February 28, 2005
Ask MJ Anything - Vol. 01
Andi asks:
If colors were flavors, what would pink with purple polka-dots taste like to you?
MJ Answers: Hmm, I'd say bubble gum with a hint of blueberry pie ala mode.
Mmm... pie.
------
Another MJ asks:
On average, how many emails do you get from your readers weekly?
MJ Answers: Surprisingly, not very many considering how many people visit the site regularly. Maybe 10-15 average? I love, love, love getting mail from Fishwrap readers, but I'm notoriously horrible at replying. I tend to read my mail at night and promise myself to reply in the morning when I'm sober but then I get distracted by small shiny objects... It's a vicious, vicious cycle.
------
The Missus Asks:
How many drops of water are in the (Indian) Ocean?
MJ Answers: One. And it's very, very big. 70,086,000 mi³ to be exact.
------
The Missus also asks:
Why do we have so many cats?
MJ Answers: Because we can't eat them.
------
Greybird asks:
What exactly do you do for a living?
MJ Answers: I could tell you but then I would compromise my cover, and subsequently, our national security. And then the terrorists will win. No, seriously, I'm a freelance graphic designer, specializing in corporate identity and collateral design. At least that's what I'm supposed to tell people. No, seriously...
------
LA asks:
If two lesbians leave Los Angeles at 11am, and attempt to drive east at 60 miles per hour, but they are delayed by rain falling at a constant velocity of 9.8m/s2 and encounter varying amounts of traffic, with a variable velocity, how long SHOULD it take them to get to Palm Springs?
MJ Answers:
L=v(60)~r9.8/s2÷192=m>(airspeedvelocityofanunladensparrow)
For you non-mathy type people: 3.14 hours.
Mmm... pie.
------
Solonor asks:
Why did you think it was a great idea to make me think of a stupid question for you when you know all you'll get is a stupid question?
MJ Answers: Solly, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people. Thanks for asking!
---------
I have more questions to answer but I feel sleepy now...
Got a question? Go ahead Ask MJ Anything.
FUH2
I've linked to FUH2.com before but I've never actually had the motivation to participate, until yesterday.
Ooooh. I was pissed. I'm just about to make a right hand turn into your typical strip mall when this asshole in a bright red H2 coming the other direction turns into the same drive and cuts me off.
Me = Honda CRV
He = 8500lb Chevy Tahoe Poseur.
I yielded.
Now normally I'd also honk and swear but then I saw it (er, them...) hanging from the hitch. And I couldn't stop laughing.
The dude had BALLS. Nads. Testicles. Yes, a matching bright red nut sac hanging off his hitch. See what I'm talking about? I laughed - oh how I laughed. What an idiot.
So when I came out of the store and saw it still there in the lot, I had to do it. I had to snap that pic of me flipin' off the H2. But while doing so, the owner (more like ower) about 50, balding, short, pudgy - of course, came out of the fucking DAIRY QUEEN, saw me with the camera phone, and he started smiling at me.
He thought I was admiring his big red polluting piece of shit with a sad little nut sac hanging off the back. But alas, I was mocking you. And I took great pleasure in it. So I smiled back at you knowingly. The only thing that would have brought me more pleasure at that moment would have been the opportunity to NEUTER the SOB. Snip... and I'd leave just enough behind to prove that no, they weren't stolen. You've been clipped. Heh.
In other news:
The Friday Fishwrap got a nice little plug in this weeks Desert Post Weekly. A big howdy to anyone finding their way here via the Desert Rat column. Kick your shoes off and stay while. If you're looking for the wedding story, it's over there on the right. But if you happen to be a middle aged little fella with a giant red H2 - Better watch your balls man...
*update: Mikey over at Hey Freak had a similar truck nuts run-in this weekend. I've decided I'm going to develop and market a special truck-nuts mohel tool (think bolt cutters) and build out a web site devoted to neutered vehicles. I could make a fortune!
February 27, 2005
Homebrewing Update
I bottled my beer yesterday and have updated the HomeBrewing: An Illustrated Guide post for those of you following along.
Mmm. Beer.
