Celtics/Net "brawl"

Last night in Boston during the end of the 2nd quarter of the Celtics/Nets game, Kris Humphries and Rajon Rondo got into a "brawl".  After watching some of the legit fights in the 1980s between the Celtics and Lakers or Celtics and Pistons, or any team against the manly Knicks of the early 90s, this was more of a scrum.

I do enjoy Rondo getting into it with Ex Mr. Kardashian, but since the fight went into the stands/crowd and the NBA is very tight on this type of activity, Rondo will probably get suspended 5 games.

The good old days of fighting where you would barely be ejected, let alone suspended:

When was the last time you vomited

Up an undigested cow?  This is why I become confused when people are shocked when I say there is a 0% chance of me ever going to South America or Africa.  No thank you, I've got plenty to enjoy with North America and Western Europe.

Amazing new band

Thanks to my bro, Derek, I am a huge fan of the band, "Steel Panther".  This band is a recent 2009 break-out band who rocks out hard like 80s Hair Metal, with dirty lyrics.  These songs make me want to head-bang out with some long hair, but also LOL like a 17 year old.

Let's try out a few:

This is about a dude who "loves" his girl, but can't help his D from getting weird with other chicks.  Reminds me of one of my buddies.  Whoops.

Great song about doing it up with a girl who has a few extra on her.  At the age of 30 with my current physique, can't hate on this tune.

My favorite song by the group - totally 80s sound plus amazing lyrics.  Awesomeness at its finest.

Thank You For Being a Bro

Because I am only nineteen months older than The Dude, I don't have a single only-child memory.  Although we don't make the Irish Twins cutoff, we truly grew up together.  Of our 24 first cousins, the only two siblings who are closer in age are actual twins.  If the random statistics I pulled from the internet are to be trusted, the average age difference between siblings is around 2.5 years.

Of Note: We are sitting on The Dude's Winnie the Pooh childhood blankie.  Also, I am wearing Strawberry Shortcake sneakers. 

 

I always believed that our smaller than usual age gap was a leading factor in The Dude and I having a close sibling relationship.  It probably helped, but I think another important reason that we have (almost) always enjoyed each other's company is the tone set by our parents.  This article provides parents with eight tips to help their children to get along.  Number three strikes a chord:

Katie Allison Granju, a mom of five kids and author of Attachment Parenting (Atria, 1999), has found the best way to build a good sibling relationship is simply to have an unspoken, baseline expectation within the family that siblings will indeed be friends.

Our parents nailed it with tip number three.  The Dude was not only my first friend, he is the friend in all of my favorite childhood memories.  Although we had pals outside the family, we spent more time with each other than with any outside buddies.  I was shocked to realize that some families bring their kids' friends on vacations or to events/functions with them.  My parents definitely had the expectation that my brother was my friend.  Supplemental friends were not required on a day-to-day basis.  We developed a lifetime of shared experiences, a million and one inside jokes, and a genuine friendship by actually spending time together.  In fact, we spent our early years sharing bunk beds and our 20s sharing an apartment.

Several years later and I'm still rocking the Strawberry Shortcake sneaks.  Talk about brand loyalty.

I am grateful to my parents for teaching us the importance of our friendship.  And I am very thankful that The Dude is someone I would want to be friends with even if we weren’t related.  I excel at very few things, but I am confident that I am crushing this whole sibling thing.  I challenge brothers and sisters near and far to out-sibling me and The Dude.  Before you accept the challenge, ask yourself this:  Do you and your sibling have a blog together?  Score one for Team Baking Like A Toasted Cheeser.

And now a lovely quote from Jeffrey Kluger, author of "The New Science of Siblings":

From the time they are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we'll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. "Siblings," says family sociologist Katherine Conger of the University of California, Davis, "are with us for the whole journey."

Addictive Foods via Yahoo

Yahoo just released an article on the 10 Most Addictive Foods.  I have a big problem with their list - some of the foods I can't imagine how they made the list and the others I don't really agree with.  Let's have a look at the list.

