jesse leo dot com - 2013 edition
Old junk, photos, etc. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 E-moi: jesse at jesseleo dot calm
French Toast for Father's Day
6/17/13: -- Nice bit this morning on NPR about Adventure Time. Jakey discovered this show a few years ago, I'd be half listening from another room and grow increasingly annoyed at Jeremy Shada's voice announcing each episode at ten million decibels: "What time is it? Aaaaaaaaaaaadventure Time!" But then one day I sat down and actually took in a few 'sodes with Jakey. I was instantly entranced. AT is a bright, imaginative, trippy beacon of hope in the ocean of noisy garbage that makes up modern children's TV. And as the NPR story repeatedly points out, it's not just for kids. Or stoners. -- Chances are if you're reading this then you need to come with us to the 2013 Life is Good Festival in September. Jack Johnson is headlining, along with The Roots, Hall and Oats, Dawes, Amos Lee, Bahamas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and a buncha others. You may recall me raving about this festival last time around when Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds headlined. The event was very well organized, clean, kid-friendly, and loads of fun. This coming from a guy who normally hates outdoor shindigs of this ilk. And, compliments of our Aidan, we may get within spitting distance of the musicians. So won't you join us???? -- Everything you ever wanted to know about N. Korea's Dear Leader, as told by his former sushi chef. An odd, odd tale, but fascinating nonetheless. -- It was a low key Dad's Day, and that was just what I needed. Slept in a bit (7AM!), and got in a quick run. Mom and JD served me an excellent French Toast and egg breakfast. I was able to get a few chores done around the house, but at a leisurely pace of course. Squeezed in some lite gardening and a quick hike as well. Kate bought a pizza to wrap things up. All in all it felt great to bask in the simple pleasures of the day. 6/14/13: -- MS Office coming to iPhone. Kind of. -- Aidan's teacher sent this blurry but awesome shot. Apparently a traveling critter guy visited the school yesterday with snakes, bugs, rodents, and other assorted creatures. That expression of wonder sprinkled with just a smidgen of terror is absolutely priceless. 6/12/13: -- Oh, snap - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer ! 6/11/13: -- So most of the tech world seems underwhelmed by Apple's WWDC announcements yesterday (Apple is doomed, yet again!). I dunno, I happen to think the new Mac Pro is sexy as hell. And it's safe to say iTunes Radio will be the death of Pandora. Once again Apple finds itself a victim of its own success - they've raised the bar so high that anything less than a cure for world hunger sends AAPL stock prices tumbling... 6/10/13: -- Sad, sad news - Cousin ('Uncle') Brian passed away on Friday, just a few days after back surgery. The exact whats and whys are still TBD, not that it matters much at this point. Right now the entire family is still reeling. Brian was the dad all other dads tried to emulate. When he wasn't in the thick of some adventure with his kids, he was deep in planning for the next one. You'd check his Facebook page there he'd be, flanked by those beautiful whippersnappers, holding up some monstrous fish they just caught... grinning from behind the wheel of a racecar... digging a snow fort you'd want to ditch your house for and move into. Bad back and all, when it came to his family his supply of energy was limitless. And you've never met a guy more willing to help with, well, anything. He'd give you the shirt off his back or hours out of his day without hesitation. He'd fix your flat. He'd move your junk. He'd plow your driveway. We hung out at Gammy's pool a day or two before the surgery. I remember casually wishing him good luck as we drove off, and that would be the last time we'd ever see him. Cherish every second, folks. 6/6/13: -- A new, improved Fred Rogers remix video to make you smile. 6/5/13: -- The actual cost of people who smoke at work. -- First shot of Evangeline Lilly (remember her? 'Freckles' from ABC's Lost) as Tauriel in The Hobbit. Hey wait a minute, who the heck is Tauriel? 6/4/13: -- Should the next Doctor be a woman? Why not!? -- You know I really don't get the new Vampire Weekend video at all. But it's a catchy tune, plus the dudes from Chromeo make an appearance. So I'm cool with it. 6/3/13: -- ... and it seems quite a few fans are pretty pissed off. -- Thrones. Holy moly, Thrones. Can we talk about it? Ok maybe I should watch it again first. I won't post any spoilers, but a few of the recaps I've read this morning are calling the climax of last night's episode the most disturbing scene in the history of television. I think I need to lie down for a while... -- Check out my beautiful Clematis. Man, that sentence sounds dirty, eh? My wife planted them during the first spring in our new house (it still seems new to me!), along with a small wooden structure so they could latch on. This is the first time I remember them jumping to life like this! I dunno, they just make me happy for some reason. 