A random blogger

Every so often, I come across a random blog that I really like. Here is one case in point - I like this woman's take on the SATs - the news is that basically that they're revamping the SATs in order to dumb them down to the level of comfort of HS seniors. The blogger's point is that they're not supposed to make you feel comfortable - they're supposed to challenge you. SATs and college should be challenging because that's how you learn and grow. I agree.

Plus the rest of her blog looks fun too. Check it out.

A picture is worth a thousand words

And thank god because otherwise I would've had to have typed out 19,000 words and to be honest I'm just not up for it. The following pictures show the events as I saw they played out on Saturday, February 26 in White Bear Lake, MN.

Please note: The pictures are all in chronological order - reading top to bottom will give you a compressed slideshow of what I saw at Mary's Wedding. Content may be offensive - but not too much; my mom reads my blog so anything I wouldn't want her to see has been left off. Also, anything Mary would be offended by has been left off because I don't want to get in trouble for anything I did (or others did) at Mary's wedding. I almost didn't censor the pictures for the "will Mary see this?" factor because on Friday she told me she "doesn't get blogging" and "hasn't read it in forever".

Bejota - as grandfather of the blogging family tree, please contact Mary on our behalf and explain blogging. Thank you.

In summary, everything rocked. If you didn't have fun at Mary's wedding, you suck.

Mary's wedding started at 4pm. This is where we were at 3:30pm. Classy. 

Several hours later - maybe 9pm? After dinner and at the reception from here on out.

Part of a series of action shots - if you printed out all the pictures and turned them into a flip book you could see Gabe unbutton and rebutton his pants (don't ask why). If interested in the full set, please contact me.

Alumni of room #22 rocking out with our, you know what I mean. 

Christina = What I think my sexy faces look like. Walter Von = What my sexy faces actually look like. FYI Christina, in case grad school doesn't work out, let me know and I'll crop, enlarge, print, and send this as your "test shot" to Playboy.

Christina has a porn side and a pretty side. This picture (and the one above) were taken within 5 seconds of each other. 

For some reason I stalked Missy and Tim during my "candid shot" session. 

Aww.

Just part of the reason (and actually a very small part) of why Tim was the 12 on Saturday night.

The best action shot of the night. 

No caption required. 

The reason for the big day. 

WARNING: I'm sorry, but the next 4 pictures remind me of Abu Ghraib. From the top: Christina, Walter Von, Alicia.
 

Clockwise starting at the top: Laura, Walter Von, Alicia. 

Clockwise starting at the top: Busta, Walter Von, Alicia. 

Clockwise starting at the top: Walter Von, Missy, Alicia. 

How else would you mix vodka cranberry in a hotel room? 

$1 for the correct explaination of why Perkins has this policy. 

Perkins. Sunday 1pm. Assy. 

Time flies

Is it just me, or does it seem like Martha Stuart just went to jail? Apparently not, cause she's getting out after her 5 month sentence next week.

Icky Owie (sp?)

I have tonsillitis. It hurts.

Mucho Lo Sientos

I neglected to post the question to my Jeopardy answer. Mexico has more Spanish speakers than any country in the world. I decided the prize is one drink I'll buy you at Mary's wedding. Unfortunately, the winner, Bejota, will not be in attendance. Better luck next time on claiming your prize...

PS Dad - on my next trivia question post an answer rather than saying "I knew that" :)

Happy Birthday Weasleys

Happy birthday to Oliver and James Phelps - aka Fred and George Weasley. They're 19 today. Their IMDB biographies conflict, showing Oliver is 6'1" and James is 6'3" which would make them fraternal twins but I find that hard to believe. They're identical, right?

Hotmail?

Hotmail is f-ed. It's been acting crazy since Tuesday morning for me. Pissing me off.

It's issues like this that are starting to make gmail more attractive.

Minny

I'm in Minneapolis on vacation for Mary's wedding - yeah! Last night the Right Ons won at Champps Music Trivia (which is more fun than Dallas' Champps Trivia) and pix of the $100 winnings will be posted shortly. Today's plan - pick up rental car, meet mom and dad for lunch, go see Matt Mitchell's band, welcome Missy to town.

