Meme

You know you rock when you've been memed by the best!


Four jobs you've had:

Paperboy - unlike some of us, I actually completed my appointed rounds. One time in -14° weather. Major tippage that week.

Pizza Slinger - I'm spoiled. Not only do I LOVE pizza, I can make a pretty darn good one from scratch. The ultimate: Double cheese, sausage, sweet peppers and green olives.

Toll Collector - Yes we have legs. No we can't take your gagrbage (Lord knows what is in that napkin, and I'm not gonna touch it.)

ResearchGuy® - They guy with the answers at that magazine with the rating blobs.



Four places you've lived:

Buffalo!

North Tarrytown, NY - since renamed to Sleepy Hollow. I shit you not. They got all Washington Irving after I left I guess.

Salisbury Mills, NY - best known locally for a wide and shallow creek crossing called the Moodna Viaduct,

Greenwood Lake, NY - well, it's homey now.




Four websites you visit daily:

uh, This one.

Radioparadise.com

Buffalo.com

ConsumerReports.org


Four television shows you love to watch:

COPS

NFL Football

NHL Hockey

David Letterman



Four of your favorite foods:

Steak

Penne Rustica

Nutter Butters

Pineapple



Four albums you can't live without (at least for the moment):

Luka Bloom - Keeper of the Flame

A Kiss Could Be Deadly - A Kiss Could Be Deadly

Attack of the Killah Covahs - compilation made by my friend Mer.

The Smithereens - Especially For You



Four places you'd rather be:

Buffalo

Aruba

SoCal

The Moon


Tag! You're it!:

NWG

EdieRaye

Anna

Ali

Self-Promoting Throwback Chuckle

Buy a T-shirt!

If you do, send me a picture of you wearing it. I'll be shocked as hell, but will post it here

B to the E?

N to the O.

$1.50 for a 10 ounce can, alcohol 6.6% by volume, and it tastes too damn sweet. Like mixing beer and Mike's Hard Lemonade and RockStar. Frankly, leave beer alone. Whatever this is, it sure isn't beer.

I did like the can, and 10 ounce vs. 12 ounce? I don't think you can tell the difference without really looking hard. Perhaps a new trend will emerge here?

Do You Believe?

Over the holidays, I took my kids to see The Polar Express in full IMAX 3-D. First, wow. I have never been to an IMAX theatre and had no idea the screen was SO freakin' BIG! Anyway, we settle in to our seats (comfy ones) and N. immediately jumps out of his seat and into my lap, curling into the crook of my left arm. OK - we were on the end of the row, no one in front of me (no seat actually, just a railing) so it was perfect. I put me feet up and settled in, with great big silly polarizing 3-D glasses (no pun intended, that's just how they work.)

Not knowing the original story or much about the movie, it unfolded brilliantly in front of me. There is still something creepy about the way mouths move in computer animation. Not quite natural and a little disturbing.

There is a train hobo character that simply HAD to be based on Tom Waits (even though Tom Hanks does the bulk of the voices) and Santa Himself is, well, Alan Rickman. You really have to go on voicing, and the fleeting full on face shots of Santa in the movie - which I can't seem to find online, but trust me.

So on to the pivotal scene, where the main character has his crisis of faith, where he realizes he can't hear the sleigh bells because of his doubt. As one of the bells falls off Santa's sleigh and rolls to his feet (in slow motion, of course) he picks it up and shakes it hearing nothing. A look of loss and panic crosses his face as he closes his eyes and says "I believe. I do. I believe..." and shakes again. The bell rings.

It is at this point that I begin to lose it and cry (because, as a former lover told me "you're the crying guy") Well, not just because it is a touching reminder of *Faith*, but this hit closer to home. Those of you that know me well know about N. Well the main character really looked like him - or at least what he should be, and how he should be. Second, his mom is currently working an a project to open a school - a very specialized school for kids like N. It is something that she wants, and with her background, I KNOW she will make it happen. Right now, they are working under the name "Project Believe."

Holding my son in my arms at that moment, everything just started pouring out of me. All the hope, the loss, the prayers, the failures. I think 5 years of parenting exploded through me at that moment. I am slightly grateful it wasn't at the very end of the movie, but even still - I wouldn't have cared if anyone saw the tears streaming down my face. Because I do believe.

And A New One Just Begun

MY favorite holiday. I have met some folks of late who look upon New Year's with dread, and I don't understand why. Here we are at day one - everything before is wiped out. It's the great do-over, the chance to say "let's start fresh with no screw-ups."

New Year's is one of the few things I am truly optimistic about. To be certain, I don't set unrealistic goals or make ridiculous resolutions. I just smile and know that I have the opportunity to do things better this year. That knowledge alone tends to make me feel better about most things.

Happy New Year to you all.