February 25, 2005
TGImp3F - iTunes Shuffle Edition
Wanna play? Set your tunes to random and list the first 10 that pop up. As always - a pretty diverse mix...
Delores - Freedy Johnson
Hello Hopeville - Michelle Shocked
Star - Cracker
Party - Joan Jones
Knowhere - David Gray
Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
Overkill (Acoustic) - Colin Hay
Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper
Ja Fun Mi - Sunny Ade
The Entertainer - Billy Joel
note: all mp3s expire 7 days after posting
In Other News:
PS in the NYTimes: Desert Cool, Hot From the 50's.
Thanks to LA (who was sent home with some reading material from me about these very houses, the girl does her homework) and my good friend William, who's husband, Mr. Parker is oft quoted, for forwarding the article to me yesterday.
February 24, 2005
I don't care if it rains or freezes!
I searched high and low for months for a little weather sticker to add to this page that didn't look like total horse crap. For the last two years or so, I've used the one you see over there on the right.
It's okay, not great. I don't like the actual report when you click through because aside from the temperature, it's never accurate and it's very superficial. I much prefer WUnderground for actual forecasting and data. It may be butt ugly, but weather underground is usually spot on and has tons of historical data.
Graphically speaking? Weatherforyou.com has by far the best looking weather sticker I've seen out there. Small, compact and fairly well designed images: just the basic facts in a tight little package. All I really wanted was something that conveyed the message that 9 months out of the year, I live on the surface of the sun. Also, it doesn't slow down this page's load time (except of course for today, now that I've chosen to call the bastard out).
But this morning I discovered something that pisses me off. I'm pissed at the sticker and at myself for not realizing it sooner. You might ask, "But MJ, how could you be mad at a tiny little picture of a cloud? It's kind of cute isn't it?"
Because, unbeknownst to me, Weatherforyou.com IS AN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN WEBSITE! Go ahead, look, click through (if you can). Right there at the bottom of the page it reads: "Like all things, this site belongs to Jesus Christ... He just trusts me to maintain it."
Uh, huh. It's flippin' weather in Jesus' name. Science for Jesus!
No don't get me wrong - I don't dislike Christians, or Christianity. No, not at all. I dislike proselytizing. And I guess I shouldn't be too mad because it took me forever to even notice it, but still... Isn't that even a bit worse? It's almost subliminal! I feel duped...
So, I begin my search anew. A good looking, fast, reliable weather sticker that doesn't help spread the word of God. And no - I don't do pixies. Grr.
In Other News:
Drat! Foiled Again!
The perfect knife set for the angry gourmande.
February 23, 2005
Ask MJ Anything!
It's time for a new regular feature around here. I'm calling it "Ask MJ Anything."
Yes, anything. Email me any question and every few days or so I'll answer them right here on the old Friday Fishwrap (no, I'm not trolling for material - it's called dynamic reader generated content!) There's no limit to the number of questions you can ask and there's no deadline. Any question - any time.
So go ahead - Ask me.
please note: I reserve the right to refuse any question for any reason, you sicko's.
February 22, 2005
Tuesday Timewasters
Aw, who doesn't love a stuffed teddy bear! He's cute, he's cuddly and I shall name him "Trumpet".
Where's the Kaboom? How to Destroy the Earth. Harder than one might think.
via presurfer
Everybody Dance Now! Dance white boy, dance!.
.wmv
New Car Smell is for Vegans. Mmm. Bacon!
Play Horse.
Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?
via fishbucket
In other news: Yup. Still raining. Sigh. Oh yeah, and somewhere's about the last month or so I hit the 6 year anniversary of the Friday Fishwrap. Jaysus, I need a hobby or something.
February 21, 2005
ColdSum Mashup
Things that make you go "Hmm..."
In the left channel "The Scientist" by Coldplay. In the right channel "Pieces" by Sum41.
ColdSum Mashup ColdPlay/Sum41
via mefi
Weekend Report:
Friday Night: Kick-off preview party for the Palm Springs Modernism Show at the Convention Center. A smoozy kind of meet-and-greet shindig. Unfortunately the Convention Center is undergoing major renovations at the moment so trying to figure out where to park and how to get into the damn thing proved challenging in the rain. Once inside, it was fantastic. Bigger and better than any of the previous 5 shows, with some really great pieces that I could never justify buying, or afford for that matter, but I had fun drooling over it all.