So I got a rental car and it's weird - if I picked it up at 9pm last night and returned it at 9am on Monday morning, total charge, $150. However, if I pick it up Thursday morning at 9am and return it Monday morning at 9am, it's $75. And it's not just one company - that's pretty much the results of an Orbitz search. Crazy.

Just thought I'd let you know - car rental pricing is wack.

Mary Chung Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

It's true - I couldn't make this up. In honor of Mary's wedding, I thought I'd post this picture - Mary Chung Restaurant located on Mass Ave in Cambridge, MA. For those of you who don't know, Mary Roelofs will marry Octavio Chung on Saturday, thus the fun Mary Chung sign :)

Funny pictures

These real life pictures are funny - I like the "No Dumping" and "Elderly Crossing" ones.

Napoleon Dynamite Again

I bought the Napoleon Dynamite DVD yesterday - thankfully the man at Target had one in the back because initially there were none on display which scared me.

Let me quickly digress - I headed to Target last night with the list consisting of this one DVD and while driving by a Blockbuster Video I realized that video stores are dying in a big way. Blockbuster is closer to my house, yet it never crossed my mind to buy the DVD there instead of at Target. Random thought.

So I bought Napoleon Dynamite and found out that there's a special clip after the credits run that shows Kip and LaFawnduh's wedding. It's really funny - did you guys know this exists? It's hilarious - involves Kip singing a song about his love of Technology and LaFawnduh then Napoleon rides a steed into the wedding. The deleted scenes were good, commentary ok but the wedding scene was awesome. Funny stuff - check it out.

PS I found out the co-writers of the movie, as well as Jon Heder, are all Mormons.

Nate

So my cousin is in town this weekend and we're doing the tourist thing. I figured out that when you live in Boston but want to tour people, you can take the trolley for *free* with a paid ticket. So, essentially for half price, we went on the trolley tour. Good times - I like their promotion.

Our tour guide was Nate, pictured below. For having the worst haircut ever, he was actually a surprisingly good tour guide. Best new Boston fact of the day is in regards to Edgar Allen Poe.

Poe grew up in Boston, then attended West Point. He was stationed at Fort Independence (which is across the bay from the beach by my house in Southie). After serving at Fort Independence, he wrote The Cask of Amontillado. The new trivia is this: Though the story is set in Italy, it is actually based on a true story from his days at Fort Independence in Boston. HS English teachers should start sharing that - it would make things more fun.

OK- back to Nate. Seriously scary hair. I think he thought I thought he was hot and that's why I was taking his picture. Clearly not the case.

From the front. 

From the back. 

This could be bad

I was cruising the NBC website and saw that The Office is a new series premiering on NBC in March. I have a bad feeling they're copying the British version of the show.

Hmmm. They tried doing that with Coupling and that proved unsuccessful. Airplane was a successful move from the British to the US version, though I do like the British version of the show a bit better. American Idol made the transition, annoyingly.

Any other Brit-US TV shows that went well or were botched?

Tasteful Balls

So Nat, Zip, and I went to dinner tonite and I found out about Natalie's secret admirer. On her walk to work, she walks by a fancy restaurant everyday and says hi to the boys that valet park there. On Monday, V-day, one of them pulled her aside and gave her a valentine. Ooh, sweet. His note said he wanted to know her name and would she have a drink with him. She is going to have a drink with him, I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, as we discussed this, we decided it was quite ballsy of him to have given her a note and asked her out with the little prior contact they had. However, Zippy stated that beyond having balls, he has "tasteful balls" because he didn't come on too strong or too creepy, he just seemed nice.

Except his name is J.D. And initials as names are not generally a good thing. Unless you're the star of Scrubs in which case it's allowable. Well, plus that's John Dorian J.D. not J.D. Somebody. It's different.

For those of you who don't know her, this is my friend Natalie.

Napoleon Dynamite is the Greatest

For those of you who don't know, Napoleon Dynamite is the best movie ever. OK, maybe a strong statement but if you haven't seen it GO RIGHT NOW AND NETFLIX (or rent) IT. Its goodness is confirmed by the fact that everyone in my Netflix Friends group has given it 5 stars - Heather/Alicia, Dana, and Julie (and me). This may be the only film all 4 of us have listed as a 5 star movie. Go figure.

