Song and Dance HNT

I love this time of year. Easter. And not just because it's when we Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Though I AM one of those who is moved more by the religious meanings of Christmas and Easter than the commercial. But the tangent I'm currently on has nothing to do with this post. Much.

By accepted standards/definition, Easter MUST happen after the official first day of spring. So that's a good thing. And if it's spring, then it's less than 4 weeks until my birthday. Easter has fallen on my birthday maybe half a dozen times in my young 50+ years of life. So that's cool. And off on another tangent.

Early to mid-April is when the Masters is played at Augusta National, and when I die, my ashes will be spread over that course. Yep, a third tangent.

What I REALLY like about Holy Week is that the epic biblical movies all come out. I loves me some "Ten Commandments" or "Ben Hur" or "Spartacus" or "The Robe". But I also like some newer movies, particularly "The Passion of the Christ", and, of course, "Jesus Christ Superstar". By now, most of you realize that I was King Herod in Carroll College's production from 10 years ago. I had to come up with my own song & dance routine. I had dancers behind me, but it basically was my solo. I got some of my ideas from the King Herod character in the movie, and others from some vaudeville routines I'd seen. But I spent many hours watching the video over and over. As I've said in the past, King Herod's Song is unlike anything else in the opera. Campy, fun, and comic relief in the midst of a stressful production. Who better than I to do that?!?

Moose was there and got to see me. First thing she'd tell you is that I wore these great pants. I'm here to tell you that they SUCKED! BIG TIME! Satin-y white with lavender stripes. Bell bottoms, of course. We were all dressed as hippies. What I did like was the shirt that the costume designer came up with. I made off with it after the show. Why? I don't know. It's not like I could wear it out in public.

Surprisingly, I've never seen JCSS on TV. Ever. I'm not sure why not. "Hair" has been on TV. So has "Godspell". So every Easter, I pop in my DVD of JCSS, put on my King Herod shirt, pull out my illegal copy of the score, and keep working on the dance steps, in case I ever have to do it again! Without the white and lavender striped pants (note the poor execution of "jazz hands").

Click on it, if you dare, for the view from the other side...

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This week's Easter Bunny is fairly new to HNT. Even though she's new-ish to us, she's already decided that moving to a HNT-only site is a good move. She's a professional photographer, so you know her pictures MUST be good! She's resourceful--she's even made it home on a tire fixed with duct tape! She likes the outdoors, and even knows what Cabela's is! But she's girly, too. She wants a Dodge 4X4--in light purple. And just looking at her picture, you can tell she's girly! She's just a simple girl living a simple life and loving it! Boop-boop-e-doop (squeak)!
This MG is the lovely Naughty-I. You can check out another view of her new corset on her new HNT site! Go over and say hi!

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OK, I don't usually do this, but because it's her birthday on Thursday, and I'm a pushover for this sort of thing--we've got a second MG! This one is a longtime favorite around here, and a good friend of mine. I hope you've already been by to wish her a happy birthday, but if not, I'll reveal her in the afternoon and you can still have time to do it!
It's not too much of a secret that the birthday girl is Stealth! Today, she hit the big 3-0! If you haven't been by yet, stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday!

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There's another interesting mix to be found over at "...the Other HNT" this week, including 3 different continuations of previously-submitted themes, and the beginning of another! As always, NSFW! Be sure to stop by and leave some comments!

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Vernal equinox happens Thursday, with a full moon immediately after! If you're the type that dances in the moonlight, this would be a good weekend to do it (right, doc?). Take pics!

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Have a Happy Easter Weekend! And if you've got a good egg salad recipe you'd love to share, please do!

Stuff

I like the current background picture. I'm going to keep it for awhile.

The "Abbey Road"-like picture in the header is from my trip to the Oregon coast in 2005. I don't know who the people are.

The local paper finally picked up the story that the symphony was nationally recognized. They ran a story here (surprisingly). And yes, if you click the picture in the sidebar under "Story Extras", your humble host can be seen there too!

St. Paddy's Day Update

Well, I opted out of the O'Toole's gathering. Picked up just a bit of the hack again last night and didn't sleep very well. Drinking at 8AM just wasn't in the cards again this year. This is the scene from 3 years ago. Maybe later in the day...

Back on St. Patrick's Day 2005, I posted about a particular bar in Butte where everyone goes to drink. They have a webcam that shows the day's festivities. The link doesn't work anymore, but check out the hits I've had today. This was as of 10:30 this morning. More interestingly, check out who one of my visitors was! Thank God our government is checking up!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, another week of symphony hell has come and gone, and the realization that I tend to zone out the rest of the world when that happens. Things I've missed out on this past week:

• 
  
  I always thought it would be Ginger--Not sure why this just came out last week, since it happened last month (last Oct., actually), but Dawn Wells, Gilligan's "Mary Ann", was caught in Idaho with pot. She was sentenced last month. Go here to get the details.





• Did anyone else realize that Easter is next weekend?? How the hell did that happen??
• I know it's been sort of nice out, but I noticed that some tulips near the door to my apartment complex have started to peek out of the ground. Just a matter of time before the deer find them...
• Friendships are delicate things. Even the strong ones.
• March Madness starts up this week. I don't even know who's seeded in each bracket, let alone who's been #1 all season. Men or women. Any division. I have totally ignored college basketball this season, and don't miss it in the least!
  
• Apparently the Pope declared that St. Patrick's Day celebrations should occur last Friday, so they wouldn't happen during Holy Week.
• Good thing I found that out, so that I wouldn't have headed down to Butte for the annual parade/drunkfest.

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"They" are tearing down my old elementary school, where I spent 3rd-6th grades. It used to be the Catholic high school when my dad attended (Cathedral High, home of the "Greenies"--that was really their team name...). I'm not sure why they're taking their time in bringing it down, but it means that I might be able to get some pictures. Just seeing some of the exterior walls torn down has brought back a flood of memories. Unfortunately, since we're talking over 40 years ago, they're mostly in black and white...

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Found out that both my parents are sick now (no, not my fault). Dad's got pneumonia and Mom has asthmatic bronchitis. Apparently one of my sisters stopped by yesterday and Mom wouldn't even let her in the house. Not sure what this will do to the weekend plans.

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Some more national recognition for the symphony. Alex Ross, who is the music critic for The New Yorker, picked up on the article in Symphony that I mentioned in my prior post. He made note of it on his blog, which is highly read by the artsy-fartsy types. It's just a small post, but any press is good press!

