Woooooo!
Not sure how much stylin' and profilin' he was doing when this mug shot was taken.

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted. Part of me has been busy, part of me has been lazy. I guess I'm counting down the days before my Jeopardy! appearance, and getting some viewing parties set up. Plus, there's the annual trivia contest/barbecue (which is now the best way to describe Trashmasters) next weekend, so that'll be good -- also a good time to tell even more people I'll be on TV.

Thanksgiving was nice with Victoria, Phil and the Norasaurus coming back into town, and I even got suckered into some Black Friday shopping and survived -- but then again, when you know what you want (a bunch of dirt-cheap DVDs), it just seemed like another day. And now I guess I can accept the Christmas season being here (it was strange seeing all the trees up at work by last weekend), although it was odd hearing Alvin and the Chipmunks being used to sell Sopranos DVDs.

Other random thoughts:
-- RIP, Mr. Miyagi. Although I guess I would've expected him to be older, but I suppose he never really aged a whole lot in the 20-plus years since the movie came out.
-- The local pop station is doing a "lost hits" weekend, so it amusing to hear this song or even this song, but this song should've been lost for sure (you realize Adam Sandler wrote similar lyrics to be funny).
-- My schedule for New Year's is up in the air, but if things fall the right way, a trip to Nashville for a bowl game would be just fine for me. Just too bad Vandy had to lose to both MTSU and Kentucky, or else that could've been NU's opponent.
-- Yes, I've watched the final tables of the WSOP a few times. It really is like the I Love The '80s in stuff that oddly holds up in repeated viewings. But I can't help but think that when I see Andrew Black on TV that it's really a slimmed down Paul Giamatti with Alan Rickman's voice.
-- And speaking of Snape, the latest Harry Potter movie was pretty good, and even the Dawson's Creek-type storylines came across pretty well.
-- It's weird that in baseball, pitching wins are an official stat, yet there are eight jillion ways to crunch the numbers to prove it's an overrated stat (see Roger Clemens' stats this season). Yet football has a rather complex formula to determine quarterback efficiency/rating/etc. but wins get brought up all the time as the number that matters over any other stat. (e.g. Joe Montana and Tom Brady vs. Dan Marino and Peyton Manning).
-- Late in posting this article from Romenesko, but it's curious to see schools where the white kids are the dumb ones. You might even want to cue up the part in The Cable Guy where Ben Stiller says the people who killed his brother were speaking Asian.
-- If you read this story about trying to rename a road after Rosa Parks, you'd think "diverse" would mean the same thing as "urban," especially when the spokesman refers to Clayton County as "a predominantly diverse community."

Congratulations to Gobo and Sarah on the birth of their first son.

So in the span of just a few days, I've had one friend from college get married (dot-com) and another enter into fatherhood. And I'm just observing from afar, possibly trying to dodge the next stage of adulthood/being a grown-up.

I think it's safe to say that my generation (or at least just among my friends) live primarily for references to anything pop culture, especially when one of the funniest moments on TV I'd seen in a long time was no more than a two-second interstital bit on Robot Chicken with that had just one word of dialogue: "Leon!?!?"

Ten years after
One thing that dawned on a bunch of us this weekend is that it's been 10 years since the core of the "cult" first met. Funny how time flies. Even odder is how some of the stuff that tied the group together all that time ago has suddenly come back in vogue.

I suppose it shouldn't be a coincidence that MTV aired a bunch of Beavis and Butt-head cartoons over the weekend to promote the new DVD collection. And then there's that pseudo-ECW revival marked by the thrilling pay-per-view over the summer and now the addition of Joey Styles to the RAW broadcast booth.

Congratulations to Steve and Melissa on their wedding over the weekend. It was a very nice ceremony, and I was thrilled to see plenty of old faces once again -- really felt like college all over again.

The wedding took me up to East Lansing, where I hadn't been since my last official quizbowl tournament representing Northwestern back in 1997. Ironically, Steve was one of my teammates that weekend -- and it would be years before he met Melissa and then eventually get married (dot-com).

Nice enough college town, although even the allure of cheap clothing at Steve and Barry's could get me to buy some MSU gear. However, I did get to see a very good Spartans hockey game after some crossed signals with other wedding plans during the weekend. When the hockey arena is just a short walk from the hotel, it's hard not to pass it up.

