Canadian Beefcake, Back in Black

So it's been 1 year, 1 month, and 14 days since my last post. A lot has happened in that time period, my goodness a lot has happened since then. Here are some of the highlights: - I have transferred out of HR, into Product Management, then back to HR, and hope to get into sales/marketing at some point soon (very soon. Dear God, please make it soon) - Old roommate moved out and away. - New roommate moved in. - Old roommate almost loses job because of joint blog where I post things I'm supposedly not supposed to post, and some jerk attributes my conservative commentary to old roommate. - Blog that replaced this one gets shut down by old roommate. He angry for a while. We good now. - I sold my car and invested in a ZipCar account and the stock market. - I am 24 now (soon to be 25!) Things that remain the same: - I'm still at Revolution Health - I still live in the Mount Vernon/Chinatown area. - I'm still struggling to "get hooked" on exercising. - I'm still as bad at golf as I was last summer, and frankly, since 1997. - I'm still paying to play golf every weekend in the summer, sometimes twice, even though I'm not progressing much. (Note: A good buddy has adopted me and has sworn he'll make a golfer out of me come hell or high water, so that's good). - I still hate crappy rap music. - I am still single. - I still have an affinity for pastel pants and polos, which make my friends question my sexuality; though I insist it shows just how assertive I am in my heterosexuality. I'm probably going to start a new blog, just because I think i've outgrown this one. See you there!

NEW BLOG!!!!!

What's up all you beefcake believers, I need to announce that my roommate Frank and I have decided to team up and create a joint blog in a shameless attempt to get more readership and perhaps even some opportunities to write elsewhere. Seeing as we're both opinionated bastards and tend to disagree on most subjects, we thought it might be cool to post our opinions on one site, rather than have two independent blogs competing for your attention - after all, the less reading YOU, the reader, has to do, the better! And so, without further ado, I am proud to announce the new home of Hoser and Nati's blog: www.districtofcontention.com That's right...we even bought the domain name - we're big time baby! Thanks for making my blogspot a part of your lives, and hope to see you, and your comments, at the district of contention!

Gary Sheffield Controversial? NO WAY!

Good ol' Detroit Tigers designated slugger Gary Sheffield has started some controversy in the media once again by claiming that there are more Latino players than Blacks because Latinos are more more subservient and less willing to speak up about things they find unjust w/ management or teammates. According to an article on espn.com, Gary Sheffield was quoted in GQ Magazine as saying the following:

"I called it years ago. What I called is that you're going to see more black faces, but there ain't no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do -- being able to control them," he told the magazine.

"Where I'm from, you can't control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that's a person that you're going to talk to with respect, you're going to talk to like a man.

"These are the things my race demands. So, if you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys."

Clearly Sheff is no Martin Luther....Now I'm no veteran of major league sports or anything, and I'm not a minority so perhaps my opinions on the topic cannot be considered with the same validity as Sheff's, but the obvious hole in his argument, in my humble opinion, is that if players are equally as talented, but one happens to be a pain in the ass to management, and the other is not, well OF COURSE they are going to opt to keep the more easily managed player if it comes down to a choice between the two!!!!! I mean, there's no white, green, black, yellow, or polka dot about that, it's just basic common sense

To me, it's about accountability, responsibility, and ownership!!! If Sheff feels he's gotten the shaff because he's been outspoken and, dare I say, controversial, then that's his problem! You reap what you sow man!! When they are payin' you millions/year to swing the bat, I think they have the right to expect that you'll not act like an ass and embarrass yourself, your team, and the big leagues in general with your assanine personal opinions!!!

I think that if Sheff's point was to say, "major league management favors Latino ball players," that would be one thing, and perhaps more acceptable; but the way that he says it, he makes an ignorant, insulting generalization about an entire culture and attempts to strip Latino players of the validity of their success because of their so-called natural tendency to be submissive. I furthermore disagree with Gary's blanket statement that all black players are as outspoken/unruly as he is - in fact, i'd say that he is one of the worst offenders in a small club

Final Thought

Rather than Gary generalizing that most Latino players are submissive and therefore favored in the bigs, someone should tell him the real reason; and pardon me for generalizing myself, but I'd say that most Latino players tend to be HUMBLE (give Gary a dictionary, because he DEFINITELY doesn't know the meaning of word). Humility means that they have respect for the game, the managers of their club, the players of the league, and the fans - that's what the game is all about, and I don't think Sheff is exemplifying that with his commentary.