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Is anyone else excited for the premier of "In Plain Sight" with Mary McCormack on the USA Network? Whew!

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I will be at O'Toole's in the morning at 8:00 AM for the first green beer, resuming my string of "first beers" over the years. I'll try to take pics!

Recognition, Controversy, and General Unsettledness

I know I rant and rave and bitch and moan about the symphony, but to tell you the truth, I love what I do, both musically and as part of the artistic staff. Especially over the past year and a half. I remember doing a post maybe two years ago during the time when I was really having personnel problems, and someone asked if things were so bad, why do I stick with it? And was there anything good that happened with the symphony? Well, that was a wake-up call. I hadn't realized that my blog (as an extension of my real life) had descended so far into the pits of negativity. I'd like to think that things have improved. In spite of whatever bitching I do, I realize that I'm doing something that not a whole lot of people get to do, and I do it well. And don't tell anyone--I'm having a ball doing it! And apparently things are beginning to pay off...

We belong to a national symphony organization (League of American Orchestras). They lobby, they educate, they help out organizations when asked, they are a wealth of information for everything symphonic in the U.S. And they put out a monthly (I think) magazine/journal titled (are you ready for this?) Symphony. We, in turn, fill out surveys and budget information and programs for the year so they can compile all that information so that we can all know what everyone else is doing. Apparently, the music we programmed this season caught the eyes of someone in the offices of Symphony. We were one of three orchestras featured in an article about small-budget orchestras (less than $1,000,000) and how they can program music that one wouldn't expect to be able to be played by "lesser" orchestras. Ours was the feature orchestra of the three and got the most ink. I won't bore you with specifics. Five of the ten pages are individually jpeg'd below. You can read it or not.

But what I DO want you to do is click on the fourth page there and check out the picture halfway down the page. I'd tell you who you'll see, but modesty prevents me....

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Ah, we haven't had any controversy or button-pushing topics in quite awhile around here. Until yesterday. One of the first emails I read when I logged on yesterday morning was a scathing email about my support of the young lady wanting breast implants. Her email had some valid points, from an outsider's view. There were also numerous comments basically telling her not to get them. So let me go on record here--

I am 100% in favor of her goal. She's researched it, asked the questions, and has been diligent in making sure that things are safe for her. She's not some floozy--she's geeky and smart and works in a related field. Sort of. She knows what she's doing.

If this were a random girl who came and asked for my help, I would have probably declined. But this is one of my earliest bloggerfriends. She and I have already had the conversation. I told her on numerous occasions that I thought it was an unnecessary procedure. As did many of her blogfans. Even suggesting that the money would be better spent traveling to Europe or something. But this is not something that she woke up one morning and decided she had to do. The fact is--the decision has been made. A long time ago. This is a woman who is unhappy in her current body. And there's not one of us who knows how unhappy. Yes, she's got a body that 73.487% (that's a scientific number, by the way) of HNTers would love to have. But she's not happy with it. For whatever reasons. And there's no way that we can argue with that.

I wonder what the reaction would have been if she had a body such that she was asking for clicks to get a breast reduction. Would there have been a similar chorus of "no, don't do it"s in that case? Don't we all, at some point, look at our bodies and wish that, with the wave of a magic wand, our bodies would be something that we like? More of this, less of that, shift this over there, change the color, tattoo it, cut it, pierce it. Ultimately, regardless of what everyone might tell us, we alter our bodies on a daily basis. Sometimes more radically than others, but that's our choice. If this girl wants implants to help her feel better in her own body, who are we to talk her out of it? She works out, she does the whole healthy eating thing. It's not like she's looking for a quick fix. Nor is she doing it so that she can get more stares from the guys. She gets plenty of those already. And she's not looking for DD stripper boobs. She's doing this for herself and for no one else.

There's at least a half dozen women who HNT who already have opted for cosmetic breast implants. Should we jump down their throats too? I would think not. My guess is that every one of them has found it to be a positive experience, and that they are more comfortable with their bodies than they were before. This girl was not asking us to decide for her, or even asking for an opinion. She was asking for our clicks on that link to achieve a financial goal. Without costing any one of us a single cent. Maybe not the way each one of us would do it, but the way that she wants to do it.

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Other general unsettledness yesterday... I had another email that was somewhat threatening. I was going to ignore it, but I stewed about it all day, and mailed off a response last night. I behaved, but it wasn't easy. The unsettledness wasn't confined just to me, either. A couple of blogs that went private yesterday. A couple of blogs that are about to die out. It just seemed that the whole day was not a "feel good" day. I blame the leap year. And to top it off, I did something fairly stupid the other night that I'm just realizing has probably bruised a good relationship. One of those things where I should have known better, and I think I'm going to have to take my lumps on this one.

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I've got a date with Beethoven all weekend, so once again I won't be around much. Have a good weekend! And get un-unsettled!!

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Oh, and since this is MY pontification (and it's been awhile!), you don't get to leave comments. Why? Because that's the way I want it! (if you feel you must, go ahead and email me...)

Wearin' o' the Green HNT

Those of you who have been around for awhile might remember that last year at this time, I was lamenting the fact that my favorite Irish bar here in town (O'Toole's) was closing its doors after serving its last beer on St. Patrick's Day. And that I had a symphony rehearsal on that morning, so I'd miss the first beer poured on that day, and a concert that night, so I'd miss out drinking there completely. And on a Saturday at that...

Well, for whatever reason, they didn't close their doors, and the beers will be flowing all day. On a Monday. I will be there at 8AM, and will have the first green beer out of the tap (Bud Light, I think). And I'll have a shot of Jameson's whiskey. Maybe two. And maybe a Bushmill's. But I'm working on the Guinness right now, because I hear that I might run into my niece down there, and she's a Guinness lover. And I refuse to be a wimp who can't hold his Guinness if she buys me one! Hope you all have a SAFE and fun St. Patrick's Day!

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I've never been afraid to pimp out a blogger for one reason or another. When this week's Mystery Guest asked if I would do this for her, how could I say no? She knows she's got me wrapped around her little finger! Many of you will recognize her, but she's asked not to be revealed. Her site is private, but those of you who have access have already seen this.

For over a year now, this MG has expressed a desire for breast implants. It's something she's thought about for a long time, and she's done alot of research. While many of her readers, including myself, have told her that it's really unnecessary, it comes down to the fact that this is something she wants to do for herself, and you have to respect that. In the same way that we respect the 5 or 6 of you who have also had implants! So she's been working on the financing for this, but real life things keep biting her in the ass. Until she found this site:

Create The Perfect Girl at MyFreeImplants.com!

