Ho, ho, ho, hiatus

Yeah, so it's been a while since I've posted something. A combination of work, travel and lots of apathy in play here. Anyways, lots of this and that going on since the last post.

First off, I returned to Atlanta at the end of last month/beginning of this month for Trashmasters once again in Chattanooga. Nice to be a tourist in my former home city for a few days, not to mention seeing some old friends again (although not as many as I would've liked), and somehow waiting until the trip to see my first hockey game of the season.

As for the tournament, finally got to team up with Craig for the first time ever and we ended up losing in the finals to the team that will eventually be my TRASHionals teammates, so that's interesting. Plus, I got to defend my K-Tel Hell title, so the belt now sits in my cubicle itching for some more adornments.

I probably should've picked up adornments in the Tower Records bankruptcy sales. For the first time, things at Tower were actually at reasonable prices, but that's because everything was 60-70% off during my first trips and then 90% yesterday, the day before the stores closed for good.

I did get a ton of stuff I wouldn't have even sniffed at picking up for full price, but for $1, $2 or $4, I'm on top of it. Obviously by the time I got there, lots of the decent stuff was gone, so you had to stretch your mind thinking you landed a find (cool, there's that Bronson Arroyo cover album or what's the deal with all the Foghat). Thankfully I wasn't actively seeking out ironic prizes for trash tournaments, so I didn't load up my bags with even more crap than I already bought because I was interested in it. So while I spent decently on "real" gifts for family and friends, I was able to load up without feeling too guilty about shopping for myself. I think I could've bought three CDs at Tower for the price of the 25-30 things I did get.

As for other things going on, we were amused in the office when Mike and the Mad Dog got really worked up over the SI Sportsman of the Year choice of Dwyane Wade (including a heated argument with my overall boss). We were indifferent, although I think I had a decent choice.

Meanwhile, a few floors down, there's been some interesting feedback over Time's Person of the Year. One person wondered if you could put down on your resume that you were Time's Person of the Year. I wonder how wise it is picking "you" since "you" in general come off as a moron. For every one great blog, YouTube video or substantive online discussion is about 500 others much more idiotic (like this blog, to be honest).

But on the other hand, if you want to know how strange the MySpace generation can be, check out this story from one of my Medill classmates now at the New York Post. My own intriguing MySpace story has me finding one of my fellow Jeopardy! contestants and getting in touch with her for an interesting project.

And in the same online realm, the Vote For Rory Fitzpatrick project is working like gangbusters. However, having just filled out my NHL All-Star ballot, it seems a lot easier to pull off the "write-in" vote here than in other sports -- especially online. First off, there's only 12 actual choices for defenseman in the West and secondly, there's actually "write-in" candidates listed in the dropdown, so it's very easy to choose him as opposed to actually having to type in a name. Still, it's a spirited campaign and one that's actually working as opposed to some of my obscure baseball All-Star Game campaigns.

Spy Vs. Spy

Here's the one thing that has intrigued me about the state of elections these days -- how did the current red and blue state designations come to be? When I was at the Reagan Library last year, a map of his 1980 victory had the states he carried in blue while Carter's was in red.

Secondly, to use some, I guess, outdated stereotypes, wasn't the left formerly accused of being red (the old Communist line), while many conservatives were painted as elitist blue bloods?

By the way, it was interesting being back up here in the New York area for election day -- we got three states worth of attack ads, including one for my new old district.

In other news, when I saw Borat, I couldn't help but think a lot about this guy. And apparently, so did he, as he's now asking for an apology.

Nostalgia redux

The latest dosage of VH-1 list crack just came through this past week with the 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. I had somewhere around 70 or so of the songs already on my iPod and trying to add more for completeness sake, even though there were a few interesting omissions -- Simple Minds, Tears for Fears and Survivor come to mind. But it's always a good font for trash questions and hey, Deborah Gibson and Susanna Hoffs still look good years later.

And speaking of the '80s, I guess the NPH really deserves an Emmy for playing Barney on HIMYM because he dispelled rumors he's straight.

Name that tune

I finally got confirmation about the song that plays in the GEICO ad with the caveman in the airport. It's called "Remind Me" by Royksöpp. Oddly enough, I got the information straight from the Gecko's blog on GEICO's site.

What is missing the point?

While my double review of Brainiac and Trebekistan was a little bit rambling and such, it still isn't this New York Times twin review, which seems to want a lot more from the books than what could ever be offered from former contestants, even those who have been on plenty of times, like Ken and Bob.

27 and counting

27 and counting
Just as I thought I was outgrowing Weird Al Yankovic, all of a sudden, he has his first top 10 album and top 10 single.

