Monday, August 31, 2009

Now that I've remodeled the majority of my house, I'm kind of sick of it. I loved doing all of the work, but now I have to look at all of the mistakes as well. Not that they're bad mistakes, but I notice them nonetheless. I'm ready to move onto a house I don't have to put money into.
Sucks to be them

There are two men's restrooms on my floor at work. One of them butts right up to another office, which wouldn't normally be that bad. However, there's a vent towards the ceiling that seems to connect directly to the next room. Conversations travel through the wall clear as day. It makes me wonder if noises travel in the other direction as well. Can you imagine hearing a toilet flush as if it were right next to you all day long? Or worse yet, listening to some dude trying to pass his lunch on a dailey basis. It sucks to be them if that's the case.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Probably not true since I made it up

Is it possible that injury prone Carson Palmer of the Bengals is actually health resistant? Some sources say yes, Carson Palmer actually has a mutated virus that fights off good health in professional athletes. Palmer was more than likely infected at USC since subsequent draft busts Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush have also tested positive for the virus. Of course, Leinart claims that he's only guilty of being too fun and that a cream can cure the itch.

However, a local doctor said this particular virus strain is smart based on the fact that it doesn't start damaging healthy athletes until they sign big contracts. That doctor also went on to say that a rogue group of aliens abducted him when he was twelve, forcing him to scientifically probe sea monkeys for hours on end, which was the reason he turned to the medical field as an adult.

"It's nice to know I'm not just a raging vagina that gets hurt all of the time. I have a disease that affects many over-paid athletes every year," Palmer may have been over heard saying, but probably not.

Until further tests are conducted, we can only assume that these athletes just don't have what it takes to perform in the big leagues. But as the list of suspected victims continues to grow with names McNabb and the entire Broncos running core, we can't help but start to believe the monkey probing doctor.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Surprising words from a 2-year-old

My wife sneezes in the kitchen prompting my daughter, Sophia, to say, "Are you sick mommy? Do you need to go to the doctor?"

My wife quickly responds, "No honey, I'm fine."

"Oh mommy, you all better."

"Yes, Sophia."

"I'm so happy for you. Can I have chocolate?"

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Old Spice Needs New Ads

Old Spice's "Residue is Evil" campaign drives me nuts. They've had some great ads over the last couple years (the dude sliding around the bases was brilliant and Bruce Campbell in the study was awesome), but their latest attempt is missing the mark.

Tarantino and the Matrix

I recently watched Quentin Tarantino's YouTube posting where he talks about his top 20 favorite movies released since 1992. Beyond being filled with Asian flicks, I found two other things he said to be interesting (and by interesting, I mean they mirror my own thoughts).

First, he praises M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable," which is definitely an underrated film. That being said, M. Night is a completely overrated director, writer, and actor. But what I like the most about his brief description of the movie, is the fact that he refers to M. Night Shyamalan as Shamalong-a-ding-dong, which has been my nickname for him since he came out with "Signs."

Second, was his view of "The Matrix." This was one of the best action movies ever made when it came out in 1999. The special effects, action scenes, and storyline blew me away. However, the release of the second and third Matrix movies completely diluted the briliance of it all. The storyline became subpar and the special effects got too big for their own good, making the actions scenes almost laughable. I still love "The Matrix" as a stand alone movie but not as much as I loved it before the other two were released.

Tarantino's an odd duck though. He's cool. He makes edgy films. But he's odd.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Miss Universe! That's assuming an awful lot.

This was actually the first year I've ever watched the Miss Universe pageant, and I did so while fast forwarding through most of it on my DVR. All I'm saying is that Miss USA is a D-bag, Miss Australia almost got robbed (except for she sounded like a typical bimbo on the interview question), and there were too many Latin American countries in the top ten.

I would like to know exactly what they judge these ladies on because one swim suit, one dress, and 30 seconds of talking seems like weak standards for deeming someone Miss Universe. I want to see a talent competition (no baton throwing allowed), a Trivia test, and maybe a competition where they have to build something out of a K'NEX set. Remember those, they were awesome.


