Notes from St. Louis

Big Hurdle

2008-06-13T14:12:00.006-05:00

To update my previous post: I've sent it. My dissertation is out of my hands and being reviewed by my committee. There will be more work to do later, but for now I am done with it. It's a very good feeling. A great mix of pride, relief, and a sense of 'now what?'.

The 'now what' consists of me going to Chicago in two weeks to start internship. Back in May, I went up there to find an apartment the morning after the Wilco show - by the way, best show I've seen them do of the six I've seen, the setlist is here, and you can listen to all three nights of St. Louis shows here. I went on Saturday, the third night and final show of their tour. It was just phenomenal.

So right, I fortunately ended up getting an apartment and am planning to leave around June 28th. Although I haven't done any actual packing to speak of yet, I have been getting rid of mounds and mounds of paper and junk from my office, which has been enormously cathartic and satisfying. I'm going to try to spend the last few weeks enjoying the people and places here before heading north.

I've also been thinking of good Chicago movies to watch in preparation. A few come to mind right away: The Fugitive, High Fidelity, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But I'm sure there are more. Any suggestions?

Progress

2008-06-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

I currently have, on my computer at school, a document called "Full dissertation". It is 166 pages long. I'm so close to being done with it I can smell it.

Happy Blogday to You

2008-05-15T15:21:00.004-05:00

It's my blog's fourth birthday! Or anniversary. Whichever way you choose to look at it. It's been through some ups and downs, including lack of posts for months at a time. And looking ahead to my move to Chicago and unknown access to the interweb, it may go into hibernation for a while. But for now, it's alive and kicking.

I forgot to mention about the Radiohead show (which was fantastic, by the way) that I saw them literally a few days after I moved to St. Louis, at the same venue where I just saw them last night. So seeing them again right before I leave town sort of made for some nice closure. The circle of life.

Yeah, it was a great show. Unlike last time (when I had seats), I was on the lawn. It made for a different experience. I wasn't as close to the stage, so sometimes it felt harder to connect to the show, but the lawn provided a great view of the sky. And we happened to get the one good day sandwiched in between all kinds of gross weather. So that was lucky. And being on the lawn, in the middle, pretty far in the back, also gave a great view of everyone else who was there. You look out, and it's just a sea of people in all directions. When Radiohead was on stage and it got darker, you could look out and see probably hundreds of cell phones being held up in the air, their little screens lit up. Kind of a more modern version of the cigarette lighter in the air thing. Also, they were undoubtedly taking all sorts of pictures, audio, and video.

Speaking of which - one of the best parts of the show was the video. Each of the guys in the band had a video camera that pointed at them, pretty close up, so even way in the back you could see what each of them was doing. And each shot was displayed in its own box next to the others and projected on a screen on stage, so if you were far enough back you could kind of take them all in at once. It was a great effect. Thom Yorke spent some time looking directly into the camera in a creepy way. The lights also made the show. They had these big vertical tubes on stage that must have had lights inside them, and during different songs they lit up in different ways and in different colors. During a song that talked about rain, it really looked like rain was coming down. At some points the lights even tracked the vocals, going up and down.

I think I also failed to fully grasp that I'm seeing two of my desert island top 5 (or 3) favorite bands in a span of 4 days. What are the chances? How great is this?? Can't wait to see Wilco.

In other news, here is one of the people who Wash U is giving an honorary degree to tomorrow at Commencement. I hadn't heard of her before, but apparently she is awful. Very conservative, anti-feminist, bigoted, you name it. She actively worked against the Equal Rights movement.

And the best part? She called her critics "a bunch of losers" and told them to "get a life."

Apparently when you reach a certain age, your idea of an insult reverts back to the level of a 7th-grader. I'm probably not going to be at Commencement tomorrow, which is too bad because I'd really like to see what happens.

More on the story here.

Concert week

2008-05-14T11:46:00.004-05:00

I'm going to see Radiohead tonight. I'm seeing Wilco on Saturday night. Life is good.

Also, it's one day shy of the 4th anniversary of this blog. Woohoo!

The Bleachers

2008-05-03T19:53:00.003-05:00

I'm going to the Cards-Cubs game tomorrow (Sunday) night, so if you've got ESPN take a look. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of me. It should be fun. I haven't gotten a chance yet to see the rivalry up close. And it'll be my second game in about three weeks. We went to a Saturday afternoon game a few weeks back. Chilly, overcast, low-scoring. In fact, St. Louis didn't score at all. San Francisco had a solo homer and a couple of other runs, and that was it. The game was over in about 15 minutes.

The most notable part of the game was one of our fellow fans. We were sitting in the left field bleachers and sat directly in front of a woman who gave us a warning when we sat down.

"You must be new," she said. "Just to warn you: I'm loud."

No problem, I thought. I've heard a lot of ballpark knuckleheads before. I can deal.

After a pretty uneventful top of the 1st, the Cardinals came to bat. And our lady friend went to work.

Skip Schumaker steps to the plate to lead off the inning.

"COME OOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN, SKIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!"

Mind you, she's right directly behind our heads, in the row right behind us.

Next is Chris Duncan.

"HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRREEEEEEEE WEEE GOOOOOOOOOOO, CD!"

At first, people in her general vicinity look around at each other, laughing nervously. No one really knows what to do. But she's clearly a regular. She's greeting people as they come into the bleachers to sit down, asking about friends, family members, recent surgical procedures. She's calling the vendors by their first names, and they are returning the favor.

Eventually, she gathers support. People get into it and accept it as part of the bleachers experience. She even gains some new recruits who are sitting in the same row. They start doing her chants, her cheers, her sayings. She hands out t-shirts which explain "the rules" that you must follow and live by if you are going to sit in the left field bleachers. I wasn't lucky enough to receive a shirt, but I believe one of the rules banned cell phone use during the game. I'm certainly in favor of that one. I'm sure there was something stipulated about no Cubs jerseys. Anyway, by the end of the game, I game to realize that this woman in the row directly behind us was probably a Busch Stadium institution. And like it or not, if you sat around her you were going to hear it all.

I wish I could remember all of the sayings (or yellings) that she had. Everytime a guy whose last name was Izturis came up, she inexplicably yelled "COME ON, ITCHY!" I guess that's close to Izzy. And since the Cardinals already have an Izzy, you've got to go with Itchy on that one. Following foul balls with two strikes, our friend would also invariably scream the following:

"AAAAAH! AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! STAYING ALIVE! STAYING ALIVE!
AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! STAYING ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
STAYING ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! TWO RBIS!" (or however many RBIs were possible at the time)

The best was when a Cardinals player would make the third out, killing a rally. This would prompt the following muttering: "Son of a biscuit-eating basketball player!"

I also wish I had at least gotten her name, so I could refer to her as something besides "that loud lady behind me at the Cardinals game." Oh well. Maybe tomorrow night I'll get a chance to ask her.

Obama's got skilllzzzzz

2008-04-28T11:51:00.002-05:00

Get on the court with him and he'll Barack your world....

They took my baby

2008-04-27T11:54:00.003-05:00

I had to say goodbye to the old Civic this week. For those who weren't aware, it had been having problems already, like strange noises coming from nowhere in particular and not always telling me how fast I was going. You know, typical old car problems. It's a 1994, I believe I'm the third owner. I bought it from a guy in DC, and it's basically served me really well since the spring of 2002. If I had been able to put more money into it, it certainly could have kept going for a while longer. But in January, as I was driving home from school, I got into an accident. Minor, no injuries. But it was enough to render my car undrivable unless I got some pretty substantial work done on it. So that was pretty much what did it. I decided to donate the car to the Kidney Cars program, so that at least some good could come out of it. And I already knew that I had the Camry from Kia's grandmother, which made the whole decision easier.

So from mid-January until the end of March I rode the bus to school and took the MetroLink (St. Louis's subway) home with Kia. It was a pretty good system. I even enjoyed it. I didn't have to pay for gas, didn't have to park, and I felt good about doing my part to green my little part of the world. And on nice days, it was pretty pleasant to get a walk in before and after school. It sort of clears the head. Unfortunately, this period from mid-January to late March also seemed to coincide with the worst winter weather I've seen here since I arrived in 2003. Maybe I just had a different perspective, since I was car-less. But on more than one occasion I found myself trudging through very deep snow drifts, completely unheard of for St. Louis. Sometimes I'd be doing this with a suitcase in hand, if I were going to be going on a trip. Other times, walking over a bridge over the highway on my way to the bus stop, I was pretty sure my face was going to fall off from the wind. But I survived. All in all, it was a good experience.

So when I was given the Camry at the end of March, I figured that was as good a time as any to let the Civic go. I filled out the paperwork and made the arrangements with the towing company. Then on Friday, sometime during the day, they took her away. I never even named her! I should have taken more pictures! What's something else dramatic I can say?

Goodbye Civic. Thanks for running no matter what, even after I ran you into that snowbank that one time. I'll miss you.

Chicago pictures

2008-04-08T22:15:00.003-05:00

Hangin' Tough....again

2008-04-01T11:41:00.003-05:00

Finally, a New Kids on the Block reunion. Time to break out the acid washed jeans, banana clips, and HyperColor t-shirts.

Boy, does this take me back to 6th grade...

Wait a minute, I may have been too hasty in posting this. It might be someone's idea of a good April Fool's Day joke. Let me look into it more before any gets too excited or goes to all the trouble of getting their stretch pants or jelly shoes out of the attic.

Hair update

2008-03-24T13:34:00.002-05:00

Oh, and my hair grew back, by the way. You can't even tell it had been horribly disfigured. I know you were all waiting impatiently for an update on that.

Next stop: Chicago

2008-03-24T11:32:00.003-05:00

This weekend, I'm on my way to CHICAGO, which will be my new home for the next year as of mid-June or so. I found out that I matched at a neuropsychology internship at University of Illinois-Chicago, which is a great program. I'm really excited. So though I've been to Chicago a few times already, I'll be looking at it with a different eye this time. I'm going to try to scope out neighborhoods and get some ideas about where I'd want to (and NOT want to) live. We're also going to be meeting up with Kia's parents there, and I'll be getting a gift of sorts - a 1993 white Toyota Camry, courtesy of Kia's grandmother, who isn't driving it anymore. Here's an idea of what my new ride will look like:

Mountains in background not included.

So it's definitely nice to finally know where I'm going to be going and what the next stage will be, but kind of sad/scary to think that I'll be leaving here, which is comfortable and familiar and all. I'll be back frequently to visit Kia, since she's probably going to stay for the year for her job, but it'll be tough to go. At the same time, I'm pretty excited about Chicago, living in a big city, and all the perks that go along with it. And internship. That will be a new challenge too.

Hair hair hair hair hair, hair hair hair

2008-02-23T12:10:00.005-06:00

Last weekend, a certain hairdresser - let's call her K. Treier...no, that's too obvious, how about Kia. T - made what I can only hope was an error in judgment, and not some expression of repressed rage towards me, while cutting my hair. As it turns out, she forgot to put the guard on the hair clippers, rendering one little slice of my head quite bare. The incident was documented below.

From this view it's not so bad right?

How about that?? Does that do anything for you?

To make matters worse, the hairdresser in question sent pictures to her sisters, one of whom asked, "So does Aaron know about it?" How cruel would that be? Sending me out into the world not realizing that I looked like the kid at the sleepover who fell asleep first.

I've been telling people that I had a little brain surgery over the weekend, but everything's fine now. And at least it's winter, so I can wear a hat a lot. Turns out that a baseball cap doesn't really do the job, but a winter hat works nicely. And as everyone's been saying, at least my internship interviews are over.

Which brings me to my next point - I matched for internship! I found out yesterday, but don't find out where until Monday. It's this great policy that the match system has, really does wonders for one's anxiety levels. But at least I know I'm going somewhere, which is a relief. And strange, too, to think that in a few months I'll be leaving St. Louis. But more on the next stage when I find out. Until then, I'll be looking into Rogaine or a toupee or something.

The die is cast

2008-02-07T14:37:00.000-06:00

I've submitted my rankings for internships. In 18 days I'll know where I'll be going next year....which is, in fact, not next year at all, but probably sometime in June or July. Just a few more months left in St. Louis, it's hard to believe. But more on the internship quest when I find out more.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-20T15:23:00.000-06:00

My Dad, who had a fall on October 2, is coming home for good tomorrow, the day before Thanksgiving, exactly 50 days since his accident, and the timing could not be better. What a fantastic thing to be thankful for. He has made an astounding recovery. One of his doctors said it was the fastest recovery from a head injury that he has ever seen. That, I think, is saying a lot. This will definitely be a special Thanksgiving.

The part where you tell me what to read

2007-11-13T15:08:00.000-06:00

I've become lazy and out of touch with good books to read, and since I'm going to be travelling a lot during the next couple of months, I'd welcome any suggestions you'd have of books to read. None of the Harry Potters are an option, nor are any books with bare-chested men on the front standing in front of castles holding damsels in their arms.

I welcome your suggestions!

