MY FIRST ADULT PARTY

That title is a real attention getter. But all I mean by that is a party in which people dance, drink alcohol (don't worry my friends, I did neither), and there is no charge to enter. This party also had live entertainment adding to it's party atmosphere. What makes this adult is that adults were there. Last time I was at something of this nature was in college at a frat party. So you may be wondering why I would attend something so unlike me. Good question. It was a thing for Erin's work. The live entertainment was good, although a little loud. A little loud? I am an old 24 year old. The entertainers were very interesting as you will notice in the picture.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...

There are some subjects that I would like to take the time to blog about but:
a. I don't really have the time.
b. I am tired of writing stuff.
But I have just brainstormed some ideas, so keep your eyes open in mid-December.

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME

You have to be kidding me. Words that I noticed Tony Dungy mouthing numerous times last night. He was on camera saying it two or three times but I am sure it had to be at least ten. I figure he said one for each interception (6). Probably two for injuries (8). Maybe add one when he noticed that when the game ended he had 15 eligible players for offense and several were third string (9). Definitely one after "clutch" kicker Vinatieri missed a 29 yard field goal (10). Most coaches would probably insert some type of vulgar verb before kidding on this one. I think one came out when the Colts were originally awarded a first down with 1:47 left in the game only for it to be overturned by inches (11).
Back to Vinatieri. He is not the same kicker he was last year or years prior. First, his range is down dramatically. Evidently "field goal range" is somewhere around 25 yards out. The first extra point this season hit the crossbar and made it in. The ball is making some knuckle rotation off his foot, which probably has a lot to do with his inaccuracy. I don't think he has kicked a touchback all year. He used to appear as if he owned the field when he lined up for a field goal. Now he looks like he has never been there before and is not sure if he is really supposed to be kicking.
Peyton can have an off night. Especially since he put the team in position to win the game. Albeit, with some great defense. (Luckily they were up against Phillip Rivers rather than Juice Williams--Bob). They didn't give up much of anything, special teams was horrendous, though. Vinatieri gets no sympathy. He has one job to do. Kick the ball.
I still love Peyton, but Vinatieri... you have to be kidding me.

THE NAME IS POTTER...HARRY POTTER

Harry Potter=Me. Ginny Weasley= Erin. Tonks=Rachel Steele

Fall Fest 2007. I also made an appearance as Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry performed stand-up comedy and was a soup judge.

THE CONVIENENT TRUTH: YOU CAN GO GREEN

I have not seen Al Gore's work that earned him a Noble Peace Prize. I do know that many of the earth's resources can be preserved by the simple rule-reduce, reuse, recycle.
Erin and I have began our journey to "go green". Some simple things can be done like turning off your lights when you are not using them. Pay attention to the heat and air conditioning used. For those of you who live in Memphis, there are recycle opportunities. I know of spots by Wild Oats and a center near Cooper-Young in Midtown. There are great ways to learn how to go green. A website I recommend is www.treehugger.com

Help the environment. Peace.

I WON'T STOP BELIEVING

I promise I will not turn my blog into strictly YouTube videos. But I could not pass up posting this video. This video is further proof that people outside Cubs Nation will never understand what being a Cubs fan is all about.

THE IMPRESSION ABOUT NOTHING

Starring: Frank Caliendo, Frank Caliendo, Frank Caliendo, and Frank Caliendo

GO CUBS GO

The Cubs finished the year with 85 wins. I predicted they would win 85. You may be waiting for a postseason prediction. You aren't going to get one. All I will say is that although I am not superstitious, I do believe in the Law of Averages, and the Cubs are due. Unfortunately I also see some merit in Murphy's Law.

The title of this blog is in reference to a song that is played at Wrigley after every home game victory. There is a pretty cool story behind the song, but that is a different blog for a different day.

IS THERE ROOM ON THE WAGON?

I am wondering what the rules of bandwagoning are. I never really grew up watching college football. It has not been much of an interest of mine until the past two or three years. Even now I am just more than a casual fan.
The University of Kentucky has a good football team this year. This is much unlike years past-which is probably why I have never kept up with them. They have sort of emerged out of nowhere this year unless you live in Lexington, in that case you knew they were going to take down UofL for months. The 'Cats are 4-0 and have moved up in the top 25.
I figure everyone has a reason to be a fan of the team you root for, it could be proximity, or a favorite player. I have some good reasons to be allowed on the UK football bandwagon. First, I am from Kentucky. I root for the UK basketball team. My brother attends UK. I figure those are good enough reasons to start following the team. Until they start losing again.

