Getting to Maybe

Done With Dieting: 30 Days of Soul-Full Eating

2009-02-02T21:57:00.004-05:00

A program i'm involved in & doing myself. It's been an amazing journey, I so hope you join me.

I'm learning that it really is possible to eat what I want & still lose weight! Maureen has a truly enlightened persective on the topic that effects each and every one of us. I find it amazing that with this knowledge so much more than just a way to get trim is shown. I dont want to give anything away, this is truly something that needs to be experienced individually. I would not be surprised if it becomes a movie someday!

I highly recommend this program for anyone with weight issue, overweight, obese, anorexia, drug - alcohol - food - other addictions, abandonment issues, disease, anger, fear, or someone looking for a "higher" knowledge. so that would be pretty much everyone, this is far beyond "dieting"

Done With Dieting

There will be a free intro class coming soon!

Walmart cake

2008-06-09T18:28:00.001-05:00

this just came across my inbox

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: 'Hello 'dis is Walmarts, how can I hep you?'

Customer: ' I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'

Walmart Employee: 'What chu wan on da cake?'

Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'

The Optimist Creed

2008-02-11T21:40:00.000-05:00

Promise Yourself;
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

source: http://cynthiasegal.com/the-optimist-creed.html

A Whole New World....

2008-01-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

We're now a week into 2008, and New Year's seems like a distant memory. Like most people, resolutions are a fleeting fancy - they are cocktail talk as we wait for the ball to drop, and little more. The Monday after New Year's Eve, we've forgotten our resolve to eat less, spend less, exercise more and be all around better people.

2008, however, is a whole new world. While we might not have that magic lamp to rub and make our problems disappear, we can take solace in the fact that things are indeed different. For one, we're older - with that, we hope we're wiser. We've endured and grown from the events of our past, and we hope that it has shaped us into a better person - more capable of facing the challenges ahead.

We are a nation on the brink; 2008 will be an election year. Whether you're political or not, this offers a great deal of change. Depending on who you listen to, we are on the cusp of a new era. Come November, we will likely see our first African American or Female president. I for one find this exhilirating. It seems like we are at the dawn of a new day - everything is fresh and dewy with opportunity.

Our world is changing with each day. Yesterday, a television manufacturer announced it's new pride and joy - a set that is 11 feet tall and boasts a screen that is 12.5 feet from corner to corner. We operate our cellphones and Ipods without a thought - as technology grows faster, smaller and more readily available. Can you imagine what is 12 months away?

So....no matter where you are in your own world, consider where we are as a whole. It's a great time to be alive. This year, I'm working on changes for myself. I hope to get a new job, doing something I love and am passionate about. I hope to blog more, putting down my thoughts and aspirations. And, I hope to continue to move forward.

Happy New Year- even if it's belated.

Maureen Whitehouse on NBC 4 News

2007-12-14T14:25:00.000-05:00

Maureen Whitehouse on NBC 4 News

Watch the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFZuuAqR26Q

download/watch http://www.experienceaxiom.com/media/12-04-07WCMHSoul-FullEating.wmv

http://www.eatwithsoul.com/

Conscious Living Retreat Miami - December 1, 2007

2007-11-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

~ HEALTH - SPIRITUALITY - RELATIONSHIPS - ABUNDANCE ~

Lectures - Raw Foods - Fireside Chat - Camping - Yoga - QiQong - Music

more info http://www.centerofbeing.org/splash.asp

Quote of the Day

2007-11-27T09:53:00.000-05:00

Whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things.

~Cynthia Segal

Robin Avery

2007-11-27T09:47:00.001-05:00

http://www.robinavery.com/music.html

Robin Avery, this link to her website has music samples, she has a very soothing voice, her music is beautiful.

Welcome Baby Bain

2007-11-14T22:40:00.000-05:00

For those of you who follow this blog, you'll see that proud Aunt Shawn has talked about me being pregnant, well here is our little bundle of Joy!

Joshua Thomas

born Oct 29, 2007 12:59am

6 pounds 1 ounce

20 inches

GasBuddy - Cheapest Gas

2007-11-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

Now this is a great website, find the cheapest gas in your area.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Eat Your Way to Enlightenment - TODAY ONLY! Purchase Soul-Full Eating & get $4000 in free gifts!

2007-11-13T13:28:00.000-05:00

Here's a Special Alert! Today, Nov 13th Only Maureen is doing a bestseller campaign today for her, award-winning book, Soul-Full Eating: A (Delicious!) Path to Higher Consciousness.... please pass the word to anyone you know - and tell them to send it all along friend-to-friend-to-friend! If they buy Soul-Full Eating on Today, November 13th, they will get some amazing gifts from the authors/experts and conscious companies that are supporting her.

Check it out:www.eatwithsoul.com With the holidays just around the corner, wouldn't you like to share more than just food with your family and friends when you gather to enjoy your feasts? What if, when sitting down to your sumptuous holiday meals, considering that tray of delightful hors d'oeuvres or decadent deserts, you realize that it is actually possible to Eat Your Way to Enlightenment?

You can feast on your favorite holiday foods without guilt, gain cutting-edge knowledge about weight loss that brings self-love along with dropped pounds, and discover foods that deepen your spiritual connection while stimulating your body's ability to rejuvenate and heal. Maureen Whitehouse invites you to the book launch for her newly released award-winning book, Soul-Full Eating: A (Delicious) Path to Higher Consciousness. When you buy the book on Amazon on November 13 you'll also receive over $4000.00 in gifts from authors such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (Authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul) and conscious companies such as The Spiritual Cinema Circle, Seventh Generation and more.
Pass this on to those you love!

To get the complete details, go directly to this site now : www.eatwithsoul.com

Sunlight is good

2007-11-07T11:52:00.000-05:00

Two new studies indicate exposure to the sun may actually be beneficial in regards to fighting cancer. Researchers from Stanford University reported their findings in the American Journal of Epidemiology last week indicating that women who had higher sun exposure had their risk of advanced breast cancer reduced by almost half. According to a second research team who studied more than four million people in 11 countries, the risk of internal cancers except for skin cancers was lower among people living in sunny countries. According to the researchers, "Vitamin D production in the skin seems to decrease the risk of several solid cancers, especially stomach, colorectal, liver and gall- bladder, pancreas, lung, female breast, prostate, bladder and kidney cancers." Although food provides some vitamin D, nearly 90 per cent comes from exposure to sunlight.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_7956.cfm

Is It Time?

2007-10-22T14:24:00.000-05:00

I read a lot of blogs and I have noticed that at a certain point the inevitable happens - the blogger declares it is the end!*

So I am wondering, is it time for the end of Getting to Maybe? Honestly I feel like the blogging has been all TV recapping, quotes and an occasional link to coolness in between. Do I actually have anything to say anymore besides the regurgitation of what someone else is saying? More important, do I have time to say what I want in between the stress of work and the busy life in between?

When I started this a little over 2 years ago I knew it would be hard to keep up with it. That is why I enlisted a great team of bloggers to keep up the energy. Some of you went completely missing while others** have stuck around. But truth is, I have tried to give this blog some love everyday and thankfully we have some readers to show for it. However, most stop by through some random Google search for project runway or heroes or the office and are never to be seen again.

So maybe it is time? Maybe.

-----------------------
*This applies more to blogs where people don't get paid for it

**I want to give a special shout-out to Chris B, who has kept on blogging these past few weeks when I couldn't even find 5 minutes to post a quote.

Diaper Cake

2007-10-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

The latest diaper cake creation by Shawn, Elad, Chris, Lori & Jen!

We had lots of fun making this one & Elad & Shawn truly made this one of the most amazing diaper cakes I've ever seen with there amazing floral creation - what talent. Hmmmm perhaps we have a business to get started.

Postsecret

2007-10-21T08:03:00.001-05:00

Check out a bunch of new cards at Postsecret.

Quote of the Day

2007-10-19T15:30:00.000-05:00

"We cannot do great things, only simple things with greatness"

~mother theresa
- as quoted by Maureen Whitehouse on The Path of the Soul CD

So the Mona Lisa did have eyebrows...

2007-10-19T11:51:00.001-05:00

Any visit to Europe can definitely greaten ones appreciation for art, and having spent several years there I have seen quite a bit. Rome, Florence, Pisa, Paris, Gent (Belgium), Amsterdam, are just few of the places where extraordinary images of beauty have touched my heart and opened me up to other dimensions.

I'm no expert on the subject of art history and really know nothing about it other than I like it.

So... the Mona Lisa...

I don't know why it was such a big deal that the Mona Lisa didn't have eyebrows, I think its cool actually. What an incredible beautiful work of art.

Well, new imaging techniques involving infrared and ultraviolet light reveal more than our naked eyes can see about this mysterious painting.

French engineer Pascal Cotte reveals the discovery of her eyebrows and many other interesting characteristics:

read more from yahoo news and livescience.com

Huh?

2007-10-17T13:17:00.000-05:00

MTV recently put out these ads (click on each to see bigger picture and read text). They put a picture up of someone you don't recognize but is really important next to someone you do recognize and isn't important (maybe they wouldn't put it that way). They then have text that says who the person you don't recognize is. Wouldn't we not recognize them because (1) we didn't grow up in that era and (2) we are in a TV/Visual age where we constantly get visuals of everything current and the same technology didn't exist 50 years ago.

Is my brain so damaged by MTV that I can't even understand why they are putting out these ads. What are they trying to say? Are they admitting we are all dumb because we watch MTV? My brain hurts.

(From Copyranter)

Quote of the Day

2007-10-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

"Some folks are wise and some are otherwise."

- Tobias Smollett

ATLAS DEI

2007-10-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

A film by Daniel Colvin
Music by Robert Rich

from www.atlasdei.com:

A lyrical journey through time and space into the mystery of our cosmos.
In this feature length film, musician Robert Rich and filmmaker Daniel Colvin
weave the strands of science, myth, and poetic vision into a powerful and compelling
tapestry of the human enigma.

High resolution motion graphics, in panoramic 3:1 aspect ratio, with letterbox.
Featuring 90 minutes of 5 channel surround mixes of these Robert Rich compositions

Trailer #1:

From www.electroambientspace.com:

...And what is the story? Essentially, the film attempts to communicate the wonder and mystery of the Earth, its inhabitants, and the cosmos. Through images and music, the film explores art, biology, chaos vs. order, cosmology, human accomplishments, macrocosms and microcosms, myth, natural vs. human-made objects, science fiction, technology, and lots more. It’s all presented in a very cool, surreal, nonlinear, organic, dream-logic sort of way...

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3

Hi There!

2007-10-15T14:52:00.001-05:00

Hey all!

