Just give me a damn beep

One of my biggest pet peeves is having to listen to 15 minutes of instructions on how to leave a message when you call someone on the cellphone and you get their voicemail. I don't have the patience to sit there and listen to all of my options. All I want to do is either talk to the person or leave a damn voicemail. So give me a flippin' beep and cut the crap. Ring, ring...no answer...leave a message...BEEP! Thank you!!!

How cool is that!

How would you like to be taking a stroll in Central Park in NYC and you look up, and there's a bald eagle flying over you with a striped bass in its talons. Well, that's what happened today. See for yourself...this picture was snapped in Central Park. This joker flew right over the park....

Life's Rich Pageant

So I'm driving around doing some Christmas shopping yesterday, and I put in a compilation cd that a buddy gave me a few years ago. It's got an assortment of music on there, from Van Morrison to Wilco to Train and more. And then the song, "I Believe" from the R.E.M. album Life's Rich Pageant came on. And it was not only a blast from the past, but also a very overwhelming feeling of growing old....

The year was 1986. I was in the 10th grade. This was the era of Genera clothing, Coca -Cola sweatshirts, and the beginning of tight-rolled jeans (you know, when you folded the bottom of your jeans around and then rolled them tightly around your ankles). My gang of friends were REALLY into music at this point, so for Christmas, I got a few tapes (yes, TAPES...compact discs were really popular at this point...):

R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant

I remember Weston White having this tape in the beginning of the school year. He had an older brother, Elbert, in college, and that's where he heard a good bit of "new" music. Elbert would come home from college and play the stuff he was listening to at Millsaps. Weston was always one step ahead of most of us regarding music. Anyway, after months of trying to borrow Weston's tape, I asked Santa to bring it to me. "Superman" was our gang's favorite song for a while. I remember riding around in Trew Brewster's car singing "Superman." Good times....

RATT - Dancing Undercover

At this point in time, I had been a RATT fan for a long, long time. In 1986, they released this album and the first single, "Dance." I couldn't get enough of the song, much less the video on MTV. As I wrote in an earlier post, I was certainly a "Rattaholic" and very glad to get this album from Santa.

The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles

Just 3 years earlier, Santa brought me Synchronicity, and ever since that time, I was a huge Police fan. As most people know, however, after that album the Police went their separate ways. Sting embarked on a solo career and Andy and Stewart practically disappeared. But in 1986, at least as far as we knew, they got back together to release this album. They released a new version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and the video was pretty cool. So, of course, I asked for this album, too. And Santa was nice enough to oblige.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - The Best of OMD

I'm still not sure where or how this one happened. Earlier that year (1986), OMD had a few hits, to include "Secret" and "Forever Live and Die". This was a greatest hits album, so it also included "If You Leave." For whatever reasons, I became a huge fan and wanted this album. Weston gave me a ton of hell about it, but I still liked a few of their songs.

Anyway, the whole point to this post is that since it is now the year 2006...that means that it was 20 YEARS AGO when I got those albums. 20 YEARS!!! It seems just like yesterday when we were all riding around listening to R.E.M. in Weston's car, The Ghost. The minute I heard the song, "I Believe" yesterday, it shot me right back to 1986. 20 YEARS AGO....and it seems like yesterday. Oh well, at least the music never gets old.....

People

So I'm on the elevator today, heading up to my gym, and it stops a few floors before the 9th floor where I'm to get off. A lady gets on, and being the gentleman that I am, I ask her "What floor?" and obviously offer to push the button for her. She says not a word to me. Stares at the floor, then reaches over and pushed the button herself. Oh, and this is AFTER I said "Hello" and then asked her what floor. Again, she said NOT A WORD. So I'm thinking to myself, this woman is one of those people that just avoids conversation with strangers all together. You know the kind, they try to avoid conversation at all costs. Walking down a narrow hallway in a building or office? This person will duck into the bathroom or bend down at the water fountain, just to avoid having to say "Hi" or "Hello" or "Good day" or something like that. Or if there's nowhere to go, the person will just stare straight ahead or down at the shoes. Absolutely drives me nuts. Sure, small talk is small talk. But what's wrong with actually chatting with a stranger?

