12/27/2007

DWP! Fantasy Football 2007 - Congrats Warped!

Posted by Brandon |

Congratulations to Warped on his DWP! Fantasy Football 2007 Super Bowl victory. The Cinderella story is complete. From the fourth seed to the championship - what a journey. And he made it look easy knocking off johnnyhongkong 90-47 behind 29 Donovan McNabb points and another 18 from Frank Gore. Poor jhk had maybe his worst game at the worst time. Other than Ryan Grant, his reliance on Green Bay killed him as did the injury to Willie Parker on Thursday night. Bad, bad timing.

So Brandon, tell him what he's won....A wonderful basket of fine coffees and teas from the nation's leading purveyor of fine coffee and tea! I will email you soon to get your address and I'll get it on out to you. Also, CK Lions, I never sent you anything from your victory last year, so feel free to email me and I'll get something out to you as well.

In other playoff news, Snackiesonics took third place by knocking off the Lions 112-76. Quite the surprise given that she was at the bottom of the league most of the time last season. Too bad she had her worst week last week or she would be enjoying some fine coffee and tea herself.

The winner of the consolation bracket was CineRobots thanks to a 98-86 victory over DutchBitch Drama. After starting 0-4, CineRobots went 9-3 to finish the season and 7-1 with in his last eight.

Finally, my Down With Pants! team ended up right where they belonged, in eighth place as the worst playoff team. Roast Ducks and Peyton Manning had a harder time beating me than expected but they still pulled out the victory 99-98 to take seventh place.

Here's the whole slate of scores complete with leading scorers...

#4 Warped - 90 - Donovan McNabb - 29 points
#3 johnnyhongkong - 47 - Ryan Grant - 16 points

#1
Snackiesonics - 112 - Tom Brady - 21 points
#2 CK Lions - 76 - Curtis/Titans Defense - 19 points

#6 CineRobots - 98 - Ben Roethlisberger - 29 points
#5
DutchBitch Drama - 86 - Kenny Watson - 19 points

#8
Roast Ducks - 99 - Peyton Manning - 30 points
#7 DOWN WITH PANTS! - 89 - Maurice Jones-Drew - 19 points


Now, the DWP! Fantasy Football 2007 All-Pros...

First team:
QB - Tom Brady - Snackiesonics
RB - LaDainian Tomlinson - Snackiesonics
RB - Brian Westbrook - CK Lions
WR - Randy Moss - DutchBitch Drama
WR - Terrell Owens - Snackiesonics
WR - Braylon Edwards - Snackiesonics
TE - Jason Witten - Warped
K - Mason Crosby - johnnyhongkong
DEF - Chargers - DutchBitch Drama

Second Team:
QB - Tony Romo - johnnyhongkong
RB - Brian Westbrook - CK Lions
RB - Joseph Addai - DutchBitch Drama
WR - Reggie Wayne - Kapgar's Kapitans
WR - T.J. Houshmandzadeh - DutchBitch Drama
WR - Greg Jennings - johnnyhongkong
TE - Antonio Gates - CK Lions
K - Rob Bironas - DutchBitch Drama
DEF - Patriots - Kapgar's Kapitans

Honorable Mention:
QB - Peyton Manning - Roast Ducks
QB - Ben Roethlisberger - CineRobots
RB - Adrian Peterson - CineRobots
RB - Jamal Lewis - Roast Ducks
WR - Chad Johnson - CineRobots
WR - Larry Fitzgerald - johnnyhongkong
WR - Marques Colston - sinkintothepacific
TE - Tony Gonzalez - sinkintothepacific
K - Nick Folk - Snackiesonics
DEF - Seahawks - Snackisonics

Notice two things...One: This is based almost solely on fantasy points scored and it's almost totally dominated by the top four teams. Two: except for our Super Bowl champion, Warped, who placed only one guy on the three teams. It came down to shrewd waiver wire moves, consistency and balance across the board, and a certain amount of good timing and luck.

Again congrats go out to Warped, our Super Bowl Champion. Nice work!