Saturday Report
The infamous LA of Head-Rush and her lovely wife were visiting Los Angeles and decided to make a swing out to Palm Springs to hang with us for the day. Now I've only met a couple of bloggers before and even though they were all totally cool and awesome, I was still a little nervous. Once I opened the door and saw that they were... well, normal people, I knew we were going to hit it off. Aw c'mon, I mean ya just never know! We could have been the freaky Crazy Cat Ladies for all they knew (...shuddup.)
Seeing as it was raining and fairly miserable outside, we hung out by the fire at the house for a while and got to know each other in the real-time sense. It's always a little awkward at first. I mean, you get know a person through their blog (I've been reading LA for almost 3 years now...) and trying to meld that with the real live person is a strange experience at first. But any awkwardness I might have felt quickly passed as soon as we sat down. LA was just exactly as I had thought... hilarious, quick with the quip and fucking smart! And her wife is true gem; cute as a button and smart as a whip too! Nice catch LA ;)
The very NON-blogging Missus Fishwrap and Missus Head-Rush (D.) shared a kindred eye-rolling boredom as LA and I gossiped about blogs and bloggers (yes, you!), and what happens when your blog is outed to real time friends and family or god forbid, work.
After a couple of beers we took them a quick spin around town to give them a lay of the land before it got dark. In typical fashion whenever someone new comes to PS, I start spouting off obscure historical and architectural facts that only I would find interesting. I received a few "enough already" glances from the Missus - sorry 'bout that guys.
Once we finished up the five minute-five dollar tour, we headed off to happy hour at one of my favorite places, The Falls Martini Bar. I had a feeling that LA and D. would like this place. In addition to the titled martini's, they have a great wine list, a nice cigar menu and good bar food to boot. We ordered our drinks and LA and I quickly fired up our cigars. It felt totally comfortable and familiar, like we all had known each other for years. Nice.
My buddy Stone showed up to mix it up a bit. I was a little nervous about that too as he's a 32 yr. old straight dood (emphasis on Dood) with a mohawk and tattoos over 75% of his body. But he's hard not to like once you get to know him. We even got our geek on and did a little Moblogging (over there on the right of the page for those of you new to the class).
I fear I kept them too long as they were supposed to be back in LA for dinner, but as happens, time slipped away and there was no way they were going to make it. They didn't seem too concerned though...
I'm totally psyched for LA and D. to eventually make the move out to California. I hope they know they now have two good friends in Palm Springs when the time comes. Thanks for making the drive out guys! I had a blast. Let's do it again in April, only next time, we'll come to you and I'm picking up the goddamn check (Grrr.)!
Sunday Report: The Manhattans from the night before had me feeling a wee bit fuzzy when I woke up (why, why do I think a night cap [or two] is always such a great idea?!) so I decided I needed a hearty breakfast. I made a massive stack of blueberry pancakes and the Missus and I enjoyed breakfast in bed. In fact, we never left the bed all day except when physically necessary. It was dreary and rainy and the perfect day to just lounge around and watch the trite but addictive Project Runway marathon.
A great end to a great weekend. But it's still raining and I'm so OVER IT! This is the fucking desert for pete's sake. If I wanted this much rain I'd still be in SF! I'm starting to get that seasonal disorder ... whatever it's called. I need some sunshine, stat! Nurse!
When the Going Gets Weird, The Weird Turn Pro
So long Dr. Gonzo, and thanks for the ride.
I was first introduced to Hunter S. Thompson, as most of us who grew in the 70's and 80's, though his literary masterpiece "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (illustrations by the brilliant Ralph Steadman) - FNL is book that captivated me in my late teens. My friends and I certainly had our fair share of Gonzo moments back in the day. My well worn paperback copy, missing it's cover, sits right here on my shelf.