Vegetarian Times

2007-11-07T23:10:00.000-06:00

Also, in addition to the laundry list of things noted below, I was also
a vegetarian for the month of October. Why, you ask, would I, a known
omnivore, restrict myself to non-meat items (except fish) for this
particular month that just ended?

Because October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, of course.

And actually, not eating meat the whole month was a lot easier than I thought. On a couple of occasions I was tempted to get me a nice buffalo chicken wrap or something. But other than that, it was pretty painless. Most annoying is the stuff you don't even realize. Like random meat flavoring in pasta sauce or chicken stock-based soups. But I'd recommend everyone to try it for at least a week. Maybe more.

Sky Blue Sky

2007-11-05T11:15:00.000-06:00

It was a gorgeous weekend here. Super blue sky, leaves starting to look colorful, still warm enough to do stuff outside and want to stay out as long as possible. Days like yesterday make me love St. Louis. I had an IM flag football playoff game on Sunday, which we won, making it extra nice.

So I'm blogging again. I've got so much to update on I'm not sure where to start. I guess I'll have to take it slow. Some of you I'm sure will just be glad that the stupid graphic from the Onion is no longer the first thing you see.

The thing I'll update on for now is my dad. He fell of a ladder about a month ago and sustained a bad head injury. He was in the ICU for a few weeks and is now in a rehab hospital. He's doing a lot better and is making great strides toward recovery. After some doubtful times, I think there is reason for hope. It's amazing how something like this can so drastically change your perceptions of everything. At each stage, you just hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Things are looking up, but we all know there's still a long way to go. On the plus side, it means that I've made a lot more trips to Boston than I normally would.

Much more to come. Things to look for on the agenda:

-THE SOX!!!!
-internship applications
-summer roadtrip???
-Harry Potter (book and movie)
-Kia's new job/chili cook-off/costume day
-wedding in Chicago
-wineries
-dancing in the streets/on the side of buildings
-Cardinals game/foul ball
-greeting card categories

Don't worry if some of these things don't mean anything to you. I'm just hoping they mean something to me when I go to blog again.

From the Onion archives...

2007-07-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

Coming to your city

2007-07-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

It's the First Annual (and possibly Last Annual) Summer Roadtrip 2007. And here's the route we're taking. Starting July 29, we're going from St. Louis to Rochester (possibly passing through Oberlin on the way, time permitting), then to Lexington/Boston, then NYC, DC, Charleston, Atlanta, Nashville, and back to STL, hopefully in one piece.

If you find yourself in any of the places along the way and want to request a visit, let me know. We'd be happy to use your futon and your internet.

Also, in preparation for the big roadtrip, I've been watching some videos of this guy, who's a New York Times reporter doing a big roadtrip of his own. It's good to get you in the mood for some open road driving.

Steve

2007-07-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

A while back, Kia bought what we have come to lovingly call Steve . Steve is basically an IPod knockoff, same basic thing for about half the price. And it didn't come with a fancy name like IPod, so Kia decided on Steve. So Steve it was, and Steve it shall be.

More recently, we joined a local gym. It's a nice place, has a pool and a basketball court, in addition to the usual weight room and treadmills and such. And it's not somewhere with a lot of meatheads walking around. Just a good place to burn off some extra energy.

The other day, Kia let me use Steve while I was working out. I tuned it to the "Rawk Workout Mix" and let me tell you - when you've got your headphones on, with the right song playing, your whole workout turns into a Nike commercial. Like yesterday, while listening to Steve, Baba O'Riley by the Who came on, and it's like everything I did, everything around me, became more interesting, dramatic, an epic struggle. You know, you're sitting there on one of the machines, taking a breather, and the first few bars of the synthesizer start playing, and all of a sudden the guy on the treadmill looks like a hero, the lady on the stairmaster is overcoming incredible odds, and you, sitting there sweating on some weight machine, are a god among men. It's amazing what a soundtrack can do for some of the more mundane things in life.

Now THAT'S a good article

2007-06-29T14:59:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across a journal article in Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, a pretty well-respected journal, called "When the Red Sox Shocked the Yankees: comparing negative and positive memories." Here's the abstract:

The present study examined whether positive or negative valence affects the amount of detail remembered about a public event, and whether positive or negative valence alters other memory characteristics (consistency, vividness, and confidence). Memory for the final game of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees 2004 American League playoff series was assessed in individuals who found the event highly positive, highly negative, or neutral (i.e., Red Sox fans, Yankees fans, and fans of neither team). Valence did not affect the number of personal details recalled, but it did affect memory consistency (greatest for the negative-event group) and memory overconfidence (apparent only in the positive-event group). These results indicate that positive events can be remembered with the same types of distortions that have been shown previously for negative events. Moreover, it appears that, in comparison with negative valence, positive valence sometimes can be associated with decreased memory consistency and increased memory overconfidence.

Not surprisingly, a couple of researchers from BC and Harvard wrote it.

Wii will rock you

2007-06-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

Wii the people...
Wii shall overcome...
Wii don't need no education...
Wii are the world...
Wii are the children...

So many possible post titles, so little time.

I got my first taste of the Wii the other night. It's pretty great. I'm a little slow on the uptake with some of this stuff, so forgive me if I'm just reiterating things that everyone already knows.

First of all, we were playing it on a widescreen HD screen, which would make anything better. I got to create my character, complete with big red poofy hair and glasses. I played baseball and golf, and when you play baseball all the other characters who have already been created are playing with you in the field. It's a nice feature. And unlike other game systems, you're not just pushing buttons. Your actual movements determine where the pitch goes, what type of pitch it will be, how fast you'll swing the bat, how hard you'll swing the golf club. It requires some semblance of skill. It really hit home playing the golf game. You've got to swing the controller just right or you're in the water. It was my first time, so considering that I think I did ok. I held my own for the first few holes, but started falling behind after that. It really does make you nervous when you're standing over a putt and you have to hit it just right in order for it to go in. I'm curious to try some of their other games.

The cable guy

2007-06-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

Been waiting for the cable guy all afternoon. This reminds me that I hate that time right after you move, when you spend multiple days just sitting around waiting for Guys: the Telephone Guy, the Cable Guy, the Water Guy. You name it, there's a Guy for it. Always Guys, too. Never a Cable Girl, or a Phone Girl, at least not in my experience.

We didn't move, though. We are joining the 20th century and getting a DVR installed. In order for this to work, we also need digital cable. So the Cable Guy (whenever he arrives) is going to hopefully accomplish both of those things this afternoon. The primary reason for the DVR is b/c Kia just started a telecourse, in which she watches history lectures on TV and then answers questions and takes quizzes and stuff. Sounds easy enough. The one glitch in the plan is that these lectures are broadcast at 7am on Sunday mornings. Yeah, not so much. So the DVR was (or will be) acquired.

Secondarily, however, it will certainly come in useful. I haven't begun to think of all the useless TV I'll now be able to record and save, only to not watch it later. Oh the possibilities!

************************

UPDATE: Cable Guy arrived at 7:30. Cable Guy did NOT have DVR. Cable Guy was, apparently, misinformed about the nature of the job. Cable Guy will return between 8:30-9am tomorrow morning. And the saga continues...

************************

2nd UPDATE: It's now 10am. The Cable Guy just called. He said he'd be here in 5-10 minutes...

Farewell, Noam

2007-05-20T12:43:00.001-05:00

St. Louis just couldn't contain you.

Next stop: Charleston, SC.

Tintin movie!

2007-05-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

Actually, movieS, to be precise. Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are signed on to direct them. I'm looking forward to it.

For the Wilco-heads...

2007-05-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

Wilco's newest album, Sky Blue Sky, comes out Tuesday. They're also going to be on Letterman that night. And if you're reading this on Saturday (5/12), you can catch them on A Prairie Home Companion tonight.

A weighty issue

2007-05-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

Playing around with a BMI calculator, I discovered that at my current height of 6'2" and weight of 180 lbs., I fall solidly within the "Normal" weight class. However, fiddling with the numbers a little, I found that I would be pushed into the "Overweight" group if I gained just 15 pounds. The same would happen if I were the same weight and just a few inches shorter (say, 5'11"). For some reason, this was surprising. I've pretty much always been skinny, lanky, what have you. Except for a period when I was a baby, when I was apparently kind of a pudge. Weight has so rarely been a thought in my mind and I've always just taken for granted that I was a healthy, if sometimes scrawny, weight. So it came as a surprise that I was as close to being overweight as that.

Now I'm probably over-reacting. I would assume that 15 pounds would sort of take some effort to put on, especially given the fact that I've been the same weight since, oh, 9th grade. But still, a strange thought for me.

Now how much weight would I have to gain to be obese...?

Answer: 54 pounds

Factoids

2007-04-30T12:41:00.000-05:00

Some facts about this world of ours that Kia's dad sent...

More than half of the coastline of the entire United
States is in Alaska.

Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world
combined - take that, Minnesota!

Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish
population in the world.

Los Angeles's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora
la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula - I guess "I love LA" is easier to say than "I love El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora
la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula"

Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.' - that one goes out to Kate, who is currently, as we speak, fully immersed in the land of rabbits.

The Eisenhower interstate system (in the U.S.) requires that
one-mile in every five must be straight. These
straight sections are usable as airstrips in
emergencies - I think I knew that one, actually. I'm not sure how.

Videos

2007-04-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

I wish I knew how to embed videos in my blog. I'd like to put this one in there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVCMz9nugvQ

And, maybe this one:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1098316453585764384&q

Google's April Fool's Day joke

2007-04-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

I must have missed this one....or, even worse, I saw it and thought it was real.

Head for the Mountains

2007-04-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

I should probably update on a trip I took a couple of weekends ago to Colorado Springs. I went with a group of Wash U people for a schizophrenia conference that was taking place there. Overall, I was really blown away by the whole landscape. Even before I arrived, the scenery from the plane was pretty spectacular. From the air, you can see these absolutely perfect circles in the fields, which at first I thought might have been put there by aliens. I was later told that farmers use these watering machines that rotate around a central point, thus making a perfect circle. I like my aliens theory better.

On the ground, the scenery is even more spectacular, partly because it's just always there. No matter where you look or what you're doing, you have a view of a freakin' huge mountain. I think that just tends to put things in perspective and give you a different feel when you're surrounded by mountains all the time. It's also possible that you start to ignore them if you've lived there long enough, but for someone coming from the flatest place on the planet, it was a welcome change.

As such, a group of us decided to pursue mountain viewing a little closer. So one of the days we took a trip to the top of Pike's Peak. To get to the top, you take a slow-moving train from the base (about 6,000 feet elevation) to the peak (about 14,000 feet elevation). Along the way, you see some great scenery, usually some snow, and sometimes animals. You also (if you're like me) get lightheaded and have to actually think about breathing. Amazing what elevation will do to you. Unfortunately, conditions at the top were not great, so we couldn't go all the way up. But it was worth the trip, no doubt.

On the whole mountain topic, there was one that I saw directly in front of me as I waited outside everyday for the shuttle to take me to the conference. It was beautiful. It was huge. It was...right behind a Target store. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera so I was unable to take a picture of it. Fortunately, someone else did. I thought it was funny/ironic/sad that a Target had to obscure the view of this mountain. What I didn't know, however, was that this mountain (Cheyenne Mountain) serves as the command center for NORAD, among other things. And, as this guy points out, having a Target right in front of this place is just too funny to pass up on.

Colorado Springs also had its share of interesting characters. The cab drivers alone were an adventure. You just never knew what you were going to get. The guy taking us from the airport to the hotel, for example, told me that in order to pass my licensing exam, I should fail it. Sound logic there. I had another guy come up to me (or, more accurately, stumble), apologize for bothering me, and ask if he could give me a dollar. Could he give me a dollar. I think I was too surprised or unprepared for something like that, so I had to refuse.

Oh, and the conference was really great too. Lots of good schizophrenia research going on, got to talk to people I had read, all in all a very good trip.

No comment

2007-04-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

The second in my series of strange drug-related articles:

Keith Richards never ceases to amaze...

No unleavened bread, no pot

2007-03-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

If you celebrate Passover, you're not allowed to smoke marijuana next week:

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/03/27/israel_group_nixes_pot_on_passover/?p1=MEWell_Pos2

However, this apparently does not apply to all Jews. My favorite part of the article:

"But not everyone needs to give up their habit for the duration of the festival. The rabbinic injunctions banning hemp were never adopted by Sephardic Jews, who come from countries in the Middle East and North Africa. That means there is no reason they can't keep smoking marijuana, Levine said, except that it remains illegal, despite her party's best efforts."

That last part struck me funny.

"There's absolutely NO reason you shouldn't steal this car right now, except for that minor point about it being illegal and all."

The PO-lice

2007-03-19T11:09:00.000-05:00

With the Police reuniting and touring this summer, it struck me as weird that three of their most popular songs are about prostitution, pedophelia, and stalking.

And people say today's music is a bad influence...

Jersey

2007-03-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, I travelled to Jersey to attend Mithu and
Steve's wedding reception. They officially got married in January in
Massachusetts, but I was not there. Nor was I at the Indian ceremony
they had the night before the reception. I just came for the party.
It's my philosophy on life, actually:

"Fly into a place just in time for the thing you're trying to go to, have someone pick you up in a car so you don't have to take a cab, and just stay one night in a
hotel room, preferably with the person who picked you up from the airport...also, try to get a lot of really good, free food out of the deal."

