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05/01/05 - 06/05/05 |
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Unwrap This
This is not meant to be a finger for Nadal, rather for ESPN.com, who were singly responsible for ruining my day last Friday. I had been waiting all week for the inevitable French Open semifinal match between Nadal and Federer, and made special efforts to get work done early that day so I could make it home in time to catch it on ESPN. I'd done my homework, the match was scheduled for 4 pm ET, which I took to mean 3:00 central. I was confused when I sat down at 3 on Friday and found that they were broadcasting the other semifinal match, between Puerta and Davydenko. And when I went on their website to figure the whole thing out, they had already posted the results of what must have been an epic match: Nadal over Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. So they got the finger.
Luckily I was able to watch the final match between Nadal and Puerta today on NBC. I know the individual games usually go by rather quickly, but I appreciate having the live score constantly in the upper left corner. I personally don't keep a live score going on a pad of paper. Maybe I should start, because with ESPN you're pretty much glued to the tube, dragged through investment commercial after investment commercial, unable to evacuate bowels lest you miss two seconds, doomed to be confused as all of a sudden you're at matchpoint.
In any case, it was a great match. Nadal is a fucking gymnast on clay, and watching today's final was very helpful in coming to terms with Federer's surprising loss to the Mallorcan Madman. I couldn't help but join the crowd favoritism for Puerta, especially after some of the brilliant plays he conceived to help him pull out the first set 7-6. Unfortunately they started to be fewer and farther between, and eventually there were just too many "almosts." His chase in the fourth set was inspiring, but Nadal just has too much energy and talent right now to go down like that. Wimbledon is coming up at the end of June, so I'll probably quit jabbering about tennis until then. I want to see Roddick get into at least the semis, watch more of Robredo and Puerta.
Some photography from the aformentioned NIN concert taken by someone named Sarah Bearry. I'd say we were a somewhere near this area. Also a forum discussing the Austin show. They all sound like live show veterans but they get pretty pissy about pushing in the front area. It's like they'd never even heard of the phenomenon.
Great Penny Arcade t-shirt. Ahem.
Crazy fuckin case that actually inspired a Law & Order episode, one I've seen many times. The types of shit that human beans get up to is unbelievable. That preposition is just fuckin mangling that sentence, like the actual Mangler.
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Everyone Loves Churros
It was good to see A-Rod whilst he was in town for a few weeks. I got caught up for the year on all my secret intelligence reports and played a spot of poker with he and Wilmo. At one point, Wolfman expressed his surprise that Meanderings has evolved (or was it devolved?) into a website about Warhammer and tennis. So I figured I'd write about something else for a change.
According to www.churros.com (definitely check out the Flash Intro), Churros originated in Spain "many years ago." My imagination tells me they were created by the church after the Inquisition as a divine dessert to help salve the wounded trust of la gente. I can remember getting churros at our school cafeteria. For me, the choice was always between Churros and Swiss Cake Rolls. From time to time they would be stocked up on off-brand Swiss Cake Rolls and I would switch over to Churros. The part in Napoleon Dynamite where he's eating french fries out of his pocket really made me laugh because I used to do the same thing with Churros in my backpack. The smallest nibble of the cakey sweet goodness could always sustain me through another thirty minutes of boredom. Plus it came in a handy paper sleeve that could be loudly popped at the most indiscrete times. Here's a tip: If you're ever researching Churros using the internet, make sure your safesearch is on before Googling for images. Be real sure.
The Scout Niblett album in my Heavy Rotations, Kidnapped by Neptune, took a couple of listens but I've really been enjoying it. Her voice and minimalist instrumentation still manage to create a big sound. Also I was definitely buzzed into Who Is Mike Jones?, as Houston rap is proverbially so hot right now. He can get repetitive with his name and phone number but I still like the tracks.
I can't help it:
The French Open finals will soon be upon us. This was the first time I've actively watched a clay tournament. My only experience with the gritty stuff was from Mario Tennis (haha), and so it was nice to see the actual effects as people slide around, get orange socks, scrape the shit out of themselves, etc.
Today I watched Tommy Robredo overpower the higher-ranked Marat Safin. An awesome underdog comeback with plenty of racket-smashing. The commercials during these tournaments can be pretty unbearable. I guess if you bought everything they were hawking, you'd probably fit in really well at an open, complete with a H3 out in the parking lot.
Let's see, what did I forget - oh yes: two more epic 40k games. Note: commentary has now been added.
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Don't You Fucking Know What You Are?
We were lucky enough to attend the Nine Inch Nails concert last night, and it far exceeded my expectations. Starting with the convenient breeze that started blowing in just as the band took stage, it was probably the best live music experience I've had in a year. We got a very well-mixed bag of classic NIN, including "March of the Pigs" "Hurt" "Starfuckers, Inc." and "Head Like A Hole." Even Mucky got her "Reptile." Thanks to a talented band, dramatic stage design and some great lighting Reznor and the others transformed Stubbs' small platform into an arena-style explosion of sight and sound. Though they didn't overcommit to new material, I thought the few they did play were really strong, and With Teeth will inevitably be back on heavy rotation for a few weeks, along with the other classics.