You're right, Nas - Hip Hop is, in fact, DEAD!

I like hip-hop music. In fact, I like most music with the exception of country - and even there I can tolerate some of it. Hip-Hop has been steadily increasing in popularity over the years, with artists like Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and SnoopDogg all becoming mega-wealthy and super-powerful by diversifying their portfolio to include clothing lines, restaurants and lounges, their own brand of shoe, record labels, etc. I think it's kind of cool that these guys who started with nothing have had an opportunity to really branch out by perhaps making less music and focusing on business enterprises.

The issue at hand, however, is that their absence has opened doors to a much worse form of hip-hop - the type that has literally no poetic meaning whatsoever, but rather, seems to just repeat the same stupid, annoying phrases over and over again. Artists like 50-Cent, Lil' Jon, Yung Joc, and a bunch of other thugs whose names I shouldn't even know, have ruined the musical style that the aforementioned pioneers worked hard to create and/or perfect. Artists like Dre, Jay-Z, and Nas had substance to their music - words that flowed like a poem and had some meaning. But now, that is not the case.

This weekend I was driving around with Frank and Zach and we were talking about this subject and how obnoxious one hit song is, in particular: Aye Bay Bay by "Hurricane Cris." I have included his lyrics below, and you can hear them in action if you click on the 2nd you tube clip on this page. The other is "Walk it Out" - another example of the repetitive and meaningless nature of popular hip-hop today. Hip-Hop has always been a "flashy" musical style - nice cars, shiny jewelry, "big pimpin'" as Jay-Z says....but at the foundation of that superficial genre was concrete poetic words with meaning and feeling behind them. Now, that foundation seems to have been uprooted, only to be replaced by the superficiality of hip-hop. I think it sucks, and I agree with Nas, who named his most recent album "Hip Hop is Dead." Not surprisingly, this album hasn't been getting much play in the corporate-controlled music industry, who wants to ensure that people don't recognize this problem and continue buying into the useless garbage that hip-hop has become. It was nice knowin' you, hip-hop, come back again sometime.

And now....a musical interlude of crap

Ay Bay Bay(Ay) [X3] Ay Bay Bay(Ay) [X3] Ay Bay Bay(Ay) [X3] Ay Bay Bay(Ay) [X3]

[Chorus:] You Wanna Know Wat We Say In Da Club (Ay Bay Bay) Whites Folks Gangsta And A Thug (Ay Bay Bay) Stink Wit It,Stink Wit Dem Duh (Ay Bay Bay) Ridin' In A Lac Wit A Mug (Ay Bay Bay)

Im In Da Club Hollerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Holerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Hollerin'

When I Holler Ay Bay Bay I Finna Get My Groove On Its So Hot Up In Da Club Dat I Ain't Got No Shoes On Im Holdin' Up A Big Stack And Dem

Honeys In A Rubba Band Girl Don't Ask Me For No Cash Cause Im Not Dat Other Man Everybody Trippin' Cause Im Limpin' When Im Walkin' And Im Pimpin' When Im Talkin' I Don't Trick On Chick Dats Talkin' Dem Boyz In Da Back Dey Be Rollin'up Dey Doughdy Then Dey Blow It Till Dey Chokin' Dats Wat Godly Came Out

When I See A Bad Chik Im Hollerin Out(Ay Bay Bay) I Hope Yall Ain't Wit Ya Boyfriendz Cause I Don't Care Wat Dey Say And I Don't Care Wat He Say Or She Say Im In Da Dj Booth Takin' Pictures Wit Da Dj

You Wanna Know What We Say When Clubs Get Crunk (Wat) Ay Baybay Dat Dey Play Dats My Song Turn It Up [X2]

[Chorus:] You Wanna Know Wat We Say In Da Club (Ay Bay Bay) Whites Folks Gangsta And A Thug (Ay Bay Bay) Sting Wit It,Sting Wit Dem Duh (Ay Bay Bay) Ridin' In A Lac Wit A Mug (Ay Bay Bay)

