Mean Girls - Movie Review

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Funny parts. Written by Tina Fey, so it was a little different than most of the normal high school movies. Alli said it was a lot like Heathers (which I never saw), so I'll take her word for it. It certainly was not as good as Can't Hardly Wait or American Pie, the best high school movies of the past 10 years (Dazed and Confused would make the list were it not made in 1993).

Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper?

Saw this at the store the other day.

What's the deal? Why does every soda company feel they need to add some sort of gimmick to sell more? Someone brought some to work today and they let me have a swig. You know what it tasted like? Dr. Pepper. No different.

I mean, if you are going to create something like this, at least make it noticably different than the original, wouldn't you think?

I haven't had a soda in a long time, though, particularly a Dr. Pepper, so I may not be able to tell the difference, but just a snap judgement...it doesn't taste different.

The Drawback of Being a Gadget Guy

I consider myself a gadget geek. I love gadgets and I always want to have the latest and greatest stuff.

There are 2 major drawbacks about this:

1. I don't have the fundage (nor the need) that necessitates me buying all of the fun gadgets that I want. So I must be very VERY picky when selecting gadgets.
2. New gadgets are often outdated within 6 months, just when you get used to your gadget. Case in point, my 20gb iPod. Now, I have a 1st generation iPod, which I absolutely love. I love All Things Apple these days and the iPod is really what rocks most. That being said, they just released this tasty treat - the iPod Photo - a full-color iPod in 40gb and 60gb versions that allows you to store your photos (really cool when you add the media reader that Belkin makes for it).

This is particularly significant to me because I have a Canon Digital Rebel that I love taking pictures with and it would be awesome to have an iPod to store them on. There's no way I could use up 60gb of music (I have about 30gb total), but think of the awesomeness that you could accomplish with this on a vacation...that would be totally sweet.

Consider my vote...CAST

Since I will be off next week in New Orleans at Macromedia Max, I had to make sure I voted early. In Kansas, the polls have been open for most of the month of October, and this is the last week to go vote early in person.

So today, Alli and I went to the Election Office and cast our votes. Presidentially...it doesn't matter too much. Kansas has been decided for a long while (I think I read somewhere that KS has not gone Democratic in 50-some years), but the races for Senate and Congress are very close and we also had a vote to cast regarding a bi-state tax that would bring in money for the arts, as well as for improvements to Kaufmann and Arrowhead Stadiums. Not that those sports arenas really need the money, but the arts does here in Kansas City so I decided to go ahead and vote yes on Question 1.

If you need some help getting in the mood to vote, I suggest you check this out. It's not JibJab, but it's pretty funny.

I beg of you. Please vote next Tuesday. If you don't know who to vote for, my suggestion is to vote for Bush. Just vote though. Or Puff Daddy will come and get you.

Super-Size Me

Go rent or buy this movie.

We watched Super-Size Me last night. I had talked to a couple of people that had seen it who were thoroughly disgusted. I kind of rolled my eyes and thought to myself...everyone knows McDonald's is bad...I don't need a movie to tell me that. After watching Morgan Spurlock's experiment on himself, I never even want another McGriddle (and if you know me, that's something...the McGriddle is easily the best sandwich ever created by McDonald's).

There were a lot of things that were great about this movie...things that make you think. What I didn't realize was how good of shape Spurlock was in before he started. This guy is 6'2", 185 lbs. with about 11% body fat. That's really good.

And McDonald's wreaked havoc on his body. The doctors he employed during the process were funny because they were blown away at the amount of damage that it did to him. His cholesterol jumped from 165 to 225 in about a week. His liver became completely toxic. He got depressed and had a bunch of other awful things.

It's gross, but also funny and well done. I highly recommend to anyone...those with weight problems (like me) and those without.

Conferences

I don't remember elementary and middle school all that well.

They were a long time ago. However, one of the things that I don't remember is having conferences once per quarter. Yesterday, while I was slaving away, destroying my back, there were all these neighborhood kids, running around, playing hide-and-go-seek.

Now I'm not mad at these kids by any means...enjoy your youth, I say!

BUT, I remember thinking yesterday that my sister-in-law, who is a teacher (and an amazing one at that), has conferences and in-service days a lot. There's nothing really to this, I'm just a bit jealous. A few days off here and there would have been fun.

