tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65710602024-03-07T14:37:14.820-08:00DOWN WITH PANTS!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.comBlogger1028125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-1095407673376044272011-06-25T23:45:00.000-07:002011-06-25T23:46:25.429-07:00DOWN-WITH-PANTS.COMHey y'all. I've moved. You can find me over at <a href="http://down-with-pants.com">down-with-pants.com</a> now. Update!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-19348692114729991952011-01-12T22:27:00.000-08:002011-01-12T22:35:03.427-08:00The Kids Are NOT All Right (See What I Did There!?)<center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQH3tRVPZvnzE9D_u1R1VqZek7fNs0hn9eiaHbiv4c7IAxJ-wBcfJe2UpI3wsLrcHS-aFinRBEYKDJVjQ1hXHahq-zuJQo-NXUkVqBSMydaTkiKyPdlNmCbWQUdzAMHFBseYi-g/s1600/the-kids-are-all-right.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQH3tRVPZvnzE9D_u1R1VqZek7fNs0hn9eiaHbiv4c7IAxJ-wBcfJe2UpI3wsLrcHS-aFinRBEYKDJVjQ1hXHahq-zuJQo-NXUkVqBSMydaTkiKyPdlNmCbWQUdzAMHFBseYi-g/s1600/the-kids-are-all-right.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561553868240590738" border="0" /></a></center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I kind of promised that I’d write a review of the movie “The Kids Are All Right” on Twitter last week and though I don’t quite have the time to really write a polished, well thought out post about the film, let me quickly tell you why after watching the film and thinking about it for a few days, I have come to nearly loathe that movie.<br /><br />I have one really simple problem with the movie: Other than the twist that the couple is a lesbian couple and their kids search out their sperm donor father, the film is nothing more than a boring melodrama about an upper middle class family. I don’t feel like any other new ground is broken. It could just as easily been a film with a regular couple whose adoptive kids find their biological father. I suppose that is the point it is trying to make: homosexual couples and their families are just like traditional families. And perhaps people need to see that. I don’t, I already know that, so the whole main point of the film is a retread to me.<br /><br />What could’ve saved the movie for me was to have interesting, sympathetic characters that I would be interested in watching a basic melodrama about. And though I fear saying this will make some of you think of me as nothing but a woman hating masochist….the only character that I thought was likable, interesting or worth rooting for was Mark Ruffalo’s character (Paul) – the single, laid back, enjoying life, restaurateur sperm donor that their kids search out and bring into their lives.<br /><br />Other than that, I thought that Julianne Moore’s character (Jules) was a big ball of boredom and psychobabble, Annette Benning’s character (Nic) a sad stereotype of an educated, career achieving doctor and the kids are just typical teenagers that aren’t interesting or remarkable in any way. I feel like the only reason we are supposed to like this family is because they are non-traditional and have been a reasonably successful family up to this point.<br /><br />The only other characters I had any interest in otherwise were the Mexican gardener that gets fired and chewed out by Jules and the girl from the restaurant that Paul hooks up with early in the movie.<br /><br />And what happens to the only character that I care about in any way shape or form? He learns the most, he changes the most and he loses the most. He loses the carefree innocence that he lived with, he loses the kids that he has come to care about despite just meeting them, he loses the woman that he becomes infatuated with, he loses…period. None of the other drama-seeking/creating characters lose anything. In fact they all grow by tearing down a guy that just agreed to meet his biological children when they randomly called him out of the blue.<br /><br />At one point Nic screams at Paul “get your own family!” And though I think the film wants us to be like “Yeah! Get your own family!” All I wanted to scream at the screen was “your family chose him!”<br /><br />Hell, even the gardener loses his job and the girl from the restaurant loses Paul to maturity all at the expense of this family’s supposed struggles and eventual growth.<br /><br />I also don’t understand the message that the sexuality in this film is trying to convey. It starts with the sex scene between Nic and Julianne Moore’s character (Jules) in which they watch gay male porn and continues with Jules quick jump in the sack with Paul. Gays and lesbians are always trying to convince people that their lifestyle isn’t a choice and yet this lesbian couple watches dick to get off and Jules is lured from her longtime partner by just a hot guy and the “need to be appreciated”. And it simply dismisses these problems of sexuality by saying “sexuality is complicated” or “marriage is hard”.<br /><br />While I acknowledge sexuality is complicated - I don’t believe that it is as cut-and-dry as heterosexuals only like people of the opposite sex and homosexuals only like people of the same sex – and that marriage is hard, I don’t think this movie does any kind of service to gay families in showing how unable to cope with the first signs of adversity that this comfortable upper middle class family has had.<br /><br />I suppose the whole upper middle class drama is what I really object to in the long run with this movie. This just isn’t a genre of film that I enjoy. I hate movies about boring people feeling bored, alienated and looking for conflict and that’s exactly what this movie is.<br /><br />Also, expectations complicated my enjoyment. I thought it was supposed to be more lighthearted, funny and heartwarming than it was. It wasn’t at all subtle, I never found it to be funny and because I didn’t care about anybody in the family, the resolution wasn’t heartwarming in the least bit for me.<br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-18287584468867960272010-12-18T16:38:00.001-08:002010-12-18T16:39:44.380-08:00Hi!It's been awhile, huh? Well it still might be a little while longer. We'll see. I'd like to blog again, I just don't spend much time on the computer anymore. But you can always find me over at Twitter - the killer of blogs - <a href="http://twitter.com/downwithpants">@DownWithPants</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/sportlogopundit">@SportLogoPundit</a>. <br /><br />Cheers!Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-13405519957574776372010-04-26T20:18:00.000-07:002010-04-26T22:27:09.597-07:00At-Bat Music for TwitsA couple weeks ago, on baseball's opening day, <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/music_blog/archive/2010/04/monday_coffee_b_27.shtml">The Current</a> asked the question what at-bat music would you choose for Tiger Woods, Bob Ross, Amy Winehouse, Richard Dawkins and Sarah Palin. It got me to thinking what people would pick for themselves if they had the option.<br /><br />So today I posted the question "what music would you choose for your at-bat music?" on Twitter. Here are the responses, which ended up being the perfect amount to fill out a lineup. Best way to do this is to hit play on the video and then in your head, or better yet, in your best PA announcer voice and at full lungs, announce the batter...<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Leading off, centerfielder, #24, </strong><a href="http://allthatcomeswithit.com/"><strong>All That Comes With It</strong></a><strong> Dan...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xFrGuyw1V8s&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xFrGuyw1V8s&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br />(We'll give Dan a break since he's from the UK and probably has never seen an at-bat)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Batting second, the second baseman, #35, </strong><a href="http://www.midnightcliff.com/"><strong>HelloHaHaNarf</strong></a><strong>...<br /></strong><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gfYZ-b3D43w&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gfYZ-b3D43w&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><strong>Batting third, third baseman, #7, </strong><a href="http://whynaturally.wordpress.com/"><strong>Why Naturally</strong></a><strong> Laura...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RdSWXRZu7OM&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RdSWXRZu7OM&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br />(Now that's just sucking up to the music guy)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Batting cleanup, the first baseman, #10, </strong><a href="http://www.baseballslant.com/"><strong>Baseball Slant</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0zfbrNukQvc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0zfbrNukQvc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><strong>In the five hole, leftfielder, #3, </strong><a href="http://www.thegeekgiant.com/"><strong>Geek Giant</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3EYELPhsJTs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3EYELPhsJTs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br />(I'm not usually a fan of metal for at-bat songs, but this totally works)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Batting sixth and playing catcher, #55, </strong><a href="http://lesombre.ca/"><strong>LeSombre</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OnWLw2-xRDg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OnWLw2-xRDg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><strong>Batting seventh, rightfielder, lucky #13, </strong><a href="http://mightyhunterin21stcentury.blogspot.com/"><strong>Mighty Hunter</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tCvMKcNJCAY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tCvMKcNJCAY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><strong>In the eight spot, designated hitter, #7, </strong><a href="http://poppycede.com/"><strong>Poppy Cede</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br />("Concrete jungle with free tomatoes!")<br /><br /><br /><strong>And batting ninth, the shortstop, #3, </strong><a href="http://flavors.me/cath68"><strong>Cath68</strong></a><strong>...