Nice job, Jinx.

Uhhh.... Looks like Jinx finally put Max into space.

C8H10N4O2 equals C8H10N4O2

I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live decaffeinated, nor ask another man to live decaffeinated for me.

Best. Warning. Ever!

Conveyor belt or medieval torture device... You decide.

Frisco

Here's to my good pal Frisco who had to be put to sleep last night. I want to pay a blog tribute to him, but I really don't know what to say about a cat. This will probably be a bit awkward and random, so bear with me here.

Here's the Wiki data on Frisco:

• Don't pet his belly, even though he's rolling around on his back practically begging you to do so. He'll scratch the crap out of your arms.


• Frisco never really meowed; he made a crazy pigeon coo or a weird "accchhhk acccchk" noise.


• His shiny black and white coat and somewhat portly stature made him look sort of penguinesque.


• Frisco was more like a dog than a cat. He was not aloof and demanded the attention of a good lap dog. He was trained to jump into my lap the second he heard my La-Z-Boy start to recline.


• Frisco took on the personality of his namesake from Atlas Shrugged: playful when he wanted to be, stubborn when he wanted to be, strong when he needed to be, but loyal and affectionate to those that were closest to him.

Frisco wasn't even 10 years old yet; this took us all by surprise. His heavy, labored breathing came on suddenly, but I reacted just as fast and rushed him to the animal hospital. The vet said it was either cancer or heart failure that caused the fluid to pool up around his lungs, and the pain and uncertainty of treatment made euthanasia the most humane decision. He didn't suffer.

Our other cat, Slug, is already wandering the house a bit confused. I'm sure he'll miss Frisco's authoritative thwaps on the head when Slug had pushed the wrong button and bit his ear one too many times. They were close pals, though.

My baby girl had only a few good months of true interaction with Frisco. I'm proud of his tolerance and patience with her. He took a good amount of ear pulling, head slaps, eye pokes, and tail pulls but never once retaliated. They would have been good friends.

I'm taking this a lot harder than I thought I would. It's probably the unexpected nature of this loss that's really upsetting... or it's probably the fact that I got really close to this cat and I'm going to miss my bud.

...And the 2007 Album of the Year Goes To....

HONORABLE MENTION:

Planet Earth, Prince: This album rocks and the supporting 7.7.7 show was outta sight. Prince has once again found his stride and is hitting it out of the park. For some reason, though, this album faded from my in-car play list relatively quickly; maybe it was just because I've been in a metal mood lately. "Chelsea Rodgers" and "Guitar" are instant classics, though, and will be in the majority of my upcoming mixes. RATING: ****** outta 8.

United Abominations, Megadeth: Dave Mustaine and I had a falling out after he released the sub-mediocre pile of garbage, Countdown to Exinction (1992). 2004's The System Has Failed won be back as a fan with its back-to-the-good-ol'-days approach of classic Mustaine sneer and Megadeth guitar heroics. United Abominations ups the ante a bit and provides a more constant offering of that good ol' speed metal that I grew up on. Now, the inclusion of the stinky, skippable "A Tout le Monde" is mind-boggling and sets the album back quite a bit. Subtract 2 stars for that piece of garbage. Good job overall, though, for Mr. Mustaine. RATING ***** outta 8.

Lyden Na, Blood Duster: The awesome thing about Blood Duster has always been their ability to change gears from grindcore to groove metal, to southern rock, to AC/DC party metal, and back to grindcore while maintaining a deathmetal foundation. Each album of Blood Duster's ranks at the top of my BEST EVER lists, and Lyden Na is right up there... except... Blood Duster decided to split their album in two. The first set is a collection of fun party metal which is a blast, if not a bit predictable. Right when the first set gets a bit old and you start to call their shots, the second set erupts. It's a rewarding set of classic Blood Duster grindcore: short songs, insane tempo, crazy stops and breaks. This decision to split the album in halves actually hurts the overall Blood Duster experience, though. Their versatility and creativity isn't as apparent when each style is served seperately. It's like eating your plate of donuts only to wait before drinking your coffee. No. You have to complement your donuts with sips of coffee between bites. Blood Duster songs are best served with grindcore sips in between rather than saving them for dessert. RATING: ****** outta 8.