Please don't hate but right now I cannot be blogging like normal. I am just swamped and really this blogging thing is just for fun when I have spare time. And right now spare time is not easy to come by. So please forgive my absence lately and once things chill out a bit over here I will be back to normal.

For now, check out the Heroes recap I did over the weekend

- Shawn

Quote

2007-10-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."
- Carl Bard

Postsecret

2007-10-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

WOW this week is REALLY good. I don't know why but I found a lot of cards that are interesting. Go check out Postsecret for more.

Heroes - Season 2, Episode 3 - Kindred

2007-10-14T09:47:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the late posting - been a busy week over here. But, better late than never, right?

Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like Heroes has been a bit repetitive lately. Did anything really new happen this week? OK there was a bit of newness between Claire and West. Oh and that whole Sylar thing, too. OK I guess there is something to talk about...so let's get to it!

We open with Peter meeting with the Ireland thieves and they are talking about the newest plan to steal money from a bank. Peter's powers kick in (which come in and out without his control) and he reads the mind of Will, Ricky's brother, who says he is going to steal all the money. Peter calls Will out on it but nobody else heard Will's thoughts so they do not believe Peter. They have a trust of brotherhood and Peter isn't a brother.

Guess who is still on the run? That's right, Maya and Alejandro. Now they are somewhere in Mexico and they decide to steal a car to get to the border. A police officer sees them and the chase begins. Alejandro is caught and he tells Maya to keep on running.

Niki and Micah are back and Niki is breaking the bad news that they have to move again. Micah doesn't want to leave his father and Niki promises she will bring Micah to visit his father whenever he wants. We then see they are in front of a graveyard and DL is the only hero who was actually defeatable.
We are suddenly on the beach with a bikini clad gal chatting away on her cell phone. She says her name is Michelle but we soon find out it is Candice, the woman who is able to change what people see into anything she wants. Sylar is lying in a chair besides her in a Hawaiian shirt. Made me a little jealous because the scene looked so nice! Anyway, Candice explains that she created the illusion of the tropics for Sylar so he doesn't have to feel the pain that he is actually going through. Stubborn ol' Sylar raises his voice and insists to know the truth. Candice is no fool, she reveals that they are in a shack and Sylar is recovering from some major wounds from having a sword go through his chest.
Back in California suburbia, Claire and her dad have another heart to heart about her being special. Nothing new there. She heads off to school and her stalker, West, is on her tail. He saw her cut off a toe and he wants to know more. Claire insists that he has no idea what he saw and asks to be left alone.

Mohinder returns to NY and reunites with Matt and Molly. His work will now continue from NY.

Ando is slacking at work and wondering where Hiro could be. Somehow he has managed to keep the special sword (the same Hiro and Takezo Kensei are using in the past) in a cabinet in his office. Kinda strange that nobody saw him bring a huge sword in, but whatever. He is looking at the sword, thinking of Hiro, and he sees that at the bottom of the sword it tells Ando to open up a secret compartment in the handle. A tiny scroll comes out and it is a note from Hiro.
Peter and Caitlin share a lovely moment about what is going to happen at the bank robbery.

Alejandro goes to jail.

West asks obnoxious questions about regeneration to his biology teacher and pisses off Claire.

Ando is reading the scrolls and Hiro talks about his great adventure with TK and the sword maker's daughter. Hiro confesses to Ando that he has strong feelings for the girl. Meanwhile TK is freaking out over the fact that he can't die (do you think he is an ancestor of Claire?). He thinks Hiro cursed him. Hiro calms him down by showing TK that he, too, has special powers. Godsend!

TK wants to use his powers to make money and other things like that. Hiro insists TK take on the Battle of the 90 Angry Ronin. He transports TK to the battle and then abandons TK.
After Claire runs out of the bio classroom, West follows her. She is really upset with him for the way he is putting her on the spot and trying to make her tell the truth. Finally she admits her powers. And then, in the most cheesy moment in Heroes' history, West reveals he can fly.

The bank robbery is underway. It is an elaborate scheme where the police officers who are coming to pick up the money at the end of the day knock on the door to get the money from the bank. They are distracted by a belligerent guy and then attacked from behind and dragged away. The police officer from the bank opens the door and he has the money. He is confronted with a gun and the robbers take the box with the money. As they leave with the money more police officers show up with guns. I guess this is where Peter was supposed to come in, but I am not exactly sure how the plan fit him in. Peter quickly moves a huge truck to block the police officers from getting close to the robbers and the robbers quickly escape.

Somehow Isaac's loft has become Mohinder's new work space. I guess they didn't want to build another set? Or is it just a convenient way to make some things happen?

The swordmaker's daughter talks to Hiro about her feelings for TK. She says there are two sides to him and she can't really figure him out. The viewers all know that the 2nd side is actually Hiro in TK's costume. TK returns victoriously from his battle and wins the sword maker's daughter's heart.
Niki drops off Micah in New Orleans at Nana Dawson's home. This woman just looks cool and I have a feeling there are some hidden powers there!

Maya shows up to the police station and insists that her brother be set free. When the police officers refuse she shows them that her and her brother are the ones in the wanted poster. Before they can lock her up she does her weird thing and kills everyone, including the other inmate. She finds Alejandro, gets him out of the cell, and he uses his powers to bring everyone back to life. The other inmate asks to come with them so he can escape. He says his car is outside and he can get them to where they want to go. (How convenient) They agree and they all run out before the police officers can get them.

In Ireland the robbers are counting their money and surprise surprise, Will pulls a gun on his brother and demands all the money. Peter intervenes and is shot. Peter's body literally spits out the bullet and heals itself (very cool!). Peter then uses his powers to push Will up against the wall and choke him. Will is barely alive and Caitlin begs for Peter to let Will go. Peter drops Will and Will lives.

After the swordmaker's daughter and TK are together, Hiro decides he is going to come back to the present time. But after he says his goodbyes he gets jealous and decides to stay and continue the adventure.

Sylar is in a really pissy mood and taking it out on Candice. He is angry because his powers won't work. Candice says he will get better with her help and his powers will work again. She shows off how great things can be with her fulfilling his fantasies with her powers. Sylar gets blood hungry and kills Candice to take her powers. Too bad that his powers don't work anymore. Now he is stranded literally in the middle of nowhere with nobody there to help him. What an idiot, he could have really had some fun with Candice and now there is nobody in the world that cares about him.

Peter is worried that he is actually evil inside because of the way he treated Will. He is given his box to reveal who he really is. Peter is actually starting to like what he has become and decides not to open the box. Peter and Caitlin make out.

Claire and West make out. Claire notices a marking on West's neck and asks what it is. He explains that one day he was riding his bike and a "guy with the horn-rimmed glasses" pulled him away. After that he lost that day of memory. And suddenly Claire has a real conflict of interest.

We find out that Niki is siding with the guys that Mohinder works for so she can get better. They have some work for her in exchange for her getting better.

Mohinder and Noah are on the phone talking about some paintings that Mohinder found left over in Isaac's studio. He has found the 8th painting out of the set of 8 that will tell of future events. It is a picture of Noah dead on the ground with Claire kissing someone in the background. The picture is emailed to Noah and Claire is home and they both look at each other with a bit of suspicion.

So where are we going with all of this? What is Niki's new job? What is up with Nana Dawson? Will Sylar be stuck in the middle of nowhere? Will Peter ever really know who he is? What is going to happen to Noah? Why did Hiro stay in the past? Will Alejandro and Maya ever stop running?

Quote

2007-10-12T08:54:00.001-05:00

"The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."
- AL GORE, after being awarded a share of the Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of climate change

Mew, I like it

2007-10-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

They have a cool sound, what do you think?

Outside of the Classroom

2007-10-11T08:46:00.002-05:00

It feels like a very long time ago when I was in a high school classroom. There were no real computer classes (except learning how to type on a keyboard), no blogs, no myspace, no text messaging. We had beepers! And only the rich kids had cell phones.

But the world has changed and so has the classroom. I got an email from a friend today pointing me in the direction of a blog that is written by a class of sophomore high school students in Connecticut. They have been given the assignment to write a blog post about a current event. It seems like both a writing assignment and an experiment at the same time. Will random people find their site? Will they get comments? Will they spark interest? Will they be linked to? (Yes!)

So far they have touched on Darfur, the war in Iraq, global warming, the death penalty, obesity, college drinking, Jena 6, abortion and religion. It really represents all the issues that this country (and world) discusses and thinks about every single day.

Check out Olmstead/Wasserman 212 and leave a comment showing them some love!

I wish them the best of luck and welcome them to the blogosphere!

Quote

2007-10-11T08:46:00.001-05:00

"I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time."
- Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown in "Peanuts"

Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions Revisited

2007-10-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Wow, very special! The Cowboys and Natalie sound great together. A beautiful recording in High Definition!

For the best viewing and listening experience watch the video here or the YouTube version:

enjoy

Radiohead Chase Rainbows

2007-10-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

So unless you've been sleeping for the last two weeks, you might have heard Radiohead were releasing their new album, In Rainbows, on October 10th in a completely new fashion. They are offering the album as a digital download (a leak, if you will) for the price of "whatever." Basically, they bundled their announcement of a new album with the promise of a early leak and the moral ambiguity of allowing users to pay whatever they feel is appropriate for a download.

But there's a catch. As many found out this morning, the quality of the leak (like the old days) was going to be lesser than a real release, 160 kbps as opposed to the more traditional 192 or the way better 256 or 320. Sacrilege to the audiophile set, myself included, and a little underhanded since this wasn't announced up front, but to most, (*cough, myself included) it doesn't matter. We'll still download it.

I'm listening to it right now and it is, of course, impressive. It's Radiohead. It's electro-funky and kinda weird and a little scattered, but haven't they always been a little over the place?

It's been out less than a couple hours, but some people are not impressed. Dude, give it a day.

Further reading (and staring amazingly at crazy Radiohead fans) here: Pitchfork's Guide to In Rainbows.

Quote of the Day

2007-10-10T07:48:00.000-05:00

In Honor of In Rainbows,

"I follow to the edge of the earth
And fall off"

- Radiohead - "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"

Slow Down

2007-10-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

Hey Readers!

Time is not on my side right now so expect limited posting over the next few days. Hopefully some of the other contributors will step in and fill the void.

- Shawn

Quote

2007-10-09T08:28:00.001-05:00

"The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it."
- Doug Larson

The Office - Season 4, Episode 2 - Dunder-Mifflin Infinity

2007-10-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

Last week the camera crew "outed" Jim and Pam to the audience and this week Toby outed them to the Office. He caught them sneaking some "PDA's" and issued a memorandum reminding the office that this type of behavior isn't allowed.

Michael gets on the defensive thinking it was about him and Jan. Toby is put on the spot and admits he saw Jim and Pam. And the office reacts:

Michael: My heart soars with the eagle’s nest.