Im In Da Club Hollerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Holerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Hollerin'

Now If You Lookin' For Me Baby You Can Find Me Bangin' In Da Chevy Cannon Painted Swingin 9 Deep Saint Card Creep Wit My People Right Behind Me I Showed Dem My Chain Now She Hollerin Wat U Buyin' Me I Show My Mouth Piece To Dem Freaks Now Da Hirin' Me Oh You Got A Problem Well I Hope You Tryin Me. Throw Them ....Park Then I Reach Under My Sit Hop Out With My Hand Under My Shirt Dats Where Dey Hirin Me Yellow Bone Chirpin' Me She Trying To See Where Imma Be. You Gonna Let Me Get Up In Your Mouth Well Dats Where Imma Be I Don't Pop Trunk Wit Lights Dats Where Dey Choppa Be. Straight To The Hotel All Da Bad Chick Followin' Me I Know You Like My Style, I Ain't Trippin Im Just Tryin' To See, Girl Is You Drunk Well Tell Me Why You Leanin' All On Me And If You Thinkin' Imma Stink You Trippin I Pull Up In An Expedition Wit Da Roof Lift

[Chorus:] You Wanna Know Wat We Say In Da Club (Ay Bay Bay) Whites Folks Gangsta And A Thug (Ay Bay Bay) Stink Wit It,Stink Wit Dem Duh (Ay Bay Bay) Ridin' In A Lac Wit A Mug (Ay Bay Bay)

Im In Da Club Hollerin' Ay Bay Bay (2x) Ay Bay Bay (3x) Im In Da Club Holerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Hollerin'

Im In Da Club Hollerin' Ay Baybay Dat Dey Play Dats My Song Turn It Up Im In Da Club Hot,Crunck,Sweatin, Burnin' Up Im 'bout To Do The Crowd Bumpin And Hollerin Wats Up I Done Fell Out In Da Dance Floor And Now Bring It Up Js On Your Feet But You Cant Get These You Wear Wats Unbrown White, And Yellow Till You Breeze Ill Go To Saint Louis Let My Chain Hang Low Con Every Yellow Diamonds Mixed Wit Rozo I Shy Real Bright In Da Light Because Im A Star 8 Shots Of Patrons Now Stannin'on Da Baw Probably Get Drunk Wit A Scum And Put Da Keys In Da Wrong Paw

[Chorus:] You Wanna Know Wat We Say In Da Club (Ay Bay Bay) Whites Folks Gangsta And A Thug (Ay Bay Bay) Stink Wit It,Stink Wit Dem Duh (Ay Bay Bay) Ridin' In A Lac Wit A Mug (Ay Bay Bay)

Im In Da Club Hollerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Holerin' Ay Bay Bay [X2] Ay Bay Bay [X3] Im In Da Club Hollerin'

Ay Baybay Dat Dey Play Dats My Song Turn It Up [Till Finish]

Answer me this:

Why do fruits come with stickers on them? I'd really like to know the answer to this question. Working here at Revolution means I get free fruit stocked fresh every Monday, which rocks, but I get tired of peeling the little stickers off, and God forbid if I rinse my fruit BEFORE removing the sticker...then it's virtually impossible to get off completely. Now all in all, this is not a "major" inconvenience, but I'd like to know why they have them. I sort of understand the whole "you want to know what kind of apple you're eating" thing, but wouldn't you find that in the grocery store on the sign? That being said, the Apple stickers are useful - as I now know that PinkLady's are some of my favorite fruits that I've never had before :)

Sopranos Debate Continues

So I've had a few conversations with friends who say that the soprano's ending is "brilliant" "genius" "a masterpiece" "cutting edge" bla bla bla. I decided that I will go ahead and discuss it here because if you haven't seen it, you've definitely had it spoiled elsewhere so I'm not revealing anything or bursting any bubbles - in the case that you have been in a cave for the last week, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE ENDING OF SOPRANOS NOW....

