start catching on. Read their blog here and give it a try here.

Love the Colbert. Love the "better know..." series of interviews. This is one of the funnier ones I've seen. Guam.