The first single is a YouTube sensation, which is a big reason for the chart sucess. YouTube somehow reached the people wanting to buy the album and single, even moreso than a "Top 40" station, wherever those actually exist these days.

Slate has an interesting piece going into how Al's career has lasted all this time, although I'm still trying to figure exactly what he did this time around to get major chart action when he hasn't really changed the formula (nor does he have to).

This day in infamy

Note to self: Do not order a sandwich called the meltdown while watching your alma mater set a dubious NCAA football record. And oh yeah, I was on hand for this account of said meltdown.

More updates on the past few weeks in due time.

Publishing industry for $2000

Publishing industry for $2000
So I've now finished off both Brainiac and Prisoner of Trebekistan, fulfilling the need for books about Jeopardy! for about 10 years -- although there will be plenty of first-person accounts in various media outlets until the show finally runs it course.

These books are definitely must-reads for Jeopardy! fans, or more to the point obsessed game show geeks like myself. The actual target fan (i.e. those who actually have a use for HeadOn or the life insurance policies plugged on the show) definitely will not get a lot of the snappy writing in both books.

Of course, both books answer some of the basic questions people have about the show that I, too, have had to answer recently (What's Alex like? How does the taping session work? Do they give you a list of things to study beforehand? No, really, do they give you a list of things to study?), so a lot of that is very familiar -- especially since I've prattled on about it myself. Having plenty of friends precede me on the show also made a lot of the book very familiar.

After going over some of the basic mechanics of the show, the books take somewhat different paths to further complement the Jeopardy! experience.

In Brainiac, Ken Jennings used the Jeopardy! experience to highlight America's trivia subculture with some fun stories about trivia writers, the crazy radio trivia marathon in Wisconsin, Thomas Edison's test and even how the word trivia is misused. And of course is a trip to the quizbowl world that is definitely familiar, given I was at the NAQT high school tournament in Chicago that Ken discusses. He paints an interesting picture of how people are drawn to knowing stuff -- and Jeopardy! is probably the best jumping off point anyways given its status in the current cultural landscape. (What is funny is that Ken regularly talks about "general knowledge" -- a term seemingly derided in some corners of the quizbowl world.)

Given the number of games he won, it's both surprising and a bit refreshing that Ken doesn't recreate every single episode in his run -- although something about the Ultimate Tournament of Champions might have been nice. However, there were plenty of anecdotes during his run to spice things up (the constant trips from Salt Lake City to L.A., running into people he knows at the taping). He can't really downplay 75 episodes, but at least he made it not just a simple narrative of his time on the show.

What made Brainiac a very good read was Ken's writing style. I suppose I got used to it recently reading his blog before getting the book, but it seemed very comfortable and in many ways sounded like the way I sometimes write, or at the very least, some of my friends whose blogs are linked over at the left. Sure, I know Ken somewhat, but it really felt familiar reading it.

As for Prisoner of Trebekistan, it's a bit more self-indulgent and a lot more interesting for the truly rabid Jeopardy! fans wanting to recreate games. However, Bob Harris is also a funny writer and he makes what really is just his life story somewhat relevant to people (at least Jeopardy! fans). Finding a way to connect his life experiences to what categories appeared on the show was clever -- although I suppose if you're on the show as many times as he had, it probably shouldn't have been a surprise. On the other hand, Bob did show that his studies for the show did open up his mind to new experiences (which he got to act on after winning enough to allow him to travel to such places)

Bob also had a great insight on how some Jeopardy! contestants can remain close even after trying to outwit each other on national TV. The tournaments may be better at fostering that friendship, and sometimes I wish I could've stayed closer in touch with some of the contestants from my taping (I've found one on MySpace and that's about it).

As a more "general interest" book, Ken's is obviously the way to go. Crafting Brainiac the way he did opened himself up to a lot more interesting writing and avoided excess first-person stuff that Bob slipped into (although he could spread out the ultimate inside experience over a lot more time). Of course with the right writer and editor, anybody's life story can be interesting as long as you've got a good hook.

What is interesting is that just about a year after my taping in L.A., Jeopardy! has been all over the place in life -- with the books and a trip to see a Celebrity Jeopardy! taping on Thursday. It really does make me wish I could do the whole experience again.

The written word

I'll have reviews of the Jeopardy! books in due time, although I will say it is weird to read the two books with the new Chuck Klosterman collection in between.

Anyways, I figured I'd point out that somehow I'm mentioned in the same sentence as one of the more well-known writers at SI. There's a lot more I probably could say about it, but I'll keep that to myself for now.