I know it's a beauty pageant, but I want some substance. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing ladies in bikinis. But ladies in bikinis building a model bridge could be sexy too. And Miss Venezuela, let's hold onto the crown next time.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Oddly Not Connected

One of my grandpa's and my dad’s favorite says growing up was “Powder River Let’er Buck” – a popular phrase among cowboys, a battle cry for northwest infantry during the wars, and rallying cry for many northwest universities. To commemorate the passing of my grandpa (a gritty old cowboy) I had those initials tattooed on me along with my grandpa’s brand. I didn’t think a lot about it until recently, when I came across a funny connection:

Besides being coined by a legendary cowboy, Powder River, Let’er Buck was also popularized in a book of the same title in the early 1900s by a writer/rancher who lived in Jackson, WY. I spent several years in Jackson during youth. Furthermore, I’ve also become a writer in my adult life. But finally, the writer’s name is Struthers Burt, which is also my last name.

I know that this doesn’t mean anything in any literal fashion. But it’s interesting that a phrase I grew up around and have tattooed on my body was affected so greatly by someone who has some obvious surface level connections to myself. Except of course that I’m not rancher, but I wouldn’t mind being one.

Powder River, Let’er Buck!
Favre Fevre

I know the majority of the sports world didn't want to see Brett Favre come back. And I get the fact that the news coverage is annoying. But as far as pure parody in competition, I think it's awesome. Some broken down old dude is trying to keep his streak alive, stick it to a team that burned him, and win one last time. Sign me up for that.

Like the rest of his career, his season will probably be filled with brilliant games and huge interceptions, but that only makes it more exciting. My feeling towards the whole situation is probably helped by the fact that I'm not a Packers fan and have been indifferent about Favre's career. That being said, let's see what the guy's got left in the tank.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Glorious NoPo

On my way to work this morning I got stuck at a red light for what seemed like 5 full minutes. Luckily I was right next to a bus stop, so I had no shortage of people to watch. What caught my eye this time was an odd couple vigorously making out. A white gray-haired man who could have easily been an old 35 or a young 50 donned baggy FUBU jeans with one leg rolled up to his knees. His spit-swapping partner appeared to be an old 25-year-old girl, but it wouldn't have surprised me if she was closer to 40.

They intently sucked face, only coming up for a quick breath of air and a shared drag off of a old cigarette. It was both creepy and disgusting. The session continued the whole time I was stranded there. Her bus arrived when my light turned green. As I drove away I could see them both take one last puff off the cig, spit their gum out on the street (even though they were leaning on a garbage can), and continue on.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Mostly Not True: Tiger Chokes…on hairball?

It appeared that Tiger Woods choked this weekend after blowing a fourth round lead, missing almost every conceivable putt, and carding a 75 in the wake of it all. After the devastating loss, however, he hunched over and coughed up a massive hairball. Critics and fans were quick to point out that even though you can gag on a hairball, you don’t technically choke on it. And being that Tiger’s name literally references a giant cat, it makes sense that Mr. Woods would cough one up every once and awhile.

Greg “The Shark” Norman chimed in after the loss, saying that he too has gagged in the past but only after trying to consume a large seal without adequately chewing it. A far-too-real phenomenon that simply comes with having your nickname refer to a predatory animal.

Phil Michelson was later heard crying behind the media tent because he doesn’t have a cool nickname. “Lefty” is nothing more than a one-armed pirate or a right-handed gangster (because gangsters like the irony of having nicknames that are opposite of their physical characteristics…Like Tiny or Shorty). Phil was seen leaving the course with “The Abominable Snowman” written on the back his shirt.
Pass the Popcorn: Coraline

Laika's stop animation project from Portland, Ore. boasts the vocal talents of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. Because of the local connections I whole-heartedly wanted to like this movie, which is about a lonely girl who discovers a secret door that leads to a fantasy world. The script wasn't bad and the animation served nicely, but I felt like the movie was void of any real weight. I blame the audio mixing and absence of strong ambient sounds. Animations have to have a full spectrum of background noise to make up for the obvious lack of reality, and this one didn't. It just wasn't a rich enough experience for me.

Friday, August 14, 2009

"I Love You Man" = Hilarious. However, I think it's funnier for guys watching it than the ladies.

