5th Anniversary

Today is the 5th anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. Can you believe it has been 5 years? It has been such a waste of everything. Some quick stats (as of March 9, 2008, from the Brookings Institution's Iraq Index)

3,979 US Soldiers Killed

29,320 Seriously Wounded

Troops in Iraq - Total 164,895, including 155,000 from the US, 4,500 from the UK, 2,000 from Georgia, 900 from Poland, 650 from South Korea and 1,845 from all other nations

US Troop Casualities - 3,979 US troops (more than the number of civilians-2,974-killed on 9/11/01); 98% male. 90% non-officers; 80% active duty, 12% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 10% African-American, 11% Latino. 18% killed by non-hostile causes. 51% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 70% were from the US Army

Non-US Troop Casualties - Total 308, with 175 from the UK

US Troops Wounded - 29,320, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)

US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home

US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq - 68 total, at least 36 by enemy fire

Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $600 billion of US taxpayers' funds. President Bush has requested another $200 billion for 2008, which would bring the cumulative total to close to $800 billion.

U.S. Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion in 2008

Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000 (Congressional Research Service)

Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 million in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.

Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)

Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings

Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion

Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion

Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion

Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.

Journalists killed - 127 - 84 by murder and 43 by acts of war

Journalists killed by US Forces - 14

Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 7,951

Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualties at over 600,000.

Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000

Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 548

Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 305, including 54 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 94 status unknown.

Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14

Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70

Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000

To all of our loved ones who were there, are there, and are about to go there: thank you for doing your part and thank you for coming home safe. I support you with my whole heart even if I do not support this stupid war.

Still here

Just a quick note to say I am still here. Not much happening. We went on vacation which was nice. Did some snowshoeing, watched movies, read books, ate too much. Then I came back to work. OK. That was really boring, so let me try to think of something in my life that is interesting.

Hmmm.

OK - You know those tickets I ordered? Yeah, they still haven't come yet. If they don't come I am blaming all of you who said you hated me because I got the tickets!!

Sorry, that was kind of mean (does that show the kind of day I am having?) Sorry.


Ooh, I know! I went to a really great concert a few weeks ago that was the Music of English Cathedrals performed by the Chorus of Westerly. It was awesome. Mostly because I knew almost every piece performed by heart and we got to sing along. To go along with this show, the people who were in the Chorus in 1995 and went to England finally got our tour books. They are awesome. It's fun to look at it and remember all the things we saw and did there. I celebrated my 18th birthday in the Roman Baths, man that was a long time ago (but I'm still not as old as Scott). :) Joe Banana's anyone? Do the Randy!

Love letters in the sand....

There is a show on TV called October Road. Honestly, it's not the greatest show, but I like it. It's about a group of friends in a small New England town and their relationships with each other, their lovers, parents, and enemies. All in all, it's not very well written, but the most recent episode was an exception. It included flashbacks of the main characters (5 guys) when they were all 10, when the boys were friends with a girl who was the coolest. She played in the woods with them, liked the same music as them and chased away the bullies. Later in the episode, they go to visit the girl for her birthday (as she had moved a few towns away) and while they were on the bus they sing along to "Coming Home" by Cinderella. To top it all off, they collectively get her a necklace that has the words, "I remember you" engraved on it, as earlier, she had said that"I Remember You" by Skid Row was the greatest song in the history of songs.

I think I liked this particular episode so much because I could relate to it. Besides the fact that I too, when I was 10, thought that "I Remember You" was the greatest song in the history of songs, when I was growing up, around 2nd-5th grade, most of my friends were boys. We used to race during recess (I always won), listen to the same music, pass notes, and generally have fun. There was no who-liked-who or she said WHAT about me? to deal with. I was never a girly girl and this was probably the reason most of the girlfriends I had didn't go to my school, they were in my choir and chorus. Boys were easier and nicer to have as friends. But alas, we grow up. I'll never forget when it all changed, I could no longer beat my friend, David, running, and I started to like one of the boys more than a friend. Later, that same boy would tell me we couldn't be friend anymore because he liked another girl in my class who didn't like me. It broke my heart, but I told him it was ok.

Luckily, we grow up more and girls and boys can become friends again. I thank all of my boy friends and girl friends for everything, I am truly grateful to have you all in my life.

Favre retires

Last night, Brett Favre decided to retire from the NFL. I don't know Favre, but I enjoyed watching him play in the scrambliness that he always used and the heart and gut that always drove his performances. Plus, he was in There's Something About Mary. I hope he has the courage to stick to his guns so he will be able to enjoy watching football and his boys grow up.

2008 Grammy Awards

So the Grammy's were Feb 10th so I apologize for getting this post out a little late. I must admit overall, the show was ok, nothing spectacular stood out, except for maybe Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang's performance. So, in no particular order here are some of my notes on this year's Grammys (probably not in sequential order of the show since I watched it a week ago).

• Beyonce introduced Tina Turner as the Queen. Queen of what? Hot legs? 'Cause I know she ain't no data queen, nor the queen of soul. Luckily, Aretha (who gave a great performance later in the show, let it roll off her back).
• Tina Tuner still can dance, her voice may be aging, but her moves sure aren't.
• Cirque du Soleil performed a few pieces from their Love show, which showcases Beatles songs. It made me want to listen to my Red and Blue Beatles albums again and made me NEVER want to see Cirque du Soleil.
• Kanye West wore a very weird outfit, something Michael Jackson-ish (maybe it was his tribute to the 25th anniversary of Thriller?) but did a very nice rendition of his song, Mother.
• Cyndi Lauper helped to present an award to Amy Winehouse. She looked terrible, I never heard much about Cyndi doing a lot of drugs, but she looks like it.
• Foo Fighters were relegated to the outside stage with three young musicians (2 violinists, 1 cellist) who were finalists to play The Pretender with the Foos. They were voted on by people watching the Grammys after playing only about 8 notes. The prettiest girl won, but all three got to play the song anyway.
• Carrie Underwood actually gave a great performance singing Before He Cheats. Why did she do country again?
• John Mayer should stick to playing the guitar and not sing.
• Keely Smith and Kid Rock performed a duet - WHAT??
• Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang played Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Grammy orchestra. They were fantastic. It was up until this point I seriously considered not watching the rest of the show.
• Amy Winehouse performed two songs from London. Despite all her drama, she was worthy of all her awards (5).
• Herbie Hancock won album of the year - the first time a jazz album has won in 40 years.
  