Now my reason to watch football is over. I really only care about fantasy football, I could care less about the real games. I guess I'll just have to root for New England to make it to the Super Bowl and then have their perfect season crushed by the Seahawks.

12/24/2007

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Brandon |


Merry Christmas from sunny Ventura! This is Christmas weather?

By the way....I do actually feel a little bad rubbing our amazing Christmas weather in your faces. But just a little.

12/21/2007

Ride Sally Ride?

Posted by Brandon |

Can somebody, anybody, please explain the popularity of the song "Mustang Sally" to me? Go to any wedding - or in this case, Christmas party - if there's a DJ, chances are he'll eventually throw down "Mustang Sally" and the dance floor will fill up with 50 year olds. It's like musical crack for baby boomers. I don't get it.

12/18/2007

DWP! Fantasy Football 2007 - Playoffs

Posted by Brandon |

Crash and burn.

That's what the favorites, Snackiesonics and CK Lions did this week, crash and burn.

#4 seed Warped didn't rock the world with his 77 points, but just like in the regular season, he did enough to win. It helped that Tom Brady, Terrell Owens, Braylon Edwards and Marion Barber all had one of their worst games for Snackiesonics. Only one of her players broke double digits (Tomlinson - 23) while four Warped players scored ten or more points with Donovan McNabb leading the way with 19.

And #3 seed johnnyhongkong did basically the same thing. His 76 points were enough to hold off CK Lions even with Tony Romo and his pathetic game. Mason Crosby, the Green Bay kicker, scored a game high 19 points for Warped and essentially was the difference maker. Until this week, he averaged 9.7 points per game. If he just scored his average, jhk either ties or wins by one (depending on your rounding). Kickers sometimes are neglected members of fantasy teams, but here's an example of how they can help.

In other games, DutchBitch Drama broke her losing streak thanks to a kicker (Bironas - 15) and a defense (Chargers - 19) and picked up an 83-77 win over Roast Ducks. CineRobots thawed out and walloped my DWP! squad 110-64. I hate my team.

Here's the whole slate of scores complete with leading scorers...

#4 Warped - 77 - Donovan McNabb - 19 points
#1 Snackiesonics - 52 - LaDainian Tomlinson - 23 points

#3 johnnyhongkong - 76 - Mason Crosby - 19 points
#2 CK Lions (10-3-1) - 65 - Carson Palmer - 16 points

#5 DutchBitch Drama - 83 - Chargers Defense - 19 points
#8 Roast Ducks (5-9) - 77 - Jamal Lewis - 17 points

#6 CineRobots - 110 - Ben Roethlisberger - 24 points
#7 DOWN WITH PANTS! - 64 - Earnest Graham - 17 points


Let the hype begin....It's Super Bowl Week!
(3) johnnyhongkong vs.
(4) Warped

Here's a position by position breakdown of the Super Bowl...

QB: McNabb (Warped) vs. Romo (johnnyhongkong)
Romo had a bad, bad game, it's true. But as long as Jessica is far, far away from Carolina this week, Tony should outscore McNabb despite Donovan's resurgence. Advantage: johnnyhongkong

WR: Marshall, Berrian, Galloway (W) vs. Jennings, Branch and Fitzgerald (jhk)
Marshall has been solid lately, with Kyle Orton at QB Berrian doesn't have much worth and Galloway should improve on his seven yards last week, but Jennings, Branch and Fitzgerald all are touchdown machines. Two things to watch: Fitzgerald's groin injury and Marshall plays on Monday and might need to rack up some clutch points. Advantage: johnnyhongkong

RB: James, Gore (W) vs. Grant, Parker (jhk)
James and Gore have racked up some yards, but only have 11 touchdowns between them. Grant has scored five touchdowns in his last four games for a total of six on the season while Parker surprisingly has only two touchdowns this season. Advantage: Even

TE: Witten (W) vs. Scheffler (jhk)
Witten, right now, is the best tight end in the NFL. Advantage: Warped

