just a wee bit tipsy right now. went to Rock Bottom after v-ball tonight. the rain and low turnout of players sent us packing an hour earlier than usual.
had two 20 oz. pale ales and a plate o' nachos. the beer seemed so strong... granted, pale ales usually are higher in alcohol content (6-8%)than pilsners or stouts, but i was pretty happy after the first one. the second one was ordered simply because i downed the first one ;)
anyway, my brother, Sandy, and i hung out for a couple hours, watching the Rockies game. while i'm not the biggest baseball fan, i am a sports fan...and Sandy is THE sports fan of the family. i feel that i can only hold meaningful sports conversations with him. sure, i've got two other brothers with whom i can talk tennis or soccer, but sandy is mr. all-around...if you know what i mean ;)
ya know, sometimes you just got to get together with siblings to rekindle that family spirit. much too often, the obligatory holiday gatherings aren't enough. then again, this might only be accurate with my family...heh.
speaking of family, my niece in florida is due to have her first child at the end of july. i cannot believe that i'm gonna be a great uncle...too weird. i look at her and see the toddler who used to come by the house while her parents went out on a date. she taught me the meaning of 'terrible twos.' she wasn't a monster...far from one...but she epitomized separation anxiety. it was simply heartbreaking to watch the expression on her face when her parents had to sneak out for fear of her realization that she was at the house to be babysat by her aunt and uncle.
and now she's gonna have a little one of her own...wow...where has the time gone?!?
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
free...
is a good thing. this summer, as in the past, cherry creek north is sponsoring free movies on the fillmore plaza on thursdays, starting in july. here's the schedule...
Fillmore Plaza, Second and Fillmore
July 6 Batman Begins (Rated PG-13, 134 minutes)
July 13 Fun with Dick and Jane (Rated PG-13, 90 minutes)
July 20 Caddyshack (Rated R, 107 minutes) – Sponsored by the International PGA Golf Tournament
July 27 Madagascar (Rated PG, 86 minutes) – Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital
August 3 Sideways - presented in conjunction with Rocky Mountain PBS. (Edited version. Although edited for content, family-edited movies may contain subject matter that may be inappropriate for some viewers. Please use discretion. MPAA rated R, 123 minutes)
August 10 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Rated PG, 106 minutes) – Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital
August 17 Million Dollar Baby (Rated PG-13, 137 minutes)
August 24 King Kong (Rated PG-13, 187 minutes)
might have to take in a freebie or two...
on the movie "front", we just finished watching a couple selections from our netflix list. this week, it was this 1979 movie and this 1964 classic. the classic was better than the '79 but that sequel even had its moments.
the next two titles on our list are:
The Thrill of It All! and Nine Queens. we'll get 'em in a couple days and i'll keep you posted ;)
Fillmore Plaza, Second and Fillmore
July 6 Batman Begins (Rated PG-13, 134 minutes)
July 13 Fun with Dick and Jane (Rated PG-13, 90 minutes)
July 20 Caddyshack (Rated R, 107 minutes) – Sponsored by the International PGA Golf Tournament
July 27 Madagascar (Rated PG, 86 minutes) – Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital
August 3 Sideways - presented in conjunction with Rocky Mountain PBS. (Edited version. Although edited for content, family-edited movies may contain subject matter that may be inappropriate for some viewers. Please use discretion. MPAA rated R, 123 minutes)
August 10 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Rated PG, 106 minutes) – Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital
August 17 Million Dollar Baby (Rated PG-13, 137 minutes)
August 24 King Kong (Rated PG-13, 187 minutes)
might have to take in a freebie or two...
on the movie "front", we just finished watching a couple selections from our netflix list. this week, it was this 1979 movie and this 1964 classic. the classic was better than the '79 but that sequel even had its moments.
the next two titles on our list are:
The Thrill of It All! and Nine Queens. we'll get 'em in a couple days and i'll keep you posted ;)
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
flush...
that's the sound of $40 being sent down the toilet for speeding on 6th avenue this afternoon...damn. wish i could talk to the camera toting van.