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mYlUe-SDqA0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mYlUe-SDqA0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><strong>And on the mound, #99, right handed peeetcher, Down With Pants!...</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tqWP1rsAMrw&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tqWP1rsAMrw&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><br />So what would you pick for your at-bat music?Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-30270294627203939302010-04-04T07:15:00.000-07:002010-04-04T07:26:09.973-07:00A DWP! Tradition: The Easter Ham Story<em>Two things on this Easter Sunday....I made Lent my bitch, <a href="http://down-with-pants.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-did-it.html">again</a> . Though it was much more difficult this year for some reason, probably because our ice tea maker was broken. Secondly, I give to you the Down With Pants! Easter tradition, The Easter Ham Story. Please to enjoy...</em><br /><br />Ever wonder why everybody always eat ham on Easter? Well, I'm no biblical scholar, but here's how I understand the story goes...<br /><br />When Jesus was resurrected he rose up from the tomb and found a big bunch of Jews hanging out, kicking it, having a picnic of bagels and lox and pastrami sandwiches and talking shit and high fiving about the crucifixtion a few days earlier.<br /><br />Jesus, as you can imagine, was not pleased. In his deepest, darkest, foulest voice, he bellowed, "silly Jews, I am back. And guess what? We're eating pork, bitches!" And Jesus started flying through the air shooting whole hams from his hands like lightning bolts at all of the Jews. Seeing this, the depressed and downtrodden Christians joined in and picked up all of the hams that Jesus shot and started chasing the Jews around and throwing the hams at them.<br /><br />When the very last Jew was either chased off or knocked out by Jesus and his Christian ham throwing posse, Jesus took all of the hams and prepared a gigantic feast and proclaimed, "from this day forward, Christians shall eat the meat of the dirty swine just to piss off the Jews!" And in honor of Jesus, his resurrection, and his freeing of the Christian world from Kosher dietary laws, Christians celebrate each Easter by eating ham just to rub it in the faces of the Jewish people.<br /><br />And that, kids, is why everybody eats ham on Easter. It's also where the game of dodgeball was invented - Christian kids have been using that game to bully little Jewish kids for years - and it's also where the saying "when pigs fly" comes from, although the meaning of that saying got a little mixed up over the years.<br /><br />But that's a whole nother biblical story that I'd love to share with you sometime very soon. Like I said, I'm no biblical scholar, but I'm pretty sure I know how that story goes too.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-37173723574904699962010-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:002010-04-01T04:00:01.206-07:00Cranes, Claws, Controversy<span style="font-style: italic;">If you've been following me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/downwithpants">Twitter</a> the last few days, you know that I got my first freelance writing gig. On very short notice, my friend, who happens to be the editor of the startup weekly Emerald City Sports, asked me to cover a semi-secret sporting event happening right in my backyard, so I jumped at the opportunity. Little did I know that it would be such a fascinating ride. What follows is the front page article that will hit newstands today throughout the Seattle area. Pick me up a copy, if you happen to see one. And thanks for all of your support! </span><br /><br />“I am the greatest arcade claw player in the world!” An exhausted yet triumphant Joe Nguyen yelled after capturing the World Arcade Claw Organization’s championship on Wednesday night in downtown Olympia, Washington.<br /><br />The nearly 24-hour long competition held at the Loft on Cherry Street capped off a year of scandal and change in the competitive arcade claw circuit. A year that started with the revelation of years of fraud, led to the dissolution of the world organizing body, the disappearance of its leader and finally ended with the first clean crane machine world championship in nearly ten years.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Endurance: “I Didn’t Think I Was THAT Good”</span><br /><br />The WACO Championships kicked off on Tuesday night with the endurance test, 12 solid hours of arcade claw play, six hours longer than any other previous championship endurance test. Other than the 10 minute breaks that are given every three hours, the 65 competitors from around the world stand in one spot, hunched over, picking candy and stuffed animals out of a machine.<br /><br />“This is the most demanding competition in the history of our sport,” said Commissioner Gregory Kporku, the underground arcade claw legend that founded WACO after the International Crane Machine Association was taken over and dissolved in April of 2009. “This will really separate the real champion competitors from the pretenders. It has already scared away most of them.”<br /><br />The son of the Ghanan ambassador to China, Kporku is highly regarded in the arcade claw world. The markets of Beijing, where he spent his teenage years, are filled with claw machines. You can insert a coin and fish out anything from iPods to stuffed Hello Kitties to live animals. Though most claw machines are programmed to payout in advantage to the owners of the machine, Kporku would routinely pull winners nine times out of ten.<br /><br />“I’d go in, spend a few dollars, pull out a couple high ticket electronics, sell them and make 200% profit. Then I’d use a few more dollars, pull out a few live lobsters or crabs and give them to a couple of the poorer vendors at the market. I did it quietly and secretly and only a couple people knew.”<br /><br />But after about a year of losing more than they ever did before, the owners of the cranes discovered the source of their losses and put the clamp down.<br /><br />“I couldn’t even enter the markets anymore; the security guards harassed me anytime I came near.” <br /><br />As word of his prowess leaked out, Kporku was approached by a couple businessmen about entering the 2002 International Crane Machine Association’s Championship, coincidentally being held in Beijing. He easily won the championship dominating the three disciplines – endurance, speed and skill – but never felt right about the win.<br /><br />“It was too easy, I knew I was good, but I didn’t think I was THAT good.”<br /><br />Disillusioned, Kporku never returned to international competition, but his legend in the competitive arcade crane universe grew as YouTube videos would pop up of him emptying machines all around the world.<br /><br />“Anywhere I went, I’d find a machine, we’d tape me cleaning it out and usually donating the prizes to the kids that inevitably would surround me while I was doing it. But I never knew that my star was rising because of the videos.”<br /><br />When the endurance test ends at 8:00 AM, Wednesday morning, 42 of the 65 competitors remain standing. With one third of the players already knocked out, most with sore backs - crane machines are notoriously short – a three hour break is called to give the competitors a rest and to prepare the Loft at Cherry Street for the skills competition.<br /><br />“It was a successful night,” boasts the Commissioner. “Now the fun begins. Now we’ll find out who is really skilled.”<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Skills: “Young Kids, Beautiful Women and Underdogs from Impoverished Lives”</span><br /><br />The skills competition begins at 11:00 AM. Two competitors don’t show back up to the Loft, their weary backs getting the best of them in their hotel rooms. The remaining 40 players will go, one-by-one in front of a panel of three judges.<br /><br />Ten machines are setup with various sized and shaped prizes, randomly programmed with different claw grip strengths, all with different rules of play. Each competitor must pass each test to continue on in the competition. The pressure is enormous. One mistake and your championship run immediately comes to an end.<br /><br />In the previous 10 years, the skills competition has closed out the championship and was rather subjective while the speed round usually came second, after the endurance test. Now, the competition is more like a tournament. Survivors of the endurance test move onto the skills test and survivors of the skills test move onto the speed round and the winner of the speed round is the champion.<br /><br />In the 2009 ICMA Championships held in Puerto Vallarta, Melissa Kenworthy, a comely 20 year-old from Richmond, Indiana, who has since filmed two VH1 reality shows, was the only competitor left standing after the skills competition despite barely escaping the endurance test and coming in second to last in the speed round.<br /><br />Kenworthy’s resounding victory was the boldest and most transparent fraud carried out in the history of the ICMA championships. Suspicions of foul play were already high after the 2008 competition in Bucharest when offshore gambling parlors reported a record amount of bets were placed on the eventual champion, Scott Hufnagel, a 12 year-old boy from Adelaide, Australia.<br /><br />“Every champion this sport has had since 2001 have been completely unknown prior to winning,” said WACO commissioner Kporku. “And after the first few years, looking back at it, they all fit a marketable mold: young kids, beautiful women, underdogs from impoverished lives. With each year, it became obvious to the serious players that somebody, maybe even ICMA, was choosing the most marketable competitors and rigging the machines to give them the win.”<br /><br />Most of the champions never knew they were chosen to be victors and walked away from the championship with only a small cash reward, a trophy and the requirement to represent ICMA on goodwill and marketing appearances.