While Johnny Depp did a fantastic job in the film version of FNL, delving into the darker side of HST, my favorite semi biographical movie is "Where the Buffalo Roam" starring Bill Murray as HST and Peter Boyle as Carl Lazlo, Esq. (a.k.a. Oscar Zeta Ascota). Loosely based on "The Great Shark Hunt" and filmed in 1980 it's a little crude and rough, but it's brilliant. Bill Murray and Peter Boyle are at the top of their game, capturing the truly insane, fun, over the top, grab life by the balls and run, spirit that first captivated in me, and the writing is pure Gonzo (interviewing Richard Nixon at the urinal... classic.) The film closes with HST at his Colorado compound, pacing around with a pistol and a bottle of Wild Turkey. I think I'm going to have to dig out the tape and watch it again.
February 18, 2005
TGImp3F
Hey, it's Friday! And it's pouring rain. Je ne veux pas travailler. Non je ne veux pas déjeuner. Je veux seulement l'oublier. Et puis je fume.
Sympathique - Pink Martini
note: all mp3s expire 7 days after posting
Your-Site Can Kiss My Ass
I am shopping for a new Web Hosting service. My current service (your-site.com) SUCKS. Without getting into the sordid details, let's just say that a minor mail server upgrade the other night has resulted in a 36 hour (and counting) email outage and no customer service. Zip. Zero. Nada. This is the third major downtime incident in the last year. Unacceptable. If you've tried to email me or the missus since about 8PM Pacific on Wednesday, we haven't received it and I'm not holding my breath. Sorry - nothing I can do about it.
So I am waiting until the mail issue is resolved then I'm switching hosts. My question is - any recommendations? I don't need a dedicated server, shared hosting is fine, and long as they have a reliable uptime track record. My current host says 99.9% uptime but I can tell you that's a crock of shit. I'd like a decent amount of storage and bandwidth, MySQL and some real genuine guaranteed uptime. Is that so much to ask?
The best deal I've found so far is DreamHost. They might be overselling a bit (2400MB storage and 120GB monthly transfer for only $7.95 - yeah, that's overselling) but I've not found any real negative feedback about them. Do you have horror stories about them? Are there others I should consider? Feedback please... Muchas gracias amigos.
In the mean time, I'm enjoying, in much the same way one enjoys shoving bamboo shoots under their fingernails, the task of performing a full backup of everything I've got jammed up on their servers. Since the aforementioned shit-for-brains host has taken to closing my FTP connection after a mere 800kb of transfer, this shouldn't take more than, oh a week or so... Joy.
In Other News: It's a big weekend here in old PS. The Palm Springs Modernism Show starts tonight and runs all weekend, many other modern living/loving related events also running concurrently. It's also the kick off of the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival, though I think I'll save that for next weekend. Should be fun! Oh yeah and there's a chance I might get to meet the one and only LA Rush tomorrow. Unfortunately it's pouring rain so she probably won't get an accurate impression of the normally sunny paradise that is our little hamlet we call home. I'll still do my best to be a good will ambassador and show her and her clan how the natives live! Yes, that definitely involves cocktails...
February 16, 2005
Show Me the Money!
And other random tid-bits...
Maybe this isn't news to you but while perusing this very cool site (via j-walk) about the history of our US currency, it dawned on my that not one of these bills carried the motto "In God We Trust." Huh.
This got me to wondering. I had no idea when "In God We Trust" was first introduced. A quick Google and there was my answer. (sort of, leave it to the government to get a few of the dates wrong).
"In God We Trust" first appeared on some, but not all, of our coins around 1865, the result of a religious backlash to the Civil War.
In 1955 President Eisenhower signed Public Law 140 requiring the phrase to appear on all currrency, coin and paper. In 1956 Eisenhower signed Public Law 851 declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States, tossing out our previous national motto "E Pluribus Unum," or "Out of Many, One."
The phrase "In God We Trust" went into circulation on our paper currency on October 1, 1956. As a side note, just two years earlier (1954) Eisenhower signed into law an act that added "Under God" to our pledge of allegiance.
And now you know. At any rate, show me the money! Check out this 1934 $100,000.00 bill! I feel dizzy.
