New Tumbler Blog

I started a new tumblr to post conversations and what not that I find interesting. This is too cumbersome in this space to deal with. Jump over there at your will. There will be a link permanently over there on the right. Enjoy.

St. Patrick's Day and More

Trust me when I tell you that there are many towns in Ireland that have nothing on Chicago at St. Patrick's Day. Mix in the NCAA tournament and things get really out of hand. I walked out of my crib about 2:30 p.m. and rolled past Monsignor Murphy's a local haunt. Outside were two young ladies. They had just stumbled off of the patio and they looked to be in a state of inebriation that I don't think I've seen since my late teens. One of them wobbled and then shouted out indignantly "I'm in love with two gay guys." They were nowhere to be seen. This and OSU eeking out a victory got the day moving properly. As you can see from the photo, I got myself some corned beef and cabbage. It was top shelf. We had some beers and ended up seeing the movie 300 due to the complete insanity at nearly every bar that even smelled Irish. We came back to the bars after the early drinkers had collapsed. We were in good shape there, but I later found out about a scenario that would have involved seeing a midget dressed like a leprechaun. My inability to obtain this photograph has left me uneasy since learning about it. All in all, St. Patrick's day was pretty stellar. The movie was good, I would say. It was unitentionally and intentionally hilarious at times and was a decent action film all around. The CGI was pretty spectacular. If you have some interest in this film (it's not winning any Oscars), I recommend it on the big screen.

So, other than St. Pat's, the weekend was good. Some strong showings at the poker table were worth the time I spent being unproductive. I also saw a condo which I'm just so conflicted about. Is it the one? Is it not? I just don't know. Lots of upside but there are some quirks. The location is great. This is just really hard. Nothing is ever perfect.

Some donkey just sucked out on my set of sevens. Jeez!

Sweep the Leg - Are you serious???????

I have no idea how they got all of the Cobra Kais to participate in this video but that's really them! You mean Billy Zabka and the dude that plays Dutch were available? This is hella hilarious.

I guess what they say is true. Cobra Kai really does never die.

March Madness

It's that time again and it's stellar. Early returns on my bracket are troubling to say the least. No upsets today? What the....? If you are at all into college hoops, whether you love or hate Duke, you need to watch this pretty much immediately.

I have OSU/Kansas/Florida/Georgetown in the Final Four with an OSU/FL final. Oden and the boys should come out on top. Go Buckeyes!

Still in the early stages on my books. I have made a minimal amount of progress. Still nothing to post but it's coming.

Album of the week: All of the Bishop Allen EPs from 2006.
Book of the week: Heat by Bill Buford

I'm so in to cooking lately, it's nuts. It's all I'm reading about of late. I dig reading about the restaurant industry. One day, I'd like to work in a kitchen I think just to do it. Maybe after I "retire".

Following up on a previous notes -

1. Barry-Regent took care of my sweater. They rock like that.
2. Still no condo. There are two close to equal candidates but not "the one" just yet. Some more insane layouts were seen recently though. For example, how would you like the front door of your residence to open into your master bedroom? Sound fun? I thought so. I'm going to have to start taking more pictures. The search continues.

Stay noble.

Seacrest (again)

I think Ryan is actually taking the advice presented here. Have you noticed this? No jeans for at least 3 episodes. Keep it up player.

The banter last night I think proves my point that he's straight.

Simon (referring to Seacrest's closet): "Come out"
Seacrest: "This is about the top 12, not your wishes."

It was something to that effect. Only straight guys joke like this. Again, not that it matters. I'm just saying. I'm right.

30 = the New 20?

"30's the new 20....I'm so hot still" - Jay-Z

I don't know if that's true of Jay or of me, but here's to hoping. *raises glass*.

That's right folks, James Van Der Beek and I turned 30 yesterday. We were going to have a joint party at Dawson's place but Joey (Katie Holmes) is off actin' a fool as most of you know and his mom is still sleeping around. I'm still trying to figure out what it means that James and I were born on the same day, if anything. Let me know if you have any ideas. I did want to send a thank you out to everyone that called, sent me a text, or even thought about my birthday. I dig you people.

I really couldn't have had a better day yesterday. Here was how it went -

1. Dim Sum at Phoenix.

2. Mini Condo Search. (Didn't find one. The first round draft pick here remains.)

3. Some shopping. I picked up some new pants which were desperately required.

4. A burger at RJ Grunts.

5. A pre-concert beer and then Bishop Allen at Schubas.

It was a great birthday. We almost didn't get in to Bishop Allen. It "sold out" but there was enough room from people leaving after the first two acts somehow. Things just tend to work out on your birthday, I think. Bishop Allen was fantastic, though the makeup of the band has changed. They are now a six piece instead of four. Most notably, Christian Owens has departed. She's starting her own band Music Magic, I guess. I'm in the midst of an mp3 search. That seems to be working out for Bishop Allen just fine though. Last night was their most polished performance that I've seen.

Anyway, I'm 30, whoopy frickin' do.

I'm off to M. Henry for breakfast. It's the bee's knees.

Seacrest

Did you see his outfit last night? He nailed it for once. Does he have to wear a blazer every show though? Is this in his contract?

Incidentally for anyone wondering, I think Ryan Seacrest is a straight man, not that it matters.

A few things I don't like very much....

In an effort to be more positive, I'm attempting to tone down my negativity as it pertains to the words coming out of my mouth. Subsequently, I'll be bringing some of my negative energy over here. Things that I'm less than enthused about -

1. My Dry Cleaner - I go to Barry-Regent most of the time which is allegedly the best dry cleaner in the city. Not surprisingly, it can be sickly expensive. They are right by my apartment so they are convenient for me. They are almost always reliable and the work is always quality so it's sort of worth it. That is until this morning. I pull open the package that my black cashmere sweater is in to find that it isn't clean at all. It sure is folded around the hanger nice though. My cost for this "service" - $7. They will hear from me.

