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Wednesday, January 04, 2006
***morning update****
My intitial inclination was just to remove my quick post from last night before bedtime.
Well, as we all know by now, it was NOT 12 miners who survived the mining accident in West Virginia. It was 1 miner of the 13 who survived.
I was, like everyone else, elated upon hearing that 12 of the miners had survived and were just awaiting evacuation.
There are a lot of dangerous jobs that we take for granted, people who crawl into holes miles into the planet to bring back the resources we need to make this planet run. When you work in an office with an elevator and the biggest problem in your day is that nobody started the coffee, it's hard to imagine that day-after-day, exactly these kinds of threats hang over so many people's heads. Each time these people head off to work, it's a risk, and you know these guys don't earn any CEO wages.
Anyway, The League's thoughts are in West Virginia this morning.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The League has a new favorite show. A&E's Rollergirls.
Remember when A&E was the channel that showed orchestras and Yo-Yo Ma talking about what sort of string he used? Yeah, I didn't watch that, either.
But I am going to watch Rollergirls.
Featuring a wide array of Austin slackers who have found their calling as the stars of Texas Roller Derby, the show follows the adventures of several women as they prepare for a week's match. (curiously, there's a completely different league under the name "Texas Rollergirls". Go figure.)
After suffering through "Real World: Austin" (aka Real World: two square blocks of downtown Austin) it was fun to see people actually walking around town near familiar landmarks and being the sort of 20 and 30-something slackers the town is crawling with (cough... STEANSO... cough).
One odd bit about Austin that you certainly don't find in Phoenix is that Austinites tend to find completely useless past-times in which they strive to overachieve. Be it the Spam toss at Spam-o-rama, or building a massive kite for kite fest or becoming champion of a disc golf league, folks in Austin tend to get easily distracted (The League was a black belt in TKD in Austin. Yeah, seriously.). This distraction may include forming two completely different all-girl roller derby leagues.
In Phoenix you pretty much play golf and put TV's in your SUV.
Anyhoo, I'm in for the next few episodes. I used to watch Rollerderby on cable in the 90's, so it's fun to see both the games and the goings-on behind the scenes.
You know, once again, this post seems most appropriate for Nanostalgia.com. Ah, well. Too late.
Monday, January 02, 2006
The League is deeply jealous of Retrocrush's list.
Maybe this should be on Nanostalgia.com, but what's up with all the torture going on in movies, TV, etc... ?
Maybe I've seen too many commercials for films like Saw, Hostel and Wolf Creek lately, but the latest trend isn't crazy, unstoppable killing machines (Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger), serial killers (Hannibal Lecter, etc...), or even slightly sympanthetic killers (Norman Bates).
The latest trend, as near as I can tell, is for folks to end up getting tortured for 90-120 minutes.
After watching years of Fear Factor (now, apparently, in syndication) , Dog Eat Dog and Ally McBeal, maybe we're all used to torturing ourselves with movies and TV.
I dunno. I guess that's what the kids like these days, and maybe it's not too far of a cry from House on Haunted Hill or some of those other Price movies.
Opinions?
Congratulations to the referees in tonight's Suns/ Knicks game. They really won that game for the Knicks.
I've only rarely seen such one-sided game calling. 3 Suns players were fouled out before the first of three OT's and 1 more fouled out in, I believe, the second OT (but that was Burke, so I'm not really sure how much of a conspiracy that one was).
Apparently, when in NY, putting your hands up when someone else shoots constitutes a foul. Also, there is no such thing as an offensive foul in NYC. Ever.
41 fouls on The Suns, 27 on the Knicks?
That was truly awful, awful reffing. The Knicks didn't deserve that win.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
I've only been awake for about thirty minutes, but I think we've had enough of 2006 to make some calls on how this year went.
Movie of the year: the few seconds of Narnia they showed in a clip on Headline News.
Song of the Year: Polyphonic Spree's "It's the Sun". For some reason that's what was in my head when I woke up.
Meal of the Year: "Muffin Tops Cereal"by Malt o' Meal and a cup of official Ruta Maya coffee sent by cousin Susan from Austin.