Basically, the way it works out is that Tony is sitting at a diner/restaurant type place with Carmela, AJ, and Meadow is on her way into the restaurant. The camera focuses on the other diners, an sketchy looking Italian, a hairy trucker guy, and two younger African American fellas. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" is playing (getting louder and louder with each minute). Tony orders onion rings for the table, Carmela pops one in, AJ does the same, and then Tony does....then the door opens, a bell rings, Tony looks up (shot so that it looks like Meadow is coming in) and then the screen just goes pitch black for a few seconds and then the credits role silently.

Now I had a conniption when this happened - I was ready to cancel RCN Cable service right then and there, but it's how Chase wanted it! After much chatter, it was revealed that the Italian dude is Phil Leotardo's cousin (who was in Season 3 or something); the trucker's brother was killed by Tony (either himself or on an order from him); and the two black dudes tried to rob Tony and kill him in some season prior. So basically...each of these three characters have reasons to want Tony dead...Furthermore, the screen going black is significant because Tony and Bobby talk about how when you get shot "it all goes black" some 6 episodes ago in the final season when they are chillin' on the lake near Canada.

So now the question is, does he get popped? I think the answer to that is most definitely - all signs point to yes. The debate here, however, is whether or not creator David Chase is derelict in his duties as a producer by not providing a solid, definitive ending. My belief is absolutely! Since the beginning of time, what makes a story a story is a beginning, middle, and end! You can't create a story and then say "i don't know what happens" at the end! That's what makes YOU the PRODUCER - YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!! You hold my heart in your hand and you can do whatever you want with it!!! Being given that power means you OWE ME an ending, because not providing me with closure is cruel and unusual punishment.

So that's what I think about that - those who think it was "brilliant" are entitled to that opinion, but I, for one, think it's an abomination. One thing is for sure, we're STILL talking about it a week later, and that would NOT happen had he provided the ending - nice little ploy there Davey boy....

Sopranos, I Despise Thee....

That's not me sitting in that chair (at least not for a few years till my genes kick-in and make me lose all of my hair), but I certainly didn't look much happier than Don Soprano pictured above after seeing the finale of the hit HBO series last night. In the event that any avid Sopranos fan has not seen the final episode, which I highly doubt (with the exception of you, Po....you really need to get past season 4 and just give in and buy the whole series on DVD). I don't want to spoil it, but all I'll say is that I'm extremely disappointed!!!! This highly touted Sopranos Finale was the talk of my social circle all week - Frank and I were actually counting down "dude, 5 more days till we find out what happens on Sopranos" "I know bro, what do you think is going to happen?" We went through all the brainstorming scenarios - they blow up Tony's house with his family in it; AJ rats out his own dad because he's turning into a Vegan hippie; Tony's safe house gets blown up (it was me with all the blown up theories....) etc. etc. etc. All this speculation for nothing!!!! I feel so used, so led on, so cheap....and not in the good way! As the clock ticked minute by minute, we were all just sitting there going "what's gonna happen?" "where's all the death?" "they only have 10 minutes left to tie this whole thing together....how the hell are they going to do that?" And then.....at 10:05....the end. Bye-bye sopranos forever. I jumped out of my seat cursing RCN thinking that it was a power outage, but noooooo, it was David Chase's "creativity" at work. He was quoted as saying the following: "[networks are only] interested in giving answers instead of raising questions. I'm not a propagandist. I don't have the answers for s---. But other people think they do. And other TV producers are very content to give people their view, their vision of whatever it is. I'm not." Now I'm no producer, but as a viewer I've grown accustomed to the popular style of giving answers - When my romance with a TV show ends w/ one final passionate embrace, I need closure as to why, Dag-nabit! Just because Sopranos is such a brilliant show, thereby making David Chase a truly gifted producer, I still say that his choice of ending was unfair, selfish, and in many ways, apathetic. Shows are supposed to have beginnings, middles, and ends...that's how it goes from the beginning of time. For Mr. Chase to come out and try and be some revolutionary by going against the grain is truly upsetting. Nonetheless, I will be talking about it for a while, and I will probably buy the entire series on DVD (if not for myself, then for my old man so that he's not a slave to cable TV's disorderly re-runs). Friends of mine predicted a movie, a mini-series, or something greater to finish the story, but according to Chase's commentary, that's probably not going to be the case.... sad sad day for HBO and viewers everywhere....

