Star Wars Trumpet

This literally made me cry with laughter.

Ewok song…in barbershop style!

What’s wrong with us?

Does anyone else think it’s completely ridiculous how much attention has been paid to the very-public meltdown of Britney Spears and the mysterious death of Anna Nicole? Either Anna Nicole or newly-bald Britney have graced the covers of the New York Daily News and the New York Post – though it should come as no surprise on either of those. These stories followed the lurid details of the diaper-wearing astronaut and her 900 mile drive to attack her “romantic rival” that captured America’s attention. Jeez…

Isn’t there some more important news to report? Is this where we, as a culture, have come? We’re in the midst of a disastrous war, enduring the worst presidential administration in our nation’s history, and front page news is Britney’s shaved head?

Guh.

P.S. I’m actually the father of Anna Nicole’s baby.

100 Things

My friend Amanda Martinez, part of my daily lunch crew at Rockefeller and easily one of my favorite people, did a list of “100 Things” about her on her MySpace blog. I enjoyed reading hers, learned a lot about my friend, and immediately wanted to do one. Amanda’s boyfriend Jorge referred to it as “a good exercise for the mind and soul.” I agree!

In no particular order of importance, here are my 100 things:

1. I genuinely love my life right now.
2. I have two brothers – Matt, who is 26, and Kevin, who is 24 – who are both very different from me.
3. My favorite sports teams are all Philadelphia-based, even though I have lived in New York for 8 years.
4. None of them have won a championship since 1983.
5. This makes me very sad.
6. I DVR Molto Mario every weekday, and usually watch it when I come home from work.
7. Cooking shows make me happy.
8. When I was little, I wanted to be a doctor, a weatherman, a broadcast journalist, and a sportswriter.
9. I didn’t want to be a singer until I was a senior in high school.

Jack Bauer in 2008!

I’m really hooked now.

Aside from the fantastic offerings of HBO, I have not recently been a very big fan of anything on TV. Thanks to Jack Bauer and my new crack-like addiction to 24, that has all changed.

One of my Christmas gifts to Erin was the entire 24 series on DVD. We spent a decent part of our holiday breaks watching Seasons One and Two. I became a fan almost instantly. Erin has matter-of-factly stated that she would leave me for Jack Bauer. He’s fictional! I wasn’t too worried. Now the really scary thing is – I think I would leave Erin for Jack Bauer, too!

In all seriousness, he is precisely the type of hero that this country – and these times – desperately needs. Jack is incredibly loyal – a man of his word. He will not lie to you. And he just might save the world.

Bauer/Obama in ’08!

(A boy can dream, can’t he?)

Parlez-Vous Montreal?

The following is a not-so-brief account of my trip (with Erin) to the fantastic (and fantastically nearby – 6 hour drive) city of Montreal, Canada. It is like visiting a European city, but one that’s within driving distance – and without that pesky Euro! Erin and I had a blast. Here’s our trip, in words and pictures.

Departure – Saturday, August 19, 2006 @ 6:00 a.m.
With the best of intentions, we set the alarm clock for 4:15 a.m. (!), but really only woke at 5-something.

Arrived in Montreal about 12:30. It was too early to check in, so we found a cute little spot for brunch, Cafe Cherrier. We had only been in Montreal for about 20 minutes when Erin thanked our waitress with a confident “Grazie.” Guess she thought we were in Venice or something.

Still too early to check in, we then sat in Square Saint Louis. At 3:00 p.m., we checked into our hotel, Hotel Kutuma. NAP TIME!

On the cutting edge

Well, well, well. I was surfing around the CNN videos section yesterday. Much to my surprise, they have a Showbiz Tonight or whatever, feature on the lovely Britney Spears video below…or shown here. Yes, that bitch is still crazy!!! But I think it’s cool that something I posted on here…oh, almost TWO WEEKS AGO, is now garnering the attention of CNN. Hooray for me.

(Note: I didn’t break the news about the video. In the interest of full disclosure, I found it on another website, and then downloaded it from here.)

Speaking of amazing discoveries, I happened upon some pretty cool new music last night. Anyone who saw the series finale of Sex and the City might recognize the stylings of MC Solaar. But his stuff is pretty fantastic. Erin and I went to my favorite speakeasy (Yes Gerd, I LOVE speakeasies) Single Room Occupancy last night. Solaar was pumping through the speakers. Ya’ll should check him out. Read about him here! You can now also buy his music on Itunes.

More later…

How To Be An Expert On ANYTHING

I read the following Stephen Colbert excerpt on Daily Kos and laughed out loud. I hope you enjoy it!

Pick a field that can’t be verified. Try something like string theory or God’s will: “I speak to God. I’m sorry that you can’t also.” Security experts are in this category: They have security clearances, we don’t. We can’t question the expertise of the NSA because we are not in the NSA.

Choose a subject that’s actually secret. Dan Brown invented a secret subject for The Da Vinci Code, so now he is forever an expert on this secret subject that no one can challenge. Anybody who attacks the secret subject is, by definition, part of the cabal.

Thought Purge in a Heat Wave

Jesus Christ it’s hot out there!!! 100 degrees is expected today. I just hope our friends at ConEd can keep the juice flowing.

Speaking of Jesus Christ and his #1 fan, everyone’s favorite Lethal Weapon/Braveheart/anti-Semite/drunk Mel Gibson has himself in just a touch of hot water these days. I guess railing on about Jews after driving almost twice the speed limit on the Pacific Coast Highway, and then calling a female police officer “sugar tits” is the epitome of conservative Catholic behavior.

Two of my favorite sites, The Superficial and What Would Tyler Durden Do, have become my primary sources of information on the subject. But even CNN is getting in on the act with some fantastic drunk shots of Mel.

Come to think of it, maybe it isn’t so nice to make fun of a guy who has an obvious drinking problem?