Just Wrong Wrong Wrong: Light-up Clothing.
via presurfer
My name's Bill. I'm lost. Funny little flash cartoon.
The Great Key West Chicken Debate.
I want one! Tone Ladder. Select "demo-MOVIES" to see them in action. Sweeet...
God awful intro, but here's a very in-depth guide to the different genres of electronic music. So now you can tell the difference between 90's Detroit House, Eurobeat and Liquid Funk.
And I'll leave you with this...
The Smoking Gun Presents: Foxy Felons. "These gals are ready to steal your heart - - and your car stereo!" Foxy Felons II
February 15, 2005
Love Is All Around
photo courtesy of Derek Powazek
One year ago today, the Missus and I boarded an Alaska Air flight to San Francisco, embarking on a journey neither of us could have ever imagined. Little did we know what adventures, tortures, hilarity and misery were ahead of us.
Despite the spending 36 hours in the bitter cold and the pouring rain on the steps in front of City Hall, despite all of the interminable waiting, despite the sadly inevitable court ordered annulment of over 4000 marriage licenses, despite knowing that we still have a long, long way to go, I said it then and I'll say it again, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
So here's a toast to everyone who made that experience possible; Gavin Newsom, Mabel Teng, Mark Leno, the City and County Clerk employees, the hundreds of volunteers, all of the other couples, our friends and family who have always supported us (a special shout out to our partners in crime Staz and The Engineer, Jennie and Leah, Kelly and Hogan, Oddgirl, Dana, and Anna and Hillary for being right there with us in the cold and rain!), all of the people who brought us warm food, Krispy Kremes, flowers, the strangers who stood with us in solidarity, to everyone out there who saw what was happening in SF on TV and smiled - knowing history was being made, to the ones who sent flowers to anonymous couples, this entire online community and to all of you who left such kind and loving words in my little comment box, and to my wife... To all of you I say...
Happy Anniversary, and Thank You!
Cheers - MJ and the Missus
February 14, 2005
February 13, 2005
A Christian's Perspective
I rarely do this, but please take moment to peruse a recent comment [T-007 on Feb. 13th] left on the Wife Swap post I made a few days ago. I'm interested to hear what you think...
[comments closed on this post: please leave any comments on the original post - it's getting the mAD GoOgle HitZ, and BlogPulse as well... yo.]
February 11, 2005
TGImp3F
Hey! It's Friday and it's time for the Totally Random 10 Game... Wanna play? Fire up your tunes, set it to shuffle and what do you get? One fine mix...
Blood And Roses - The Smithereens
Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
Mrs. Rita - Gin Blossoms
For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is) - Pete Yorn
Leash - Pearl Jam
Caballo Viejo - Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
Black Eyed Boy - Texas
Deal - The Grateful Dead
Sally Simpson - The Who
Back on the Chain Gang - The Pretenders
note: all mp3s expire 7 days after posting
The Envelope Please...
And the winner of the first ever Name My Beer Contest is...
Coachella Valley Swamp Cooler EPA
WooHoo - Congratulations Betsy! Even though our winner does not have a blog (that we know of!) I fully expect her to report back here and give an honest review of her prize, 2 precious 22 oz. bottles of fine handcrafted homebrew.
Be sure to send me your information so that you can collect your winnings, they should be ready mid-late March!
Thanks to everyone who submitted names. In no particular order...
Betsy
Hanan (with graphic even!)
MJ (The Other One)
Andy
Mister Anchovy
Tracy
Chele
CJ
Staz
They were all hilarious and great! Thanks for playing. I'm sure we'll do this again. You guys ROCK!
February 10, 2005
Oh, Sweet Irony
So Wife Swap was uh, interesting last night. The premise (Boone Luffey/Gillespie) was to exchange an average middle class lesbian mom with a upper middle class ultra conservative christian mom (did I mention she's a black woman married to a white dude?)
Oh right, Sweeps Week.