Station Fire

Today is the fifth anniversary of one of the worst fires in RI history. Great White, a hair band from the late 80s, was playing. During their performance pyrotechnics were set off setting the noise-insulating foam, which covered entire ceiling of the club, on fire. 100 people died including the band's guitarist and a late-night DJ from one of the local radio stations. It was a huge tragedy. In addition to those who perished, many people were significantly burned, physiologically and emotionally. Luckily, I didn't know anyone who was a victim, but one of my co-workers at the time had 2 buddies who never made it out. Two people went to jail - the manager of the band, who set off the pyro, and one of the club owners for not providing the correct insulation.

Every year the ProJo notes this significant, sad day in RI history and I am always amazed reading the survivor stories. These stories really prove the strength of humanity.

Caucus!

Last Sunday, Maine held its democratic caucus. I have never been involved in a caucus before so I decided to go, it sounded exciting and I feel it's important to be a part of our nation's politics. I was able to participate since I was registered as "undeclared." I heard this wouldn't be a problem, all you have to do it re-register as a democrat and then go participate in the caucus. It started at 2 pm so I got there just after. As I drove up the street to the garage I parked it, I saw the line of people waiting to get into the high school where the caucus was held. It didn't look too bad except it was snowing wet snow but I figured it wouldn't be too long until we got in the building. Little did I know there was a line equally as long coming around the other side of the block. So I was standing outside for about an hour. It wasn't too bad until the last 15-20 minutes when I started to get really cold. So finally, we (this is the collected "we" as my hubby passed on the event) got inside the building.

Once I got inside I was directed to another line to re-register as a democrat. This line went up three flights of stairs and lasted probably another hour. By this time I was a bit tired but still interested in participating in the process. There were lots of people talking about Obama, walking up and down the hallway with signs and some recruits for the city's Democratic party. I saw a few people I knew, made temporary friends with the people I was in line with. No one really complained about the lines which made the atmosphere fairly enjoyable, albeit tiresome.

Finally I got into the room where I could change my party affiliation. This room was total chaos. You were supposed to get in the line according to your last name, although after standing in the S-Z line for about 30 minutes, I found out that the V-Z line was really under the H-J line so I moved over there. Once I changed my party, I got a small slip of paper with my district on it so I knew what room to go to. However, at that point, all of the caucus rooms were rumored to be full so they gave us the option of voting absentee. At that point I was thoroughly tired of being in line so I filled out my absentee ballot and went home.

It was certainly an experience and now at least I know to get there earlier and to re-register for my party ahead of time. It was a very successful caucus for the state with 99% of the precincts participating. Yeah for democracy!

Tickets!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I got Red Sox tickets to OPENING DAY and to one of the Yanks games in July. I am so psyched!!! GO SOX!

Science rules!

Being a science dork, I like it when science it applied to all aspects of life and fantasy. Check out this article about The Science of Fairy Tales. Now, if they could only come up with a genetic mutation to change mice into horses.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

People in big cars

The other day, I was driving down a fairly busy street in my city, behind this guy driving some sort of SUV (like an Expedition or something huge like that) and he totally took the side mirror off a car that was parked on the street! He didn't even stop, hell, he probably didn't even notice. I just hope his car got some sort of scratch from doing that, otherwise, he'll never know the difference. Seriously - why do you need a car that big? He was all alone in that vehicle, he wasn't even towing anything. Ug. Makes me so annoyed. (cartoon from www.grinningplanet.com)

Today I am really bored

What Video Game Character are you??

I am Kung Fu Master. I like to be in control of myself. I dislike crowds, especially crowds containing people trying to kill me. Even though I always win, I prefer to avoid fights if possible. What Video Game Character Are You?

RIP Heath Ledger

A few weeks ago, a promising, young actor passed away. I obviously did not know Heath Ledger, but I admired his work, from 10 Things I Hate About You to Brokeback Mountain. It was truly sad to learn about his death which brought to light that even famous celebrities are subject to stress and anxiety. I feel like sometime we (non-famous people) tend to think that because someone has a zillion dollars, they are superhuman. The coroner's report has finally comeback with a ruling of an accidental lethal mixture of prescription drugs in Ledger's system. I truly feel for his family, especially his young daughter. I hope they will all find some comfort in the fact that Ledger was able to bring joy to the many people who watched him on the big screen.

Dreams brought on by disappointment....

Can have happy endings I have found. So, I haven't much talked about the Patriots this year. I usually leave that to the Burger or LB. But, the New England Patriots had an amazing season. They were undefeated in the regular season and made their way to the Super Bowl. Last night, their perfect season was ended by the New York Giants. It was a crazy game. Very low scoring, weird plays, and our Pats just didn't look right. Something was wrong, whether it was the pressure to win it all, or age, or what, something wasn't right and the Giants took advantage of everything we gave them. The game was messy including some really weird play clock issues, topped off by the fact that there was one second left on the clock at the end of the game, the Giants had the ball, and to add insult to injury, the refs made them make the last play. They should have just effed with the clock again and brought it down to zero. Everyone was already on the field, the coaches had already shook hands and Belichick was in the locker room, I couldn't believe they made them end the game like that. It was disappointing, even heartbreaking. For this was much more than just the Super Bowl, it was a chance to become the Best Team Ever.

But last night I dreamt of Tom Brady. No, not that kind of dream. It was after the Super Bowl and there was a big party, everyone was dressed to the nines, and I got to ride with Tom in his limo with a zillion other girls (but of course I was sitting next to him), as we drove down the streets of Boston (I think) and we just talked about how he needs to get healthy and take some time to rest and get ready for next season. I really only remember that I told him he shouldn't be afraid to tell Belichick if he is hurt so he can get better, no one was going to be mad at him for admitting that he needed some rehab on his shoulder or whatever was wrong (apparently I was convinced that he was hurt - it must've been my mind rationalizing why he played so strangely last night). And he was really nice and seemed to understand and appreciate my concern. And man was he CUTE!

Shaping Young Minds

At my work, the scientists are invited to share our knowledge with the youth that comes through our doors to study the X-fish. You could say that we are hounded to break up the everyday presenters monotonous routine with a few minutes of something 5th graders might find interesting or exciting. After a while of procrastinating about this, I decided it was time to share my exciting life of science with these kids (plus, then I could add it to my resume). One of the reasons I procrastinated so much was because my job is so boring - I had a hard time figuring out how on earth could I make it seem exciting to 5th graders. So, instead of telling them the truth about being an everyday scientist, I told them about the exciting things I have gotten to do, like go out on boats, catch fish, collect water samples and the like. I showed them cool pictures of a fishing net full of fish, the gross eggs and babies of a dogfish that had died, and a cute baby blowfish. It was actually pretty fun and I think the kids thought it was interesting. By far, the picture that for the most oohs and aahs was this one:

Thanks Endeavor!