Dwight: I don’t see it. I think they both could do better.

Angela: It’s not a surprise to me. Pam is the office mattress.

Andy: Guess who just became the best-looking single guy in the office?

The office is getting ready for the return of Ryan, the new "boss". Michael still sees himself as Ryan's mentor and the power struggle begins.

Meanwhile, Dwight is trying to make up to Angela what he did to Sprinkles. He offers her another cat that isn't up to Angela's standards.

Angela: I don’t want Garbage! I want Sprinkles!

Jim and Pam talk to Toby about the need to fill out any paperwork to disclose their relationship to the company. Toby is obviously a bit jealous and doesn't take their relationship seriously.

There is serious tension between Ryan and Michael. Ryan is trying really hard to assert his status as corporate.

Michael: Yeah, Ryan snapped at me. But there was this twinkle in his eye that I picked up on which said, “Dude, we’re friends. I’m doing this for appearances. I am the big boss now. And I have to seem like an ogre. But you know me and you trust me. And we like each other. And we’ll always be friends. And I would never take you for granted in a million years. And I miss you, man. And I love you.” His words.

Ryan calls a meeting to present to the office Dunder Mifflin Infinity which are new changes coming to the work place to bring in a younger technology vibe.

Creed is getting the feeling that the older people in the office are getting pushed out.

Creed: I’m telling you, this kid is the Grim Reaper.

Pam and Jim finally admit that they should have gotten together a long time ago. Oh, and that they both know about Dwight and Angela's relationship. And it seems now that the news is out about Pam and Jim, the entire office is worried they are about to walk in on some naughty moment between the two of them.

Phyllis: I couldn’t see your hands.

Also, it seems like the co-workers are worried Pam will play favorites with her man.

Phyllis: It’s great that you’re dating. But when a new client calls, you just have to randomly assign them to a salesperson. You can’t base who gets new clients on who you’re sleeping with that week. Okay?

And it seems like Kelly has a plan to get back Ryan.

Kelly: I hope you’re still committed, because I’m pregnant. And guess what, buddy. I am keeping it.

Is it true?
No! But at least she got a date out if it.

Angela and Dwight make a date for that evening. But Angela insists it is "in public." What could this be about?

Jan shows up to the office to have lunch with Michael. She runs into Ryan....awkward!

Ryan: Scranton suits you.
Jan: Best decision I ever made.
Ryan: You were let go.
Jan: You know what? Love the beard. Keep it forever.

Ryan pisses off Jan just enough for her to get annoyed and run her mouth off to Michael. She tunes him into the idea that Ryan might be pulling some age discrimination with his new "Infinity" plans.

Michael takes this to a whole other level so he can put Ryan in his place (and keep his job). Michael calls a meeting to talk about elderly people.

Michael: New ideas are fine. But they are also illegal. Because they are a form of ageism. What? Yes, I am right.

Michael brings in Robert Dunder to talk to the office. After quickly getting tired of Dunder's ramblings, Michael pushes him out and ends the meeting.

Michael: We have learned that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Because it’s illegal. And you will go to jail.

Angela and Dwight have their "date" and Angela breaks the bad news.

Angela: Every time I look in your eyes, I see Sprinkles’ stiff, lifeless body.
Dwight: Then don’t look in my eyes. Look right here. It’s an old sales trick.

Angela breaks up with Dwight. Is it really over?!?!?! But I feel like it was just beginning!

The next day at work Michael feels like Ryan's new way of running business won't match up with the old ways of doing this. Michael takes on a project to win back ex-clients with gift baskets.

Michael: I think he is forgetting about the original instant message. Letters attached to baskets of food.

Michael: Gift baskets are the essence of class and fanciness. They are the ultimate present that a person can receive.

Michael thinks he has a lot to prove but nobody is on board, except Dwight.

Michael: Ever since I was a kid, people have been telling me I can’t do things. You can’t be on the team. You can’t move on to second grade. Well, now they’re telling me I can’t win back clients using old-fashioned business methods. We’ll see about that. And FYI, I eventually aced second grade. And I was the biggest kid in class.

And Creed is totally worried he is out because he is getting too old. He changes his look and attitude to blend in with the younger crowd.

Creed: Sometimes a guy’s gotta ride the bull. Am I right? Later, skater.

Dwight and Michael head off to give away some baskets and aren't doing too well trying to get back those customers. The rest of the office stays behind. Andy and Kevin gossip about how cool Ryan is. Jim doesn't get it.

Andy: He has a killer job. He’s rich. He smells like what I think Pierce Brosnan probably smells like. He wears really cool rich guy clothes.
Kevin: And he can get any girl that he wants.
Andy: So sorry, Tuna, but if you don’t know why that’s awesome, then you need awesome lessons.

Ryan talks Pam into drawing some new logos for Dunder Mifflin Infinity. He uses all these corporate type words and Pam doesn't know what he is saying but she is excited to do something artsy.

Pam: Yeah, I’m going to do some mock-ups, and then turn those into thumbnails, maybe do some splash frames? I don’t know what I’m talking about. But I’m excited.

Michael is driving around all day in a rental car with a GPS system. He first loves it and relies on every move it tells him to make. But the GPS tells him to make a right turn into a lake and he listens...

Michael: A machine told me to drive into a lake.

Michael gets very angry and heads back to one of the offices of an ex-client and insists to get the gift basket returned. This isn't Michael's day.

Back at the office, Ryan is checking out Pam and the logo she made for Infinity. Ryan asks Pam out on a date and she is shocked. She declines and tells him about Jim. Turns out this is the 3rd girl Ryan has wanted to date that Jim got first. You know I used to think Jim wasn't much of a ladies man but his dating record looks much differently on paper.

Jim: I guess he can’t get any girl he wants.

In the end, Michael's gift basket idea wasn't a success. Creed wasn't fired for being old. Ryan's plans still look to be going forward. Angela and Dwight are over. Jim and Pam are just getting started. And poor Kelly had to reveal the truth about being pregnant.

Michael: Everyone always wants new things. Everybody likes new inventions, new technology. People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me, the choice is easy.

Pictures from Office-Caps. Quotes from Office Tally.

Quote

2007-10-08T11:07:00.000-05:00

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."
- Charles Bukowski

Postsecret

2007-10-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

Another new week at Postsecret. And there is a new video up for the book "Lifetime of Secrets".

Worthy

2007-10-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

So this is really cool: A Tribute to REM's classic album, Automatic for the People, by stereogum.com, featuring such artists as the Shout Out Louds, the Figures, the Meat Puppets, and Dr. Dog (whoever they are).

I haven't actually listened to it yet (cause I'm at work and busy as always), but I will later tonight!

Stereogum did a tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer about a month ago that was cool, but not the best music ever. Interesting, but not memorable. Here's hoping this one's better.

Cool Video's

2007-10-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

Organik has 2 new videos!

This first one was done by Expression College - Great job on the visual effects and graphics. And Roy, thats a fun performance!

This second one was was done by Milapse, an awesome time lapse photographer. Make sure you check out his other awesome videos on youtube.

Quote

2007-10-05T08:41:00.001-05:00

"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."
- Walter Anderson

Thoughts on Top Chef???

2007-10-04T07:47:00.000-05:00

So what do you think of the finale? HUNG?!?!?! Although I didn't stand by my initial instinct throughout the season, I did guess he would win after seeing the first episode.

Anyway, please share your thoughts!

Quote

2007-10-04T07:17:00.001-05:00

"We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex--but Congress can."
- Cullen Hightower

Michael Would Cost The Office A LOT of Money

2007-10-03T17:12:00.001-05:00

Two things that have great influence over my life have finally converged - the law and the Office.

Check out HR Hero Blogs "That's What She Said", where each week they assess the litigation value of each episode in a short episode recap.

Thanks Julie for the link!

A Gift? For Me?

2007-10-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Arcade Fire has a little gift for all the fans. On October 6 (Saturday) they will post something on the following website: www.beonlineb.com

Right now there is nothing on there. But according to Pitchfork something very cool will be posted. Can't wait!!!!

Alton

2007-10-03T08:52:00.001-05:00

For anyone who watches the Food Network, you have to admit there has been a whole lot of Alton Brown lately on that channel. Even This Just In realized it awhile back.

So it is no surprise that fans are bringing it up a notch (oh wait, that's Emeril)...

Here is a list of 30 things you didn't know about Alton Brown.

Some of my favorites:

#20. Alton Brown's cakes don't rise. They ascend.

#22. Alton Brown's no saint. But if his chicken Kiev cures one more kid's leprosy, the church will reconsider the evidence.

#29. When Alton Brown slices onions, the onions cry.

OK, so it is a joke - but it shows you how nutty his fans are!

As much as the Food Network is on Alton overkill, I have to admit I am a big fan. I watch Good Eats at least once out of the 50 times it is on daily. And you couldn't move me from the couch when Feasting on Asphalt was one. Too bad I missed the last episode. They still haven't replayed it. Anyone know how I can check it out?

Quote

2007-10-03T08:16:00.001-05:00

"When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them."
- Rodney Dangerfield

Heroes - Season 2, Episode 2 - Lizards

2007-10-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

EWWW W Peter is looking like crap!

So would you if you got beaten up by some angry Irishmen who want their iPods. Too bad Peter can't even remember his name and give them some worthy information to stop the beatings.

Claire is showing off to her mom her super healing powers and after bitching and complaining about having to be normal, Claire is off to school. Noah and his wife talk about Kaito's death. He must have been someone really important to find his way to the front page of a California newspaper when he died in NY.

Noah reveals to his wife (after being accused of keeping secrets) that he is on the hunt to find 7 paintings which reveal future events painted by Isaac Mendez. I wonder what the other 7 are?

Noah already has one painting and the other 7 will reveal how more events will unfold.

Detective Matt is investigating Kaito's death. He is on the rooftop of the Deveaux building and Ando is there. (Didn't they meet before?? Because they really acted like they didn't know each other) Both Matt and Ando need to find Hiro and find out what is going on with Kaito's death.

Meanwhile, Hiro is still in 1671 Japan. He is still trying his hardest to convince TK (Takezo Kensei) to save the sword maker's daughter and the town. TK is still drunk and useless. It looks like Hiro has gotten the idea that he should just be TK and fulfill the hero's story.

At school, Claire is strangely obsessed with regeneration in lizards. She makes the argument that the same thing can happen to humans. Her teacher tells her good luck with her PHD. And she raises the suspicion of her stalker, West.

Suresh shows up for his first day of work and immediately Bob sends him off to Haiti in a private jet. There is a man in Port au Prince, Haiti, and he has the rare virus that killed Suresh's sister.

In Mexico, Maya and Alejandro are still trying to make their crossing to the United States. They go to an old friend, Nidia, who helps a lot of people cross to the US. Maya is still afraid of herself and insists they don't harm Nidia by crossing with her. Alejandro says he will be by her side so nothing should happen.

