January 28, 2005
this is not becoming a sports blog
i'm reading middle-aged men pulling muscles (the story of one mets fan's trip to fantasy camp). i'm about six entries in and really enjoying it.
(link via baseball musings via sabermets)
UPDATE (1:49am): yeah. go read it now. it's a lot of fun. and if the author isn't shilling for the mets, he should be. he makes baseball fantasy camp sound like the most fun thing ever!
January 26, 2005
the new "herman's head"
look! one of my favorite actors, johnny galecki, has been cast in the pilot for a tv series called "peep show." it's the look into the minds of two roommates. now that i think about it, i may have watched the british version of this show a few weeks ago. it wasn't very good.
January 25, 2005
delgado
the past few days i've spent most of my time trying to figure out if the mets are going to sign carlos delgado. the latest reports have him headed to florida.
UPDATE: it is the marlins.
January 23, 2005
the 2004 movie lists are here
As happens every January, it's time to post the movie lists of 2004!
First up, lists from DAN and MITCH.
My list should be online be the end of the week. If you've got a list, email it to me.
This will be the main entry for commenting on all movie lists.
UPDATED:
2/2 - SUJAN'S LIST
2/18 - CHRIS M.'S LIST
2/18 - AMY W.'S LIST
2/22 - KACI'S LIST
2/22 - DONOVAN'S LIST
2/25 - BILL W.'S LIST
2/26 - JEREMY'S LIST
i'm an uncle!
a few weeks ago my sister and her husband, james, had a baby. they named her kaylee renee. during the past few days i've been in virginia relaxing and getting to know my niece. my first reaction? she's a baby. she's a very tiny baby. a newborn, even. when i held her a few days ago she did try to kick me, and she's a strong kicker. that either means i'll get beaten up as an uncle or she'll turn into a good soccer player (these things are always a bit hazen during the first few months. after the first year, though, her role in life will be easy to determine).
she's a very cute baby. and i took quite a few photos of her.
January 18, 2005
everything gets a label
i'm not sure if i've mentioned this before or not, but i'm a huge fan of a website called cheap stingy bastard. on a daily basis, the guy behind it lists at least a dozen shopping deals on the web. the deals range from cutlery to discounted recordable dvd's to free magazines.
one of the deals today lists a sale of reaction kenneth cole jackets at nordstrom. when i scrolled past the link polybonded hipster coat, i knew i had to click it. when did it become acceptable to label a coat as a "hipster" coat? yes, i'm too old now to be talking about "cool" and the idea of cool and the right words to use for things. those sorts of discussions begin to become less interesting as you escape from your mid-20's. i can't help it in this case. "hipster." that's one of those words that only works when you toss it around semi-derisively. and now it's being used to label a coat? a coat that almost looks like a jacket i own (except that mine is made from a totally different material and lacks the "soft, luxurious feel")? perhaps my mock indignation here comes from almost being called a hipster? or, perhaps i'm jealous that i don't have this exact coat, and thus i'm not quite a hipster?
we'll never know.
January 17, 2005
will i start with corn or indigo?
A little over a month ago I mentioned board games and the article in the morning news about board games that made great gift ideas.
As a result of the article I purchased a game called PUERTO RICO, which is one of the highest rated games at boardgamegeek.com. (so popular, actually, that there's a Puerto Rico meet up group).
I've had trouble explaining the game, so I've swiped the following bit of text from the publisher's website (and the box copy, if memory serves):
Prospector, captain, mayor, trader, settler, craftsman, or builder? Which roles will you play in the new world? Will you own the most prosperous plantations? Will you build the most valuable buildings? You have but one goal: achieve the greatest prosperity and highest respect! This is shown by the player who earns the most victory points. He will win the game!
The game is more fun than I expected. It's one of those games that I immediately want to play again as soon as it's over. Eight days ago, some friends came by and we played a few games. I took a few pictures.
Unfortunately, these snapshots do little to convey the excitement of the game. Obviously, no one shouts "You sank my battleship!" or "Connect Four. I win!" But winning is part of the fun. The other part of the fun is after the game when you sit around with the other players and discuss strategy.