Happy Birthday kid sister!

Have a great day. See you soon!!

Annual being sick sucks post

Well, I have a cold again. I feel slightly better than yesterday but not much. I just have a cold - and no, it's not GT's fault, I'm pretty sure I was sick before the football game, it was just in the incubating stage at that point. So anyway, short and sweet - being sick sucks and we have a organization dinner tonight with members of our board, where I'm pretty sure my husband will know more of them than I do - ironic, eh? Whatevs, at least there will be good food.

Oh yeah, and the Pats are going to kick Eli's ass all the way back to Giants Stadium from AZ!

Good Dog, Happy Dog

A black and white ball of energy
Who loved the outdoors and his family.
He had a great appetite
and would never bite.
Playing in the snow
he ran to and fro.
With an extra-long tongue
he'd chase the frisbee far flung.
He was very well loved
and got lots of pats and rubs.
In the greener grass you now play
and we are dismayed
Because now you are far from us
and we will have to adjust
To being apart
while keeping you close in our hearts.


We all loved Bailey!

Sir Edmund Hillary

Today, the first known person to climb and summit Mount Everest passed away. I don't know much about climbing, but know that summiting this impressive mountain is quite a feat. Most of the articles I've read make him sound like a pretty decent guy, giving back to the Everest community, building schools and hospitals. It's always nice to read about a decent human being. Even the things that he did that were controversial seem to be so because he was fighting for humanity. To read National Geographic's take, click here.

Funny lyrics

So, I think we have all had that moment where you and your friend are riding around in your car and you are singing along to a favorite song and belt out the impressively wrong lyrics. I think there are many websites dedicated to the exact phenomenon of misheard lyrics. Today, the one that I came across for myself was from the song "Sample in a Jar" by Phish. I will admit that Phish is not one of my favorite bands, despite my dedication to the Dead. But, I enjoy the light-heartedness of "Sample in a Jar" and "Bouncing Round the Room." As I was listening to SIAJ, I realized that I didn't really know the words to one of the lines - in fact, in my mind, the words were: "Dancing with a legume, up on Leroy's bed." Who doesn't like to dance with legume's, right?? :) For the correct lyrics, click here.

Congrats!

Our group has a new baby! The wife of one of my best friends just had a baby! Everyone is healthy and resting, getting ready for the next phase of their life. I'm so happy for you and can't wait to meet your new addition.

The Plastic Ocean

Today I read this article about plastic. It is a bit long, but worth the read if you care about your health and the environment. I consider myself among those who are concerned about the planet. Plastic is a material that has many benefits and many harms. The invention of useful plastics has lead to the invention of life-saving medical devices, bulletproof vests, and silly putty. However, it seems that the harms are far outweighing the benefits: we breath toxic gases released by melting plastics during the recycling process, we breathe dust particles containing small bits of plastic, and huge volumes of plastic are polluting the oceans (one area in the Pacific contains a gyre full of debris the size of Texas.) Some food that we ingest (even if it is wild, organic - whatever that means) probably contains some sort of plastic, whether it be the sushi you had at lunch or the shrimp cocktail you had as an appetizer.

This information is disheartening on many levels. Plastic seems to be great since it can be recycled, however, the recycling efficiency levels are still so low, it hardly seems worth it; and the recycling process releases toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Alternatives to plastic are starting to get mass-produced, but some of those materials are made from corn, a crop when grown for food isn't so bad, but if we start to grow it for products other than food, land will become less available, the cost to process it will go up, more soil for other crops will be destroyed, and prices of most products will continue to increase.

I am having my own personal dilemma today. I received an email from the Body Shop informing me of a huge sale they are having. Many shower gels and body lotions are 75% off. This is a great deal. I love the body shop and everything it stands for. My issue is that most of their body gels are only 8 oz. They are on sale for $3 which, considering they are usually $12 is a great deal. Herein lies my problem. I know I can get 24 oz. of St. Ives body wash for $3 at Target. So here we go - one plastic bottle at 24 oz vs. 3 plastic bottles at 8 oz. each. The product inside is fairly similar: natural ingredients, never tested on animals. The one bottle is less plastic that the three bottles and is cheaper. Which of my morals do I go with? Less plastic? Community trade? I would just give up and go back to plain old soap, but every soap box is coated in some sort of waxy coating which probably has some sort of plastic base also. Maybe I should learn to make soap, with all my free time (yeah right).

Finally, I thought it was weird that this article was in the Men's Lifestyle section of MSN. I found it from the msn.com cover page. Shouldn't it be in the overall health section?

Two jobs?

The other day someone asked me why I have two jobs. I guess it's a fair question. I am lucky in that I don't need the second job for monetary reasons (although it is nice to have a little extra every week). Really, I have the job to connect with people. My 9-5 job is usually me and my computer. Sometimes I get to call someone or occasionally talk to my boss or officemate, but usually it's just me. My second job, which I only work 2 days a week, allows me to help people find what they need and sometimes I get to have interesting conversations about a book I haven't head about or a topic in general someone is interested in. Now, if only I could get paid as much as I do at my second job as I do at my 9-5 job.....

Happy New Year!

I wish everyone health and happiness in the coming year.

In the spirit of giving

I hope you all had a great Christmas. Ours was great but busy. I found this site on one of my friend's facebook pages:





You can donate grains of rice for free and learn something (my favorite kind of game - do something good AND learn!)

Happy holidays. I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

Don't you love irony?

This is ridiculous. Poor guy and his family

HONOR BY AUGUST

Check them out. The guitarist on the right was one of my best friends in middle school.




Here is their website:

http://www.honorbyaugust.com/

THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!

I brake for quohogs

The other day at my other work, someone asked me where I was from. This isn't a question I get very often as mostly, I just blend into the background. However, I must've said something that this person picked up on as not being from around heyah because she said I have an accent- not a strong one, but significant enough to pick up on. This surprised me a bit since I am not from the part of the biggest-littlest state in the union that is known for having an accent. Not that I was offended, just a little taken aback. Isn't it funny the things strangers pick up on?