Cat of the Year: Jeff
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Wow, did 2005 suck. Hurricanes. Tsunami after-effects. Political scandal. War. No Hot Tamales at the Gilbert WTC. Multiple hospital stays for Jamie. Cancellation of Arrested Development.
Yeah, you know what... @#$% you, 2005.
Anyway, Happy New Year, Loyal Leaguers.
And now...
The League of Melbotis 2005 Person of the Year
We name this person Person of the Year with some trepidation as we recently learned that Jim D's own mother reads this site from time to time. Mrs. D, I gotta ask that you forgive me for this one, but it was already in the works.
Without further ado, The League of Melbotis presents our first Person of the Year.
Congratulations, Grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng. You are 2005's selection for Person of the Year.
Grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng, well... I feel really awkward with Mrs. D reading this, but... you know... Anyway, he pulled a truck across a parking lot using his penis as an anchor.
That makes him not just Person of the Year, but, in fact, MAN of the year.
Article 1 on the amazing feat.
Article 2.
Article 3.
Master Tu
Here is Tu Jin-Sheng's own website, ironcrotch.com
Special thanks to Loyal Leaguer Dan Peters for informing me of this amazing feat.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Continuing the previous entry on this free-form topic...
TV Shows I watched regularly in 2005:
The Daily Show
Colbert Report
Headline News (oh, Linda Stouffer, you dreamy eyed babe of the half-hour news..! )
Arrested Development
Family Guy
The Soup
Monster House
Justice League Unlimited
The Office (US Edition)
the aforementioned Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I'm not sure I care for
and
Suns Basketball
TV Shows of Note that I caught Only Occasionally:
Wonder Showzen
American Experience
City Confidential
My Name is Earl
Smallville
Comedians of Comedy
Boondocks
TV Shows I still will not watch for no other reason than because people keep telling me to watch them:
The Apprentice (both Donald and Martha)
West Wing
Battlestar Galactica
Entourage
Boston Legal
Sopranos (in fact, anything on HBO...)
Commander in Chief
Special Mention: Lost. I do watch Lost, but it's because I love my wife dearly and she asks me to sit with her each week to watch the show.
Movie I've watched more times on cable this year than I really want to admit:
Napolean Dynamite
Movies I meant to see, but I didn't, so I hope they come to cable:
Good Night and Good Luck
Syriana
Jesus is Magic
MirrorMask
Munich
The Producers
A History of Violence (funny story, that...)
2046
Movies I saw which I thought were okay, but not great:
March of the Penguins (do none of you people watch Discovery Channel? Actually, Discovery would have inserted some science in there somewhere, not just wide-eyed wonder)
Madagascar (what was the moral? Try not to eat your friends? Thanks.)
The Constant Gardner. It wasn't bad, it was just so relentlessly depressing, I wasn't really sure why I was sitting there after the first hour.
Movie I followed until literally the last scene:
Memoirs of a Geisha. I had to ask Jamie, who'd read the book, what just happened there in the last scene before the credits rolled.
Times I had to tell someone to shut up in a movie this year:
At least twice. Star Wars I had to tell someone to hang up their phone during the Kenobi/ Anakin duel. King Kong, where I walked all the way across the theater to ask some kids to shut up. It seems like it happened another time, but it's not coming to me.
Album Cover of the Year:
Kanye West: Late Registration
I've heard only part of one song off of this album, but I know one thing: George Bush doesn't care about teddy bears
Comic Cover of the Year:
All-Star Superman #1
Recommended Collection of 2005 (non-continuity/ affordable):
DC: The New Frontier Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Recommended Collection of 2005 (non-continuity/ not-affordable)
Watchmen Absolute Edition (actually, the price I found here at Amazon is pretty darn good)
Recommended Series/ Collections of 2005 (continuity/ affordable)
Well, probably Infinite Crisis, but a special nod to Adventures of Superman by Greg Rucka. Includes collections Unconventional Warfare, That Healing Touch, and issues 640-648
Recommended Collection of 2005 (continuity/ not as affordable)
Absolutely heart-breaking. The controversy surrounding the scenes in issue #2 in a monthly format did this series a disservice that should have been foreseen and avoided. We can save the debate of that choice for later.
