Sunday, August 28, 2005

Just Say No to Air

Thanks to my Dad for sending me the link to this website.

http://www.signal8-2.com/BOARD.HTM

"This story is true....I checked out its authenticity"

First I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they wont.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a
computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to the computer
store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.

On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.

I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM

I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do
this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. Its just compressed air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said no.

Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. Its a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out. That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're breathing it in If not, you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit." That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open.

The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe it's huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fit here. And that's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction. no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known.

It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always effected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. One won't talk about it.
The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.

After Kyle died another story came out. A Probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't
even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if
they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.

We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder
If I died and went to Hell.
----------------
This Officer is asking for everyone who receives this email to send it to
everyone you know, even Law Enforcement Officers.

Submitted By: Mike Randazzo (JFK)

Friday, August 26, 2005

Any football fans?

There are still plenty of slots left in my fantasy football league at NFL.com.  If there's anyone out there interested in joining, let me know and I will mail you the invitation. 

And The Embarrassing Moment of the Week goes to....

doh.jpg     ME.

I was playing Monopoly for the first time in years with my sister-in-law and she had all three of the green properties.  I remembered that that meant you had to pay double.  But instead of reading what the rent was off the card, I kept paying her double what she had paid to buy the property.  Instead of 26 X 2, I was paying 300 X 2.  Needless to say, she won.

There's also something funny we remembered from Kasey's b-day party while on vacation.  She got a Barbie Cali girl, and my cousin was like, Barbie Call Girl??? WTF?  Then she realized her mistake as someone else said, "Well, Barbie has done everything else!"

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Article

Here's something that's right up my alley.  The grammar thing, not the virgin thing.  :)

:: rogerebert.com :: (xhtml)

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Nighttime Activities

  It doesn't happen very often, but last night I woke up screaming.  Like literally screaming.  My wife had to tell me to knock it off.  Here's what I know.  It only happens when I sleep on my back, which I hardly ever do.  And it is VERY vivid.  Last night, we were back in the beach house but it was winter now.  A voice said, "Sorry I didn't take your coats", and suddenly a chair floated up into the air and our scarves and coats started piling on top of it.  I know, it sounds more like Harry Potter than a nightmare.  I didn't wake up screaming because I was scared- I was screaming because I was excited that I had just found proof that ghosts exist.  But apparently in the world outside my brain, screaming is just screaming and my wife was not as equally excited about my discovery. 

  The time before that was a real nightmare.  It was probably two years ago at least, but I still have the one image burned into me.  I was walking along a frozen lake when I looked down and saw a dead young woman in a nightgown.  As I stared at her face, her eyes popped open like in a horror movie.  I don't care if it was a dream- that was just about the scariest thing that has happened to me ever. 

  But at least I stay in bed at night.  My brother and sister both have some interesting sleepwalking tales to tell.  I won't even try to tell them because they're better at it.  The best one I witnessed was when my brother got up in the middle of the night, took a shower in his sleep and went back to bed.

  What's the weirdest dream or sleepwalking incident you've ever experienced?

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

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

1. Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo- Bloodhound Gang

2. The Comeback- Shout Out Louds

3. Dance Music- The Mountain Goats

4. My Doorbell- The White Stripes

5. Portions for Foxes- Rilo Kiley

6. Side 2- Dressy Bessy

7. In the Morning- The Coral

8. Oh My God- The Kaiser Chiefs

9. Hey Now Now- The Cloud Room

10. Girl- Beck

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

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 6- LOST: Season 1 available on DVD.

Sept. 18- Arrested Development loses the Emmy for Best Comedy to Desperate Housewives.  Ceremony airs on CBS.

Sept. 19- Season 3 of Arrested Development begins on FOX.

Sept. 21- Season 2 of LOST begins on ABC.