K: Gostkowski (W) vs. Crosby (jhk)
Crosby has better numbers but plays in Chicago this week with possible harsh weather conditions but against a good defense, he might get some chances. Gostkowski plays in Miami and the weather will be good, but New England might score at will and his only points will come from extra points. Hard to figure this one. Advantage: Even

Defense: Jacksonville (Warped) vs. Green Bay (jhk)
The Jags play pitiful Oakland while Green Bay plays pitiful Chicago. Advantage: Even

On the surface, this looks like it should be johnnyhongkong's game, but Warped has some players that could make it very interesting. He's going to need McNabb to build on his recent success, Gore to quite being so inconsistent and Witten to dominate like he has the last few weeks. Of course, if Witten does dominate, it means points for Romo. Fantasy is weird like that. Anyway, it might all come down to Monday night when Brandon Marshall goes for Warped and Tony Scheffler goes for johnnyhongkong.

My prediction - final score: johnnyhongkong 98, Warped 89


3rd place game:
(1) Snackiesonics vs.
(2) CK Lions

I really don't see how Snackiesonics can be held down two straight weeks. This week was just tremendously bad timing on the part of her stars. Brady and Edwards won't have to play in such awful weather and Owens will nag his way to some more points. My prediction - final score: snackiesonics 105, CK Lions 86


Fifth place game:
(5) DutchBitch Drama vs.
(6) CineRobots

Prediction: Roethlisberger goes nuts at St. Louis, Peterson shreds the Redskins and Chad Johnson acts the fool at Cleveland. Final score: CineRobots 99, DBD 72


Seventh place game:
(6) DOWN WITH PANTS! vs.
(7) Roast Ducks

Prediction: I shouldn't even be here. Manning is still the man. Final Score: Roast Ducks 78, DWP! 48

12/17/2007

What a Croc

Posted by Brandon |


I'll never forget the looks on the faces of the band The Long Winters one night at the Crocodile Cafe.

It was just John Roderick and Sean Nelson with an acoustic guitar and some kind of percussion on stage playing a handful of songs off of their first album, When I Pretend To Fall as openers for They Might Be Giants. In the middle of the song It'll Be a Breeze, Roderick sang with the utmost sincerity the lyric "I am a tree, build a nest in my hair". I heard the line loud and clear and thought it was pretty lame and I smiled, but I let it go. Death? also heard the line loud and clear but immediately let out a big, strong laugh that pierced the semi-silence.

As soon as the song ended, both Long Winters looked at each other and I think it was Roderick who said with a bewildered look on his face, "that song wasn't intended to be funny." We both snickered because it was clear that he was not happy at all with her laugh, she had just insulted his pretty (crappy) poetry. Intended or not, that line was funny because of the seriousness in which it was delivered. Sometimes it's fun to laugh at "Artistes".

Today, the Crocodile Cafe, the great Seattle music institution that was small and intimate enough to facilitate this anecdote and many, many others for many, many people, closed it's doors. It's just another sad and disheartening day for those of us who love old Seattle.

Chances are, the Croc will be back, hopefully this is just temporary. But would it really surprise anybody if this truly is the future of the Croc?

Photo by Flickr user TPLY.

12/13/2007

DOWN WITH TRAVOLTA!

Posted by Brandon |


The Golden Globes announced their nominees today and I was shocked and dismayed to see John Travolta's name listed in the Supporting Actor category for his role as Edna Turnblad in this summer's neutered Hairspray musical.

Are Death? & I the only people that hated this movie? I thought it was terrible, they butchered the original movie and they butchered the stage musical. I've never seen the stage version but Death? has and she said that they changed details to give it a much more squeaky clean plot that avoids some of the more thorny, interesting issues. And I believe her. Just one listen to the soundtrack and you can tell that they bailed out on some of the more important topics to attract more pre-teen, Zac Efron loving, Disney kids.