What I did today

This is what I did on my day off today. I moved dirt. A lot of it. My day consisted of a shovel, a wheelbarrow, and some dirt.

It was made even more fun by the constant drizzle that we've had in KC for the past several days. Good times. Makes moving dirt lots easier when it turns into mud. Not slick at all.

At least I had my iPod to keep me company on this dreary day. It made that hard work a lot easier. But I'll tell you what...my back...didn't really appreciate the whole "hard work" thing.

What's Wrong Here?

5-1 Denver
3-3 San Diego
2-4 Oakland
1-4 Kansas City

I'm at a loss.

This year was supposed to be our shining shot at the Super Bowl. Now, we are just wondering if we are ever going to win another game. A .500 record would be decent after the start we've had and the schedule we have ahead of us. If you consider that now 4-2 Jacksonville was supposed to be the easy part, it may be a particularly long season.

That's not to say I'm going to give up hope just yet. 12-4 would be a good record, but we would have to win out against some extrememly formidable opponents. I just don't see it happening. Maybe 10-6 is more reachable. That still would mean us going 9-2 the rest of the way.

Possible? Sure, anything's possible.
Probable? Not so much.

What's so difficult is how we have lost our games. It's not just one thing. The overall effort seems flawed. Sure, our defense stinks to high heaven and Dexter McLeon is about as effective a corner as I am, but the offense that has led the league the last 2 years in total offense has been ineffective at times when it is most needed.

Yes, it has been a tough year for Kansas City sports teams. The Royals disappointed us. The Chiefs have been less-than-stellar. Who are we to root for?

At least college basketball season starts soon. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

Debate-O-Rama

One thing is certain. Neither candidate was entirely accurate in the slew of facts and figures that were strewn about last night. However, if we are judging from a snap reaction (and I'm trying really hard not to let my relatively conservative bias play any part), Bush kicked the crap out of Kerry.

So you can understand my surprise when I looked at CNN.com this morning. I don't think all of the people polled watched the whole debate. Bush really came on toward the end, hit his stride and laid the Texas Smackdown to the "More Liberal Senator from Massachusetts".

I particularly liked this part:

"I want to remind people listening tonight that a plan is not a litany of complaints, and a plan is not to lay out programs that you can't pay for.

He just said he wants everybody to be able to buy in to the same plan that senators and congressmen get. That costs the government $7,700 per family. If every family in America signed up, like the senator suggested, [it] would cost us $5 trillion over 10 years.

It's an empty promise. It's called bait and switch."

That was my favorite. I'm so sick and tired of Kerry saying, "I have a plan," and then saying "go to my web site" when he knows damn well that most of us are too freaking lazy to go to our computer and look up his lousy plans.

On a happier note, I had Chipotle for the 2nd time in 2 days last night. I just can't get enough burrito love.

2 nights ago: Steak Fajita burrito, with green tomatillo and cheese
last night: chicken burrito bol, no beans, green tomatillo, medium corn salsa, cheese, guacamole

I love burritos.

Captain Kirk, Can You Hear Me?

I am a huge fan of Ben Folds. He is probably one of my all-time favorite artists. Which is why when I heard that Ben was putting his next solo record on hold to produce the recently-released William Shatner spoken-word album, Has Been, I was less than pleased.

After listening to a few of the tracks that they have put out, I have to say that I am completely blown away. Shatner is at the top of his game with his lyrical stylings and the arrangements (the work of my man Folds) are fantastic. The music is really what shines here...Shatner is really more of a sideshow. He enlists the help of everyone from indie songstress Aimee Mann ("That's Me Trying") to country star Brad Paisley (my favorite, "Real) to rocker Henry Rollins (the hilarious scream-fest "I Can't Get Behind That").

I was forwarded a link to the songs from someone and was hesitant, considering I had purchased 1998's Fear of Pop, Vol. 1 which first teamed up Folds and Shatner. I was not very impressed with that one. After hearing these tunes, I may have to get it back out and give it another shot.

Of particular note, is "Real" with Brad Paisley. I'm not a big country fan, but the song is perfect. The lyrics are personal to Shatner and the melody mixes perfectly with Paisley's chorus. If you're going to download one song...that's the one I would suggest. Then "That's Me Trying".

On another note, my brother hooked up a blog. Check it out.