Man, I'm a nerd.
photo mosaics
once in the next five times that i do something productive, i plan to work on creating my own photomosaics. i've had the link sitting in my bloglines account since october. since i've been taking digital pictures for the past five years, i figure it's time to see how i can use those photos in interesting ways.
speaking of reminders, i should also mention that i really like the music revies at 75orless.
more kids on rock
a month ago i meant to mention that my friend sarah is continuing her series of interviews with kids about indie rock on her blog.
her most recent roundtable has kids talking about architecture in helsinki, sufjan stevens, darren hanlon and flin flon.
about a week ago
about a week ago the neuticles placed third at dr. fact's first anniversary high roller special. we did win bonus round beer. i had a good time.
sorry i didn't mention this six days ago after the competition. sometimes i forget that i have a blog.
January 06, 2005
post-chrismukkah
tonight's new episode of THE O.C. is up against a new episode LIFE AS WE KNOW IT. that doesn't bode well for the abc show. i hope to have a report on both, maybe a little compare/contrast if i'm feeling energetic, later tonight in this space.
UPDATE (11:02pm):
I didn't watch LIFE AS WE KNOW IT yet. Maybe later. I'm not filled with energy (I've had a cold all week). But THE O.C.! Let's talk about how fantastic the show is! The dialogue is so meant for chatting about on livejournal but I still love it (and I think the only reason I mention livejournal is because the guy from preshrunk mentioned it the other day. You've checked out this site, right? It's been all the rage the past few weeks! Who knew that reading about t-shirts could be so much fun!). That intro line Seth spoke about math or physics or whatever being the new uppercut. Perfect! (even if it was totally bad ADR).
What continues to amaze me is that the soap opera aspect is so over the top. The whole Jimmy Cooper getting caught having an affair with his ex-wife by his daughter and deciding to move to Hawaii thing could've played out over five or six episodes. Instead, we get everything in one episode (with a bonus O.C. party that almost has Marissa and her mother trading blows).
I'll be honest, though, the weirdest things about watching tonight's episode was realizing that I love the way Jimmy Cooper dresses. When he was on his boat in that grey ribbed pull over with the sort of half neck that wouldn't fold over, I realized I wanted to be him and I want to dress like him. There's something so California Casual about it.
Any other fashion thoughts about last night's episode? Did you see that dress Kirsten wore at the party? I think there was a three foot long cord hanging down the back of it.
January 04, 2005
movies 2004 (and more)
as we roll into 2005 (and no, i'm not admitting to having taken any ecstasy on new year's eve. do people even do that drug anymore?), it's time to start thinking about the best films of 2004. like i have for the past five years, i will once again be posting lists of everyone's year end movie comments. there's no need to rush these to me tomorrow...the posting will go on for the next two or three months (generally, i like to have them all posted by oscar time). if you're having a tough time recalling which films were released in 2004, you can check out the movie times: movies of 2004 box office chart.
in the spirit of all this movie talk, check out today's gothamist interview with indieWIRE's eugene hernandez.
don't forget that once the sundance film festival starts, you can check out blogging sundance by jason calacanis, who says he hopes to interview every director at the festival.
if you're in the mood to update your links and read about movies every day, one of the best film blogs to visit is GreenCine Daily.
January 03, 2005
urban bocce (part two)
in late september i joined a small group of people for the first annual cross-nyc urban bocce tournament - a test of wills. we played bocce on four surfaces (grass, wood chips, dirt and sand). the day started on roosevelt island and moved to central park. from there we traveled to prospect park. the day finished tournament style at coney island. shawn joined me to form "early retirement." our bocce skills weren't up to par, but we had a great time. as usual, i took a few pictures.
(i also posted a few pictures at the end of the day)
January 02, 2005
sujan's birthday
a late summer sunday along smith street isn't such a bad thing. to celebrate sujan's birthday everyone headed to sherwood for brunch. a lucky few followed the meal with copious amounts of beer at the gowanus yacht club. inbetween brunch and beer? sour freezer pops. they were scary. but the burgers and other treats at the bar made up for it. surprising no one, i took a few photos.
i'm almost 30 and one half
i turned 30 in 2004. to help celebrate, my parents came to visit. they joined some friends and i at grimaldi's one day and at the gate the next. pizza and cake (fifteen years ago no one would have expected that sort of combination from me). my family and i walked across the brooklyn bridge. i took a few photos (and so did my dad).
yu's birthday
on a weeknight in early august, a bunch of people got their first look at brooklyn's new chuck e. cheese. everyone met there to celebrate yu's birthday. besides enjoying the unlimited mr. pibb on tap, i took a few photos.
anne's birthday
on the first day in august (2004) a group of friends met at anne's place to celebrate her birthday. i took a few photos.
my fotolog