And one of those topics is Edna Turnblad. Travolta played her character in a way that didn't do Divine or Harvey Fierstein or Edna Turnblad justice. The point of Edna is that she's a big, ugly, frumpy woman who has given up and is scared of how the world views her and she projects those fears onto her daughter Tracey, who has no such hangups. The rejection of herself as a scared, worthless, frumpy housewife and her transformation into a strong, confident in herself, diva is one of the more important themes of the original movie and the stage show.

Travolta didn't understand the character and at his insistence, he turned Edna into a woman that isn't that far off looks-wise from some bigger women that all of us know. Other than the horrible job they did with the eyes of the fat suit, Travolta was never ugly nor frumpy nor that terribly big. And he played her as a wide-eyed, naive, practically retarded woman that looks on in amazement and wonder as she gets dragged along with Tracey. There is no tension between the two, there is no fight in Edna, and the transformation is too easy, too simple, too willing and loses all of it's originally intended meaning.

And then there's the voice. Travolta's sorry attempt at a woman's voice is half of what makes his version of Edna so insulting. He goes with a meek, un-authoritative, disingenuous, I'm-a-man-doing-a-woman's-voice-how-cute, voice. Divine and Harvey Fierstein didn't have to do a voice. They spoke as themselves, as Edna Turnblad. And it was believable, it fit the character, it fit who she was all along. The voice was as important to the character as any of the fat rolls or the frumpiness. But Travolta's voice is just there. It's weak and is another indication that Travolta never understood who he was playing.

What is this obsession with Travolta? He has proven himself over and over again as a hack that happens to get lucky every now and then. His stinkers far outweigh his successes and nobody owes him anything. A fading star in the gimic role of wearing a fat suit to play a female should not warrant an automatic nomination when there were so many other deserving actors snubbed in favor of this abomination.

Travolta does not deserve to win this award and did not deserve to even be nominated. How in the world could he be nominated over No Country For Old Men's Tommy Lee Jones or Josh Brolin? Even co-star Christopher Walken deserved it more for his portrayal of Wilbur Turnblad.

But Travolta? Anybody but Travolta.

12/11/2007

DWP! Fantasy Football 2007 - Week 14

Posted by Brandon |

The regular season is over. Long live the regular season!

It came down to the wire to see who would make the championship round of the playoffs. It came down to four teams: johnnyhongkong, Warped, DutchBitch Drama and CineRobots.

Snackiesonics quickly finished off the long shot CineRobots 141-51 to leave three playoff contenders. Roast Ducks and Peyton Manning did their best to knock off Warped but came up a little bit short and Warped clinched a playoff spot with their 126-104 victory.

So the last playoff spot came down to two one game, johnnyhongkong vs. DutchBitch Drama. Winner's in, loser's out (maybe). It didn't even turn out to be a contest as Dutchy continued her jinxed ways by losing her third straight game. Paced by Tony Romo's 25 points, johnnyhongkong clinched the third playoff spot with a 122-89 drubbing.

Even more clutch than johnnyhongkong's victory was the performance of the Down With Pants! crew. Needing a win to move into the consolation bracket, Matt Hasselbeck finally came through with 34 points leading DWP! to a 110-77 smackdown of Kapgar's Kapitans - on his birthday week no less. Other than that, the other three consolation teams - DutchBitch Drama, CineRobots and Roast Ducks - all backed into the loser's bracket. Go me!

Here's the whole slate of scores complete with leading scorers...

johnnyhongkong (9-4-1) - 122 - Tony Romo - 25 points
DutchBitch Drama (8-6) - 89 - Moss/Addai - 25 points

Warped (8-4-2) - 126 - Brandon Marshall - 24 points
Roast Ducks (5-9) - 104 - Peyton Manning - 33 points

Snackiesonics (10-3-1) - 141 - Tom Brady - 39 points
CineRobots (7-7) - 51 - Ben Roethlisberger - 15 points

CK Lions (10-3-1) - 104 - Burress/Taylor/Colts D - 19 points
sinkintothepacific (5-9) - 76 - Sage Rosenfels - 22 points

Turbo Chic - (4-9-1) - 89 - Kurt Warner - 21 points
Honea Express (5-9) - 42 - Derek Anderson - 17 points

DOWN WITH PANTS! (5-8-1) - 110 - Matt Hasselbeck - 34 points
Kapgar's Kapitans (4-9-1) - 77 - Brett Favre - 20 points


Now it's time for the DWP! Fantasy Football Playoffs. The Championship bracket looks like this....