5/31/13: -- Paying for Finn. A great read (thanks Aunt Marion!), but at the same time... hoo boy. Even folks with means consider themselves pretty $crewed, where does that leave us? -- 60 'Man of Steel' factoids. Gotta admit, my enthusiasm for this film is growing. -- Check out this collection of Tywinisms. My God, Charles Dance is spectacular in this role... 5/30/13: -- Spent an enjoyable evening with cousins and sis/bro-in-law at The White Horse pub. Damn good grub, no wonder the parking lot is completely full every night of the week. 5/28/13: -- Monday was gorgeous enough to warrant bringing the guinea pigs outside to hopefully add some modicum of excitement to their unthinkably boring little lives. We ran out for a few hours and didn't think twice about leaving them in a small enclosure in the shade. The cavies seemed perfectly content to graze on the unmowed grass and run around squeaking at each other. Without giving it much thought, I closed the top of their pen and put some objects on top to give it some weight. And that turned out to be a life-saving idea, for upon our return we spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk lurking in the branches overhead! Oh, the horror of what might've been... 5/23/13: -- Oh snap! A 23-ton X-Wing fighter built from 5.3 million Lego pieces was unveiled today in NYC. -- Gatsby is big and bold and beautiful to look at. And it does a decent job of telling the story - though I haven't read the novel since the 7th grade and only had a vague idea of what to expect (and man did I have the ending all wrong!). I dunno, overall it failed to grab me. I found myself yearning for more of those sweeping CGI-enhanced scenes of 20's-style revelry, which were glorious. You've seen the commercials I'm sure. And when I wasn't longing for those scenes I was craning my ear towards the wall of the theater in hopes of catching a snippet of Iron Man 3 next door... 5/22/13: -- Have you seen this cat? -- For weeks I'd been clinging to my coupon for a free iced coffee from Dunks, but this morning in a moment of wild abandon I redeemed that sucker. Come to find out today Dunks is having a special - one day only, iced coffee is just $0.99. I'm obviously being punished for some wrongdoing... -- George was in an accident! But thankfully he's ok. -- Apple to the US Senate: Screw you guys, we pay our taxes. -- The next gen Xbox looks like it might be a game changer. If it's as great as everyone says it will be, count me in. 5/21/13: -- Most puntastic headline ever... 5/20/13: -- Took in Shame over the weekend. Don't know if I've ever seen more flawless acting. Fassbender's character was appalling to watch, but I don't think I blinked once. How did he not win best actor that year? Anyway, see the movie. But brace yourself. -- A collection of seriously lovely vintage library ads. -- No, I didn't win. Some lucky bastid in FL did. Folks ask why I bother buying tickets in the first place. A "Tax on the Stupid". And yeah, that's probably true. I have a better chance of being struck by lightning. Twice. On the same day. On the same spot on my left ankle. So no, I don't realistically expect to ever win. But come on, it's fun to fantasize. And the counter argument I usually offer to the doubters is this: sooner or later, SOMEbody is going to win. SOMEbody who, like myself, thinks they have absolutely zero chance whatsoever. So for a couple of bucks, why not? -- Kate: have a magically relaxing day. 33 never looked so good ! 5/16/13: -- A geektastic comparison of Science Fiction's fastest spaceships. -- So yeah, the dryer seems to have sh*t the bed last night. So it's the usual dilemma when this sort of thing happens: A) Call a guy and have him come out for like $125, then tell us we need a new flux capacitor for $300 just so we can squeeze another year or two out of the old clunker, or B) Drop a fortune at Sears, Home Depot or wherever while secretly wondering if our old one would've been alright with a little TLC... Suggestions? Comments? -- Get those tickets! P Bizzle is up to a quadrillion dollars for Saturday night's drawing... -- The App Store hit the 50 billionth download milestone, someone not named Jesse Leo won a $10K gift card. 5/15/13: -- Finally got caught up on Game of Thrones last night, another stellar 'sode. I won't bore you with a full recap, there are already oodles of 'em (I'm particulary fond of this one). But I gotta say - for all of the dazzling advancements that have been made in CGI technology during the past decade or so (I think that the Gollum and Oliphaunt effects used in the LOTR films were major turning points), it was refreshing and terrifying to see a bear in that final scene - an actual living, breathing, snarling bear - rearing up on his powerful hind legs and batting poor Brienne around like a rag doll. Computer animation simply would not have worked here. Don't know about you but I really don't want this season to end. 5/14/13: -- Aaaaand there goes your productivity for the rest of the day. You can thank me later. -- The view from the top of the newly installed WTC spire. Feeling dizzzzzzzy... -- Guys, my birthday is right around the corner. A Rolston Reciprocating Repeater tee would solidify my geek cred quite nicely, how 'bout it? 5/12/13: -- Moms: I don't know how you do it, but you are amazing - each and every one of you. 5/10/13: -- Gatsby is either the best or the worst movie ever, depending which reviewer you ask (Roger! We need Roger!). I