2. Condo Builders - I've seen a bunch of pretty good condos lately. However, there are just a ton of floor plans out there that are insane. Rooms are triangular, closets are 8 inches wide, and on and on and on. Many of these things are just so bizarre. Stick to rectangles and squares people. I feel like many of these floor plans were designed by straight C architecture students at Podunk State trying to be "different"? This isn't art. Someone has to actually live there. You know?

3. The Oscars/Hollywood - So recently, I've been thinking about how The Departed won best picture. This close on the heels of Crash. I feel like both of these were just mediocre films. Crash winning still makes zero sense to me. I did like The Departed but I don't believe at all that it was worthy of Best Picture. I don't know what I would replace it with though and that is really the issue. I LOVED Little Miss Sunshine, but I don't feel like that's worthy either. I think we're getting to some sort of crisis in Hollywood. It isn't just the questionable choices for what gets made (e.g. Nacho Libre, etc.), in general. It's a lack of the films at the truly high end of the spectrum. Watching Godfather II for a few minutes this weekend actually led to me being pissed off. Why can no one make a movie that I feel is at least 75% of the way there in quality? I hope someone can step up.

By the way, I really liked Volver. I recommend that quite a bit. If you want to see a dynamite performance from Dame J. Dench, check out Notes on a Scandal too. I dug that also, but the film overall was just average.

4. The Thomas Jones Deal - We give up our best running back in a run-heavy offense to defer to a guy I would call at least a borderline spoiled, cry baby with a history of injuries who hasn't shown us he can produce for a whole season? We do this to move from 63rd to 37th overall in the draft? We do this when Rex Grossman is our QB? We do this when Jones is at his absolute prime at age 28. We deal a man with biceps bigger than my quads? Whatever.

5. Celine Dion - She still sucks. Bad.

Idol Commentary

Okay, so I'm caught up in American Idol. I admit it and I actually feel good about it. This is the first season I'm watching beginning to end. Usually, I just watch the bad people but there are definitely worse things to waste your day on. We've got a pool going at work and I was able to come up with 3 out of 4 of the people voted off last night. I'm behind Carla though who scored 4 out of 4. Wench. Anyway, while I'm loving the show and the little pieces of madness associated there are some things that are interesting and/or tick me off and they relate to the judges and fashion.

Here are a few observations/complaints -

1. The judges shouldn't complain about people sticking around based on their looks, like Antonella. They themselves point out that she's attractive EVERY SINGLE time she sings and then this week they talk about how this is a singing competition and admonish the voters for voting based on other factors? You can't have it both ways.

2. How is Sanjaya still around? I don't know but my guess is that they have this show in India and I've adjusted my office pool strategy accordingly.

3. The thing that annoys me most is Ryan Seacrest. At the same time, I love him. He's a man concerned with fashion and he looks great most of the time. He's a dark-haired/light-eyed skinny guy. I pull for him. I was glad to see him finally get it right last night. He stopped wearing jeans with what is essentially a suit. He actually wore the matching pants. It was about friggin' time. He looked great. The night before that, he had a great blazer, purple shirt, and tie on with yet another pair of frickin' jeans. I just can't take it. This blazer with jeans look really got momentum with the movie Hitch and has maybe stuck around a little too long. I'm not against blazers with jeans by the way. I'm just against wearing essentially a suit with jeans. Here are my rules for this for those of you that are wondering.

>>>>As a rule of thumb if you are wearing a tie, you shouldn't be wearing jeans. There are a couple of exceptions here. Justin Rice from Bishop Allen gets this right. Your tie should be loose and preppy, definitely not corporate. Your blazer shouldn't match your tie or the shirt you are wearing too well. Don't wear a blue blazer, blue shirt, and blue tie, for example. Maybe wear a tweed blazer, white shirt (unpressed), with a tie fitting loosely with a pattern one might find on an east coast prep school student. If you don't look like you are probably in an indie rock band, you screwed this up.

>>>>This look is okay - Jeans, Graphic T, Blazer, with some respectable leather shoes. Don't tuck that t-shirt in though and don't wear the blazer too baggy or you look like a slob. Of course, I can't get behind this as I'm almost always against the graphics action that is all too prevalent these days and done poorly in most cases. If you are tempted to wear a belt with some largish sort of belt buckle, please just don't. I'm begging you.

>>>>Best case scenario is this - A nice button down shirt with great jeans and a belt that sort of fades into the outfit. This belt should not stand out at all. No tie. A great blazer that fits nicely, left unbottoned. A great pair of leather shoes that accent the outfit well. The right t-shirt can possibly be substituted with the right blazer. If you feel at all unsure (and most everyone should) about your ability to pull that off though, definitely refrain.

That last scenario is where we started with Hitch. Somewhere along the way it morphed into this silly, Armani on top with Levi's down below problem. Where is Will Smith when you need him. Anyway, call me with questions Seacrest. I'm here for you buddy.

4. Can someone alert Randy that he's on the highest rated show on TV? This isn't a contest to find the most poorly fitting, hideous-colored, button-down shirt possible.

5. Does Simon just have 5000 of that sweater in different colors and fabrics? Isn't this shot in California? Does it make sense to wear a sweater every day? What is with this lack of variability? I mean, Steve Jobs wears a black mock turtle neck every single day, but that doesn't make it a good idea. I also don't get why a haircut that makes your head look flat is a really tremendous plan. Are there no stylists for this show? Can someone do something here?

Anyway, those are a couple of thoughts. I'm stoked that Nick Pedro is gone too. Hated that guy. Happy Friday!