VERY un-SUPERSTITIOUS

I have come to the conclusion that I have no control over the outcome of Chicago Cubs baseball games. For that matter, I have very little control over many things by wearing the same socks, wearing a lucky shirt, etc. I used to be quasi-superstitious, but no more. It is difficult for a Cubs fan not to be superstitious for one reason.; the Cubs lose a lot. It has nothing to do with a goat curse or anything like that. They just get outplayed. In fact, in some systemic way believing in superstitions may actually cause lower performance. If you are unable to perform a superstition then you may feel like your chances of success are lower. By thinking this you may actually perform worse, blaming it of course, on the superstition.
I am not just applying this to sports. I have no problem walking under ladders (except for the whole danger aspect). If I break a mirror, so what?
So, unfortunately, no matter what I do -save preventing Moises Alou from catching a fly ball-I cannot change the outcome of a Cubs baseball game.

HOLY KNIT

My wife likes to knit. She has made some really cool stuff for me. The latest present is the black man bag that is on my right. In honor of her dedication to knitting gifts for me, I decided to model all the gifts, at the same time.
Starting at the top is my first gift and her first project, the navy and yellow scarf. Also around my neck is the gray tie she made for me over the winter. As you can see I am holding up the chess board she put together over a year ago, it came with the man bag on my left that contains smaller bags to hold pieces. The sweater I am adorning was given to me over the winter (seems logical).
The socks were a Valentine's Day present and the house shoes were a Christmas present. Now I need knit pants to complete my collection. My wife is awesome.

BIRTHDAY, CUBS, SCHOOL

Today, yours truly turns 24. I got a cool present from my wife. She knit, felted, and sewed a man purse for me(picture to come soon).

Cubs are in first place again.

Today is the first day of school. My birthday has been on the first day of school, or around it my entire life. When I was a kid it was quite a struggle for me to look forward to my birthday because that was when school started. I am over it.

Happy Birthday to me.

MIKE AND MIKE?

This is bordering ridiculous. Mike and Mike in the morning is starting to become false advertisement. A tell-tale sign is when my wife asks where Mike (Golic who has been out for I am not sure how long) is. I reply, "vacation maybe?" She replies, "Are you sure he isn't dead?"

The good ol' days of Mike and Mike was before HD in the Sportscenter studio. Before they were hosting Spelling Bees. I remember a time when they were consistently both on the show at the same time and were on the air more than the Sage Steele Sportscenter update.

Bring back Mike and Mike the way it used to be.

HEARTBREAK IN CINCI

This weekend in Cincinattai I caught a game between the Reds and San Diego Padres. Former Cub great and one of my favorite pitchers plays for the Padres. Greg Maddux (Pictured above). We were at the game early so we went to the outfield seats to wait for some possible batting practice homers. Incidentally, my cousin grabbed one that landed in the seat Erin had been sitting in before she left moments before to go to the bathroom. But before that, Maddux was taking infield and shagging balls. I was really excited to see him and I was bragging about his work ethic and the non-existent ego of such a legendary pitcher. I may have been off a tad.

I stood directly behind where he was in the outfield; I was starstruck. A ball came to the wall directly below where I was standing. I was feet away. I was toungetied, I had nothing to say. A kid beside me asked "Mr.Maddux can I have a ball?" Maddux's reply (which is what broke my heart) was "nope". Nope? That's all he had for a 9-10ish year old boy who called him Mr. Maddux. Granted, visiting players are not supposed to throw balls in the stands like home players often do during batting practice, as none of the other players did that day. He could have handled it without being rude, though.

On a positive note, Mike Cameron's son was in uniform (he is roughly 12) and he was showing off some leather in centerfield during BP. Seriously. He had at least three web-gems. I should have taken a picture of him, I wouldn't be suprised to see him in "the show" someday.

E-GRAMMAR

I do not claim to have perfect written or spoken grammar. At least I try. In the generation of e-mail, instant messaging and facebook I have noticed that grammar is on the decline. R U cng wht im talkin bout?

So, I have an idea. Since instant messaging has done much to increase the words typed per minute among my generation, I think that communicating on the computer can be a great form of learning grammar. What if every comment or post was blocked without the use of proper grammar? So, instead of "whatcha doin 2nite?" the post would read "What are you doing tonight?" Is that too much to ask?

NEwayz, ttyl.