Babies

Are the cutest things ever! The little celeb you see above is my newest cousin, James Darmody. This picture was taken during my last visit home to Toronto while at lunch with some of my aunts and uncles. He is the most jovial, cheerful, and adorable little guy ever - I can only hope that some day in the way-distant future, when I have one of my own, it's as cool as this kid.

The Power of Being Paris

I am generally opposed to paying attention to/discussing the lives of the rich and famous because I like to think that I don't care about their lives like everyone else in America - I try to think that they're just people too... I have to make an exception, however, for Paris Hilton, who was recently RELEASED from serving her 45 day sentence in jail for violating her probation after merely 3 days in a women's lock-up facility, where she apparently cried constantly, refused to eat, and had difficulty making a collect phone call (figures). Call me a hard ass, but I don't think that Paris should get any special treatment, and I most certainly do not believe that she is "mentally distressed" in prison, if anything, she's mentally retarded. This is just another example of stars getting off the hook for things because of their fame and who their daddy is. She got SOOO much press off of this that I'm sure it'll do nothing but boost her popularity in this country, which in my opinion is a reflection of the sad state we are in as a nation. Throw her in the same pile as Anna Nicole Smith...i call that the "who gives a shit" pile.

Things I hear in DC

Heard two things today that I don't generally hear on a daily basis: 1) I go to the CVS by my house today in search of something to aid in relieving the back pain caused by my basketball game last week, and re-aggravated by dancing wildly to Middle Eastern music w/ my mother at the wedding this weekend. The conversation goes as follows: Me: Hi, I am having some really bad back pain, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about this (Doan's Backpain Medicine), as I've never heard of it...how is it different from Advil? Pharmacist: Well...that won't hurt you--it's a salycilate so it won't hurt you. What will really help is losing 50 lbs off the front of your stomach...because every pound on the stomach pulls 7 pounds on the back..... Me: Ah, yes...this I know. But in terms of what can feasibly happen in the next two weeks, what would you suggest I take, Advil or Doan's? I have to say that a) I appreciate the pharmacists honesty, b) I cannot believe he thinks i'm dumb enough to realize that I'm fat, c) The pharmacist is kind of a dick, I mean, let's be honest.....that's a dick thing to say, d) You know it's really time to lose weight when a pharmacist says that to you.... I opted to stick with the Advil and drink milk with it, to bring out the salycilate that will supposedly help my back. I am going to go to a doctor, who will hopefully have more faith in my common sense and suggest something other than miracle weight loss. 2) I'm watching Ottawa vs. Anaheim in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the announcer goes, "OH BOY! Did you see that hit? He just put him down like a cup of free beer at a frat party!!!!" a) First off, that is AWESOME because it's true--he really did bodycheck the guy like a cup of beer at a frat party. b) American hockey announcers suck ass. I'd rather see Barry Melrose commentating a game than these jokers. I mean seriously, they are the ones who brought us the red streak after the slapsho....yuck. In other news, HELLS KITCHEN season 3 is back! WOOOOOOO. Go Ramsey.

Hooray for "Good Liam" on the left shoulder...

Tonight I'm sitting at my computer at 9:45 thinking, "Damnit I don't have any food...maybe i should order in," which in itself is quite a departure from my days of yore when eating out was a nightly occurrence....In fact, i'm going to stop and pat myself on the back for eating at home at least 4 out of 5 weeknights....that's tough to do in this city! Especially for an Elite Yelper like myself :) Anyways, i'm sitting here and Good Liam on the left shoulder says "perhaps you should go for a run instead of eating" since I had been putting off jogging since I got home at 7pm tonight, then the Bad Liam on the right shoulder says, "ah whatever....go tomorrow morning," which realistic Liam knows won't happen....so I got my shoes on, my iPod, running gear, and off I went on my usual "White House Run," which is 2.58 miles.
I managed to run the entire thing, which is a first for me - I generally have to stop and walk after 2.5 miles or so...but this time around I made it the whole way and I am pretty proud of myself - I opted to do good for my body instead of bad...1 day down, 364 to go.....and then another 365...