Oct. 11- Season 2 of Arrested Development available on DVD.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Willy vs. Charlie

Charlie.jpg          VS.       willy.jpg

  Last night I took Kasey to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for her birthday (which is today- she's 5).  As a fan of the original, which I've seen countless times and own on DVD, I was interested to see what Tim Burton would do to it.  Normally I'm against remakes, but I can make an exception for this one because it was a book first and someone like Tim Burton should be allowed to get his hands on a magical candy factory and not worry that someone did it first more than 30 years ago.  I've decided there's only one right way to do this and that's the Breakdown, sports column style:

SPOILER WARNING: This article can only be done properly by discussing things in detail and I must assume that if you have read this far, you have already seen both.  Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.

1) WILLY WONKA 

  Arguably the most important role in the film.  This is the hardest call to make for me and I now realize that I don't know which way I'm going to lean on any of it.  Both Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder bring things to the role that I like.  Depp comes off as the more eccentric of the two, with more of a dislike for the children, while Wilder is more schizophrenic in his treatment of the children.  Wilder definitely seems more happy that they're there and tries to be more of a showman while Depp acts more shy and reserved- like a person who hasn't seen anyone but Oompa Loompas for fifteen years.  Both styles work for me.   

EDGE:  Even

2) Charlie Bucket

  I went in to this thinking that "Willy Wonka" might have an unfair advantage because I've seen it so many moretimes and I can still recall details like the genuine sense of wide-eyed wonderment Charlie has upon entering the factory.  But this was Peter Ostrum's only role so how much of it was acting and how much was real excitement to be on a movie set?  Freddie Highmore, on the other hand, does a solid, consistent job- even coming recommended to the part by Depp himself.  The Charlie role seems a bit smaller to me in "Charlie", which makes it even more impressive that Highmore can make you care about him.  I like that the script drops little hints that Charlie "gets it" and would be good at running the factory, while Ostrum's Charlie is just a wide-eyed nerd.  

EDGE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

3) Grandpa Joe

  Finally, one that's no contest.  Jack Albertson brought so much warmth and heart to the role of Grandpa Joe that it would have been impossible for me to like anyone else in the part.  Don't get me wrong- David Kelly is an adorable old man, but he just didn't bring as much to the table as Albertson.  Albertson not only has the private "one more chance to win" moment with Charlie, but Charlie also comes across as his very reason to get out of bed and be alive.  (Kelly hops out of bed and dances at the chance to go to the factory, almost like it has nothing to do with Charlie.)  The love and protective feelings Grandpa Joe has for Charlie come shining through in Albertson's performance, while Kelly is just kind of along for the wild ride.

EDGE: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

4) Charlie's family

  I like Charlie's mom better in "Willy".  But that's it.  The rest of the family are lumps on a log and Charlie's father is absent entirely.  In Burton's film, the other three grandparents are actually characters and we get to see why Charlie would care so much for them.  It's the other grandfather that tells Charlie to use the Golden Ticket instead of selling it and he, along with the non sequitur-spewing grandmother, got some of the biggest laughs in the theater.

EDGE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

5)  The Kids

  Okay, so if thisis a reimagining of the book, and not a remake of the first film, why are the other four kids in the new one CLONES of the children from the first?  Augustus Gloop is exactly the same so you can't compare them, though the new one gets a good laugh with "Want some chocolate? You should have brought some!".  The new Violet is given a little more depth and a reason to be chewing the gum so I liked her a little better.  The original Veruca was a million times better.  She was obnoxious, spiteful and argumentative- not just a spoiled brat, like the new one.  In "Willy" it is Veruca who tries to call Wonka on all his nonsense, while the new film gives that part to Mike Teavee.  Speaking of which, I did like the new Mike Teavee better as he was given some smarts and wasn't just some video game loving nutjob.