And, if any of you are Netflixers, add me to your friends group so we can compare. I like stalking my friends' Netflix picks. One more reason to waste time online.

By the way, there's a guy that used to work for Nokia in New England whose name was Napoleon something. I've never met him but whenever people ask me if he's still around I'm once again amazed by the fact that someone named Napoleon gets hired. For any job. Weird.

My Top 5 TV shows (as of today)

1. Desparate Housewives
2. Scrubs
3. King of Queens (new or reruns)
4. Project Runway
5. The Apprentice

I'm not putting in the links for all of these, if you don't know them just Google it.

What's Grosser Than Gross?

Spam Singles. Icky. Nice work to the ad agency who put this fancy schmancy interactive website together devoted to the "meat", but seriously, icky.

Good idea

So I was on Craigslist looking for hockey tickets when my cousin comes to town next weekend and I ran across this posting:

Original URL: http://boston.craigslist.org/tix/59611233.html
Posted by: anon-59611233@craigslist.org
Posted on: 2005-02-13, 6:05PM

I am a 27 year old male, living in Boston. I have two tickets to the beanpot games tommorow. I also relize that it is Valentines day. I will be going to game alone unless I find someone who thinks Valentines day is not a big deal and would n't mind spending it with a new friend, at a hockey game? We can meet there if you like. Please rerpond with a bit a bout yourself and a pic Since if we meet there. I will have to be able to recognize you. First reponse gets ticket. I am not looking for a hook up just a fun night out at a good hockey game.Bu fan is a plus

I #1 wish I would've seen this yesterday and gotten tickets to the Beanpot championship - how fun would that have been. I #2 think this is the best idea ever. Buy 2 tickets to a game/event/concert and then post on Craigslist to get a date. How fun :)

Duvet help

I'm having trouble with my quilt and duvet cover. My quilt continues to creep around within the duvet cover and I can't figure out how to make it stop. It's muy annoying. It seems like each corner of the quilt should be secured to the inside corner of the duvet cover, but I haven't figured out how to do this.

Any advice, anyone? My frustration builds each day.

Your Jeopardy "Answer" of the Day

A: This country has more Spanish speakers in it than any other country in the world.

Comments with your guesses.

UPDATE: The correct answer is not Canada, the US, or Spain. Michael - there is no need for name calling.

I'm thinking about a prize for the first correct answer. Keep posting your guesses.

Wal-Mart Propaganda

So I ran across this website "Wal-Mart Facts" that I found to be some kind of PR agent Wal-Mart thought would help their image but I find a little disturbing. Besides boasting about wages of almost $10 for hourly employees and covering 56% of employees with health insurance, they make statements about their commitment to diversity, including:

Fact: Wal-Mart’s commitment to diversity starts with our board of directors and extends throughout the organization. Our 14-member board of directors includes a female, two African Americans and two Hispanics. Wal-Mart is a leading employer of Hispanics in the U.S. with more than 128,000 Hispanic associates; a leading employer of African Americans with more than 206,000 African Americans; and an employer of more than 220,000 seniors who are 55 and older.

I realize that few companies have a board of directors that accurately reflect the fact that 50% of the population is women, but 1/14? Really, that's the best you can do, Wal-Mart.

Another reason not to shop at Wal-Mart, except you knitters are allowed as Target doesn't carry yarn.

Sounds like a Krans

Americans are moving to Canada at a higher rate after Bush got re-elected. Here's the story.

Bloggericious

I feel like the title of this blog is very Bejota. Anyway, I found these two blogs and wanted to share them with you.

Rox Populi is fun - I especially like the fake bumper stickers - I tried to make up my own and post it to my blog but had some technical difficulties with that.

This City Pages Blog is also fun - not exactly sure how its related to City Pages but it has some Minnesota flava which I enjoy.

Another fun one - the Band of the Day Blog (by another Minneapolitian) is a good read. I think 'lici especially will enjoy.