She's done some investigating, and the site is legit. So she's signed up for it. The basic idea is that she gets referrals to the site, and the more referrals she gets, the more she'll be featured. And donations are based on that sort of thing. It doesn't cost you a penny to click, and she gets the referral points for it. Even though this might not be your own cup of tea, please do me a favor and give it a click! I'll even put it in the sidebar for you to come back and click again and again My guess is that when she does get the implants, she'll be more than happy to show them off to us!

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This week's offerings over at "...the Other HNT" are quite a mix of pictures. And just a little more NSFW than usual. And there might even be a different picture of the MG over there too!

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I've got a symphony concert this weekend. All Beethoven. The man really knew when to use the trombones (Symphony 5 and Symphony 9), and when to give them a break, not use them, and allow them to go to the pub. That includes this weekend! I'm finding that when I don't have to worry about being a musician, this gig ain't too bad! Be sure to come back on Friday for something special I'm going to share with you about us!! You're going to be impressed!

Road House Blues

My weird Patrick Swayze obsession in bad movies is well-documented in this blog (though I will NEVER watch "Dirty Dancing" again--sometimes the horridness is just too much. Which is too bad, because Cynthia Rhodes is pretty hot...). But I digress. In my dementia this past week, I missed this item:

"...blind blues musician Jeff Healey wasn't so lucky escaping fate this week, as he sadly succumbed to a cancer at age 41. Many knew Healey best from his appearance as Cody in the movie Road House (famous line: "I thought you'd be bigger"), so this sad news was compounded when Road House star Patrick Swayze revealed this week that he has (possibly terminal) cancer himself."

WTF?? A double dose of bad news. The Jeff Healey Band was grossly underappreciated, and his biggest hit was, unfortunately, that dreck titled "Angel Eyes". He was a great talent, regardless of his blindness. His unique style of guitar playing made it even more amazing. And the second news--that Patrick Swayze might have terminal cancer?? Ugh...when will it all end...?

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Since I'm on a death theme here, Moose called me last night to let me know that her grandmother died late Friday. Not unexpected, but still. She's in San Francisco for a conference, will fly home Sunday, then off to the funeral a couple of days after that. When it rains, it pours...

Beware! Bodily Fuctions to be Discussed!

Nice job on the "I Love My Mac" theme yesterday! Some nice improvisation shown by those who don't have Macs or iPods. And only a couple of real Mac haters! Shumpy (who always seems to have access to some of the best pictures!) sent me this one. Wish she were a real HNTer! I have to say, though, that I'm a tad disappointed that no one took me up on the lapful of macaroni...

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Things look like I should be back to "normal" sometime this weekend. I had my first decent night of sleep last night, and most of my symptoms have cleared up. I still have a sinus full of gunk, but no pressure or running.

I haven't been much of one to really write anything this week, or to check out alot of your sites. Which doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking of things. Unfortunately, I didn't write down any notes, or hints, or anything that would help me when I got back around to writing. Doubly unfortunate--you're about to read what DID stick with me all week. A warning right now--if you're not into gross and/or graphic details of my sickness, click out of here right now!

• I had two different sorts of coughs. Both to the point of feeling like I needed to puke. One was a shallow, from-the-neck type. It took care of the snot that was running down the throat, but also made me feel like I was going to burst a vessel in my temples. Rough on the throat, hell on the head.
• The other cough came from the very depths of my innards. This was the type that tried to cough up a lung. I swear that I broke a rib one day. And at the peak of my coughing, almost every orifice was involved. I'd fart, sneeze, cough, my eyes would tear up and my ears would want to burst. I'm happy to report that I never pooped/peed my pants, though I consider that a miracle.
• Speaking of sneezing--didn't start doing that until Wednesday. I prefer sneezing to coughing. Except for the running snot.
• I have found that, as a brass player, my natural reaction when I sneeze is to form an embouchure (the buzzing of the lips to play). If I'd had a horn in front of me each time, I'd have belted out some of the loudest sounds known to man!
• Someone else's blog mentioned "corn flake" snot. I prefer that to the runny snot.
• Lack of movement on my part while sleeping all day really did a number on my joints. And my back. I actually had to watch how I sneezed in order not to really screw it up!
• As soon as I finish this post, I will take my first shower since Sunday night.
• I brushed my teeth every day. Some things are required (thanks to Dad, the retired dentist!).
• I ventured out of my apartment twice since last Friday. Sunday night to pick up Rachel to take her to a belated bday dinner (she took one look at me and told me to go home). The other was last night, to do a minor rehearsal set-up for symphony. It was good to get out into some fresh air, but 45 minutes was about all I could handle. Fortunately, I made arrangements for someone else to tear down.
• Daytime TV really sucks.
• Late, late night TV really isn't much better.

That's about all I can remember. Oh, I've started the plans for the 3rd anniversary celebration of HNT. I think you'll enjoy it when I get it put together! But it's going to take some work on my part.

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Once again, the MG folder is empty. I've contacted some of you about contributing, but the invitation is open to all! Don't wait for me to ask!

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Don't forget about the time change this weekend (for those of you who observe Daylight Savings Time!). One more sign that spring is just around the corner!!!!

"I Love My Mac!" HNT

BUT I HATE MY ISP!!!

Sorry for the delay, guys...

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I figured that most of you would be posting pics of your newer model Macs, so I thought I'd go with one of my older ones. Sort of like those WWII fighter planes that just sit around until they get gussied up for an air show or something. This Mac sits in my back room, but I don't usually use it.

Back before the turn of the century, Macs were still sort of a novelty. Before the iMac, there was the iBook. Came in a big white clamshell case, with these gaudy bright colors (the fruit colors--tangerine, strawberry, grape, blueberry and lime). They came out with the iMacs in the same colors shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, no one but dedicated Mac users would buy such toy-like machines. Then they got some great design people on board. Got rid of the CRT monitors in favor of flat-screens. Compacting things down to sizes that no one could have imagined. And all of a sudden, PC users started taking notice. Macs were no longer a "toy"!

I keep this one hooked up, even though I don't use it anymore. I don't think I'll ever put it in storage. Sometimes you just need to keep your old friends around. Sorry it's not a better picture. I'm feeling lousy...