What would you name your boat?

One entertaining part of my boring-as-ever job is I get to see lots of boat names. here are some gems from today:

Mom's Worst Nightmare
Empty Pockets
Royal Flush
Sassy Sarah
Aunt Lou-Sea

But I think the winner for today is....

Chesty McBoob

Ha!

12/17: Miss Behaving and Rock on Jo Jo

If you're going to steal something.....

Make it something worthwhile. Like this guy: Dublin thief makes off with 180 Guinness kegs

or this guy: Stolen oil delivery truck found in Biddeford, 530 gallons lighter


Now, I am not advocating stealing, I'm just saying....

Happy Thanksgiving!

I get a lot of junk emails (mostly my own fault signing up for every email newsletter under the sun). One of them is a page a day calendar. The other day it said this:

Being grateful and thankful is contagious. Today, how about letting three people know that you are grateful they are in your life?

I thought it was a good Thanksgiving idea that can be used every day.

Who are you thankful for?

Finally!

Barry Bonds indicted on perjury, obstruction charges

and

Boras finally tastes a bit of humiliation

Oh yeah, and the stupid Yanks signed A-Rod despite saying they wouldn't since he didn't know what it meant to be a Yank. As one of my friends said, "I guess the Yanks don't care about winning any more World Series for the next 10 years." So true.

You've Got A Friend

So I have been streaming the new JT album, "One Man Band" from MSN (I guess MSN is good for something). It's a great album. There aren't any new songs on it, but it's live and there is good audience interaction. Some of the songs are completely redone, for example, Slap Leather is completely different from the original recording, but is awesome! There are a few songs I wasn't familiar with, such as "You Can Close Your Eyes" which is a beautiful song. As this video shows, he sounds the same as he did 36 years ago!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

To Dasein. Sorry we will miss your party. Have a great time!

New Release?

So this past weekend, our local movie rental place (yes, it's true - I don't belong to NetFlix) was having free rentals in the non- new release section of the store. Sean had heard an interview with Steve Carrell on the radio and thought, "Hey, we've never seen 40-Year Old Virgin!" So, I decided to get the movie, since it was going to be free. Boy was I wrong! Apparently, a TWO YEAR OLD MOVIE is still considered a "New Release" by the stupid movie store. Needless to say, I did not feel compelled to pay for the movie and left. I asked the girl what is considered a new release and she said it depends. Depends on what? If the movie was actually worth renting? Apparently.

Winners and almost winners

Congrats to our own Dustin Pedroia, winner of the AL Rookie of the Year! Way to go Pedroia! Also, congrats to CC Sabathia, winner of the AL Cy Young award. Even though BECKETT TOTALLY DESERVED IT, Sabathia had very good numbers and pitched a ridiculous amount og innings this season. I guess it makes sense that the post season does not factor into the voting, but seriously, Beckett sat out two of his starts due to a blister and he still had 20 wins. Whatever. Yeah Red Sox! Now, if Theo would just sign Lowell already we would be great!

YOOUUUUKKKKKKKKKK!

Winner of the Gold Glove for the American League at First Base: Kevin Youkilis! Yeah for Youk. He had an outstanding season:

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2007	145	528	85	152	35	2	16	83	239	77	105	4	2	.390	.453	.288

No errors in 1,094 innings. Way to go Sox!

Classical music

Pandora finally has added classical music to their library! It's quite limited as of yet, and most of the choral music is Christmas music, but there's nothing wrong with that! Yeah! (I am using a lot of exclamation marks today!)

Vote today!

Don't forget to vote today! It's fun, plus, sometimes there are donuts!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is not a big holiday with us. Mostly because it is too expensive to get dressed up and get out somewhere, but also because we only know one child under the age of 10. For the past few years we have lived in areas where not that many kids lived so I never had to worry about getting candy. This year is slightly different - we have a separate entrance to our place and a lot of kids live in the area. I hope I got enough candy!

What a jerk

Now I can say that A-Rod and his agent suck. What a dick move to announce that a-rod is opting out of his contract during the freaking WORLD SERIES. He is so pathetic I guess it was the only way he could get into the WS.

GO SOX!! To everyone in the Boston area - have fun watching the parade. Also, I'm sorry to those who have to deal with the traffic, but it's for a good cause. It's a beautiful day, try to get out and enjoy it!

RE-SIGN LOWELL! RE-SIGN LOWELL!

Sox Win! Sox Win!! Sox Win!!!!

The Red Sox again, are WORLD SERIES Champs! It was a great series, all the games were close, even the ones with the lopsided scores were close until the very end. Everyone contributed in their own way. Whether it be Ellsbury getting hits in every game and not being phased by the pressure of the World Series, Wakefield admitting he was too hurt to play and letting Lester take his place on the roster, Lowell making the plays to prevent the Rockies from scoring or Youkilis not playing and helping Papi to be the best first baseman he could be. It was a great team and they deserved to win. There were so many great moments: Perdroia getting the home run, Lowell stealing third, Papelbon throwing many more innings in a row than he did in the regular season and getting that final out.

Box score:

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Ellsbury, CF-LF 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .438 Pedroia, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .278 Ortiz, 1B 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .333 1-Crisp, PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Ramirez, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .250 Okajima, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Papelbon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lowell, 3B 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .400 Drew, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .333 Varitek, C 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .333 Lugo, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .385 Lester, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Delcarmen, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Timlin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Kielty, PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 Youkilis, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 Totals 33 4 9 4 1 4 10 a-Homered for Timlin in the 8th. 1-Ran for Ortiz in the 8th. BATTING 2B: Ellsbury (4, Cook), Lowell (3, Cook). HR: Lowell (1, 7th inning off Cook, 0 on, 0 out), Kielty (1, 8th inning off Fuentes, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Ellsbury 3; Ortiz; Lowell 6; Varitek 2; Lugo; Kielty 4. RBI: Ortiz (4), Varitek (5), Lowell (4), Kielty (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ellsbury. GIDP: Ramirez; Lugo; Pedroia. Team LOB: 3. Colorado AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Matsui, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .294 Corpas, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-Smith, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 Tulowitzki, SS 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .231 Holliday, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .294 Helton, 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .333 Atkins, 3B 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 .154 Spilborghs, CF 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 Hawpe, RF 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .250 Torrealba, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 Cook, P 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 Affeldt, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Sullivan, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 Fuentes, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Carroll, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 34 3 7 3 3 7 12 a-Singled for Affeldt in the 7th. b-Struck out for Corpas in the 9th. BATTING 2B: Helton (2, Lester), Matsui (1, Lester). HR: Hawpe (1, 7th inning off Delcarmen, 0 on, 0 out), Atkins (1, 8th inning off Okajima, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Matsui 2; Helton 3; Atkins 4; Hawpe 4; Cook; Sullivan. RBI: Hawpe (2), Atkins 2 (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Torrealba; Holliday. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING DP: 3 (Atkins-Matsui-Helton, Helton, Tulowitzki-Matsui-Helton). Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lester (W, 1-0) 5.2 3 0 0 3 3 0 0.00 Delcarmen (H, 1) 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 1 6.75 Timlin (H, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 7.71 Okajima (H, 3) 0.1 2 2 2 0 0 1 7.36 Papelbon (S, 3) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Colorado IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cook (L, 0-1) 6.0 6 3 3 0 2 1 4.50 Affeldt 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Fuentes 0.2 2 1 1 1 0 1 9.82 Corpas 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Cook pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Pitches-strikes: Lester 92-59, Delcarmen 19-10, Timlin 11-7, Okajima 15-10, Papelbon 23-18, Cook 70-47, Affeldt 12-9, Fuentes 17-8, Corpas 13-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Lester 5-9, Delcarmen 0-1, Timlin 0-0, Okajima 1-0, Papelbon 2-2, Cook 13-3, Affeldt 2-0, Fuentes 2-0, Corpas 2-1. Batters faced: Lester 23, Delcarmen 4, Timlin 2, Okajima 3, Papelbon 5, Cook 23, Affeldt 3, Fuentes 4, Corpas 4. Inherited runners-scored: Delcarmen 1-0, Timlin 1-0, Corpas 1-0. Umpires: HP: Chuck Meriwether. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Mike Reilly. 3B: Ed Montague. LF: Laz Diaz. RF: Ted Barrett. Weather: 68 degrees, clear. Wind: 2 mph, Out to LF. T: 3:35. Att: 50,041. Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

Congrats boys, YOU DID IT!!!!!

Here we go RED SOX, Here we go!

Let's Go Sox!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

New Link

I have added a new link under the links on the right of the screen. It goes to The Breast Cancer Site and when you go there, you click on the big pink box and when you do, sponsors of this page will donate money so that a woman gets a free mammogram who cannot afford it. It's free and only takes a second. Do it every day!

Wedding bliss!

This weekend my little sister got married to one of my best friends. It was a great celebration and everyone had a great time, especially the bride and groom. It was a beautiful day full of fun and love. Everything from the ceremony to the music to the food was fantastic. Congrats you two, I am so happy for you and love you both!

World Series here we come!

The Red Sox are yet again, ALCS champs and are headed to the World Series! It was a complete team effort, from the rookies to the veterens, everyone had a chance to contribute and prove themselves. It was fun to watch, and only a little nerve wracking (as any series should be). Way to go Sox! Bring on the Rockies!

Get your rally caps on!

Let's go Sox! Tonight is the night!

Next stop......

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!!!!!

Yeah Sox! We're ready.

Another reason

This article is fairly well put as to why the arts are so important in child development. I, for one, can absolutely attest to the idea that giving your child another output for their creative energy, other than school, is truly beneficial. They make new friends so they don't have to hang out with the people they spend all day at school. They don't just go home and watch TV or play video games. Their knowledge expands beyond the walls of school or the playing field. Yeah for music, dance and art!

Division Champs!

2007 Standings as of 9/30/07 AL EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Boston	96	66	.593	--
NY Yankees	94	68	.580	2
Toronto	83	79	.512	13
Baltimore	69	93	.426	27
Tampa Bay	66	96	.407	30

That's all I have to say. YEAH SOX!!!! Oh yeah, and sorry to everyone I called/texted so late on Friday when we clinched. I was REALLY EXCITED!!!!!!

Cruise Cruise Baby

I know I am a science dork, but this is hilarious!

A belated congrats!

To my friend LB who never has to study again! And she studied so much this time she got the highest grade. (Plus, she is wicked smart!) Congrats! Woo hoo! We never had any doubt. Also congrats to her her husband who never has to go to a law school function again (now he just has to deal with lawyers all the time - but at least we can do it together ;) ). YEAH!

Let them eat cake!

This weekend was the wedding of my dear friend, Harvey, to his new bride, Cate. it was a wonderful wedding. They, like Sean and I, had a monsoon the night before and the morning of the ceremony (good luck right?). Luckily, by the time the ceremony started, it had mostly cleared and no one got too wet. The flowers and decorations were elaborate and beautiful, all of the bridesmaids looked gorgeous and the groomsmen did just fine. The music was moving and heavenly and the bride and groom were immensely happy, as we all were for them. The food was great and there was lots of dancing. Even Sean danced! Plus, there were Secret Service guys there stealing cake (see below)! It was nice to see Harvey so happy and surrounded by his family and friends. It was also really fun to be at camp with our "group." We all hadn't been there together in a long time. I am so happy for you, Cate and Harvey, and wish you a lifetime of happiness.

Baseball is not over!!!

I live in a world of football fans. All of my baseball fan friends live down in MA or RI. Granted, since one of my friends up here has gotten an HDTV, he has become a baseball convert (he wouldn't even watch it before), but when football starts, as far as he is concerned, baseball is over. This is extremely frustrating to me as a baseball fan. Every football fan's argument is that every football game counts because they are only played once a week, and because there are so many more baseball games, in the entire scheme of things, one doesn't matter that much. I would beg to differ. Let me use a proverbial baseball rule to prove it: As the length of time from each baseball game to the beginning of baseball playoffs decreases, the importance of each game increases. This is especially true when my beloved Red Sox are winning their division and our arch-rivals, the skanks are winning the wild card race. Another thing that is extremely frustrating is when you are married to a so-called football fan and he falls asleep watching a game in which neither team is his favorite, only to wake up when you have changed the channel back to NESN!

A greater loss

My friend Mike's last living grandparent passed away last week. Pa was a wonderful person. Even though I only met him once briefly, he was an extremely kind and gentle man. I have heard so many stories about him that I wish I had known him better. His family gave him a beautiful send-off. He will be missed by all.

A great loss

Well, today Lucianno Pavarotti passed away. He was one of the best known opera singers of our time. I, myself, am not so familiar with opera, but I know who Pavarotti was. His life was full of accomplishments and controversy, but his contribution to this dying art was paramount. A lot of us used to know this terrible old woman (Miss Bette) who would travel the globe to see Pavarotti.