"...but i ALWAYS speed on that stretch of 6th ave."
sigh
usually, i'm good about seeing those blue signs that warn of the vans in use. they come up a block or two before you get popped. oh well, this will make up for the time i was busted in a school zone about three years ago. i never got a ticket for that. and THAT ticket should have been $80! mebbe i shouldn't be too happy though. with my luck, i'll get both in the mail sometime this summer. wouldn't that be grand...
other than the happy foot, we went to see a sneak at the Esquire. it was for this movie. you gotta go see it when it comes out next month. i knew electric cars were being produced in the 90's...but had no idea how efficient they truly were. i just thought that the technology hadn't been perfected, thus allowing the burgeoning market for hybrids. after finding out that electric cars had been killed by the same california mandate that had created them, you could sense outrage in the theater. sure, electric cars only had an initial range of 60-115 miles per charge, but how many people drive more than that a day? pretty rare for me...
with gas prices hovering around $2.70 in town, we had already been trying to go out less. and after seeing this movie, with fingers pointing towards gov't/car maker conspiracy, we're gonna walk more. if we want to go out, there's plenty of places to eat within a mile from here. argh. trust me, you'll feel the same too once you see this awesome documentary.
ever since we saw the Toyota Prius at the Texas State Fair in 2000, we had already been considering buying a hybrid. the new honda civic hybrids showcased at the denver auto show tested at 50 mpg in the city, but there are some detractors. i guess there are hybrid owners who refute that claim, recording figures anywhere from 35-47 mpg. perhaps it's something to be taken with a grain of salt on both sides. still, you have to admit that 35 mpg in the city ain't so bad. when we drove to texas, we had varying numbers. on two occasions, our little honda civic averaged more than 45 mpg (highway). in fact, when we drove from salina, KS to burlington, CO...we averaged 53 mpg. and that was with the A/C on! i just remember not hitting the gas nor brakes more than a couple times, which really helped the cruise control. we were totally stunned!
anyway, get to the site and check it out. there's some really intriguing facts and numbers. i don't think that electric cars weren't for everyone, but it was definitely a good option for a second car. after all, if many families have 2+ cars, why not have one for short trips...and not use any gas?
i know that bias is always an issue when it comes to debate; everyone has a personal interest when money is involved. i truly believe there is some truth to auto industry conspiracy. one of my friends worked at ford for many years and told me that for every $35,000 SUV, a $30,000 profit was made. recently, i heard that there was a smart car dealership in Elizabeth. i think i may have blogged a bit about the smart car during/after our trip to spain in 2004. anyway, these little buggers are pretty cool.
small (like 8' long), gas sipping (60 mpg), and manueverable (the wheels actually turn 90 degrees so you don't have to parallel park)...and they're around 8000 euros ($10,000) in europe. sooooo, WHY is this dealership in colorado taking orders for these cars and selling them for $27,000!!!!!
wotdafuk?!? there's definitely a smoking gun of conspiracy...
at least there are some viable options...hybrids...smart cars...and mebbe this one in the future. it's the prius (it's going to be a plug in) that toyota wants to put out by 2008. and they're hoping to revamp the efficiency to 113 mpg!!! now, THAT would be cool!
"...but i ALWAYS speed on that stretch of 6th ave."
sigh
usually, i'm good about seeing those blue signs that warn of the vans in use. they come up a block or two before you get popped. oh well, this will make up for the time i was busted in a school zone about three years ago. i never got a ticket for that. and THAT ticket should have been $80! mebbe i shouldn't be too happy though. with my luck, i'll get both in the mail sometime this summer. wouldn't that be grand...