Watching "I Love You Man" with your mom = Awkward. She was a good sport though.
Normalcies in Western Montana

I went down to the bar with my dad this morning because its the only place in town to get breakfast. As we were eating, I looked out the window and saw a man riding a horse in the rain down the road. I thought nothing of it and kept eating.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Naturally Natural

This morning at my parent's house, I had milk that went straight from a local cow to my mom's fridge, eggs that went straight from a local coup to our carton, and sausage links wrapped and seasoned by my dad. I felt officially self-sufficient.

The craziest part about the milk, is that my mom actually separates the cream from the top, then separates butter from the cream, and has low fat milk to show for it. Crazy.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A late night at work turned into an early morning at work. At least I get to head to Montana tonight when I get off. Unfortunately, I will have to make the trip on less than desirable amounts of sleep.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Crazy-Realistic Dreams: Is This Normal?

Last night I was kept awake by several vivid dreams. I usually have intense REM, but last night's was particularly realistic. Here's the short version.

Dream 1: I pulled into a large gas station along the interstate to find that the parking lot of full. There were two large military-type tanks parked alongside two heavily armored SUVs. I thought it odd but still wanted to purchase a Gatorade and Snickers bar. On my way into the travel center I notice three large airplanes flying overhead. The first one suddenly veered left. It's wing sheered off and it came crashing down dangerously close the station. People were panicked and running when the second plane did the same thing, crashing even closer. When the third plane started its crash sequence, however, I knew it was comeing right for us. I started to run, barely making it out of the way as the plane crashed into the corner of the travel center. I looked up just in time to see the roof over the gas pumps collapse, killing everyone under it.

I was still able to get into the damaged travel center where they were already marketing down goods because of the crashes. Unfortunately after I grabbed my Gatorade and Snickers, I realized they didn't accept debit cards, and I only had $1 in my pocket.

Dream #2: My wife and I returned to Manhattan where we needed to board the subway and head uptown. I had just told her about my experience with the airplanes as we were getting on the A train. I suddenly had the thought that the plane crashes might be a foreboading about my train ride, so I jumped off as the doors closed. My wife didn't make it off in time. She seemed confused as the train headed uptown.

I started walking to the stairs when i saw a man removed a pistol from his coat. He saw me take notice and told me to leave, but when I turned, he shot me in the back. The impact knocked me down. I could feel the cramping in my side as I reached around and felt the blood. I managed to walk upstairs and into a library where someone called an ambulance. However, instead of waiting for paramedics, the librarian tried digging the bullet out of my back. The pain woke me up.

Dream #3: I was driving a new truck with my dad and my kids in the back seat. I believe I was on my way home from the hospital because I was conscious of getting shot earlier. The road became increasingly windy and the side barriers started narrowing. It was hard to control the truck, but I was managing.

Just when I thought I got through the bulk of the danger, the truck suddenly flipped and rolled several times. The impact was unsettling, but everyone was okay. I got out to find that the truck infront of me had lost a ladder that cuased me to flip. I then spent the next part of the dream fighting with an insurance company over who was going to fix my truck.

So those were my rambling dreams that cuased me to wake up exhuasted.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Nike's new competition for great ads comes from a breakfast cereal.

Michael Crabtree: 4+4 = 0
After conferring with his advisor and cousin David Wells, #10 NFL draft pick Michael Crabtree has decided to make $0 next year instead of $4 million. Wells, a self proclaimed Rain Man, claims that if you take the square root of a desired salary times pi and divide it by the number of years Michael Jackson was black then 4 hens in the tree are greater than 1 in your hand. Crabtree approved this logic by not firing his cousin and stating that “Dustin Hoffman is a really smart dude.”

In a related story, Texas Techs math department is under full review.
Crabtree’s Advisor Reveals Master Plan
Michael Crabtree’s cousin and adviser David Wells went on to say that he also wants to advise for President Barack Obama in the coming months. Wells, after all, is Michael Crabtree’s cousin and feels that this raises his advisory market value. Besides, he was able to get Crabtree great media coverage for mere millions, proving that any press is good press. Or at least that if you act like a douche bag, people will write about you.

His plan? Have the president hold out from running the country until he’s recognized as President of the World. He also wants Russian Prime Minister Putin to put his shirt back on. Putin couldn’t be reached for comment because he was too busy
hanging out with Matthew McConaughey and Tour D’ France winner Lance Armstrong, who also enjoy the feel of a cool breeze on their bare nipples.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Greed Sucks

The 49ers 10th overall pick in the draft needs to shut up and prove himself. I'm sick of NFL rookies thinking that they deserve to make umpteen million guaranteed dollars before they ever suit up. The NFL needs to take a page from the NBA's book where the rookie salaries are capped. After they prove themselves for two or three years, they can hold out for as much money as they want. Until then, just be happy your getting paid to play a sport.

