If you can't tell, I'm having some technical difficulties with my blog. I was able to retrieve the content, now I just need to work on the look and feel.
Everything should be updated by this weekend.
Jazz 111 Pacers 89
There’s watching basketball and then there’s watching basketball.Last night I was able to watch the Utah Jazz destroy the Indiana Pacers 111-89 with the best basketball seats I’ve ever had -- just a few rows behind the Pacers bench. (Thanks for the tickets, Robert!) Watching professional basketball is a completely different experience when you’re that close to the action. You can see the player’s expressions and hear them yelling at each other and the refs.And even though the Jazz put the game away in the first quarter, the highlight was listening to Pacer’s coach Jim O’Brien chew out his players for playing so poorly. I think his exact quote when I took the following photograph was, “[Carlos] Boozer’s running down the court and kicking your a**!”
And no, I didn't have to zoom in for that photo. That's how close I was sitting to the Pacers' bench.
I’ll never settle for upper bowl tickets again.
Life Imitates Fahrenheit 451
Two quotes from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451:
"But who has ever torn himself from the claw that encloses you when you drop a seed in a TV parlor? It grows you any shape it wishes! It is an environment as real as the world. It becomes and is the truth. Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never been able to argue with a one-hundred-piece symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions, and I being in and part of those incredible parlors...."***
"It'll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It's only two thousand dollars."
"That's one-third of my yearly pay."
"It's only two thousand dollars," she replied. "And I should think you'd consider me sometimes. If we had a fourth wall, why it'd be just like this room wasn't ours at all, but all kinds of exotic people's rooms. We could do without a few things."
"We're already doing without a few things to pay for the third wall. It was put in only two months ago, remember?"
"Is that all it was?"
From The Independent January 8, 2008:
Watching Match of The Day will never be the same again after the unveiling in Las Vegas yesterday of the world's biggest plasma television.
The 150-inch (3.75m) Panasonic widescreen TV, which stands 6ft tall, will enable viewers to watch everything in life-size.
But because of its huge size, the screen can only be comfortably watched from a distance of at least 30ft, making it too big to install in most living rooms. And with an expected price tag of £50,000 [$70,000], the giant TV will be beyond the spending power of most consumers.
Electoral Compass
I usually don't put much stock into online tests but with the presidential primaries coming up, I did take the Electoral Compass test just to see where my views compared to the presidential candidates. Amazingly my views were closest to the presidential candidate I plan on voting for February 5. Maybe there's something to this one.
To see, I'm curious to others who have taken this test, if their results show them backing the presidential candidate of their choice.
Resolving to do Better in 2008
I was mildly surprised to see how packed the gym was this afternoon. Then I remembered it was January 2 and people are high on their New Year's resolutions and burning off the unwanted pounds or whatever it is they're hoping to accomplish by working out. Sadly, most of these people will be gone come March. The good news is that once people start giving up in a couple of weeks, I won't have to occasionally wait for equipment. To make successful goal -- whether it be a New Year's resolution or something else -- takes careful thought and planning but also determination to accomplish it. That's why making a resolution that you, say, want to lose weight isn't enough. It's a good start but you need to decide how you're going to shed those pounds.
If you decide exercise is the way to slim down, you need to enjoy the exercise. If running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike seems boring, then don't do it. Instead find an exercise that you can enjoy like swimming or tennis. Whatever it is, you'll be more motivated to exercise if you enjoy doing it as opposed to something that you don't look forward to accomplishing. If you can't find an exercise at the gym that you enjoy, you're simply throwing your money away.
Sadly three out of the four people that were crowding the gym today are doing just that.
The Best and Worst of 2007
It's hard to believe that 2007 is almost over. Thankfully I had enough of a life that I can bring out my annual review and awards to those who are deserving of the honors. Best Blog: Mars No More (Ali's blog). She's a young widow raising two teenagers in Australia. Despite her circumstances, she refuses to wallow in self-pity. Instead we see a woman who's willing to do what it takes to keep her kids on the right path and keep her family together.
Best Movie: With three young kids, Marathon Girl and I don't get out much. (Though we are getting away for dinner and a movie this weekend so this could change.) However, The Children of Men was still the best movie I saw all year. (Technically a 2006 release, I didn't see it until January 2007.) It's a story about the value of human life and what happens when the world no longer has any hope. Read my review here.
Worst Movie: Transformers. I never liked Michael Bay's movies that much anyway but this pile of crap just makes me want to stay miles away from Transformers 2 and anything else he has planned.
Best Non-fiction Book: The Art of Seduction
Best Fiction Book: Echo Park
Worst Book--Fiction or Non-Fiction: I Am Legend
Best Fake Book Cover: Trevor did a great job of capturing what I'm sure everyone wanted the cover of Room for Two to really look like.
Best TV Show: American Idol. Okay, that was a joke. I'm not a fan of the show. The real winner in this category is LOST. Come on, did you really think I'd pick something else?
Best Promising TV Show: Moonlight. Marathon Girl and I are enjoying this show more and more. Too bad the writer's strike has put an end to it -- for now.
Best Moment: Holding the first copy of Room for Two in my hands.
Worst Moment: Being unemployed for five weeks. (I didn't blog about this but have an entry about it that I'll be posting soon.)
Strangest Moment: Having all our garden plants and vegetables turn outvery small. I'm really hoping we do a better job this summer.
Best Sports Moment: Watching the New England Patriots amass a 15-0 record with a shot to end the season 16-0 this Saturday. (If the New York Giants top the Pats on Saturday, that that will supplant this entry as my best sports moment.)