Well, I wasn't going to let her win. I just kept talking to her. About the weather. About the parking garage. About anything I could think of in the limited time I had with her in the elevator. And guess what. She didn't say a word. Maybe she was deaf? I have no idea. She just kind of looked at me with a weird smirk and said nothing. In my opinion, saying NOTHING is more awkward than just carrying on a conversation. You don't have to know the other person. Just be nice. Chat. Whatever!!

Then I go to Dick's Sporting Goods later today. I find what I need and I proceed to the register area to check-out. As I approach, I notice that the set-up isn't like what you see at a grocery store...where the registers/lanes are separated by racks of products (gum, magazines, etc.). At this place, each lane had two registers...one on the left and one of the right, but they were diagonal from each other. The one on the left was about 5 feet in front of the one on the right. Anyway, as I approach, there's a guy standing in front of the lane I want to go to, and I stop and wait for him to choose a side. He doesn't move, so I ask him which line he was in...the left one or the right one. He says to me, "Whichever one becomes available next." I didn't exactly understand and was trying to digest what he said, when a few seconds later, a lady comes up behind him, heard my question, and SHE answered the same way, as if I should have asked her because she was apparently in front of me in line (which wasn't the case. I hadn't really gotten behind the guy because I didn't know which line he was in, so she walks up and gets right behind him and snips at me.) Again, I'm taken aback, and I sit there trying to figure out what was going on. I decided to say something to the guy, but right then, a register freed-up, and he scurried away. The lady took a huge, exaggerated step in front of me, as if to prevent me from stepping in front of her. She then proceeded to turn sideways and keep an eye on me out of the corner of her eye.

Now I'm really starting to boil. I start thinking about what has transpired, and I'm about to boil. It's complete BS. Just think about it. Can you imagine going to the register at the grocery store, and as you approach the line, there's a dude standing between registers. You ask him which line he's in, and he replies, "Whichever one gets me to the register faster." So he expects everyone behind him to wait until he knows what line is moving faster.

That's not how it works. You choose a damn line and get in it. If you made the wrong choice, and the other lines move faster, tough luck. It's just like sitting in traffic. The minute you change lanes into the one that seems to be moving faster, it slows down and your old lane starts moving. That's life. Deal with it.

So all of this is going through my mind as she proceeds to a register and I'm waiting for this witch to finish paying for her crap. She's being all snippy at the girl at the register and slammed the pen down after signing her credit card slip. She glares back at me before she walks off, and I just said, "You have a VERY merry Christmas...MA'AM!!!!" She scoffed at me and stormed off. I hope she was one of those idiots that gets mad when you don't say "Happy Holidays."

The girl behind the counter just kinda laughed. She said, "You know, I deal with people like her everyday. You just have to learn to laugh about it. It's her problem, not mine, not yours, not anyone elses. You just can't let people like that get to you." What she said made sense. But I still don't have the patience for people like that....

Terry Tate vs. BJ Hall

One of the funniest commercials I've ever seen is the famous Terry Tate "Office Linebacker" commercial that Reebok put out a few years ago, I think during one of the Super Bowls. I laugh my butt off every time I watch this...especially at the end when Terry Tate is chsing the dork around the corner in slow motion. Funny, funny stuff. Check it out for yourself...

What's even funnier (to me) is the West Point cadets' parody of the Terry Tate commercial. Leave it up to a bunch of smart-ass cadets to come up with a darn good spoof of that commercial...BJ Hall "Barracks Linebacker." Perhaps it's only "cadet humor" and you don't find it funny. Well, I find it hilarious, so I don't care what you think! Seriously, check this out....you gotta admit it's pretty funny...

Little Johnnie

We've all heard the jokes about "Little Johnny". And in case you've ever
wondered what that "little Johnny", looked like, well here he is.