other than the happy foot, we went to see a sneak at the Esquire. it was for this movie. you gotta go see it when it comes out next month. i knew electric cars were being produced in the 90's...but had no idea how efficient they truly were. i just thought that the technology hadn't been perfected, thus allowing the burgeoning market for hybrids. after finding out that electric cars had been killed by the same california mandate that had created them, you could sense outrage in the theater. sure, electric cars only had an initial range of 60-115 miles per charge, but how many people drive more than that a day? pretty rare for me...
with gas prices hovering around $2.70 in town, we had already been trying to go out less. and after seeing this movie, with fingers pointing towards gov't/car maker conspiracy, we're gonna walk more. if we want to go out, there's plenty of places to eat within a mile from here. argh. trust me, you'll feel the same too once you see this awesome documentary.
ever since we saw the Toyota Prius at the Texas State Fair in 2000, we had already been considering buying a hybrid. the new honda civic hybrids showcased at the denver auto show tested at 50 mpg in the city, but there are some detractors. i guess there are hybrid owners who refute that claim, recording figures anywhere from 35-47 mpg. perhaps it's something to be taken with a grain of salt on both sides. still, you have to admit that 35 mpg in the city ain't so bad. when we drove to texas, we had varying numbers. on two occasions, our little honda civic averaged more than 45 mpg (highway). in fact, when we drove from salina, KS to burlington, CO...we averaged 53 mpg. and that was with the A/C on! i just remember not hitting the gas nor brakes more than a couple times, which really helped the cruise control. we were totally stunned!
anyway, get to the site and check it out. there's some really intriguing facts and numbers. i don't think that electric cars weren't for everyone, but it was definitely a good option for a second car. after all, if many families have 2+ cars, why not have one for short trips...and not use any gas?
i know that bias is always an issue when it comes to debate; everyone has a personal interest when money is involved. i truly believe there is some truth to auto industry conspiracy. one of my friends worked at ford for many years and told me that for every $35,000 SUV, a $30,000 profit was made. recently, i heard that there was a smart car dealership in Elizabeth. i think i may have blogged a bit about the smart car during/after our trip to spain in 2004. anyway, these little buggers are pretty cool.
small (like 8' long), gas sipping (60 mpg), and manueverable (the wheels actually turn 90 degrees so you don't have to parallel park)...and they're around 8000 euros ($10,000) in europe. sooooo, WHY is this dealership in colorado taking orders for these cars and selling them for $27,000!!!!!
wotdafuk?!? there's definitely a smoking gun of conspiracy...
at least there are some viable options...hybrids...smart cars...and mebbe this one in the future. it's the prius (it's going to be a plug in) that toyota wants to put out by 2008. and they're hoping to revamp the efficiency to 113 mpg!!! now, THAT would be cool!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
new...
i've added a couple new links on the sidebar. under blogs, you'll find the occasional journal of our friend, Helena. she and her husband just moved to Argentina last year. they've semi-retired on a vineyard/orchard in the Mendoza wine growing region of western Argentina, near a town called San Rafael.
Helena, who is Dutch, was a medical anthropologist, mainly specializing in geriatrics. her husband, Arn, was a music teacher for Boulder Public Schools for many years. they are just the coolest people to have around. nothing like conversationalists with a razor sharp sense of humor. when they lived here, we tried to get together (with our little anthro group of 8) a couple times during the summer. we really miss them. visiting them up in Longmont was one thing...at least it was 5500 miles closer ;) BUT it's definitely another good excuse to go back to South America!
if you want to read about starting a new life in a rural area of a foreign country, i recommend that you check out the site; there are some really amusing stories. you'd really like her style of writing - pure storytelling.
under links, i replaced Dog Eat Doug with Lío, a really cute comic strip about a kid with a great imagination. this is a strip from a few days ago...i like the way he thinks!
it has been a super morning! made omelets (w/ cheese, bacon, yellow pepper, green onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes) and had them out on the front porch in the cool breeze. even though there's still no escaping 6th ave. traffic, the porch faces east and is a perfect place to have either breakfast or a beer/wine in the evening, after the sun has set. and with little traffic on a sunday morning, it was an idyllic setting...
life is SO good!