<br /><br />However, starting with Hufnagel in 2008 and perhaps even the 2007 winner, Bobby Sanchez of Reynosa, Mexico, it appears that champions started to profit greatly from their wins. Shortly after his win, Hufnagel’s family moved from their 700 square foot, two bedroom apartment in a lower-middle class Adelaide neighborhood to a six bedroom, 4,500 square foot McMansion in a tony suburb while Sanchez is an international playboy, a far cry from his previous life working in a tortilleria.<br /><br />Kenworthy confirmed suspicions when in June of 2009 she sued ICMA president John Koflanovich to retrieve what she claimed was promised to her: 25% of his offshore gambling wins on the competition, a modeling contract with the Ford Modeling Agency and a starring role in a Pussycat Dolls knockoff that he claimed he was producing for a Las Vegas casino. But Kenworthy claims that when Koflanovich’s romantic advances were rebuked, he became withdrawn, started sending her to humiliating marketing appearances and never paid her a cent.<br /><br />Koflanovich hasn’t been seen since two days after Kenworthy filed her lawsuit. And though a few clues have emerged that he is still alive, his family fears the worst.<br /><br />Back in Olympia, it is 4:30 PM and the skills competition has finally wrapped up. There were a few bumps along the way including some technical difficulties with the random grip strength machine that threaten to mar the results of the championship, but most of the competitors agree that this was a very fair test of their skills.<br /><br />25 competitors remain. Knocked out in this round: 14 year-old Scott Hufnagel, a surprise last minute entry to the competition. He was unable to finish even the most basic of skills and left the Loft without comment.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Speed: “We Didn’t Care, It Was Exhilarating”</span><br /><br />25 arcade claw machines line the room, all set with the exact same grip strength settings, all filled with identical stuffed animals, all set to allow two moves before dropping the claw. When the bell rings, all 25 competitors run to their machines with one simple goal: pick out the most stuffed animals in 60 minutes.<br /><br />Amongst the crowd of hopefuls still in the running for the WACO championship are Kevin Mattingly – the first ICMA champion in 1999 and cofounder of the organization in 1997 with Koflanovich – and 2006 champion Joe Nguyen.<br /><br />Kevin Mattingly met John Koflanovich in 1996 as a freshman at Bowling Green State University. <br /><br />“We were fraternity brothers and roommates,” recalls Mattingly during a break from the competition. “I don’t know where it came from, but a crane machine turned up, tipped over in the middle of our room. Rather than get mad about this strange hazing, we picked it up, plugged it in and started playing.”<br /><br />After a huge success with a 1997 Greek system tournament, Mattingly and Koflanovich jokingly founded the ICMA, produced a website in a computer science class and organized their first international tournament. Expecting a handful of friends from Ohio to come, it came as a huge surprise when 50 people from as far away as Norway came to play in the first ICMA championship held at the BGSU Student Union.<br /><br />“We had no idea it would be a hit,” says Mattingly. “Our website ended up in an arcade claw message board that we didn’t even know existed and people got really excited. It was the first tournament of its kind. We had to totally rewrite the rules and get more machines. But we didn’t care, it was exhilarating.”<br /><br />But the unexpected success put a strain on their relationship. After winning the first championship, Mattingly settled back into college life while Koflanovich left school to promote the ICMA internationally, convinced that he had hit upon an idea that would make him rich.<br /><br />“He got rich alright, and I made a fair share of money,” said Mattingly. “But with each passing year, the people that he brought in got shadier and shadier until I had enough and became the most silent of silent partners. I kept my ownership share, but didn’t collect any money or have anything to do with the ICMA until after the 2009 tournament.”<br /><br />When Koflanovich disappeared following Melissa Kenworthy’s lawsuit, Mattingly went straight to work researching the business and discovered that every championship since 2001 had been tainted, rigged by either international gamblers or by Koflanovich himself.<br /><br />Immediately he distributed the ICMA’s assets over to the players that he felt had been cheated and then dissolved the organization. A month later he formed the WACO as a member owned co-op and hired Gregory Kporku, the passionate former champion, internet sensation and arcade claw hero who was eager to change the culture of a sport that he helped tarnish.<br /><br />“I could tell when I met him that he was embarrassed and pretty pissed off that he had been taken advantage of,” said Mattingly, “and he wanted to do something about it. He wanted to have clean, pure competitions. He was a perfect fit for commissioner.”<br /><br />Joe Nguyen also had an axe to grind with Koflanovich. Nguyen shocked everybody when he won the championship in 2006. Most shocked were the international gamblers that Koflanovich conspired with to rig the games in favor of Adela Diaz, the holy trinity of ICMA champions – 14 years-old, supermodel beauty, from an impossibly impoverished upbringing in Guatemala.<br /><br />“I was just better than her,” says Oxnard, California native Nguyen. “Even handicapped, even with rigged machines, I beat her.”<br /><br />But Nguyen paid a price for his victory. Koflanovich spread rumors among ICMA members that Nguyen himself had cheated. He then let loose his co-conspirators and they shook Nguyen down for cash, periodically roughed him up and generally made his life a living nightmare for the next year after winning the championship.<br /><br />“Winning in 2006 turned out to be the worst thing that could happen.”<br /><br />Apparently, Nguyen’s victory drove Koflanovich to take total control of who won and how they won. The next three year’s competitions weren’t even close and participation in the event by serious players dwindled. When Kenworthy won in 2009, nobody was surprised.<br /><br />“As soon as she walked in the room, I said ‘there’s our winner’,” recalls Mike Cannon, a five time ICMA championship participant and WACO championship finalist.<br /><br />“This year is totally different. Everybody has a chance, anybody could win. It’s exciting to finally feel that way.”<br /><br />With five minutes remaining in the speed round, the competition is close. Kevin Mattingly – competing in his first competition since 2000 – leads with 95 animals picked. Joe Nguyen is in second with 93 and Marianne Beaman is third with 90. Mattingly glances up at the scoreboard and you can literally see him tense up. He misses his next four attempts while Nguyen gets three out of four.<br /><br />With a 96-95 lead, Nguyen settles into a rhythm and doesn’t miss another attempt finishing with 104 animals picked in 60 minutes. Mattingly only manages to pick three in the final five minutes and finishes in second with 98.<br /><br />Minutes later, watching commissioner Kporku on stage, awash with confetti, hand over the WACO championship trophy and an oversized check in the amount of $500 – all the prize money that could be afforded this year - to Nguyen, Mattingly beams with pride.<br /><br />“Sure I came in second. I kind of choked down the stretch. But it doesn’t matter. We have our rightful champion. We have our clean championships. We have our sport back in order. This is all I could ask for.”Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-77386553312054736622010-03-31T07:12:00.001-07:002010-03-31T07:12:12.476-07:00Hard Hail, Hard Win, Hard NipplesLast night we played soccer in what can only be described as the wettest of conditions. <br /> <br />For the first 15 minutes, it hailed heavily. Little razor blades of ice fell from the sky punishing any exposed skin. My ears felt like they were being stuck with pins, my hands went completely numb, I was afraid to head the ball because I thought my head would explode like an ice sculpture dropped on the floor upon impact. <br /> <br />The hail finally let up, but the inch of standing water on one side of the field – the side I spent most of my night on – sucked in your foot with every step. I nearly lost my shoe to the mud on several occasions. I took numerous faces full of kicked water. Once, I put my entire foot on a ball kicking it extremely hard only to have it stay in the exact spot that I left it while I went running by. <br /> <br />It was absolutely miserable. Even the game that we played in 9 degree weather in December wasn’t that miserable. By the end of the game everybody on the field looked like a drowned rat. It passed the point of comedy – I actually enjoy playing in adverse weather conditions, it at least can be comical – to being a dangerous slog. <br /> <br />Making it even more miserable was that we didn’t have a referee and we played an overly testosterone fueled team of rugby players. There were numerous collisions, overtly overaggressive plays, a pair of incidental handballs that had people so mad that it easily could’ve escalated past arguing. It was a game that needed a referee. <br /> <br />But the league that we pay good money to play in can’t seem to get referees to do their games. Our captain, a referee himself, said that we’ll be lucky to have a ref for one or two games this season. Great.<br /> <br />The good news to come out of the game is we won, 2-1. Considering they had six guy subs to our one and appeared to be a more skilled team, it was a surprising outcome. <br /> <br />I played OK, I’m still struggling to do some soccer basics, like kicking the ball. I had an opportunity at what should’ve been an easy goal. All I had to do was not kick the ball right at the goalie and I’d have had just my second goal of my short soccer career. Well, I didn’t kick the ball at the goalie, but I also didn’t kick it at the goal. Somehow I barely got a foot on it and it went across the goal and into the corner. What’s funny is that normally I’d agonize over missing that goal for days, but I was so distracted by being so wet and so cold that until typing this paragraph, I hadn’t even thought about it. <br /> <br />So let’s get to the Too Much Information part of this post: My nipples seriously hurt. It is 7:00 AM and we are now going on 12 hours of permanent, painful tittie hard-on. Seriously, they’ve been rock hard since the game and they hurt like a motherfucker. I don’t know what to do to get them not to hurt. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out. I’m sure it’ll go away pretty soon. <br /> <br />Anyway, now that I’ve put that image in your head….enjoy your day! Hopefully my rock hard nipples won’t haunt you too much. <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-66693527042872926872010-03-25T07:50:00.001-07:002010-03-25T07:50:56.340-07:00Butterflies and BasketballsIt’s 6:15 AM, I’m sitting here at work (I know, I should be working) in my unwashed Washington Huskies jersey that I’ve been wearing for every game for the past two weeks – you don’t wash that luck out during a steak – and I am seriously excited, nervous and very restless about tonight’s game, a mere 10 hours away. <br /> <br />The day has already gotten off to a bit of an auspicious beginning. I was about five minutes late for work – missing my morning meeting that starts promptly at 5:59 AM even though our shift starts at 6:00 AM – because I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere. Luckily, it occurred to me that I was laying on the ground in Addie’s room when she went to bed, so I snuck in and there it was, on her floor, and I did it without waking her up. The problem is, the game tips off before I get off at 4:30, so I was hoping to leave early but asking to leave early after being late isn’t the best idea. Oh well, I don’t care, I’m still leaving early to get myself in front of a TV. <br /> <br />I was thinking about telling you about the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life, which is totally Washington Huskies/college basketball related. However, trying to keep it positive today, I’ll tell you about when my real love for Washington Huskies basketball began. <br /> <br />It was 2004 and things looked very bleak and typical for the Huskies, another disappointing season going into the books. But after a big loss to Oregon State that dropped them to 0-5 in Pac-10 play, Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Will Conroy, Curtis Allen, Bobby Jones and Mike Jensen went on a tear winning 11-of-13 games leading up to a season finale against undefeated and #1 ranked Stanford. The whole city was abuzz about Huskies basketball and you just got this feeling that the Stanford game was going to be something really special to attend. <br /> <br />I HAD to go to the game, but so did everybody else in the Seattle area. The game was completely sold out and I did not have a ticket but I figured I might be able to get one outside of Hec Edmundson Pavilion before the game. So I headed down to the arena an hour and a half before game time with $40 in my pocket - the most I was able to spend – hoping to score a ticket.. <br /> <br />Unfortunately, when I got there, it became clear that I wasn’t the only one without a ticket hoping to get into the game. There were tons of people standing around with one finger in the air unwilling to pay the $150 price that scalpers were trying to get for their tickets. With about 20 minutes left before tip-off, I gave up trying to find a ticket and instead hightailed it back to the car to get myself to a bar to watch the game on TV, but I figured that while I was walking back to the car, I might as well keep that finger in the air and keep pitching for a ticket. About 20 feet from the car, I hear from behind me, “hey man, you need a ticket? My friend decided not to come and I have an extra.” And he gave it to me for face value, though I think I gave him an extra five dollars and I may have bought him a soda at halftime. <br /> <br />And the game WAS something special. The Huskies took it to Stanford the entire game and drilled the Cardinal 75-62. The euphoria in the building was something that I don’t think can ever be replicated. I’ve never been in a building that was that full of positive energy. It was absolutely amazing. It was a celebration of everything that happened during their magical run that season and it was a celebration in anticipation of what was ahead. The team was young, the team was fun, the team was really talented. Everybody in that building knew that the next few years were going to be awesome to watch and I think everybody was reveling in it during that Stanford drubbing. <br /> <br />And things have never been the same. Basketball is now the school’s major sport and with the Supersonics departure for Oklahoma, the Huskies are Seattle’s #1 basketball team. The expectations are Sweet Sixteens or better instead of being euphoric about an 18-10 finish. <br /> <br />That’s why this season was disappointing until they rallied to win the Pac-10 Tournament and then knocked off #6 seed Marquette and #3 New Mexico in the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament. And now that’s why I sit here in a dirty jersey, butterflies in my stomach, trying to pass the time away before today’s 4:27 tip time hoping that my Dawgs can tear up some Mountaineers. <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-21453764675486176322010-03-16T07:33:00.001-07:002010-03-16T23:08:59.200-07:00The CurrentI have a new favorite radio station, though admittedly, there isn’t much competition because I didn’t really have a favorite to begin with.<br /><br />While I have always liked the idea of Seattle’s non-commercial indie icon <a href="http://www.kexp.org/">KEXP</a> and former Oxford, Ohio’s terrestrial radio now Cincinnati/Austin’s online only <a href="http://www.woxy.com/">WOXY</a>, neither station really satisfies me. KEXP is just too easy listening. They play way too much really quiet, wussie indie music, boring alt-country and ambient electronic music. Despite its revered hipster status here in the Seattle area, it has become a really sleepy, boring radio station. I can listen for a whole hour and not hear one song that I really enjoy and it will probably make me slip into a deep music induced sleep. WOXY isn’t as boring, but they play a lot of music that is less accessible, less polished – but not in a good way. Don’t ask me to explain, I can’t, it just doesn’t work for me.<br /><br />While searching around for some good kid’s music – the kindie genre is one that I’ve become really interested in and am thinking about doing a radio show/podcast – I found Minnesota Public Radio’s HD and internet channel <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/wonderground/">Wonderground Radio</a>. It’s a station that has a nice little mix of music that is kid friendly - some good adult indie music mixed with kid’s artists. The only problem is that it’s completely automated and seems to repeat quite often. But Wonderground Radio led me to the station that it is an offshoot of, <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/">The Current</a> – my new favorite radio station. <br /><br />The Current is basically the same format as both KEXP and WOXY but what it does really well is keep things pretty upbeat. In direct comparison to KEXP, The Current plays most of the same artists, but where KEXP plays a lot of the softer, slower songs off of an artist’s album, The Current plays the faster, poppier, more radio friendly songs. Now instead of not liking a single song over an hour I’m bopping along to virtually an entire hour of music by practically the same artists. Sure they play some softer, slower tracks, but it’s usually the exception instead of the rule. It’s just so much more of a satisfying and exciting listening experience for me. It’s almost exactly what I’ve been looking for in a radio station for a really long time.<br /><br />Anyway, you can find MPR’s The Current at 89.3 FM in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, on the web at <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/">thecurrent.org</a> or if you have an iPhone, you can listen on the MPR app.<br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhoneBrandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-91433287458200906862010-03-15T07:45:00.001-07:002010-03-15T09:17:20.922-07:00MortifiedA couple weeks ago, my work computer went completely tits up because of a virus and I had to call in our building’s IT professional to unbork my computer. While I admit that I had been surfing the internet a little too much, I wasn’t looking at anything more damning than Deadspin or even (gasp) Slate.com. So when the IT lady gave me kind of a stern warning about “certain” websites and that she’d clean it up this one time, I was a little bit confused but didn’t really think too much about it - in fact, I just shrugged and chuckled about it. I just figured she was warning me about Twitter or Facebook. <br /> <br />So when I needed to track a package for work the following week and found that my internet still wasn’t working – I have taken to using my iPhone for any personal surfing needs – I called the IT lady again. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong so she contacted another IT person that wasn’t in our building. She didn’t have his number, so she sent an email from my account to have him call her at my extension. A little while later, I was looking to see if I had sent an another email and ran across her email that she sent. What follows is that email and the series of mortifying emails that followed…<br /> <br />----------------------------------------<br /> <br />From: Brandon <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 11:36 AM<br />To: Jeff<br />Subject: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />Hey im at that porn virus computer. Iv done everything but its still there call 1360xxxxxxx<br /> <br /> <br />From: Brandon <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 1:12 PM<br />To: (IT lady)<br />Subject: FW: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />(IT lady),<br /> <br />I hope you don’t think I was looking at porn on my computer, that wasn’t the case. Worst website I visited on a regular basis was Twitter or sometimes Deadspin – a sports blog. Mainly it was online radio and newspapers.