RUNNER UP:

Anonymous, Tomahawk: Mike Patton is a genius. When I rushed out on my lunch break to get the new Tomahawk CD, I was a bit miffed when I read on the CD cover that this was not Tomahawk's original music but adaptations of Native American songs and chants instead. Wha? Leave it to Patton to produce some really heavy, moody, melodic music out of the 100+ year-old "Indian Songs." Some songs rock in the classic heavy metal sense while others simmer on brood mode while others kick in a nifty dance beat. Each song offers a unique experience, but it's still approachable (especially for Patton) and accessible. I love this CD. RATING: ******* outta 8.

...And the Album of the Year Goes To....

SNAKES AND ARROWS, Rush: Yeah, they are my all-time favorite band, but I'll be the first to admit that Rush is much better at writing songs than compiling albums (speaking of anything after Signals). 1983 - 2006 Rush is 1/2 masterpiece and 1/2 filler. Thankfully, Snakes and Arrows is the most consistent offering since Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves, and it's consistently solid stuff. "Far Cry" opens the CD with typical Rush bah... bah... bah-bah-bah... bah-bah-bah syncopated/goofed up time signatured brilliance (ending neatly on Alex Lifeson's signature F# chord ala Hemispheres). Surprisingly, though, the strong songs keep on coming until the CD hits repeat. With "The Way The Wind Blows" being the CD's strongest offering, challenging songs like "Spindrift" and "We Hold On" are enough to keep any prog-rocker satisfied. To add to the fun, there are three well-crafted instrumentals on Snakes and Arrows, so the Geddy haters can listen in without plugging ears. The stinkers of the crop, "Good News First," "The Larger Bowl," and "Faithless" had enough merit to grow on me over time and I no longer skip them when they pop up. This is a first for me and Rush filler... and it was nice to hear.

I could have easily awarded BAOTY to Tomahawk this year, but Snakes and Arrows gets the nod for sheer replayability. This CD was in my car all year long and actually in the CD player at least twice a week. That's pretty dang good for me, so kudos to Mr. Peart, Lifeson, and Lee. Not only is Snakes and Arrows the Best Album of the Year, but it's also Rush's best since Moving Pictures. RATING: ******* outta 8.

What Gives?

(I'll get back to my best of 2007 list after this minor breakdown)

What is the deal with my shiny head? I'm balding; I get it, so leave me alone, shiny head! My hairline is sliding waaayyyy back as I'm getting older. (Which I don't care about since my devilishly good looks and snappy personality more than compensate for my lack of hairline.) Why is head skin so friggin' shiny?

Honestly, I can see my head reflecting off of a window from across the street on a cloudy day. It's almost blinding.

It's not like it's overly greasy or anything; I wiped down my forehead with a napkin just to make sure.

I performed this experiment: I held various hairless parts of my body up to a flashlight. Nothing. No luminescence at all. Why, then, is my head skin so shiny? Do I really need the reminder from a window across a room that I'm balding?

Someone Wiki this and get back to me.

...And the Concert of the Year Goes To....

Here begins my 2007 best-of list. Today's episode is: CONCERT OF THE YEAR.

------------

RUNNER UP: PRINCE 7/7/07: His name is Prince and he is funky indeed. This was my first time seeing The Artist and my goodness, what a show. Roasting for an hour in a packed skyway outside of Target Center with my wife and uber-pregnant sister while his highness dawdled backstage was a drag, but once we were seated (ROW X in UPPER DECK!) and Prince started playing, we soon forgot about the inconvience.

I've always been curious to see Prince live where he has the freedom to extend his guitar solos and work the crowd. I knew he was quite the showman, but I didn't expect him to be this good. He played most of his hits and some rarities, some medleys, and he even had a cute little Minneapolis dance party (Play that Funky Music White Boy) on stage while ripping out an impressive bass solo ("Awwww, now I'm just showin' off").

Prince played a lonnnngggg time ("call your babysitters, we're gonna be here all night") and his energy was unrelenting. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, his showmanship, and most importantly, his musicianship. Well done, Prince, my $77.77 nose bleeds were worth it!

-------------

Runner Up: RUSH: SNAKES AND ARROWS TOUR: My wife is going to be surprised reading that Rush didn't win by mere default. I am a self-confessed Rush nerd. I own all 73 of their CDs and I've seen them every time they've played Minneapolis since the Presto tour back in 1989 (at the Civic Center, now a Mall of America parking lot). I've camped out for tickets back when camping out for tickets was cool. I read Neil Peart's books. I check for Rush news on websites. I'm pathetic and nerdy, but RUSH IS AWESOME!