Helena, who is Dutch, was a medical anthropologist, mainly specializing in geriatrics. her husband, Arn, was a music teacher for Boulder Public Schools for many years. they are just the coolest people to have around. nothing like conversationalists with a razor sharp sense of humor. when they lived here, we tried to get together (with our little anthro group of 8) a couple times during the summer. we really miss them. visiting them up in Longmont was one thing...at least it was 5500 miles closer ;) BUT it's definitely another good excuse to go back to South America!
if you want to read about starting a new life in a rural area of a foreign country, i recommend that you check out the site; there are some really amusing stories. you'd really like her style of writing - pure storytelling.
under links, i replaced Dog Eat Doug with Lío, a really cute comic strip about a kid with a great imagination. this is a strip from a few days ago...i like the way he thinks!
it has been a super morning! made omelets (w/ cheese, bacon, yellow pepper, green onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes) and had them out on the front porch in the cool breeze. even though there's still no escaping 6th ave. traffic, the porch faces east and is a perfect place to have either breakfast or a beer/wine in the evening, after the sun has set. and with little traffic on a sunday morning, it was an idyllic setting...
life is SO good!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
the letdown...
don't you hate it when you think you've gotten a great buy on something and then find out later it wasn't so great? last sunday, i went to a book signing at the Denver Book Mall in moral support of my friend. unfortunately, to his chagrin, i didn't buy any of his books; i'm not a sci-fi fan. remember, this was for 'moral' support ;)
anyway, i did pick up a great coffee table book written by a famous mexican anthropologist, Ignacio Bernal. it was hiding on a top shelf, gazing down upon the throngs of people who peruse the books on a daily basis. i think it had been waiting for me...
it's a an out of print book entitled, "100 Great Masterpieces of the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology" (aka, INAH...whom i worked for in 1993). for $14.95, it was a steal. the dust jacked is in pristine condition and there are no stains, dents, nor tears. an excellent chance to see some of the artifacts that were displayed at the national museum in 1969, many of which are no longer on display.
wow...$14.95. i think it was marked down from $35!
well, today, i was going to erase the price that was penciled in on the second page, only to find out that the real price was $12!!! heeHAW. the $14.95 price (written in ink) was probably what the seller BOUGHT it for. it was surreal because i could have sworn i saw the $14.95 in pencil. hmmm.
oh well. three bucks is not that big of a deal, considering the book is worth way more than the price. that is, until i got the bright idea to see how much i could find it for online.
dumb idea
yeah, there are at least a dozen copies of the book for less than $10, even a few between $5-$6. sigh. still, i don't know if all those copies are in the excellent condition of my copy - nearly pristine.
so...i'll stop bitching about a few dollars and will just read the damn thing...with a cuppa coffee...that i'll spill ALL over it! yeah...
anyway, i did pick up a great coffee table book written by a famous mexican anthropologist, Ignacio Bernal. it was hiding on a top shelf, gazing down upon the throngs of people who peruse the books on a daily basis. i think it had been waiting for me...
it's a an out of print book entitled, "100 Great Masterpieces of the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology" (aka, INAH...whom i worked for in 1993). for $14.95, it was a steal. the dust jacked is in pristine condition and there are no stains, dents, nor tears. an excellent chance to see some of the artifacts that were displayed at the national museum in 1969, many of which are no longer on display.
wow...$14.95. i think it was marked down from $35!
well, today, i was going to erase the price that was penciled in on the second page, only to find out that the real price was $12!!! heeHAW. the $14.95 price (written in ink) was probably what the seller BOUGHT it for. it was surreal because i could have sworn i saw the $14.95 in pencil. hmmm.
oh well. three bucks is not that big of a deal, considering the book is worth way more than the price. that is, until i got the bright idea to see how much i could find it for online.
dumb idea
yeah, there are at least a dozen copies of the book for less than $10, even a few between $5-$6. sigh. still, i don't know if all those copies are in the excellent condition of my copy - nearly pristine.
so...i'll stop bitching about a few dollars and will just read the damn thing...with a cuppa coffee...that i'll spill ALL over it! yeah...