Remarkably, it all worked out according to my
philosophy. I flew into Newark on Saturday afternoon and landed just an
hour and a half before the reception. Neil, who had been circling the
airport and drinking coffee for hours, promptly picked me up, and off
we went. The drive was pretty uneventful (Neil, after all, is an
extremely boring individual). We did, however, make it there just in
time, despite having to pull a U-ey (does that make sense? has anyone
ever had to figure out how to actually write the short form of
"U-turn").

The first part of the reception was right in the lobby area, where we had champagne. We went to another room for hors d'o....um, i can't spell that word.....another room for appetizers, and really good ones. I couldn't possibly list them all, but one station I frequented quite a bit was the sushi station. I think I would have been just fine if they had let us stay there all night. But eventually we were ushered into the ballroom, where the parents were introduced, followed by Mithu and Stephen to thunderous applause. They danced, there were speeches, and we got to eat more food. Mithu & Stephen (we'll just call them the Dulinns) did a good job of circulating and seemed to have a good time. The night went by really fast. Before I knew it, it was time for crepes and after dinner drinks and Sweet Caroline was playing.

We got to hang out with the Dulinns more afterwards at the hotel bar, where I caught the tail end of an Irish band. We also saw them again the next day at brunch (more food!). After that, it was pretty much time to go. Neil returned me to the airport and I headed back to STL. All in all, it was a quick visit, but definitely worth it.

P.S. I tried to post some pictures from the reception, but Blogger doesn't want to cooperate. Also, I'm not a very good photographer so they're mostly dark, out of focus, and at a distance. I'll just leave it all up to your imagination.

Got a minute?

2007-03-09T12:30:00.000-06:00

For people who don't have enough time to listen to the entire song, here's a website that has been running a contest where people condense songs into 60 seconds.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/01/the_sixty_secon.html

Especially interesting, I thought, was the mashup of Missy Elliot and the theme from Seinfeld (I know, weird, you just have to hear it).

Switzerland accidentally invades Liechtenstein

2007-03-03T11:53:00.000-06:00

This is funny for many reasons.

1. The historically neutral position of the Swiss with regard to war.

2. The fact that it was an "accidental" invasion, which is probably one of the most hilarious things you can imagine.

3. Liechtenstein is, if I'm not mistaken, quite a small country, making the probability of a foreign army stumbling into it quite small.

4. Liechstenstein does not even have an army.

February recap

2007-03-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

A lot has been going on lately, and yet I haven't posted about ANY of it. The ironies of blogging - when you've actually got something to blog about, you have no time to tell people about it.

Let's see, where to begin....a few weekends ago was the visiting weekend for prospective grad students. Not much to say about that, except that free food and drink abounded, everyone in the department was on their best behavior (which is kind of funny to see), I hosted a student for the first time in my grad school career, and there were lots of nervous people walking around in suits for 2 days. Overall, it was fun but tiring. By the end, all the people you've met and spoken to kind of blur together. But I'd still rather be on this side of it than the other side.

At the end of that weekend was my first scans for my dissertation, a playoff victory for my IM basketball team, and the Shins concert (which I've already mentioned). The following weekend I went to visit my grandparents in Manhattan, Kansas (the Little Apple!), and my mom was there visiting too. It was the last time I'll see them in that house, since they're moving to a new place soon. So that was sad, but there are plenty of happy memories. Getting there, by the way, was pretty dicey at times. This was right in the middle of a nasty winter storm, and somewhere about halfway into my 6 hour drive conditions got pretty bad. I kept passing cars who had skidded out and visibility got really poor. Luckily, I made it just fine. On the way back to St. Louis 2 days later, you wouldn't believe the number of cars I passed that had just been abandoned by the side of the road. I'm trying to imagine the mindset of some of these people who just leave their cars on the highway - "Aww, screw it...I'm walking!"

Shortly after that, my IM basketball team got thrashed in the semi-finals. The game featured, for the first time I've ever seen one in an IM game, a dunk. You don't really know how demoralizing it is to be dunked on until it happens to you. In the NBA, sure, it's no big deal. Guys do it all the time. I don't think Shaq even needs to jump. But to have it happen amongst guys whom you assume are roughly as athletic as you is a big kick in the pants. And that was the problem - these guys were quite a bit more athletic than us. Thus, our Cinderella run came to a screetching halt.

Somewhere in all this, karaoke had been floundering. For various reasons, it hadn't been able to happen for a few weeks and something had to be done. So armed with karaoke listings from the RFT, we set out to find a new place to make our American Idol dreams come true. The first place was a dud - or so I heard. I didn't actually go in. Kia and Tal went in and came back quickly. They described a pretty large place with a stage but only two people there. And one of them was on stage. We left. The second place on our list had the same address as the first, with a slightly different name. So we're 0-2 at this point.

Next, we mosey down the street to a promising place that has actually hosted karaoke before. No dice. It's getting desperate. We decide to give it one more try before acknowledging defeat. So off we go, one more shot. The place looks good from the outside. In fact, it's got a big sign on the side claiming karaoke until 3am. I had no idea. If you think you sound good at 11, imagine how great you think you'll sound at 2:30am! So clearly we had hit the jackpot.

Until we actually stepped inside. I'm not sure really how to describe the place. This is a situation in which pictures would be much better than words, and video better than pictures. Let's just say that it was thematically jumbled. Pictures of nostalgia-inducing figures (Frank Sinatra and Elvis come to mind) were under the glass on the bar. Irridescent angels were in nooks and crannies on the wall. Bright green and red neon lights zigzagged all around. The clientele was a whole different story. Notable characters included the guy who sat at the end of the bar, nursing his drink and smoking, getting up only to go sing a sad country song, and then retreating to the bar. There was also the annoyingly flirty woman (girl?) who seemed to be real close with a few of the guys there and knew she was the center of their attention and loved it. Overall, though, the place seemed kind of deserted. None of us could quite get up the nerve to go sing, so we sat at a table in the corner and watched. I think the owner could tell we weren't regulars and came to tell us to let him know if there was anything we needed. What we needed most was to get out of there, and we shortly did. So it was a failed (if entertaining) karaoke pilgrimmage that night.

In other news, Kia got me Madden '07 for Valentine's Day. It's a great game, but one of those sports games that has almost too many options. It's not just run and pass. You've got pump fake, juke to the right or left, spike the ball to stop the clock. Your linebackers can pump up the crowd to make them louder, and your QB can quiet the crowd if you're at home. If you really want to get serious, I think there are options to monitor college players and draft them for your team. It's crazy how much time you can spend on this thing.

Oh, and we had a tornado warning this morning. It's March 1st. Something is pretty wrong with that. Ah well, business as usual in "The Big Muggy" of St. Louis.

And finally, over on Leavy's blog (oberlin.blogspot.com), he's challenging his readers to name as many bands with living (non-human) things in their names as they can in 5 minutes. I got 15 the first time around, but sitting in class I came up with another whole 15. That blows my mind. Without geeking out too much, that's what makes memory so fascinating. What made me think of those 15 first? Clearly the second set of 15 were in the already, but they just weren't accessible at the time. And even though I was in class, my brain kept working on the "problem" at hand, and was moderately successful at it. It's like being slightly distracted was actually helpful in retrieving more information. It's sort of like how certain stars in the sky are only visible if you're not looking directly at them. Anyway, a little fun memory test if you want to try it.

A good day

2007-02-12T10:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a good day -

I scanned the first two subjects for my dissertation, and all went well.

My IM basketball team won its second playoff game, beating a team apparently made up of former Wash U varsity players.

I saw the Shins perform at the Pageant.

I ate really good bruschetta that Kia made.

Some days, it all just comes together.

Beer school

2007-02-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday, Noam and I attended our first class at Beer School. As much as it sounds like some screwball college comedy from the 80s, this is a real class that meets weekly at Cicero's, a restaurant/bar in the Loop. We signed in, received our four mini plastic cups, and went on in. Beer School takes place in the music venue at Cicero's, which also happens to be the site of the very first Wilco show. So I felt the appropriate amount of reverence upon entering this hallowed ground. The place is actually smaller than I had imagined. I would think that seeing a show there would be a pretty intimate experience.

Anyway, the place was set up with tables and chairs, and even though we were early the place was already pretty packed. We sat on stools along the wall. Conveniently enough, a student in the class that Noam is TAing for happened to sit next to him. What are the chances?

Eventually, class was in session. After some preliminary stuff, the speaker of the day began. He was from the New Belgium Brewing Company, from Fort Collins, Colorado, which makes Fat Tire, among other products. Leavy, you are no doubt pretty familiar with them, after living in Fort Collins. We heard about how the company began, why it's called Fat Tire, and about a bunch of their other products. During the presentation, we got to sample four of their beers. At the end, there was a spirited question-and-answer session where people won beer glasses. Neither of us were nearly quick enough on the uptake to even think about raising our hands. We also hadn't taken notes, which other people diligently had. There's something to watch for next time.

On a different note, I was sad to see that Cicero's had gotten rid of the old hockey game with the big plastic bubble over it. You know, the ones that are controlled with poles like foosball. Canada vs. USA. What's better than that? Maybe I can find one for the apartment.

Bear vs. Colt

2007-01-30T20:53:00.000-06:00

Even if you don't care a lick about football, these videos are hilarious.

I especially enjoyed the bored response from the real bear in the first video, as well the background music that sounded like a high school kid practicing guitar chords in his garage.

Whose side are you ON?????

Caffeinated donuts

2007-01-29T09:03:00.000-06:00

Yeah, because people need MORE ways to get their caffeine fix.

Sox appeal

2007-01-24T12:27:00.000-06:00

A new reality dating show is slated to take place during Red Sox home games at Fenway this season. The way it works is, one person gets to have three 2-inning blind dates with three prospective mates, then in the 7th innning chooses who to spend the rest of the game with. The producers should have a ball with this one, since the innuendos will be hard to resist.

getting to first/second/third base
scoring
Big Papi
Green Monster (??)
pitching/catching

I'm sure there are more.

Bush league

2007-01-24T11:09:00.000-06:00

Was anyone else as pleasantly surprised as I was to see Dikembe Mutombo at the State of the Union? That's probably one of the more wonderfully random things I've seen at an event like that in a while. I realize he's done some good things lately, like raising millions of dollars to build a hospital, but it was completely out of nowhere to me. I don't think I even knew that he was still playing in the NBA.

Incidentally, his full name is:

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo

It would have been fun to see Bush give that name a shot. I guess he's still working on nukular.

And according to one station I watched, at least 10 people present in the audience last night were potential Presidential candidates. They're just lining up to get their chance at it. I guess it's like auditioning for American Idol right after William Hung - no matter how bad you do, you know you'll be a step up.

Miss. Nights

2007-01-22T21:31:00.000-06:00

R.I.P. Mississippi Nights. A good music club had its last show on Friday.

How Aaron's blog got its groove back

2007-01-22T19:47:00.000-06:00

I know what will revive my long-neglected blog....a sexy party!

But seriously folks, I AM here. It's just been one of those years so far I guess. Some things that have crossed my mind in the past....oh, 6 weeks since I last posted:

-The karaoke people we would go to see religiously every week one day just up and left, all unceremoniously. After a few weeks, we went to their new Thursday night venue, only to find them gone the week after that. I'm telling you, these people are elusive. But you've gotta be willing to fight for your karaoke!

-It would have been fun to see a Patriots-Bears Super Bowl, a little rematch of the 1986 debacle. We could have exacted some payback for that thrashing. As much as I hate to say it though, I guess it's finally Indy's time.

-Obies: did you get those new viewbooks in the mail too? Any thoughts? The new slogan is "Fearless." Actually, I don't think you can even call it a slogan. More like a catchphrase. Can a college have a catchphrase. Anyway, point being - I'm not wild about it. It sounds more like a bad kung fu movie or a Nike slogan.

-I've begun thinking about the next step after grad school, namely - internship. You may begin submitting your suggestions now as to which city you'd like me to end up in. I will consider them all equally before coming to a final decision.

And now I leave you with a funny video, particularly if you like Bob Dylan (sent to me by Tal). One of the funnier quotes: "When a song comes on the radio, I'm not sure if it's mine or not. But it usually is."

Google's got the Munch-ies

2006-12-12T12:03:00.000-06:00

Today, Google's homepage features a picture of Munch's The Scream. Why, you may ask? Well, at least I asked. Today, it turns out, is Munch's birthday. Fancy that. Yet another person I share a birthday with. I knew about Frank Sinatra and Bob Barker, but Munch - I had no idea. Do you think anyone ever said, "Hey, you should have been at Munch's birthday party last night, it was a real scream"?

Incidentally, Munch also kind of sounds like a college nickname, the name you give to one of your frat brothers who eats too much or something. Maybe it's because I knew a Mooch in college, although no one would ever accuse him of eating too much.

