Bobby Jindal

I really don't like this guy. Watching his response to Obama's Congressional Address was outright painful. Nobody wants to follow an Obama speech, but that sing-songy load of crap was pathetic. You can watch the full video here. Just watch the first 2 minutes to get the point. This isn't just because I love Obama; Jindal's speech has been practically universally slammed.

Also, something that I noticed live last night, and found terribly funny, has been picked up by the online community: As MSNBC cuts away to Jindal's live speech somebody didn't kill (we have to assume) Keith Olbermann's mic quick enough. Listen to the very clear, and disgusted sounding, "oh, God..." as Jindal approaches the mic.

UPDATE: It was actually Chris Matthews who uttered the "Oh, God" and he doesn't seem to care. Good for him.

Lastly, I'm relatively new to following the world of politics, but it seemed like Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, stood up quite often during last night's address. I found one site reporting that she stood up 34 times during the 1 hour speech. Hemroids?

If SNL is live this week they were just given 2 early Christmas presents.

List Erosion

This whole 101 / 1001 thing is long overdue for an update.

5. I've completed 100 push-ups a day for a month.
13. I've eaten an apple every day for a month.
15. I abstained from microwave usage for an entire month.
16. I didn't fart in front of Barb for 1 month straight. I swear. You can ask her.
17. I didn't drink diet soda for a month. I've had it since, but far less frequently.
21. I backed up all of photos, music, random files, etc. onto an external hard drive.
23. Finally hung my dart board.
24. Mounted my world map and hung it in the living room. Looks awesome.
33. I'm up to 5 of my 30 letters to people I care about but don't really talk to.
41. I've fallen off my pace, but I'm up to 20,800 grains of rice donated on freerice.com
54. I've cooked 13 new recipes out of 50 (pictures above recipe).










- Shrimp w/ Snow Peas
- Grilled Chinese Salmon









- One-Pan Pork Fu Yung









- Chicken Chow Mein









- Thai Curry Stir-Fry
- Roast Sesame Fish









- Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry









- Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp w/ Bacon & Gorgonzola
- Turkey Sausage & Hazelnut Stuffed Mushrooms
- Sausage & Chili Tartlets
- Cilantro Aioli
- Emeril's Tiramisu













- Easy Enchiladas
55. Drank at Barley Creek Brewing Company, so 1 out of 5 breweries are done. I'm not drunk in this picture; this is what I look like after snowboarding and 1 beer.











73. Song-A-Week Playlist, now up to 12 songs:
- Parts & Labor - Nowheres Nigh
- Bon Iver - Skinny Love
- David Byrne & Brian Eno - Strange Overtones
- Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus
- The Jam - The City
- Archers of Loaf - Web In Front
- Pavement - Harness Your Hopes
- Bright Eyes - I Woke Up With This Song In My Head This Morning
- Billy Bragg - New England
- Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
- The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Stay Alive
- Morrissey - All You Need Is Me
76. I saw my first "Best Picture" winner: No Country for Old Men. Despite being fully engaged from beginning to end, I can't say I was blown away by it, although I think it was very well done and would recommend it.
78. I'm up to 6 of 30 books read. New additions since the last update:
- The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present editing by by Scott Plagenhoef and Ryan Schreiber
- Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden
- The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World by Lonely Planet Publications

Passport Neglect

My Top 10 List of Countries I'd Love to Visit:

- note 1: not in order.
- note 2: New Zealand and Australia have been excluded, although I (constantly) dream of going back.

Belize (because I've heard nothing but good things)
Canada (because it's so damn close)
Chile (because the pictures I've seen are absurd)
Denmark (because it's supposed to be the happiest country on the planet)
Germany (because of hereditary reasons... and beer)
Iceland (because it doesn't look like it belongs to this planet)
Ireland (see Germany)
Japan (because of Lost In Translation & sushi)
Thailand (because I want to taste real Thai food)
Virgin Islands (because I've been to "paradise", but not this region of it)

America™

I just finished reading The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World by Lonely Planet. Great book. They profile 230 countries (some territories, etc.), with each country getting 2 pages of coverage, mostly dominated by photos. Each country also gets a section called "Trademarks" where they list what each country is known for, or what you're bound to encounter while there. I found the United States of America's trademarks to be a little... well, shitty. Here they are, presented without altercation or omission:

"Burgers, fries, and Budweiser; red-white-and-blue T-shirts; sneaker and jeans; yuppies in SUVs, cowboys in pickups; loud people; gun lovers; dangerous cities"

Yesterday vs. Today

Yesterday was awesome because: 3 different women bought me my breakfast, my lunch, and my dinner.

Today wasn't awesome because: I found out that I owe the IRS some money.

WTF: Tinted Windows

"According to Billboard.com, there's a new band that exists on earth called Tinted Windows featuring former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, handsome Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger."

I don't even know what to think. More on this story right over... here.

UPDATE: Their self-titled debut will be out on 04.21.09.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Christmas letter from my Aunt... (click to enlarge... please)

If I Was A Legislator...

if i was a legislator, i'd propose that phone books would be made available upon request, but they would not be automatically delivered to every house. we just got 2 thick phone books dropped off at our apartment, and since we can use the internet, we're never go to use these phone books! ever! it's like receiving a chunk of pollution on your doorstep and it makes you feel guilty for having a residence.

Perks of Death Row

I'm not saying I'd want to be on Death Row, but at least you get to pick your last meal. Usually you die unexpectedly, and who knows what you just ate. If you consider the act of eating to be more than something you do to live and more of an experience, this is a pretty nice thing to offer somebody who has presumably done something very bad. It almost seems too nice. This is also assuming that this actually occurs. I could see this being the case back in the day, but in today's institutions I think it's more about getting down to business.

If I had to pick my last meal I'd probably go with some sort of surf and turf. Perhaps a fillet Mignon, medium-rare, with a rich Bearnaise sauce or Gorgonzola crust, and sauteed onions and mushrooms on the side. For the seafood half, I'd have to say that a few pounds of King Crab legs, partially cracked, would do the trick.

This being said, I'm not going to kill somebody to get this meal. I'll save some money and go to the Library II.

Oh, and this was brought on by last night's Top Chef.