Couple of scattered World Series notes ...
-- The Thrashers game pre-empted the World Series on local Atlanta radio, or at least the primary station. It might've been on a much lower-powered station, but I couldn't pick it up driving around tonight. However, I could pick up the game on Chicago's ESPN Radio station and White Sox flagship. Even with satellite radio around, it's still fun playing with the dial and seeing what you can get. On the other hand, not everyone is as curious as me in trying to find the game on the radio.
-- The "Don't Stop Believing" theme song for the White Sox is amusing. (Remember, it landed in the Top 100 on iTunes because it appeared on Family Guy.) But then they brought in Steve Perry? But shouldn't he be a Tigers fan if he was "born and raised in south Detroit" (aka Windsor)?
-- Nice to see Dustin Hermanson pitching like he did when he's been on my fantasy teams in years past.

Tap the bottleneck
It's close to the perfect storm over here with trying to get a program done for a banquet next week, plus working on TRASH regionals questions, a wedding next weekend in Michigan after that, plus the usual and unusual stuff at work.

And despite that, still had time to play most of Big Lots (the UTC mirror of FOGHAT). I actually got to play most of the scheduled round robin, leaving before the final round to go to work. At that point, we were undefeated had a two-game lead over the field. I guess I've been so used to the strangeness of the tournament, which would explain the ridiculous margins of victories (smallest was 100 points in the first round).

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to write that Northwestern-themed packet for the longest time, so that was just the best excuse/platform to do so. Some of the stuff seemed forced, and I suppose if you don't me (and even if you do), the theme would be very annoying. One team grumbled about that theme just before playing us (I'm not sure if they connected me with the packet) -- it was a Christian college and we played them on Round 9 (for those who know, it's too silly). But if you guys have any other comments about my packet, let's hear them ...

And besides the quiz bowl foray, I went to my first ever Monday Night Football game, and, oddly enough, my first ever Jets game. It was great to have my friend Alyson along for the game because the rest of it was pretty surreal.

Three fumbles in 20 minutes by Vinny Testaverde where all I could do is shake my head; a Jets kickoff return for a touchdown negated by penalties; Brooks Bollinger playing all of the fourth quarter; three Michael Vick interceptions -- strangest part was that the biggest exodus of fans came in the middle of the fourth quarter after the third Vick pick while the Falcons were ahead and the Jets down only two scores.

The buzz in the dome was weird. A couple of times on defense, the place was amped. But on offense in the middle of the third quarter, it was like a church (topped off with a guy in front of us wearing a choir robe done up like a Falcons jersey). And to top it all off, I saw the debut of an Atlanta anthem, which is part of a new city branding campaign. Good artists involved (Monica, T-Boz, 112, etc.) although we could barely pick them out or the lyrics. But I guess it's a tossup whether to show that on the Monday night broadcast or Tim McGraw. That means I've now seen the debut of an official team rap and an official city song. Oy.

Been a bit behind with updates, but for now, check out one one of the most innovative rap covers ever made. (Yes, it's a free download.)

My spite-y senses are tingling
I'm not too surprised the Yankees are gone; disappointed sure, but not surprised. Just seemed like a not-so-good matchup. Funny thing is that if Bernie Williams were in center, he probably wouldn't have made it to the gap as quickly as Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield catches that fly ball, instead of two-run triple. Also, it's interesting to see Darin Erstad make the final play with a nice stop on defense after his offense was absolutely trashed during the series (Al Leiter as the designated stopper for Erstad, are you kidding?)