Gangs of DC

So this has been one hell of a weekend for spotting unusual activity and observing people different than myself. I figured that having seen pretty much the entire population of Maryland and Virginia who live in Trailers at DC101's Chili Cook-off was going to be it, but alas, something topped it! Today I went to brunch with some friends of mine, and I went to my one friend's apartment to pick her up. As we are about to pull out, we see a scuffle break out amongst a group of about 12-15 Latino dudes. The scuffle quickly erupted into an all out slug fest and there were dudes running all over the streets, chasing one another, fists flying everywhere, tackling, yelling, and then....THEN...dudes started picking up bricks (whether they were strategically placed or not, I do not know) and whipping them across the street at their rivals! This continued for about 1 minute and then they ran up the street and continued chasing one another and pounding each other out. Now I'd heard that the area we were in, which also happens to be my former neighborhood, was heavily populated with MS-13 gangmembers, but I'd never actually felt as though I'd seen any. I guess the reason is because they don't have the same profile as the homies from East LA (Shaved head, tank tops, khaki's, and tattooes all over the place), but I'm pretty sure these guys were in it simply because how often will such a large number of people throw down? I mean, if this was just one or two random dudes hitting one another, I almost feel like other people would try to stop it or whatever, but this looked like the clash of two sides of a war - it was insane! What also struck me is that their ages all varied and they dressed just like anyone else would...I tell you what tho....dress or no dress, gun or no gun, throwing bricks at other human beings is some serious shit and I would not want to mess with 'em. My friend will be moving out of that area to the suburbs of Maryland, so fortunately she won't have to be there much longer and risk getting hit with a brick. Nonetheless, that is the craziest thing i've seen all week, and perhaps this year.

Live Shows, Tattoos, and Trash

Today I opened my window and heard really loud music - live music. Turns out that DC101s chili cookoff is being held in the parking lot where the old convention center used to be - meaning that I could go and watch some of my favorite bands w/o having to purchase a ticket! I went online to look at the schedule and found out that Buckcherry was playing at 3pm, so I went at 2:30 and ran around the outside of the parking lot, which I was able to map at www.mapmyrun.com, and it turns out that once around that lot is .59 miles, so I did it 4 times, which means I ran my 2 miles for the day! Sweeet... Now I don't go to live shows often, so when I do, I am always blown away by how much white trash goes to concerts. I mean, Buckcherry is one of my favorite bands and I look at the rest of their fans and think "I share the same taste in music as THESE people?" At the risk of sounding snobby and elitist, it's hard for me to accept this commonality. I'm sure that they are all good people, hard-working, yada yada yada, but for chrissake buy shirts that have sleeves on them - I know you really like that tattoo you got of the flaming skull with roses for eyes and "sue-ann" tattooed on its forhead but you look like a scrawny fool! Ladies (and I use that term extremely loosely in this case) cover up your flabby ass and do not show me the tattooes on your breasts, I do not want to see it. And lastly.... CUT THAT DAMN MULLET!!!!! Now you might be thinking, "man, beefcake's a real jerk - who the hell is he to judge?" Well that's a good point, but judging people is part of human nature, as evidenced by the 300 pound "woman" I saw at the cookoff chugging a beer in her t-shirt that said "Welcome to America - Now Speak English!" If I had been drinking beer myself, and wasn't afraid that this woman would beat the living hell out of me, I might have pointed out to her that those non-English speaking foreigners prepare all of her cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets at McDonald's; her burritos at chipotle and Taco Bell, and her blizzard's at Dairy Queen. I see her point, and I am not suggesting that the United States open its borders any more than it has, in fact just last night I was telling someone that the US needs to build it's own equivalent to the Great Wall of China along the southern border of the country, but honestly the immigrants who come here work their asses off - I saw several of them riding bikes or walking in chef pants, or t-shirts that represented restaurants in the 45 minutes I stood there watching Buckcherry...so while Sue-Ann McHickey is guzzling budweiser and wearing shirts that make such a poignant statement, these people are heading to work on a Saturday to support their families, and ultimately, our economy. The other thing that I noticed was the Marine Corps recruiting tent, and I think that says a lot about our military. People no longer want to serve in the military voluntarily or out of patriotism, as they do in many European countries (or Israel, for example), and that results in Marines having to solicit people like those I saw at the chili cook-off, and while there is nothing wrong with it, I just couldn't help but think of the images of the marine corps recruiters in that slob Michael Moore's movie going to shopping malls in Michigan to recruit kids who "wouldn't otherwise have a future." It's like preying on innocent children in some way. But I haven't enlisted, so it's not for me to say. I have some friends in the Marines and I respect them very much, as well as any soldier who has ever done a tour of duty, or is willing to do so - better men (and women) than I. All I'm saying is that this struck me as sad...perhaps it's just me.