10. White Bread
I might be the only person in a group at a restaurant who doesn't get tight in the pants when a basket of bread with some oil or butter is put on the table.  No taste to bread and just a waste of room.  Save that stomach space for the steak, toolbags.

9. Donuts
BOOM!  Love donuts, but only #9?  Way too low on the addictive scale.  Have they tried Krispy Kremes?

8. Pasta
The article talks about pasta covered in butter, salt and cheese, not actual meat sauce.  I dislike about 90% of the pasta items out there and once again put it into the bread/rice/pasta grouping of wasted space.

7. Cake
Never been a sweets guy and don't enjoy cake, even on my bday, unless its white on white and even then I'm "ehh" on it.  Last 2 weddings I've been in/to I've skipped/latered the cake.  Doesn't do it for me, bring back out the bacon covered scallops, please.

6. Chips
My #1 most favorite snack of all-time.  In the last 5 years I've only gone 3 days without chips (yes, I've kept track) and its very sad how enjoyable they are to me.  A quick trip to CVS or 711 to score a solid bag of chips can make a death in the family seem like a bump in the road.  I'm shocked chips are only #6 on this list.

5. Cookies
See cake - not into sweets.  I do enjoy Lemon Cooler cookies, some sugar cookies and some peanut-butter cookies.  Overall, 0% ever buy cookies for myself.

4. Chocolate
Shouldn't this be lumped in with cake or cookies?  Never understood the whole women and chocolate thing.  It always shocked me growing up in movies and TV how women would drop a deuce over a piece of chocolate or a box of chocolate.  Come to find out, it is 70% true on how some women react to it.  I don't see the appeal of a pure chocolate bar like Hersheys.  Snickers, maybe.

3. French Fries
Big time - love these and just started buying frozen fries (steak fries or seasoned fries) recently.  Not sure why I never bought fries for myself before, but if I've always enjoyed a good fry.

2. Candy
Very broad, don't agree with the ranking, but I can see it being in the top 10 for sure.  I really don't get too down with the candy, but I will still hit up some Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Worms, etc if given the chance.  Does gum count as candy?  Bubbilicious Watermelon and Strawberry gum should be considered candy. 

1. Ice Cream
This one blows my mind - never been an ice cream guy.  Used to go to a local ice cream shop where I grew up just to see this girl I was into and got ice cream some of the times.  Thank God they had bubble gum ice cream (see candy) cause ice cream does nothing for me, even in the summer.

OK - after the analysis and commentary on the Yahoo ranking, here is my ranking:

10. Kid Snacks/Fruit Snacks
This includes Fruit roll-ups, Gushers and the like - always enjoyable. 

9. Steak/Steak Tips
Not necessarily addictive as other foods, but preferred over many options if available. 

8. Mashed Potatoes
The older I get the more I appreciate mashed potatoes.  Great side dish that can really be paired with any main course.  I've always rocked mashed potatoes as a main dish as well.  

7. Cheese
This is a broad one, but for me it incorporates nacho cheese, cheddar cheese, cheese dip of all kinds, etc.  Those pair well with a lot of my other addictive items on this list.

6. Bacon
Bacon can go on anything and can be eaten for any meal of the day.  Always been a big fan, but tough to make on my own, which is why it ranks so low.

5. Donuts
I got really into donuts working in NYC between 2009 and 2011. 

4. Fries
Restaurant fries or frozen fries - game on.

3. Buffalo Wings/Fingers
These are a staple in my freezer and a great appetizer.

2. Pizza
How did pizza not make the Top 10 ranking?  Holy crap, it was tough to decide between pizza and chips as the #1, but they are damn close.  I can slam down a large pizza with ease. 

1. Chips
I can't think of any chip flavor I dislike, although I don't care for pickle.  I know more about chips than most folks and have spent time researching brands, flavors and history. 