(1) Snackiesonics vs.
(4) Warped

It's a Warped team that has been cobbled together and made the playoffs without one bit time star versus the most star-studded team in the league. Prediction: Tom Brady, Terrell Owens and LaDainian Tomlinson will be too much for David Garrard. Final score: Snackiesonics 111, Warped 95

(2) CK Lions vs.
(3) johnnyhongkong

Defending champ CK Lions comes into the playoffs with a five game winning streak but was outscored overall by johnnyhongkong. The game will probably come down to quarterbacks. If Carson Palmer can have a good game, CK Lions has the advantage and johnnyhongkong needs Tony Romo to perform. Prediction: Hard one to figure, but I just get the feeling jhk will upset CK Lions. Final score: johnnyhongkong 98, CK Lions 91


Don't forget the consolation bracket...

(5) DutchBitch Drama vs.
(8) Roast Ducks

Prediction: Peyton Manning goes off, Kitna fizzles. Final score: Roast Ducks 89, DBD 75

(6) CineRobots vs.
(7) Down With Pants!

Prediction: CineRobots won't have power or internet access and still knock off my sorry squad. Final Score: CineRobots 78, DWP! 67

Good luck to all and thanks everybody for a great regular season. Sorry to those who didn't make it. Better luck next year.

12/10/2007

DWP! Gift Guide: Bacon Salt!

Posted by Brandon |

The Down With Pants! Christmas gift guide consists of one item this year....


BACON MUTHA-F%@KING SALT!!!

Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god. Fat free, zero calorie, vegetarian, kosher seasoning salt that makes everything taste like bacon? How did it take me this long to discover?

I got my shipment today and I'm here to tell you that this stuff is good. I mixed it into my macaroni and cheese tonight and sure enough, it tasted like bacon macaroni and cheese. Delicious. I can't wait to try it on a steak or a burger or some french fries or salmon or.....whatever else! The running joke at home or the office since I discovered it is "you know what would go great on ________? BACON SALT!" On the Bacon Salt website and the Bacon Salt blog, you can find all sorts of recipes like spaghetti carbonara, bacon mayonnaise and Bacon Salt scrambled eggs. The possibilities are endless.

So if you are struggling to find that one last gift for your family, friends or coworkers - here it is. Who doesn't agree with their mantra that "everything should taste like bacon"?

12/09/2007

Neener Neener Neener

Posted by Brandon |

While most of y'all are dealing with rain and snow and floods and whatnot, I am still enjoying sunshine and fresh fruit and veggies at our farmer's market. Enjoy...suckers.





I've probably just jinxed myself and we'll be struck by an earthquake or a tsunami or more fires. Thanks Brandon!

12/06/2007

Five Star Schmidtchen

Posted by Brandon |

As you know, I'm a big Yelper. I love that site. A social networking site and review site all wrapped up into one big package.

One thing that really frustrates Yelpers is when one of two thing happens: A company starts Astroturfing - in this instance a public relations tactic of posting staged/fake reviews for a business. Or when a business solicits their customers to post glowing reviews for them. I appreciate that customers say nice things about them, but it still rings false - perhaps it's actually sock-puppeteering, I don't know. Either way, it hurts the genuine grassroots integrity of all review sites to have semi-bogus tactics like these infiltrate the site.

Recently a batch of reviews were posted for a realtor in Santa Barbara named Kevin Schmidtchen. I have no proof that there is any wrong-doing on his part. According to an email that he replied to sent by a fellow Yelper, he just asked his customers to write reviews on a couple of different sites. I suppose that's fine, if it's true. But the reviews are so full of praise and so glowing that they ring totally false. They all look incredibly fishy.