Wiki-wiki-wiki-wiki

2006-12-06T15:46:00.000-06:00

Ok, either someone already posted about (or told me about) this, and I just forgot, or else someone has left me vastly out of the loop.

Anyway, for Obies out there, this seems pretty great. It's Wikipedia, but for Oberlin. People, places, traditions, you name it, you can contribute to it. Leavy, I notice you've already got a page. A description of Barrows is included, where it is hilariously described as "Possibly the second lamest dorm on Oberlin campus, after Dascomb." And who knew there was a Sci-Fi/Classics hall in Noah?

And it looks like someone devoted a page to the splendor that is (or was) 118 E. Lorain St. Anyone have a few minutes and want to do a write-up on 171 E. Lorain and its residents? Actually, that might be more of a long-term project. Describing Isaac alone would take a few chapters.

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my blog?

2006-12-06T11:27:00.000-06:00

Not only does he do kickass movies, but Jackie Chan also has a blog. If you read even a little bit of it, you come upon some great stuff. For example:

When I woke up, it was 1:30 AM. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I changed positions, switching from sleeping on my right side, to sleeping on my left. Wow! Suddenly I realized that I could hear my heartbeat boom boom, boom boom, boom boom.” Have you ever tried it before? It started to bother me, why is it I could hear it only when I am lying down on the right side? It’s an interesting sensation.

Other wonderful quotes from JC:

"Technology is so good!"

"The good news is…Chris Tucker is sick, which means we all have a day off."

"Germs can be really contagious."

"It’s so funny to watch people sleep. There faces become relaxed, their mouths open and saliva start to drip out the corners of their mouths."

"I can’t wait to go home so I can work out again!"

Read for yourself, it's pretty great.

Game on

2006-12-06T10:38:00.000-06:00

Up until recently, I had only owned (or partially owned) one video game system in my life - the classic Sega Genesis. Of course, it came with Sonic the Hedgehog, quite possibly the best game starring a hedgehog that has ever been in existence. It was cool because you were encouraged to run as fast as you could, pick up some rings along the way (or not, whatever), and you didn't have any weapons or ways to defend yourself. All you could do was run away, jump, avoid things. It really gave you a sense of what it was like to be a hedgehog. Other games that I remember having included the Ren and Stimpy game and a couple of games borrowed (stolen?) from Pete.

This was when I was in high school. Through college and beyond, I played other people's game systems, but never had one of my own. This past June, I became the proud owner of a Playstation 2 (and a wife), and now have to populate my video game collection. Thanks to Pete (mention #2 in this post), I have MLB '06 and a soccer game. With the holiday season coming up (or already upon us, depending on your point of view), I am soliciting suggestions as to which games I should request.

Anything you've played or seen that looks good? Anything I should definitely avoid?

Three dog night...

2006-12-04T10:54:00.000-06:00

...and day...and night...and day...

To begin with, everything in my neck of the woods is fine. We've got power. We've got heat. No trees or powerlines have fallen on houses or cars or anything like that. As I told my parents, there is a blanket of snow over everything, but it's a very thin blanket. Just enough to make things pretty, but we're not exactly buried. It's nice. Winter has arrived.

Ok, I promise not to talk about the weather anymore. In other news, Kia and I have been house sitting for someone in my program and her husband, who are in India for three weeks. In addition to the house, they also have a dog - a chocolate lab, 6 years old but acts like he's a puppy. He's about halfway in size between Moose (our big one) and Teak (our little one). With any luck, I'll get a picture of the three of them lined up. It'll be classic. And this guy is a tank. Walking him is an adventure. He also has a thing for food that's on counters. Specifically, he likes it. He eats it. He seeks it out. It requires constant vigilance. One of the first nights we were there, he stole a chicken wing off of a tray about to be put in the oven. To make matters worse, chicken wings tend to be bad news for dogs, since they can splinter and make the dog choke. Luckily, nothing bad came of it. That was one near-miss. Another one came when Kia was walking him by herself. Apparently, he pulled on the leash one too many times, broke out of the leash, and casually trotted across a busy street. Fortunately, he again cheated death. Kia, on the other hand, nearly had a heart attack. Can you imagine? It's not even like I could call the owners and tell them about it. They're in India! I'd have to email. "Hi Jenn, how's India? Listen, we killed your dog." We also could have pursued the sitcom option, requiring us to buy a dog that looks in all outward appearances to be the old dog, but somehow has something that gives him away as being an imposter, with hilarious consequences, and forcing us to fess up to our deed and have a heart-to-heart chat with the owners. None of this is necessary yet, although there's still a week to go.

So anyway, the third dog has been the biggest adjustment. At first, it was looking like it would just be chaos the whole time. There was growling, snarling, fighting, and general nastiness. But I guess that's to be expecting, seeing as how his territory has just been taken over by two strange people and two even stranger dogs. At this point, things are pretty calm, and I think they all enjoy having each other around.

Having the house is nice too. It's kind of like having a summer home in addition to your regular home, like a mini-vacation away from your regular life. The neighborhood is interesting too. Let me tell you, those people are gung-ho about their decorations. No sooner had Thansgiving finished than lights were being put up with reckless abandon. Santas were mounted. Deer were arranged. I passed one house that had lights going on and off to a soundtrack. I thought for a second that I was experiencing some sort of auditory hallucinations. And at the next house, a deer lit up with blue lights was drinking from a blue-light pool of water. It was literally dipping its head down to the water, pausing a second, then raising its head back up. This, of course, made me question whether I was experiencing some sort of visual hallucination. All in all, it was a rather psychiatrically-ambiguous walk that I was on that night.

I'll be 28 next week. Not much to say about that.

And IM basketball started again last night. Our psych department team, sporting yet another in a series of lame psychology-related team name puns (The Mental Blocks) managed a victory thanks to a last-second shot. As it does every year, the first game of the season reminded me: how out of shape I am; how much better the games could be if they players just reffed themselves; and how often players on other teams confuse IM basketball with varsity lacrosse, football, or ultimate fighting.

Oh, and Tal wants everyone to know that HE took those Halloween pictures of us as the cheerleaders from my previous post. No one else. Him. Tal. Tal Yarkoni. He took them. I didn't take them. Did anyone else take those pictures? Oh, nope. No they didn't. Tal did. Tal Yarkoni. He's from Canada.

The Perfect Cheer

2006-11-09T14:50:00.000-06:00

Some Halloween photos, for your viewing pleasure...

Chilly Philly / Just Call Me Ayoyo

2006-11-08T10:40:00.000-06:00

First of all - yay for Missouri. McCaskill and stem cells both got the nod. It was looking bleak there for a while, but it worked out in the end. One thing, though, that bugged me in the '04 elections and bugged me this time too was that a good portion of the voting sites were in churches. Kia and I voted in a church. Other people I talked to voted in churches. I realize that churches have spaces (function halls and big event rooms) made for just this kind of thing, and they are usually more than willing to allow the space to be used. But when you have to walk right by a big flashing sign telling you how to vote on a certain amendment, right before you go and cast your vote, that seems wrong to me.

Anyway, Philly was great. Got to spend time with Mom and Dad and Kate. Got to visit Kate's apartment that she shares with Jacob (pronounced Ya-akobe). Went to the art museum and walked (didn't run) up the steps. Went on a trolley tour. Went to the zoo. Almost got stranded at the zoo. Saw Dave. Saw where Kate does her radio show. Visited Eastern State Penitentiary, where people used to be held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, and where Al Capone spend some time. We did a lot of walking, braved some chilly weather, and ate zero cheesesteaks. My parents also brought me a letter sent to their house in Lexington, written on Oberlin letterhead, and addressed to an Oyoyo Bonner. Apparently, Oyoyo is a prospective Oberlin student who is also an accomplished basketball player, and the women's bball team was interested in pursuing her. So while my name isn't remoting close to that, it's kind of cool that a recruitment letter came for me, even if it wasn't intended for that purpose. Also, if anyone wants to call me Ayoyo, be my guest.

Shortly on the heels of that visit, Kia's parents are arriving in town on Thursday. The only plans thusfar are to see Spamalot.

And you thought fantasy football was exciting...

2006-11-02T20:18:00.000-06:00

Off to Philadelphia this weekend, to see my sister and my parents. There is a very substantial chance that I'll see Dave, and a decent chance that I'll see Leslie. A mini Oberlin reunion.

So I leave you with this...in case fantasy football just isn't exciting enough for you. It looks like one guy you'll certainly have to pick up is Don Young, who's got an incredible 1905 points as of this writing, although I'm also a fan of my boy Teddy Kennedy, who has amassed 870 points so far. Not too shabby.

Stuff and nonsense

2006-10-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

I got back Sunday night from a conference in San Diego - the Society for Research in Psychopathology. It was in the same general area as the last conference I was at in San Diego, but this time there were only about 200 psychopathology researchers in town, rather than 30,000 neuroscientists, so it felt a little different. But we went to a bunch of good restaurants, some good bars, danced to a good band, enjoyed the lack of indoor smoking, did a lot of walking around, and even did some conferencing. We saw Old Town San Diego and went to a restaurant that featured over 150 tequilas. You'll be happy (or disappointed) to know that I didn't sample all of them. Later in the night we visited Old Town, it started raining. This, apparently, was some earth-shattering phenomenon. We heard person after person say something to the effect of, "Is it raining?" I guess it's rare there.

Everyone should listen to my sister Kate's radio show, Monday nights at 7pm (eastern) on the big Radio Volta. Local authors read their stuff. Kate talks. Kate reads her stuff. It's good. But the trick is, it's only on the interweb. So go to the website and LISTEN.

Other fun things lately: midnight movies. I'm a big fan. A theater here shows them every week. The first one I indulged in was The Goonies which, for the entirety of my life, I would always announce that I had not seen, which was always followed by a huge, "WHAAAAAAAAT???!?" by anyone within earshot, with this exclamation growing louder and more outraged with each passing year that I had not yet seen said movie. Well, I remedied all these a few weeks ago when I finally saw it. I was pleased. I also enjoyed the "Truffle Shuffle" contest they had before the show. But even better than all this was a few weeks later - The Muppet Movie. Classic. A childhood favorite. It was quite an experience. No contest beforehand, but I think it was better that way. There's something about seeing movies like that among a whole audience of people that makes them better. A communal experience for a movie that I have only ever experienced on video with, at most, a couple of people.

Finally, for the science nerds in the house (you know who you are): some guy at Johns Hopkins compiled the Top 10 worst scientific graphs. I can't say that I can tell what's bad about all of them, but I think it's funny that there can be such a thing as really bad scientific figures, especially ones that have been accepted for publication. Plus, there's a discussion of each figure on the site to explain it to you.

Oh, and one last thing (as I am watching baseball)...One thing that I've seen over and over in baseball games and only just now struck me as weird: with all the technology that is available (including phones, headsets, people in booths, etc.), the way that the manager of a baseball team changes pitchers is, he walks out towards the mound, and about halfway there he waves one of his hands (right or left), depending on which pitcher he'd like. Rather than getting on the phone in the dugout and saying, "Yes, this is the manager, I'd like you to send in the right-handed pitcher from the bullpen now please. Thank you kindly," he instead trudges out and does the equivalent of baseball semaphore in order to convey a pretty important piece of information. Hence, the famous Ozzy Guillen "Give me the big fat guy" signal in the playoffs last year. It's a big mystery to me.

How Sweep It Is

2006-10-06T13:42:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow afternoon, I'm off to see the Local 9 (aka, Cardinals) do battle against the San Diego Padres. This will be my second time going to a playoff baseball game in 3 years. And the second time going to a playoff game where I could potentially see a sweep. (We all remember what happened last time - I probably will never forget). I'm pretty psyched. Playoff baseball is certainly a different atmosphere, especially when there is a chance for a sweep in the air. And I'm looking forward to seeing a game in the new stadium.

The only thing potentially marring the whole thing is that it's a 1pm ET start, making it a noon start here. While day games are nice (and tomorrow is supposed to be spectacular), there's something more magical about a night game, especially in October, with a little crispiness in the air. It makes it a little more meaningful somehow. But it will be great nonetheless. I guess I should buy a Cardinals shirt, huh? Or at least something red.

Thoughts at the beginning of the Second Season

2006-10-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

Sox (Red or White) aren't in the playoffs. For the Red Sox, first time they've missed it since 2002. I don't think I've really commented much about the season at all on here. For one, it was going really well for most of the season, up until a little thing called "Yankees 5-Game Sweep at Fenway in August". Didn't see that one coming. Couldn't have fathomed it. Another reason why I haven't ranted as much may be related to the still-lingering effects of 2004. That World Series title has been kind of like a mood stabilizer for my quaking Red Sox angst, a dose of Lithium to sooth the ups and downs of these bipolar baseball summers.

