What's New With Mick

Tag: television

  • Vital Statistics

    Despite the moderate headwind that I rode into this morning, I had an absolutely great ride to work. The sun was shining and the roads were not wet. We had a downpour a little while ago, but the sun is out again. I hope it lasts.

    Bike odometer: 5862 miles
    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: Although “Norwegian Wood” was mostly John’s idea, Paul contributed the ending to the story of infidelity. Although you might read “So, I lit a fire, isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood” as the teller just making himself at home, Paul intended it to mean that he burned the girl’s place down and left.
    Recent listening: Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, De-Loused in the Comatorium, Frances the Mute, Crooked Fingers
    Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Gonzaga vs. UCLA, LSU vs. Duke, The Office, My Name Is Earl
    Recent playing: Poker Room
    Imperative To Do: Get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes
    Cool link: Not Ready To Make Nice: The Dixie Chicks kick off their new album release with a song about all the attention they got for declaring the President to be shameful. Check out the press release – Rick Rubin produced!

  • Vital Statistics

    I loaded all of my Beatles onto my iPod last week so I could refer directly to any song when I was reading about it in the McCartney book. Last night I was reading about “Penny Lane” and I whipped out the iPod because I couldn’t remember the first verse. How shocked I was to find that I don’t have “Penny Lane”! I ordered Magical Mystery Tour as soon as I got home. That’s a hole that has been in my CD collection much too long.

    Bike odometer: 5851 miles
    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: “Penny Lane” was written mostly by McCartney about the same time that John was writing “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Both are nostalgic reminiscences of their time together 10 years before in Liverpool. Penny Lane was the name of a bus stop where they would often wait. There was a bank and a barber shop close by. The barber shop had pictures of the different cuts they offered (not “of every head he’s had the pleasure to know”). The fire station is down the road from the Penny Lane Roundabout.
    Recent listening: Revolver, Back Track, Rubber Soul
    Recent viewing: CSI: Miami, Monk, Sportscenter, Brainiac
    Recently Accomplished: work
    Imperative To Do: Get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes
    Cool link: Apocalypse Pooh: Make sure you watch at least half of it before deciding it’s boring. It’s a little slow to start but is hilarious later. If you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, don’t bother with this link until you have. Say by tomorrow.

  • Vital Statistics

    Woke up this morning to a flat tire on the van. Tina drove Thomas to school in the truck (otherwise known as “Old Shakey”) while I attempted to change the tire. After searching inside and outside the van for several minutes, I concluded that we had neither a jack nor a lug wrench. Evidently they had been burgled during one of the break-ins we’ve had. So when Tina got back with the truck, I used the jack and wrench from it. Unfortunately, the wrench was the wrong size and Tina had to call a neighbor to borrow one from them. Ten minutes later the spare is on and I’m waiting for everyone to open so I can get the tire fixed and buy a jack and lug nut wrench. While I’m at it, I suppose I’ll get an estimate on the motor mounts for the truck.
    Update: Had to wait over an hour to get the tire fixed but they did it for free. No time for motor mounts or purchasing.

    Bike odometer: 5818 miles
    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    Recent viewing: March Madness (all caught up)
    Recent playing: Poker Room
    Recently Accomplished: changed a flat
    Imperative To Do: Get tire fixed on van, get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van
    Cool link: Bizarre Optical Illusion

  • Vital Statistics

    As I mentioned earlier, I had some problems with some popcorn stuck in my gums. Despite (or because of) my poking and flossing, it became very sore. I was resolved to have my Kakar Dental Group dentist take care of it, but thought I should leave it alone for a few days. Tina suggested swishing it a couple of times a day with Listerine which I did for about three days. Lo and behold, all is well again!

    I watched my beloved Hawkeyes fall to Northwestern State last night. I think they drew the highest seed I have ever seen them get and they lose in the first round on a last second three pointer. I feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football away. And if it wasn’t bad enough watching them lose it once, it must have been the upset of the day because they showed it about 20 times during the ensuing NCAA coverage on CBS. My bracket is completely blown.