Personally, I will take "The Cowardly Lion" any day.

The kids are alright

Last night during my break at Borders I read this review of the Deathly Hallows, written by Stephen King. Yeah, it was in Entertainment Weekly, but it was well written. I don't read much Stephen King so I forget he is a "tell-it-like-it-is" kind of guy when it comes to reviewing or writing essays. he gives high praise to Rowling for getting kids to read and to keep reading, and for writing a good, consistent story for more than 4000 pages (something he may know a little bit about considering the Dark Tower series is at least that long). Granted, he does have some misgivings about the series, but overall, gives it good marks. I think it is a good review (much better than the one in the NY Times which totally panned it, probably because of the reasons Mr. King states) and it made me want to read Robinson Cruso.

Holy Cow!

Today Phil Rizzuto passed away. He was a Yankee. This was not his fault. He was actually part of the reason the Yanks won all those pennants in the 40s and 50s and was finally voted into Cooperstown due to some persuasion by the Sox great Ted Williams. The article is quite nice and highlights a lot of Phil's attributes and accomplishments. Curiously enough, it does not mention the fact that one of the things he did as an announcer was call a play by play in the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.

Beethoven's what?

The other night, I had a customer come into my second place of business and ask for Beethoven's "pas-tore-aly" symphony. Luckily, I knew what she was talking about and found a few recordings of B's 6th Symphony. There was one recording that also had the 8th symphony (which I am not familiar with), one recording that had a few other pieces on it with which I was not familiar and finally, one with the 8th and 9th symphony. "Oh, is that a good one?" She innocently asked. "Really? You've never heard of it?" I'm thinking to myself. I politely replied that it was the best choice since it was the same price as the others and I think it was the London Philharmonic. Does this make me a classical music snob? Hardly. If you click on the link to the Slate article, it agrees that if you are even vaguely familiar with western classical music, you have heard of the song "Ode the Joy." Some people! :) (maybe I am a classical music snob). Sorry!

Home Run King

Well, Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run to become the home run king over Hank Aaron. Woo hoo.

Aaron had held the record for 33 years with 755 home runs. In this age of steroids in baseball (an most other professional sports - don't get me started on cycling), it is difficult to know how to feel about this. On one hand, it is an amazing achievement to have been playing that long (this is Bonds 21st season) and hit that many home runs, along with the many other records he holds. On the other hand, there is the fact that he has used steroids. Even if he didn't know that's what he was using at the time, he still used them. This then brings up the question, what will happen in the Hall of Fame? Will his name go on the leader board with an asterisk? Will it go on at all? Will he ever get inducted into the Hall? Is using steroids as bad as betting on your own team?

I don't know what will happen. Unfortunately, because the testing is so sparse and anonymous in baseball, we may never know who has done/is still doing steroids, and how can we penalize one person without penalizing those who we don't know about? Most of all, whose fault is it? The player's union? The weasely commissioner? What needs to happen, is the rules need to change. Are the managers worried that people won't watch baseball if there isn't a home run in every inning? If we don't have pitchers that can strike out 10 batters in a game? We need to stop the cheating and stop it now. I know that players have been cheating ever since games were invented. However, in my idealistic (some might say naiive) belief that there is good in everyone I think that people actually do want to play fair. Until that day happens, I will try my best to instill fairness in every game that I play (yes, even pitch) and I will keep my belief that the rules are there for a reason.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my mom. Have a great day. I love you.

Good for me!

I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in months! I didn't stay too long, just did some time on the elliptical machine as all the climber/swing machines (I don't really know what they are called) were taken and I try to avoid the treadmill at all costs. I'm even going to try to get back on Thursday. It's time for me to get my lazy ass back into shape.

Plus, I got to watch an awesome Red Sox Classic game from 2000 when Pedro had a one-hitter:

August 29, 2000
Pitching in Tampa Bay against the Devil Rays, Pedro hit Gerald Williams to lead off the game. Williams charged the mound, where he was quickly apprehended by first baseman Brian Daubach and the rest of the Red Sox. The Devil Rays thought the HBP was intentional, and kept throwing at Daubach and the Red Sox all night. The Rays ended up with five players, the manager, and two coaches all being ejected, while no one from the Red Sox was tossed. Through it all, Pedro pitched eight hitless innings, only to have the no-hitter broken up by John Flaherty in the ninth. He struck out 13 and finished with a one-hitter.

No one warned me...

Not to read the last 100 pages of HP7 before I was supposed to go to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep for hours! I am still digesting it and wish I had re-read the first 6 before I started this one. Rowling did a good job reminding you of things you most likely had forgotten about, but I found myself wishing I had remembered every detail of the previous books. All in all, well done. And if there is another book, IMO, I can't imagine that it will be good at all.

Online games

Best way to waste time ever (and learn something)! I think Scott may have been the first one to find this, but I still love it. Especially on a Friday afternoon at 4:30.

Oh yeah, it doesn't hurt that Beethoven is the subject of one of the best movies ever.

Guitarist turned Astrophysicist

Brian May is awesome.

The Bar

Good luck today, tomorrow and Thursday LB! We're thinking of you.

Stolen from another blog

This is freaking hilarious! It's about 5 minutes, but listen to the whole thing. It's worth it! Thanks Fibby!

Red Cross

The other day a bunch of us at work had our CPR/AED refresher class. There is some new material this year, such as don't waste time to check for a pulse or the correct placement of your hands when you are starting CPR and do 30 compressions and 2 breaths for actual CPR. Also, we were treated to this lovely video upon which me and one other co-worker couldn't even watch:

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th everyone! I hope you all have fun BBQs and rain-free fireworks.

I have been at work all day since I am taking Friday off and one of the perks of my job is that it is quite flexible when it comes to switching holidays. So along with a couple other people who did the same thing as me, I have been actually working a bit. But, I also brought in my computer so that I can finish uploading my CD collection. As some of you know, this is quite a daunting task for me as I have over 300 CDs. I am pretty sure this is the last book I have to do. Currently, I have 12.3 days worth of music. This is a pretty fun task for me actually because I am reminded of how much awesome (and not so awesome) music I have and I can actually listen to it. Today I have listened to a few Grateful Dead albums, a Heart Greatest Hits, and now I am on to "Dreamland" by Robert Plant. Good stuff. Now all I need is a new computer so I don't have the annoying dying fan sound in the background as I am listening to all my new found music!