TV time

TV time
Caught a couple of series premieres tonight in between the offensively-challenged Monday night game. Nope, neither are on my LaPlaca squad.

The Class: I'm a big fan of the concept, although it seems like it could've been a better movie than sitcom. (I'm a sucker for the nostalgia they're highlighting). However, the weird twist at the start of the show sort of tries to force the action into a passable sitcom about more people in their late-20s (in other words, people just slightly younger than me). Seems like a harmless enough show and it's the right type of lead-in for How I Met Your Mother (in fact, the characters on both shows are approximately the same age).

Studio 60: I enjoyed Sports Night, but didn't watch much West Wing, although this series seems to be a good amalgam of the two shows (including a cameo from Felicity Huffman) plus a heavy dose of Hollywood insiderish stuff. It's a solid pilot and I've got high hopes for the season -- just have to make sure to either DVR it when the Monday night game is actually good.

Oh yeah, still going through Braniac, but it is interesting to see a bunch of people I know (including some whose blogs are linked on the side) mentioned prominently in the book, not to mention an entire subculture with which I'm very closely involved. Unlike Wordplay, where it just seemed like I knew the people (although eventually meeting a few), I actually know a lot of what Ken is talking about, and even written about myself.

I am nerd, hear me roar

I am nerd, hear me roar
If I needed any verification of my utter nerdiness or geekiness, I went to the first signing stop in the Ken Jennings book tour (although he's been just all over TV plugging the book -- including a fun appearance on The Colbert Report on Wednesday).

An aside, what a strange 1-2 punch on Colbert: Ken on Wednesday, Bill Simmons on Thursday.

In many ways it was your basic book signing -- a couple of excerpts from the book were read aloud, some of the same stories he's told numerous times about his experiences on the show, a few of the usual questions about game shows and other assorted stuff from the crowd. (However, it's rather ironic that the signing took place at 7 p.m. -- when Jeopardy! airs in New York.)

But the crowd is where I knew that I was definitely in my element, which was comforting and scary at the same time. I ended up sitting in a row two of the players featured in Wordplay . So you've got the crossword puzzle people on one hand. During the Q&A, I heard from a former DC-area quizbowl player and game show fanatic.

And to round out the intersection of all these knowledge-based cabals, I ended up hanging out with a handful of people from the Jeopardy! message boards, even though I only knew the real names of a couple of the people. So yes, it was very odd to match faces to screennames -- if that doesn't just scream of geekiness, I don't what does. And hey, I'm in the middle of the whole thing, so what does that make me?

In the end, it was a fun little outing. That Barnes and Noble in Union Square is pretty cool (not used to a four-level B&N). I got the book and will probably be part of my commute reading very soon, and KJ even recognized me (he seemed to see a bunch of familiar faces in the crowd). I'll eventually have a review of the book up here. Not only do I have that book to read -- I need to grab the "other" Jeopardy! book not to mention the latest Klosterman book.

Yes I'm still here

Sure it's been a while since I've posted anything here -- the day job (and especially the day blog) is taking precendence.

However, I was able to make my annual trip to Vegas, and that's always fun -- even if my sort of fun often involves wandering up and down the Strip in 100-degree heat. This time around, I was at the Stardust for very much its last hurrah. While I thought Excalibur was a bit too Disney-fied for my tastes, Stardust really did show its age in both the facilities and the clientele. (The 1958-2006 notation on the chips was both celebratory and sad at the same time.) But hey, at least it did have wi-fi access, even if I couldn't pick it up in my room and only got a signal in the lobby.

I still haven't been to downtown, but I finally got to see the Palms and Rio up close. The Palms is an interesting vibe since the gaming area didn't seem all that huge but all the other stuff (clubs, movie theaters, etc.) made up for it.

Oh yeah, I also saw the new Hooters Casino. I was slightly disappointed to see "regular" people serving as dealers when I got in. Then I got to the area where their famous girls served as dealers. So of course I played some blackjack in that area. Otherwise, it's a pretty blah casino.

Another interesting thing is that for as popular as poker is these days, I think not every casino really needs to have a poker room. Some of the more popular places were full (I was trying to find the "stars" at Bellagio, for instance), but others were practically begging for action. Before some of us ended up starting a game at Stardust, one of the dealers and a few hangers-on eyed us like prey, hoping we'd play.

Similar thing happened at Tropicana as I walked by after they announced an opening at a table there. As I got there, I was practically whisked into a seat before I could even think about it. And even quicker did my money disappear. While seeing a long waiting list is disheartening, is it any better to be begged and hustled to play?