    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: A friend of Paul’s was in the “College of ‘Pataphysics”, which was a sort of joke organization for intellectuals, mostly concerned about drinking. Paul is proud that his mention of ‘pataphysics in “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the only one of it’s kind.
    Recent listening: My I’m Large, Somebody’s Miracle, Da Vinci’s Notebook
    Recent viewing: March Madness, Suns vs. Clippers, Heat vs. Celtics, Conviction, Medium
    Recent playing: Poker Room
    Recently Accomplished: Truck maintenance (motor mount may be broken), called Kent and my mom, paid bills
    Imperative To Do: Start taxes, retrieve Ryno mail, get truck fixed
    Cool link: Battlestar Galactica Blog




    Rob’s CD Collection – I will never catch up.

    I found the White Album and several others without much effort. See any you recognize? (Hint: Click for a larger version.)

  • Vital Statistics

    This article caught my eye on CNN the other day. The father and daughter in the article are “early risers”, which is now described as ASPS (Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome). I looked it up on Wikipedia and soon found myself checking out other sleep disorders. I have had problems with sleep all my life and suspect that I have Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS). I also believe that my father had it and probably several of my siblings. DSPS sufferers are often called “night owls.” Sound familiar?

    Before we had kids, I entertained the notion that it was Non-24 Hour Sleep Phase Syndrome and actually tried a sleep schedule that wasn’t based on a 24 hour clock. Unfortunately, that and my adverse job circumstances eventually led to clinical depression.

    Bike odometer: 5818 miles
    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: Paul wrote the melody for “Yesterday” after he awoke from a dream in which he heard it. The original lyrics were “Scrambled eggs, baby I really love your legs.”
    Recent listening: De-Loused in the Comatorium, Coverville, Da Vinci’s Notebook
    Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Suns vs. Clippers, The Late Show with David Letterman, Countdown with Keith Olbermann
    Recent playing: Poker Room
    Recently Accomplished: Cleaned and lubed my rusty bike chain while waiting for the Max
    Imperative To Do: Start taxes, retrieve Ryno mail, truck maintenance
    Cool link: Death By Caffeine: How much of your favorite caffeine drink does it take to kill you?

  • Vital Statistics

      Remember me? Dynamite Magazine

    Bike odometer: 5805 miles
    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: Nearly all Lennon/McCartney compositions can be described as verse/chorus/verse/chorus/”middle eight”/verse/chorus. John and Paul could not read music so they called all middle passages the “middle eight” regardless of the number of measures. The last verse was frequently just the first verse repeated to really drive it home and make it memorable.
    Recent listening: Extraordinary Machine, Rid of Me, Avalon, De-Loused in the Comatorium, Frances the Mute
    Recent viewing: Medium, Crime Scene Investigation, Sportscenter
    Recently Accomplished: Sent in rebates, paid bills, mowed lawn, purchased new Quicken
    Imperative To Do: Start taxes, retrieve Ryno mail, truck maintenance, bike maintenance
    Cool link: The Covers Project

  • Vital Statistics

    At the beginning of the week Tina made popcorn one night for the two of us which we enjoyed as we watched TV. She’s found a really good brand of microwave popcorn that make some really good kettle corn and caramel corn. I don’t remember which we had, but evidently a husk from one of the kernels embedded itself in the gum near the back of my mouth and it’s been there ever since. I didn’t really notice until the area had swollen quite a bit. I’ve flossed many times as well as poking at it with a periodontal probe. Nothing has helped thus far so I think I’ll have to visit my dentist next week to get the problem resolved. The whole area is very sore.

    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    Recent listening: Coverville, the rest of the Christmas CDs

    Recent viewing: Big Ten Basketball Tournament, Brainiac, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Sportscenter
    Recent playing: Poker Room
    Imperative To Do: Rebates, renew prescription, start taxes, retrieve Ryno mail
    Cool link: PhoneSwarm: Coordinated “swarming” of a particular pay telephone somewhere in the U.S. The number is changed occasionally. You call at your leisure and then post a comment. Or just read the funny comments from others.