<br /> <br />-Brandon<br /> <br /> <br />From: (IT Lady) <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 1:35 PM<br />To: Brandon<br />Subject: RE: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />Well yeah, actually I did. When I first was cleaning up that virus all it kept doing was popping up this one porn site. I had to actually log off because it keep popping up well hummm lets say pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!. That’s why I first asked you was there anyone else that uses your machine? And when I said, there are “certain” sites that give viruses more than others. And when I talked to you the second time. I said “just so we were clear I would clean it up this time. But I cant do it again” what did you think I was talking about? There was quite of few sites in the history that were quite damaging. Like I said I would clean it that time. If your worried about what I said to Jeff in that email. don’t worry about it. we talked about it and decided that was (if you will) that was 1<br /> <br />(IT Lady)<br /> <br /> <br />From: Brandon <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 2:06 PM<br />To: (IT lady)<br />Subject: RE: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />That’s crazy because I definitely never went to any porn sites, swear to god. I know that might be hard to believe considering that you found damaging sites in history and I probably can’t convince you, but you have to take me at my word. I may have a web surfing problem, but I’m not stupid enough to look at porn at work. I was just thinking that I wasn’t supposed to be using Facebook or Twitter or whatever…serious time wasters that management usually is not fond of people using. <br /> <br />Now you have me wondering if anybody else does use my computer. We do have a night crew. Since I have a strike one on me, I’m telling you now that I’m not using my internet for anything but the intranet, UPS.com, Conway Freight, Yellow Freight and maybe a few other totally work related sites. If porn sites end up in my history or I get another porn related virus, I don’t want to be blamed because it wasn’t me. <br /> <br />Totally mortified,<br />Brandon<br /> <br /> <br />From: (IT lady) <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 2:30 PM<br />To: Brandon<br />Subject: RE: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />Do you lock your computer up when you leave? Lock up as in hitting control / alt / delete / lock computer? You remember when I asked you if anyone else uses your computer? Ya know, I thought to my self, WOW he handled him self quite well. I was completely impressed how you just said OK. If fact I was telling some friends of mine, (outside of work) how well you carried your self considering you got caught for watching porn at work. <br /> <br /> <br />From: Brandon <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 3:32 PM<br />To: (IT lady)<br />Subject: RE: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />GAH! You must’ve thought I was a sociopath or something. That doesn’t make me feel better, it makes me feel like I came off as CRAZY. If I would’ve got caught watching porn, I think I would’ve just walked out of the building and never come back. Just thinking that you think I was watching porn makes me want to walk out the building and never come back. <br /> <br />Anyway, I almost always log off of my profile or even turn off the computer when I leave, so I don’t know what the deal is. I’ll try locking it down from here on out.<br /> <br />Still totally and completely mortified,<br />Brandon <br /> <br /> <br />From: (IT lady) <br />Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 3:35 PM<br />To: Brandon<br />Subject: RE: hey call me it (IT lady)<br /> <br />No no I didn’t mean to make you feel worse. Gezzz I was just saying you handled your self very professional. That all. Its no biggy really. I didn’t tell anyone. Just jeff and he didn’t tell anyone. Its all good.<br /><br />----------------------------------------<br /> <br />Well, thank god it’s “all good”. If I would’ve been fired for looking at porn when I wasn’t actually looking at porn, that would’ve been a hard one to swallow. And though it is “all good”, I have a hard time facing the IT lady that found porn all over my computer and now assumes that I am a guy that just sat back here jerking it all day who then shows no remorse or concern when caught red handed. <br /> <br />On a related note: thank god for the iPhone.... <br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br /><br />Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-44315898490845417692010-02-05T12:07:00.000-08:002010-02-05T12:21:28.379-08:00Module 4 - Intro To Pop Culture<div style="text-align: justify;">Since we last spoke on this blog, big changes have been afoot in the Down With Pants! world. For one, I'm no longer a stay-at-home dad. I started working at a job that made me think about what I'd like to do next. One of the things I decided to do to improve my lot in the working world is finish my BA at Bowling Green State University. I'm only a few credits away, which is awesome, and I can take some classes that are really interesting. One of them is Intro To Popular Culture - admittedly a bit of a fluff class. We have a discussion board and have to post answers to questions each week. This week's were particularly fun to answer so I bring them to you here as well...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. What was your first favorite musical group or singer, how old were you at the time and what was impotant to you about the music?</span><br /><br />From as long as I can remember, The Beatles have been my favorite band. My parents exposed me to their music, their movies and everything that they did at a young age and their fun and humor originally is what drew me to them. They were also my parent’s favorite band and we kind of bonded over them. One reason that they stayed in my life for so long is that as I aged and matured I was able to move into different parts of their career that matched where I was. As a young child I liked things like “Twist & Shout” and music off of their first few albums like A Hard Day’s Night that was faster and less challenging. As I got older I got more into albums like Revolver and Rubber Soul and as a teenager I was fascinated with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and The White Album. Now, in my thirties, two of my favorite albums are Abbey Road and Let It Be (though I prefer the Let It Be…Naked album that they released a few years ago that is stripped of Phil Spector’s overproduction). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. What is your favorite musical group or singer today and what is important about the music for you today?</span><br /><br />The Beatles are still my favorite band but for the purpose of this exercise, let me divert from them. I have a hard time nailing down my favorite band after The Beatles because it changes from situation to situation, but I’d have to say that there is no band that I listen to more and no band can make me happier or cheer me up quicker than The Shins. They have this great mix of music that ranges from poppy and upbeat and cheery to dark and mysterious to ethereal and trippy. I’ve listened to them on two cross-country red-eye flights while dozing and it always puts me in the right mood. In fact, they put me in the right mood whenever I listen to them no matter what kind of mood I’m in or want to be in. Also, I love singing their songs, which is something I do at the top of my lungs in my car all the time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. How often do you listen to music in the day?</span><br /><br />I listen to music as much as I can. I take a short break to listen to NPR on my way to work but I turn on music as soon as I get to work and have it on almost the whole day after that. And when I’m at home, except for when we are watching TV, music is playing. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. What formats do you listen to music....the radio...compact disc....ipod...and why?</span><br /><br />I listen to many different formats of music. On a daily basis I listen to terrestrial radio, internet broadcasts of terrestrial stations, online only radio stations, compact discs, my iPod, music apps on my iPhone like Pandora, Lastfm or Slacker. It all depends on the mood I’m in, what kind of music I want to hear, whether I want to listen to familiar music or if I want to listen to music I’ve never heard before or don’t know much about. My iPod is for music I know, online stations are for new music and terrestrial radio is usually for music I know that I don’t necessarily have on my iPod like classic rock or country music. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. What was the last compact disc that you purchased and when?</span><br /><br />The last CD I bought was right around Christmas. I was shopping at Best Buy for gifts for other people and found out that Patton Oswalt (a comedian) had a new CD out. So because I was feeling impulsive and I didn’t have it on one of my wish lists, I decided to buy it. I thought about waiting and going home and downloading it on iTunes but it included a DVD of the show so I thought that was worth a few more dollars.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Are compact discs too expensive?</span><br /><br />I don’t think that CD’s are too expensive, I think that $12 is actually a fair price for them and I have no problem paying that amount when I do purchase a CD. However, now that you can get the music on iTunes or digitally for only $10 (or even less sometimes on Amazon), I rarely purchase CD’s. Also, since I have hundreds of CD’s, I have hundreds of jewel cases so I prefer digital music to reduce the clutter. So even if CD’s were less expensive, I doubt I’d purchase them more often. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. What was your first music concert that you attended...how old were you and what impact did it have on you?