I couldn't help it. Curse her for taking my phrase! I sought out the Paris Hilton Carl's Jr.'s Hamburgers commercial. Ridiculous. The "You've heard the buzz" comment on the "uncut version" viewer page was talking right to me. Suckered in. Pulled in not by the loads and loads of 1st-hand media coverage, but by a Jeanne Moos segment ostensibly ridiculing that very same media overkill. Buzz is an evil, evil virus. That's all I really have to say about it, just that I felt pretty used.
Thanks to Kaylube for this awesome spectacle. Oh the humanity.
And Drew sent me this video of a crazy truck explosion from our very own I35.
Me and Mucky played another 1000pt Chaos vs Space Wolves match. Hopefully I'll lose a few soon because she may not keep playing...
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Pecos River High (Bridge)
I got back from a trip to Amistad yesterday. Here's the pictures.
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Rending Claws Are Tops
After an initial loss, my old Easter Egg Tyranids hit their stride and earned a victorious slaughter against Mucky's Chaos detachment. Pictured at left are the real heroes of the match: 12 Genestealers that wiped out a 9-man Khorne Berzerker squad (an amped-up one at that) before the blood-lusting bashers could even strike back. When we played the previous game, I neglected to carefully read their unit rules: rending claws, meaning 6's to hit in close combat inflict automatic wounds with no save possible (except invulnerables). Combine that with 6 Initiative and it becomes clear why these relatively slow, no-armor purple people eaters are so expensive. And did I mention they can infiltrate? I gotta believe the upcoming codex revision is going to nerf them some. GD that new Carnifex model is sweet.
Thanks again to Mackus for my birthday present, the brutally psychotic (or is that psychotically brutal) PS2 game Manhunt. I completed it today on the "Fetish" setting - I wanted to brush up on my stealth-kills before tackling the "Hardcore" level. Definitely not a game for children, and maybe not even for adults. Luckily my good taste has been long since eroded by Tarantino films and Tool videos.
I promised a bit more about Mercenaries (PS2), and I shall not disappoint. Truly this game was more enjoyable than GTA: San Andreas. Both games have similar gameplay and graphics quality. But just as you start to miss GTA's depth of interaction with surroundings and passersby, you start earning different vehicles and airstrike capabilities. By the time you capture the mediocre Ace of Clubs (the inimitable Dung Hwangbo) you're custom-tailoring your fugitive hunts with UH60s full of Allied troops and bunker-buster missiles. Quickly you forget all about things like repetitive gang scuffles and retarded blackjack sims. In Mercenaries, wanderlust is only limited by your heat-seeker evasion skills. Rather than one isolated no-fly zone, the huge maps are littered with triple-A and SAM sites. It makes it that much more satisfying to gain access to a certain area by systematically destroying dense enemy bases. The last thing I'll say is that the final mission involves leading a column of Abrams tanks into a ridiculously fortified North Korean mountain citadel to prevent a deposed dictator from detonating a nuclear device. So dope it's ridiculous. I guess GTA will always have puphunting.
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Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
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She's No Good To Me Dead
And here we see Sinead and her escort Boba Fett, paid for by the Vatican to prevent any papal-picture-ripping shenanigans.
Getting pretty psyched about the final chapter, much to the chagrin of my black, cynical little heart. From some clips I noticed General Grievous will be included, and that fact alone is inspiring me at the moment. His character in the Clone Wars cartoon series was really interesting, and I can't wait to see the details of the power transition from Grievous to Vader. Good shit. Hopefully by this time Friday I won't be spewing anti-Lucas vitriol from every orifice. I did download and watch that SW Fan Film "Revelations" that The Dirty Professor linked up - it was ok. The special effects are fucking amazing for a first effort, but the acting was kinda lame and all the indoor scenes look like British television. Worth watching though, an interesting spin-off that manages to tie itself well to the real thing.
While we were in Waco for the TRRMS meeting yesterday, we had lunch at George's. I've eaten there before, home of the Big'O and all, and I recommend anyone passing through the area to partake of their chicken fried steak. We had been seated and ordered our drinks, when this surly motherfucker comes and sits himself down at a table next to ours. When the girl (our same waitress) comes over to get his drink order, he delivers his lunch order in what can best be described as a holler, even though she's like two feet away from him. Apparently he's a regular, because after some bullshit about double pintos and steamed broccoli, the manager comes over and pats him on the back, gives him a TX-style howdy or whatever, and walks off to henpeck the girl to make sure she's got everything right. We're waiting and waiting for the girl to come back and take our lunch order. This douchebag gets his food delivered by the manager hot and pronto before we even put our request in. I didn't say anything at the time, but I need to get it off my chest that Mr. Precious Fucking Broccoli and Manager Shitgrin McGladhand both deserved to be kicked in the man-tits. Sigh. I'll just leave it at that.