  • Vital Statistics

    It’s snowing outside right now – big, fat flakes, too. However, they are hitting the ground and melting.

    I installed a new plugin for the blog which allows me to pre-approve comments for certain email addresses. It should make it easier for people to post comments here now.

    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    McCartney Trivia: Paul wrote “Got To Get You Into My Life” as an ode to marijuana.
    Recent listening: Coverville, KBOO Bike Show, Blame The Vain, New Roman Times, Michael Martin Murphy
    Recent viewing: Oscars, Sportscenter, Pardon The Interuption, Crime Scene Investigation, ER, Drawn Together
    Imperative To Do: Rebates, renew prescription, start taxes
    Cool link: Calling All Wingnuts: A grassroots effort to hold right-wing radio hosts accountable

  • Jon Stewart and the Oscars

    Have I mentioned how much I like Jon Stewart of The Daily Show? The shows I missed the most when my Tivo was broke were The Daily Show and Countdown. Here’s a few random thoughts:

    • One of Stewart’s specialties is taking something a politician says recently and then going back through old footage and finding contradictions and straight-out lies. He makes it funny but why can’t the “real” news do this? It seems so obvious.
    • Jon Stewart himself describes his job as “making faces at the camera.” This may be true, but he is the best face-maker in the history of television.
    • It’s hard to decide which I like best: the fake news at the beginning of the show or the correspondent story in the middle. After Steven Colbert left, the new crop of correspondents they got seemed like they weren’t as good, but last night I saw a story about a women’s prison in Minnesota that was incredibly funny. The interviews with the ridiculous questions are enough to make anybody laugh.

    Sour PussBTW, despite the ill-humored Hollywood denizens (Joaquin Phoenix, I’m talking to you) there that obviously didn’t appreciate his humor, I thought Jon Stewart was really funny at the Oscars. I think they were expecting a bunch of Republican bashing and when he started tipping their sacred cows, they just didn’t find it funny for some reason. For example, he said Walk The Line was a remake of Ray with white people. Or that you normally have to go to a Democratic fundraiser to see so many movie stars. Comedy gold!

    For me, other parts of the program had negative entertainment value:

    • I counted at least three “reminders” about how the theatre-going experience beats watching movies in other venues. DVDs were specifically called out for their poor recreation of the theatre experience. Telling your audience how they are supposed to enjoy your product is condescending, but many would also argue that viewpoint is very flawed. Sometimes you just want to curl up at home in front of your TV and DVD player. Who the hell do they think they are to tell you that’s the “wrong” way to enjoy a movie? Total bullshit.
    • The film editing union must be very strong this year because the number of montage sequences was totally out of control. The worst was a montage about films that “change the world” (or something) which included The Day After Tomorrow. I liked that movie, but I don’t think it changed the world.
    • Aside from Dolly Parton’s performance from Transamerica, none of the other songs grabbed me. I thought they ranged from boring to over-the-top unbearable. BTW, how cool is Dolly? Despite the fact that she looks like total white trash, she’s got to be the coolest member of country’s “old guard.”
    • I’m a George Clooney fan and really dig when he sticks it to blowhards like O’Reilly, but his tirade about being “out of touch” early on was very self-righteous and hypocritical in the historical facts he mentioned. For example, he said Hollywood talked about AIDS when everybody was whispering about it, but Hollywood never made an AIDS film until 1992.

  • Vital Statistics


    From my desk at home


    Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
    Recent listening: Crooked Fingers, Before and After Science, Slip Stitch and Pass
    Recent viewing: Saturday Night Live, Ford Championship at Doral, Cash Cab, World’s Most Shocking Videos
    Imperative To Do: Rebates, renew prescription, recycle
    Cool link: The Simpsons come alive (link fixed)