But it's a new season, and things must inevitably change. Just some words of advice for anyone making personnel decisions for the Sox: stick with guys whose last names end in Z. They've worked out well for us in the past. I'll give you examples if you like (feel free to add more):

Ortiz
Ramirez
Martinez
Gonzalez
Clemenz (well, maybe not that one)

So the post-season gets underway (Minnesota and Oakland are about to get it on as I write), and I have no team to support. Fortunately, however, the Cardinals remain in contention, and so there I will be on Saturday, at the New Busch Stadium, for Game 3 of the NLDS. If the cards fall right (no pun intended), I could be witness to the final game of another playoff sweep. More than likely, however, it will not be the decisive game of the series. But I'm looking forward to it all the same.

Turkish Borat?

2006-09-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that this was the inspiration for Borat.

I Kiss You!

http://www.istanbul.tc/mahir/mahir/

The past few weeks

2006-09-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

I started a new practicum a couple weeks ago, which means that twice a week I go to the State Psychiatric hospital and do any number of things: testing, running groups, training people on how to become competent to stand trial. Most of these guys (most are men) are there because they've committed some crime, but were found not guilty for reason of insanity. It's been an interesting experience so far, I think I'll actually like it a lot, although every time I'm there I do come face to face with the fact that I'm working in a government facility.

Take Wednesday, for example. I was given my computer password and decided to check my Wash U email. No dice. A screen comes up saying I'm not allowed to do that. Must be some mistake. I try again. Same screen. Reading a little closer, I realize that it says "any web-based email" is forbidden. Sure enough, when I try my Yahoo mail and Gmail, those too fail to load.

Still annoyed, but slightly intrigued, I decide to test the system. What else can't I do or see? I figure there's some obvious stuff, like naked people, but where does the government draw the line?

Let's try hotornot....nope. Forbidden categories? "Provocative attire, Dating/Social".

Friendster. Also "Dating/Social". Won't be going there.

My fantasy football leagues? (Pleasepleasepleaseplease.....) Denied. They are considered "Games," and games are a no-no.

How about a harmless look at The Onion. Ha! Outrageous. You can't see The Onion! After all, everyone knows it's "Profanity/Humor". And that's just not ok. Maybe one or the other would have been ok, but the mix is just too much.

Interestingly enough, if you try to go to some sites, you get a message saying "Your organization prefers that you not view this site," but then you allowed to proceed anyway, at your own risk. This happened for blogs and ESPN.com. I had forgotten what it was like to work in a government facility, where stuff like this is commonplace, although if I remember correctly it wasn't nearly this bad when I worked at NIH.

Anyway, there's that. Also - Dave posted again! Not that it's a big deal, except it had been about 4 MONTHS. And then he calmly posts about getting to play with a band at a bar, as if he hadn't been neglecting his blog readers all summer long. Come on, Dave. Blog etiquette. If you're gone that long, you need to apologize in some way, to at least give the impression that you care and at least give the impression that lots of people are waiting anxiously for your next nugget of wisdom. Or profanity/humor. Or whatever your blog is.

So Dave's discussion of his Thursday night tradition reminded me of a new Thursday night tradition I have begun with Kia and an ever-growing group of Wash U people. Karaoke.

Yes, it's true. It's karaoke. And I love it. It's not your typical kind either, at some dive or hole-in-the-wall with stumbling idiots trying to carry a tune. It's at a pretty nice Italian restaurant, way too far away for it to be convenient, so it's sort of a trek that just adds to the overall experience. The man and woman who run it (I think they're married) are great. They'll play along with the songs on inflatable guitars, saxophones, and keyboards, and they make it a good time. The song selection is pretty amazing too. So far, I've found myself singing the following crowd-pleasing favorites:

-New Age Girl
-Buddy Holly
-(I Hate) Everything About You
-Big River (duet with Kia)
-Ode to my Car (back-up vocals for Tal)
-Crazy - the one by Seal (duet with Tal)

Then, there was the "drum incident". Mind you, this happened the first week I was there. Brand new to the place, just trying to have a good time. In the corner, near the sound equipment, are a set of drums. Here and there a guy comes and plays them. He looks like he works at the restaurant. He's awful. I mean, horrid. Can't keep the beat. Hitting drums and cymbals without any sense of time or rhythm or anything. Everyone is wincing. It's almost funny how bad he is. Fortunately, he's using brushes so it's not too loud, and he eventually stops and goes away.

Then Tal and Noam tell me they're going to sing "Under the Bridge" and could I accompany them on the drums? Are you kidding? Absolutely.

So our time comes, and we go up and Tal checks with the karaoke people to make sure they're ok with me playing. One of them looks hesitant, then says "If you play quietly." I should have taken that as a sign. But...I didn't. So we start, and I take a seat at the drums. And I start playing and it feels pretty nice. Had I been looking around more, I probably would have seen the guy staring at me. The song ends, and we sit down.

Then it gets kind of strange. A woman comes over to my table and starts apologizing to me for how the guy was glaring at me. I told her I didn't notice. She then not-so-subtlely implied that, while it was rude of him to glare at me, I shouldn't have been using his drumset in the first place. I got the message: Don't do it again. Later on, the same woman came over again, and somehow in the course of our conversation, said that the guy felt that what I had done was like having sex with his wife right in front of him. Oh, and that guy is the owner of the restaurant.

Ok, so I basically had sex with the wife of the owner of this Italian restaurant, and he may or may not want to bring me to the back alley and break my kneecaps. I'm a little scared now.

On the ride home, however, feeling a little more confident and a little less fearful for my life, I decided that what he had done was not great business. It's my first time there and I get yelled at for using drums that are just sitting right there? And by a second party, no less. The guy himself couldn't even come and tell me himself. The idea surfaced that we should never go back again, given the crap that we just went through. But no, we have to go back. We can't let this guy scare us away. We have to return. And we did. Every week since then (except for one).

Bat, man

2006-08-26T18:25:00.000-05:00

It was a night like any other on Wednesday, when I heard Teak scampering around in the kitchen. I figured he had just found a toy or some insect or other, but I went in to check it out just to be sure. I looked down at Teak and saw nothing. Teak, on the other hand, was looking up in the air, and my eye just caught a glimpse of something flying across the room.

"Oh my god," I said to Kia. "It's a bird."

She came to the kitchen door. She then let out a little scream and a few cuss words and told me in no uncertain terms that I was not looking at a bird. No, it was a bat.

Armed with this new knowledge, both of us retreated to the furthest place in our apartment away from the kitchen, which turns out to be our sort of dining room/computer area two rooms away. All we can do is stand there and: a) wonder how the hell a bat got into our apartment; and b) try in vain to figure out a way to get the bat out of our apartment with minimal person-to-bat contact.

Do we have a net? No.

What about a pillow case? Would that work? Meh, it might, but it necessitates getting rather close to the bat.

Ok, we'll try to urge it out into the hallway, close the hallway door, and then open the front door and it will hopefully fly out.

Good. Meanwhile, the bat, likely more freaked out that it's in our apartment than we are, has continued to circle the kitchen, making occasional passes into the living room. Kia and I have armed ourselves with pillows, prepared to ward off the bat, should it veer blindly into our general comfort zone. The dogs are having a blast. Teak tracks the bat wildly from the floor, never getting aggressive, just following it like a good game hunting dog. Moose, on the other hand, gets up on his hind legs every time the bat flies low enough for him to attempt this. He snaps at it, and each time I think we're going to end up with a bunch of bat blood on the carpet and a little bat corpse to dispose of. Fortunately, Moose isn't very skilled at this game and his misses consistently. Fun to watch a huge dog try to do that, though.

Eventually, after many feeble attempts to keep the bat away from us, it disappears. It was like a horror movie, I kid you not. It's all intense and scary and then boom - no bad guy. Silence. Where's the bat? Where did he go? The dogs had been so good and vigilant the entire time in keeping track of it. Where could it possibly be? I have a feeling it's behind the couch. I move it a little. Nothing. I nudge the couch more insistently. Out it comes again. Newfound chaos. Dogs are tracking it again.

Finally, Kia comes up with the idea of opening the living room window with the hopes that the bat will swoop out. A few minutes later, it finds itself right on the window sill, and for the first time we can see its little body. The heart is beating incredibly fast. I almost feel bad for swatting it with my pillow. After the brief rest on the window sill, out it goes. I close the window quickly.

I can say we moved around the apartment a little more cautiously for the next few minutes. It really changes how you think about the place you live when you've got a bat swooping and circling through it. I have since been told that bats in Missouri don't strike or attack. Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better.

America's drunkest cities

2006-08-25T16:12:00.000-05:00

As much as I hate reproducing material from other parts of the web, I thought some of you might enjoy this, courtesy of the Sports Guy:

10 drunkest cities in America

9. Providence, R.I.
9. Philadelphia
8. Pittsburgh
7. Cleveland
6. Chicago
5. Austin, Texas
4. Boston
3. Columbus, Ohio
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
1. Milwaukee

A 9% chance - of being good

2006-08-23T09:59:00.000-05:00

I have previously discussed my love of High Fidelity.

Not so sure, however, about a musical of the same title being made.

There is a funny clip of music previews here. There's an entire song dedicated to the 9% chance that Rob has of getting back together with Laura. He croons about his top 5 most painful break-ups.

This should start me on a discussion of all of the awful choices they're making in terms of new plays and musicals. It's like the well has dried up, and all they can do is look to Hollywood for successful movies to morph into new products for the stage. Not just movies either. Movie stars are more and more being used to revive dying productions on Broadway and put people back in the seats. I would go on, but I must head to school now.

I mean, High Fidelity, the musical?? Come on.

The Big Event - Part 3

2006-08-21T00:15:00.000-05:00

I'd like to say that the night before my wedding I slept restlessly, in fits and starts. You hear all kinds of stories about people not sleeping a wink, waking at dawn because they're too excited. Well, I hate to disappoint, but I slept like a baby. The bed to myself (David had wisely chosen to stay with Meg that night), I slept early and often. I'm not sure what time we woke up, but I do know I received at least two calls from Gabe before my feet ever touched the floor. I was relaxed, I was calm....I was hungry. Again, I corralled the troops and got us all downstairs just in time to check out. We went back to Water Street Cafe, site of the successful breakfast the day before, and why not try it again. We got the same table by the window and had another great meal. On the walk back, we couldn't resist taking some pictures of a pretty terrific street sign....ok, unfortunately I can't find it right now. But it's this street right in downtown Geneva called South Exchange Street. S. Exhange St. You put it together.

Next, I'm pretty sure we headed over to the castle to start getting ready. I apologize for the fogginess, it's coming up on two months past, so I'm trying to piece it together before it all fades. Anyway, the menfolk and their various friends/SO's found their way to the Ice House, this little cottage on the grounds of the castle. We hung out, watched soccer (it being the World Cup during this time), and basically tried to relax. I have very little doubt that most (if not all) of us would have gone out partially clothed, disheveled, and helpless had it not been for the assistance of Meg, Jesseca, and Bekah, and my thanks to them is unending. We had some wine, made some toasts, and took a few shots with the photographer. Pete composed his best man speech a good 30-40 minutes prior to the ceremony (sorry Pete, another dig), and I did my best to keep from spilling anything on myself. Before long, it was time to go.

We all walked as a group over to the ballroom in our tuxes. The pictures make it look very Reservoir Dogs-esque. It felt pretty cool watching people gawk. Well, maybe no one was gawking. But at least a few people were looking at us. Then there was some hanging out in the ballroom, some last minute words from the wedding coordinator, some shenanigans and tomfoolery with the guys, some moments of quiet contemplation, some hellos from guests who found their way into the ballroom. All of a sudden, it was time to go out. We made our way to the top of the stairs outside, looking down on the ceremony site. We stayed there for a little while, apparently being watched the entire time from above by the ladies, who were hiding out in the Tower Suite. At the appropriate time, we followed the judge, duckling-like, to the front of the site. I waited. Bridesmaids started walking down. Kia appeared. Got a little misty. The ceremony proceeded. It was great. Just what I think we both wanted. We got to say things to each other, some better-heard by the audience then others, I think. We heard music. We heard the judge speak to us. We kissed. And that was that. Pretty quick, all things considered.

There were pictures after the ceremony, of course. As much as I wanted to go party, I'm glad we did it. There are some pretty priceless ones. The one of Kia picking food from my teeth is especially precious. Eventually, pictures finished up, we went back inside, did some last minute practicing of our dance, and one by one the couples started being introduced. Kia and I entered to thunderous applause, did our dance ("By My Side" by Ben Harper), then sat and got to eat. For the first time in a while, we got to actually sit and take things in. Absorb. Consider what had happened already that day. I do have this to say: getting married is like graduating from college and going to the prom, all in the same day. Overwhelming, emotional, and pretty wonderful.

The reception was great. What food I did eat was good, the cake was tasty. Pete and Kristin made great speeches, as did Kia's dad. People danced, particularly Dave. (I think he danced with nearly everyone at the reception, male or female. Again, I wish I could locate the pictures to back this claim up, but you'll just have to believe me.) We made it to all the tables to say hi. We didn't have a Table 9, out of respect for those who might be at it (see "The Wedding Singer" for the reference). Eventually, Kia and I got to dance as well. Of course it was all over much too fast. It felt like it was just beginning when "New York, New York" was winding down. Fortunately, we were able to have a lot of our friends up to the aforementioned Tower Suite for an afterparty of sorts. I can't be sure where all of the stuff came from that eventually made it to our room. Glasses, silverware, pizzas, boxes of beer and soft drinks...it was a second reception. I'm glad everyone came up, so we could see them in a more relaxed atmosphere. After a while, everyone cleared out and we had the room to ourselves...until Kia realized she was missing her camera.