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Cop 1: Did you see the plane?
Cop 2: No, I was in the garage, you know, inflating...
Cop 3: Shit! I wish he would have landed it right here, I would have chased his ass down. Goddamn Cessnas.
Cop 1: Yeah, and fuck a Blackhawk, too! All I need's my 12-speed and a pair of spandex booties with the ankles cut out - I'll shut down a whole cell's worth of Al Cooter or Al Katie or whatever.
Cop 3: Seems like everyone was just biting their nails for 47 minutes or so. I saw one guy work all the way through his fingers and start on his toes.
Cop 2: It was closer to 46 nailbiting minutes, I think.
Civilian: Hey, you guys know where the Henry building is?
Cops: (together) Negative!
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Squirrel'd
We installed this birdfeeder in the backyard last weekend, and the very first customer was this little douche, who braved severe groin injury all for the love of sunflower seeds. Thankfully he doesn't antagonize any of the other visitors we've had, mostly just doves and grackles. But what do you expect, living in the citay as we do. Here's some more backyard pictures in my Yahoo! Photo albums. I never thought I'd be interested in birdwatching, but I guess it's one of those inexorable march of time things - like prostate exams. Not especially looking forward to that one. Change the subject? Let's!
So fucking ridiculous. I can understand this guy wanting his finger back, but the people he should be upset at are his bosses. Did they just continue production after this guy lost a finger in the machine? How long did it take him to notice? Maybe his hand was numb from making icy treats all day. And just from my experience in the grocery business, I can tell you for certain that store managers were all over the surprised customer quicker than he could shout raspberry hangnail. I bet it was an epic Heisman-esque flight out of the front doors for him, hugging down on the bloody little digit, stiffarming employees all the while... And maybe I'm a dick, but from the guy's picture, I'm not sure he really needs that finger anyway. One less place for butt grease to build up.
I'm spending my week preparing for a conference next week held by the Texas River and Reservoir Management Society. You can see my place in the schedule (dead last) or find my submitted abstract for my talk. Whathaveyou.
I've very nearly completed Mercenaries (PS2). This is one of the most fun games I've ever played. I may have honestly enjoyed it more than San Andreas. *crosses himself* I'll have more to say after I beat it and return it to the videostore.
The Summer of Bully begins! Fresh off a 2-game slaughter streak, Muckboot is brought down not once, but twice! Tanks for the memories!
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People Like To Say Salsa
I got a food processor several months ago and fiddled around with it at the time to try to create my own salsa mixture, but after several utter failures I kinda gave up. If I could ever find out how to reliably make Chuy's pico-style salsa I probably wouldn't ever buy from the store again. Maybe I'll give it another crack at some point, but in the meantime I've tried a few commercially available brands and could offer some comments. Generally I like my salsas balanced in terms of flavor and heat, and I prefer mixtures based around serranos, cilantro, onions, and garlic. I like the tomatillo mixtures mostly for variety.
My favorite right now is Ana's Salsa, available in the refrigerated area near the produce sections of local HEB's. It's heavy on the garlic and uses serranos for heat. Fucking excellent. This will be my standby until I find something better.
When Ana's wasn't available the other day at Albie's across the street, I tried one of Paul Newman's mixtures, the cheezily named Bandito Salsa. Too much bell pepper. I don't really believe bell peppers have a place in salsa. It also has a thicker, gravy-like texture that doesn't really agree with me. I won't buy this one again.
Austin Grand Prize Hot Sauce is one I've tried several times over the years. I think it usually comes refrigerated. It's pretty good, but not so chunky - more of a hot sauce. Funny how brand names can accurately describe a product every once in a while and totally throw you for a loop. The green sauce is decent but I found application to be somewhat limited. Like most tomatillo sauces it's a little too gooey for my taste.
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Carrots To An Ass
Hey ho haven't written anything in a while. Been out of town a bit, and the school semester is coming to an end. But enough of the excuses.
Stinky ole Robersan treats us to a new installation of Jackdrac, Bitch!
Are you in on the joke that is American Idol 4? Aw hell naw. What an idiot - all this cynical posturing and they're still watching the show and all the commercials that come with it - if their little joke actually succeeds, I'm sure Seacrest will be crying all the way to the douchebank.
Me and Muckboot are still playing 40k now and then. Here's several recent games, including a 3-way battle between ourselves and Mackus. And here's another 40k webcomic I came across: Lost In Space.
Anti-evolution movement evolves, much to my nausea.
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Sideways (2004)
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The Incredibles (2004)
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Oceans 12 (2004)
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