Memory Lane

As previously mentioned, my favorite book series when I was growing up was The Babysitters Club.  I also loved the Anne of Green Gables books, but there were a limited number of those and I couldn't buy a new one each month from the Scholastic catalog.  Scoring a new Babysitters Club paperback was one of the (repeated) joys of my childhood.  This article on EW.com lists author Ann M. Martin's favorite books from the series.  Of course I read and owned each one she mentions.  I'm a little disappointed that none of the extra fat vacation books were included on her list, but it was still a treat to see the familiar covers.

Old people crack me up

Feeding off Herself's blog regarding the elderly, Lee Corso had an "elderly moment" on GameDay this afternoon with a child.  This is hilarious to me, but I'm sure Lee will get a lot of backlash in the media as this was run on national TV live (ESPN).  Awesome.

Well, It's Official

I am an elderly person.

I called my grandfather last night to wish him a happy 88th birthday.  We discussed a number of things, including how the world has changed during his lifetime.  Grampa mentioned that he recently read an article stating that cursive writing is being phased out in favor of typing.  The very same article I blogged about earlier this week!  We both lamented the death of cursive writing and then I launched into, "And no one writes thank you notes anymore either!"  I should move into an assisted living community, age requirements be damned.  I suspect my material would be well received.  And I really enjoy pudding.  For some reason I imagine pudding would be heavily featured on menus for senior citizens.  Perhaps that is just wishful thinking.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I started listening to Christmas music last week.  While I generally love holiday tunes, there are a few songs that have been popping up far too frequently for my taste.  I would like to invite the following four Christmas songs to KILL THEMSELVES so I don't have to listen to them ever again.

1) "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"
This song is brutal.  Even Nat King Cole, an undisputed holiday song master, can't save it for me.  And when you factor in versions where the singer attempts a lisp. . . .  Good God.

2) "Santa Baby"
There is absolutely no need, in my opinion, for a horny Christmas song.

3) "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
The Jackson Five have a cover of this song that I almost don't mind-- mostly because they are actual children instead of creepy adults talking in baby voices.  (Another hit against many covers of "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".)  But I am a real Puritan (minus the religion) about my holiday songs.  I don't want any hanky panky in my Christmas tunes.

4) "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Well, if "they" are neither Christian, nor living in a Christian-influenced nation, "they" probably don't know it is Christmas.  I only knew this week was Diwali because Stephen Colbert told me so on his show.  And yet I doubt there are bands in India lamenting my ignorance in song.

One generally disliked Christmas song that won't make my list is "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  Ever since my dad led my family in a version of this song at my grandfather's Christmas party many years ago, I always think about my Uncle B belting out "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" in a perfect falsetto (eight times) and smile when I hear this song.

Would You Like to Try the Word Buzz?

Today I came across yet another article proclaiming the death of cursive writing.  Any mention of cursive always reminds me of The Dude, who is somehow cursive illiterate.  When we lived together only a few years ago, he used to ask me to read birthday cards from our Nana out loud to him because he could not read cursive script.

For reasons unknown I have always been a cursive enthusiast.  I remember the first time I wrote my name in cursive at the kitchen table.  My Uncle D wrote it for me to copy and I was very pleased with myself when I reproduced the foreign letters underneath his.  We started learning cursive and practicing our script penmanship in second grade.  At the time I couldn't imagine that writing in cursive would ever be quicker than printing because it took me so long to labor over each individual letter.  Years later when I was cranking my way through exam blue books in college, I always wrote in cursive because it was so much faster.

The following line from the article caught my attention:

. . . cursive script could be taught in kindergarten or first grade instead of third grade because it’s not as elaborate as it once was.

Not as elaborate?  What the?  The following illustration blew my mind.  Look at the capital Q and Z in New American Cursive!  Are you kidding me?  Even the capital F and T are super simplified.  I learned all of the extra curls illustrated on the blackboard below.

I will gladly admit that the Keyboarding class I took in ninth grade ended up being my most real-world-useful high school course, but it makes me sad to think that young students will learn to type at the expense of learning cursive writing.  When I took Keyboarding, I hadn't even heard of the Internet.

In conclusion, I am old.  Also in conclusion, Billy Madison's grasp on cursive writing is superior to The Dude's.