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This week's Mystery Guest has been blogging for quite awhile, but just recently got involved with HNT. She's certainly not your average chick! She's musically inclined, which of course scores big points! She's a student, needs to shower every day, and generally needs some form of sex every day! =) Then again, don't we all...
I'll reveal her Thursday afternoon, but leave her a message if you know who it is!
Many of you recognized this cleavage as belonging to the Amorous Chick (or is it Amorous Rocker?--yer a bit inconsistent there...). Be sure to stop by and check out her site!

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"...the Other HNT" is definitely NSFW this week, but not a huge number of submissions. Be sure to stop by and check out your fellow HNTers!

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Since I never see any of you truly describing your illnesses on your blogs, I thought I'd take the opportunity to run you through mine...

Ah, hell. I'm bagging that idea. The high points--I wheeze, but I can breathe through my nose. Until this afternoon. I cough alot. To the point where it feels like there's a broken rib. To the point where you expect to see that same stuff that you see in the colon cleanse ads come spewing out. My head hurts. My joints hurt. Bright lights hurt my eyes. Good news--no fever, and no stomach problems! But I can always look ahead!

I must have done something very bad in a prior lifetime to be punished this bad....

Can someone get me one of these in the next 6 hours??? Please????

"Here we come, walkin' down the street..."

Stayed home from work all day. Tried to sleep most of it away. I've noticed that the coughing is getting more frequent. The stuffy nose is getting stuffier. Not getting a fever though. Yet. And I'm not pukey. Yet.

I had little interest in surfing--my eyes are puffy and sting a little. But I'm smart enough to know that I didn't get it from you guys. Besides, Macs don't get viruses...

Speaking of Macs (like the segue?), don't forget the HNT theme this week--"I Love My Mac!" HNT.

Neglect

This past week and a half has totally kicked my ass. And totally unexpectedly. Biggest thing I've found are the things/people I've neglected:

My blog--I haven't posted since Wed. night, and frankly, haven't really wanted to. Nothing to say, nothing to expound on.
Your blogs--haven't had the chance/desire to make the rounds this week. Quick peeks at HNTs, but that's about it.
My health--I mean beyond the good diet/exercise things that I don't do. I willed myself to stay well all week, even being around sick musicians, and an auditorium full of kids, half of whom were coughing. I did well through the week, in spite of working up a sweat then working out in the cold. I've been down for the count all weekend, and expect it to get worse. I won't get into the joint pain or arthritic knee that I've been dealing with...
My car--wiper blades are wonky. During the middle of the week, they totally failed on me. In the wet snow storm.
My finances--I've got a couple of bills past due, but that's manageable. Creative bookkeeping comes in handy here, too.
My emails--I've got about 6 emails that I haven't responded to. Emails from friends. I just don't have the desire to get to them right now (but I will!).
My wife and kids--Well, not much to worry about there, is there?
My horn--Yeah, this might be a surprise, but this last concert wasn't terribly difficult/challenging/satisfying for the trombones. Not much time was spent working on it. And Beethoven didn't write in any trombones for the two pieces on our next concert. Frankly, since we folded In Cahoots, my playing has gone way downhill.

That's pretty much it.
Oh, to top things off, I got an email today reminding the orchestra that the first rehearsal for the next concert is this Thursday...

Appendages HNT

This past week has been nothing but a blur of music stands, risers, percussion equipment and U-Hauls. I get up in the morning, go to work (which is actually the only real time to get online), then leave to either set-up, move or rehearse, and get home sometime after 11. Of course, I can't get to sleep right away, then I have to get up early the next morning and do it all over again. Fortunately, I'll be done Friday afternoon!

All this time consumption, of course, has cut into my HNT time. This post was put up by a guest. I had no ideas for a picture, or time to take one if I did. And then it happened. Anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows that I generally injure myself during symphony week. Or at least draw blood. I'm happy to report that the trend continues...


Sure, it's not as exciting as past efforts, but I've got two bruises forming there on the right that are going to be quite attractive, and the scratch, though minor, bled enough to probably ruin a tux shirt (which actually needed to be replaced anyway)! So there you have it. If you want something more colorful, click the picture. A leftover from last week's HNT that I didn't get done in time to include...

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Now here's a set of appendages that make stopping by here worthwhile. Granted, the "mystery" part of Mystery Guest is sort of lost here, but what the heck. With legs like that, I can live with it! But for those of you who don't recognize them, let me help you out...

This has been a tumultuous 12 months for our MG. One might say she's become a different person. To some degree, she has. But not so much as she may think. She'll be getting back into teaching her pole class this weekend--just another sign that she's easing back to "normal". She's one of your favorites--certainly one of mine!

We'll reveal her later on Thursday evening, for those of you who still don't recognize her (or are too new to know!).

This one should have been fairly easy. It was, of course, Evening! And to answer a question or two from the comments--yes, she does have a pole in her bedroom! Check out this week's HNTs, and see some video of her in action, too!

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With my apologies, "...the Other HNT" will be delayed by a day. The good part of that is that it gives some of you an extra day to send something in. Sort of like Leap Day. If you've never participated over there, it would be a great way to celebrate that oddity known as Leap Year! I can say that the ones that have come in so far will make this a definite NSFW week!

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Don't forget the big theme for next week--"I Love My Mac!" HNT. Click the link (or the one at the top of the sidebar) to get all the juicy details!

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A little bit of blog pimping.... BadBadGirl started a naughty little contest over on her site. While it was a guy that made her think of a contest, I suspect that the ladies are encouraged to play along too! Go check it out.

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Lastly--a nice little story from Monday night. The two concerts we played on Sunday and Monday were held at the Cathedral of St. Helena. I've shown pictures of it in prior posts. It's a major focal point of the Helena skyline, such as it is (other than the mountains...). Anyway--we play/sing behind the main altar. The bad thing about it, and the bane of my past week, is that the whole orchestra has to be struck so that they can have daily Mass during the day. We got a concession that the chorale set-up could stay, but the orchestra had to clear out. That means I was back at the church a full 2 hours before concert time to reset the orchestra. All the chairs, all the stands, lights on each stand, and percussion equipment.

I noticed that a frail looking woman was wandering up and down the aisles, looking at the stained glass windows and various artwork. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her. I figured she was an usher that just happened to be there quite early. About an hour before the concert, the audience started coming in, and she sat quietly in the front pews. By this time, I'm sweating, and wondering if I was going to be done by the time the concert started. With about 20 minutes to go, I'm almost through. I have my hands full with the conductor's podium, and this same woman approaches me. I'm ready to find someone who could answer her inevitable question. (At this point, I should note that if I'm focused on something, I really don't like any sort of distraction, and can ignore just about anybody. And generally do.) I look at her, and she tells me to stop for a second (she HAD to have been a teacher in a past life). So I stop and set the podium down.

