Friday, July 29, 2005

Please Stand By

The Voyages of Captain Happy is on hiatus and will return in mid-August with...

lost.jpg ...the Count-down to the start of Lost's second season....

 

 AD.jpg  ...loud lamenting over the criminally low ratings of Arrested Development...

 

doh.jpg ...vacation stories (two weeks with my sister and mother is sure to produce some embarrassing moments!)...

 

interpol.jpg ...lots more music from bands you've never heard of...

 

famf0600icecream_sandwiches.jpg ...ice cream sandwiches...

 

   ...football...

 

batista.jpg  angle.jpg  ...wrestling...

 

...and of course...

 

More information about my upcoming novel!!!    Chewie.jpg  sisto.jpg Jason.jpg

 

SEE YOU THEN!

Thursday, July 28, 2005

50 Things About Me

Irony: "Can't Repeat"- The Offspring's new song, sounds exactly like every other song they've ever put out.

I have seen this done in several other journals and I figured it would be a good way to go out since this will be my next to last entry before vacation.  It's-

50 Things About Me

1. My name is Kevin!

2. I am not Captain Happy, but I answer to it because it's just easier.

3. I was born prematurely.

4. I met my wife on the internet.

5. My birthday is May 13.

6. I have never lost a game of movie trivia.

7. I went to an all-boys high school.

8. When I got to college, I fell in love with the first girl that said hello to me.

9. From 1997-1999, I met fifty of the friends I made online face to face.

10. All of those encounters went reasonably well except for the first one.

11. I have been a fan of The Simpsons since they were on the Tracey Ullman show.  I was in 8th grade.  Now I'm 7 years out of college and they're still on.

12. I have been a pro wrestling fan for twenty years with only a few lapses here and there. 

13.  I root for the bad guys and can predict what's going to happen about 80% of the time.

14. My musical tastes have gone through phases.  Growing up we listened to oldies since that was what my mom listened to.  As I got older, it was pop and rap.  In college, I loved classic rock.  Now I enjoy alternative and independents.

15. When I was 7, I wrote She Blinded Me With Science, but gave it to Thomas Dolby because no one would believe a 7-year-old could write something so wonderful.

16.  I sprinkle any About Me quizzes, surveys and games with outrageous lies in order to amuse myself.

17. People have described me as 'nice'.

18. I can beat the Nintendo game 'Jaws' in ten minutes.

19. When I was a kid, I was terrified of The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

20. I have never left the Eastern time zone.

21. I learned to drive from a driving instructor.

22. I taught myself how to swim.

23.  My long-term memory is much better than my short-term.  I can remember the names of all the toys I played with when I was younger, but can't remember what I wanted to type five minutes ago.

24. My favorite G.I. Joe character was Mercer.  He was once a Cobra Viper but defected to the good guys.  He was part of the Renegades three-pack which also included Taurus, the circus strong man and Red Dog, the football player who was banned for being too violent.

25. Today I finally mailed my manuscript to the publishing company.  It cost $63 to Fedex it overnight to Canada. 

26. I wrote my first short story in college.  It came to me as I was walking around campus.

27. I have invented several games while playing in the backyard with my brother, cousin and friends.  I suppose the competitive side of me sees no point in throwing a ball around.  I always need rules because rules lead to a winner.

28. I try not to put many personal things in my journal because I'm pretty boring.

29. I'm so smart they hooked me up to a big computer to try to teach it some things, but I had so much knowledge it overloaded and then it got really hot and caught on fire!

30. Sometimes my outrageous lies are taken word for word from The Simpsons.

31. Since I named my daughter Kasey, whenever I hear that name, I automatically think it's a girl.

32. I am younger than my parents, but older than my daughter.

33. I have never done anything wrong.

34. My freshman class at the all-boys high school was larger than all four classes combined at the local high school.

35. I hate country music.  It gives me a headache.

36. My favorite snack is pretzels.

37. My favorite pizza topping is sausage.

38. By the time my daughter was born, I had been awake for 24 hours.

39. Though I never made the football team in high school, several guys on the team considered me the best gym class football player.

