September 2008 Archives

It's almost autumn and this past weekend the NFL kicked off, unofficially starting my favorite season of the year, winter being a close second. Why is fall so great you ask? Let us count the ways.

Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!

First and foremost, the NFL. Not fantasy football (more on that later) but simply watching the NFL on weekends. Football has truly become America's pastime. Or in the least, this man's favorite pastime. It is the ultimate team sport. No other major American sport is as dependent on a play by play basis by the actions of every player on the field. Yes baseball players always have to be mentally prepared, every second, but football players not only have to be mentally prepared on every play but they have to execute their job on every play. There is a reason the Pittsburgh Steelers always have a good running game. Wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes specialize in down field blocking, taking each play, whether rushing or passing, to an exhausting and violent conclusion. Speaking of which, violence. People like violence. Especially retributional violence like the kind Viking running back Adrian Peterson bestowed upon Philadelphia Eagles cast off and current Green Bay Packer cornerback Al Harris this past Monday night. For the back story, check out Adrian Peterson is a Badass.

Editor's note: Whenever I can't think of one specific topic to focus and elaborate on, I just choose a few and discuss each one a little bit. Read iDigress, Part 1.

This

The NFL season kicked off this weekend with a bang. Atlanta Falcons RB Michael Turner left no doubt that he is a legitimate every-down running back, Philadelphia Eagles rookie WR and punt return specialist DeSean Jackson had his coming out party (6 receptions for 106 yards/8 punt returns for 96 yards), and Patriots may be in big trouble with QB Tom Brady possibly being lost for the season. And I finally found validation in Brooke's iPhone, having every game's scores and stats at my fingertips. My favorite part of Week 1, however, was NFL referee Ed Hochuli getting tongue-tied during Thursday night's New York Giants-Washington Redskins game. Hilarious.

That

There are many things in life that are not quite what they seem. Politicians and big hitters who come up small in big spots are usually the culprits of being called a sham these days. Last week, however, on a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, I learned about the truest sham of them all: pillow shams. What a freakin' joke. We have them already, but do know how much these things cost? We paid $120 for two pillow shams, and apparently, I'm not allowed to even use them. Now that, my friends, it a complete and utter sham.

The Other Thing

Google turned ten years-old yesterday. In this world of flash-in-the-pan internet companies and trendy ideas, for your company to actually be referred more as a verb than an actual company is quite and accomplishment. Slowly but surely, they are taking over the world, one web application at a time. Ironically, while at a social gathering yesterday, I overheard two older women discussing a brownie recipe.

Woman 1: Wow! These are amazing! Can I borrow the recipe?

Woman 2: I got it on the Internet. Just Google it; it was the first result.

Woman 1: What's a Google?

Before I write anything today I would like to start off by saying that the demonstrations and protestors that interrupted John McCain's speech last night are beyond reproach. Giving a speech to accept the nomination from your party to run for president is a once in a lifetime moment for a fortunate few and the behavior of some in the audience was embarassing.

Now, onto Sarah Palin.

Left. Left. Left, right, left. Left. Left. Left, right, left.

Do you hear that? Do you feel that? I do! The War Machine is marching. The drum beat is pounding. The flames of misplaced patriotism and misguided fear are being stoked by Orwellian Newspeak with 'look over here' slight-of-hand tactics as their foundation.

Are you trembling? Are you scared? Good, great, grand! Mission Accomplished! Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Gerard will be taking Friday this week. I am not picky about what days I remain uncharacteristically silent on.

Lazy. Busy. Tired. Wired. Baffled. Muddled. Speechless. Whatever the excuse, I've been using it.

So, here - publicly - I vow to return to form next week with some interesting points and original thought.

Thanks for standing by. tjc

The little lady and I are saving to buy a house. Well, actually, we bought one two weeks ago, but it unfortunately fell through. So, we are back to building our nest egg in order to by a home that suits us. Anyway, in order to save money for anything, one must eliminate unnecessary purchases. We are both making a consistent effort to eliminate certain pleasures and luxuries in life.

The conversation turned to music, as it always does with Brooke. Instead of really focusing on the task at hand, we ventured off into creating lists of 10 records that we cannot live without. It's tougher than you think; it took me two weeks. And I couldn't even do it! Cutting one more record was too much of a chore, too heart-wrenching, so I kept it. Sure, the first seven or eight were easy, but then you start to think of records that you really like. You like them, but are they sponge worthy?