At any rate, I found the christian woman to be... not so christian. The amount of hate and anger that came from her was incredible, yet not surprising, at least to this lesbian. That hateful, holier than thou posturing is what many of us see everyday in the op-ed pages of our local newspapers, on right-wingnut blogs, on FoxNews. It's not new to me. And I guess I am hardened to it. It didn't shock me, and perhaps sadly enough, it didn't really anger me that much. I just kinda sat back and thought "yup, there it is."
Somehow the irony of this woman's interracial marriage was completely lost on her. The simple fact that 30 some years ago, her relationship with her husband would have been looked upon as "immoral, sickening, depraved, shacking up, not a real family unit and freaky" (her words to the lesbian couple, not mine) not to mention, uh, illegal! Oh no, the parallels were totally lost on her. In addition, as the missus astutely pointed out, she has no concept of history or factual knowledge about the bible she so likes to use as her foundation. She seemed to be overcompensating for her own insecurities.
The husband, while fairly ignorant about homosexuality himself, at least seemed to understand some of the fundamental christian teachings about not judging others and treating people with the respect they deserve. And I think he's the one who walked away the most affected by it. And the kids? Amazing.
Now don't get me wrong, I didn't much care for the lesbians either. I'm not a fan of the paper plate and microwave dinners. I particularly didn't like the lack of supervision with their child. (PG 13 for an 8 year old? C'mon.) Also, taking the guy to the gay bar for a dance lesson was totally unnecessary. There's an in-your-face double standard there. The lesbians would have been equally as uncomfortable if the christian woman insisted on taking the lesbian to a straight bar and making her dance with a man, much like we were angered by the "you can pretend to be straight" comment.
But nothing excuses the behavior and hurtful, hateful words this supposed christian used as pointed daggers. And I've just found out via my good friend Mopsa that this ultra-conservative queer loathing bible thumping republican, Kris Gillespie, is running for Texas State Senator. Yes, another notch on the neo-conservative belt.
On a positive note, I can only hope that perhaps the "middle of the road" Americans who watched this last night might have been affected by it. You know, people who don't think too much about either side of the issue. Maybe they saw this and felt something, anything. Watching this supposed christian woman act in such an unchristianly manner, the hate and the loathing she demonstrated, maybe they'll think about that. Maybe they saw something they've never really seen before. Maybe, just maybe, the ugly underbelly has been exposed, albeit briefly, though a silly reality show. Maybe they'll remember.
February 09, 2005
The End is Nigh! Urp...
Just a reminder that the Beer Naming Contest ends this Friday! Send your entries to mj[at]fridayfishwrap[dot]com.
And for you Get Fuzzy fans, here are this weeks panels wherein Rob tries his hand at homebrewing.
Monday, February 7, 2005
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Follow Me... If You Dare.
Paraconceptual and Postinteresting:
The art and design of Tobias Wong. Pretty slick stuff. Not all pieces are suitable for view in the workplace. I love the Money Pad.
Speaking of money - here's something to do when you're bored or perhaps to impress your friends at the bar: Money Origami
Speaking of Japanese art forms, this makes our pumpkins look pretty lame Japanese Watermelon Carvings
Speaking of Japanese Watermelon Carvings, (are you still with me? Keep up!) this little quicktime defies definition: Watermelon Love.
Where do I go after that? Uh... let's see... how about...
Speaking of puzzles, here are a bunch of crosswords for ya. I solved todays puzzle "Exit Strategy" in 10:24 with no help from the computer. Grade A++ - love that.
Speaking of timewasters, play Hapland. Click objects to trigger a series of events. Difficult and totally timewasting worthy.
Now, I'm totally lost, what are you doing following me? You should know better. Here, follow Patches the Horse. He seems to know better than I do.
Fo shizzle my gizoogle.
February 08, 2005
Was it a Terrapin?
"Terrapin? I don't know what kind of pan they used!"
the missus
More information than you ever wanted on the whole Beloit turtle/buccaneer mascot question of yesterday. But I actually found it kind of interesting and funny. I need a hobby or something...
The Story Behind the Beloit College Turtle Mascot
Scattered about the Beloit College campus are twenty-three conical, linear, and animal effigy mounds built between A.D. 700 and 1200. One, in the form of a turtle, has inspired the symbol (and unofficial mascot) of the College.
