There are, to my knowledge, a grand total of two regular readers of my blog.
This information is for the one who isn't my wife.
You'll be interested to know that the MST3K Volume 7 DVD being released in April will contain two Hercules movies. The information can be found here.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Super Bowl Countdown: Three Days Left
A visitor's first impression of Jacksonville: London's weather without the London.
One guaranteed appeal of Jacksonville for anyone coming down here is that it doesn't snow. At all. We did have snow for several days back in the Christmas of 1989, but that was such a freak occurrence, people here still talk about it as if it was the day the aliens landed.
No, snow is not one of our problems. Rain, however, can be. Despite the relief that football fans must feel to visit a town where snow shovel back strain is non-existent, the weather can still be crummy in its own unique way. As it was yesterday. The first impression for people who arrived yesterday must be worrying city officials as they hear Eagles fans mumble under their breath, "Sunshine State, my ass".
There's nothing to be done about it, of course. But it does bring about an interesting parallel with the last time Jacksonville was big in the news: the 2004 hurricanes. What must people think of this poor, blighted state that appears to have imported it's weather from some barren, Scottish moors.
But things are looking up. Today has a 50% chance of rain, down from the 70% for yesterday. The outlook for the rest of the weekend is looking even better. And this morning was quite pleasant. Foggy and cool, but no rain. I dare say it was mild enough for resilient northerners to call it "shorts weather". Such news must please the Super Bowl organizers, because the last thing they want is bedraggled football fans returning to New England with "I went to the 2005 Jacksonville Super Bowl and all I got was this lousy case of pneumonia" T-shirts.
One guaranteed appeal of Jacksonville for anyone coming down here is that it doesn't snow. At all. We did have snow for several days back in the Christmas of 1989, but that was such a freak occurrence, people here still talk about it as if it was the day the aliens landed.
No, snow is not one of our problems. Rain, however, can be. Despite the relief that football fans must feel to visit a town where snow shovel back strain is non-existent, the weather can still be crummy in its own unique way. As it was yesterday. The first impression for people who arrived yesterday must be worrying city officials as they hear Eagles fans mumble under their breath, "Sunshine State, my ass".
There's nothing to be done about it, of course. But it does bring about an interesting parallel with the last time Jacksonville was big in the news: the 2004 hurricanes. What must people think of this poor, blighted state that appears to have imported it's weather from some barren, Scottish moors.
But things are looking up. Today has a 50% chance of rain, down from the 70% for yesterday. The outlook for the rest of the weekend is looking even better. And this morning was quite pleasant. Foggy and cool, but no rain. I dare say it was mild enough for resilient northerners to call it "shorts weather". Such news must please the Super Bowl organizers, because the last thing they want is bedraggled football fans returning to New England with "I went to the 2005 Jacksonville Super Bowl and all I got was this lousy case of pneumonia" T-shirts.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Super Bowl Countdown: Four Days Left
Any publicity is good publicity.
So goes the old Madison Avenue adage. I was asked in the comments section yesterday if I thought all this Super Bowl activity was worth the hullabaloo. Well, I'm guessing that we're looking at this question from the vantage point of the locals and not the visitors. The natives have the most to lose from it and have to put up with the most crap. As a native myself, I see the legitimacy of this argument and have a reasoned response for it:
Oh, puhlease. Like you were doing anything else this week.
Even speaking as a non-football fan, I don't mind the inconvenience. Yes, traffic will be hell for four straight days, but it's just four days, people. As much as we like to bitch about backups on I-95, it seems to me that some of the traffic issues in bigger cities makes our tie-ups look like infrequent duck crossings. As for crowds, most of the visitors will be congregating downtown. On any other weekend, the number of people that have serious weekend social plans in the downtown area would probably fill a city bus, if that.
But there are other issues besides inconvenience. There is also the staggering amount of money being poured into this thing by the city. I don't need to acquaint everyone with the mayor's party line that all this money is an "investment". As I mentioned in the post about the new city slogan, most of the visitors coming here don't so much dislike Jacksonville as much as simply don't know anything about it. Despite a decade of NFL relevance with the Jaguars, we're still very much an anonymous city.
Will the Super Bowl solve all that? Iffy. Unless we commit some spectacular failure during the festivities, I imagine the event can only help us. Time will tell on any long term benefits.
As for anyone with continued gripes about all this money being funneled into something as trivial and inconsequential as a football game, I feel your pain. But in a culture where "Sports" gets its own newspaper section that often receives more attention than the Front Page, griping about the over-importance of football is so much beating your fists against a brick wall.
So, in my estimation, it's best to just sit back and enjoy the show. Not the game, mind you, but the spectacle of a city whipped up into an excited frenzy. Hey, beats Fear Factor any day.
So goes the old Madison Avenue adage. I was asked in the comments section yesterday if I thought all this Super Bowl activity was worth the hullabaloo. Well, I'm guessing that we're looking at this question from the vantage point of the locals and not the visitors. The natives have the most to lose from it and have to put up with the most crap. As a native myself, I see the legitimacy of this argument and have a reasoned response for it:
Oh, puhlease. Like you were doing anything else this week.
Even speaking as a non-football fan, I don't mind the inconvenience. Yes, traffic will be hell for four straight days, but it's just four days, people. As much as we like to bitch about backups on I-95, it seems to me that some of the traffic issues in bigger cities makes our tie-ups look like infrequent duck crossings. As for crowds, most of the visitors will be congregating downtown. On any other weekend, the number of people that have serious weekend social plans in the downtown area would probably fill a city bus, if that.