Oh yeah, I keep on getting haunted by Barry Manilow, as he had his own show, a gift shop and a giant picture of him along with the Star Trek sign at the Las Vegas Hilton. At least Stephen Colbert knows how I feel about Mr. I Write the Songs.

Disembodied head

Disembodied head
Eventually I'll have to scan in my floating head that appeared in the new fantasy insert of the magazine this past week. Hey, I actually beat a couple of my NU colleagues in the office in getting my face in the mag. That, and some nice promos for the other blog.

Unfortunately, my fellow alum Luke Donald couldn't overcome the Tiger juggernaut, but I'm trying to figure out what's weirder -- one Slam wonder Shaun "not HBK" Micheel finishing second or that John Kruk had to do some PGA highlights during the Yankees-Red Sox rain delay.

I didn't watch the final round, in between scouting out places to live, I also caught World Trade Center, a solidly produced film. Not as powerful as United 93, but a strong film nonetheless.

So now I've seen NFL preseason games at three different stadiums, adding Giants Stadium to the mix for this ho-hum nationally televised contest. It was probably only about half full, and about 10% was left by the fourth quarter. But after all these years, I've finally seen my first NFL game at the Meadowlands. On the other hand, you can tell it was the preseason when the pee-wee game at halftime was more entertaining.

All in

I didn't post much off the recently completed World Series of Poker main event, although it's good to see ESPN turning it around into shows starting next week. It was interesting following along on-line, mainly because other outlets started making money off it.

Anyways, the one thing I found sorta intriguing about the final table is that there was plenty of support for the one true "pro," although the eventual winner did have a decent backstory to him. It's a major opposite from a major golf tournament like the U.S. or British Open, where an amateur doing well against the pros gets extra support (Matt Kuchar while he was at Georgia Tech, for example), while here, the pro is the sentimental favorite against a bunch of amateurs.

I suppose that says something about poker today that if a big-named pro survives to the final table at the main event, it's almost an upset, whereas an amateur winning it all is now commonplace.

As for something completely different, the silly gimmick of putting stars of an upcoming TV shows in the crowd of major sporting events has shaken down to regular-season Yankees game hyping the new MyNetwork TV. Instead of Sammo Hung at the Final Four or the cast of That '70s Show at the World Series, we get guys (not even the hot women) from this new show and this other new show "found" in the crowd. Kinda silly really, and I definitely feel for Michael Kay having to do those promos this evening.

Silly cinema

Silly cinema
Sorry for the lack of posts. A rapidly declining laptop at home, combined with regular updates at the work blog has kept me from randomly spouting off on stuff here.

Two movie-related things that needed to be posted here:
1. I went to the Netflix Roadshow screening of Clerks in Red Bank, down the street from the original Quick Stop where the movie was filmed. Kevin Smith has his own brief report of the night on his site -- I got there just before the movie actually screened so I missed the Q&A and only got a quick glimpse of Silent Bob, his wife as well as Lisa Loeb (who did some hosting, I think).
They did bring back some of the cast as well. Dante made a brief appearance that I missed, but Veronica did stick around after the film. Even funnier were the appearances by the roofer in the Death Star/contractor discussion and the little girl who bought a pack of cigarettes. Thankfully I didn't geek out completely and get autographs (they were just signing Netflix cards anyways
The Roadshow idea is pretty cool, especially since three of my favorite films are part of this year's tour. While all the Clerks stuff was gone before I could get to it, I did snag this poster, this poster and an Unpainted Arizona t-shirt.

2. I did rush out to see Talladega Nights and thought it was pretty funny, although not on the level of Anchorman -- at least not yet (when a ton of lines spring to the surface after multiple viewings). I will say that the oddest cameos in the film can be summed up in the line: "Is that Elvis Costello and Mos Def?"
Oh yeah, and was I the only one to think this actress was in the film when it reality it was this Oscar nominee? The previous has connections to two of the main stars, but hey, when you can increase the Oscar nominees in the cast to three, why not?

Settling in

Settling in
I'm slowly but surely getting used to life back in the Northeast. I'm learning different ways to get into the city and to the office via a variety of commuter trains and subways, not to mention working "regular" hours.

On the other hand, I'm diving right into my work (although still having to solve a variety of paperwork/computer issues that come with starting a new job), which includes a new work blog. Seemingly everyone has at work now, so might as well jump in, even though this one has been around for a ridiculous long time.