40. I wrestled in high school and once spent 1 minute and 30 seconds on my back, tearing myself a new one to keep both shoulders from hitting the mat.  In the next period, I pinned the guy.  It is my fondest wrestling memory.  The next day, the AD told me I was awesome.

41. I never really had to study in school and still got excellent grades.

42. I am telepathic.  I know you are reading this right now.

43. I hate peanut butter.

44. You're going to read this a lot faster than it took me to write it.

45. I put my pants on one leg at a time.  Just like you.

46. I don't remember the first movie I ever saw in a theater.  The last thing I saw was Land of the Dead.

47. Teams I root for are 1-4 when I attend their play-off games.  The NY Giants won, but the Nets lost twice and the Devils lost twice.  I am a jinx.

48. I like to go for long walks.

49. When I am walking, I usually am working out plots and stories in my head.

50.  I am very shy and quiet, unless I know you very well.
 

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

A burning question

- When using a broom, is there some secret way to sweep up the last little line that gets left behind at the edge of the dustpan?

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

A.D. returns!

Mark your calendars, set your Tivo's, cancel your movie plans.  Arrested Development returns this Friday to the Fox network.  You can catch the first four episodes of Season 2 in order from 8-10 Eastern.  I am very excited since these episodes predate my DVR, so I've only seen them once.

See why Arrested Development is the defending champion at this year's Emmys.  See why Jason Bateman won a Golden Globe and is nominated for an Emmy.  See why Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walters were also nominated for Emmys.  See the funniest show on television by a mile.

 

Saturday, July 23, 2005

One Week To Go!

  This time next week, I will be on vacation.  Is there any more comforting thought?  It's the 2 best weeks of the year- screw the other 50!  That includes you Christmas!  Vacation rules!

  Since I won't have computer access next Saturday night, I figured I had better update my music list.  And if you think no one cares- you're wrong!  If you search the internet for She Wants Revenge- you get my journal as a result.  So far, three people have asked me if I have a copy of the song (which I don't :*( The album is not out until October last I heard).  Okay, so that doesn't prove that people care what music I listen to, but maybe it proves that I don't listen to bad music, as my wife and mother seem to think.

Here is an extended list of songs that I will be listening to on vacation...you know, when I'm listening to an actual Alternative station, which they have in south NJ (unlike stupid ignorant Utica).  I will also be cranking the Sirius while in the car of course.  We're taking the wife's car, but I have a plug n play....don't mess with my presets when I'm not in the car with you, Keri!

The buttons are as follows on Band A:

1. Alt Nation  2. Left of Center  3. Faction  4. Octane  5. Spectrum  6.  Pulse  7. 70's  8. 80's  9.Classic Rewind 10. Rawdog Comedy 

  The green is signify the glow of the button numbers on the radio because I am in a weird mood tonight.  Anyway, here's that list.  You can gauge your hip factor by how many of these you've heard of.  In no particular order:

Tear You Apart, Out of Control- She Wants Revenge

Love Steals Us From Loneliness- Idlewild

Come On! Feel The Illinoise- Sufjan Stevens

Brighter Than Sunshine- Aqualung

Over My Head (Cable Car)- The Fray

How We Know- The Thermals

Call To Love- Crooked Fingers

Side 2- Dressy Bessy

Your Little Hoodrat Friend- The Hold Steady

Girl- Beck

Gangsters & Thugs- Transplants  (I have a funny story about this song, but you'll think I'm a bad parent, so forget it)

I Was Never Young- Of Montreal

Middle of Nowhere- Hot Hot Heat

Baby C'Mon- Stephen Malkmus

Trouble With Dreams, Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) -Eels

Maureen- Fountains of Wayne

In The Morning- The Coral

Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz

Oh My God- The Kaiser Chiefs

Dance Music- The Mountain Goats

Fortress- Pinback

Car Underwater- Armor for Sleep

Reinventing Your Exit- Underoath

Blue Orchid, My Doorbell- The White Stripes

Banquet- Bloc Party

The Comeback- Shout Out Louds

In The Morning- The Coral

Hey Now Now- The Cloud Room

 

Now go look all those up.  I'll be at the beach :-)

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Please don't toss me a lit match.