As a single read, the series works significantly better, and has the feel of a book rather than episodic, issue driven plot points. Definitely worth a review. And definitely not the comfort food provided by so many DC comics.
Well, that's it for Part II. I'm pooped. If anyone has any suggestions for additional categories, let me know and we may see a part III.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
The League is usually full of bad ideas, and, upon occasion, bad ideas that affect other people. Part of the new and improved Steans/ McBride gift exchange is the placement of "Santor" gifts under the tree.
This year, in addition to an unopened Richard Marx album which had been following The League around since 1996, Santor also gifted the visiting Steanso with the Jones Soda Holiday Collection. Apparently we got the National release vs. the regional release. In either case, I am fairly certain the results would have been similar.
Jeff the Cat takes a look at the collection.
Steanso carefully considers the journey upon which we are about to embark.
The collection includes five Holiday Dinner flavors, a spork and a moist towlette.
We took a wee wiff of each flavor before beginning the taste test.
Brussel Sprouts.
Turkey & Gravy
Wild Herb Stuffing
Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry. Which we spilled all over the counter and floor. It's okay. It's a taste test, not a "let's drink the whole bottle test." We used to have those, but it didn't involve soda. We called that "college."
Allrighty. Each of the Bros. Steans got a tiny, holiday and/ or animal themed cup with a tatse of the soda, plus some ice to keep it chilly.
The League hates Brussel Sprouts more than we hate Candian Baby-Eaters, but we also brought this upon ourselves, so it's up to us to go forward and take the first drink. At this point, the smell was already getting to me, and I wanted to call an abort on the whole plan. Unfortunately, the Bros. Steans are really good at egging each other on into unknown and foolish territory.
We had picked Brussel Sprouts first, knowing it had, by far, the foulest smell, and we might as well get it out of the way.
If evil has a taste, it's Brussel Sprout soda. Mother of Christ. Every animal instinct in my body kicked in, fight or flight alarms going off in my head. I almost vomited, even with just the tiniest taste of Brussel Sprout Soda in my mouth.
Luckily, Jamie was on hand with a canister of Tic-tacs.
At this point I beg for an abort and to discontinue the process, but Steanso is having none of it.
Steanso takes a sip. Unfortunately, the reaction shot here isn't really captured. I believe his exact words were "Jesus Christ (Bleep)".
He also had a Tic-Tac.
Steanso was up at bat and went for the Turkey and Gravy Soda.
Don't be fooled. It's not a smile. That's the same look Steanso gets when he's about to stand up and punch you in the mouth. You can't punch Turkey & Gravy Soda in the mouth. Notice, he's sweating. His fight or flight instincts have also kicked in.
The League also finds Turkey & Gravy soda unpleasant, but after Brussel Sprout soda, T&G tastes like a fine wine. It really has little taste at all, for which, in this case, we're eternally grateful.
Next up, Wild Herb Stuffing. We LOVE herb stuffing. Just not so much in soda form. It doesn't really smell like much of anything, but the color is that of a day-old colostomy bag. Nothing good can come of this. But, when we're done, we have only two more sodas left, and they're desert sodas. So, bottoms up.
Ughhhh... not good. And now my stomach is hurting from tasting bad things. We don't want to ever eat anything ever again.
Pumpkin Pie! Mmm-mmm! Steanso takes a sip, hoping for the smooth flavor of Mom's pumpkin pie. He is non-plussed and a bit repulsed.
The League almost throws up again. Pumpkin-pie is delicious. I have no idea what those bastards at Jones Soda were up to, but this ain't pumpkin. I spit and spit, feeling my stomach trying to squeeze out the poison which isn't even there.
This one was a surprise. I had expected it to be sort of okay, but instead it was like getting kicked in the crotch by your favorite aunt.
Last soda! Cranberry! Or, more accurate, gelatin cranberry sauce artificial flavoring! Steanso gives the "sign of the devil" as he prepares to take his final sip.
Delicious? Well, it didn't cause wretching.