Safe at home

Safe at home
Well, I'm now in New Jersey for good, and starting up in New York on Monday. It's been an interesting week or so as I made the move out of Atlanta. While I did have a fun "goodbye tour," including a big party at this place a little more than a week ago (which saw a number of my different social universes converging in one place -- much like the Jeopardy! party), I also had to spend a bunch of time finally getting rid of my couch and recliner thanks to a couple of interesting Craiglist buyers.

I took off for good Thursday morning, using a little different route than I'm used to -- taking I-85 from Atlanta to Charlotte, then I-77 from Charlotte to southwest Virginia, then I-81 for a lot of Virginia plus cameo appearances from West Virginia and Maryland. I eventually stopped in Hagerstown, just short of the Pennsylvania border (after about 12 hours on the road), in time to catch the World Series of Pop Culture (I wept as the contestants whiffed badly on the SNL category). Then it was off for a relatively short (3 1/2 hours) jaunt through Pennsylvania and into New Jersey to finish things off.

Almost fittingly, I got back in time for the first weekend of Clerks 2, which I got around to seeing today. If you liked the original movie, you'll like this one. If you didn't, you probably won't. I was a huge fan of the original, and the sequel was just fine -- nothing amazing, just some silly entertainment. I have my doubts for its box office take, if only because a lot of the local multiplexes in the area have it on only one screen for opening weekend.

The final countdown

The final countdown
Just about a week or so before I leave the ATL for good. Been doing tons of packing, cleaning up, selling off most of my furniture on Craiglist (if anyone in the Atlanta area wants a couch, I've got a nice one available) and having friends and family taking me out to lunch to send me off. Still some more prep work to be done, including how I'm going to fit what's left in my car and another going-away party on Friday (my boss had one for me with fellow co-workers last week). Oh yeah, finished off my last night shift tonight, seemingly doing what I will be doing once I get up to New York.

But as for other stuff going around:
-- Wordplay: Finally returned to the movies after a long hiatus, and it ended up being the crossword puzzle movie. Fun stuff, although I swear I've come across many of the featured competitors in real life, even though I know I haven't.
-- An interesting July 4th for me as I saw Superman Returns with Alyson (seemingly only seeing each other on national holidays) before an aborted attempt to see the Lenox Mall fireworks. The movie was decent, seemed like Superman 2 1/2. Brandon Routh was fine as the man of steel, and he seemed to channel Christopher Reeve, while Kevin Spacey started morphing into Dr. Evil toward the end. On the other hand, Kumar got no lines, Superkid had an interesting Lipnick/Jake Lloyd vibe going for him, and Kate Bosworth seemed to be assuming Cameron Diaz's Being John Malkovich look.
-- As for the fireworks, some nasty thunderstorms rolled through just before the show was to begin. It sounded like things were going to get cancelled (at least according to a cop at the place we had established camp at), so we went our separate ways. Then as I got home, I could hear the fireworks from my apartment, so my last chance to see them live fizzled out.
-- I suppose I should comment about the World Series of Pop Culture. I like the show -- the questions are fair, if at times a bit easy, although it strays into some real trivia, which is fine, though. The concept is very simple, which is good. I'm not a big fan of the hosts -- the Studio 7 experiment probably clouds my opinion of Pat Kiernan, while Miss Tungsten seems to be showing her age a bit, even if she had a decent Hef spread last year.
I had too many strikes against me for being on the show (not to mention it taped the same weekend as TRASHionals), but I know I could more than take them on (as could plenty of my quizbowl colleagues). However, watching Wednesday night's episode on DVR, I realized I went to college with Mac from the Bobby, Ricky, etc. team (the middle guy in the team picture; he's a frat brother of one of my friends from school), meaning I'm not the only Filipino-American alum from Northwestern with game show and pop culture experience anymore.

Shuffle up and watch

Shuffle up and watch
While World Cup Soccer has curtailed some of my late-night poker reruns, the actual World Series of Poker has already started. And even more interesting, ESPN will be starting coverage of the main event in late August, just a few days after it has been completed. And for those (possibly like me) wanting to follow in real time, the final table will be available on pay-per-view.

While it's great to see ESPN make such big changes to their coverage, I do wonder what the ratings will be and whether we've already hit the high point of poker's popularity. With the ridiculous flood of shows out there (for instance, I am curious as to how Chris Rose and Barry Tompkins feel about calling so much poker for FSN), can and will the WSOP stand out even if it is the one event that casual fans know about?

And I'm moving where?

So I guess that line about "closing the state of Florida" from National Lampoon's Vacation isn't completely wrong. You just have to go up to the Garden State where a sales tax dispute had the governor "closing" the state of New Jersey.