I was going to make an entry about our trip to the Enchanted Forest/Water Safari yesterday, but Kasey made a determined effort to look like a grump or a weirdo in every picture, so I'll just provide the link: Photo: DSCF0698 | enchanted forest album | Keri | Fotki.com

Hopefully, that works.  The other girl is her friend, Emily.

***

This is turning out to be one of those days where I should have just stayed in bed.  While filling my gas can at the station, I splashed gas all over myself.  Then my car kept stalling on the way home because I got stuck behind a line-making truck and kept having to stop and go.  The last time I almost didn't get it started again.  I felt so bad for the people behind me- though they wouldn't have gotten much farther if able to pass me since that truck was there.  Finally, after all I went through to get the gas for the lawnmower, the darn thing wouldn't start.  Right now it's two-thirty and I'm in my pajamas because the gas-soaked pants were my last clean pair.

***

Sorry I haven't tried the borders Lisa sent me- seems like a lot of work.  I don't even know where the things got downloaded to.

***

I know that some of us macho guys show our affection for each other through mockery and good-natured ribbing, and I just learned that we never outgrow it.  Inside the gas station this morning, I saw two old guys recognize each other.  As one guy approached he said, "Hey buddy, what are you doing down here- I thought you died!"  And no, he wasn't serious.  I can't put the proper inflection into type.

***

As some of you know, we will be moving to Albany in a little while and staying with my parents until we can get our own place.  Everyone there hates kittens so I have to do something with mine until then.  Would anyone out there like to or know of anyone who would like to babysit two cats for an undisclosed amount of time?  I just don't know what to do.  Toby must sense what's going on because he just jumped into my lap looking for some affection.  :*( 

***

The rest of the world has caught up to Sirius 26: Left of Center and acknowledged that She Wants Revenge is a real band.  If anyone has Realplayer Rhapsody, you can hear their second song "Out of Control"on there.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Where do you belong?

Best Places to Live: Compare the Best Cities & Small Towns for You!

A friend sent me this link.  You answer the questions and it tells you where the ideal place for you to live is. 

Though, when I took it it was broken since it told me Long Island, NY.

***

Sorry for the lack of updates- Nothing embarrassing happened in front of me this week and my musical preferences have not changed.  Plus, I've had work, puzzle writing, Harry Potter and a renewed obsession with wrestling to deal with.  Really I'm just preparing you for when I am on vacation in a couple of weeks and will have no computer.

72473373_ORIG.jpg

Look how cute!

Friday, July 15, 2005

Fun With The Dictionary

First and last entry on page 280:  I'm/immortal  (The dictionary is God!)

114: colossus/ come-on  (Even X-Men need dates)

126: contractual/conversation (for people who take things too seriously)

369: mistreat/mocha  (coffee abuse is an underreported crime)

387: Newark/Nicaragua (now boarding!)

455:  prescriptive/ presumption (this is what Cruise is talking about!  You don't need the drugs!)

457: prig/printer (hopefully I won't have to deal with any of them!)

565: steel wool/stereotype  (those abrasive substances are all the same I tells ya!)

667: worn-out/wrecker (it gets tiring destroying everything!)

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Out of Place

 I don't know if I'm going to explain this properly, but lately I've been thrown off by seeing people in the wrong place.  I'm one coincidence away from hiring Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.

  First, there's the guy I have affectionately dubbed Weirdo.  At least once a week without fail, I see this tall, skinny guy walking along the side of the road with a grimace on his face, carrying a giant black garbage bag.  Sometimes, it's a small yellow bag, but he's always going somewhere and he is never empty-handed.  I suppose the simple explanation would be that he doesn't own a car and he's going to do his laundry or something, but come on!  We have plenty of buses around here.  Makes me think he's got something to hide.  Maybe he's disposing of body parts and no one notices because he's just some weirdo walking down the street.

  Anyway, I saw this guy in the wrong place yesterday and I almost did a double take.  He was outside the bank fiddling with the lid of a mailbox- you know, that thing you do to make sure your envelope didn't get stuck.  Only he was doing it over and over like he had never seen a mailbox before and was looking for the magic post office fairies that had just swiped his letter.  Not to be politically incorrect, but I might change Weirdo's name to Retard.  Of course, I had to resist the urge to say, "Where's your garbage bag, man?"