Back in Ireland (is that where they are?), Peter continues to be beat up. A lovely girl, Caitlin, comes to tend to his wounds. Can you see the love connection already? She is Ricky's sister. (Ricky is the guy looking for the iPods). She tells Peter that those iPods are a huge debt that needs to be repaid or there will be terrible consequences. She notices something strange about Peter - his wounds start to heal very very quickly. Almost as if they never existed.

Suresh arrives at his patient's home in Haiti. And guess who it is - The Haitian! What a surprise?!?! He doesn't want Suresh's help but Suresh tells him that he has the only cure for the virus.

In Mexico, Maya is told that she is very evil by a woman with weird psychic powers.

Hiro gets into the ancient Japanese Battle of 12 Swords and kicks serious butt. He beats some men who were trying to kill the sword maker's daughter. I think she is in love!

Peter uses his powers to escape from the ropes tying him to the chair. He escapes in time to save Caitlin from getting beat up from some roughnecks.

In California, Claire is all like yea, whatever, West, I don't know why you think I am obsessed with regeneration!?!? And West is like, but Claire you need to read this crazy book that says exactly what you are talking about! And Claire is all like, yea, whatever, NERD!

And Hiro makes it rain cherry blossoms for the sword maker's daughter.

Suresh cures the Haitian and Suresh tells him he works for a company. The Haitian is very suspicious of companies so he wipes out Suresh's memory. (Or so we think) Bob shows up and the Haitian is gone and Bob is pissed at Suresh for letting the Haitian go.

Maya and Alejandro (M&A) are on their crossing with Nidia. The authorities are coming and Nidia leads Maya to a large pipe that goes under a river. They get into the pipe but have to leave Alejandro behind because the authorities are on their tail.

And then that weird thing comes over Maya and without touching Nidia, Nidia is on the ground choking. Maya gets strange black bloody looking tears coming down her face. Alejandro appears and brings Nidia back to life. Nidia thinks they are evil and she runs off. M&A have no clue where to go from here.
Claire leaves school and goes to get in her car. One problem - it is gone! Apparently she left the door unlocked (I guess her superpowers don't carry over into her street smarts) and someone stole the car. She goes to tell her dad at work. Again Claire somehow manages to complain about not being able to take advantage of her powers. She wants to know her limits and help people. Her dad insists she lay low.

Matt brings in Angela for questioning on Kaito's death. She reveals she had a sexual relationship at one time with Kaito (who knew!) and then she realizes Matt is reading her mind. She turns angry and calls for her lawyer. ("She said uncle") Nathan shows up to post bail for his mother (she was in jail?) Suddenly Matt and Nathan hear screaming and they have to break into the interview room to save Angela. She is still alive clutching the picture of her with the helix on her face. The person who attacked her is gone.

Peter and Caitlin are looking awfully close and Ricky shows up. He demands some information from "Peter". Apparently Ricky knows something about Peter and he has more in some box. The box contains things that Peter had in his possession when he was found in the cargo container. Peter gets the box in exchange for helping with another robbery.

Hiro comes back to TK and tells him about the battle and saving the sword maker's daughter. Hiro convinces TK to go save the sword maker. TK is caught up in heroism and runs off. But he is quickly stopped by the warriors. They shoot him down with arrows. He looks like he is dead but suddenly his wounds heal. Does he have a power?

Suresh comes back to NY and calls Noah and tells him a package is on its way. The Haitian appears and is back to use his powers to take down this company.

Claire is at home and gets curious about her regeneration. She decides to cut off her toe to see if it grows back. Of course it does. And who is watching her but her stalker, West. She sees him in the window and she runs outside. Out on the driveway is the book written by Suresh's father. Claire's dog barks into the air as if someone is up there.

****
Um HELLO where is Niki/Jessica???

How gross was Claire cutting off her toe?

What about Hiro playing out the role of TK? Pretty cool, huh?

And how hot was it when Peter started kicking ass? And what is the deal with these stupid iPods? Oh, and now there is "the box" (cue dramatic music)!

How did Suresh know that he was going to the Haitian so he can set up that plan with Noah?

So it looks like soon we should get to see Sylar again. It really doesn't seem like people can die even if their powers wouldn't save them.

Pictures from Heroes-Pictures.com

Soul-Full Eating on You Tube!

2007-10-02T10:40:00.000-05:00

I'm super excited about this - getting the word out on You Tube. Happy Eating!

You Tube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kihoq46gRXY

Quote

2007-10-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

"If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."
- Johnny Carson

Bad Taste?

2007-10-01T10:28:00.000-05:00

When I saw this shirt online this morning I laughed. I mean, the premise is funny and I know people (maybe me?) who online-stalk (thank you google, myspace, friendster...facebook one day soon?).

But I didn't realize that some people actually live in fear of their stalker. One woman in particular was really upset about this shirt being sold at Wal-Mart.

"People don't realize how serious stalking is," she said. "You constantly live in fear, look over your shoulder and suffer from psychological and physical symptoms due to the stress of the stalker."
She wondered aloud: What's next?

"Some say it's rape, I call it hot sex"? Or: "Some call it domestic violence, I say I'm just teaching her a lesson"?

Again, not funny. Right?

Quote

2007-10-01T09:25:00.000-05:00

"It is always your next move."
- Napoleon Hill

Postsecret

2007-09-30T10:17:00.001-05:00

I always wondered...

More at Postsecret.

The Office - Season 4 - Episode 1 - Fun Run

2007-09-28T17:28:00.000-05:00

OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe this show is back!! It has only been a few months but I really missed The Office. And I was just DYING to know what was going to happen with Jim and Pam. And we will get to that shortly...

But First, let's get an update from the other employees of Dunder Mifflin.

What's going on with Michael? Seems like he is up to his same old hijinx.

Michael: I did not get the job in New York. But I got the real prize — domestic bliss.

Him and Jan have moved in together. And she isn't looking too good...

But Michael is in a really good spirit. Things couldn't be better...until

Ouch, that is gonna leave a mark. And that brings us to Meredith, who started this season off on the windshield of Michael's car.

Michael hits Meredith in the parking lot of the office, and when he gets into the office he breaks the news to the other workers.

Michael: The doctors tried to save her life. They did the best that they could. And she is going to be okay.

He tries to play it off like he had nothing to do with it but the truth must come out.

Michael: I was able to be on the scene so quickly because I was in the car that hit her.

The entire office turns against Michael (except Dwight, of course) and they start planning a visit to see Meredith.

Meanwhile, Kevin and Oscar are like two gossiping girls, speculating about Jim and Pam. They are starting to sound like the viewers!

Kevin: Are you kidding me? Pam and Jim are totally hooking up. All they do is smile.

Oscar: There is no evidence of intimacy.

And what happened to Karen? Jim broke up with her after the interview in NYC. She came back to the office the next day and told him that she wouldn't give up everything because of this (I guess that meant her job in Scranton), but then the next day her desk was cleared. And at this point of the episode Jim is playing it like he is single and looking and Pam says she just talked him through his break up.

Meanwhile, the other member of the accounting department has her own stress with her little kitty Sprinkles. Apparently Sprinkles is having multiple types of ailments and Angela has been having to watch the kitty very carefully lately. She almost skips on seeing Meredith in the hospital so she can check on Sprinkles, but Pam convinces her to go to the hospital and Angela sends Dwight off to check on Sprinkles instead.

What is Angela and Dwight's take on the Meredith incident? (Quote from a later part of the episode)

Angela: I have to visit the alkie.
Dwight: Check to see if she’s faking. If a car hit me, it wouldn’t crack my pelvis. You know what. I bet she cracked it at home. Jumped in front of the car to get some worker’s comp.
Angela: I wouldn’t put it past her.

All the insanity over in the office makes Michael want to do something for the staff to make them think he isn't all that bad. He calls corporate (Jan's old position), who is now Ryan (the former temp/Kelly's ex) to see what corporate can do for him.

Ryan: Did it happen on company property?
Michael: Yes. It was on company property, with company property. So, double jeopardy. We are fine.
Ryan: I don’t think you understand how jeopardy works.
Michael: Oh, right. I’m sorry….What is “we are fine”?

Ryan seems like his head has gotten a little inflated over at corporate.

Ryan: People keep calling me a “wunderkind.” I don’t even know what that means. I mean, I know what it means. It means, very successful for your age. So I guess it makes sense, but, it’s a weird word.

Michael interrupts a staff gathering (where they are trying to figure out when to visit Meredith) and insists that everyone go at the same time together to see Meredith. This has trouble written all over it.

So they all get to the hospital and it seems like Michael had a reason to get everyone there at the same time.

Michael: You know what I was thinking might be sort of fun? Is if you forgave me in front of everybody.

Michael: You know what they say in the bible about forgiveness? Forgiveness … is next to godliness.

Meredith is not in the mood for forgiveness. Michael screws up her IV and practically crushes Meredith by forcing a hug on her while she is still lying in bed.

When they return from the hospital Dwight informs Angela of some bad news.

Angela: Any problems?
Dwight: Well you left the TV on. And your cat is dead.

He put her in the freezer to stop the odor.

Michael now thinks the office is cursed because of all the bad things that happened that day.

Michael: It is up to me to get rid of the curse that hit Meredith with my car. I’m not superstitious, but, I’m a little stitious.

He gathers the staff so they can talk about religion to see if anyone brought this curse upon them. And this meeting introduces us to the new IT Tech Guy. He remains nameless in this episode but he was seen already earlier getting celebrity porn off Pam's computer. So far in the episode he had more lines than Andy (who up to this point was visible but completely silent in every scene). But as a little trivia, he was in an episode early on from Season 2, and his name is Sadiq.

IT Tech Guy: If you’re going to reduce my identity to my religion, then I’m Sikh. But I also like hip-hop and NPR, and I’m restoring a 1967 Corvette in my spare time.

Michael suggests ways to break the curse on the office.

Michael: Maybe there’s some sort of animal that we could make a sacrifice to. Like … a giant buffalo. Or some sort of monster, like something with the body of a walrus with the head of a sea lion. Something with a body of an egret, with the head of a meerkat. Or just the head of a monkey, with the antlers of a reindeer. With the body of a … porcupine.

Can you imagine what that would look like?

After the meeting Michael sends Dwight off to go visit Meredith in the hospital. At the hospital Dwight learns that Meredith actually needs a rabies shot because she was bitten by a bat (because of Dwight last season) a raccoon and a rat.

Michael takes this as a good sign and finds a reason why Meredith needed to be hit by a car.

Meanwhile, Kevin can't stop talking about Pam and Jim.