Single vs. Non-Single Man in DC

A funny conversation I had today over GChat with my good friend who just entered a relationship again after a long respite of singleness: ME: You pretty much have to come out tonight since tomorrow your balls are in a vice HIM: yea well theyre in one tonight too, but she wants to go out we might go to the bottom line me: word HIM: she says she always sees people she works with in that area tho who knows i dont care just get me drunk me: o me: alright so i spose we'll see you at bottom line maybe wherever your lady brings you make sure no sniffing other doggies butts tho, ok? when she takes you for a walk HIM: haha listen shut up HIM: i hate this shit i have nothing else i mean i have no leverage here im a bitch me: it's fine!

GOP = Goofs of Politics

OOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooookay people, so we all got a chance to see the "Presidential Candidates" representing the Grand Ol' Party, and 3 of them don't believe in Evolution....see ya fellas. Quite frankly, they are not all that impressive a group. And you saw my earlier post about "what more could go wrong with the republican party?" - I thought about this as I ran past Abramoff's old restaurant "Signatures," which is now entitled D'Acqua, on Penn. Well folks, since that post, G-Dub has veto'd a congressional bill suggesting a concrete timeline for the pullout of troops in Iraq, greeted the Queen of England and messed up the thanks he gave her for celebrating our Bi-Centennial in 17...errr...1976; and now THIS: Representative Ted Poe R-TX quotes Founder of KKK on House Floor This morning I received a picture in my e-mail from my roommate Frank that foreshadows what he future holds for the GOP, or Goofs of Politics, after all of these instances of stupidity...

Ran something

So I finally did it - I ran an organized "race," albeit untimed. This past Sunday I ran the Race for Hope 5K, a fundraising effort to find a cure for brain cancer. My time was 35:34, which would have been a few minutes better had I not had to stop to inhale my asthma spray due to the allergens in the air, and hadn't made a 50 yard dash to slap our team-leader on the ass for walking...amazing what sprinting 50 yards will do to a man my size - I was walking for a good few minutes after that. Nonetheless, I'm proud of myself for doing it, and I really felt good afterwards. Some 6000 people showed up to walk or run on Pennsylvania Ave, and it was really cool to run around the streets of DC without any cars or stoplights. I felt refreshed and satisfied once I finished, although I was pretty tired. I want to run another 5K soon, and someday perhaps a 10 mile, but that's down the line a few ways.

Enough with the moving already!

I have moved 3 times in 2 years - from DC to Reston upon graduating, from Reston to Spanish Harlem/Mt Pleasant in December 06, and from Spanish Harlem to Chinatown (i like my neighborhoods diversified). If you've been an avid reader, you've read the whole moving debaucle blog, as I was in a bad mood as a result of moving for like a week. Just helped Mark move out of our building into a new place, and helped Zach move in his place. I've already pointed out that UHAUL is the worst company on earth, but I noticed something else while moving that made no sense: Why do mattresses have 2 handles on the long side of the bed, but no handles on the short side? Since two people carrying a mattress generally involves lifting from the top and the side, why wouldn't they put straps on the side too? Just a Seinfeldian observation... Went to Ruth's Chris last night - see My Yelp Review for my thoughts...

The DC Government - stickin' it to residents since whenever it was incepted....