EDGE: Even 

6) The Oompa-Loompas

  In "Charlie" I liked that the Oompa Loompas looked human and weren't freaky orange midgets.  I liked that the musical numbers weren't asides and Willy was enjoying them, while the kids questioned how the names of the children could already be in the rehearsed numbers.  All that was great.  But it's not enough to surpass what is arguably the most famous part of the old film.  Who among us cannot sing along in their deepest voice to the old Oompa Loompa song?  It gets in your head and stays there for days.  The closest "Charlie" gets to that is the "Meet Willy Wonka" song which isn't even perfomed by the OLs.  I liked the musical numbers in the new film, but the old one is just untouchable in this category.

EDGE: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

7) The Chocolate Factory

  Of course the special effects are going to be better in 2005 than they were in 1971- it almost isn't fair.  I think the old film did a pretty good job considering the era and the fact that the budget wasn't all that big.  But when you hear that Tim Burton is making Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the first thing you think is that the actual factory is going to be awesome.  On looks alone, the edge has to go to "Charlie"; my only hesitation is that there seemed to be a little more time spent inside the "Willy" factory.  Burton's film races past everything by boat or glass elevator while the original takes the time to stop and lick the schnozzberries.

SLIGHT EDGE:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

8) The differences

  Here's what I found ironic.  The film entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory gives us a lot of Charlie Bucket, while the film with Charlie's name in the title gives us the story of Willy Wonka.  In the original film, Wonka is an eccentric candy maker and that's all we know.  In "Charlie"  we meet Wonka's father, learn Wonka's motivations and history and in the end, the lesson learned belongs to Willy.  It's not better or worse- it's just different and I liked the way the story played out in both films. 

  Gone from the new film are the Slugworth and Gobstopper subplots, the sign-in and shrinking entrance, the edible wallpaper, the carwash ride and Charlie and Grandpa floating to the ceiling.  In their place is Wonka's flashbacks and a longer conclusion to the story.  With a gun to my head, I'd have to say I liked knowing Wonka's backstory a little more than the extra factory parts I mentioned.  The little scenes I mentioned from the first one, while classic, don't add much to the overall story and obviously, are easily dropped.

EDGE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Verdict   

 Adding up the score, it seems I liked the new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" just a little bit more.  But that is no knock on the original- I still love it.  If "Charlie" is an A, then "Willy Wonka" is an A-.

  (As for Kasey, she says she liked the new one better.  I suppose it's true since she paid attention the whole time last night and kept asking questions, while she turned the Willy DVD off halfway through.) 

WINNER:  Charlie.jpg

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Vacation Pics

vacation album | Keri | Fotki.com

Here are the pictures off the digital camera. 

WARNING # 1: I have my shirt off in some of them and to the female readers, keep in mind that I am MARRIED, ok?

WARNING # 2: Kasey is going through a stage where she gives an absolutely phony-baloney smile every time.  It actually kind of looks like she has to go to the bathroom.

WARNING # 3: The last few were taken by me, so if the quality is below the usual standard, just remember that my wife is a pro and I am not. 

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

My Big Fat Jersey Vacation

  See what I did there?  I took the name of a popular movie from several years ago and changed it to fit the subject of my entry.  You should have to pay for that kind of cleverness.  And I just give it away!

Part 1- The Conditions:

First of all, my wife forgot to take the first Saturday off so she had to work before we could leave.  It was okay, since I got to go into work and make myself look good.  I'm sure my boss and co-workers noticed how dedicated I was to the company to come in to work even on my vacation. 

  The trip from upstate NY to midstate NJ took 5 and a half hours.  But with Sirius, you never lose the signal.  The VCH loves Sirius.

  Sunday morning I was the first person awake.  I would go on to be the first one up every day for the whole vacation.  A record that may never be broken.  Usually it's a silent battle between me and my dad, but he has a new job and couldn't come this year, so I got all the glory of being the one who opens the blinds.  My plan was to go to bed really late and get up really early, theoretically making the vacation last longer.  Sleep is for the weak- I view it as a complete waste of time.  Especially on vacation!