And Still More Beloit Turtles
Single A affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers: The Beloit Snappers
The Story(s) Behind The Beloit College Buccaneers Mascot
"The mascot of Beloit has been no more stable than its colors. For a time, the school was known simply as "The Gold." At some point, the College's sports teams became known as the Blue Devils although, confusingly, the school color remained gold only. Then in 1949, an undergraduate announcer of the basketball games on the College radio station, who later ascended to the presidency of the ABC Television Network, became bedeviled by the non-alliterativeness of the word "Devils." Virtually singlehandedly, he convinced the faculty and the student body to cast out the "Devils" and replace them with the Buccaneers, ominous newcomers to the bounding main of the Midwest."
Beloit archives
And then this...
"One of the greatest moments in Beloit Mascot history occurred about 10 years ago. Well round about the early to mid nineties everybody got all picky about copyright and trademark infringement. All of a sudden if you put Bucky Badger on a sweatshirt, you were going to get dunned mercilessly unless you paid through the nose for a license. And the NFL was the pickiest of all. Back then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a pathetic football team. The doormat of the National Football League. So, lo and behold, some wise guy in the Tampa Bay Buccaneer organization sees that the Beloit Buccaneer mascot emblem, the dude with the feather in his hat, is the mirror image of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer, just reversed. So they send a nasty letter to Beloit College threatening all sorts of terrible things and cease and desist etc. Well, Beloit checks it out and sure enough, they're right, they are identical reverse images. And I wish that I knew which Beloit official this was, but it hits the newspapers because, (and this is where I can shed a little light on your question) Beloit, it turns out, properly purchased the image in the early 70's BEFORE THE TAMPA TEAM CAME INTO EXISTENCE. So the guy from Beloit smugly offers to have the college team play lowly Tampa Bay for the rights! Tampa Bay slunk off and changed their logo instead. So we know that the logo was with us from the early 70's. Also in the late 60's early 70's the hippies among the students voted to change the mascot to the Turtle as a joke kind of thing to make it ridiculous, you know. The college elders didn't like that so they permitted the turtle to be the cheerleader type mascot, but retained the more manly Buccaneers moniker for the teams. And now you know the rest of the story."
via some dude who went to Beloit with the missus
February 07, 2005
Weekend Report:
Thursday Night: In an unprecedented turn of events, the Missus (normally one to eschew TV Sports of all kinds, unless it's figure skating) insisted that we watch her alma mater Beloit College spank Grinnell on the basketball court. I think the only reason that this Division III game was on ESPN2 is because of Grinnell's unique methodology. They rotate the entire lineup every 30 seconds or so (think hockey rotations). ESPN kept mentioning this ad nauseum and how it wears the other team down, blah blah blah and never once talked about how well (relatively speaking) Beloit was playing. And wouldn't you know it, Beloit kicked their butts. For a small brain-iac college that doesn't have a sports program to speak of, they were damn good! Kind of sloppy, but they still fought tough and won. And this was their one moment in the spotlight of national television. WTG Bucs!
Here's where I'm confused though, their team is call the Buccaneers, but their mascot is a turtle. Huh? Much like that other brain-iac college, Stanford called "The Cardinal" (I'm told it's a color not a bird) but their mascot is a friggin' pine tree. Rigghht. Things that make you go "Hmm... am I missing something here?"
Friday: We helped Stone move his metal shop to it's new digs. Metal is heavy. And loud. That evening we stayed in and did nothing. nada. zip. I made a yummy almost-fat-free dinner and I googled my long lost alumni noodled around online and the missus read. Nice quiet night.
Saturday: During the day I made some phone calls and caught up with some old friends regarding our 20th high school reunion this summer. What a trip. Though it's been many years, talking to them felt like it was just yesterday. Now I'm really starting to get psyched for the reunion. In the evening, we watched Garden State which was cute and quirky. But the best was Napoleon Dynamite. Finally, a movie that lived up to all the talk. I loved it! Flippin' hilarious. Dang!