"I've been watching you for over an hour now, and just wanted to tell you that you're one of the hardest working people I've ever seen. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it..."

Dammit. I hate it when people are nice...

Mystery Birthday #2!

That's right! Another birthday today! This little girl has been blogging for quite awhile. I discovered her shortly after I started up, and found that we both have an awful lot in common (but not any of the following). She's a fitness nut, and loves to spend alot of time outdoors. She also likes long weekends inside (if you know what I mean...). Yellow is her favorite color for undies. She owns a rat for a pet, and is currently investigating bringing a cat into the family. She's single, she's hot, and she's a smokin' redhead. And I'm more than happy to call her my friend! Stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Mystery Birthday!

Doing a different sort of Mystery Guest here today. This pretty little girl is celebrating her birthday today! She's graced us with her stories. She's not afraid to call 'em as she sees 'em. She's been a long-time, but somewhat inconsistent, HNTer. In fact, she posted a couple of years ago what I have long considered to be the absolute best HNT of all time. She's shown us her loving relationships with her son and her relatively new husband. And she's regaled us with stories of bodily functions, school, run-ins with the bank, and her desire to get knocked-up. She's also been known to design a website or two! Stop by and wish her a happy birthday! And promise to send her lots of presents. She specifically requested lots of presents this year!

Symphony Week Hell

Three concerts
Six rehearsals
Three different venues
Three different stage set-ups
Three different stage tear-downs
Eight days

I know I bitch about my symphony weeks, but this one really took me by surprise. Getting home too late at night to really surf or chat. And really not bothering to answer emails. Just too damned tired. And sore. Lots of heavy lifting and twisting and balancing and adjusting. And Lord knows no one wants to lift a finger to help...

I'm halfway through, and it'll get easier for the rest of the week, as long as nothing unexpected happens.

It snowed last night...

Theme Alert!!

Those of us who are savvy enough to know the advantages of Macs over PCs have, for years, hidden in the quiet corners of the internet. Smug in the knowledge that we would never have to be subjected to the Blue Window Of Death. And that we've had 4 usable versions of what the PC people call "Vista"--years before Vista came out! We feel a kindred spirit with other Mac users, and are more than happy to pontificate and explicate about the virtues of Mac over PC to those poor unwashed souls.

Two different HNTers posted pictures this week with their Macs. And more than one of you noted that fact. Yeah--Macs even look good with half-nekkidness! So..... On Thursday, March 6th, the theme will be "I Love My Mac" HNT! Pose with whatever computer(s) you have that run on the MacOS series. Even if you're on OS7! Your iMac, MacBook, PowerBook, iBook, .....whatever!

What about those of you without Macs? Well, because of some outside pressure, I'll include any of the iPod series (even though we did that no too long ago). iPhones will be OK too. And vintage Apple computers (think Performa or Apple II). Those would be cool. Or Apple/Mac accessories. Anyone still have their Apple stickers? Those could be well-placed!

If you don't have any of these things--you can still (and should) post your HNT. You just won't be quite as cool as the rest of us! UNLESS--would any of you post yourselves with a lapful of macaroni?? That would certainly be cool too!

Colorful HNT

I received a Valentine's Day box of tasty treats from Q last Thursday. Gourmet popcorn, but all of it sort of candy coated. Including two bags of "corn-fetti", which was a mix of all the colors. Orange, red, blue, green, purple... Each color had a flavor to it if you picked them out separately, or some interesting tastes if you ate them by the handful. She also told me that if you eat one color at a time, your tongue would turn colors too! Well, there was a HNT idea if I'd ever heard one!

Unfortunately, she didn't tell me that it takes two days for the color to go. Even with severe scrubbing of the tongue (and lordie, that hurts like hell!). That made time a factor, so it just wasn't going to happen. Besides, the tongue pictures are really ugly! But I really liked the color thing...

So I went out and got me a 5 lb. bag of M&Ms. I've really been getting into the whole color thing recently--the blue from a couple of weeks ago. The reds of last week. The greens that will inevitably happen next month. I don't want to get into an entire rainbow theme like certain bloggers have. But I wanted to do something with the colors of the M&Ms. So the best way of contrasting them? Photoshop!! So here is my first attempt at using Photoshop. HUGE thanks to Leesa for guiding me through the missteps I took. Hope you like! (be sure to click, too!)

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In my time of need, I had a couple of you step up to be this week's Mystery Guest. And what we got this week is a first-timer! She's a relative newcomer, compared to many of you, but she's always got some very classy shots up. I wouldn't necessarily classify her as a party girl, but she certainly knows how to have a good time! She's one of those California girls, and you know what they say about them! We've seen her sassy, we've seen her girly, and we've seen her when she's got her mojo going! She won't be revealing herself, but you might be able to recognize her. Leave her a note if you think you know who it is!
Apparently, the MG is a bit of a "dumb-ass" (her words, not mine!). She thought that "reveal" meant showing her face. We know better than that! This is Mojito Mojo. Go tell her hi!

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Not a huge number of submissions for "...the Other HNT", but it's always been quality over quantity there! NSFW, but nothing "dangerous"! Be sure to stop by!

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Ever have one of those days where you do something for someone, not because you felt obligated to do it, but because you wanted to do it? And it made the other person feel better too? And it made a difference in their life? I had one today! I'm feelin' pretty good!

What I've been doing since the band broke up...

Not to toot my own horn, so to speak, but go check out what Q found at her local Wal-Mart!

President's Day Weekend

Wish the title implied some sort of a great post, but I'm trying my damnedest to come up with something to write about...

Moose leaves back to MN in the morning. Check out her pictures from the Park. Rachel's, too! Some glitches during her trip, but I believe she had a good long weekend!

Most of the snow in my neck of the woods is melting. Other than the large piles of it in the parking lots. It's gradual, but I think spring might be coming!

Going out Monday for beers with a couple friends. This will be our Christmas beer. Yeah, we've all been a little busy.

Speaking of busy, we've got three concerts coming up in the next 10 days. Plus 4 rehearsals, 3 different venues, and 2 staff meetings. Can you smell the enthusiasm??

Ooh...got a Valentine's Day present in the mail from Q (is that the official new name?). I'm trying to work it in for HNT this week...