  I should mention my toe.  Way back in 2000, right before Kasey was born, I dropped a wooden pallet on my big toe and ripped the nail right off.  It has never been quite the same sicne it grew back- periodically, it will turn sort of greenish and fall off.  Well, mowing the lawn one last time before we left, I smacked the hell out of that toe and it became a nagging injury for the whole two weeks.  It seems that four-year-olds have a keen sense of which toe to accidentally step on.  I also got to gross out my sister because there is a bruise underneath and the nail is clearly dead but waiting patiently to fall off.  My brother took a picture of it for posterity.

  Anyway, the weather during the first week was perfect.  You could sweat your butt off just sitting on the beach and then go into the ocean to cool off.  If anything, it was TOO hot.  But that's the way we likeit.  No one wants it cold and rainy on their vacation.  The ocean temperature was good, but one day there was way too much seaweed and most of the other days there were an awful lot of fish eggs or something.  You couldn't run your hand through the water without feeling little rubbery things hitting you.  I don't even want to know how many of them I swallowed while riding or dodging waves.

  The second week was not as good, but still decent enough.  It was a little cloudier and on the last day we had to leave the beach because it started pouring.

PART 2- Activities   

  I originally wanted to write this as a day by day account, but  I didn't keep a journal and the days just seem to blend together after a while.  I am therefore going to list random things I remember in no particular order.  I will leave a lot out and anyone who was there can feel free to add stuff in the comments section.

  1) The first thing I remember is that my string of awesome Mexican Train domination came to an end.  Turns out the game really is mostly luck and I am not the master of the game I thought I was becoming.  The first time we played I won six rounds in a row and thought I was well on my way to a fifth consecutive victory but blew it in the latter stages of the game.  At one point, I was the only person who hadn't won a game, which included my sister's boyfriend who was only there on the weekends.  We played almost every night, because it takes a long time and is a good way to stay up late without getting into trouble, and I only won once.

2) The vacation must-list also includes miniature golf.  The first time, my mother started off with all twos.  I think she had a 12 after 6 holes or something.  So I kept track of the stroke difference between the two of us for the whole game and by the 18th hole my mom had blown it and I knew that I had clinched victory.  Then we added up the scores and I had only beaten my wife, Keri, by two strokes. 

  In case you can't tell, I am an arrogant bastard when it comes to competitions of any kind.  I remember years ago enraging my sister by declaring myself the King of Golf, as if that's a real title.  Anyway, for all my talent and perfectly legitimate excuses for missing putts, it is actually my wife who is secretly, quietly a very good mini-golfer.  The second time we played, it was just me, her and my sister and Erin and I got our asses handed to us.  It was not even close!  Keri played well, but I can't overlook the fact that it was a different, unfamiliar course for me the second time and I was forced to carry the scorecard and pencil in pockets that were not loose enough for such things. 

  The other thing about mini-golf is, and even my wife admits this, I am really good at winning free games.  You know, the 18th hole where you win a free game with a hole in one- in the last two years, I have done it more often than not in several different places.  Needless to say, we never made it back to that second place where I won a free game and I have to carry a little blue ticket in my wallet for a whole year now.

3) We don't just play the Mexican Train Game.  We also play other stuff, like Sorry!  The fun thing we like to do with Sorry! is play "Amazing Race" style, where the last player to check in is eliminated.  The first game, you play until three people get home, then two in the second and the third game is a one on one game.  We play that so much that the cards have become battered and sometimes you know what you're going to draw before you turn it over. 

  We also played some Battleship, which my wife also usually beats me at.  I usually have a sound precise strategy and she beats me with luck before the strategy can play itself out.  Grrr!

  Then there's the game that has reached legendary status in my family.  We call it the Category Game, but I don't really know if it has a real name or not.  Basically, you take a piece of paper and make a grid.  Then you assign categories and letters along the top and left side.  Then everyone runs off to fill the boxes in- if the top left box had A over it and Movies next to it, an appropriate answer to write in the box would be Armageddon and so on.  When the time limit is up, everyone compares answers at a roundtable discussion and you get one point for every answer that no one else has.  My quick thinking and fabulously large brain usually propel me to victory, though not as often as you would think.  After all, I am playing opponents within the same gene pool usually.