But there are other issues besides inconvenience. There is also the staggering amount of money being poured into this thing by the city. I don't need to acquaint everyone with the mayor's party line that all this money is an "investment". As I mentioned in the post about the new city slogan, most of the visitors coming here don't so much dislike Jacksonville as much as simply don't know anything about it. Despite a decade of NFL relevance with the Jaguars, we're still very much an anonymous city.
Will the Super Bowl solve all that? Iffy. Unless we commit some spectacular failure during the festivities, I imagine the event can only help us. Time will tell on any long term benefits.
As for anyone with continued gripes about all this money being funneled into something as trivial and inconsequential as a football game, I feel your pain. But in a culture where "Sports" gets its own newspaper section that often receives more attention than the Front Page, griping about the over-importance of football is so much beating your fists against a brick wall.
So, in my estimation, it's best to just sit back and enjoy the show. Not the game, mind you, but the spectacle of a city whipped up into an excited frenzy. Hey, beats Fear Factor any day.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
G.I. Joe: CAPTURED!
The subject of POW's in our current Iraqi conflict is no laughing matter. Yet after reading this article and seeing the accompanying picture, I have to say that the soldier in the photo looks suspiciously like an action figure. Has anybody else noticed this?
UPDATE: Yep, thought so.
UPDATE: Yep, thought so.
Super Bowl Countdown: Five Days Left
Don't they have Mahatma in Philly?
Let me explain. The local news is now starting to hype up the celebrities that are popping up around town, though some are less than impressive. Tom Arnold may cohost a popular sports talk show, but his appearance will always be underwhelming since he looks very much like the moron that lives down the street.
But there are important people that aren't celebrities, business people, expected to be walking our streets. I'm sure that the city administrators are hoping that these important people come down here and see the city as a great place to set up shop. We've begun attracting some big businesses in the past five years, and the Super Bowl should only help matters.
Last night, I stopped by Publix for groceries at around 9pm. As I pushed my cart through the back corridor and looked down the aisles one by one, I passed the one with the pastas and such. Near the front of the aisle, a half dozen middle aged men, all dressed nicely in grey suits, stood clustered in the middle of the aisle staring at a shelving area and talking with great interest to eachother.
Now, It's odd enough to see one guy dressed in a suit in Publix, much less six. So, given all the Super Bowl hype right now, I imagined them to be visitors. Fair enough, but what were they looking at and why was it so interesting? I circled around and caught a glimpse of them as they left, almost single file, out the front door. I made my way to the spot they were standing and looked at the spot they were looking at.
It was rice and beans.
And I'm not talking about special Super Bowl limited edition rice and beans, either. They weren't even on sale, for crying out loud. Just long grain, short grain, black eyed, red. Maybe they were planning on a Mardi Gras-themed Super Bowl party. Maybe they were executives for Zatarain's. Hell, I don't know. But it did make me think twice about all the anal-retentive attention to detail the locals have been exhibiting. I know now not to jump to criticize these people. Rather, to them I say good job, and keep up the good work.
And for pete's sake, keep your dry goods orderly.
Let me explain. The local news is now starting to hype up the celebrities that are popping up around town, though some are less than impressive. Tom Arnold may cohost a popular sports talk show, but his appearance will always be underwhelming since he looks very much like the moron that lives down the street.
But there are important people that aren't celebrities, business people, expected to be walking our streets. I'm sure that the city administrators are hoping that these important people come down here and see the city as a great place to set up shop. We've begun attracting some big businesses in the past five years, and the Super Bowl should only help matters.
Last night, I stopped by Publix for groceries at around 9pm. As I pushed my cart through the back corridor and looked down the aisles one by one, I passed the one with the pastas and such. Near the front of the aisle, a half dozen middle aged men, all dressed nicely in grey suits, stood clustered in the middle of the aisle staring at a shelving area and talking with great interest to eachother.
Now, It's odd enough to see one guy dressed in a suit in Publix, much less six. So, given all the Super Bowl hype right now, I imagined them to be visitors. Fair enough, but what were they looking at and why was it so interesting? I circled around and caught a glimpse of them as they left, almost single file, out the front door. I made my way to the spot they were standing and looked at the spot they were looking at.
It was rice and beans.
And I'm not talking about special Super Bowl limited edition rice and beans, either. They weren't even on sale, for crying out loud. Just long grain, short grain, black eyed, red. Maybe they were planning on a Mardi Gras-themed Super Bowl party. Maybe they were executives for Zatarain's. Hell, I don't know. But it did make me think twice about all the anal-retentive attention to detail the locals have been exhibiting. I know now not to jump to criticize these people. Rather, to them I say good job, and keep up the good work.
And for pete's sake, keep your dry goods orderly.
Keith David Quote of the Month: February 2005
"Platoon" was Keith David's second film role, and it's a prominent one. He plays King, one of the few soldiers that is civil towards the protagonist Chris, played by Charlie Sheen. And for his efforts, he' also one of the few lucky characters to end up unscathed at the end. At one point, he gives his basic view of life in Vietnam after Chris gives his own increasingly cynical view.
Chris Taylor: It's the way the whole thing works, people like Elias get wasted, people like Barnes just go on making up the rules any way they want. So what do we do? Sit in the middle and suck on it. We just don't add up to dry sh*t, King.
King: Whoever said we did, man? All you got to do is make it out of here. It's all gravy, everyday the rest of your life, gravy.
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