</span><br /><br />Though I’m sure that I went to a concert or two with my parents earlier in life, the one that I remember being my first on my own and of my own volition was The Spin Doctors, Soul Asylum and The Screaming Trees at the Gorge in George, Washington during the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school. The Gorge is in the middle of Washington State, hundreds of miles from where we lived so it was also basically the first road trip that I ever took. It was an opportunity to go to a show, see the state and generally goof around on our own. We had a great time though it was also the first time that I realized that music in a large venue like The Gorge isn’t that great. From the distance that we were from the stage to the hours it took us to get out of the parking lot to the unbelievably bad show The Spin Doctors put on, the concert wasn’t worth the hype. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. What has been your most recent music concert that you have attended....and did the experience have as much of an impact as your first concert?</span><br /><br />The last concert that I attended was Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. Ben Folds is one of my favorite artists and hearing him backed up by a symphony was really incredible and reminded me how great live music can be. I think the experience had almost as much impact on me as the first concert that I attended but for very different reasons. The first concert I attended was less about the music than it was about the road trip and independence while this one was all about the music and listening to the music was what really impacted me. Despite the size of Benaroya Hall, it was very intimate and it was easy to make a connection with Ben and what he was singing. In fact, he has a song about his daughter that I’ve heard many, many times and never thought too much about but when he did it at the show and I really listened to the lyrics I started tearing up (I’m a relatively new dad to a daughter myself). Now I can barely listen to the song without getting all emotional. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">P.S...</span>We respond to other students answers and one of the other students answered that her first favorite band was NSYNC...at six years old! SIX YEARS OLD! NSYNC was popular when I first attended Bowling Green. I don't usually feel old at 32 - 32 isn't old at all - but her response made me feel incredibly ancient. <br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-33016364805062012142010-01-31T22:32:00.000-08:002010-01-31T22:48:10.571-08:00Happy Birthday Addie!<div style="text-align: justify;">Two years ago today the greatest thing ever happened to us....Addie May was born at 3:59 AM, February 1st, 2008. In that time we've lived in three different cities in three different houses and held five different jobs. We even elected the first African American president, believe it or not. But the one constant is the unbelievable cuteness and the incredible amount of fun we've had with Adelaide. So here's a slideshow for her birthday, one picture for each of the past 24 months...<br /><br /><center><iframe src="http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?set_id=72157623200516461" align="center" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" height="500" width="500"></iframe><br /><center><small>Created with <a href="http://www.flickrslideshow.com/">flickr slideshow</a>.</small></center></center><br />Happy birthday Addie! We love you SO much!<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-72201750422091997722009-08-19T23:18:00.000-07:002009-08-20T00:08:15.660-07:00**SPOILERS** Top Chef is Back! **SPOILERS**<div style="text-align: justify;">I feel like every season of Top Chef starts off with a sacrificial lamb. Someone that isn't who they say they are. Someone that is there so that a real chef doesn't end up looking bad by being the first one kicked off. Last season, that sacrificial lamb overachieved and lasted quite a few show (bad bangs <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/melissa">Melissa</a>).<br /><br />But tonight, the neck tattoo and the gross stretched out ears of <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/jennifer-zavala">Jennifer Zavala</a> made her make the most disgusting chile relleno I've ever seen with the worst choice of fillings and it was obvious that she made the right choice to not unpack. She probably made that choice because she was just some random cooking student they pulled in to take one for the team, and like a good trooper, she did just that. Good, because I couldn't take her ears and her neck tat for more than one episode.<br /><br />As for the rest of the cast, nobody really jumped out at me as a favorite and I don't think I can make an early choice for winner. But I'll go ahead and make a choice right now and see what happens, so here goes. The winner of Top Chef Season 6 will be....Kevin Gillespie - the guy that won tonight.<br /><br />As of episode 1, here are how my allegiances break out...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Like/Rooting For</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/ron-duprat">Ron Duprat</a> - Didn't like that he used his story so soon though<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/robin-leventhal">Robin Leventhal</a> - She's a Seattle chef, always root for the local<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/kevin-gillespie">Kevin Gillespie</a> - I like his beard<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/hector-santiago">Hector Santiago</a> - I like the line "I cook with heart and cojones"<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/ashley-merriman">Ashley Merriman</a> - Another local. Two Seattle cooks and only one New Yorker this season<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dislikes/Rooting Against</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/preeti-mistry">Preeti Mistry</a> - That can't be her real name, right?<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/michael-isabella">Michael Isabella</a> - No surprise he's from Jersey.<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/jesse-sandlin">Jesse Sandlin</a> - Something about her flighty confessionals and she's a crier.<br /><a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/eli-kirshtein">Eli Kirshtein</a> - Came off as a young, pompous tool.<br /><br />I had to pause the show for a second and it came at just the right time. Please to enjoy Padma Lakshmi's tongue...<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioB7hiJS1FUorqsaSuPDyetDjapJN2S_SS8OyJBLJj4HgsZVoAzLbndRaxqGECr92i6WjLtNqEW3CEE7dnguq_eGarb0hKV4Z61sB38wWvQLAP29UlU923ltQ1PYsuXFP8phPFiQ/s1600-h/3839233772_01e3232d4f.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioB7hiJS1FUorqsaSuPDyetDjapJN2S_SS8OyJBLJj4HgsZVoAzLbndRaxqGECr92i6WjLtNqEW3CEE7dnguq_eGarb0hKV4Z61sB38wWvQLAP29UlU923ltQ1PYsuXFP8phPFiQ/s1600/3839233772_01e3232d4f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371936457609241874" border="0" /></a></center><br />You're welcome!<br /><br />As for Top Chef Masters, I really enjoyed it. Sure it lacked the drama that makes Top Chef so good, but watching these amazing, seasoned professionals do their thing was fantastic. <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/bio/huber-keller-extended">Hubert Keller</a>, <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/bio/michael-chiarello-extended">Michael Chiarello</a> and <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/bio/rick-bayless-extended">Rick Bayless</a> are my new heroes. Rick Bayless picked up a much deserved win and picked up a big fan as well. I really want to eat at Frontera Grill when I make it back to Chicago now and I've even started buying his salsa at the store (which have all been quite good so far).<br /><br />The worst part of Top Chef? The rest of the programming on Bravo. I can't take these stupid, awful bitches on any of the Real Housewives shows. We both now turn away from the TV and plug our ears when they come on. And then to have them pop up and take over half the screen in the middle of a show is ridiculous. I want to watch Top Chef live, but these bitches might make me start waiting until the day after so I can speed through their skankiness.<br /><br />As if Top Chef wasn't enough...PROJECT RUNWAY TOMORROW!!!<br /> </div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-67108287383073210052009-07-22T22:51:00.000-07:002009-07-22T23:02:15.083-07:00Dr Death? on Too Beautiful To Live<div style="text-align: justify;">Hi everybody! I'm back....at least for one quick post. My online life is only a shell of what it used to be, for better or for worse, but this was so cool that I had to share.<br /><br />The wife was on my favorite radio show, Too Beautiful To Live, on Thursday night and I think she did a great job. She said she was super nervous, but it doesn't sound much like it. Listen for yourself....enjoy!<br /><br /><center><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Part 1</span><br /><object codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="322" align="middle" height="52"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.houndbite.com/player.swf"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <embed src="http://www.houndbite.com/player.swf" flashvars="filename=http://s3.amazonaws.com/houndbite/downwithpants-upload-8p7hj4euy2m0.mp3&autoplay=0&duration=477000" quality="high" bgcolor="#eeeeee" name="player" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="322" align="middle" height="52"></embed> <param name="FlashVars" value="filename=http://s3.amazonaws.com/houndbite/downwithpants-upload-8p7hj4euy2m0.mp3&autoplay=0&duration=477000"> </object></center><br /><br /><center><span style="font-weight:bold;">Part 2</span><br /><object codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="322" align="middle" height="52"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.houndbite.com/player.swf"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <embed src="http://www.houndbite.com/player.swf" flashvars="filename=http://s3.amazonaws.com/houndbite/downwithpants-upload-2bvv2ge7ovb1.mp3&autoplay=0&duration=480000" quality="high" bgcolor="#eeeeee" name="player" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="322" align="middle" height="52"></embed> <param name="FlashVars" value="filename=&autoplay=0&duration=480000"> </object></center><br />I'm not so sure about Sean propositioning my wife like that, though. I don't want to have to start a Scrappin' With Sean DeTore segment on my own. Though, if I did, perhaps I'd be as famous as Death?