Performing my first duty as her husband, I dutifully made my way back outside and over to one of the cottages where the party had been transplanted. The response when I entered was something between surprise, curiosity, and disgust. What the hell was I doing there on my wedding night?? I made a good search of the whole house, but no camera was to be found. It'll surely turn up in the morning. I went back to the room, disappointed in my ability to successfully perform my first duty. Just as I was rummaging through some clothes and telling Kia that I couldn't find her camera, there it was. On a chair, under the clothes. I guess I was a good husband after all.

En-titled

2006-08-08T14:09:00.000-05:00

I have to share with you the title of a paper I've come across in my regular perusal of various hoity-toity fancy-shmansy academic journals. Usually, the authors of these papers will try to come up with impressive titles that in some way indicate what the paper is about and attempt to grab the reader's attention a little bit. Today, in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, I found this paper. The title is as follows:

"Q:] When Would You Prefer a SOSSAGE to a SAUSAGE? [A:] At about 100 msec. ERP Correlates of Orthographic Typicality and Lexicality in Written Word Recognition"

Actual title.

May I have a long enough career to publish a paper with both a question and answer title in it.

I humped your Hummer

2006-08-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

I previously posted about a website that features people flipping the bird to Hummers they see in their daily travels.

It seems that these people are taking that idea one step further.

And on video, no less. I'm not sure whether to be amused or shocked. Both would do the trick, I guess.

The BK

2006-07-29T14:09:00.000-05:00

I visited Pete in Brooklyn last weekend. I had never been there before (that I know of). It was not easy getting there, with a nice cozy 3 hour wait in the plane out on the runway, while the weather in NY improved. Rather than letting us stay in the terminal, they made us board and push back, then cool our heels for a while. The whole time I was squeezed between two guys, trying to stretch every now and then and not go crazy. On the plus side, I did make good progress on "Wonder Boys". And "Fever to Tell" is growing on me. Eventually, we took off (it looked for a while like we might not even leave that night, and I would be stuck in Chicago), and I got to Laguardia around 9ish. Coming out into the terminal, it was clear that flights had been backed up all day. I emerged into a sea of people, many looked frustrated and at the end of their ropes. It was humid, too small, and way overcrowded. I was glad to be leaving.

Outside, the line for cabs was tremendously long, but after considering for a second I decided to just wait it out. Eventually, I got to the front, hopped in a cab, and went off to wherever Pete lives.

The rest of the weekend was nice, pretty uneventful, but great. Some things I saw while I was there:

-Pete
-Pete's apartment
-my sister Kate
-the Chinese restaurant where they have dinner in "The Squid and the Whale"
-the park that Park Slope is named after
-one of the guys from the Sopranos (I didn't recognize him)
-the house where Jennifer Connelly lives

The mercury here in STL just hit 100. It's officially hot.

Kavalier and Clay....

2006-07-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

...going to be a MOVIE?

...starring Natalie Portman, for one?

Just something I heard. Could be exciting.

Feelin' Loopy

2006-07-18T16:10:00.000-05:00

I've found myself in the Loop alot lately, this area of St. Louis. We used to live closer to it and would go there more, but not so much anymore up until recently. In the past week I saw 2 bands with guys I knew in them, downstairs at this restaurant called the Red Sea. I had never been to this place before, not even to eat, and then saw shows there twice last week. Bizarro. But they were good shows and kind of made me want to be in a band again.

In other music notes, while I was killing time Thursday in the Loop I picked up a copy of "Fever to Tell" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs). I thought I'd check them out and represent Oberlin a little. The album grows on you. Good stuff.

Movies, movies, movies...Sunday night we saw "A Scanner Darkly" at Tivoli (also in the Loop), starring Keanu. I liked it. The special effects alone were enough to make one utter a Keanu-like "Whoa". Although if you saw "Waking Life" you won't be as impressed.

I have now caught up with a couple of other movies I should have seen. One of these was the Gay Cowboy movie. I think it lived up to the hype, although it was somewhat different than what I was expecting. And something else - during the first love scene between the guys, the version Kia and I watched was really dark, almost impossible to see anything. I took this as an artistic choice by the director, but Pete then told me that in his version you could see everything. Apparently, Blockbuster is behind this ridiculousness, and it is a completely normal practice for them. I guess I had never encountered it face to face before.

I also finally saw "Pulp Fiction". That's all there is to say about that. It's been out since 1994 and I only just saw it. I'm now caught up on 12 years of references that I had been missing. So I can now say "Royale with cheese" knowingly to someone and really know what I'm talking about.

Finally, in one of the more spontaneous things I've done lately, I decided just two days ago that I'm going to NYC this weekend to visit Pete. Turns out that Bekah is abandoning him to go to DC, while Kia is going to be visiting Hilda (MVP! MVP!) in Nashville. So it'll be a little boys weekend in the big bad Brooklyn. Fun times.

Pseudo-inspirational posters

2006-07-09T23:51:00.000-05:00

I love these things. Sometime, if I ever end up in an office job I loathe, I'm going to put some up on my wall just to see if people notice.

Let me share a few with you.

The Big Event - Part 2

2006-07-05T23:51:00.000-05:00

Picking up the story -- David, Dave, Neil, and I are sleeping in our hotel room after the bachelor party. After a much-needed night of rest, a night on which I shared a bed with David, Leavy called to see what we were up to and to tell us that he and Jesseca were at the Water St. Cafe having breakfast. We, being lazy, had yet to even consider getting up, much less showering, dressing, and making our way into town. Thus, we were unable to make it to meet them, but much later, having done all of the aforementioned stuff, we were able to go to the same restaurant, Pete and Bekah with us, and we had quite a good breakfast. Well, brunch at that point. I want to say no one said or did anything off-color or offensive, but that would just be wrong.

After that, we had just enough time to go back to the hotel and do...um...I can't remember what, before it was time to get back into the Suburban and head to the castle. For almost all of us, this was the first visit to the site. We all got to hang out on the lawn, where the ceremony was going to be, before the ladies showed up and the rehearsal began.

This was also the first opportunity to show off our battle scars from the night before, as seen here.
Anyway, everyone showed up, and eventually the rehearsal happened. Pretty straight forward, badda bing badda bam, you go here, you walk here, you kiss here. It's over. So that was that. I took people back to the hotel, then went and practiced my mom and son dance with my mom. Back to the hotel just in time to catch some people at the bar for a beer, show off some embarrassing pictures and other random junk, then we all went and got ready for the rehearsal dinner.

It was at the Crow's Nest (shot below). Only later did we realize that "Group Therapy" was the name of the band playing there that night. (Later, some of my guys tried to convince the band to let me sit in on the drums...it didn't happen).

Other things that occurred later that night:

An actual group therapy session, complete with butt-grabbing

And this...

Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the beginning of the evening. I drop off everyone else at the Crow's Nest, then drive a few miles down the road to rescue Dave and Neil, who have managed to get themselves lost. Dave and Neil causing trouble is a theme, people. Keep that in mind. I find them, and they follow me to the restaurant. We arrive and go out to the deck by the water, where drinks and appetizers are happening. People arrive slowly, most of whom I haven't seen yet, and it's great to talk to everyone. It's also wicked hot. It's a scorcha! So I'm not too disappointed when we all head in for dinner.

The tables are set up in a big U, with me and Kia at the center. It's a good idea, altough it also makes it difficult to talk to more than just the people directly next to you. After my Dad makes a speech and welcomes everyone, we all go around and say who we are, where we're from, how we know Aaron and/or Kia, etc. I think it's at this time that Pete works on some of his material for the reception the next day. If you were at both events, you definitely heard some of the same material. But what do you expect? Two gigs in two nights, there's gonna be some overlap.

So other people make speeches, and we eat our food. I couldn't remember whether I had gotten the chicken or the fish, and to this day I still don't know what I ate. I guess it didn't matter so much. At some point, I got up and embarrassed Kia by reading some notes she had written me during college. I knew there was a reason I had saved those. That was pretty fun.

After dinner, my Mom somehow convinced the restaurant to give us dessert and coffee, even though they weren't planning to. At some point, other people who had not been at the dinner started coming in, and we said hi to all of them. Eventually, everyone headed their own ways, and I brought my people back to the hotel. We changed quickly and re-congregated downstairs, piled back in the Suburban, and met everyone else at the Dwyer house, a little cottage on the grounds of Belhurst Castle.

There were lots of folks there from various parts of my or Kia's life, with the majority being somehow Oberlin-related. People hung out and relaxed, played cards and guitar, sat outside and smoked cigars. It was just what it should have been, which was a chance for people to hang out and actually have time to see each other. Good times.

Eventually, the guys departed and we drove back to the hotel in the Suburban. In the front seat, Pete "entertained" us with songs and the guitar. Upon arriving at the hotel, David's cigar disagreed with him...right behind the van. We promptly sent him to bed, and the rest of us followed suit. With just me, Dave, and Neil in my room, I got my own bed. And all was well.

Saved

2006-07-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

Kia and I took one of our first big steps as a married couple today and opened a joint savings account. We used all the money everyone gave us (THANKS!), plus the money we got from selling all the crappy stuff we got, like that Playstation. (I'm keeeeeding.....) We'll see how long it takes before we dip into it to buy food, shoes, or a second honeymoon.

The Big Event - Part 1 (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cricket)

2006-06-28T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well, the deed is done, we're married, and it went off almost without a hitch. It was a great week, a fantastic weekend, so many people I know and love from all parts of my life and all parts of the world, all in one place...I couldn't have asked for more.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we arrived last Monday night/early Tuesday morning in Pittsford, NY, having driven for more than 13 hours. Kia's family was up waiting for us but we all shortly went to bed, as it was about 2:30am.

The next couple of days were full of buying things, and filling bags, and constructing various pieces for the aisles or the tables, and making table assignment charts, and cutting ribbon, and anything else you can imagine. Luckily, Hilda arrived Tuesday night to help with most of it. She was, as I may mention later, voted the wedding MVP, and this is one of the reasons why. She helped stuff bags, and cut ribbon, and basically do anything else we asked her to do, and she was a trooper. She also, as I may mention later, picked up Pete. I wish I had a picture of that here. Yes, she indeed was the MVP.

Anyway, that's how the middle of the week went. Thursday night was spent doing all of the aforementioned stuff, and sometime around 3:30am we gave up trying to create the table seating chart and went to bed. The next day was Friday, and that's when people started arriving. David arrived at the airport around 11am, and I went to pick him up in Kristin's X-Terra (nice car, by the way). My first groomsman had arrived. It was great to see him, and it started hitting home that this really was the weekend, I really was getting married, and more people were on the way.

We went back to the Treier residence, sat out on their back deck and talked, and had cold drinks and snacks. I honestly can't remember what else happened in the interim, but a few hours later, people started arriving by the carful. Scoring an improbable, come-from-behind victory was the first black VW Jetta carrying Aaron, Jesseca, Dave, and Neil, quite sweaty due to lack of AC in Dave's car. And there was much rejoicing and some chaos as everyone made their hellos and welcomes and hugs and handshakes abounded. Shortly thereafter the second black VW Jetta arrived, carrying Pete and Bekah. Yes folks, Pete and Bekah arrived later, despite having a sassy GPS that would talk to them and tell them where to go. Anyway, everyone was there for now, and that was good.

For a while, we just hung out, talked, basically enjoyed each other's company. Somewhere in there, Aaron (yet another Aaron) and Lena arrived from Florida. Around dinner time, the guys got their bearings and some directions from Mapquest and headed out for the Bachelor Party.

It was decided that given our large numbers, we should take a large car. Thus, we all piled into the Suburban, measuring somewhere around 122 feet in length and having the capacity to hold approximately 28 full grown men. We were off. The first order of business of the evening was to feed ourselves. Seeing as how food was more a chore we had to get taken care of, rather than the event itself, we were willing to go anywhere. And yet, it was was harder than you might think to find somewhere acceptable. In the end, we settled on Bugaboo Creek. We got some beers. Big beers. And salads. Eh, not so big salads. Pete even ordered a couple of rounds of shots, but I don't think they're that kind of restaurant, so they refused to give us any more after the second round. Other highlights included the animatronic animal heads that would talk periodically, and the spotlight that shined on our table when the fish above us would talk. The food was good, I think just what we were looking for, and we took off for the next location.

Back into the Suburban, we jumped onto the highway and headed for Batavia, where we were planning to ride some go-karts, play some mini-golf, play video games, and shoot each other with paintballs. When we got there, we realized we were the only ones there. While at other times this would be a bad omen, we took it as a GREAT sign. We can be complete idiots and won't ruin anyone else's night. First order of business was to ride the go-karts, which we did with much glee two or three times. At first we were well-behaved, but somewhere in the final run we started bumping each other and making each other spin out. The guys running it didn't care for that, but what can you do.