That's about it. Hopefully something exciting happens during the week!

RED HNT

CODE LETTERS FOR THE DAY...HVDHNT!

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Valentine's Day. A day that is either loved or hated. It's almost always that red or white. Rarely do you find someone who looks for the shades of pink. Personally, I've secretly loved the day for years (though if you repeat that, I'll shoot you with a hundred of Cupid's arrows and deny it). Though I don't necessarily subscribe to a specific "day of love". One year ago at this time, I was just a tad gooey with my thoughts about the day, but I was in love, so it was OK. A year later, even though things didn't work out, I still like the day. Just not as gooey. And I officially wish each of you a very Happy Valentine's Day!! Regardless if you're a red person or white person, or even one of the pink ones!

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I didn't want the theme this week to be about Valentine's Day. There's enough people out there that hate the day that I went the next best way I could think of. RED. The common color of love, passion, hate and rage. A little something for everyone. Though I suspect that most of you will do the hearts/love/Cupid thing, I'm sort of looking forward to those of you approaching it from the other side!

Which brings us to MY HNT. Yep, it's another one of those "good-ideas-gone-bad" ones. Reaffirming the idea that the best HNTs are the ones taken spur of the moment... I am liking my shaved head look, so I went in for a touch-up. But I had a great idea!! Leave a heart on top, and I'd dye it red, and that would be my valentine for you guys. I should have come up with something better...

The woman who cuts my hair (longtime friend) doesn't work on the weekends, so I had to have her do it on Friday afternoon. I wanted to enlist the help of Rachel, but she wasn't going to be available until Sunday afternoon. So I had to run around with the patch of hair on my head all weekend. That's why God invented baseball caps... Rachel starts putting the stuff in my hair. It starts spiking. Even worse, you can't even really tell the shape. So we try to slick it down some. A little better. But then we took a look at the pictures. There's no other way to describe it, other than looking like I was scalped, and the bloody mess is all that was left. At least that's what they looked like in the small camera window. It was even worse at full size. Not a bloody mess, but a truly a bloody failure... To salvage it, I even had Rachel put the stuff on her lips and plant a big kiss on my head. The stuff ain't lipstick. And she's been in bed sick since the weekend. I think I poisoned her.

So I go with my background picture from last year's VDay post, and you can click through each of them to see the disaster that was my great idea. I artsy-fartsied a little bit, just to help me feel better about the utter failure that this whole thing was... Come back later Thursday, and I promise that there will be something better!

As promised--something better! Moose made it to town last night, which meant quickly heading to one of the few places open late on a school night to drink beer! Rachel didn't join us, because she's still a little ill (I poisoned her. I know it...). Here's a math quiz, kids! If she were in the picture with us, we'd have 1/2 of the founding members of HNT together. Instead, we just have 1/3 of the founding members. How many founding members are there??

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Ah, the waiting!
The anticipation.
That breathless moment just before things are about to happen.
The slight chill on the skin.
The warm rush of blood.

Even if you're by yourself...

Check back to find out who this week's Mystery Guest is!
The lovely lady that belongs to this tummy is our lovely Londoner Charlie! She was kind enough to give us a double shot of HNT on her site. Be sure to go visit if you haven't already!

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Love has even hit "...the Other HNT"! Be sure to check out this week's submissions! Yeah, it's NSFW, but take a chance! And leave a comment, too!

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Is this not one of the finest looking dogs you've ever seen??


This is Uno. Best of Show winner at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

MOOSE IS COMING!!!!

Sorry I haven't been around much over the past couple of days... MOOSE IS COMING TO TOWN!! So I've been cleaning. You people don't quite know what that entails. Fifty y.o. bachelor, no cute French maids, crap that hasn't moved from its position in 4+ years, dust bunnies that have set up entire colonies. And don't even ask about the bathroom....

I have realized that I need to toss a large amount of stuff. I have a box that is still taped up from my grad school days. I know exactly what's in it, but I haven't opened it in almost 25 years. That's just not right. Along those same lines, I've noticed that I've got a bunch of links in the sidebar that, quite frankly, shouldn't be. People who have closed their sites; people who did HNT once; people that I have no idea who they are or why they're there. When the time comes, I'll be sure to let you know, in case I mistakenly deleted you!

Don't forget tonight's RED HNT theme!!!

Roy Scheider, 1932-2008

Roy Scheider died Sunday at the age of 75. I have always been a fan of his acting. Perhaps, unfortunately, he will be remembered most as the sheriff in the movie "Jaws" (I'll let you go to imdb.com on your own).




My personal second-favorite Scheider role would be as Dr. Heywood Floyd in "2010", the sequel to "2001: A Space Odyssey"....






...and my absolute favorite role--playing Joe Gideon in "All That Jazz". I've mentioned him before in that movie. Singing, dancing, smoking, pill-popping, dying. Oh, and sex anytime he could get it. I must make time this week to watch it again.

Gonna miss this guy...

Late Night Movie

I had honestly given thought to going to bed early tonight, but I made one last quick surf through the channels. And there it was, on the local cable access channel..."Reefer Madness"! If you've never seen it, get thee to YouTube and find it! Possibly the FINEST movie of 1936! As the lone, non-dope-smoking musician in America in the 70s, I remember how campy this movie was (and is). And it still holds up to that campiness. It's got a little bit of everything: reefers and rape; marihuana and murder; criminal insanity and chronic infidelity; marihuana addicts and merry sex fiends; pot and piano players; dope and deception. There's not another movie quite like it. Some stills:


Of course, the piano player was the biggest doper of all...

Of course, I then skimmed the channels one more time before heading to bed, and come face to face with the Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen/Wagner helicopters/surfing scene from "Apocalypse Now".

"...I love the smell of napalm in the morning..."

This is on until 2AM. I'll work on that sleep thing tomorrow...

Sleepy Tired HNT

It's that time of year when my sleep cycles get all screwy. I force myself to get up at the same time every morning, regardless of when I go to bed. So sometimes that means I'm getting 5 hours of sleep, or on rare occasion, 8 hours. What's the problem? It's all my own doing. I'm going to bed regularly past midnight, and often after 1AM these days. Whose fault is this? Mine. Whom can I blame? Myself. Am I going to do anything about it? Probably not anytime soon. What you see here is that first look in the morning, as the alarm goes off, and I'm excited to start the day. Can't you tell?? Thank God, He invented naps!

