The other guys at Gig Matrix have already sung its praises, but I'll add mine to the chorus -- I saw "Little Miss Sunshine" this afternoon and, although it is very indie quirky, I laughed harder at the end of the movie than I have at any other movie in quite some time. It also has some very touching moments. The whole child beauty pageant is also uber-disturbing, even when done satirically. So you know, it's got something for the whole range of emotions.
And speaking of funny/disturbing, a woman in Germany got into a car accident while teaching her dog to drive ...
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The price of name recognition
There's nothing too terribly exciting to tell from my trip to Indianapolis last week. It went well overall. In my spare time, I did a little swimming at the hotel pool, watched "The Descent" and saw a minor league baseball game (the Indianapolis Indians have a really nice stadium if you're ever there during baseball season; it's worth checking out).
There was also some fine dining, which was cool. The restaurant we went to the first night had some super tasty (and pricey) steaks. Of more interest, though, was a $500 Manhattan (the drink, not the island, which can be bought for beads). Naturally, we asked the waiter what was in it and if it was safe to drink liquid gold. Apparently, it uses a liquor that is $125 a shot. Our waiter had never sold one, but the name of the drink is the Mia Manhattan, named after the waitress who sold six in one evening -- the record.
The follow-up questions were obvious:
1) What was she wearing at the time?
2) How drunk were the businessmen she sold the drinks to?
Unfortunately, the waiter hadn't been working at the restaurant at the time, so he didn't know. But there were seven of us eating out and he said that if we bought seven of them we could name it whatever we liked. We tried to convince our boss that we could name it after our company. That way we could consider it branding (and that's the sort of thing you really can't put a price on). He disagreed.
Oh well, it was worth a shot.
There was also some fine dining, which was cool. The restaurant we went to the first night had some super tasty (and pricey) steaks. Of more interest, though, was a $500 Manhattan (the drink, not the island, which can be bought for beads). Naturally, we asked the waiter what was in it and if it was safe to drink liquid gold. Apparently, it uses a liquor that is $125 a shot. Our waiter had never sold one, but the name of the drink is the Mia Manhattan, named after the waitress who sold six in one evening -- the record.
The follow-up questions were obvious:
1) What was she wearing at the time?
2) How drunk were the businessmen she sold the drinks to?
Unfortunately, the waiter hadn't been working at the restaurant at the time, so he didn't know. But there were seven of us eating out and he said that if we bought seven of them we could name it whatever we liked. We tried to convince our boss that we could name it after our company. That way we could consider it branding (and that's the sort of thing you really can't put a price on). He disagreed.
Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Things about me: 51-60
51) I have to start my day out with a glass of orange juice.
52) I don't drink coffee, although there are some mornings I wish I did. I don't need the caffeine addiction, though.
53) I eat breakfast every morning, unless I'm in a big rush. Breakfast is almost always cereal. Almost always a kids' cereal. Usually without milk. (The current rotation: Corn Pops and Strawberry Cheerios)
54) My general philosophy in life is hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
55) I'm an optimist almost to a fault. I have a strong belief that everything happens for a reason, even if we don't know what it is, and that everything will work out eventually.
56) Sort of on the other half of my philosophy, things I always carry on my person -- just in case -- include a Band-Aid, Swiss Army knife, small flashlight, pen, chapstick and cell phone.
57) I believe in God.
58) I don't believe in hell.
59) Consequently, although I was raised Methodist, I would not consider myself particularly religious, though I do consider myself fairly spiritual. (Basically meaning, I have my beliefs, but they don't necessarily line up with traditional church doctrine.)
60) Whenever I hear "Walk Like an Egyptian," when it gets to the part with the whistling, I have to whistle along -- doesn't matter where I am, I just have to.
52) I don't drink coffee, although there are some mornings I wish I did. I don't need the caffeine addiction, though.
53) I eat breakfast every morning, unless I'm in a big rush. Breakfast is almost always cereal. Almost always a kids' cereal. Usually without milk. (The current rotation: Corn Pops and Strawberry Cheerios)
54) My general philosophy in life is hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
55) I'm an optimist almost to a fault. I have a strong belief that everything happens for a reason, even if we don't know what it is, and that everything will work out eventually.
56) Sort of on the other half of my philosophy, things I always carry on my person -- just in case -- include a Band-Aid, Swiss Army knife, small flashlight, pen, chapstick and cell phone.
57) I believe in God.
58) I don't believe in hell.
59) Consequently, although I was raised Methodist, I would not consider myself particularly religious, though I do consider myself fairly spiritual. (Basically meaning, I have my beliefs, but they don't necessarily line up with traditional church doctrine.)
60) Whenever I hear "Walk Like an Egyptian," when it gets to the part with the whistling, I have to whistle along -- doesn't matter where I am, I just have to.