Not that you wouldn't be able to tell, but he's the kid in the red shirt.

World Is A Ghetto

So I'm at a party and forgot to bring my camera, so my phone will have to do. My good friends Michael Welling and Cassandra Tennille are having a huge party at their house. One last blow-out party before the wrecking ball hits. They are renovating their house in a few weeks, so they are throwing this party to celebrate their nuptials, as well as the "new" house. They have good ol' cajun food, lots of alcohol, and one hell of a band. Zydafunk is jamming right now, and are closing the party down with War's "World Is A Ghetto." Awesome!!

Jingle Bells played backwards...

My friend Kevin just sent me this and it's amazing. I can't believe I've been listening to Jingle Bells for 35 years and have never thought it would sound like this when played backwards. Pretty cool...

Talk about annoying...

Talk about annoying...

I'm at the Thrashers/Leafs hockey game (Thrashers just scored their 5th goal making it 5-0) and this girl is in the box next to us. She is screaming and has the most annoying voice I've ever heard in my life. She's been screaming the entire game. She's about to be thrown onto the rink any minute now....

Deep-Fryin' A Turkey

Our Thanksgiving ritual these days is to deep-fry our turkey. Not sure if you've ever had one or not, but it's damn good. My recipe includes Cajun Injector marinade, Dale's, a little crab boil, habanero Tobasco, 1 bottle of beer, and salt/pepper to taste. Inject all of those ingrediants into the turkey the night before, and let it marinate over night. Before you drop it into the fryer, cover it in Italian dressing and then sprinkle some Tony's Cajun Seasoning on it. Watch the little clip below to see the turkey going into the fryer. I actually forgot to catch dad taking it out of the fryer, so this will have to do!

French Fries!

While having lunch with little Brady and his dad, Robert, today, I noticed how much Brady likes french fries. Not just one fry. And not just a couple. ALL of the fries. Oh, and he also downed an entire "big boy" grill cheese....

Mr. Understood: The Willy Terry Story Part 2

And here's Part 2....enjoy!!!

Mr. Understood: The Willy Terry Story Part 1

I've lived in Atlanta for 10 years now. I moved here right after the '96 Olympics, and I've been here ever since. When I moved here, a few of my good friends lived in the Virginia Highlands, a great little pocket neighborhood just east of downtown Atlanta. Eventually, I moved to the Highlands because of its friendly, yet eclectic, vibe.

I'll never forget sitting at the traffic light at Ponce de Leon and Highland Avenue, one day back in '96. I looked over at the sidewalk, near the Marta bus stop, and there was this dude standing there in really tight "biking" shorts. He wasn't doing anything special...just standing there, staring off into the distance. It was funny, but I didn't really think much about it. A few months later, I was in Decatur, GA (not far from the Highlands) and guess what...I saw him again...this time walking down the sidewalk with a bicycle. He had those biking shorts on again, too. I called a few friends to tell them about it, but I don't think anyone really believed me. Regardless, it was him...

Now fast forward 10 years. I don't live in the Highlands any longer, and I don't get down there as much as I used to. Regardless, I had completely forgotten about this dude.

Then I get an email from my ol' high school friend, Dr. Brooks, which contains a link to this video. Turns out the dude is still alive and kicking. SO...I obviously had to share this with all of you.

Yes, this is on the edge in terms of vulgarity. But at the same time, it's reality and I've always appreciated "town characters."

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kramer apologizes

I still can't believe this. There's no telling how much cash Michael Richards makes annually on his Seinfeld royalties. That said, I don't know why he wouldn't be on a beach somewhere, retired. Why waste your time trying to make people laugh from a stage? Come on, Kramer....pull your head out!!

Foo Fighters - Skin and Bones

For those of you that are Foo Fighters fans, this album is a must-have. Having worn out all of their albums to date, I've had this one for less than a week and have already put a major hurting on it. Mr. Grohl and friends play songs from all of thier albums, to include my favorites "Everlong," "My Hero," and "Times Like These." They also throw in horns, strings, keys, and a little harmonica to spice it all up and deliver one hell of a live performance. Pick up a copy today....you won't regret it!