Sunday: SuperBowl of course! I made my traditional pot-o-chili (well, not so traditional, I substituted ground turkey for ground beef, not bad, but not the same) and we headed over to my friend Stone's place. Chili, beer, football and cigars - now that's a super Sunday. I was really hoping the Eagles would come through but again, they totally choked in the end. What the hell were they doing wasting the clock like that? I haven't read any of the post-game coverage yet, but I am sure the press is going to rip them apart for that. I thought T.O. was insane (as if I never thought that before) for going out there and playing with his busted ankle. But too bad they didn't give him some more touches. All in all a good game. At least it wasn't a total blowout and it kept me interested right up to the last minute.
In other diet news... I was supposed to go to the gym yesterday to work out and weigh in, but hello? Football? I've been pretty good about the food stuff, it's exercise that I've been slacking on. I guess I'll go today. Hopefully that number over there on the right will change when I update next!
Cheers - and happy Monday!
February 04, 2005
TGImp3F
Hey! It's Friday and it was noon time, down time, break time, summertime, miller time, anytime, she was looking pretty fine. Red light, green light go, all fired upside, downtown, she was shaking me all around. I was tuned in, going nowhere, second wind, jonesin', droolin', feeling good if you would. Oh yeah, by the way she moves, she's got me rollin' in dirt in a white t-shirt, breaker breaker one-nine, she's a big ol' flirt!
Nothin' To Lose - Josh Gracin
February 03, 2005
One Step Closer to Friday
Geeks-a-poppin'! Photos from a Star Wars convention. Priceless commentary. I suggest you go to the bathroom first.
What the hell is that? Warning to my wife: DO NOT CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK. Photos of freaky deep sea creatures found ashore after the tsunami.
**update: Apparently, I've been DUPED! The images are NOT from the tsunami but they are real nonetheless... Check out snopes for more info. Thanks to Fishwrap reader Kathy for the scoop! I take my credibility very seriously... (Bwaahhaa! Did I just say that?!)
***update number 2... She clicked it! Gah! I couldn't have made it any clearer! She knew that there were going to be photos of slimy alien like creatures from the deep (she's afraid of fish!!) and yet? She still clicked it. Shaking head... For the rest of my life...
Getting ready for the big game on Sunday? For my NFL impaired gay male readers, you may want to check out SuperBowl Clueless - there's more than meets the eye going on in the pile, if you know what I mean... And I know we're all wondering what tricks Sir Paul McCartney has up his sleeve to top Ms. Janet's infamous nip slip from last year. According to the NY Times (registration required), the NFL has carefully reviewed his scripted performance and made only minor adjustments.
Video of the Day:
From Malcolm in the Middle - Parking Lot Demolition Derby. I know we've all dreamt of doing this... You haven't?
February 02, 2005
I-Spy
I am hesitant to post this link. I'm having so much obsessive voyeuristic fun with it that I fear I'll have to wait in line now to play with it. But I shouldn't be so selfish, so here ya go... Eyes of Laura. Control a Vancouver security camera in real time. Pan, zoom, focus. Don't blame me if you lose a few hours with this one.
Totally NSFW (not safe for work): Boobs, Butt, or Shoulder? Take the quiz and see if you can tell the difference.
Port-O-Rotary - It looks very complicated but this guy converted an old rotary phone into a functioning mobile phone. You kids might not remember rotary phones... But I still actually have one in my kitchen - oh, so retro.
In Other News:
It's Groundhog Day right? Did Phil see his shadow or not? And how many "Punxsutawney Phil's" are there really - I mean, c'mon what's the average lifespan of a groundhog? 6 years maybe?
February 01, 2005
Coachella
Well, the line-up has been announced and unfortunately the rumors were not true. No David Bowie, No U2. I guess Bowie was too good to be true.
But it's still one hell of a billing.
Coldplay, Weezer, Wilco, Keane, Snow Patrol, Donavon Frankenreiter, New Order, Gang of Four, Tegan and Sara, Stereophonics... All bands I would like to see. And for $150 you get the whole shebang, two days of blazing sun, and a whole lot of fun.
2005 Coachella Valley Music Festival
Sat. April 30th and Sunday May 1st.