  This game has reached legendary status over the years, mostly through the humor it creates.  My brother and his new wife are so perfect for each other that they tend to cancel each other's answers in the most unexpected ways.  This year, under Athletes-T, they both had Marques Tuiasosopo, back up QB of the Oakland Raiders.  Pretty weird, yet not as weird as a few years ago when they both had Things that Smell- O - ostrich poop.  This game is not successful unless we all crack up at least once.

  We also have to argue over something at least once as well.  Things like whether shorts and cut-offs are the same thing.  This year it was whether or not cookies should count as candy.  I said no, but my brother's love of cheating and also finding humor in being combative (He once infuriated my cousin by insisting that The Ref is not a funny movie, even though he had never seen it) kept the argument going longer than it should have.

4) My campaign to find someone to talk to about wrestling was successful.  Even though my cousin isn't watching it currently, I knew that at one time he was equally obsessed or even MORE obsessed with it than I was.  So obviously, it didn't take too much prodding before we were ranking the 128 greatest wrestlers of all time and seeding them into a dream tournament.  That took about 4 days all told.  The winner of the tournament was scsa.jpg Stone Cold Steve Austin.  He beat Hulk Hogan in a close call.  We felt that while Hogan had been a top draw for longer, Austin was tougher and had a little more wrestling skill. Complete details of the tournament results are available upon request.

I had Sean so back into wrestling by the end of the second week that we spent our last night watching a tape of a recent pay-per-view that he went out and bought just so we had something to watch.  And if you think that's sad, well you don't know who you're dealing with.  The night before I got married, we drove all over town looking for video stores that carried old wrestling tapes and spent the night watching Royal Rumbles 1993 and 94.

5) I took a day or two to read something by Dean Koontz.  It was terrible.  Maybe it's because I write myself and subconsciously hate others more successful than I am, but I found myself bored by the whole thing and laughing at some of the sentences.  I've decided that Koontz can't open a chapter without slipping in some attempt at a wildly poetic metaphor that doesn't fit the mood of the book overall.  Maybe it was just that one book because I've heard Koontz is good.

Well, this entry is taking all day so I'm going to stop for now.  Perhaps there will be a part 2, but I don't know yet.  :)

Part 3- The Restaurants     

  The one thing you never do on vacation is cook, so we ended up going to a lot of different places to eat.  This is so important that my wife even tried to rank the places we ate one night.  I will at least try to REMEMBER all the places we ate, but I don't think I can rank them.  I'll try grading them instead.

  McDonald's on the trip there:  F

 Lavalette Pizza (first trip): I had pizza, which was pretty good.  NJ is one of those places that know how to make pizza better than other places.  B+

  My cousin's house for hamburgers: My female cousins are going through this amusing anti-meat kick and decided to make turkey burgers instead of beef ones.  Of course, for people like me who don't try new things, they had to go get some regular ones.  Ordinary burger, but the potato rolls were good.  B+ 

  My other cousin's house for local fried chicken and ribs from some delivery place:  A meal consisting of fried chicken and ribs sounded like proof of God to me, so I was really looking forward to this meal.  And it didn't disappoint.  The ribs were some of the best I had ever had and the fried chicken's skin was great, which of course is really the only thing you can judge fried chicken on.  A+

  Lavalatte Pizza (trip #2)   Easily the worst dining experience I have ever had.  And oddly enough, my food was great.  But the service killed it.  This place is a local pizzeria with sit down service that was across the street from us and it took almost THREE hours.  Half hour to get a table.  Twenty minutes for drink orders.  Another twenty or so to get appetizers.  My brother's food came out fifteen minutes before everyone else's.  They forgot about my sister-in-law's.  My wife's plate was dropped on its way out and then was sent back anyway for being too watery.  And we weren't the only ones with problems.  The manager was running around the restaurant trying to do damage control for just about every customer.  THREE hours at a pizzeria!  D