Kevin: Oh well. If they aren’t together now, then they probably never will be. I thought they’d be good together. Like PB & J. Pam Beesly and Jim. What a waste. What. A. Waste.

And this brings us to the most important scene of this episode. The camera follows Pam leaving the office in her car. She drives about a half a block, pulls over, and picks up Jim. He gets in and then we see the moment we have all been waiting for!!!!

YES!!!

Michael then decides to organize a run to raise money for a cure for rabies. (Something that already has a cure) He calls it Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run For The Cure. You can start buying merchandise for MSDMSMPMCRAPFRFTC (the fun run) at NBC.com.

Michael has the entire office working on getting pledges and making quilts.

Kevin doesn't want to run because he doesn't have the right type of clothes to run that day and Andy is really afraid of "nipple chaffing". And this is actually the first thing we hear from Andy all episode.

Andy: I’m petrified of nipple chafing. Once it starts, it is a vicious circle.

We get a little more information on Angela's relationship with Sprinkles.

Angela: This is Halloween last year. Just a couple of kittens, out on the town.

She is really torn up. She has a suspicion that Dwight killed her cat.

Angela: When I got home, Sprinkles’ body was in the freezer, where Dwight said he left her, but all my bags of frozen french fries had been clawed to shreds!

And in a very meta moment, Jim and Pam are talking about their strategies for the race and the camera comes up very close to them. The camera seems to be suspicious of their relationship. Then they cut to the conference room and they are watching a video of themselves from the earlier scene when Pam picks up Jim a block away from the office in her car and they kiss. And Pam spills the beans and admits they are dating.

Pam: Yeah, I gave him a ride home because … we’re dating.
Jim: Wow. There it is.
Pam: Yeah. We haven’t told anybody, but it’s going really great. Right?
Jim: It is going really great.

Jim did not expect that but they are both so damn cute and happy!!

After another confrontation about the cat between Angela and Dwight, a conference is called between Michael, Pam, Jim and Dwight to talk about the charity money and the 5k run.

Michael: I always imagined it with a giant check.
Jim: Yeah, I mean personally, I am definitely on board with the giant check.
Pam: Giant check it is.
Dwight: I don’t know. On the other hand, it does leave less money for bat birth control.

Michael really wants to hand off a giant check to a rabies doctor. Two problems - 1) They only raised about $500 (which is almost entirely Michael's money) and a giant check costs $200 and 2) there are no rabies doctors. Jim suggests a nurse by the hour.

Before the race, Pam is working on the last minute details and she sees a problem with the 5K sign (it is 5 kilometers, not 5,000 miles). She knocks on Michael's door to ask him a question and she thought she heard "come in" so she opens the door and gets an unexpected surprise.

Pam: So I closed the door, but the image of his …
Jim: Baguette.
Pam: … dangling participle …
Jim: Ooh.
Pam: … still burned in my eyes.

Michael tries to play it off but the truth is Michael was naked in his office. Jim makes fun of Michael by taking off his shirt during a side interview.

Then the race begins. Michael talks a little about rabies and the need for a cure (that already exists).

Michael: Myth: Three Americans every year die from rabies. Fact: Four Americans every year die from rabies.

Michael: It is truly the silent killer. No, it is the foaming barking killer.

They ended up hiring the stripper Elizabeth (from the Benjamin Franklin episode) to dress like a nurse and accept a giant check for $340. The check was made out to "science."

Michael loads up on carbs (fettuccine alfredo) so he can be ready for the race. Dwight puts Imodium in Toby's drink to make him go to the bathroom and slow him down, but turns out he was supposed to put ex-lax and the Imodium actually helped Toby not have to go to the bathroom during the race.

The race begins and Stanley, Oscar and Creed jump in a cab, get a drink and are driven to the finish line. Andy's nipples bleed the entire time. Michael gets terrible cramps because of the fettuccine alfredo, Kevin runs in a suit, Phylis ran with her husband, Bob Vance, and Jim and Pam went shopping at a garage sale and got a great lamp!

Dwight and Angela again talk about Sprinkles and Dwight admits he killed the cat. Dwight did it because he saw an animal in pain and that is what he does as a farmer to animals who are suffering.

Angela: Cat heaven is a beautiful place. But you don’t get there if you’re euthanized!

Oh, and Toby won!

Toby: And the winner is Toby Flenderson!
Kelly: Have a seat. I’ll write it down.
Toby: Where are we?
Kelly: I don’t know. Like five kilometers from the office.
Toby: He couldn’t have made it a circle?

In last place, Jim and Pam stroll hand in hand and see Michael sitting down. The food really got to him.

Michael: I ate more fettuccini alfredo and drank less water than I have in my entire life.

Jim and Pam motivate Michael to finish the race, which he does. Then he has to go to the hospital for dehydration. In the hospital he sees Meredith and she forgives him because of all he did for her with the fun run.

Michael: While I eventually puked my guts out, I never puked my heart out. And I’m very, very proud of that.

***

So what are your thoughts on Jim and Pam??? I am so happy they are together and I hope this season doesn't end up splitting them up for a stupid reason. It should be interested to see their relationship actually flourish. And what about Dwight and Angela? Looks like Angela needs some kitty counseling. Will she be able to forgive him?

(Pictures from Office-Caps, Quotes from The Office Tally)

Quote of the Day

2007-09-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

"I am not superstitious, but I'm a little spicious."

-Michael Scott, "The Office"

What If You Spent Every Day of the Last Year Following Every Rule of the Bible?

2007-09-27T10:47:00.001-05:00

You would look like this guy.

For a year A. J. Jacobs lived his life by every rule set out in the Bible. That includes the prohibition of certain hair cutting, as seen in the picture above. But what wasn't he able to cut out? Coveting.

But he did manage to stone an adulterer!

From a Newsweek interview:

What rule was the hardest to follow?
Two kinds of rules were hard. Avoiding sins we commit every day like lying, gossiping and coveting was hard, and then there were the rules that were hard to do in modern life, like stoning adulterers. But I did manage to fulfill that one. What happened was, I was in the park, dressed in my white garb, and this man in his 70s came over and asked what I was doing. I explained I was trying to follow every rule in the Bible as literally as possible, including growing my beard, not mixing fibers, stoning adulterers, and he said, “I’m an adulterer, are you going to stone me?” I said, “Yeah that would be great.” The Bible doesn’t say what size the stones have to be, so I had been carrying around these pebbles in my pocket for just such an occasion. I took the pebbles out of my pocket, and he instantly picked one up and threw it at me, so I decided, an eye for an eye, and I tossed one at him. It did provide an entry for talking to people about capital punishment and the Bible. How could they stone adulterers, what was life like back then, does it apply today. I tried to say to the guy, you shouldn’t sleep with other women, but I don’t know if it sunk in.

I like how now his perception has shifted and he appreciates good things that happen and how he sees his life as one of responsibility rather than rights and entitlements. I guess that's the real point of religion? To give your life some meaning and to help you get through the days when they are hard.

Learn more about A. J. Jacobs and his new book, The Year of Living Biblically, at Newsweek.

(via Boing Boing)

What Happened?

2007-09-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

Geez what happened to Carrot Top? Steroids much? One arm is bigger than his hair!

Quote

2007-09-27T09:12:00.001-05:00

"Nothing will work unless you do."
- Maya Angelou

Reminder

2007-09-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

New episodes of The Office and My Name is Earl THIS THURSDAY!!!! Each show is 1 hour this week.

*

2007-09-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

The news never stops about Barry Bonds' record-setting homerun.

Last week, fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball for a ridiculous sum and then started a website for fans to decide what happens to the famous ball. The choices were, donate the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame, brand the ball with a asterik and then donate the ball to the Hall of Fame, or shoot it off to space.

What won? Big shock: The asterisk.

It Isn't Always Bright and Sunny

2007-09-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

Check out these dark low lying clouds over Miami today. This is what late summer/early fall often looks like. Makes you wish there were changing leaves instead.

Quote

2007-09-26T08:47:00.001-05:00

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
- Thomas A. Edison

Heroes - Season 2, Episode 1 - Four Months Later...

2007-09-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

And We're Back! After a long summer without our immortal friends, the heroes are back and they have multiplied!

We open with Mohinder Suresh's voice over the various flashback and flash-forwards of the many heroes. Then we see he is giving a lecture in Cairo to raise money for his research. A crazed man comes up to him asking for his autograph. Suresh recognizes the man because he had been at 4 lectures already. The man asks Suresh to meet with him for a drink because there is a job for Suresh. Suresh says he has been down that road before but decides to go anyway.

And then suddenly we are transported to Honduras (we are getting even more international!) to a man and woman running from a car. Looks like we have 2 new heroes on our hands. But they are wanted for MURDER and are trying to get the United States to find "the doctor" that can help them. What could be wrong with them?

Next we are taken to Claire and Noah, who have moved to Costa Verde, California. Claire is starting a new school and is taking on the new last name of Butler. Claire is told to stay under the radar and to be as un-extrodinary as possible. And then we get our first car plug - daddy gives Claire a new Nissan Rogue. And then she almost gets hit walking over to school by someone we will learn more about later.

Boom! Hiro drops from the sky, just as we remembered him from the end of last season. He is in 1671 Japan and about to be hit by arrows when his superpowers shield him. Takezo Kensei is in the distance and Hiro decides to save him from the attackers.

Back in NY, we see Matt Parker in a bullet proof vest shooting people. Turns out he is in a test to become a NYPD Police Officer. He uses his powers to read the mind of the people who he is about to kill and passes the test with flying colors. They award him a badge.

Claire is in school checking out her cheerleading classmates. The boy who almost ran her over in the parking lot sits next to her. They flirt! He asks if she is a "robot or an alien"? Claire doesn't know the answer but is just trying to keep to herself. The teacher asks about a quote regarding evolution and nobody in the class knows the name of the person who said it. Claire writes down "Charles Darwin" on a paper and the teacher, disappointed in the class for being so dumb, tells the answer. The new boy-toy, named West, sees this and assumes Claire is a "robot" because she doesn't want the class to know she is smart. He just has her all figured out!

Back to Honduras, the two runners, Maya and Alejandro Herrera, meet up with a shady guy who will drive them to a point 600 miles from the border of America. They pay up a lot of money and the driver insists Maya sit up front with him. She refuses and they get in the car anyway.

So it looks like Matt has taken Molly under his wing. He is now divorced and recovering from some serious bullet wounds. Molly is in school and Matt comes to pick her up. Her teacher pulls him over and expresses concern for Molly because she has fallen asleep in class (who hasn't?). She shows him pictures that she draws of scary eyes and that weird squigle symbol. Matt says he knows she has nightmares but she is an imaginative child and he can't stop that. The teacher worries that Matt isn't the right parental figure for Molly. He insists they are fine.