But now that both the Yankees and Red Sox are gone, the main motivating force for many to watch the playoffs this year -- hate -- is gone. Since y'all can't be hypocrites anymore and actually root for someone to win the World Series, here's a little guide for who to root against the most for the rest of October (in rough order of most hateable to least, in my opinion):

1. White Sox: Hawk Harrelson isn't calling games in the playoffs, but if you're not a fan of the team, he's a big reason to root against them. If not now, but think of what he could be next season if they win it all. ... There's that "cursed" thing, which was annoying with the Red Sox last year (even among their own fans) and is just tired this year. ... The legions of Cubs fans still have many reasons to hate. (see below)
2. Astros: Haven't we had enough of wild-card teams winning it all? ... Depending on your political persuasion, there's that Texas thing. ... If you need your fix of Yankees hate, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are among Houston's best pitchers.
3. Angels: They won in 2003, too soon for another championship. ... The whole Los Angeles of Anaheim thing. Which reminds me, is the name of the city now "of Anaheim," given how many things in the city are named "of Anaheim" -- the hockey team, the baseball stadium, the baseball team. To go with the California theme, maybe the city should be called "de Anaheim." ... Rally monkey and thundersticks are back.
4. Cardinals: Best record in the majors. Default is to root against the favorite. ... The Cubs fan factor. What would happen to Cubs fans if the White Sox and Cardinals meet in the World Series? ... St. Louis fans often regarded as the nicest in the league. When we root out of spite, we just can't have that.

Lots of things to do, which means more reasons to procrastinate. Case in point: The N is now going old school, literally, with late-night reruns of Degrassi Junior High. It even surpasses the old reruns of The Electric Company that used to be on in the middle of the night when all it had was old PBS and Nickelodeon shows.

The DVR Chronicles
Now that the fall season has started, the new DVR is working overtime actually recording stuff other than Jeopardy and movies. (Eventually I'll have to clear out those old Jeopardy! episodes, save the ones with my some of my colleagues on them. I've already done my taping, so there's no need to watch old episodes as study guides.)
Here's what I've gleaned from some of the newer shows I've tried out:
-- How I Met Your Mother: Now that Friends is off the air, we can have more shows about 20-somethings hanging out and not feel like it's a ripoff. Besides, the bar is less pretentious than the coffee shop. Of course, Willow is the reason I'm watching, and I'm impressed with it, maybe because a lot of it feels familiar; however, I wonder how long the Bob Saget gimmick will work.
-- Everybody Hates Chris: See, they can still do a "family" show that's still hip. Obviously, Chris Rock taking over the Daniel Stern narrator role helps, and who knew he could work relatively clean? What I find funniest is that I last saw the mom on Chappelle's Show on one of the "Keeping It Real …" segments.
-- My Name Is Earl: I like Jason Lee's stuff, even though he seems to play some of the same psycho-type characters each time, including The Incredibles, which I saw on cable this afternoon. The show is still taking time to grow on me, and it doesn't help that it's on against House. (But my DVR can record two things at once, which is huge.)
-- The Office: I recorded it the first week after Earl, but I could never really get into it. I'd like to, but just couldn't.
-- Veronica Mars: I know it's a year old, but I've only caught bits and pieces of it last year, so it's time to watch a show or two. I like Veronica Mars the cute sleuth, not as big a fan of the soap opera stuff (competing boyfriends, etc.). Of course, while I keep fawning over Kristen Bell, in walks Charisma Carpenter and well, that's just not right. On the other hand, the Stonecutters have returned to bring Steve Guttenberg back on TV.

A date which will live in infamy ...
I'm still in L.A., but for those who know why I'm out here (and if you don't, I'm just following in her footsteps) ...

December 7, check your local listings, especially out in the West Coast. Be there, aloha!

I think Tyler covers some of my same thoughts about the Emmys, but here are a couple observations from someone watching the ceremony the same time as the Chiefs-Raiders game:
-- I loved the Zach Braff-Hugh Laurie pairing. A New Jersey native who plays a doctor along with a guy who plays a doctor working in New Jersey. Plus, Zach acting surprised over Hugh's accent was fun, if predictable.
-- There was some sensory overload in the middle of the ceremony in that for about a 10-minute stretch, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Lauren Graham presented an award, then Kristen Bell's musical performance, and finally Alyson Hannigan presenting an award with Doogie Howser (or the NPH, if you will). If I weren't on the phone dealing with some other stuff, I would've been completely useless.