Well I knew that it was inevitable....sooner than later I was going to park my car absent mindedly on a side of the street that restricts parking on either Tuesday or Wednesday from 1230-230 every week...It was bound to happen sooner or later, and today it did. Every Monday evening on my way home from work I go to my car to see where it is parked and if it is, in fact, parked on a side of the street that says "No Parking Tuesdays 1230-230 for 'street cleaning,'" I will move it to a side of the street that has the same sign for Wednesdays. Then on Tuesday I go through the same drill, moving the car to a location that will allow me to park until Tuesday w/0 worrying about the supposed street cleaning that supposedly goes on in our neighborhood, where the streets are covered in rubbish, every week--For the record, i've NEVER seen a street cleaning machine in Washington, DC, and i've been here for 6 years! The worst part of it is that there wasn't even a sign in FRONT of my car that said "no parking 1230-230 Wednesdays for street cleaning," but rather, it was behind the car by some 4 spots and wasn't clearly visible. I figured that since these signs are EVERYWHERE in our hood, that if I was parked in front of a sign where that particular sign was absent, I was alright. Nope - dinged for $30.00, which is also a bitch because if it were $250 or something, i'd fight it, but $30 isn't worth my time...And you know, I wouldn't mind the signs being there and the rule being enforced if there was ACTUALLY street cleaning going on....but there is none to my knowledge, so it's just a money-grab on the part of the DC Govt. Speaking of DC Gov money grabs, today I witnessed from my office window a fine member of the Metropolitan Police Department park his car at the corner of 18th and N, get out, stand behind his car, and then proceed to issue Jay-walking tickets to at least 20 people....Jay-walking tickets in a major metropolitan city where the crime rate is among the top 10 in the nation, and you have cops writing tickets for jay-walking? I mean, don't they have something better to be doing? Shouldn't they be at one of our local high schools arresting kids for drug dealing or illegal weapons possession? Is it REALLY necessary for an officer of the law to spend an hour or two writing tickets to busy professionals on their way to Starbucks for a fucking latte? I think it's ludicrous, and while I do think highly of newly elected Mayor Fenty, I think his "crackdown on jaywalking" is unnecessary and stupid. I don't care of people are getting hit by cars in DC by Metro Bus drivers arguing they "didn't see the people" - that's the fault of one of two people, or both: the driver and the jaywalker. If the driver cannot be cautious enough to avoid pedestrians in a busy city, he shouldn't be a driver; and if a Jaywalker is stupid enough to walk in front of a public transit bus and get hit, then they shouldn't be walking! I suppose the bus takes care of that, eh? I hardly see how charging me $5 for walking when the orange hand is flashing going to do anything. Government taxation is necessary and i'm fine paying it, but not for absolute stupidity such as this. Fenty better be putting every single dollar earned from the jaywalking tickets towards educating the youth of DC, for if he's not, he's hosing me just as bad as anyone else. Sorry for the negativity in this post....it just fires me up :)

More YouTube Drooling

So after my whole schpeel about FunTwo and his Canon Rock on YouTUBE, you'd think that perhaps I'd give it a rest. I can't tho--that song just keeps coming into my mind and I gotta listen to it. In the process, I discovered this 16 year old French kid who goes by the s/n "mattrach" on YouTUBE. He has several versions of Canon Rock, but also several other songs as well. I can't believe how talented he is, and at such a young age! It's kind of funny, there is a link to an ebay auction on his most recent video of Canon Rock where he's selling his Jackson Professional guitar for $308 Euros (which is like $600 greenbacks, I am guessing?) and in broken English he states "can come with autograph if you wish" - If I had the cash to waste on a 600 guitar I wont' play, I'd buy it just to get his signature, the kid is unbelievable.... http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifCheck THIS out! I'm sure there are kids this good all over the place, but he's one of the best i've seen and all thanks to YouTUBE.

What's up Web 2.0 - I'm In Your Grill!!

Happy to announce that all of my well-written critique's of the many DC dining establishments on www.yelp.com haven't gone unnoticed by the Elite Squad at Yelp! and I have been invited to be an "Elite Member" of the DC Yelp! Squad for the 2007 year. Now you will first off say "what is hell is Yelp!"? It is a great little site that stores information about merchants and eateries in major cities and then allows people to go online and contribute their own little gems to the review section. It's like an online Zagat people, except it's for the people, by the people - which is cool. After all, what do I need a 55 year old Zagat reviewer telling me to eat? Chances are we're on different wavelengths anyhow...Further cool about it is that you meet people in your city, often at restaurants, and make new pals! The perk of being an Elite member...i get invited to a bunch of different places on a regular basis to try it out - wooooo hoooo! Check me out on there: Canadian Beefcake on Yelp!