It smells like cranberry juice cocktail, which The League likes a lot.
It doesn't not taste like cranberries, but our stomach is full of glass shards, our mouth is going numb and, if we were alone right now, we'd probably sit in the corner, rocking and crying ourself to sleep.
All in all, a Christmas Day miracle.
What you can't tell here is that I'm angry. I'm not really sure why, but it's that same sort of angry you get when you've just been through something pretty awful, like almost getting hit by a car, and you're just pissed. That's how I felt pretty much until I went to bed.
A novelty soda is a novelty soda, and The League had to learn this the hard way. Steanso deserves a gold star for putting up with this taste test, let alone partaking.
****UPDATE****
After reviewing the Taste Test post, Jamie asked if I would do this over again knowing what I know now.
I want to say "Of course!", but I'm gonna be honest with you... I wouldn't voluntarily drink any of these things again. Did I learn anything? No. My sense of smell forewarned me, my sense of taste confirmed it. My lizard brain knew enough not to drink this piss, and I went ahead and did it anyway. Sometimes you should really go with your gut.
Apophis, a gigantic meteor, will probably destroy the earth in 2036. I'm cancelling my IRA now. Read more here.
Superman entertains little kids in Germany. You don't see Batman doing that, now do you?
Metropolis, Illinois is erecting a statue in honor of Noel Neill, First Lady of Metropolis.
A trailer for a movie I can't believe actually got made for many reasons.
Rove is up to his old shenanigans again.
Official site for the upcoming "Miami Vice" movie. Thanks to Randy for the link.
Now, from Mattel, an impossible to obtain (literally) action figure of Hal Jordan for JLU.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
If you're looking to track Santa, you don't need to do it yourself. NORAD is on the case!
The League just called NORAD and spoke with a very nice soldier who told us that Santa is in Russia.
To track Santa, go here.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The entire cast and crew from League HQ wishes you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or however you want to celebrate this season. We're shutting down here this evening, but we won't be out of touch. Don't hesitate to call or e-mail to get the latest details of what Melbotis, himself, is up to.
Travel safe. Be good. Be good to one another.
I've made my Christmas list:
- Peace for myself and my family.
- Peace for the world and a little understanding.
- A bit of joy and happiness.
- Strength to do the right thing.
- Wisdom to know what the right thing might be.
- Hope for a better tomorrow.
- And time. Time enough to let those I love know what they mean to me.
Merry Christmas, Leaguers. I don't thank all of you enough.
and Merry Christmas, Jamie. Next year will be better. I love you, sweetie.
Jamie and I will not be in Houston or in Texas over Christmas. We are staying in Arizona. Lucy is at a critical juncture in her flight training, and it would be remiss of us to take her out of pilot school for even a few days.
Steanso will be coming into town on the 23rd, so we won't be totally abandoned out here.
If you were planning to try to get in touch, sorry about that. Hope you can somehow struggle through the Holidays without The League's own personal brand of Holiday cheer.
Love,
The League
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Things are a little goofy this year as Jamie's ever-fluctuating health has meant we declined to travel to Houston for this year's Christmas fun. Well, my grandparents had already booked their trip to Houston, and my parents wanted to see both fun ends of the generation spectrum. Hence, my folks are here this weekend.
For you Loyal Leaguers, this means reduced blogging going into Christmas. Which, given participation of late, probably won't be a big deal (hey, it's the Holidays. I know you kids are busy).
Just when I thought Nanostalgia.com was on life support (Jim D. and Randy had been MIA), Steven G. Harms picked an hilarious fight with a reviewer from "The Stranger", and apparently got her irritated enough to respond in full in the comments section. Steven G. Harms, I bow before you once again.
I made some fairly immature comments in the comments section, too, but I'm not on my usual computer where I bookmarked my log-in to Nanostalgia, so you can read my $0.02 on the issue which was not very well self-edited. Most likely, I would have preferred to have not posted my second comment at all. The first one was sufficient.
Ah, well. I'm a jack ass. This is not news.