So as someone who loves to follow the crowd, I had to post my own review of Kevin Schmidtchen in the talk threads. And here it is....

"Kevin Schmidtchen makes the world go round. He makes the sun and the stars shine. His touch alone can heal the sick and the wounded and makes blind men see. He's the twinkle in the eye of a child on Christmas. When he speaks, presidents and kings, dictators and despots, the Pope and the Dalai Lama, Mother Nature and Father Time all crook their ears to listen. And when he sells a home, he lights up the Yelp world with the brightest five star reviews ever written.

Kevin Schmidtchen is love, and love is Kevin Schmidtchen"

Not to be oudone, Lemonjelly l. also posted her own review....

"Kevin Schmidtchen sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled real estate advertising ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Kevin roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month. Expect a 5 star recommendation from the devil shortly."

Perhaps I'll be getting my first cease-and-desist email sometime soon.

12/05/2007

Would You Rather

Posted by Brandon |

If you had to pick one, would you rather your daughter grow up to be a Real Housewife of Orange County or a Girl Next Door?

Neither is NOT an acceptable answer.

12/04/2007

DWP! Fantasy Football - Week 13

Posted by Brandon |

With big wins this week Snackiesonics and CK Lions have clinched a spot in the championship playoff series.

Snackiesonics owned Warped with a 121-84 victory thanks to 31 points from LT and 20 or more points out of her three other studs. Warped dropped his third straight game and is now currently tied for the final playoff spot.

Which leads us to CK Lions and DutchBitch Drama. In a much closer, hard fought game, CK Lions got an 81-75 win, his fourth straight. The defending champion stumbled a little bit but is now making a solid run. DutchBitch Drama loses her second game in a row and is tied with Warped with a spot in the playoffs on the line this week.

CineRobots continues his amazing last season run knocking off johnnyhongkong 103-93. johnnyhongkong is currently in third place but has yet to clinch a playoff spot and could really use a win this week to guarantee himself a spot. CineRobots may still have a shot at the playoffs, I may have written his chances off too soon. All of these ties are confusing the situation.

Here's the whole slate of scores complete with leading scorers...

Snackiesonics (9-3-1) - 121 - LaDainian Tomlinson - 31 points
Warped (7-4-2) - 84 - David Garrard - 20 points

CK Lions (9-3-1) - 81 - Brian Westbrook - 19 points
DutchBitch Drama (8-5) - 75 - Chargers Defense - 20 points

CineRobots (7-6) - 103 - Roethlisberger/Jackson - 22 points
johnnyhongkong (8-4-1) - 93 - Tony Romo - 34 points

sinkintothepacific (5-78) - 81 - Petersen/Gonzalez - 14 points
DOWN WITH PANTS! (4-8-1) - 64 - Earnest Graham - 19 points

Roast Ducks (5-8) - 107 - Peyton Manning - 33 points
Turbo Chic - (3-9-1) - 86 - Torry Holt - 19 points

Honea Express (5-8) - 92 - Hines Ward - 21 points
Kapgar's Kapitans (4-8-1) - 80 - Reggie Wayne - 21 points


Three, maybe four teams still have a shot at two playoff spots. Warped plays the weakest team of the bunch, Roast Ducks, but anything is possible for Roast Ducks with Peyton Manning at the helm. CineRobots has the toughest road to hoe taking on Snackiesonics. But the big game of the week has to be johnnyhongkong versus DutchBitch Drama. Chances are, winner's in, loser's out.

Here are the matchups in week twelve. League rank in parentheses...