  Applebee's:   I don't know why Applebee's, a chain, would be any different than the five or so we have here, but it was.  It was worse and I don't think we had the same waitress twice, which was weird.  C

  Joshua Huddy's (formerly The Ground Round): The GR went bankrupt but sold a lot of their restaurants to franchisers who were allowed to keep the menu, but change the name if they wanted to.  So Huddy's is essentially the exact same thing as GR.  And it was good.  A nice, pleasant, unmemorable experience which is what I want from my casual family dining.  B

  Sis-in-law's quesadillas: There was one person who actually wanted to cook in 100 degree heat and unbearable humidity and I actually went ahead and tried it when she did.  I am not declaring quesadillas my new god, but I like chicken and cheese so I wasn't surprised that I liked this.  B

  Tiffany's:  Fuddrucker's is a place that claims to have the World's Greatest Hamburgers.  They weren't all that special to me, but I we don't have that restaurant by us so we always have to go there on vacation.  Until this year when we discovered to our horror, that it had been converted to Tiffany's.  Angry and bitter, we were reluctant to give the place a shot.  But eventually when you don't want to cook at all, you run out of places to go and we had to try it.  And it was freaking AWESOME.  Turns out, it's a small chain co-owned by former football player, current sideline reporter, big Tony Siragusa.  The guy weighs a ton so he must know what he's talking about when it comes to food.  The menu even had little football helmets next to "Tony's favorites".  It was a little expensive, but the ribs, which were apparently award-winning, were the BEST any of us had ever had.  Here's hoping that Tiffany's becomes a larger chain and takes off.  I'm sorry I judged you so harshly for taking away Fuddruckers.  A+

  Olive Garden:   Another place that is good, but not extraordinary.  The only thing noteable about this trip was the lady complaining to the manager that the waitress gave her her change in the form of 48 pennies and the fact that there were five of us and they sat us down in one of the special party of twelve rooms at a giant table we only filled half of.  It was weird.  B-

  White Castle:  Everyone did not think I was serious when I said that getting White Castle was what I was looking forward to the most about vacation.  By the time I was done whining about it over two weeks, I think they at least believed me.  I was finally able to secure a spot for my beloved little burgers as part of the meal at Kasey's early b-day party.  (We have a party for everyone who is not going to drive all the way to us on her real b-day.)  Everyone scoffed at me for wanting them, but by the time lunch was over the next day, there were only 8 burgers left out of 60.  Only 20 of which were consumed by me, so where did the other 40 go?  Must have been into the bellies of everyone else who "hates" WC.  My wife and I found it amusing that my suddenly health-conscious, turkey burger eating cousin even had some.  A+++  White Castle, I dream of you and wake up happy. 

Monday, August 15, 2005

Back to Normal

  We had a special building-wide meeting today to discuss the loss of Marvin and to offer people grief counseling.  The General Manager went on and on about how Marvin was always smiling and that's what he'll remember.  I thought to myself that I had never seen him smile.  In fact, I didn't know the guy at all.  So I shouldn't feel guilty about not feeling worse about the tragedy.  Maybe I felt like a bad person yesterday for being more emotionally invested in some television show, but it passed.  Marvin's death was a sober reminder that we can go at anytime.  Taking the day off to go riding could be the last decision you ever make.  That's how it goes with life and death.  I mentioned yesterday how the lesson I take from this is to enjoy the life you have.  Well, for better or worse I enjoy a life filled with television, music and other entertainment outlets.  If I stop doing what I enjoy because of someone dying then I am not practicing the lesson I claim to have learned.