I haven't updated here for a while, but that's because of the onslaught of the NFL season, plus some other stuff that will be discussed later. But for now, here's a fun photo off the wires:

I suppose it's a civic duty now to at least mention how to help Katrina victims especially in the midst of the narcissism that is this blog. At the same time, it's getting tougher and tougher to read and watch coverage of the aftermath of the tragedy. Not only is it hard to fathom all the death and destruction, but the contentious political climate we're living in means that the pure sadness and negativity is just exacerbated since everyone else is to blame, whether they're trying to help or not.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams (and Empty Wallets)
The things I do for my job: This week I was in Vegas for a conference where I ended up meeting for the first time a bunch of people I had been working with on a handful of projects for a number of years. Such is the nature of the Internet, I guess.

A trade conference is a trade conference: a handful of speakers, some panels worth watching, others worth heading to the tables, some impossibly gorgeous sales reps for businesses which may or may not be around next year. Plus, there were a handful of fantasy drafts and even a poker tournament (where I finished sixth out of 60 and got a little money that quickly went elsewhere).

There was a Seinfeld moment at one point when Mitchell & Ness gave out bags with shirts and caps. Unfortunately, they were fitted hats, which prompted some rummaging through bags to find the right size. I just stopped bothering trying to find one for my Barry Bonds-like melon and just stuck with the hat.

The Vegas experience this time around was interesting since I really beat up my feet the day before the conference by walking the length of the Strip from Excalibur (where I was staying) up to Stratosphere. Granted, it took all day and I stopped at almost every casino along the way, but it was still a blast. Of course, when you do something like that, most of the really nice casinos just start blending together. Everyone asked me how nice Wynn was, and all I could think was that it was similar to Paris or Venetian or Bellagio; and that I may or may not have won some money on video poker there. After a while, that Green Day song does come into play when you consider the cash being thrown around.

Unlike last time, I wasn't so lucky at the roulette and blackjack tables, getting smoked at both nice places (MGM Grand; New York, New York) and not-so-nice (New Frontier, Boardwalk). Eventually I'll have to learn how to lose my money at those other table games. On the other hand, I did get a nice view of the city from the top of Mandalay Bay.

Another strange thing about this trip was how I somehow ended up working on East Coast time, even though my schedule is usually a West Coast one. How else to explain getting up at 6 and 7 in the morning? On the other hand, it made that 3:30 a.m. trip to the diner at Excalibur after a night at the tables seem reasonably normal.

There's still more to see in town, and maybe one of these days I'll go without having conference duties hovering over me.

Stop dragging my car around
So yeah, there was more to the vacation than just a trip to lovely Shea Stadium. One of the main reasons for the trip north was a cousin's wedding in Montreal. I hadn't been there in a while, and it was good to get a better feel for the city since I'd have to do some navigating around town to find stuff to do.

That included an Alouettes game at a packed house at McGill (albeit with a capacity of just 20,000). That trip included two uphill climbs as we searched for an ATM to get Canadian bills for our tickets, plus a strange exit from the stadium that included walking through a construction site and jumping a concrete barrier to get on to the main road. It almost seemed like we were refugees fleeing the stadium, which could be a good way to describe it after a last-second loss.

Later on, I got to see the loneliness of Olympic Stadium and the modernity of the Bell (nee Molson) Centre while doing a more "traditional" city tour. Hey, I even got to try out some poutine at a curiously named sports bar next to the arena. I'd end up in that general vicinity later that night, at one of the multitude of bars a couple of blocks away.

Another part of the Montreal leg of the trip was trying to find English-language TV. I ended up watching some CNN and a lot of TSN. However, it was very surreal watching Canada's version of Cartoon Network, getting Futurama, The Simpsons and Family Guy (Les Griffin) in French.

The wedding was a wedding, albeit at a really nice cathedral in Centre-ville. The only thing odd was the ubiquitous videographer with a really bright light. The only things missing were a boom mike and Anna Nicole Smith. The reception was very lavish, very long and had a good band. However, when this song was being played, a whole bunch of us turned into the Happy Hands Club.

There was plenty of driving on the entire trip as we went by car to Montreal, and included a quick stopover at the Ben and Jerry's plant outside of Burlington on the way up. It's a nice drive to get there (great views on the interstates in Vermont) but I'd be massively disappointed if that was the only reason I was driving in that part of New England.