My first blog post....

Well, I never thought I'd break down and involve myself in a "blog," but after my personal website was hacked, it was (and still is) extremely tough to add updates to it. When I finally realized that my site is really just a blog in the first place, I decided it might be worth taking a stab at the whole blog thing. Who knows...it might take off, and it might not. Only way to know for sure is to sit back and watch.....

The cool thing about this blog is that I can update it from anywhere. I can post stories directly via the web, via email, or via my mobile phone. So...perhaps it's a story from earlier in the day or a last thought before I hit the sack. Or, maybe it's an idea or something that I post by sending an email. Or even better, maybe I'm on the road or out and about and I snap a picture of something with my mobile phone. I can post that picture with a story directly from my phone...not bad, if you ask me.

All that said, stay tuned....you never know what's about to hit the wires!!

Tip for the weekend...

It's been crazy for the last week or so, so sorry to be out of touch and not up-to-date on posting. As soon as things slow down a bit, I'll be back...

Meanwhile, here's a tip for the weekend:

Never moon a werewolf.

I'm back...

Sorry it's been so long, folks....nevertheless, I'm back...

I don't have much time to write, but I will leave you with this:

You know you're drunk when you think the cab fare is the time...!

Sorry...

Sorry....I've been working through yet another case of being hacked. I'm slowly getting my site back to working status, but it's a slow and painful process.... Your patience is definitely appreciated!

Torino Day 2

Today we got up early, had breakfast, and then hit the town in Torino. It's such an incredibly beautiful city, especially now that it's decorated for the Olympic Games. We had lunch in a local restaurant and then went to watch the Women's 5000m Speed Skating, where we saw Canada's Clara Hughes win the Gold. It was awesome to see so many different fans from different countries rooting for their athletes. After the event, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up a little bit, and then had a romantic dinner in Torino. To cap the night off, we went to the Budweiser/Sports Illustrated party where we saw Tom Brokow, Lester Holt, Campbell Brown, Sasha Cohen, and several US medal winners...among other celebrities. What a night! Stay tuned....!

Greetings from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino!!!

That's right! Hello, from Turino! I arrived yesterday around noon Turino time. My flight left Atlanta at 5:10 PM and arrived in Milan, Italy around 9:00 AM Italy time. I took a train to Turino where Hadley met me at the station and we took a cab to our hotel. I took a short power nap and then we had a wonderful dinner at the Bava Winery. I'll provide more details and pictures later. As for now, it's 10:51 AM on Feb. 25th, and we're heading out to see more of Turino. Hadley has been here since February 6th, so I've got much catching up to do. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

My good friend, Rob Sparks, who actually officiated my wedding ceremony....yes, he's a preacher...is not afraid to partake in a good time. He's certainly not an amateur when it comes to tipping the bottle, and in fact, I'd consider him one of the few scotch connoisseurs I know. I won't get into the details, but let's just say he had a really, really good time at our wedding. Such a good time, I must say, that the day after the picture below was taken, he "fed the fish" while fly fishing on the river in Whitefish.


Robert Sr. enjoying his single malt scotch and a cigar in Montana

For those of you that do not know Rob, he actually has a son (Robert Jr.) that is almost 2 years old, as well as another child on the way...due in May. Concerning little Robert, I just thought I would show the world that the apple definitely doesn't fall far from the tree. Knowing all that I do about Papa Sparks, it's going to be a blast watching this little man acquire his tastes....


Robert Jr. enjoying a nice imported pilsener

Sorry for the lack of updates

Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been crazy after the first of the year, and I've been on the road a TON. Plus, I broke my digital camera while skiing in Montana for New Year's...fell on it when I busted my @#$%&* on the slopes.

Anyway, I promise to get some updates on here soon. Stay tuned for some pics from the ski trip...before the camera got crushed...as well as more pics from the Army/Navy game and Montana from the 4th of the July...