State of Mind

I was having weird flashbacks this weekend where I suddenly felt like I just finished the semester and I had a month off. Unfortunately I came crashing back to earth and realized that I work for a living and now I'm lucky if I get a week off where the office doesn't call me more than three times. That being said I think I'm ready for Del Boca Vista and retirement.

In other news I realized that I, in fact, cannot do three things at once especially if those three things involve a 6-star Sudoku puzzle (as hard as they come in the Red Eye), holding a conversation with Clare, and watching the Bears game. At best I could do two of those things, so as any normal guy would I chose Sudoku and the Bears.

Ok, actually I chose Clare and the Bears, and she was nice enough to endure me rambling on about the Cover 2 defense, the virtues (and limitations) of having as fast a defensive front four as the Bears have, Kyle Orton's neckbeard (yes I'm back on that again), and the dangers of having a quarterback controversy this late in the season. I'm pretty sure I lost her when I started explaining the run blocking schemes that the Falcons were (unsuccessfully) employing against the Bears D and Urlacher's role in that...then again glazed over eyes are a good thing right?

Seriously though, she was trying to understand something I love even though she's already said she'd never totally get into it and I appreciated it.

PDA

No, not public displays of affection or even personal digital assistant. The PDA I'm referring to is public displays of asswhuppin' and we almost unleashed some last night.

So Clare and I went to go see Eric Hutchinson play at Schuba's last night. Now before I get to the potential PDA let me just say that if you've never heard him do yourself a favor and get his CD. You can download a few of his live shows on the live music archive at Archive.org as well.

It was a great concert, except for the two girls standing right behind us having a conversation THROUGH THE WHOLE CONCERT! Honestly I would have turned around and smacked them but I don't hit women, instead I had Clare do it. Ok, she didn't hit them so much as give them a "mom look" which promptly shut them up for a few minutes.

Seriously, no one is making you stay. Go ahead and talk about your Juicy Coture jeans and your new Jetta outside where I don't have to listen to it. Along the same lines, after he finished one of his songs Eric dedicated it to the girl in the front row that was talking on her cell phone the entire time. Good stuff, gotta love it.

That being said, it was still an awesome concert and the best part is they recorded it and are going to release a CD of it next year. (and if a certain someone that doesn't like to hear applause on his/her CDs would like a copy I suppose I'd make one for him/her.)

Damn you and your estrogenical tyranny!

So yeah, I went as Stewie for Halloween. Not bad for my first papier mache outing. Now seeing Stewie drink from a bottle...a beer bottle at that...was very interesting.

See, she's real...

...and she's not inflatable. Here are Clare and I down on Michigan Ave. taking in the lights. Aren't we just disgustingly cute? Ok, maybe that's just her...

Chuck Norris

This is possibly one of the funniest Web sites I've seen this year. Not only do they have a listing for Chuck Norris but for Mr. T as well (I choose to ignore the section on Vin Diesel). My question is this...when did Chuck reach his tipping point? Yeah, he had Walker: Texas Ranger, but there's a reason it got cancelled right? Was it the appearance in Dodgeball last year? Don't get me wrong, he's got the beard, the steely gaze and some sweet moves but even I can't explain why I think it's so funny.

I Believe... (part one)

I had a running page on my Web site with a bunch of "I believe that..." statements. I never made it public because I was going to launch it with the new redesign that has been months in the making. For now I guess I'll release them bit by bit here when I'm stuck for blog ideas and then collate them on my site. So, with no further ado...

I believe...

…the only true martini is a dry, gin martini.

…by the age of 11 you should have picked the teams you’re going to root for for life…and at least one of those teams should be the same as your Dad’s.

…in a cross-country road race, Bo Duke could out drive B.A. Baracas, but only because the General Lee was the better vehicle.

…Snoop’s Doggystyle is the magnum opus of hip hop albums.

…comic books are a legitimate form of literature.

…a good steak needs only to be seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

There's plenty more where that came from, but there will be time enough for that.

Holla'

Steak, eggs and Da Bears

I love Chicago, always have and always will. What I think I love most though is the fact that you can't go anywhere on a Sunday during football season and miss a Bears game. That being said, there are some places that are better than others. Take for example The Lion's Head Pub. For $6 you can get a good NY Strip steak, two eggs, hash browns, and toast on any Sunday and if you're in the mood, buck fifty Miller lite drafts. Add to that the fact that everywhere you turn the Bears game is on, and you have the makings of a great Sunday afternoon.

That being said I'm getting a bit nervous watching the Bears lately. Yeah, their defense is ranked number one in the league, but their offense is HORRIBLE! Orton went 6/17 for 68 yards passing. Honestly, I could probably throw 6 for 17. Add to it that he's going with the neck beard. How can you respect a quarterback that's growing a neck beard! To call this offense anemic would be an offense to lackluster red blood cells everywhere.

While I think they're going to the playoffs I have my doubts that they'll actually win a game. Unless of course they can pull off a first round bye and home field advantage maybe they win. (Soldier Field in January? Green Bay is the only team I would give a chance, and they're definitely not going to be there.) That being said, if the Bears do end up in the Super Bowl, I'll be in line outside Soldier Field trying to get tickets.