Worst Sports Moment: The BCS. Reading about the mess this creates every year has made me glad I no longer watch or care about college football.
Worst Political Moment: Watching the candidates for mayor and city council of our fair town attack each other through anonymous political ads. It was enough to make me think the city would get along just fine without any form of government.
Best Political Moment: There wasn't one.
Best Burger Joint: Apollo Burgers. They make the burgers tasty and filling. After eating one of their burgers you'll never want to eat anywhere else.
Best Web Site: The Drudge Report. Sure, he makes it sound like the world is going to end any minute even if it isn't. However, he has the best collection of current events at any given time. Thank you, Matt!
Best Getaway: Blackfoot, Idaho. Okay, this isn't a place I'd stop at if Marathon Girl didn't have family there. However, our kids love it and it's great in the summer because it's never very hot. And the family Marathon Girl does have there are fun to hang around.
Best Christmas Card: If you can find a way to get on Mr. Sensitive's Christmas card list, you should. He sends the most original cards year after year. And his creativity hasn't waned since he's gotten married.
Hoping you all had a great 2007 and looking forward to an even better 2008!
Merry Christmas Everyone
New Links
I've added two new links to the "Good Reads" section of the sidebar on this page. The first is Laura's blog. She's a friend of a friend and I've always enjoyed reading whatever she has to say. Her latest post about cell phone features is great!
The second is My Extra Life. Mostly about movies, video games, wierd things that can be found online, and pop culture. I've been reading it for awhile and love it. Scott also does some great cartoons. Encourage him to make this his full time job!
Enjoy!
Oops, I Screwed Up Again
So Britney Spears' younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. Until I read the story, I had no idea Britney even had a younger sister. But what intrigued me wasn't the fact Jamie Lynn got knocked up, but that their mother, Lynne Spears, had a parenting advice book, Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, that was coming out on Mother's Day. Now the book has been put on indefinite hold. Go figure. I think they can still save the book but need to have a more accurate title. Here are my book title suggestions:
- Oops, I Screwed Up Again
- Jamie Lynn Was an Accident
- I'll Raise My Grandchildren Better
- You Don't Have to Be Famous to Get Pregnant
- I'm Cashing In: How I Raised Two Pop-Culture Screw-Ups
- I Didn't Raise My Kids in a Trailer Park Even Though They Act Like It
Books Make Great Gifts
If you're looking for last minute holiday gifts, why not consider a book? Books make great gifts because you never have to worry if they'll make someone's butt look big or have an allergic reaction. In that spirit here are some book and author recommendations for those still looking or have postponed their Christmas shopping until the last possible minute.
Anything by Michael Connelly
Connelly had proven himself as one of the best writers today. His stories are intriguing, his characters are complex, and his prose is clear and crisp. Though most of his books surround LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, he's written a great book called The Lincoln Lawyer where he introduces a compelling criminal defense attorney named Mickey Haller who worries more about deal and negotiation rather than a client's guilt or innocence. For all Haller's faults, Connelly makes him someone we can sympathize with and who is forced to make the hardest decision of his life when faced with pure evil.
If you decide to buy a Harry Bosch novel, you don't have to worry about buying the first Bosch book, The Black Echo. I didn't read any of the Bosch novels in order and yet I was still able to enjoy the stories because Connelly gives you just enough background when necessary so you aren't missing out on anything. Just another reason he's one of the best writers working today.
The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, and The Art of Seduction
Though marketed as ways to increase your power, crush your enemies, and seduce the man or woman of your dreams, Robert Greene's books are really insights into human behavior. Each book contains rules to obtaining, say, power and short vignettes of famous men and women and how their choices led to let them to obtain their ultimate desires or caused them to be complete failures.
You can read them as lessons history, glances at human psychology, or books about business. However you choose to read them, they are wonderfully told stories with remarkable insight from Greene. Even if people on your list don't thirst for power or anything else Greene suggests, these books are help identify those who might try to take advantage of you.
Please note that you might have to ask a store clerk where these books are located. I've seen them in business, psychology, self-improvement, and history sections of stores.
Write Tight
If you know of an aspiring writer or anyone who enjoys improving their prose, buy them Write Tight. I've read a lot of books on writing and this is the one that has helped me the most. The book only concerns itself helping writers say the most in the fewest number of words. Period. Anyone can be verbose. Only those who truly master the art of writing can write tight.
Just about anything by Orson Scott Card
If you're looking for something in the science fiction/fantasy realm, I recommend just about anything by Orson Scott Card. Known best for his Ender Series, Card does wonderful job of creating believable characters in far away worlds.
One of my favorite things about Card is that he focuses more on the story and how the characters interact with each other than describing space ships or exotic places. Sure, we get a good tastes of these worlds but Card concentrates more on telling stories. Ender's Game and the books that follow are classics. But you also might want to consider Treason, Empire, and his Alvin Maker series.
Room for Two
What would be the point of writing a holiday book list if I didn't shamelessly include my own memoir, Room for Two.
Room for Two isn't just for those who have experienced loss but for anyone who wants to see the strength of the human character. We have an inner strength that is more powerful than we realize and can overcome anything that's placed in our path if we work hard at overcoming life's obstacles.
But you can decide for yourself if this book is right for you or someone on your Christmas list by reading the first chapter here.
Finally...
And I'm always looking for new authors and books to read. If you have any suggestions on what I should find under the tree Christmas morning, leave a comment below.