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We've got another repeat appearance for this week's Mystery Guest. She's always willing to give things a shot. Since her Bears weren't in the Super Bowl, she was rooting for the Pats, and made a bet with a Giants fan. She lost. And she paid up within minutes of the final gun! She's been doing some mild complaining about the rain in her area, which brought forth the idea for the wet t-shirt. While the rain would have made a perfect shot, it's still a tad chilly out, so our MG just jumped into the shower this time around. Hoping to get her to do one outside in the summer! Her identity will be revealed Thursday afternoon, but stop by and check out her bet payment, if you know who it is!
Hopefully this was a fairly easy one! This, of course, is Kate! If you didn't see her early bet with BTE, be sure to stop off at both sites! (pssst...did ya click??)

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There's a nice collection of pictures over at "...the Other HNT" this week. As usual, it's NSFW over there, but they'd appreciate your comments!

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Don't for get that next week's HNT is the RED HNT theme. Love, passion, hate, rage. All represented by the color RED. Regardless of what your personal feelings are for the day next Thursday, the color RED should take care of it!

شموخسف ش يهسشسفثق

ُاهس هس صاشف اشححثررثي مشسف رهلاف صاثر ّ فقهثي فخ فغحث ش قثسحخرسث فخ ش ذخووثرف. ّف قثشنثي وث خعف تعسف ش مهففمث زهف، هب غخع ذشر هوشلهرث!

This is what I got last night when I was posting a comment on someone's site. Now to backtrack...

I found reference to some freeware in Macworld that would take out the localization files. They're the files that all Mac applications have to allow them to work around the world. German, Korean, Turkish, etc., etc. Files that my computer will NEVER access. Taking up hard drive space. They're generally smallish files, but there's literally thousands of them. Some guy came up with a nice little program to get rid of the ones you want. Also an option to delete the Intel versions and G5 versions (I only have a G4). And lastly, an option to take out the international keyboard options. Chinese, Japanese, Cherokee--all sorts of languages. So, of course, I download the freeware, install it, and start deleting files.

When all was said and done, I regained over 1.6 GB of hard drive!! 1.6 GB! That's pretty damned good! So I went surfing, and found a post to comment on. I started typing, and the cursor went from right to left. And with the squiggly lines similar to what you see above. I went to the keyboard preferences (properties, for you PC types) and found that the default keyboard language was Arabic. So I changed it back to U.S. English (which is vastly different than London English--just check with Charlie!). But nothing happened. I immediately panic, realizing that I was going to have to spend the night reinstalling my OS, as well as all my applications. Then, in a fit of inspiration, I opted for the tried and true fix-it that Mac owners know. Turn it off and restart. Ta-da! No more localization files, 1.6 GB of new space, and an English keyboard! I don't recall what exactly I wrote up above, but it certainly looks pretty!

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I was checking on some available domain names at work today, so I thought I'd check out if hnt.com (or some version) would be available. Well, the answer is no. 'HNT.anything' They're all registered already. But I expected that. HNT is a common acronym. So then I check 'halfnekkidthursday' as a domain. Guess what? SOMEONE ALREADY OWNS THESE!!! Both the .com and .net domains! Which one of you suckers did that?? Fortunately, I'm not interested in my own domains, but damn, someone's really into the speculation! Happy to report that 'osbasso.anything' is still available!

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A reminder that the RED HNT is for next week, not this week!!!

Stupor Bowl XLDCIIVX or something...

OK--since I'm watching the game by myself, and I have plenty of pithy comments to make to no one around here, I'm going to keep a running commentary...

At what point was it announced that you didn't have to have your hand over your heart during the National Anthem? Brady is the first one they showed doing it, and that was towards the end of the song...

Looking forward to "House, MD" tonight!

The "pre-game" show. The "pre-kick" show. The "pre-coin toss" show. Gimme a break!

I might get bored with this, but I'm sure I'll have something to say about the commercials...

The roof's closed. They say it was "cool". Talk to the Packers about "cool"...

First commercial--Bud Light. Breathing fire. Ooh--that was weak....
Second commercial--Audi. Also weak. Hard to mimic the "Godfather".

NYG-3
NEP-0

Third commercial--Diet Pepsi Max. Pretty blah until Chris Kattan walks through at the end. Still won't drink it.
Fourth commercial--Spam commercial--just what we need...

Fifth commercial--Bud Lite. Big cheese thing. Better than the first.
Sixth commercial--Under Armour. Huh?

End of quarter:
NYG-3
NEP-0

Seventh commercial--Bridgestone. Screaming animals. Eh.
Eighth commercial--Doritos. Chick singer. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum...

NYG-3
NEP-7

Ninth commercial--Wanted. New movie. Won't bother.
Tenth commercial--G2. Diet Gatorade. You knew Peyton Manning wouldn't go through the game without some sort of appearance.

11th commercial--GoDaddy.com. Yes, I went to the internet commercial. Hawt! Has to do with beavers.
12th commercial--Dell. Nope.

Damn, these are coming fast all of a sudden.
13th commercial--FedEx. Pigeons. Sorta funny. UPS is still cheaper. So is USPS!
14th commercial--Cars.com. Still nothing decent yet...
15th commercial--Tide. Talking stain. Sorta funny, but why would Tide spend money during the Super Bowl??

Interception

16th commercial--Budweiser. Hank the Clydesdale. YES!!! Finally! Showing some great imagination! Too bad the beer sucks...
17th commercial--IronMan. The movie. Nope.

18th commercial--Toyota Corolla. Sleeping badgers. Would have been better with blood splatters from inside the car.
19th commercial--Leatherheads. Oh, that has possibilities.
20th commercial--Garmin GPS. Napoleon. Another "short" joke.

21st commercial--CareerBuilder.com. A walking heart. Oh, yeah!!
22nd commercial--Life Water. Thrillicious.com. OK--dancing reptiles are cool. "Thriller" is cool. Even better than those prisoners who did "Thriller" on YouTube!

Brady sacked two plays in a row. Oh, yeah!

23rd commercial--Yukon Hybrid. don't know if it was great for Super Bowl, but the artwork was pretty neat. Stone of Sisyphus. Look it up.
24th commercial--Bud Light. Picking up girls. Eh.

A thought--when did Haloscan start putting ad banners in the comments for those who use Haloscan? I didn't approve that...

25th commercial--Narnia. Didn't see the first one...
26th commercial--Planters Cashews. Couldn't figure out where this one was going. Sorta funny.
27th commercial--T-Mobile. Don't we ALL have someone like Charles Barkley in our faves?