<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-70788147381930681992009-05-19T23:46:00.000-07:002009-05-20T01:21:28.405-07:00A Snap Judgement Snap Judgement<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIumUh9HDclxKfCbIQOMec2gdP0dHTxAXQsGXWKD7sLwnXEN21PogewXsMsYik0hTWOWd07pO8A_qG1SKbXcrLQCMEF3F-JR1M5U3iHAIJYNyeX67lgNM86oEea2FW3WFRXpdLvg/s1600-h/Cover-400.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIumUh9HDclxKfCbIQOMec2gdP0dHTxAXQsGXWKD7sLwnXEN21PogewXsMsYik0hTWOWd07pO8A_qG1SKbXcrLQCMEF3F-JR1M5U3iHAIJYNyeX67lgNM86oEea2FW3WFRXpdLvg/s320/Cover-400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337812102257392338" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home">The Stranger</a>, Seattle's alternative weekly, ran a photo on their cover this week of two security guards working on an open ATM at REI and <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/snap-judgment/Content?oid=1540903">wrote a story</a> about <a href="http://iamshane.com/">Shane Becker,</a> the self described vegan, straightedge, anarchist (sounds like a big ball of fun!) that took the picture, and how he was arrested by the Seattle Police Department after he refused to show his ID to the security guards when they confronted him about the picture.<br /><br />The point of the article and the running it on the cover, I suppose, is about photographers rights and the arrest of someone that didn't do anything particularly wrong, and I get that. But does it deserve the front cover treatment? Does it even really merit a mention in even The Stranger? Is this really one of the most important stories of the week? Are there no other false imprisonment/police harrassment stories that merit our attention?<br /><br />This story only exists and has only been given any merit because it happened to a white kid with an iPhone and a blog. A white kid with an iPhone and a blog that could've avoided all of this. But since he's a straightedge vegan anarchist, he just had to play his role and be uncooperative.<br /><br />In the same way that the "fake cops" had their role to play, so did Becker. Both roles are wrong, both groups are at fault, neither should be praised. But by picking up this story and running with it in the way that they have, The Stranger has made Becker into the harmless photographer, the one who's rights were stepped on, the victim. When really the only victims in this case are people that are subject to police harassment or worse whose stories fall through the cracks while Becker and this ATM make the cover.<br /><br />But that's Seattle and that's The Stranger. It's to be expected.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On a related note</span> - Becker sells t-shirts with atheist and vegan slogans on them that I don't want to link to, but I do want to see if anybody can help me out with one of the designs. What in the world is this supposed to mean...<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dCDdodXbVcFr99Ap1OUW_J-B6wDLJjj_4zbiAyOy9eiGmFsScQtKoXlsNuXsj5ELeIiocIDEWyJAJM-hCE-QcK8Mu7Z1M5xUEqMpvsLuOuDVsOYAhgQtach64b5pVLbSsDLLTA/s1600-h/dribbleagrenade.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dCDdodXbVcFr99Ap1OUW_J-B6wDLJjj_4zbiAyOy9eiGmFsScQtKoXlsNuXsj5ELeIiocIDEWyJAJM-hCE-QcK8Mu7Z1M5xUEqMpvsLuOuDVsOYAhgQtach64b5pVLbSsDLLTA/s400/dribbleagrenade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337810279369010018" border="0" /></a></center><br />...because I'm completely stumped. I guess it's just a really stupid shot at athletes and sports? This coming from someone that was at REI purchasing a fancy bike rack for his car. Riding a bike is an athletic endeavor, FYI.<br /><br />I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that I am a flaming liberal even though this post comes off making me sound pretty conservative, I'll admit. I'm just sick of people that have a lot of power and influence in this life playing the oppressed. Being a white male in America sure is hard these days, isn't it? Makes it hard to enjoy our iPhones and blogs and our fancy bike racks.<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-14615407104164634502009-05-18T23:47:00.000-07:002009-05-19T00:40:58.050-07:00Special Agent Oso Is Watching<div style="text-align: justify;"><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqERSiXsVfMUPJ2wYnCaQ1cxL6w026_a-N3jYnkX5j3Rvb-V5vR3S0PThKEm2R8z6tqPiBds8QwXBV5DBl3bsaOwSyywHgOYzSUBM2EQB5AUThQFWuJo7IzLL3f6MSilKFUqAh9Q/s1600-h/danny.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqERSiXsVfMUPJ2wYnCaQ1cxL6w026_a-N3jYnkX5j3Rvb-V5vR3S0PThKEm2R8z6tqPiBds8QwXBV5DBl3bsaOwSyywHgOYzSUBM2EQB5AUThQFWuJo7IzLL3f6MSilKFUqAh9Q/s1600/danny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337423816801585074" border="0" /></a></center><br />I've been thinking a bit about Special Agent Oso ever since it debuted on Playhouse Disney recently. If you haven't seen it yet, well you probably don't have a toddler, so don't worry about it, you aren't missing much. Basically it's about a stuffed panda bear named Oso that helps kids with tasks like brushing their teeth or checking out a book from the library or finding their shoe in their dirty room. It's very colorful, it's got a catchy song, it's got pretty good intentions and it catches my daughter's attention, but there are still some things that bother me about it. <br /><br />For one, I feel like it was developed by focus groups and committees. It liberally takes ideas from other successful kids shows and puts it all together into one package. A little bit of Spanish? Check. Talk to the audience? Check. Bad catch phrase? Check ("all part of the plan, more or less"). Merchandising friendly characters? They're supposed to be stuffed animals so, yeah, big time check - not to mention the merchandising potential for Paw Pilot, Oso's electronic helper thing or Numero Dos, the voice that comes out of his watch that seems to be his boss. Put all these elements together and it feels a little disingenuous to me. <br /><br />One of the things that I was joking about today is how there are these little ladybug looking cameras that catch the kids having trouble with some task and send a signal to Special Agent Oso and how they seem very big brother-y. Sure, in the show they are being used for good, but what if they fell into the wrong hands? I mean, Special Agent Oso is about as "special" as it gets, it doesn't seem like it would be hard. But what actually kind of bothers me about them is that it portrays constant, secret surveillance as something positive to kids. I'm half joking about this and I'm sure that it wasn't their intention, but it does seem a little insidious. <br /><br />But overall, I think Special Agent Oso has a good enough message that it trumps the committee feel and weird big brother issues. It teaches kids how to work through problems in a logical manner - three special steps is all it takes, apparently - and that isn't bad. But adults won't get much out of it if you have to watch it as well. It's not cloying or insulting like Barney or the Wiggles, but there isn't much for you here, though I'm surprised Disney's research didn't figure out a way to shoehorn something under the radar for adults in there.<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-4693947237556094552009-05-14T00:35:00.000-07:002009-05-14T00:42:33.354-07:00Another 5th Grade Masterpiece: Fairytale Land<center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj1ukNdFut5gOrw-EYalzzYOq-yNRXVrGQ42Prd8I8QYgmU_ILldBZgp-GAjkGLHSn3wPAxcbUti41IDMJ3XJqBalHIMU3sJx0nu258VcWDzpzGIt_-cfPk4HWORrazkI1xa42Q/s1600-h/fairytaleland.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TCD1iRgFtOgnkXccViJPxfvGOD4UcCQlsFPHBteNF4qErPafFZ-GaleDxTCgmmdsVQuCsuT8EDvsVNEpH_eN_WoYZPXtZfg60wlkZ5W47N1oNNuRlGqnnrEL3ozIwX_ibK4DXQ/s1600/fairytaleland.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335580182938393154" border="0" /></a></center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I showed a very sophisticated outlook on popular culture at the time, didn't I? And I could really draw those titties...Yea-yeah!<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-54447180692029335012009-05-05T20:58:00.000-07:002009-05-05T22:53:23.275-07:00Maru<div style="text-align: justify;">Addie and I were on <a href="http://www.cuteoverload.com">Cute Overload</a> today and we ran across this awesome video...<br /><br /><center><object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xdhLQCYQ-nQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xdhLQCYQ-nQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></center><br />Now, if you think that video is funny - and I most certainly do - imagine what a 15 month old would think of it. Actually, you don't have to imagine, I caught it on video...<br /><br /><center><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="500" height="375"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=75e7e1df94&photo_id=3506637216"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=75e7e1df94&photo_id=3506637216" width="500" height="375"></embed></object></center><br />This is kind of mild laughter since this is actually the third time she watched it. The first time she laughed so hard that she couldn't catch her breath which in turn made me laugh so hard I couldn't catch my breath which in turn made Death? laugh so hard she couldn't catch her breath. And the second time we watched it, she laughed even harder. <br /><br />Death? reminded me of when Addie was about a month old and I was really frustrated because I couldn't get her to smile. I worked my butt off just trying to get something - I'd have taken a gas smile even - only to be met with a quizzical stare. Needless to say, my worry that she would be completely humorless is totally gone.