Take Two
It occurred to me yesterday that I should have titled my last post "I fought the claw, and the claw won."
Dammit!
I'll be in Indianapolis at a conference for work for most of the week, but I promise to try to post more in the list of things-about-me-that-you-had-totally-forgotten-
to-look-for-because-it's-been-such-a-long-time.
And on a totally unrelated note, SciFi Channel's "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" is an AWESOME show. If they have another season, I would so do it. I just have to come up with my superhero persona.
Dammit!
I'll be in Indianapolis at a conference for work for most of the week, but I promise to try to post more in the list of things-about-me-that-you-had-totally-forgotten-
to-look-for-because-it's-been-such-a-long-time.
And on a totally unrelated note, SciFi Channel's "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" is an AWESOME show. If they have another season, I would so do it. I just have to come up with my superhero persona.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Crabby, meet crabby meat
I went to lunch at a place serving all-you-can-eat crabs today. I love fresh seafood and I do like crab meat, but the experience has taught me that I don't really like having to work that hard for a meal. Don't get me wrong, I was going after those little crustaceans. There were shells flying, and I even cut myself somehow. You're just not trying if you're not bleeding by the end of an all-you-can-eat feast.
By the time I stopped eating, though, it wasn't because I was full, it was because I was tired. I spent a lot more energy trying to get to the crab meat than I could ever get from actually eating it. Consequently, I was hungry about an hour later.
Clearly, I just need to invent a crab-cracking machine. That would be totally cool.
By the time I stopped eating, though, it wasn't because I was full, it was because I was tired. I spent a lot more energy trying to get to the crab meat than I could ever get from actually eating it. Consequently, I was hungry about an hour later.
Clearly, I just need to invent a crab-cracking machine. That would be totally cool.
Monday, August 07, 2006
OK Go ... check it out
This week's cool clip is a music video from OK Go, which had another, earlier video with cool dancing. This one uses treadmills. The most impressive thing about these videos is that it's all one shot; there aren't any cuts. I have no idea how many takes it took to get the whole thing right, but it's an impressive feat. There have been a lot of imitation videos on YouTube of the first OK Go video; I wonder how many people will hurt themselves on treadmills trying to copy this one.
In other news, I spent the day in Richmond visiting Oregon (the person, not the state; and not her real name). We spent time in a park that was supposed to have bears but didn't and trying to hike to an island that we were supposed to be able to get to but couldn't. But a fun city nonetheless.
In other news, I spent the day in Richmond visiting Oregon (the person, not the state; and not her real name). We spent time in a park that was supposed to have bears but didn't and trying to hike to an island that we were supposed to be able to get to but couldn't. But a fun city nonetheless.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Back in the mile-high life again
I spent much of last week back in Colorado for the wedding of one of my best friends from high school. It was a Scottish affair, hence the kilt:
For more photos, go here.
It was also an outdoor wedding, which was beautiful, but hot. And a kilt isn't as drafty as you might think. I think I'll stick with pants and shorts, but at least I had my little man purse/murse/package protector to keep stuff in. I have to admit, it was pretty handy. (At least for when one doesn't have pockets -- don't be getting any funny ideas like I'm going to start carrying around a purse or anything.) At any rate, the wedding was a lot of fun.
There was even a chocolate fountain at the reception, though no chocolate fountain girl.
Probably just as well for everyone involved.
The rest of the trip was also most excellent and reminded me why I love Colorado so much. The mountains were beautiful and a bunch of us spent the morning before the wedding going tubing in Boulder Creek, which was a lot of fun. It would be great to be able to do stuff like that whenever I felt like it. And even though I'm often dismayed by all the development going on, it's still refreshing to be able to see rabbits and groundhogs on a regular basis.
The trip also included visits with several old friends I hadn't seen in years and I got to hang out with my family. All in all, you can't ask for much more than that!
For more photos, go here.
It was also an outdoor wedding, which was beautiful, but hot. And a kilt isn't as drafty as you might think. I think I'll stick with pants and shorts, but at least I had my little man purse/murse/package protector to keep stuff in. I have to admit, it was pretty handy. (At least for when one doesn't have pockets -- don't be getting any funny ideas like I'm going to start carrying around a purse or anything.) At any rate, the wedding was a lot of fun.
There was even a chocolate fountain at the reception, though no chocolate fountain girl.
Probably just as well for everyone involved.
The rest of the trip was also most excellent and reminded me why I love Colorado so much. The mountains were beautiful and a bunch of us spent the morning before the wedding going tubing in Boulder Creek, which was a lot of fun. It would be great to be able to do stuff like that whenever I felt like it. And even though I'm often dismayed by all the development going on, it's still refreshing to be able to see rabbits and groundhogs on a regular basis.
The trip also included visits with several old friends I hadn't seen in years and I got to hang out with my family. All in all, you can't ask for much more than that!
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