  Wait...I'm not even going to start in on Giant Sombrero Guy.

  Then there's the even worse Out of Place phenomenon that I sometimes have to go through working in such a large place in such a small community.  That's seeing work people outside of work, and you have to pretend that you would like nothing better than to stop and chat for five or ten minutes just because the same signature is on your paycheck.  I'm not unfriendly- I'm really not!  But when I'm shopping, I'm trying to remember stuff I want to get- I don't want to talk about how slow or busy things are at work, or how terrible some managers are.  When I am not at work, I am not thinking about work and that's the way I likes it.

  So of course, at Wal-mart today, I saw someone I work with.  Or more accurately, works one area over from me.  Basically, we see each other all the time but have never actually spoken.  I braced for it-having to smile and say, "How's it going?" or something- I thought maybe for once, I wouldn't have to hear how much Wal-mart sucks since we don't really know each other, but still, we would have to acknowledge each other with a polite greeting, right? 

  Wrong!  We saw each other coming down opposite ends of the aisle and never made eye contact again.  She took her kid, turned and kept her back to me until she got what she needed and bolted out of there. 

  I have to say, that was much, much worse than smiling and saying hello.  I have two theories:  1) She must hate seeing people out of place and making small talk as much as I do.  2) I must look like I spend my afternoons carrying around a garbage bag full of body parts. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Coming soon!!!

If you want to see what my book cover is going to look like, it is available here:  Graaaagh!

Enjoy!

Amazing Race Labels

  My friend/fellow blogger, Brandi and I were discussing The Amazing Race and the labels they put on each couple.  You know like the gay couple last year were- Lynn and Alex: Boyfriends.  A lot of times these things are good for a chuckle (Dating 12 years/Virgins) or even to show the state of things in America (Married Parents, because it no longer goes without saying that parents are married).

  I've given it about 2 minutes of thought, and here are some Amazing Race labels I would like to see in the future:

- Alcoholics

- Married Virgins

- Gay Man/Beard

- Dating Elvis Impersonators

- Closeted Homosexuals/ Roommates

- Starving Artists

- Reality Show Producers

- Bantering Radio Commercial Voice-over Actors

- Master/Slave

- Amateur Porn Stars

- Kissing Cousins

- Friends "with Benefits"

- Having an Affair

- Obsessed Star Wars fans

- Read each other's blogs

Saturday, July 9, 2005

Local Restaurants Suck

  Tonight we went to a local restaurant that everyone raves about and were thoroughly disappointed.  The ribs were dry, the fries and rolls were store-bought and my wife's ham was inedible.  We will be sticking to chains from now on!

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AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE EMBARRASSING MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!!

doh.jpg  This week's winner, once again is my sister, Erin.  That's two out of three for her.  I tried to make it someone different, but this definitely took the prize.  Sorry!

  While in the middle of an amusement park, my sister stopped for a moment at the paved part.  That's right- my sister looked both ways before crossing Sesame Street.

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Here's what I've been listening to this week:

1. Side 2- Dressy Bessy

2. Tear You Apart- She Wants Revenge

3. Your Little Hoodrat Friend- The Hold Steady

4. My Doorbell- The White Stripes

5. Dance Music- The Mountain Goats

6. Feel Good Inc.- Gorillaz

7. Diamonds & Guns- Transplants

8. In The Morning- The Coral

9. Dirty Little Secret- The All-American Rejects

10. Baby C'mon- Stephen Malkmus

Friday, July 8, 2005

New Journal

I don't know how many of you out there like word games, but I love them.  I even write my own.  If you would like to do any of the puzzles that I have created on my own, you can find them in my new journal:

Word Games by Captain Happy

The format is a little funky, but it came out better in a live journal than I'm sure it would have in an AOL journal.  Enjoy!

 

  In case you didn't notice, I haven't been on this week.  We went on a little trip to Langhorne, PA- home of Sesame Place.  I wasn't the one with the camera so I don't have any pictures to share, but I do have something way better.  My cousin was there and she had her friend's artwork with her.  My cover is finally done and now I can submit everything to the publisher.  I am that much closer to having my novel published- hopefully it will only be a couple of more weeks or months before I have a box of books to sell.