Back at the scene where the "bomb" occurred at the end of last season, Ando and Hiro's father sit and wait for Hiro to return. It has apparently been a long time and they are still expecting him to show up in that very spot. Ando goes to get a newspaper from Kaito Nakamura's office and a picture falls out. From this picture Mr. Nakamura knows he is about to die.

Angela Petrelli is in a dark room looking at a picture of her sons. A drunk and bearded Nathan walks in looking very homeless. His wife and kids left him and he is punishing himself for what happened to Peter. Angela asks Nathan to get it together and move on with his life but he only sees Angela as evil and dismisses her. As she leaves the apartment she sees a picture of herself just like the one Kaito saw in the previous scene. The two pictures seem to be torn apart from one single picture.
Hiro is still in Japan and he transports TK to safety. But, then it turns out to be some other guy dressed as TK. That guy escapes and TK comes out from hiding. TK takes off his mask to reveal he is a white boy from England! TK reveals himself to be a dirty trickster who is just out to make money. Hiro is disappointed in the man who fueled all his hero fantasies. He tries to convince TK to change his ways and save the town of Otsu and take the town's swordmaker's daughter as his princess. TK could care less while he drinks down some alcohol. The down of Otsu denounces TK as their village burns down.

In California, Noah is working a dead end job at a copy center. His boss is a prick.

Suresh meets with "Bob" and Bob reveals he has the midas touch (he can turn anything to GOOOOLLLLDDD). He can give Suresh as much money as he needs to do his research as long as Suresh does the job they need. Suresh agrees and later calls Noah and says their plan is working. Suresh is trying to get into this company so they can bring it down.

Matt and Molly eat pizza for dinner and Matt confronts her about the pictures she is drawing. She gets angry at him and refuses to discuss it. He lets it go and she leaves the room. Later he finds Molly having those crazy nightmares. He tries to read her mind and she is very frightened. There is a voice telling Molly he can see her. Matt wakes up Molly and she cries in his arms.

Back in a very dark Honduras (maybe?), Maya and Alejandro are asked to get out of the car. The shady driver wants more money and for Maya to sit in the front of the car. After they refuse they beat up Alejandro and drive away with Maya.

Claire tries to adjust to her new school but is distracted by the cheerleaders. Her partner in a game of badminton is teased by the cheerleaders. They tell her to do a backflip from the tower and Claire asks them to leave her partner alone. Claire then says she will do the backflip so they leave her partner alone. She climbs the tower and as the crowd gathers around, Claire realizes she is calling attention to herself and chickens out. When the crowd leaves she does it and hurts her leg. Her healing powers quickly come in and help her. And then West walks in and sees her and realizes she did the jump.

A very smug Noah is taking a coffee break at work. His jerky boss comes in and insists he goes back to work. Noah flips the guy over and tells him he will take his breaks when he wants to. A nervous boss walks out the room and Noah finishes his coffee.

Kaito and Ando sit on top of the Deveaux building. Ando leaves to get Kaito a sword so he can fight off who is about to kill him. Angela then shows up and they wonder who is going to kill them. Kaito reveals that along with Charles Deveaux, Mr. Linderman, and Mr. Petrelli, he and Angela were part of a group of twelve people that tried to find evolved humans. Kaito warns Angela to leave town.

At the "Butler" household, the family eats dinner together and we see that mom and son are safe with the family. None of the family members have anything to say about their days and are putting up the front that they are being "normal".

Alejandro is seen running and finds the car that Maya was in. There are people dead all around the car and he finds Maya crying. She apparently has some power that can kill people. They take the bodies to go bury them and continue their travel to the US.

A lonely Claire calls Nathan and he doesn't want to speak to her. He is drunk at a bar and she is just reaching out for some type of connection to someone like her. He hangs up on her and looks into a mirror and sees himself with a burned version of Peter's face. After a double take the burned face is gone.

Then outside of Claire's window we see a stalker-ish West. But then it is revealed - he can fly!

Kaito is waiting for Ando to return and a man appears. Kaito recognizes him and is surprised it was this person. Kaito is pushed over the edge and then Ando appears and sees Kaito's body on the ground many floors below.

In the final scene, three thieving men are in an Irish shipping yard looking for a certain crate. When they open up the crate they find a man in the corner with no shirt on and handcuffed to the side of the crate. It is Peter! The men threaten him and Peter protects himself with his powers. He doesn't remember who he is or where the contents of the container went. He is wearing the helix symbol around his neck.

Pictures from Heroes-Pictures.com

***

So what did you think of the episode? How are Peter and Nathan alive??? Who is in Molly's dream? Who killed Kaito? Is Angela next? Will Hiro convince TK to change his ways? What is up with the 2 new characters? Will Jessica/Nikki be back?

Until next week!!!

Quote

2007-09-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

For all you Harry Potter fans out there:

"It's a dangerous business going out your front door."
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Redefining Reality TV

2007-09-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, our favorite network, Current TV, was awarded with a special Interactive TV Emmy for their outstanding and original work. I couldn't be prouder of the men and women who are behind this wonderful - and seemingly only - bastion of real news and issues on TV. And, of course, the viewers who help create the pods that are the fuel of the network.

This past weekend, Current re-aired a lot of their coverage of the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. While I still barely understand what Burning Man really is, Current did its best to show off the wild weirdness of that cooky sudden city in the middle of the desert. All of the pods were brilliant, especially any pod showing off the pre-festival creation of some of the elobrate art work or those following the "virgins", the first-timers.

While some competing networks (Ii'm looking at you, VH1) poke fun at Current for some of its off-the-wall content (*cough, Supernews), those who watch it know that it is the perfect mix of comedy and serious business. It's practically the only place on television to get honest, unbiased news about the global war on terror and all the fronts not covered by the mainstream media like Somalia, Colombia, and Syria.

If you still haven't taken the chance and watched some Current, it's never too late. The content is at its height, highlighting the best in culture, music, art, and news. Check your local listings. Prepare to fall in love.

Look Familiar?

2007-09-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos from the filming of the Sex in the City Movie. The above photo looks like it could be a flashback. Or perhaps the ladies are checking out their younger competition?

Anyway, this movie is probably going to be cheesy but I'm still looking forward to it.

Check out more pictures at Daily Mail.

*By the way, what is Kim Cattrall wearing? Are we filming another Mannequin sequel?

Update - add to the confusion - below is a picture of the younger sex and the city girls with Carrie walking by them. Hmmmmmm....

(from Celebrity Smack Blog)

ANTM

2007-09-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

I know there are many fans of America's Next Top Model out there. And although I do not watch the show during its first run (but I have to admit I watch past seasons in rerun on MTV/VH1) I still love to check out Four Four's review each week.

This guy has the best reviews of every single reality cheese-fest out there. So if you haven't jumped on the train already - be sure to check out Four Four's review of the first episode of the new season (Cycle 9) of America's Next Top Model.

Quote

2007-09-24T08:52:00.001-05:00

"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
- Jules de Gaultier

Postsecret

2007-09-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

Funny enough, last night my family was discussing how there is a large community of Asian Jews, I think in China (or was it Japan?). Either way - this person is not alone! According to this article - Asian Jews are everywhere.

Check out more cards this week at Postsecret.

It's Fasting...It's Fasting Time!

2007-09-21T11:20:00.001-05:00

Here it is again...that time of year when us Jews have to take on the guilt of every bad word, sin, and pork product consumed this past year and fast for Yom Kippor.

So to start off the holiday here are a few funny Jewish t-shirt images to celebrate one's inner jew-ness:

From MazelTough.com:
From Shirts and Ladders.com:
From Shalom-Shirts.com:

Quote

2007-09-21T08:40:00.001-05:00

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it."
- Rita Mae Brown

LOLSECRETZ

2007-09-20T09:52:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you mix
Postsecret with I Can Has Cheezburger?

lolsecretz - Check Out More!

The weird part is you can't tell if it is a joke or not...

Quote

2007-09-20T09:20:00.001-05:00

"I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."
- Terry Pratchett

Guess Who's Back!?!?!?!

2007-09-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

HEROES!!!! Season 2 premiers this coming Monday, September 24 at 9pm.

Excited?????

The episode is called "Four Months Later" - Claire is back with her family and she is making an attempt at being a normal teenager. Hiro has somehow been transported way back in time (as we saw at the end of last season) and hopefully we will get more insight on that.

Questions? Will Sylar be back? What about Peter and Nathan? Who are going to be the new villains?

It Was Bound To Happen...

2007-09-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Married couple cheated online - with their significant other!

A married couple who didn't realize they were chatting each other up on the internet are divorcing.

Sana Klaric and husband Adnan, who used the names "Sweetie" and "Prince of Joy" in an online chatroom, spent hours telling each other about their marriage troubles, Metro.co.uk reported.

The truth emerged when the two turned up for a date. Now the pair, from Zenica in central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful.

"I was suddenly in love. It was amazing. We seemed to be stuck in the same kind of miserable marriage. How right that turned out to be," Sana, 27, said.

Adnan, 32, said: "I still find it hard to believe that Sweetie, who wrote such wonderful things, is actually the same woman I married and who has not said a nice word to me for years".

Quote

2007-09-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money."
- Unknown

Austin City Limits 2007 - In Pictures

2007-09-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Austin!!!
(click on any picture to make them larger)

Mr. Mister Tents - sprayed water through fans - so necessary

BOOOOZE - also so necessary

Elad and Diana - Cheers!

The Kiddie Stage - the group playing is called "The Sippy Cups"

Somebody please tell me - what is "HEB"?

Cheesy Pics

Yes, we went there...

The Kiddie Tents (almost cooler than what they had for the adults)

FOOOOD - actually really good!

Huge Schedule

The sign of a festival-go-er

Sweaty

Dirty Feet

Damn it is HOT

Cold War Kids

Andrew Bird

Piggy!

People carried around markers so they can be found in the crowd

All types of balloons

Pirates - I feel like we were always behind this flag

A field of flags

Aqua Team Hunger Force flag

THE FREAKING ARCADE FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

ROCK OUT!

Elad getting down

Art Market

Me and Diana

Gotta try on a Cowboy Hat while in Austin, TX

A phrase used often around Austin

YES THEY DO!

Bloc Party

Amos Lee
My Morning Jacket

Keeping Cool

The sun setting on Austin

The Decemberists

Goodbye Austin!

The End of ACL 2007

Austin City Limits 2007

2007-09-17T19:29:00.000-05:00

After last year's Lollapalooza '06, I attempted to coin the phrase Mega-Festival to describe the attempt to shove massive amounts of people into a single space over the course of a weekend. Well, Austin City Limits blew that festival away by the sheer size of it. The day-after guesses bring the number at sixty-five thousand, which might be lowballing a little, in my opinion. That number seems sort of abstract and hard to pin down, until you're on a field with sixty thousand other people trying to flee a festival you tried so hard to get to in the first place.