We sort of had Christmas today. Woke up, ate Jamie's once-a-year Roll Wreath (ambrosia, Leaguers. If anything every demanded a recipe posted, it's Judy McB's Christmas Roll Wreath), some bacon and had some coffee. Showered, went to church (got lost on way to the church), grabbed lunch, fell asleep for a long time, woke up, played with dogs, opened Christmas presents, played with dogs, ate a delicious Christmas dinner, did dishes, watched "It's a Wonderful Life."
At this point, December 25th is sort of moot. I did my Christmas. It was very nice. Anything Steanso brings to the table during Christmas visit next week will be lesser and a bit of a let down. We'll do Channukah instead, just to mix it up.
Oh, man. I think the cat just farted on me. Ewww.
Anyway, ya'll have a good one this week. Safe traveling. Safe shopping. Safe everything.
(Oh, and here is my secret message to all my fellow revolutionaries in The War on Christmas: The Fat Man is in the Sleigh. I repeat: The Fat Man is in the Sleigh.)
Buwahhhhh-HA HA HA HA HA HA
Friday, December 16, 2005
You know, somehow Christmas and Wookies keep intersecting here at The League.
Longtime Leaguer Peabo sends along this Christmas entertainment that's fun and safe for the whole family. No seriously. My co-workers enjoyed this, too.
Crank up your speakers, especially if you're at work.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Dear Iraq,
Best of luck on your upcoming elections.
I don't pretend to try to understand the vast social issues and religious/ ethnic issues that seem to make-up most news about Iraq. I am not sure how the whole thing is going to play out, but I'm also a glass-half-empty kind of guy.
Let me give you some friendly hints from your Ol' Uncle League on living in a quasi-democracy.
I've decided to make this a print out so you can clip and put in your pocket as a quick study guide while getting ready to vote.
----------------------cut here----------------------------------------------
THE LEAGUE'S GUIDE TO ENDURING THE JOYS OF DEMOCRACY
1) Your candidate will probably lose. Especially in a plural-party society, which is what I think you guys have. Yes, this is frustrating as hell, but as a registered Democrat in AZ and formerly in Texas, I can assure you that you soon learn that the feelings of despair will go away. Do not pick up a gun to remove all opposition. This will not lead to more elections which will go your way.
Try liquor instead.
2) You will stand in a curiously slow moving line for a great deal of time. Yes, old people in front of you will seem not to actually know what they are voting for and you will hear some lady brightly declare whom she is voting for and why, which will reveal the fact that she has completely misinterpted or confused what she heard on the radio during the Wacky Morning Wake-Up Show's 1 minute of news between the Brangelina update and a Paris Hilton fart joke. Yes, she still gets to vote. Do not get discouraged. Do not pick up a gun to try to shorten the line. This will not lead to a speedier voting process.
Try liquor instead.
3) The winning candidates will assume God wanted them to win and suggest that God does not like your candidate (ie: You). Do not pick up a gun to try ot convince them otherwise. This will not lead to God liking your candidate (ie: You) more.
Try liquor instead. Or prayer. Maybe they pray better than you. You call that piety? My grandma's more pious than your infidelic ass. Shit.
4) An oddity of the democratic process is that sometimes really stupid things which appeal to people but which aren't actually a good idea in the long term will win the ballot. Do not pick up a gun to try to change the situation. This will not lead to you getting light-rail in your area.
I would suggest liquor, but that won't get you to work any more efficiently. Perhaps coffee?
----------cut here------
That's my guide to democracy. I don't know what it's actually like to have your opinions carried by your representative or for a candidate you selected (unless you count the time I voted in the Blockbuster Movie Awards), but something like 1-in-5 of you will experience a shred of that joy. I'm heard it's joyous. I still don't really know.
Oh, and no matter how much it seems to make sense at the time, do not vote for Ralph Nader. You will spend years (yes, YEARS) wishing you hadn't decided that you'd chosen that particular moment in the booth as your chance to take a pot-shot at the two-party system.
Again, if you do vote for Nader, liquor helps. And maybe a gun. That's still up in the air.
Love,
Your Uncle League
PS: Pro-wrestlers and actors make suspiciously likable candidates but get mixed results in their actual jobs once elected.