 ---------------------------------------------------------- 

Lisa, how do I put real dividers into entries?

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Here is a picture of the screwdriver that hit me in the ankle last week, along with some common household items for comparative purposes:

screwdriver.jpg 

(I was going to scan the cover art, but I'm not very good at the scanner and couldn't get it to come out in color for some reason.)

Sunday, July 3, 2005

Free Giant Screwdriver!

  On my way home from work today, I swung around a corner and felt something roll into my ankle.  I looked down and it was a giant screwdriver.  Biggest one I've ever seen.  Pep Boys must have left it under my seat for some reason when they were working on my car last week.  It's mine now, suckers!

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AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE EMBARRASSING MOMENT OF THE WEEK!

doh.jpg  Our winner this week is my supervisor, Dave.  He is not in this weekend because he has to stay home and fix his roof.  Note to all you do-it-yourselfers out there:  Make sure you know which way the tree is going to fall when you chop it down.  HAHAHA!

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Here's what I've been listening to this week:

1. Side 2- Dressy Bessy

2. In the Morning- The Coral

3. Your Little Hoodrat Friend- The Hold Steady

4. Tear You Apart- She Wants Revenge

5. Apply Some Pressure- Maximo Park

6. One of Us is Gonna Die Young- The Ark

7. Feel Good Inc.- Gorillaz

8. Gangsters & Thugs- Transplants

9. Dance Music- The Mountain Goats

10. Oh My God- Kaiser Chiefs

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Today's question:  What is the funniest or most unusual street name you've come across?  I myself get a kick out of a little back road where we go on vacation in NJ.  It's Goa Way.

Saturday, July 2, 2005

Frustration!

  I'm not exactly the most organized person in the world- I realize this now.  I was just under the bed looking for an empty notebook because I finished all the word games I like and remembered that I had fun last summer writing my own.  (Now how do you get that job?)  Anyway, every notebook I have has anywhere from 4 to 90 pages filled up with unfinished stories.  (Good God, it's a wonder I have one novel finished- I never finish anything!)  Of course, every time I find a notebook I have to start reading it.  And then when I get to the end I'm all like, "That's it?"  and I get mad at myself.  Not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm pretty good and there is a lot of killer stuff rotting under my bed in various stages of completion.  That's not the frustrating part, though.

  Inevitably I decide I should finish one of these future masterpieces.  So I try to refresh my memory of what I was going for whenever the hell it was I started writing whatever it was I just read.  Still with me?  I usually can do this to a certain degree.  (Thank you awesome long term memory and stellar imagination!)  No, that's not the frustrating part either.

  The frustrating part is my note-taking process.  I tend to keep a mental log of things that happen or things I hear about.  (I tried keeping a notepad with me at all times, but that was impractical and uncomfortable).  So these things get filed away in the brain- but sometimes when I'm writing, I know I'm going to forget something so I write all over the margins- things to make sure and put into the story.  Now HERE'S the frustrating part. 

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT MORE THAN HALF THE TIME.

  I was just enjoying the heck out of a short story I started a couple of years ago and I see across the top, a very neat set of notes.  "Don't forget:", complete with bullets.  

Don't Forget:

- the Linda story

- CJ (cunnilingus)

  Now what am I supposed to do with that?  Two or three or four years later, I have no friggin' clue who Linda is and I definitely have no clue who or what CJ is and what on Earth it would have to do with cunnilungus.

 

THE LESSON:  Take better notes, you fool!   

"Soylent Green is made out of people!"

  Sorry to drop a bombshell like that in my title, but I'm sure you all knew that already.  It's pretty common knowledge.  Anyway, I watched Soylent Green a couple of weeks ago on Turner Movies and I could only think one thing.  This should be remade. 