Viewer Discretion Advised

Really - you may be offended by this. Mom, don't click on this link. But for the rest of you, check out this tattoo.

I just found this picture and for some reason want to post it on my blog? I do not know why. Homecoming '04 

Pohl MIA, again

So I'm planning on going to a Worcester Ice Cats hockey game but just realized Johnny Pohl hasn't played since Dec 17. And he's now MIA. Not happy.

Then I found this debate regarding why he hadn't been playing - he apparently broke his thumb but prior to this there was drama with the coaches. Interesting.

I'm hoping he's back in the lineup asap so I can see him play. And have him see me in the stands wearing my Minnesota sweatshirt and give him the chance to fall in love with me. J/K. Sort of.

So many questions

Mr. Johnnie Chennault, 29, of Springfield, TN is headed to Iraq. Not big news. Except it's news cause he has 11 kids. Yep, 11.

My first question was "He's 29 but has a 17 year old?" I thought even this was extreme for the South. But turns out 4/11 kids were from her earlier marriage.

Second, if the Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force won't take volunteers with that many children, isn't that a sign you shouldn't be ditching your family to be in the military? Apparently not for him, he found that the Navy Reserves would take him.

My third question was is it 1955? or 2005? This question was raised because of this quote from his wife:

"We go to a really good church, and they talk in there a lot about the husband's and the wife's role, what the Bible says is the husband's and wife's role," she explains. "And my role is to support my husband. My mother told me when I got married, 'Your life is about him, and you need to be there for him."'

Um yeah.

UPDATE: Announced the day he left for Iraq, his wife is pregnant with child #12.

Stumble

So I stumbled upon a random Indian (dot) man's blog - he has some awesome pictures. Check it out.

Top 5 Lists - Movies about the Vietnam War

Welcome to my new thing - top 5 lists. I'm going to start blogging my top 5 lists (about just about anything) from time to time. As I watch my 2nd movie in 2 weeks about the Vietnam War, I've decided this is a good reason for a top 5 list:

Top 5 Movies about the Vietnam War
1. We Were Soldiers
2. Born on the Fourth of July
3. Good Morning Vietnam
4. The Deer Hunter
5. Platoon

I may have forgotten a Vietnam movie I really like, refresh my memory if you think of any good ones.

CLARIFICATION: In response to the comments about my Vietnam war movies, I want to explain that I do not necessarily love war movies or Vietnam war movies. I just realized I've seen several movies w/ similar subject matter so why not rank them in a top 5 list. Just cause I make a top 5 list doesn't mean I love the subject of the top 5 list. Got it?

Javier

I did not know that Javier from Felicity is married to Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding). And, Javier and I share the same birthday :) Ok, so his name is actually Ian Gomez but he is still Javier to me even if he actually doesn't have the Javier accent in real life.

The Battle of the Ridiculous

What do you think - which of the following is more ridiculous? The Buster the Bunny debate, or the Virginia law regarding pants that allow undergarments to show.

Seriously.

The Virginia law, which I will personally inform Russell of so he isn't in court for being black and dressing black, seems to skew against black people. I'm just saying. And I can think of many other outfits/garmets that appear in a "lewd or indecent manner." Namely, the 60+ year old woman with a gut that Alicia saw in a MA mall wearing a Playboy velour track suit. Maybe we'll outlaw those here, soon. So silly.

In reference to the PBS cartoon, Postcards from Buster, I must first apologize for not blogging about this last week when the debate happened. The Sec'y of Ed's comments almost made me throw up - I thought she may follow-up with a statement about gays not being allowed to show affection in public in case children were watching and their parents didn't want them exposed to that lifestyle, or that, perhaps, blacks should move to the back of the bus so children aren't exposed to them, either. WTF? I'm glad MN is airing the episode in March, the Boston channel went against the recommendation and aired it as scheduled earlier this month.

Two people that are out and two that are on their way down

So I was sad to read the Startribune today and find that 2 people I like are done with their jobs(or plan to be) - Mark Dayton isn't running for re-election for the Senate, and Carly Fiorina was forced out of her job as CEO at HP. I think both are bad news.