With that said, I've seen Rush so many times that I knew exactly what to expect. They are so talented and professional that each show is consistently perfect. I expected great musicianship, tight performances, cool light shows, within a 3-hour show. That's what I got and I loved it. I did regret taking a peek at the set list before the concert, since they played some deeeeep tracks (Circumstances, Entre Nous) that I wouldn't have expected.

The night was awesome and they met all my expectations. It was exactly what I wanted for my Rush night.

-------------------

... And the Concert of the Year Goes To:

FINN TROLL!!! I didn't know what to expect when I bought my ticket to Finn Troll. For the unfamiliar, Finn Troll is a band from Finland (but they sing in Swedish since it sounds more "trollish") that combines death metal with "Humppa," a traditional Finnish folk-polka. It's wild stuff that really stands out in the been-there-done-that monotony that drudges through the death metal genre.

So out comes Finn Troll. They pulled out all the go-to moves: black squiggly face paint, head twirling and hair whipping, tight guitars, and neat intro music. Finn Troll is definitely one of the most professional non-arena metal bands I've seen live in that their performance was dead-on perfect. Amazing guitars, tight drums, and an entertaining front-man that seemed sincere in his fist-pumping.

Between songs, I was thoroughly amused by vocalist, Vreth's song introductions. "Here is one that is faster. You will like this one, eh?" or "Here is one that is slower. We hopes you enjoy this one." or "This is an older song. You wills remember this one, eh?" Awesome.

I soaked in the entire performance and noticed midway that I'd been smiling through the whole show. These guys were so fun, so good natured (they even had the crowd singing along... at a death metal show!), and so... what's the word... foreign?... in their delivery that I just couldn't help loving the guys. I keep thinking back to this show and how it was so fun and how it blew any expectations away and how it forces me to make run-on sentences in describing it since it was so friggin' metally kewl that FinnTroll has to be the Best Concert of 2007.

McWhatever....

Vacuum Cleaners... Mosquitoes... Straws... Eagan McDonalds...

There's a McDonalds in Eagan that s-u-c-k sucks sucks sucks! I've been there a few times out of convenience as it's only a few blocks away from my work. After noticing the alarming trend of incorrect orders and horrible fries, I decided to cut my losses and avoid that McJoke of a restaurant.

My pal Josh happened to bring up this McDonalds in conversation today, but he absolutely loves this particular location. He has even gone as far as sending them rave emails about their service and their wonderful fries! What gives?!

Let's start from the beginning.

Scene 1:

Me: I'll have 2 Chipotle BBQ Snackwraps, a small Diet Coke and a small fry
Guy: Crispy or Grilled?
Me: Crispy, please.
Guy: So that's 2 snack wraps...
Me: Yup.
Guy: anything else?
Me: a small Diet Coke and a Small Fry
Guy: small.... Diet... Cooooooke.....
Me: Yes! And a Small Fry.
Guy: Anything Else?
Me: Nope! That'll do it!
Guy: Pull ahead.

Fast forward to when I pull ahead, pay, pick up my food and notice that there's only one Snack Wrap in the bag...

Me: Hey. There's only one Snack Wrap in my bag.
Dude: Uh.... you ordered one.
Me: No. I ordered two.
Dude: You ordered one.
Me: Excuse me? I know what I ordered. I ordered two Snack Wraps!
Dude: You. Ordered. One.
Me: Whatever! (speeds off)

###

Scenes 2 and 3 are the same, but on different days. Amazingly, the first part of the mission was completed with little difficulty; the guy and dude got the order right. The problem was when I bit into the fries. There's a difference between not-quite-hot fries and slightly older fries and what I received: COLD fries. These fries were so cold that the grease had actually congealed on the bottom of the bag leaving a cold, wet, syrupy gel on each fry. I had to throw 'em away.

###

Scenes 5 and 6 were the last straws. Without going into too many details, they were the typical McCases when the dum dums forgot part of my order. Dum Dums!!

----------------

So there, I've boycotted that location. That is, until today after I heard Josh's gushing over this Eagan McDondalds. Could I be that unlucky? Is it me? Is it my tone when I order??

SCENE 7

Me: I'll have 2 Chipotle BBQ Crispy Snack Wraps, a small.....
Lady: 2 CHIPOTLE BBQ CRISPY SNACK WRAPS!!!!???
Me: ... yes.
Lady: ANYTHING ELSE???
Me: yes. A small Diet Coke and a sm...
Lady: SMALL DIET COKE!!!???
Me: yes.
Lady: ANYTHING ELSE???
Me: yes. I'll have a small french fry.
Lady: SMALL FRENCH FRY!!!???
Me: yes.
Lady: ...
Me: ...
Lady: ...
Me: ... That will be all.
Lady: PULL FORWARD!!