Plus, the Red Sox won today! Yeah!

The Art of the Album

So I was just telling my friend about Steve Vai. One of the most talented, inventive contemporary electric guitarists today. His first album came out in 1984 and his newest one is being released this month. When I was in middle school, I was lucky enough to have a friend who played the guitar who introduced me to all these musicians I had never heard of then, but are now, a huge part of my life, including Steve Vai. Vai is coming to Providence later this year and I really hope to get to see him.

One thing that is really great about Vai's albums is that they are true albums. The tracks make up a cohesive unit, each telling an individual story (and yes, a story can be told without words), but all having a similar feeling. This is becoming a lost art, the album. In an age where you can download a song from the CD or that soundtrack, fewer and fewer artists are putting the thought into making a complete album. Not that Vai releases concept albums (except for maybe Fire Garden), but the tracks go together. The thing about Vai is that even his compilations are true albums. He puts tremendous thought into what track should go on the compilation and writes insightful album notes for explanation. What are your favorite albums?

Seadogs and Fireworks

Yesterday we went to a Portland Sea Dogs game with a bunch of people from my work and from Sean's work and our best friends. It was really fun, the weather was good ( a little cold) and there were fireworks! There were lots of kids there, the baseball was actually pretty good, except for some horrible errors made by the Erie Seawolves (for example, the classic two guys going for a fly ball and neither calls it so it drops on the ground in between them for a hit), and the Sea Dogs pitcher was really pretty good until the 6th inning. Thanks to everyone for coming and making it a fun night.

RIP Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard (aka Don Herbert) passed away yesterday after battling bone cancer. He was 89. Mr. Wizard had a show on Nickelodeon when I was growing up on which he had dorky kids (much like myself) do cool science stuff. My favorite episode was when he measured how tall a tree was with a plate full of water. Science is cool!

2007 Rock Honors

So this year VH1 honored ZZ Top, Heart, Genesis and OZZY. It was a pretty interesting show with a bit of randomness:

Who is Bam Margera and why was he the host?

Billy Bob Thornton wore a jacket with shoulderpads.

Jada Pinkett-Smith was in a band that played at Ozzfest?

Nickelback played ZZ Top fantastically.

Gretchen Wilson played with Alice in Chains and sounded amazing.

Genesis didn't sound that good.

Heart still rocks and Nancy is a great performer and guitartist.

Criss Angel is a freak.

Ozzy and I have the same haircut if I part my hair in the middle.

Zakk Wylde is jacked!

Buddy is free!

Finally, Providence will have it's mayor back. And some hotel in Boston will have one of the best PR guys around. REALLY?!?

Happy Birthday Mr. Z.

Happy 66th birthday Bob Dylan. Thanks for all the great words and music.

What was your first album?

First off, if you have to ask what an album is, stop reading this blog. I was talking with one of my co-workers last night and he said his first tape was Alice Cooper. This then forced me to ask, "You never had an album?" Apparently, no, he was too young. So then another co-worker and I were reminiscing about our first albums. He couldn't remember but guessed it was a Beatles album. Mine was Graceland by Paul Simon - remember Donkey? I used to play it all the time and it had that skip in it and I didn't know the correct words to Graceland until I heard it on the radio!

What was your first album?

Happy Graduation!

My friend Ryan graduated from his Masters program at BU yesterday. Congrats Ry! I am very happy for you. And his wife Alisa just found out she has a permanent teaching job. YEAH! We can't wait to celebrate with you guys!

Fantasy Baseball

Well, this year is beginning to look like the first year I had a fantasy baseball league for me - basement dweller. I am really hoping my pitching starts to look a little better, although at this point I would take anyone to look better. I think my downfall this year was that I didn't prepare for the draft and ended up drafting players I liked rather than knew anything about their stats. Oh well, I'm still having fun as I hope everyone else in the league is.

And at least my Sox are doing great! In 1st place!

Goodbye Gilmore Girls

This week hosted the series finale of Gilmore Girls. This was a fun show about a quirky town with crazy characters centered around a mother and daughter relationship with a few hot guys thrown in (see below, although Scott Patterson is only cute with the hat on).

I really liked this show because even though it was weird it was funny, dramatic, but not overly, and it was a nice escape from all the TV with people getting blown up or competing fiercely against each other to win some crazy prize.


Plus, this week, even though it was the last episode, was extra fun to watch since my friend LB threw a GG party where we all ate like the Girls (i.e. take out chinese, pizza, chicken nuggets, ice cream, cookies, brownies, mallomars, etc.)

I thought the show was well done considering it wasn't necessarily written to be a series finale. It was funny, yet sentimental and Luke and Lorelai kissed (YEAH!) For more recaps check out:

I'm sad it's not on anymore, but at least now I can cross off another show I am addicted to.

Pandora Internet Radio

So there is this cool site: Pandora Internet Radio. You just sign up for free, tell it what artists/songs you like and it tries to create a radio station based on what you tell it. Then you can rate the songs it chooses if you like them or not and it will customize even more. You can create many stations too, so you don't have to have Aerosmith and Bach on the same station. Try it out!

And the next item up for auction is....

This sweet ride.

A new place and festivities

Sean and I found a new apartment. This is good, because otherwise we would be homeless since our current place was just a winter rental. Our new place is really nice. It is actually a condo, but the owner is renting it out so it is more like a home than an apt. We have to move again, but the place is really nice so I think it will be ok.

Soon our wedding season will start. Next month I have a shower and wedding to go to. In June
there are 2 weddings on the same day, another shower and wedding in July, another shower in August, then one wedding in September and one in October. Woo hoo! It will be fun! I love weddings, they are so much fun and everyone is so happy.

Another fun thing that is happening is a very important graduation in May. Congrats LB!

I know it's been a while

For all of you who care about this blog, I'm sorry I have been such a blogging slacker. I was sick for about 2 weeks, we had to look for an apartment, I had a conference, it was Easter, blah blah blah.

Opening Day was amazing. I was sick but nothing was going to keep me from being there, even my own stupidity. We got there just about when the festivities were starting. We got to our seats when Harry Connick, Jr. was singing "America the Beautiful." Then the Blue Angels flew overhead. How those planes just don't crash into each other is mind boggling. Then 23 of the guys who played on the 1967 Impossible Dream team came out from behind the HUGE flag that was hung on the Green Monster. They all went to their respective positions wearing their old school unis and then they threw out the first pitch to the 2007 Red Sox. It was really inspiring. And of course, Robert Goulet sang, "The Impossible Dream."