Similarly bad news for these two actors' careers: Vin Diesel and Tommy Lee Jones are making bad movie decisions as both are starring in movies that I'm sure will be awful, aside from being strangely similar. Both star the men as government agents protecting "funny" groups of people - a family w/ several children in Diesel's case, and a group of Texas cheerleaders in Jones' case. Bad moves, guys.

Too much

Dr. Pepper - I like you. Diet Dr. Pepper - I like you a lot and you're a regular in my soda buying routine.

Their new cousin: Regular and Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. You're trying too hard. Like the kinda pretty girl that wears clothes that are too tight and too much make-up. Settle down and I'll like you, ok?

On an unrelated note - this is an interesting story on how Americans spend their money and how it's changed over the last 50 years. You may have to register for Adage.com in order to read it but it is worth it. They also have many Super Bowl ad stories I liked to read.

Half-pint oh Half-pint

I've got to hand it to the Fug It girls for this picture and the corresponding caption (thanks for Alicia for the heads up on her new favorite blog). They hit the nail on the head (oh god I sound like my mother) with these comments on Melissa Gilbert's bad fashion decision.

Favorite Super Bowl ad

I know some of you out there read my blog but don't comment - here's something super easy for you to comment on:

What was your favorite Super Bowl ad?

I liked the "Let's not name the product the Titanic" for Career Building with the guy that worked with monkeys. Runner up: P. Diddy with the Pepsi truck.

Runner runner up: "Jamitin" the ED product advertising during the Simpson's show that played right after the Super Bowl.

Post yours right now (it takes 2 seconds).

Or else.

UPDATE: All of you except Heather, Zippy, and Alicia are bitches and I hate you. FYI.

Because he will be over the maximum limit for running

Announcement: Mr. Cheney will not be running for Pres in '08 because he will be over the maximum age limit for running for that office.

On an unrelated note, Drew Lachey (Nick's brother) is starring in Rent on Broadway. And I thought he was a slacker that just tagged along on Nick and Jessica's vacations. I didn't realize he made a name for himself as a member of 98 Degrees, silly me.

More important usage debates

The U is debating an apostrophe issue - read here for the important "news". Zippy - here's another association to which you should apply.

Cingular Commercial

I really like the Cingular commercial that shows the guy driving cross country to his girlfriend in SF. The song with the commercial is The Weight by The Supremes. I don't know that I've ever heard them sing it but I like it.

Did it in the NYC

I'm back in Boston after a long weekend in NYC - sorry for not giving notice that I'd be away from the blog for a few days. It was a good time - I don't really have many pix to post or I would. I got to hit Manhattan during Restaurant Week which was fun - eating in nice restaurants for $35 price fix (I don't know how to spell it correctly) was clutch.

I was in the city with my mom and aunt for the weekend - my aunt was there for a conference so she secured a hotel room in Midtown for us - thank you State of Washington for covering that. We saw La Cage au Falles on Broadway, which is the play upon which The Birdcage is based. Lots of boys dressed up as boys, good times. Word on the street (ok not on the street) is that they're going to pull a Chicago and turn it directly into a movie version of the play. Watch for it.

I got to meet up with Michael and Glenn, my friend Kris, and Ms. Kerry Keyes (who will soon become Dr. Kerry Keyes Wild (that's hot)). I liked that the restaurant Kerry and I ate at had a sign on the door something like "No Stroller Allowed. Space is Tight." I concur. While out with Michael at a gay club, we believe that we saw Austin from Project Runway.

Strange NY Happening of the Weekend: I was informed by a sales associate at Bloomingdale's that they "No longer carry Kenneth Cole" so apparently Mr. Bloomingdale and Mr. Cole got in a scuffle they were unable to resolve. Weird. Lucky, KC had filled his store on Fifth with sale items so I was able to find a cute top at 70% off anyway. However, my quest for a new winter coat went unfulfilled.

I made my inaugural visit to Room and Board this weekend and really liked this chair and footstool. They still have expensive-ish stuff but not crazy. I like-y.

Mark your calendar

February 14-21 - National Condom Week