28th commercial--Pepsi. I liked it. Maybe just to see Justin getting beat up. Still won't drink Pepsi though.
29th commercial--Doritos. Mousetrap and big mouse. Nope...

End of the 1st half...Giants looking pretty good, in spite of trailing.
NYG-3
NEP-7

Ooh! The Sobe Life Water Halftime Report. Time to heat up a pizza or chili or something.
And now, the Bridgestone Halftime Show. Is it time for HNT to sponsor something?
Thank God they're not lip-synching! Seems like the guys in Aerosmith (who are older) moved around a whole lot more when they had the halftime show... I'd bet that half of the kids on the field have never even heard of Tom Petty. OK--halftime wasn't too bad. Still liked Aerosmith better. At least there wasn't a wardrobe malfunction.

Oh, goodie. Another Will Farrell movie that's well below his talent level...

Second half starts...

30th commercial--Cars.com. I see a theme. But no car in my future.
31st commercial--The spam company again. Nearly racist...
32nd commercial--Vitamin Water. Shaq as a jockey. Cute. Kid picking his nose helped.

33rd commercial--Bud Lite. Cavemen build the wheel. Bottle opener was good!
34th commercial--IceBreakers. Carmen Electra. She couldn't even save it.
35th commercial--Bridgestone Tires. Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons. Not much of a commercial, but you had to hope that Simmons was going to be taken out...
36th commercial--Careerbuilder.com. Almost cute. Good to see the Jiminy Cricket character buy it in the end.

Cheap ass call against the Giants (too many men). Shouldn't be something that's reviewable.

37th commercial--Hyundai Genesis. Nope.
38th commercial--New Pixar movie. Wall.E. If you've got Buzz and Whatshisname introducing it, it must be good. Can't tell from the clip though.

39th commercial--Jumper. Old commercial. Looks like an interesting movie though.
40th commercial--E-Trade.com. Baby on webcam. Bodily functions helped.
41st commercial--Bud Lite. Ability to fly. Another old one.

End of third quarter.
NYG-3
NEP-7

42nd commercial--NFL Network. Chester Pitts. Plays oboe. That's kind of cool!
43rd commercial--Ford F-150. On a centifuge. Fourth time I've seen it. Must be the Denver Fox station's commercial... Anyone else see this one?

Why another set of commercials one play after the change of quarter???

44th commercial--Sunsilk. During the Super Bowl???
45th commercial--Coke. Stewie and Underdog fight it out over the streets of NYC. Ha! Charlie Brown triumphs! OK--I liked that one.

Ooh--I smell a Giant TD coming!!

WOOHOO!!!!
NYG-10
HNP-3

46th commercial--Coke. Jinx. Ha! Not bad for a political career.
47th commercial--Toyota Sequoia. Life doesn't wait. Good advice.

48th commercial--Zohan. Oh, goodie. Another Adam Sandler movie that's well below his talent level...

49th commercial--E-Trade.com. Baby at webcam again. First one was better.
50th commercial--Taco Bell. Fiesta Platters. ¡Hola!
51st commercial--Gatorade. Dog slurping water. Loudly. There's a selling point... Ah, Gatorade. OK...

52nd commercial--Bud Light & Will Farrell. OK. Not a bad combo.
53rd commercial--Hyundai Genesis. First commercial didn't grab me. Neither did this one.

This doesn't bode well...
Shit.
NYG-10
NEP-14
C'mon Eli! Don't puss out now!

54th commercial--Victoria's Secret. OK--this definitely has a place in the Super Bowl. That one was a keeper.
55th commercial--Amp. Only gets good marks for the heavy-duty nipple clamps.
56th commercial--American Idol. Big Ben shouldn't sing.

Holy shit! What an escape! What a catch!

YES!!!!
NYG-17
NEP-14

Congrats to the NY Giants!! I heard commentators since mid-season keep saying to watch out for the Giants. I certainly didn't expect this. As for the Pats--18-0 doesn't mean a thing if you don't take it all the way. Kiss the perfect season goodbye! For as much as I was apathetic towards this game, I couldn't have asked for a better ending!

My vote for MVP--Smith, WR for Giants.
My vote for best ad--Hank the Clydesdale.
Have a great week, all!

Blue, Red and VD

I love the fact that I can play some of you like a fiddle. I knew full well that many of you wouldn't read all the way through and see that my 19 y.o. date was my niece. Thanks for not disappointing me! Oh, and for those of you who asked...the blue on my face was water-soluble. Not grease paint. It came off/out remarkably quickly!


We had a great time. It's the first time that I've had an "adult" conversation with her, as opposed to being "one of the kids". I took her to dinner, then we headed up to the concert. She had NO idea of what to expect, whereas, I had a just an inkling. If you've never been to a Blue Man concert, let's just say that there's alot of visual stimulation. And audience participation. The music, for the most part, wasn't anything you'd recognize, but it didn't matter. The back-up band was superb (and tight). And other than the James Taylor concert I went to in 2001, this was the BEST sound I've ever heard in that building. Even better than the Chicago concert last August.

The only downside of the night was the presence of the Camera Nazis. Digital cameras were not allowed by the venue (I wonder if they'd have the same problem with a 35mm camera with a honkin' big zoom??). BMG encourages photos to be sent to their website, so it wasn't their decision. I snuck a few pics in before I could feel the steely gaze of "security" aimed in my direction. Oh, well. Here's a couple that I got (click 'em to big 'em!):

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Ah, the color RED. It means so many things. It's the color of love and of passion. It's the color of danger. It's the color of hate and rage. Such a versatile color. Valentine's Day falls on a Thursday this year. People tend to have polar thoughts about the day. You either love it and look forward to it, or you hate it and hate those who love it. Well, since we can't change the day it falls on, we'll need to make the best of it. That means--A THEME!!

For the HNT on Valentine's Day, the theme is RED. That means wearing red lingeries, or red-heart boxers, or showing off your red hair, or some other form of red in your pictures. Of course, that means that red blood dripping from a dagger or a Dear John letter in red ink works just as well! The theme, then, is not love, nor hearts, nor Cupid per se, but the color RED. Have fun!

BTW--Pink is not RED!

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For those of you who ARE in love, Exile has a fun thing to try. It's the 14-Day VD Treatment! It's already started, so you might have to improvise or catch up. Click on the button below to check out the details. Looking forward to daily reports from some of you!