So then I pull forward and pay with my card. I get my card back and out of curiosity I look at the receipt. No foolin, the receipt was for a cheeseburger meal and a large Coke. Now I get to sit for seven minutes (I did look at the clock) while the panicked lady rushes to her manager to figure out what went wrong, credit my card, redo the transaction, and send me on the way. To my surprise, my order inside the bag was okay and the fries were relatively decent.

It must be me.

The Timberwolvezzzzzzzzzzz.....

It's been a while since I talked Wolfies due to my pumpkin-face hiatus (see previous post). In short, I love the KG trade because I love KG. (I refer you to 2006-7 posts begging McHale to trade the ticket). The Wolves will suck, but at least the season won't be the tragic "watch KG stagnate" season we've learned to expect. GO CELTICS!

With that said:

My pal Mike and I decided it would be a good idea to buy a 3-pack of Wolfies tickets for games against the Mavs, Suns, and the CELTICS! Being that this is one of the few ways to get the coveted tix to see my all-time favorite Mr. Garnett, Mike and I had no problem shelling out $50 for 3 games.

That Mavericks game was last Sunday. What happened to my favorite sports franchise?! I know "The Franchise" is in Boston now, but c'mon! I did fully expect a blow-out loss at the hands of one of the NBA's finer clubs, but still... WTF? Can we at least try to run a play or two?

Even when the Wolfies sucked in the past, at least they had an identity of being one of the league's few round-the-horn/make-the-extra-pass teams. This team is as clueless as Kevin Munster and his lackeys. Besides one pick and roll play late in the 3rd quarter, Mike and I could only distinguish two plays:

The first play is called, "Give it to Al Jefferson and stand around," (GAJSA). We liked GAJSA a lot since it gave the ball to the lone Timberwolf that can actually produce. Unfortunately, the acute mind of Mav's coach Avery Johnson was quick to adjust to this complicated play and soon sent triple-teams to Al whenever "coach" Whitman ran the GAJSA. Rather than pass the ball out to the inept players around him (I wouldn't either), Big Al tried to bust through the triple-team and either forced up a prayer or turned it over.

The second play is called, "Dribble for a bit and chuck up a prayer," (DB-CUP) and we didn't like this play at all. Don't confuse DB-CUP for DB-TIO, which is really not a separate play but an offshoot of the former. The resulting turn over is merely an ad-libbed variation to Whitman's plan.

The one defensive set I could recognize was called "OLAY," which is not a clever anagram, but the sound of a matador and my bad attempt at a joke.


Oh yeah! It was rookie day too. Apparently this means that the Wolves' rookies get to make funny movies to show during time-outs. Rookie Cory Brewer's line: 16:37 minutes, 1 pt, 1 reb, 1 to. His +/- was -11 (!). Chris Richard's line: 10:36 for 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 1 turnover. THE FUTURE IS SOOOO BRIGHT!

End result: Mav's 101, Wolfies 78. Blech.

The main gripe I have with this crew and their coach is not the lack of talent or the lack of wins. I expected a crappy season after KG left. What bothers me is the lack of purpose behind each play (and upwards: it seems there is no purpose in the substitutions, the draft picks, the trades, the free agent signings, the GM, etc). It's one thing to run a play and miss the shot. It's another to walk around the court and fire up a prayer. Yuck.

On a brighter note, I did finally see the "Quick Change" half time show. It exceeded mediocrity.

New Years!

Hey gang! Merry New Year!!

2008: I resolve to write on my blog.

Seriously, the last time I updated this blog was early March 2007. While this is shameful, it should be stated that my life changed forever late March with the birth of the World's most amazing little girl.

For security and safety and privacy and fear of the interweb's sake, I won't be writing too much about my little pumpkin face. but really, she's incredible and I try to devote every spare second to her. It's understandable how a blog that 3 or 4 people read would be pushed to the back burner.

Well, I reckon I can use a laptop and write some junk on my lunch breaks at work (which will also force me to stop and take a lunch) and get back in the groove. I have a bunch of thoughts to compile on 2007, which was the best year I've had in a lonnnnnngggg time, and I'll be sure to start posting soon.

Thanks for the time off!