But I'm skipping ahead.

First off, we had some trouble starting off. Actually, before we even left our home state, we were terribly delayed by stupid airline nonsense. I won't bore you with the details (which I'm sure you can guess it), suffice it to say, our plans for the day were thoroughly shot down before they barely began. And we missed one of the bands we really wanted to see mid-day Friday, Peter Bjorn and John. Word around the campfire was that we didn't miss much, but still. Sucks. Big time.

We did manage (desperately) to catch Spoon's 6:30 pm set. We were a little too exhausted that day to remember we had a camera so no pictures from that first night, but Spoon put on a damn good show for a few thousand of their loyal Austin fans. I had heard in years past that Spoon's live show leaved something to be desired, and it's true, the pitch-perfect perfection in Spoon's brilliant albums were missing in the one-or-two-note performance, but my hips certainly didn't mind. I shaked my white ass to such classics as "I Turn My Camera On" and "Someone Something" as well as almost every song from the new album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I had been waiting to see this band for a long time and was so glad we got there in time.

We caught a little Gotan Project on the way to buy beer or iced tea. I knew them from my trip-hop days. A very engaging performance from a band I knew very little about. Made mental notes to check them out some more.

Headlining that evening was the irreplaceable Bjork. Her liveset was, as you can imagine, crazy. Lasers, costumes, a jangling and dancing Icelandian sounding beautiful amidst super-loud beats. Unfortunately, the day caught up with us and we didn't stick around for the whole set. It was hard to leave, but very necessary.

Saturday, we woke refreshed and ready to take in the day and some of Austin. We grabbed some kick-ass barbecue downtown and went to the festival in time to rock out to Cold War Kids. I never heard of this band before so I didn't really know what to expect. I was impressed. They have a sprawling rock sound that references a lot of post-rock, but with lyrics. It's indie rock for adventurers.

We then headed to see one of my favorite new artists, the amazing Andrew Bird. Those who knew his stuff cheered at every opening chord. Those who didn't stood perplexed but amazing by this extremely talented violinist/whistler/singer/songwriter. He blazed through the opening tracks to Armchair Aprochrya and The Mysterious Production of Eggs to ferocious applause. His vocals, his dynamic violining, the authenticity of his words poured through those speakers and I was transfixed. His performance was everything I hoped it would. The first highlight.

And then, particularly no time later, the big highlight of the weekend: Arcade Fire. Shawn and I moved in real close to get the best of this wonderful band. It wasn't easy. It was hot. And sweaty. And sort of gross. (And eventually dangerous). But so freaking worth it!

Everyone - I think - has heard of Arcade Fire's legendary live performances. Allow me to elaborate: Every word you've ever read is true. Watching them blast through fiery song after fiery song, my mind kept saying.. As if there was any doubt, this is the best band in the world right now. It felt like there was hundreds of thousands of us in the audience shouting every word, singing our hearts out to such made-for-concert choruses to songs like "Leave the Car Running" and "No Cars Go." (I don't know why they're obsessed with cars, but I digress.)

The Arcade Fire have somehow tapped into a sense of need in today's young people. We need this band. We need its anthems of rebellion and justice and glory. And we need it delivered with every ounce of being in their collective bodies. Three or four songs in and the band's sweat matched the audience. The way they shouted every lyric (even if they didn't have a microphone anywhere near them) was spellbinding. The washes of horns and guitar and violin and whatever the hell Regine was playing was caked with emotion. An amazing experience, from beginning to end.

The only downside was that some kids just got into the spirit too much and decided to crowd surf, almost coming down hard on Shawn. Stupid kids.

Sunday, weary but determined, we woke early to grab some waffles and eggs and oh-so-delicious bacon for fuel and headed to the festival in time to watch The National, one of the most promising young bands in the indie rock scene today. I've been a fan for years, but have never been lucky enough to watch a performance. I was mightily impressed, as was the few friends we had around who weren't familiar with them. They played mostly stuff from their new album, of course, and they played with such fire, I loved every moment of it.

Next big band came at the Big Big set for Britain's Bloc Party. They didn't play any b-sides, much to my disappointment, and for some reason, I felt like the massive set and huge huge audience were a little too much for the kids from England, but they still played a fun and upbeat set. I'd seen them before and wasn't too impressed, but the new album tracks worked out really well live.

Next up was Amos Lee, a soulful guy from Philadelphia who poured his heart out for an hour to much ado. There wasn't much God talk this weekend, and this guy wasn't evangelical or anything but his soul grooves and pure heart leaked out and was infectious.

Then, another highlight, the wonderful My Morning Jacket. These guys know how to have fun. They dressed up the set and themselves for this headlining spot. It was a Hawaiian motif with lead singer Jim James in a blond wig and tight-pants, complete with Hawaiian girls holding pineapples and some dudes metal-detecting on the "beach." As for the performance, incredible. So much power in that voice! So much emotion in those guitar licks. People around me didn't seem as into it as I was, but that didn't faze me from rocking out until my flip-flops were so sweaty, I almost tripped.

Finally, after three very long days, the last shows of the fest went on. There were quite a few performances before the headlining Bob Dylan, but I, of course, chose to see The Decemberists. It was my third time seeing them and, though they didn't seem to have the same intensity like when I saw them last in San Francisco, it's hard not to be transfixed to such a wonderful band, even half-exhausted as I was immediately following the My Morning Jacket set. These guys have such wonderful material and they played some of their best songs in an all-too brief set, closing with the powerful "I Was Meant for the Stage."

The final act of the festival was Bob Dylan. At this point, the sixty-five thousand people converged on a single section of Zilker Park and though we had intended to stay for a few songs, we got the hell out of there as soon as we could. I don't "get" Dylan, so I didn't mind leaving. I was curious, for sure, but I was more convinced I didn't want to spend a few hours in line waiting for a bus back downtown after a looooong day out in the sun.

To sum up, Austin City Limits was a remarkable experience. There is no way one person could see so many different bands in such a short time for so many different parts of the country and the world than in one of these mega-festivals. Sure, it's a lot to take. But it's also wonderful. And extremely memorable.

(Stay tuned for a couple more Austin posts, including "Fun Diversions" and - assuming I can figure out this new Blogger feature- video!)

Quote

2007-09-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

"Go forth in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined."

-Thoreau

Postsecret

2007-09-16T13:34:00.001-05:00

Check out a new week at Postsecret.

Earth Dance Miami

2007-09-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

September 15, 2007, at 7PM EST, nearly half a million world citizens in over 60 countries and 350 locations worldwide will join together for the world's largest synchronized music and dance festival for peace and to support humanitarian causes through the global language of music and dance. The defining moment of each Earthdance event is a synchronized link-up, when every event around the world plays a specially produced song called "The Prayer for Peace" at exactly the same time.

It will be an all day event with tons of music, performance art, yoga, and more. Doors open at 2pm. Tix are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and here's the real bargain: get there before 4pm and get in 2 for 1.
EarthDance Miami
EarthDance International

Quote

2007-09-15T08:21:00.001-05:00

"If you can dream it, you can do it."
-Walt Disney

News of the Day

2007-09-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

All human life has been eradicated: Say hello to Zeno, the robot boy.

Looking for love in all the wrong places: The abandoned monkey who has found love with a pigeon

If you build it...they won't come: Marlins played the Nationals at Dolphin Stadium and only 400 people showed

How is the air up there?: Dubai tower now world's tallest free-standing structure

Why Travel All The Way To Austin For Music?

2007-09-13T08:58:00.001-05:00

Last year we went all the way to Chicago for the Lollapalooza festival. But I have to admit, I am no longer a college student and I just don't have the energy and spunk I did in my younger years. So after a weekend of sitting in dirt and rocking out to some of my favorite bands, I swore off festivals. I was beat up by the end of that weekend and couldn't imagine doing to again.

So why am I traveling this year to Austin? There is only one thing that could get me to take back my ban on festivals:

The Arcade Fire! That's right. The one band that I have fallen in love with over the past few years that has not found its way to Florida or last year at Lollapalooza. There was no question in my mind that I would be in Austin when I saw this band's name on the list.

And the excitement is building and although 140 bands will be playing this weekend, the main event, for me, will be the Arcade Fire's set. Wish me luck finding a good spot to check out the show!

Quote

2007-09-13T08:40:00.000-05:00

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"
- Ronald Reagan

Shana Tova!

2007-09-12T14:48:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to my fellow Jews!!!! I wish you a year of sweetness, love and good deals!
p.s. Something inside of me really wants to say "Happy Jew Year" so there (!!) now it is out of my system!

The Austin Countdown Begins!

2007-09-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

For almost 4 months I have been waiting for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. I have studied the lineup, booked tickets, got a rental car, found a hotel and researched the city. And now it is finally here!!! I am going with Elad and a group of friends for a full weekend of music and Austin. I've never been to Austin before so I am really looking forward to checking out the city in between rocking out!

So the latest music news is that the White Stripes have just canceled a chunk of their current tour which includes the Austin festival. That means that the Arcade Fire now is going to have a crowded stage which will force me to camp out at the stage for almost 2 hours to get a good spot. But hell, it's worth it! I have wanted to see the Arcade Fire for way more than 2 years now so I am going to do what I need to see them from closer than a mile away.

Peter, Bjorn and John's set has been pushed to 3:30pm on Friday, which is great for me because before their set was at the same time I landed in Austin. As we have posted before, PB&J is a band we really enjoy so it is great I don't have to miss out on that.

And as for Austin - I hear they have some good bar-be-que - so bring-it-on! I'm going to have a car so I plan on driving around and finding the best of Austin.

Any suggestions from folks who have been out there before?

Quote

2007-09-12T08:04:00.000-05:00

"There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking."
- Alfred Korzybski

2007-09-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Take a moment today to remember September 11, 2001.

Tell Me You Love HBO

2007-09-10T18:52:00.000-05:00

Last night, Tell Me You Love Me, HBO's newest one-hour-long drama premiered with much ado and almost as many commercials as that Justin Timberlake thing. I don't usually like to form an opinion on shows based on pilot episodes, but the internet is abuzz today with talk about the show so I thought I'd throw my two cents in.

From the outset, I knew a point of comparison for this show would be the brilliant Six Feet Under. Although centered around death, Six Feet Under was really about relationships, familial and sexual and marital. From the first episode of Six Feet Under on, we were thrown headfirst into a troubled family and all the crazy characters of that family, the Fishers, and all those around them.

After one episode of Tell Me You Love Me, I can't say I know much about any of these characters except that one couple is not having sex, one couple is trying to have a baby, and another couple is young and likes to have sex.