Michael Crabtree is case and point. The dude thinks he was the best receiver in the draft even though he wasn't drafted the highest. That's fine. You did good in college. Now go out with the big boys and prove you can still be that good. All this holding out because you want to make more than that guy before you've ever played an NFL down in crap.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Everybody Poops

That's right I said it. Everybody poops. However, not everybody talks about it. So here's my T.M.I. about poop today.

I had to relieve myself after a particularly large lunch at Wendy's. Of course when I got to the restroom, someone didn't flush their pee down the toilet. Knowing that this specific toilet is slow to react when flushing, I decided that I would delicately go #2 without a preflush. I was, afterall, in a hurry. No worries, right? Wrong. As luck would have it, things got a little aggressive and Bam! Someone else's pee splashed up on my butt. And that my friends, isn't a pleasant thing to think about. But I've already written it. You've already read it. And we've both just thought about it. Sorry for that.
'Dating in the Dark' should be called 'When average looking people realize they don't want to date other average looking people.'

I think it's funny that these people all try to make it sound like looks don't matter as they choose not to date their matches after they see what they look like. The bottom line is that looks do matter. Your partner doesn't have to be a supermodel, but if you're not attracted to them then you might as well just be friends.

Sexual chemistry is important in any relationship. You don't have to go around humping like rabbits, but if you don't feel like getting romantic with your spouse, you're in for a bumpy ride. On that same note, you also have to be best friends with your spouse. It's a two-way street and both lanes needs to be traveled.

It's not a matter of being superficial or shallow. It's purely about finding the right person that fits your expectations. If your expectations are too high, you may be lonely for awhile. Likewise, if you lie to yourself and say you've changed your expectations so you don't look like a douche bag on national TV, you'll probably still be lonely. You'll just have someone next to you that's lonely too.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Not so Lucky

With the number of people out there that are sharing files on peer-to-peer networks, it would sure suck to be one of the handful that actually get sued for it. From Yahoo Tech:

The latest verdict in its favor has been handed down against Ph.D. student Joel Tenenbaum, who was found guilty of willfully infringing 30 songs and sharing them on the KaZaA peer-to-peer network. Despite the almost circus-like environment of the legal proceedings (in which Tenenbaum's lawyer was sanctioned for his behavior), the jury didn't take long to determine the level of damages against Tenenbaum: $675,000, or $22,500 per song he illegally shared online.
The trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife freaks me out. Some dude meets a chic when she's a little girl, falls in love with her, and then travels through time until she's a woman and sleeps with her. I'm sure there's more to the story, but as it stands, I'm sufficiently weirded out. Fall in love with someone your age Time Traveler. Before you know it, Chris Hansen is going to be knocking on your door.
Pass the Popcorn: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The sixth installment of the of Harry Potter series hit theaters in July, which means I actually got to see a movie before it came to the Red Box. Yeah for me! The Half Blood Prince has David Yates (director of Order of the Phoenix and the next two Potter films) lead us one step closer to the inevitable confrontation between Harry and Voldemort, who was noticably absent during this film.

The Half Blood Prince was well shot, all of the actors added another level of depth to their characters, and there was a lot of well timed humor throughout. That being said, I was slightly let down by this Potter film. Don't get me wrong, it's worth seeing, but it definitely had a more methodical pace than the last two.

The movie does a decent job at describing the main plot points but comes up short at creating some of the obvious torment some of the main characters go through in the book. This could be overlooked if it was replaced with another platform to hold my interest.

I know the book focused more on self discovery (if my memory serves me), but I would have liked a little more tempo in the theatrical version. And the fact that all of the critics seemed to embrace the film also raised my expectations, which probably contributed to my mild let down. And since this installment was pushed back over 6 months due to the writer's strike, we now have to wait a year and a half to see how Yates will interpret the first half of the last book (just long enough for me to lose interest).

Despite my negative ramblings, The Half Blood Prince was well done and will probably be much better upon a second viewing.