The website promised batting cages, but there were none to be found. Instead, we played video games and air hockey. I got tooled by everyone in air hockey, except Neil, who "let me" win. As the place was closing, we decided to seek out the paintball that was also promised on the website. We were told it was a few miles down the road. Into the Suburban we went, and off we drove.

It was a few miles down the road, like we were told, through a small town and apparently right by a carnival or fair of some sort. Eventually, after a stop at a gas station and an ice cream place to get directions, we arrived.

The place is an old Jello factory. That's excellent. Already it has character in my mind. We pull into the parking lot and go to what looks like the door, where two guys are sitting outside. We ask if it's the place, then go up and see what's doing. We see a guy, pay some money, get some guns, paintballs, and of course masks, then go into the waiting room. Despite what we had hoped (which was that we would just be able to play by ourselves), there are other guys waiting. They have their own guns, their own paintballs, their own masks, and their own paintball codenames - like "Cricket". This was going to be fun.

After receiving the rundown of the rules, and warnings of potential octopus-sized welts on our legs and arms, we went in. The field is a series of rooms, all essentially empty except for big inflatable red things that serve as bunkers to hide behind. In the first game, the newbies (all of us) were on one team, while all the old pros (including Cricket, and another guy who only allowed himself one shot per game - Pete thought he was "simple") were on another team. The newbies were told to walk, so we all put on our masks and made our way through room after room to the other end of the factory. We then stood there staring at each other, wondering what the hell we were supposed to do now. Soon (too soon) we heard the refs start the game, and I really can't remember what happened after that. I think a few of us split up, Pete might have hunkered down behind one of the inflatable things and tried to pick people off. I have no idea. All I know is that it was over incredibly quickly, which was a relief in a way. From there on out, the teams were mixed up.

It was a pretty fun way to spend a few hours. You kind of get the thrill of being in combat while knowing you're not actually going to die. You can sneak around the rooms and wield your gun and hear yourself breathing in your mask. Kind of gets the adrenaline up. Especially rewarding is when you can manage to stay alive for the entire game, and you return victorious. Everyone has war stories, everyone has scars, small as they may be. Well, Neil's certainly wasn't small. Despite the mask on his face, he got smacked on the forehead with a well-placed paintball, leaving a welt the size of a golf ball. Fortunately, he was able to hide it well with his hair during wedding photos. But he wins the prize for that one.

When it got late, we had to take off. Our paint-covered selves got back into the Suburban and pointed ourselves back in the direction of Pittsford. It was a pretty subdued ride home, as people were any combination of being exhausted, dehydrated, and suffering from the initial symptoms of PTSD. But we made it back to the Treier's house, then quickly got our stuff, got back in the Suburban, and got on the highway in the direction of Geneva, where our hotel was. Sometime around 1:45am we pulled in, checked in, and promptly went to our rooms. Sleep was in order.

This ends part 1 of The Big Event. Part 2 soon.

Six states

2006-06-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

Kia and I arrived in Rochester at 2am Monday night/Tuesday morning, having travelled across 6 states in over 13 hours in one day. It was a trek, but not as grueling as you might think. We had a "fully dramatized" version of "The Hobbit" to keep us company, as well as many CDs and the fine scenery of Indiana and Ohio.

Four days till the wedding.

Hot in Herre

2006-06-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I wanted to work out some pre-wedding jitters, so I figured I'd go to the Wash U gym and maybe play some basketball, lift some weights, whatever I could do to be active and get sweaty. First I walked the dogs, which was sort of an interesting experience on such a hot day. Poor Moose was clearly laboring, and every 10 feet or so Teak wanted to lie down and take a break. Not a good day for black dogs to be outside. So we cut it a little short, I brought them home, and I went to school, only to find that the gym is closed on weekends during the summer. Sure, makes sense to me...once the undergrads are gone, who could possibly want to use the gym? Grrr. Determined, however, to be active somehow, I chose to run on the outdoor track. I think I did about a mile before I surrendered to reason and stopped.

After my run, for some reason I was thinking about soccer, and the World Cup, and shootouts, and the fact that I wanted to play basketball but couldn't because the gym was closed. And I thought that it would be great for the NBA to institute 1-on-1 games in the event of ties, rather than overtime. Like I said, it was really hot, so this was not fully thought out. But I think there's something to it. It could be just like shootouts in soccer or hockey, where up to 5 different players get to shoot and it's a best of 5 series. In this case, there would be up to five 1-on-1 games, and the team that won 3 games first would be the winner. People grow up playing 1-on-1, they know it, they love it. It's the ultimate display of individual talent in a sport that so often showcases individual talent anyway. Why not just strip away the other players and duel it out, mano a mano? Who wouldn't love to see that? I think it would be a hit.

One other thing: Do I deserve a PhD? This website tells me that, according to a little survey I took, "You have an issue about feeling unworthy and less competent than others". This tells me nothing about my worthiness for getting a PhD, but is interesting nonetheless. Perhaps a side effect of graduate school.

Found art

2006-06-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

With the influx of new stuff coming in everyday in the form of wedding presents, Kia and I have been doing a lot of cleaning out of closets and the basement. Going through an old box, I came across this poem that Paul Koch wrote for me. If you know Paul, you'll see that it's very...Paul. I love it. Also, it was typed on a typewriter, which adds some sort of...I don't know what.

"On the Departure of Aaron Bonner-Jackson from the National Institute of Mental Health"

The evening wanes...yes?
The sunlight stains...no?...
... the teary eyes of Bonner-lad?

Mister Doctor Jackson, Aaron Bonner dash --
Would you say that you are very sad,
Somewhat sad,
A little sad,
Not sad at all to leave this place?
To join the race?
This NIH?
This house of miracles?
This little world...
This helpful little world...
This seat of science,
Where brain meets brain,
And mind meets mind,
And with one another they entwine
To answer the Sphinx,
Or at least
To find a dopaminergical link
To his genes.
That would do, don't you think?

Look now, sir, across your lands.
What ist?
The bugs are glowing.
The fence is growing.
And building ten -- it winks goodbye --
That big red cyclops eye.
On Thursday-next, you know, it will cry.
Big red rolling tears will fall from the roof to the floor
And stain the revolving door.
Tears of human-rodent blood,
Tears of fears of death,
Bucket-fulls of failed potions,
Tortured brain-fulls of bizarre delusions
Streaming scarlet from the door,
A river now of tears and gore,
The fabled healing waters of Bethesda!

But what seems so black is often bright;
Where one man falls the other must light.

And on this frothing mess of science
Our Bonner-lad must set his craft
And sail south beneath the night.
A hope in the moonlight.

Goodbye! Good luck!
What will he find?
Who will he be?
I ask him now with teary mien,
Who will win, the brain or he?

Other eye candy

2006-06-06T23:54:00.000-05:00

And here are some miscellaneous pictures from our trip to Rochester:

Getting our marriage license at the Town Hall in Pittsford, NY

Talking to the cake lady

Kia and her Mom at the tasting

It's gonna be schweeeeeeeet...

2006-06-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

Some pics of the wedding spot...(12 days to go)...

Planes, trains, and automobiles

2006-05-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the extended hiatus from posting. Among the things I've been doing in my absence:

-taking dance lessons and learning to lead effectively
-putting together a presentation in which I present my ideas for my dissertation to my dissertation committee, including my advisor who was present over the iChat while in England
-attending my own wedding shower in Massachusetts
-unwrapping lots of gifts
-deciding whether to go to Atlanta or San Diego in October (sorry, ATL - I'm afraid the SD wins out)
-taking a 10-hour train ride from Boston to Albany to Rochester, where I find myself now

I unfortunately have to leave it at that. But there will be more to come when I get back to St. Louis.

If you were me...

2006-04-25T15:21:00.000-05:00

...and you had the chance to go to one place in October, would you go to:

a) San Diego
b) Atlanta

Please limit your responses to one page, double-spaced.

Chutes and ladders

2006-04-22T18:29:00.000-05:00

I realized I've been posting infrequently, and when I do it's usually some dumb link to this or that website that I've discovered. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm in a mid-grad school lull, and things are kind of stable and settled for now. I'm actually almost exactly halfway done with grad school. A little over two and a half years down, a little under two and a half to go. Hard to believe. Very hard to believe. I noticed that for a while before grad school, many of my thoughts were occupied by "How can I get in?" or "Am I going to get in?" or "What can I do to help me get in?" And then for a while after I arrived, I was satiated. I didn't really care about the next stage. I was here, I had arrived, and I was just glad to have made it. It was like being on a very long road trip. You drive for so long, and then when you pull up to your destination, or walk through that door, all you think about is what a great feeling it is that you're there. That the image in your mind, the thing you've been driving toward for so long, the reason that you've made the journey, is now real. And you're there. That's how I felt when I first got here. I allowed myself to be completely immersed in my destination, and what was promised to those who "made it" and were accepted here.

Recently, though, I've noticed a shift in my thinking. That future-oriented thinking that makes one a little uneasy, as opposed to the present-minded thinking that is so calming and soothing and uninterrupted. I've started thinking about my next step, which is internship, and the next city Kia and I will live in, and how that will be, and what I'll do after that, and whether my career path will become clearer or even more blurry at this next checkpoint along my journey. You could say I've rounded the bend, and rather than looking back at where I came from, I am now more concerned about where I'm going. That's what I've noticed recently. It tells me I'm settled here. It tells me I've been here a while. It's funny that I'm closer to leaving than to arriving.

I think I'll miss it here when I leave, but right now I'm not sure how much. I was thinking today that certain songs are inextricably (is that a word?) tied to person, place, and time. You hear a certain song, and you inevitably think of someone, or something, or someplace, or all three. 90s crap by the Goo Goo Dolls or Matchbox 20 - Lexington. Neutral Milk Hotel - Oberlin. Any song from "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen or "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - Walking to the Metro in Maryland. I am curious to know what I'll associate with my time here.

But this post was intended to be about something else, so I'll tell you about that.

Friday night was a trip to The City Museum. This place has many great features, the most salient and fun of which is this huge, metal, outdoor structure that has seemingly been cobbled together from various industrial throw-aways and other such things you could find at a junkyard. There is a plane you can sit in, many bridges and things you can walk over and slither through, and an endless supply of slides to...well, slide down. There's also a new feature, which is a big ball pit, sort of like at Chuck E. Cheese, except the balls in this ball pit are kickball-sized, and the kids in this ball pit just want to pelt each other with the balls. Although the whole structure is completely stable, the thought that keeps running through my head as I navigate this thing is, "How have they not been sued yet?" Kia and I both slammed our heads while trying to duck under an overpass, and there are so many ways (SO many ways) that one could accidentally fall off the whole thing at least 50 feet and be pretty badly hurt. I marvel at the fact that they've stayed open this long.

But I'm quite glad they have. Tim, Kia, and I had a pretty good time trying to see how many different places we could explore in this metal labrynth. To help you visualize, and to celebrate the fact that we just learned how to put pictures on our computer (thanks, Tal), I'll illustrate who I'm talking about.

This is Tim. He plays guitar.

And this is Kia, apparently nibbling on Moose's ear for some reason.

And that's me, apparently smelling something bad at Ben & Jerry's.

So yes, it was indeed a good time. The whole outdoor structure is great, and has other features I haven't mentioned (like a wall you have to climb with a rope and tunnels and ladders made out of wire that you can climb through and be suspended way up in the air). Needless to say, it's not for the faint of heart, or the claustrophobic (many opportunities to become stuck in tight places). By the end, Kia's knees were all bruised up and my lower back was feeling the ache. I think Tim somehow came out of it unscathed.

The inside is good too. In addition to another set of caves which appears to be inside a huge whale, there's a big fish tank where you can see fish and pick up turtles (although I don't think you're supposed to). There are many large rooms that look like they're about 100 years old and don't seem to serve much of a purpose in the museum. But they're there. And some of the walls outside the restrooms are made entirely of industrial metal sinks.

Cool place, that City Museum. Right off Washington Ave., if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Stealing the covers

2006-04-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

Kia and I have an ongoing debate that, perhaps, some of you can shed some light on (i.e., tell me I'm right).

She says that there are certain covers of songs that are better than the original. For example, there's a cover of the Eagles' "Take it Easy" which she finds to be an improvement on the original.

I say that covers can accentuate certain features of the original song or provide a new take on an old favorite, giving it a new life. But being a purist, I don't think that the cover can be better than the original. After all, if the original were never written, there would be no cover.

Comments welcome.

Barry Jive and the Uptown Five

2006-04-13T23:10:00.000-05:00

I love this movie. I. Love. This. Movie. Probably more than most other movies. I saw it again recently and every time is great, almost better than the last time. I hesitate to say that's it's my favorite, because what is that really? Can anyone have a favorite movie, really? Doesn't that depend heavily on one's mood, disposition, time of day, time of year, company (alone, two people, big group), etc.? It's just like John Cusack says in the movie when someone asks him for his top five favorite songs - he can't say. In the club or at home? It's just too hard of a question. That's how I feel about a lot of things. But this one is definitely in my top five.