That being said, I have not been able to stop thinking about the power of Six Feet Under.  These last few episodes have really pulled no punches to remind us why the show was so great in the first place.  Nate's death has given all the actors a chance to shine and provided the show with its most true to life and therefore most gutwrenching storyline.  You don't always get a chance to say a proper good-bye (just ask Marvin's family).  Plus, no matter how much of a jerk you are, there's always people who care about you and will be deeply affected by your death.  Nate may not have been a real prize, especially this season, but he was still a beloved brother and son and father.  When Maya said "Where's my daddy?" the first time, that's when tears formed and they lasted for the rest of the funeral episode.  Six Feet Under is the only show that ever made me tear up and now it's done it twice.  That record may never be broken!  (The first time was early on when David was struggling with coming out of the closet and broke down crying and asking God for help at the end of an episode.  He has been my favorite character ever since.) 

  So while last season was terrible and the show has struggled with the consistency of its quality for a while, there is no doubt that it has affected me and I will miss it when it is gone.  The first and second season DVDs will be on my Christmas list and hopefully I will get them so I can remind myself why this once was my favorite show.

 

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

1. Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo- Bloodhound Gang- Music Archive Videos: Bloodhound Gang: 'Foxtrot'

2. Dance Music- The Mountain Goats

3. The Comeback- Shout Out Louds- Music Archive Videos: Shout Out Louds: 'The Comeback'

4. Side 2- Dressy Bessy 

5. My Doorbell- The White Stripes-  Music Archive Videos: 1 of 2: The White Stripes: 'My Doorbell'

6. Your Little Hoodrat Friend- The Hold Steady

7. Oh My God- The Kaiser Chiefs- Music Archive Videos: 1 of 5: Kaiser Chiefs: 'Oh My God'

8. Feel Good Inc.- Gorillaz- Music Archive Videos: Gorillaz: 'Feel Good Inc'

9. Girl- Beck- Music Archive Videos: 1 of 16: Beck: 'Girl'

10. I Was Never Young- Of Montreal

11. Swing Life Away- Rise Against- Music Archive Videos: 1 of 2: Rise Against: 'Swing Life Away'

12. I Turn My Camera On- Spoon- Music Archive Videos: Spoon: 'I Turn My Camera On'

13. Tear You Apart- She Wants Revenge

14. Gangsters and Thugs- Transplants- Music Archive Videos

15. In the Morning- The Coral

16. Chocolate- Snow Patrol- Music Archive Videos: 1 of 14: Snow Patrol: 'Chocolate'

17. Banquet- Bloc Party- Music Archive Videos: Bloc Party: 'Banquet'

18. Chicken Payback- A Band of Bees

19. Middle of Nowhere- Hot Hot Heat- Music Archive Videos

20. Hey Now Now- The Cloud Room

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Taking Life for Granted

NewsChannel 9 WSYR - One Killed After ATV Crash

You would think, having acknowledged in my novel that the death of a young man motivated me to start writing for real, that I would keep what I learned close to heart.  That is, to live life to the fullest- appreciate things and stop procrastinating.  When I woke up this morning, I intended to think about how I was going to make an entry about how moved I have been by the last few episoded of Six Feet Under.  Instead, I am forced to reflect again on my own mortality and focus on things that truly matter.

  When I got to work today, we were told that one of the supervisors on the weekend shift had been killed in a 4- wheeler accident.  I didn't know him, but I knew who he was, and needless to say, things were a little somber at work today.  I suddenly felt really shitty about myself.  I spent an hour on the verge of tears while watching a TV show, yet I felt very little for an actual death within the tiny scope of my personal universe.  Am I really more attached to a character on television than I am to a person I've said hello to?  It made me feel sick and sort of put things in order for me.  I don't know when I'll be able to write about our wonderful vacation or even talk about TV shows that I like.  Apologies to everyone who wanted to hear about that stuff.  :(

Saturday, August 13, 2005

It's official!

It's official-  my vacation is over.

It's official- The VCH is back.

It's official- I am an author.  My wife informed me that if you search for my name (Kevin Burke) at Trafford.com, they have me listed as coming soon and you can sign up to be notified when the book is available.  :-)

Trafford Publishing: Your Book, Your Way. (book publishing, book publishers, self publishing, publishing companies, literary ...