The weather was dry but COLD. Luckily, our friend Jenny lent me one of her down jackets, otherwise I would've had to spent way too much money on a sweatshirt, blanket, etc. It was overcast, but when the sun came out it was really warm. At one point during the 7th or 8th inning when it was really cold, the sun came out a little bit and everyone cheered and started chanting, "Sun! Sun! Sun!" It was hilareous.

The game itself was really fun. First of all, we won 14-3. We were playing the Seattle Mariners, Beckett vs. Jeff Weaver (aka the sucky weasel). I hate Jeff Weaver. I don't know if it's because he was a Yank or his general overall "I deserve the world" attitude. After the game, I couldn't give two hoots about Jeff Weaver. He threw something like 48 pitches in the first inning and gave up 7 runs in the first two innings, so I was pretty happy. Beckett was on fire. Considering he had to wait for a LONG time in between innings he was very good with 8 Ks. He pitched 7 innings and then they brought Donnelly in. This was where it got interesting. Donnelly is ok. And apparently, he had a personal beef with one of the Mariners, who, when he was up at bat said some words to Donnelly after he was struck out. This P.Od Donnelly who proceeded to bean then next batter on the butt. This of course led to a scuffle including the emptying of the bullpen. And who was the leader? None other than our own J.P. Papelbon lept like a racehorse out of the pen stripping off his jacket as he sprinted toward the mound. Luckily, there were no fisty cuffs as the last thing we need is for our premier closer to break his hand. It was pretty funny though.

The game was followed by a nice dinner with Sean's parents at Brasserie Jo - Yum!

I live for this!

Yeah for strawberry daquiris!

Check it out.

More substantial posts to come.

OPENING DAY TICKETS!

Just got Red Sox Opening Day tickets! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will be cold but I don't care, it's my only game this season. I couldn't even get Yankees tix since they occur on weekends I have much more important things to do (friend's weddings!) But Opening Day! I've never been to Opening Day before! I feel like Kermit when he's introducing the first act on the Muppet Show. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And joining the great ranks of parents of twins....

No, not us stupid.

My boy!

Man those are going to be some OCD athletic babies!

New post

posted here

Sorry it didn't show up as new. I created it a while ago and just decided to post it.

What Superhero are you?

Well, at least I'm not Batman.

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 75% The Flash 75% Supergirl 60% Wonder Woman 50% Spider-Man 50% Green Lantern 50% Robin 42% Iron Man 40% Catwoman 35% Hulk 25% Batman 25%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Aerosmith is better than Aretha Franklin

Horrors! Gasp you might say! How could I say that ANYONE is better than the Queen of Soul? I apologize friends, but, quite easily. I TiVoed the RnR HoF ceremony and Ms. Franklin sang a few songs as a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records and who passed away last year. I forget the first song she sang which was great. She then sang her hit, "Never Loved a Man (the way that I love you)" which was covered by Aerosmith on their latest studio album, Honkin on Bobo, changing the title to "Never Loved a Girl (the way that I love you)." I just like Aerosmith's version better (at least compared to Aretha's live version during the ceremony). Maybe her album version is better. It just seemed this song was too low for Ms. Franklin's range. Maybe it used to be her range, but it's not anymore.

I can't wait to watch the part about Patti Smith (she also got inducted along with R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and The Ronnettes).

I love Rock and Roll (and yes, I know that is a Joan Jett song).

How many times a day do you check your email?

I figured since I know I do this too often, I would try to count the number of times I check my non-work email in a given work day. I lost count during the morning, so I tried to estimate the number of times per hour. I still lost count, so I estimated 5 times in half an hour. Let's see, for a typical 8-hour work day, that's 16 half hours times 5 which equals.....80! I am pretty sure that is too many times.

The Happy Blues

For those of you who know me, you know that the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is one of my (other) favorite bands. I just bought 10 Days Out, Kenny's newest CD/DVD set. I just put the DVD on while I was making dinner since I couldn't decide what to play on my iTunes library (sometimes too much makes it impossible to decide - one of the reasons I don't own an iPod, I can't decide what would be worthy enough to go on it). So I just finally sat down to watch some of it and I was just watching the part about Etta Baker. She is so cute and can play a sweet guitar. She learned from her dad, doesn't read music, and played her best song that came to her in a dream. She plays "happy blues" (aka Piedmont Blues) instead of the Delta blues. She is probably about 80-something years old and as happy as a clam (sidenote - are clams really happy?) I just love the blues. It can mostly fit any mood you are in: Happy, calm, mad, sad, agitated, gleeful, whatever else you can think of.

This is a fantastic disc. If you like the blues, or think you might like the blues, buy this CD.

Flatbread

Mmmmm. We are getting Flatbread pizza for dinner tonight. It is YUMMY! I love pizza. Pizza pizza pizza. Plus it's the weekend so I don't have to work, work, work. Tomorrow we are headed to the Boston area to have dinner with my In-laws (Weird, they are now my in-laws) since it is my FIL's birthday. I will also attempt to get my lazy ass to the gym since I haven't been in about 3 weeks. - Hey, at least I can watch spring training!!!

Buying a house is a nightmare

Some of you know we were in the process of looking for a house and actually found a decent one in Portland. However.......

Buying a house is a nightmare mostly because you search forever and find a house you agree is nice enough to live in, in a good enough area, and even though it has some cracks in it, as long as the seller installs a radon mitigation system, fixes the hot water heater so it's not a bomb and bolts the toilet to the floor, you are still going to go through with the sale. However, the seller and/or the seller's agent then decides to be a TOTAL ASSHOLE and refuses to negotiate with you any further. So then you try to terminate your contract and you basically have to sign all these forms that you will never go after the seller to try to get the money back you paid to have the structural engineer come out to tell you that even though the cracks in the foundation go all the way through, the house is still structurally sound; even though if you knew the seller and/or seller's agent was a LYING P.O.S. when they told you they agreed to your terms earlier, but instead they totally didn't, you never would have had the structural engineer come out to the house anyway and would have terminated the contract right then and there.

Fuckers.

On the upside - who needs to be saddled with a mortgage at this point? We can save so much more money by renting and then we can afford to buy something we REALLY like. We might even be able to go sweat out asses off during a stage of the Tour de France.