  Now normally I have the same stance on movie remakes that I do on musical remakes.  Though I can more easily forgive movie remakes because of advances in technology, fashion and whatnot.  A movie can look dated a lot more easily than a song can sound dated.  This is why Soylent Green should be remade.  It's a great story about a bleak future, yet I kept getting distracted by the overall cheesiness of the look.  This is the future, yet they have reverted back to technology from 1973?  And the neckerchief, oh God the neckerchief!  How can I care that Soylent Green is people when Charlton Heston is wearing that thing? 

  Imagine how horrible an overpopulated NYC could look now with the assistance of CGI masses fighting over their Soylent fix!  Get Spielberg!  Stick Denzel in the Heston role and let's get this remake going.

  With more and more unnecessary "re-imaginings" coming out (Willy Wonka and the Longest Yard come to mind), what film would YOU like to see updated for the big screen?

Friday, July 1, 2005

"Zombies! They freak me out, man!"

 Yesterday, I finally got to see a movie that I wanted to see instead of one Kasey wanted to see.  Grandma is the one who got stuck seeing SharkBoy and LavaGirl, while I saw Land of the Dead.  (I wanted to see Star Wars but that was starting too late.) 

  I went into the theater with sweaty palms, because the title of this entry actually applies to me as well as being a line uttered by Dennis Hopper's character.  There's just something about zombies that can get to me like no other entry in the horror genre.  Maybe it's the sense of impending doom inherent to a zombie movie, maybe the way your friends and family can suddenly transform and attack you, I don't know.  It's just unnerving to me.  

  Yes, I lost some sleep over Shaun of the Dead, which was a "romantic comedy...with zombies".  The first 15 minutes of the Dawn of the Dead remake haunt me to this day.  I never finished a Resident Evil game I borrowed from my brother because half way through I became terrified and figured a video game should not be doing that to me!  So why, oh why would I go see Land of the Dead? 

  It's because I am fully aware that being afraid of zombies is ridiculous.  The good news is- my plan working.  Facing your fears really does work!  I have seen both Resident Evil movies, 28 Days Later, and the original Dawn of the Dead without incident. 

  And now I can add Land of the Dead to that list, as it is not in the least bit scary.  I was actually a little disappointed in the style of the film.  George Romero, finally given a healthy budget, was seemingly seduced by the Hollywood style of chills and thrills.  First, the slow, lumbering zombies were "Jason-ized."   There are at least five instances where they pop up out of nowhere to attack.  They can also now catch their victims even though they are shuffling and their prey is running.  It was laughable.  Second, there are a couple of annoying jump moments.  You know, where the music gets harsh and something shocking is supposed to appear on screen.  A cheap trick that usually results in a "false scare" (i.e. It was only cat!)  Those moments are on display here- sadly too, as I expected more from a master of the genre- the inventor of the cinema zombie was we know it.   

  But I am far from one of those people who nitpick every little thing in a movie.  I honestly did enjoy it, even if it had its flaws.  It was much, much better than the PG-13 jump-fests that the more standardized Hollywood has been putting out lately.  (IMO, The Grudge and The Boogeyman shouldn't even qualify as horror.  You have to be rated R to qualify.)

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

  My favorite parts:  -Tom Savini's cameo as a zombified version of the character he played in the original Dawn.

  -The nearly-headless zombie who swung his head up from behind his back to nail somebody.

  - While it was pretty obvious who the people who were going to die were, the mortality rate of character's with names was surprisingly low.  I like when they keep you guessing.  Eh, who am I kidding?  They were probably setting up the sequel.

Grade: B

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  In other movie news, we watched Hostage the other night, starring Bruce Willis.  It didn't get much pub, (I had barely heard of it) but it was a decent little movie filled with action and suspense.  I thouroughly enjoyed it, even if at times it could not decide what kind of style it was going for.  That is, the opening credits look like a comic book movie, the set-up is shot and scored like a summer blockbuster shoot-em-up, and then at parts it settles down into a gritty independent style, until finally the climax goes from horror movie to standard action showdown.  Crazy description I know, but most of it works at the time.

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Okay, I came out with my crazy, irrational fear.  What are some of yours?  Or am I the only one who's crazy and irrational?  :-)

PS- Getting up at 4am because I couldn't sleep had nothing to do with the movie- I think my body thought it was time to go to work on Saturday.  A simple internal clock malfunction...