Okay, so I guess I'll talk about the sex now. Everyone else is. There's a word for the kind of sex we saw on display last night. It's called pornography. The producer and headwriter Cynthia Mort joked that she didn't think people would pay much attention to the sex (at least I hope she was joking). HBO has been showing nudity and sex scenes for years on their dramas, but this was long, drawn-out, choreographed sexual escapades.

In other words, gratuitous.

From the outside, one could say the enormous amount sex and the extreme display of flesh was a simple ratings ploy. If this was any other network, I would say they're right. But this is HBO and HBO, to me, has more credibility than... well, anybody and anything.

So the question remains, was all the sex trying to prove something? I kept watching the episode wondering if there was hidden meanings in all the bare asses and naked breasts.

Early in the episode, therapist Mary Coster looks at two pictures of naked bodies for a photo for a book she's writing about sex. A scene or two later, the young couple gets down and dirty and certain flashes evoke those same images. Okay, that's interesting. But by the fourth sex scene in single hour, I started to wonder if this wasn't just a way of shocking people.

Well, I'm not shocked. And frankly, I was kind of bored. Six Feet Under had a lot of sex, some of it graphic, but all of it served some purpose. Some overlaying story arc that needed to be shown during that sex scene, not just two straight people getting it on for fun.

Furthermore, trying to go beyond the obvious, the show seriously lacked a sense of humor. The premise of the show, couples dealing with relationship issues through therapy, is serious stuff. You must buoy that seriousness with some kind of comedy. A joke here or there or - shit, have someone fall on a rake, if that's all you can come up with.

All that being said, I will watch another episode, just because it's HBO and because I'm damn loyal. But there better be some serious improvement or I'm out.

Notes on the VMAs

2007-09-10T08:41:00.000-05:00

Being born in the 80's I feel compelled to watch MTV's Video Music Awards each year. I can remember that the VMA's were always after the first week of school (but for some reason I remember it being on a Tuesday) and I was always sure to have homework done so I can stay up late and watch it.

But of course the last few years I have grown out of touch with MTV - or at least the music associated with the VMAs. (I can't deny that I watch the reality shows) So this year I figured I should see what's new and check it out. And I heard Britney was performing so I had to see what that would be all about. (How could you have been a teenager in the 90's and not be interested in seeing Britney perform?)

First off - I did watch the opening pre-show that interviews all the red carpet celebs and I just can't believe how many people talked about Britney. I mean seriously even the Foo Fighters were excited for Britney. Could there be more anticipation? You know this is all setting the bar way too high for Britney. And I have to admit that I am SO jealous that the red carpet was in a casino - I think I saw my favorite game "Wheel of Fortune" behind John Norris and I so wanted to jump through the screen and throw in a dollar!

So on to the show...

Before any awards or monologues we got Britney. And if you watched it or went to any news site today or even opened up your AOL email you will see that Britney totally phoned it in. She was detached, possibly drugged, unemotional and walking through the performance. She barely danced and for the most part she didn't even try to lip-sync. It was pretty much a slap in the face to all the viewers who were excited to see Britney's big comeback. We are all pulling for this girl who has fallen on hard times. We were ready to put everything we thought about Britney aside if she could just pull off a great three minute performance. She could have made millions off of getting this right. But instead she half-assed it and pretty much lived up to the expectations we should have had for her all along. And the outfit...I could have a blog post about how wrong that was in itself.

And then there was the rest of the show. What a freaking chaotic mess. There was the main show and then four penthouse suites where other performances were going on all night. Fall Out Boy, Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters and Kanye West all had suites. The show kept on cutting to one of those suites and sometimes other performers were there (like 50 cent, Rhianna, Cee-Lo) but the show never told us who was performing. We would jump into the middle of a song and we would get a minute and a half performance that would be cool if you were there, but did not translate well onto TV.

On top of the multi-suite performances, there was some band playing in the corner with guest singers the entire night. Each time they cut to commercial or came back from commercial this band would be playing with some random singer (like Adam Levine of Maroon 5). Of course you would again get like a one minute performance by someone you didn't know singing a song you couldn't understand. It was just a mess.

My favorite moment of the night was Alicia Keys. I always have love in my heart for that girl. She always brings it when it comes to her performances. But my question is - what was that headband thingy on her head? I wasn't feeling it. But otherwise, her whole performance was hot and makes me want to hear more of her.

Oh and a great surprise was to see a super jacked up beefy Dr. Dre. What happened to him? Seriously those muscles around his neck were bigger than Kanye's ego. I thought we would get a little performance out of him - but it's all good. It was just nice to see him.

Other highlights: Chris Brown (who I have no clue who he is) performed some Michael Jackson dance moves which was a nice trip down memory lane. Oh and Alicia Keys singing George Michael's "Freedom" was a great throwback, too.

Gossip from the night - Kid Rock and Tommy Lee got into a big fight possibly over Pamela Anderson. We didn't get to see it but there is a video around the internet. Check it out.

Also, Kanye is really pissed he didn't win one award out of the 5 categories he was nominated for. Why is he even taking the VMA's so seriously, obviously they mean nothing when it comes to music sales or how good of an artist you are. Well, he has made promises not to return next year because each year he loses.

There was also some secret joke going on between Jamie Foxx and Diddy which I would have liked to be in on. And Jamie Foxx was just a nut on stage with Jennifer Garner (who looked amazing, by the way). He just started saying random things and beat-boxing and I think he expected Jennifer to shake her ass. But she was having none of that and stuck to announcing the winners.
Oh and speaking of awards, was there like 8 awards in total? What is up with the new random awards - the "Quadruple Threat" and the "Monster Single of the Year". Anyway all the awards were pretty lame. Most people gave a half hearted acceptance speech. The best part was when the girls from The Hills gave an award to Justin Timberlake and he went up there and said how MTV should play more music videos and less reality tv shows. I think he also said something about not wanting to see the Simpson sisters (Jessica and Ashlee) on reality tv. He must really be out of touch - those girls haven't been on MTV for a few years now. But anyway, way to diss the Hills' girls right to their faces. I actually felt bad for them at that moment. And I bet they were sad they didn't get even a hug from Justin.

Oh and I can't forget Gym Class Heroes accepting their award for Best New Artist. They just got shitface drunk instead of accepting the award. All you can see are drinks being poured down throats and a lot of screaming and chaos.

So all in all, the show blew. No surprise there. At least I recorded it and didn't watch it live so I could fast forward through all the boring and annoying crap. Oh but one thing, my recording ended as Dr. Dre was speaking and Rihanna won some award - did anything happen after that? I was actually pissed I couldn't see how the show ended - anyone want to clue me in?

Diaper Cake

2007-09-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

So we did it!!! Here is the diaper cake we made for Lori's Baby Shower. We ended up using real fresh cut flowers to bring in some color. I am pretty proud of how it came out. I hope Lori enjoyed her party as much as I did.

Quote

2007-09-10T08:16:00.001-05:00

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.
- Ray Bradbury

Postsecret

2007-09-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

Check out a new week at Postsecret.

Roma Organic Gelato

2007-09-07T09:03:00.002-05:00

After hearing some great reviews of Roma Organic Gelato from Critical Miami, I just had to stop by for a taste. It is located in Mary Brickell Village right next door to Grimpa (or behind Starbucks towards the metro mover).

Roberto and Mauro are two very friendly Italian guys offering the best gelato around. It is all organic - right down to the milk, berries, nuts, chocolate....all of it! And the flavor is just WOW. Pistachio and Hazlenut were my two favorites last night, but coconut, dulce de leche, chocolate and all the rest were really amazing. And the owners are very welcoming which makes you want to come back the next day!

By the way, they also have sandwiches, salads and wraps which I plan on checking out someday for lunch.

Daily Candy also has a great review of Roma Organic Gelato.

Roma Organic Gelato, 901 South Miami Avenue, in Mary Brickell Village (786-252-5276).

Quote

2007-09-07T09:03:00.001-05:00

"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability."
- Oscar Wilde

The Many Joys of "On Demand" Cable

2007-09-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

We have had Comcast DVR and "On Demand" for a few months now and it has made watching tv so much better for so many obvious reasons.

But my coworker has recently informed me of a feature on demand - Exercise TV. There are all types of videos, from short videos less than 10 minutes to longer videos around 30 to 40 minutes long. You can do cardio, muscle building, dancing, abs and even tae bo.

I have done two videos already and although I feel a bit silly jumping around in my living room, I have to say that it is way more comfortable than going down to the gym. And the best part is that I throw some food in the oven for dinner, let it cook for the time I work out and when I finish the video my dinner is ready. Not bad!

By the way - I am really sore today- ouch!

The Diaper Cake

2007-09-06T08:55:00.000-05:00

Today Lori and I are going to try our hands at a little craft project. Lori has her baby shower this weekend and we are going to make a Diaper Cake as a centerpiece for the party. Hopefully it will look something like this:

So for now I am checking out some online "how to" instructions like this one, this one, and this one. It looks pretty easy.

Anyone ever make one of these before? Suggestions?

(P.S. - can you believe it is already time for Lori's baby shower??? She is just around 8 and a half months pregnant!)

UPDATE: Everyone must see this amazing diaper cake Happy Roy made:

Beautiful, isn't it? Let's see if I could pull off something similar.

Quote

2007-09-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired."
- Jules Renard

(a habit I really love)

Curiosity - Tell Me You Love Me

2007-09-05T10:32:00.000-05:00

A new HBO show is debuting next week on September 9 - Tell Me You Love Me.

The show looks at the connection, or disconnection, between sex and intimacy, as seen through the stories of three couples who attend therapy sessions with Dr. May Foster. Dave and Katie, in their 40s, are outwardly happy, but have stopped having sex. Carolyn and Palek, in their 30s, want to have a baby, but the pressure to get pregnant is taking a toll on them. Jamie and Hugo, in their 20s, are engaged, but trying to resolve issues with fidelity.

The commercials have been airing after Big Love and Flight of the Conchords. I'll admit I am curious as to what the show has to offer. I mean, it's on HBO so it has to have some watching value. Although, I hope it isn't all about couples fighting, because that is just depressing. I guess we will see...

Quote

2007-09-05T08:37:00.000-05:00

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."
- Sir Francis Bacon

Oh Come On!!!!

2007-09-04T16:57:00.000-05:00

I am going to follow in the footsteps of Bill Maher and suggest a "New Rule": Presidents should not be allowed to speak about their feelings and give personal insight about the presidency until after they have left the White House.

President Bush opened up to author Robert Draper about his fears, "self-pity", decisions and tears. All I can say is that the quotes that have been published in this NY Times article is making Bush sound like a whinny baby and not the leader of the free world. You aren't supposed to let them see your weaknesses!! But who are we kidding - our weakness is the President of our country.

(For more, check out the NY Times article or the dumbed down version at AOL)