Snackiesonics (1) vs. CineRobots (6)
CK Lions (2) vs. sinkintothepacific (8)
johnnyhongkong (3) vs. DutchBitch Drama (5)
Warped (4) vs. Roast Ducks (7)
Honea Express (9) vs. Turbo Chic (12)
Kapgar's Kapitans (10) vs. DOWN WITH PANTS! (11)

12/03/2007

Ramping Up the Crazy

Posted by Brandon |

I was flipping through the channels last night and landed on one of my favorite guilty pleasures, the Trinity Broadcast Network. Usually what I see on TBN is laughable, at least to me. I'm constantly amazed at what these lunatics say and how they try to trick and scam people out of their money all in the name of The Lord. It's ridiculous, I know, and sadly a lot of people get suckered by them, but I still enjoy laughing at them because I can totally dismiss their real influence.

But last night I came across a program on TBN that really bothered me. While the adult part of TBN is funny, JCTV - the youth part of TBN - is genuinely scary. The Christian youth that are featured on JCTV shows are so much more zealous and militaristic and much more unsettling than other TBN programs. These are the Christians that scare me, not the shady pimps like Benny Hinn and Paula White.

The show that I saw was from a church in Alabama called The Ramp. The Ramp is the brainchild of Karen Wheaton and is basically a massive youth group gathering. There is preaching, singing, interpretive dance, more preaching, dramas and whatnot. Most of the proceedings are led by The Chosen...


A group of super-duper-Christian youth that dress in army fatigues the majority of the time. Why the fatigues? Simple, they are an army. An army for God that needs to take back America. That's very much an reoccurring theme on The Ramp...


An army of warriors, that's really what they consider themselves. And who makes up this army of warriors? Impressionable, prideful and overly righteous teenagers, of course. That's a given...


Teenagers are perfectly happy getting labeled as something, Holy included. Every teenager wants to feel a part of something important. Every teenager wants to be a soldier for something if it doesn't involved getting killed.

But apparently, they are making warriors out of even the littlest ones...


I'm sure a lot of you saw Jesus Camp. I have yet to see it for various reasons, mainly because it creeps me out. Seeing kids manipulated like this bothers me. I don't think they really know what is going on or why they are doing what they are doing. They are just copying their brothers and sisters, repeating what they have been told. And their brothers and sisters are extra creepy...


All I have to say is "Wha?" The weapon room of heaven? I sure as hell hope that if I go to heaven, which is totally iffy considering I don't particularly believe in heaven, or hell for that matter, that there isn't a weapon room. I suppose their version of heaven is a little bit different than mine.


Don't count your chickens before they hatch - you haven't won anything yet.

Growing up I always thought that my generation and generations to come, as a natural progression of education, enlightenment and freedom, would become more and more liberal. I figured that the old rat bastards would die out and be replaced gradually by us, and things would inevitably improve.

I still have hope. One of the great things about America is that the climate can change very rapidly. The middle just can't make up it's mind, thankfully. But with every new zealot that comes along and forms a church like The Ramp that entices and manipulates children like they do, a little bit of that hope gets chipped away.

Just remember kids, Christians are not victims in this country, no matter what they say. There is nothing rebellious in becoming a right-wing conservative nut.

12/02/2007

iTunes Blackout

Posted by Brandon |

Damn you iTunes. I went to download an album tonight only to find that I needed to upgrade my iTunes to the lastest version. First of all, I hate that you have to go through and totally and completely download and reinstall iTunes when they do an upgrade. Not that it matters to me anymore.

With their latest upgrade, iTunes no longer supports anything other than XP or Vista for Windows leaving me in the iTunes dark. We still run Windows 2000, which is ridiculous, I know, but it's what we have and I don't plan on spending however many dollars for XP or Vista until we get around to buying a new computer, and that won't be for a little while even though we could use one. There are a ton of other purchases to make before that.

So I can't download music from iTunes anymore. I guess that's OK, I've been feeling bad about my iTunes purchases anyway. We have a great independent music store in town and in this day and age, stores like Salzers need any help they can get. But it's still a bummer. I had a list of songs that I wanted to download that I sure as hell won't be buying the albums that they are on.

So thanks iTunes! I guess you're happy losing all of us pre-XP operating system users business. Where in the world am I supposed to find Naughty By Nature's O.P.P. now?

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