Thief

Until this morning I always associated the word thief to the solid 1999/2000 song by Our Lady Peace. 

Now it is a person who has access to my apartment basement and stole my Trek Hybrid Mountain/Racing bike.  I'm beyond heated, but thanks to Herself, I was able to quasi pull out of the anger waterfall when she brought Pee Wee Herman & his Big Adventure into play.  Solid move by Herself.  I then brought Newsies into it, she countered and finally ended with Antoine Dobson.  So weird that someone could steal a bike out of a basement.  The person obviously knew me and had access to the basement.  DAYUM!

No one better fire me

Or there will be similar article in the Boston paper as this one:

"Doug Molny, showed up the next day to check out the property, he found 'complete destruction,' including 'penis graffiti on every single wall throughout the building,' Molny said."

Including the urine and feces, that is a bit much.  I just hope I don't get fired when I'm working from home...or that could be awkward the next day when I walk into the kitchen for breakfast.

Joy to the World

I know it is corny, but I left my voting location last night feeling kind of jazzed.  Maybe it is because I live in a liberal city where many of my neighbors and I are on the same page politically, but there tends to be a positive and hopeful atmosphere each year when I cast my ballot.  I may feel a bit more isolated in Utah.  Anyhow, my candidate won, a few nice ballot measures passed, and my home state approved same sex marriage.  Good news all around this morning.  A pleasant way to start the day after spending a chunk of yesterday feeling horrified by a bonkers presidential discussion on Facebook. 

To celebrate I am listening to a Christmas radio station.  The season officially starts in 16 short days. 

Breaking news

"Special" or cute?

New game I'm going to throw out here and there on the blog called '"Special" or cute' where I need help deciding if the thing below is "Special" or cute.  I'm split down the middle on this one:

This and That

1) It is always such a drag to set the clocks back as Daylight Saving Time ends.  I would much rather have dark mornings and a sliver of sunlight when I exit my office for the day.  Sunset at 4:30pm is shocking every fall.  In addition, my cats don't care about the time adjustment and are extra annoying at this time of year.

2) I watched two movies this weekend.  Like Crazy was awful.  The characters were unsympathetic and the plot moved along at the speed of a glacier.  I think it was aiming to be Before Sunrise for a new generation, but it missed the mark.  I love Before Sunrise, and the sequel Before Sunset, but I gave Like Crazy two out of five stars.  The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel may have benefited from following such a dud.  It featured a bunch of likable British actors playing (mostly) likable British folks who move to India for their retirement years.  I think the quality of the cast elevated the material, but it was a nice breezy movie.  Four out of five stars.

3) A few of my favorite TV shows had stellar episodes last week.  The Jack/Liz debate on "30 Rock" included probably my favorite bit of dialog from the very quotable series.  When Liz referenced Scottie Pippen in her debate against Jack, I got super excited.  But Jack's response delighted me beyond reason:

"Miss Lemon, I know Scottie Pippen.  I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen, and you, sir, look like Scottie Pippen."

I also thought that "The Big Bang Theory" presented its strongest episode of the season.  The following discussion between Sheldon and Leonard was the highlight of the episode:

And finally, "Modern Family" was very funny this week too.  Big week for sitcoms, though it would have benefited from "Parks and Rec" airing a new episode.  That show rarely disappoints.

4) I didn't blog much last week in part because my parents were visiting.  A week ago we were riding out Sandy (which ended up being a bit of a non-event in Boston) together at my place.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery for my mum, who had surgery last week.

Noel

I am on record as a Christmas fanatic, so the fact that I wait until after Halloween to go full-on-Christmas bonkers is a feat.  Purchasing some retro Halloween decorations this year helped me to make it through October without putting up my tree.  Today I am listening to Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and recommending Crabtree and Evelyn's Noel products, which just became available again this week.  My friend and college roommate Jamie introduced me to this scent over a decade ago and I absolutely love it.  I usually go for the home fragrance oil, but they also carry a candle and spray.  Give these products a whirl; they won't disappoint.