<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-14197975645152358722009-05-05T01:21:00.000-07:002009-05-05T01:26:13.694-07:00The New Down With Pants!<div style="text-align: justify;">If you didn't notice, there's a new look around these parts. It's not finished, I have a lot more to add and fiddle with, but I was anxious to get it up and going so here it is. What do you think? <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-5730497773337606242009-04-29T21:44:00.000-07:002009-04-29T22:26:29.953-07:00We Got a Toddler On Our Hands<div style="text-align: justify;">Addie went from being a baby to a little girl overnight simply by starting to walk. Though she's 15 months and doesn't look very babyish anymore, I still thought of her as a baby because I had to carry her everywhere. It took her a while - she's got the family stubborn streak - but now she insists on walking everywhere all day until she tires herself out early. Don't get me wrong, I love it, I'm so excited for summer and chasing her around, but combine that with all the signing and talking she's doing and we've got ourselves a full fledged toddler. Baby time is over. <br /><br />And we were skeptical about the benefits at first, but we are full-fledged evangelists of <a href="http://www.signingtime.com/">Baby Signing Time</a> now. It has been a huge help to have Addie signing things that she wants. Big ones are "all done" and "eat" and "milk" and she loves to sign "dog". And not only has she learned signs, but I think it's also been huge in developing her vocabulary. We think she's saying about 25 words in context, maybe more. I don't know if that's good or not for her age, but it seems high compared to other kids I've met.<br /><br />Of course, a healthy vocabulary has it's drawbacks. Yesterday she was toddling around our bedroom and found the book I'm reading, Drew Magary's "Men With Balls" on the nightstand...<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlP-AY7M1Prbaosb7fH7Dfi6uk4L_O2eqhiHTEh8Oo5ARuszbl1doOoNGpZpRjIlmu2lL5PURo5NpClpG1Fg_hPcmeGZ7Fm8ta6W4lh-YE-SNi236oKatZEma5r74mDWLPmkbHg/s1600-h/menwithballs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlP-AY7M1Prbaosb7fH7Dfi6uk4L_O2eqhiHTEh8Oo5ARuszbl1doOoNGpZpRjIlmu2lL5PURo5NpClpG1Fg_hPcmeGZ7Fm8ta6W4lh-YE-SNi236oKatZEma5r74mDWLPmkbHg/s400/menwithballs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330345205828697506" border="0" /></a></center><br />...Of course, the word out of her mouth as soon as she saw the cover was "ball?" Yes honey, you're right, those are balls. <br /><br />I guess it could be worst, at least she didn't say "testicle?", right? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Somewhat Related Aside (this time I'm not sorry, <a href="http://www.kapgar.typepad.com/">Kevin</a>)</span> - Yesterday I took over the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/seattle-area-sahd/">Seattle Stay At Home Dads group</a> on Meetup.com. So if you stumble upon here and are looking for other stay at home dads in the Seattle area, please sign up for our group and come out to some of our outings. <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-15563273104822602632009-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:002009-04-27T23:14:41.774-07:00Plates and T-Shirts<div style="text-align: justify;">Back in August of 2005 I wrote a post about <a href="http://down-with-pants.blogspot.com/2005/08/very-sad-day-indeed.html">how sad I was to give up my Washington license plates</a> in favor of California plates. Tonight I write a post about how sad I am to give up my California plates in favor of Washington plates.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have Mount Rainier back on my car, but there was something special about those California plates, something intangible that I lose with the Washington plates. Those California plates screamed "GREAT DRIVER COMING THROUGH! OUTTA MY WAY!" It was a form of identification that I was proud of, at least on my car.<br /><br />Now there's nothing that separates me from the crappy driving Washington State herd other than my total badassness on the road.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Totally Unrelated Aside (Sorry <a href="http://www.kapgar.typepad.com/">Kevin</a>)</span> - If you have a second, go vote for my design for the <a href="http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=363">TBTL t-shirt contest</a>. They'll be giving the shirts out as part of a night out at the Seattle Mariner's game on May 21st, hence the simple baseball jersey design and number...<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsRAPxNKsnYkAuxJXGyjXAcxOH89-JrApU-OgyEt3QeRvb11bbX8jgejhEhqoa8TVcVnXUKYBA7O0miyP3BxSsxMYkes9tIHq79yzVkArmFs846_1jCzEChS8sxTAuwLflgBPKg/s1600-h/tbtlmariners.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsRAPxNKsnYkAuxJXGyjXAcxOH89-JrApU-OgyEt3QeRvb11bbX8jgejhEhqoa8TVcVnXUKYBA7O0miyP3BxSsxMYkes9tIHq79yzVkArmFs846_1jCzEChS8sxTAuwLflgBPKg/s400/tbtlmariners.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329620197298844882" border="0" /></a></center><br />You can vote for it by clicking <a href="http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=363">here</a> and choosing #5 "Old School". Thanks! <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-49346589766589138652009-04-22T21:53:00.001-07:002009-04-22T21:56:14.961-07:00Hi, My Name is Brandon, I Fucked Up Earth Day<div style="text-align: justify;">To celebrate Earth Day today, I took a 35 mile round trip drive to go for a four mile walk, forgot about a load of laundry in the washer that grew a little stench and had to be rewashed, left the kitchen and dining room lights on despite not being here and left a DVD running on a loop all day. <br /><br />Suck on that Earth! <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-89054988711639187062009-04-22T00:02:00.000-07:002009-09-24T13:51:13.274-07:00New EFUE Poster<div style="text-align: justify;">In our continuing effort for the upliftment of Edmonds at the Edmonds Foundation for the Upliftment of Edmonds (EFUE), we are proud to release our latest upliftment of Edmonds poster...<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjwYTwvSRomH18M5R0HJNCWFi86CQqjy0FfT6Ayo2VbDmWfyViOd1P9jL42jtbJ7uf-WAqV05K-5aAICYWRSF6IE_ydy0ObqqdL4TDSvSlDr9IF_D5QS33189oFDoumytiRczNg/s1600-h/edmonds-everyday.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjwYTwvSRomH18M5R0HJNCWFi86CQqjy0FfT6Ayo2VbDmWfyViOd1P9jL42jtbJ7uf-WAqV05K-5aAICYWRSF6IE_ydy0ObqqdL4TDSvSlDr9IF_D5QS33189oFDoumytiRczNg/s1600/edmonds-everyday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327407825119513970" border="0" /></a></center><br />We don't know why, but we're really drawn to this one. We hope you'll be drawn here too. <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-74921608162942735132009-04-18T23:59:00.000-07:002009-04-19T00:09:18.340-07:00My 5th Grade Masterpiece<center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMNzaUjbxYpTOKoaJhXKkBXeoSuXlIpUOUfARbrNWpiiKmj7B8KcIdnMbnaKmf_ckVIxcbDo9mjErhZ0nQlSReXLsRd5j4M9nZYqISZ-qW88zixtEs_6m488yUR788RhdALCvsw/s1600-h/nopepper.jpg"><img style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMNzaUjbxYpTOKoaJhXKkBXeoSuXlIpUOUfARbrNWpiiKmj7B8KcIdnMbnaKmf_ckVIxcbDo9mjErhZ0nQlSReXLsRd5j4M9nZYqISZ-qW88zixtEs_6m488yUR788RhdALCvsw/s1600/nopepper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326294007486487170" border="0" /></a></center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Gee, hard to believe I didn't go into the fine arts. I wish I knew why I made his eyes so bloodshot. And based on the score, I think I watched this game this afternoon except it was the Yankees on the losing end of that one. <br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6571060.post-35995039673536073082009-04-13T23:31:00.000-07:002009-04-14T00:04:59.140-07:00I Did It!<div style="text-align: justify;">Hooray for me! I made Lent my bitch this year and easily went without soda for even longer than the mandatory time. I started a whole week early, maybe even ten days - I can't totally remember - and I didn't really miss it all that much. There were occasional weak moments played out on Twitter, but in reality, my life without soda went pretty well.<br /><br />I gave up soda for Lent a few years ago, as well, and I have never purchased a 12-pack since (except for one 12-pack of Jones Soda on a whim). Instead I switched to 2-Liters and my intake definitely went down. Now, my goal is to completely give up purchasing 2-Liters. I don't want to have any soda around the house. I'll still purchase a 1-Liter occasionally or have one at a restaurant, but I don't want it to be the main liquid that I ingest all day, which it has been for the past 15-20 years.<br /><br />I also am giving up all sugary soda. Again, the occasional regular soda is OK - I love Mountain Dew and all of it's varieties too much to give it up completely - but I'll only drink it on special occasions, like yesterday when I had a Code Red Mountain Dew in celebration of my accomplishment and to celebrate the resurrection of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.<br /><br />One thing that I have to thank for making Lent and my subsequent cutting back on soda possible is the <a href="http://www.mrcoffee.com/Product.aspx?pid=53">Mr. Coffee 3-Qt Ice Tea Maker</a> that I received as a birthday gift. When I worked for The Cobblee Spleen and Teal Lief we got all the free ice tea that we could drink and I drank as much as I could drink. But after I got RIFed, my ice tea consumption bottomed out mainly because I had the jankiest process for making ice tea. It involved multiple pans and a strainer and the threat of scalding my beautiful, dainty hands. But now, thanks to the Mr. Coffee 3-Qt Ice Tea Maker, making ice tea takes five minutes and I'm almost back to my Cobblee Spleen tea drinking levels.<br /><br />Anyway, I did it, and I am patting myself on the back because that's what I do. And, I didn't get anything to endorse the Mr. Coffee 3-Qt Ice Tea Maker. I just really like it, that's why I sound like a commercial.<br /><br />Lent - bow down before me!<br /><br /></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003609878691180270noreply@blogger.com4