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
streamin...
been listening to pandora.com the past week. it's nice. you type in a group/song name and it comes up with songs of the genre. although it may be a bit of a broad spectrum, the songs are usually pretty good. basically, you're constructing a custom radio station. if you don't like a song, you can say so and the next song in a queue will play. if you do like the song, you indicate it and it's memorized. if there's a song that has been played ad nauseam, you can tell the station to not play it for a month. and if that isn't enough, you can insert the names of groups/songs that you like to narrow/broaden the selections.
go try it out!
lois is watching the rest of Capote, which we rented from McD's last night. ever since we got back from texas, we've been nothing short of lazy bums. the 2000+ mile drive exacerbated a lower back problem that has plagued lois since '99, when she broke a vertebra after falling off a ladder in mexico, while we helped paint an orphanage.
so...i think the next couple of weeks are going to be spent at the chiropractor and in bed, with an armload of vids. the next two movies on our nettflix list are the remake of Bewitchedd and (since we're in the TrumanCapote vein) In Cold Blood.
movie's just about over...time to get it back to ronald's ;) and then off to Soopers for some peaches, spinach, and strawberries. gotta hit those produce sales!
such a nice, warm night...what are you all doing?
oh yeah, cindi did request a '6 weird things' meme. don't fret, i'm still working on it. all the quirks i have have to be narrowed down. can i make it 60 instead?
go try it out!
lois is watching the rest of Capote, which we rented from McD's last night. ever since we got back from texas, we've been nothing short of lazy bums. the 2000+ mile drive exacerbated a lower back problem that has plagued lois since '99, when she broke a vertebra after falling off a ladder in mexico, while we helped paint an orphanage.
so...i think the next couple of weeks are going to be spent at the chiropractor and in bed, with an armload of vids. the next two movies on our nettflix list are the remake of Bewitchedd and (since we're in the TrumanCapote vein) In Cold Blood.
movie's just about over...time to get it back to ronald's ;) and then off to Soopers for some peaches, spinach, and strawberries. gotta hit those produce sales!
such a nice, warm night...what are you all doing?
oh yeah, cindi did request a '6 weird things' meme. don't fret, i'm still working on it. all the quirks i have have to be narrowed down. can i make it 60 instead?
Sunday, June 04, 2006
sigh...
and america wonders why 60% of its population is overweight. i'm in that population as well...so this posting is tongue firmly planted in cheek.
look what they're selling in the minor league ballpark in Sauget, IL.
yep, that's a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched in a KrispyKreme glazed doughnut. we're talking 10 grams of sugar and 1000 calories.
looks tasty though. and although CBS News touts it as America's unhealthiest burger, i beg to differ. the REAL heartstopper is Carl Jr's Double Six Dollar Burger. yes sir!
we're talking about 1420 calories...101 grams of fat (150% of daily allowance)...44 g. saturated fat (220%) and 245 mg. of cholesterol (82%). mmmboy, i can hear those defibrillators crackling right now ;) you know, people can survive gunshot wounds, but how many could endure eating two of these in one sitting? heh
look what they're selling in the minor league ballpark in Sauget, IL.
yep, that's a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched in a KrispyKreme glazed doughnut. we're talking 10 grams of sugar and 1000 calories.
looks tasty though. and although CBS News touts it as America's unhealthiest burger, i beg to differ. the REAL heartstopper is Carl Jr's Double Six Dollar Burger. yes sir!
we're talking about 1420 calories...101 grams of fat (150% of daily allowance)...44 g. saturated fat (220%) and 245 mg. of cholesterol (82%). mmmboy, i can hear those defibrillators crackling right now ;) you know, people can survive gunshot wounds, but how many could endure eating two of these in one sitting? heh
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