So what happens after a 1,000-mile round trip to Canada? Phase 2 (or 3) of the trip as I take my "new" car on a 900-mile one-way trip from New Jersey to Atlanta. It was a good chance to get used to the car, and give the iPod a good workout, although it took me a long time to realize the tape adapter seemed to work better than the FM transmitter. I also learned how varied the sound quality of my MP3s really are.

But anyway, my solo road trip went pretty well as I broke up the drive into smaller parts. Part I got me from Jersey to Baltimore to visit Kristin, which was one of my early plans for the road trip. I also got in a quick trip to DC to visit more quizbowlers (including two of JD's other groomsmen), for pub trivia no less. Thanks to Tricia for tipping me off to that.

I eventually ended up in Richmond overnight, then took off for Chapel Hill to see another friend who just moved into town. At least know I have a better idea about what's in that town, compared to my last time when I drove around late at night to find something to eat.

After my "am I there yet" voyage to Durham a few years ago for a Duke-NU football game, I made sure not to drive straight to Atlanta from the triangle. So I ended up stopping by Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, although the gift shop appeared to be closed, so I couldn't get this hat. Then went down a couple of exits to see Lowe's Motor Speedway, which is best described as ginormous, as well as the big mall on the other side of the exit.

At said mall, there were plenty of chances to get sports logo gear, including the dreaded K hat and vastly reduced Bobcats gear, but ended up passing on everything. I had done the same with more "interesting" choices in Montreal, and I wonder at some point if I've grown up and overdone my sports stuff.

However, I was lucky not to be enticed by all the NASCAR stuff at Lowe's and the mall -- there's a ton of garish looking gear. Unlike the major team sports, there doesn't seem to be a "basic" look for driver gear -- there is no standard logo. When wearing a ballcap with a number of a driver is the most "conservative" look, I think we've got a problem.

So it took me officially 33 hours (but only about 16 actually on the road) and just over 900 miles to get back home and work on all the mumbo jumbo for getting the new car registered and the old one donated to charity. And hoping to get all that stuff taken care of this week since I'm off to Vegas next week. I'm starting to pile up the miles in all sorts of ways, with more yet to come.

Travels with JQ
I guess I'm blogging on the road (actually, just at my parents' house). So while I'm on vacation from my regular job, what do I do within hours of landing in New Jersey? Go to a Mets game (and the third time seeing the Pirates this season -- in three different parks) with some visiting relatives. It was kinda neat because they were celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Beatles playing at Shea. So there were Beatles tunes and trivia in between innings, plus taped messages from Ringo and Paul. And of course, there was a tribute band playing before the game, although it was loud enough to drown out the passing planes.

And on a very loose tangent, I'm now catching the late-night repeat of the $40 a Day episode in Chattanooga featuring a ton of places I've never seen or even heard of. Then again, I don't think I've ever done the tourist stuff yet in the city despite my many trips up there. Besides, I wonder how Rachael Ray would handle the usual meal trips during a UTC tournament -- something tells me Provino's wasn't close to being on her list. (Although it looks like Charlie's influence may have even reached that show with a little trivia work thrown in one during one of the stops).

Couple of random thoughts before I head up north for the week:
-- It's interesting hearing the random broadcast pairings for the local broadcasts of NFL preseason games. (Those of you with NFL Network can get a sampling of such games during the week.) Obviously, the national guys need some work, too, but they'll end up in the strangest of places. For instance, Sam Rosen (a Fox guy as well as the New York Rangers TV guy) was calling a game for the Seahawks. I've also heard Don Criqui calling a Patriots game (in between his Inside Edition gigs) and Joel Meyers doing a Texans game. I guess I got used to a local New York broadcaster calling a Jets or Giants preseason game with a former player from the team (like Namath or something) in years past.

-- Can you tell me what is the point of the adult top 40 stations taking out the "rap" portions of pop hits? The jokes about "Ursher" get lost when Lil Jon and Ludacris get dropped off the song "Yeah." And even worse was hearing this station snipping out the rap portions of the Gorillaz song "Feel Good Inc." It's just too strange. With rap being such a major part of popular music these days, why bother taking it out of "pop" songs on a pop station? Just really strange.

-- Finally, here are the answers to the songs no one got.
2. Beautiful South -- 36D
8. Godsmack -- Whatever
15. P.J. Harvey -- Down By The Water
18. Son Volt -- Drown