Anyway, the point of all that was there's a good quote page here that should bring a smile to the face of anyone who's seen it even once.

I know my birthday's not for 8 months...

2006-04-13T18:04:00.000-05:00

...but if you love me, you'll get me this.

It's a little on the minimal side, but you get the idea. And that scoreboard needs a little adjustment, too.

New Busch

2006-04-09T17:52:00.000-05:00

How do I know spring is here? That creepy, sketchy ice cream truck is back, roaming the streets with repetitive, clangy music emanating from its top.

How else do I know that spring is here? I got to tour the new Busch Stadium. Yesterday, my man Bryan hooked me and some other people up with free tickets to what I believe was being termed an "open house" at the new Busch. It's a funny image, if you think about it. Walking around, trying to admire things without getting the floors dirty, nibbling on finger food and making small talk with the owners. Well, not so much with the finger food, although I did have my first ballpark hot dog and beer, while sitting in the seats, watching the Cardinals play the Cubs on the big screen. It was almost like watching a real game.

To me, the new place is pretty much like the old place, although others who were with me told me there were lots of differences. For one thing, there was this indoor area with all of these gourmet foods, completely removed from the game or the elements. Think of a mall. That's kind of the feel of this place. I guess some people would like this, but to me it seems to go against the point of being at a baseball game.

All in all, great to be out at the stadium, even if there was no game going on.

End of the line

2006-04-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I've had a good run. That's it. I'm calling it quits on the ol' blog. Happy trails, everyone.

Sssssssssssssssssssss-mokin!

2006-03-30T23:34:00.000-06:00

The Smoking Gun is great. I should really check it out more. Someone pointed me to this tonight, which is an extensive list of "riders" for bands, comedians, entertainers in general. Quite eye-opening, really. Personally, I find the food that they request most interesting. Britney herself (not her band, not her people, just Britney) requires quite a list of food and drink, including both Cool Ranch and WOW! Doritos. Aren't those the ones with the stuff that makes your butt leak? I also like the fact that her band requires a large bucket of mixed KFC chicken delivered at 4pm. I'm realizing more and more that being a runner at one of these venues where these bands play would really suck.

My favorite one? Busta Rhymes. Particularly this paragraph:

"Busta prefers West Indian and African American (Soul). In other words they should receive well rounded meals with fixins! Busta's management has final approval on all caterers. There is to be no pork or beef in the food or vicinity of Busta's dressing room."

Things I like about this paragraph:

1) This professionally-drafted document refers to him simply as "Busta".
2) This professionally-drafted document uses the term "fixins".
3) Busta is referred to in the plural ("they"). He is not just one man. Busta is many men.
4) Busta apparently doesn't eat red meat or the other white meat. Who knew?

If you read on, under requirements for soundcheck Busta apparently requires 6 bottles of Moet champagne - FOR SOUNDCHECK.

The Dixies Chicks like to golf. And they're requiring someone to make a tee time for them.

I could go on and on, but that would take all the fun out of it for you. Go on, take a gander.

P.S. As you go, you realize that promoters and venues are getting all of this crap for bands, anything they want under the sun, and then passing the costs on to us, as ticket buyers. Kind of makes you feel ripped off in a way.

Man divorces wife in sleep

2006-03-28T22:24:00.000-06:00

Just another side effect of Ambien, maybe.

I don't have a title for this post

2006-03-25T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wedding plans continue. I've already posted about the idiosyncrasies of registering for gifts. Today, it was looking through books of poetry for potential pieces to be read during the ceremony. Notice I used the term pieces and not poems. It means I'm cultured. It's like at the symphony. Those are called pieces too. At a jazz concert, they're tunes.

Right, so we're sitting there in the poetry aisle, looking for potential good poem-type stuff to read, and I come across one that I just had to share. The title is: After Drinking All Night with a Friend, We Go Out in a Boat at Dawn to See Who Can Write the Best Poem." Great title. Makes me want to like poetry. It's by a guy named Robert Bly. Intrigued, I looked up more poems that he has written. They include "It's Hard for Some Men to Finish Sentences" and "Lullaby of the Onion." I think I love poetry.

Also, have you ever used that tooth whitening stuff, where you stick this gross piece of plastic on your teeth for half an hour and then remove it, only to find that your teeth are not any whiter, but do have the added benefit of now being covered in a thin layer of sludge, not unlike glue? Yeah, well I've experienced that for the first time recently.

Lastly, I was disappointed that Washington lost to Connecticut last night, despite the fact that I have UConn winning it all in my pool. Why? Because Washington features the usual contingent of big, muscular, athletic-looking guys, and in the middle of all of them is this little white guy with blonde, curly hair who strikes me as looking most like Harpo Marx. You can decide for yourself.

Ups and downs

2006-03-20T22:24:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn't end up going down to try and get me a Wilco ticket. Too bad too, it looked like a really good show. And they dropped in "Casino Queen" for the STL audience. DAMN. I wanted to be there.

But on the bright side: I got a t-shirt made. It's juvenile. It's corny. And it's on sale. Plus, it netted me some cash from the College Humor/Busted Tees guys. Not bad for just coming up with a dumb idea. Thanks to Pete for the hookup on that one.

Thoughts on Sunday

2006-03-19T12:23:00.000-06:00

-I recently saw a production of Much Ado About Nothing at Wash U, and I realized that it has been 10 years since I was in it. It was a strange realization that it's been that long. In a way, I'm not sure if it feels longer or shorter. But I liked this version.

-Registering for wedding gifts is a very funny process. Kia and I found ourselves having to pick bed linens and comforters based on color schemes for houses/apartments that we have yet to live in. We found "makers" for almost every type of food you can think of: along with the usual coffee and espresso makers, there were smores makers, ice cream makers, donut makers, and even quesadilla makers. Let me tell you, if you need a machine to make you a dang quesadilla, you're not a good person. You're just not. But after many hours of searching and booping products with our little gun, the registry is complete. Now buy us stuff.

-March Madness is in full effect. Here's the latest proof: during today's game between Bradley and Pittsburgh, the scoreboard read: Brad Pitt. I know. Madness.

-V for Vendetta: see it.

-Do I go down to The Pageant tonight and try my luck getting Wilco tix? It sold out in about a day. I have a feeling there will be lots of people like me who are hoping to get lucky and score a few tickets.

PPS

2006-03-10T14:30:00.000-06:00

As a post-script to my ealier post (which I guess would make it a post post-script), you can't see it in the picture I included, but someone had apparently gotten up by the billboard and spray painted "Right wing scum, your time will come." Or maybe "your time has come." I can't remember. It gives one a little hope that something like that isn't being taken lightly.

Friday links

2006-03-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

Check out these auctioneers! And livestock auctioneers, no less.

http://www.lmaweb.com/wlacpast.html

And here's another chance for Red Sox fans to relive one of the most painful moments in Sox history. Maybe it's repayment for the documentation of one of the most thrilling moments in Sox history (i.e., "Fever Pitch")

http://www.game6film.com/

This is where I live (Part deux)

2006-03-09T22:15:00.000-06:00

I previously posted about the lighter side of life in the midwest, as described by The Onion.

This is far less light-hearted, and more on the...how shall we put it...offensive side.

It's probably hard for you to read this sign. It's a billboard right next to the highway here in St. Louis. And when I first read it, I thought it was a joke.

Pictured is a happy-looking guy. It reads: "I Questioned Homosexuality. Change is possible. Discover How."

It then lists a website you can go to if you find yourself in this predicament and want to find out how you can change yourself.

It caught my eye as I was driving by and had to go back for a second look. I couldn't believe that such things existed. I was floored. I still am.

World Baseball Classic

2006-03-09T17:54:00.000-06:00

Wait a minute -- we lost to Canadia in baseball??

B-I-N-G-O

2006-03-03T00:19:00.000-06:00

I'm not much for Mardi Gras. In general, I just can't get into it. Apparently, St. Louis has a pretty big one, but I've never gone. It just sounds like a lot of slogging through big, sticky, obnoxious crowds. Sort of like New Year's except less fun. Sort of like a combination of New Year's and Fourth of July, with a dash of St. Patrick's Day. Anyway, I've never tried to go and don't really see myself doing so.

Which makes it even funnier what happened Monday. The evening started out with me, Kia, Kelly, and Julian going to this Greek restaurant in our neighborhood. It's good food, but Kia had an alterior (ulterior? allteeereeeeor?) motive -- to get a recipe for a potential wedding dish. Well, the waitress wouldn't spill the beans, as it were, with regard to the recipe, but she did give Kia the basic gist. So this eggplant and spinach rice dish may be part of the menu in June.

Next, we went to have ice cream, and Tal and Rachel met us. Kia discovered that chocolate raspberry ice cream is not so good with Twix in it. At that point, it seemed like things were wrapping up for the night when Julian suggested we go to BINGO at a gay bar. Now, if there's one thing I love, it's gay BINGO. And if there's one thing I love more than that, it's gay BINGO where the letters are read by a drag queen. Yes indeed, what better way to spend Mardi Gras eve?

Off we went. Getting off the highway, I can't say any of us were real thrilled by the surroundings. But we took Julian's word, got out of the car, and walked in. As we walked in the door, we received a big book of BINGO sheets and a welcome from the BINGO caller. We found a table in the back and settled in, big markers in hand ready to mark off the letters as they were called.

I especially enjoyed the way the caller enunciated each letter-number pair. "B-Niiiiine......Beeeeee-Niiiiiiiiiine". He also found numerous opportunities to make sexual innuendoes and make cracks about people he knew in the audience. The first game we were there for required one to get all of the squares around the edge of their card filled to win. No luck, none of us managed to win that one. At this point there was a break, people started milling around, and old Wham! videos came on the TV screens. Kia noticed a sign on the restroom door indicating that if more than one person were caught together inside, they would be asked to leave the bar.

After the break, Tal won a game, for which he was given a chance to pick out Mardi Gras beads of his choice. He chose ones with rubber chickens on them. Classy.

The next game was a birthday cake game - get the squares all the way across on the top, middle, and bottom. This my game. I was in the zone. And indeed, I was doing well. But well enough to win? Only time would tell. Well, I'll ruin the suspense for you. I did indeed win. Being from the same table as Tal, who had just won, people maybe started to wonder. I started to wonder myself. Given the fact that Tal and I were probably the only two straight guys in the bar, what are the chances that we'd both win? Anyway, I proudly made my way to the front, to meet the drag queen in person, and he/she kindly checked my numbers, then told me I could pick out beads of my choice. I saw a number of options, but eventually took the ones with big plastic monkeys on them. They're classic. I'm disappointed that we're having problems getting pictures off of the camera, because this would be a great time for a visual. Anyway, I took them with pride, and was given a Mardi Gras poster on top of it. Not a bad set of loot from a free BINGO game.

I felt bad that we chose to leave right after that. It was sort of like we had gotten what we wanted and were now going home. Perhaps we'll go back.

Oh, so to tie it up with the part at the beginning about not liking Mardi Gras - it's ironic that I won Mardi Grad beads.

This is where I live

2006-03-01T12:06:00.000-06:00

I love The Onion for many things. In particular, I enjoy the little map with fictional news blurbs from various parts of the country. A snippet from one this week that featured St. Louis:

FLORRISANT, MO—Planners of an abortion-clinic bombing were forced to postpone due to a scheduling conflict with the Blue-Collar Comedy Tour at the Savvis Center in nearby St. Louis.

Get 'er DONE!

Sexy Tyme!

2006-02-25T20:27:00.000-06:00

This thing has blown up. I'm pretty sure we're going to be discovered soon, land a record deal or two, and be swimming in Benjamins before Tuesday.

Have a look for yourself.

Sweater Day!

2006-02-23T22:18:00.000-06:00

In honor of Borat, and because Noam's mother bought him 5 of the same sweater off of Ebay for about 2 bucks, today was Sweater Day in the Wash U psych department. Here we are. Hot studs, no?

Oh, and have you tried this? It's way addictive. Maybe not on the scale of Sudoku, but definitely a good way to pass some time.

Ruminations on music

2006-02-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

-Kia recently had a revelation: she said she realized that my taste in music was like (insert loud clanging obnoxious sounds) and her taste in music was (insert soft, angelic, soft rock sounds). I didn't used to think this, but it is actually possible to co-exist with someone who listens to country music and soft rock. The trick is to never be in the same place...I kid! I kid because I love.

-The only two shows that I wanted to go to at The Pageant sold out in about 15 minutes. I think some people around here are starved for music. I've been here two and a half years and have found two decent venues for music. Granted, I haven't checked out a lot of the blues places, so I still need to do that. But still, two decent venues. A sad state of affairs.

-Guitar learning has been side-tracked by a busted string. And the attempt to fix said string resulted in another busted string. Note to self: must learn to correctly replace busted strings.

You heard it here first

2006-02-15T13:46:00.000-06:00

I don't usually take requests for my blog, but here's one. It's a word (invented by Sarah Barks, submitted by David Goldsmith) that hopefully everyone will start using.

figgle: the act of figuring out a mystery by googling it

Say it. Use it. Love it.