dunno... It's looking more and more like a rental a few months from now. 5/9/13: -- A collection of vintage ads that would cause a major uproar today. Good find, CBT and KJLS! Personally I think we need to return to these good ol' fashioned wholesome family values, but that's just me ;) 5/8/13: -- Old School rappers embracing healthier lifestyles... -- Anderson Cooper interviews Charles Ramsay, the neighbor who rescued those three gals from a decade of hell. I absolutely love this guy. -- Enjoyed this NPR inverview with Pierce Brosnan yesterday. I never knew that 1) he's a widower, and his late wife played a hottie in an ealier Bond flick, and 2) just how, well, Irish the man is. For the record I think Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough are quite passable Bond films. Tomorrow Never Dies, and Die Another Day, meh. 5/7/13: -- Just like mom always said - sit up straight! -- Is Windows 8 the next Windows Vista? I myself have yet to test drive it in real life, though everyone I've talked to says it's annoying as hell. -- Ultra realistic VR Guillotine simulation... just in case you've ever wondered what it would be like. I'll pass, thanks. -- Thrones fans - try your hand at Game of Butts. Don't beat yourself up too much if you don't score 100% like I did. After all, I'm an expert on the subject. 5/6/13: -- Five perfect 10 days in a row, feels kinda like September in reverse - cool and crisp in the morning, beachable by lunchtime. Really missing my old VW Cabriolet right about now. Which reminds me that I never looked into trademarking a phrase which I invented for days such as this: Topdownportunity. As the name implies, it describes any day above 60 degrees deemed suitable for top-down driving. Hey if Pat Riley patented Three-peat, why not? 5/3/13: -- Ladies and gentlemen, start your downloads... If you're lucky enough to be the purchaser of the fifty billionth (!) app from Apple, you could bag a sweet $10K gift card. Good Lord, fifty billion downloads... -- Discovered Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN), a nifty (free!) tool for securely wiping out hard drives. I needed it for a work thing, but for personal use this would come in handy if you're selling or donating your computer. See, when you format a drive using the traditional methods, the data isn't truly gone until the space it used to occupy is written over. So a really clever, determined person may be able to retrieve your junk. But DBAN first writes to every block on the drive, THEN wipes. Not even the CIA is gettin' your stuff at that point. 5/2/13: -- Yet another reason to avoid Google Glass... aside from the inherent creepiness of the technology itself, it's simply impossible to look cool while wearing them. -- A Korean-American has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea. Time to send in the Navy Seals. Or maybe Jimmy Carter. -- Johnny Marr pretty much killed it last night on Fallon. Simply awesome. 5/1/13: -- Fear the Turkish Get-up... -- Mick Fleetwood talks to NPR about the band's new material and tour. Anybody heard the new stuff? Haven't gotten around to it yet. -- After keeping quiet for almost 70 years, a woman who served as one of Hitler's food testers (for poison) tells her tale. Fascinating and tragic stuff. 4/30/13: -- Disney to formally coronate Merida... Yes, it's another slow news day. 4/29/13: -- Finally got around to renting Django Unchained. I'm late to this party, so what's to say that you haven't already read? It caters to our innate love of revenge fantasy in the same way that Inglourious Basterds did, and I actually rank this one slightly higher due largely to a standout (and hardly talked about?) performance by Samuel L. Jackson as a conniving, traitorous Uncle Tom type. Quentin Tarantino's knack for hypnotic exchanges of dialogue is on full display, as is the absurdly over the top violence. I don't need to tell you to tuck the kiddies in to bed before pressing play. Christoph Waltz is predicatably great, and though he and Jamie Foxx are an oddball duo they make it work. Leo DiCaprio... sure, why not? He's almost believable as a black souled plantation owner. See the flick, folks. You know what you're getting into with a Tarantino film, and even if he isn't your guy - this is solid entertainment. -- Props to Jason Collins, the first [currently active] professional athlete to come out. Strong stuff, I tip my hat to him. 4/26/13: -- Don't know if the knee will allow me to participate in the Dirt Dash, but it looks like the Pratt Center is the place to be tomorrow ! 4/25/13: -- The shrubs surrounding our little chunk of real estate (PJM Rhododendrons, or so I'm told) are boring about 97% of the time. But right around this time every April these adorable little purple flowers pop out (pictured above), reminding us that brighter days lie ahead. Finally. -- Farhad Manjoo reflects on the iPad, Apple's red headed stepchild... for now. 4/23/13: -- This piece on NPR today convinced me that I've missed my true calling in life - a Coffeehouse Eavesdropper. No, that doesn't quite work. Brewhouse Busybody perhaps? I'll work on it. You see, for some inexplicable reason when I step into a coffee shop I need to know everyone else's business. What is that gal typing on her Macbook? Those dudes in suits, why are they whispering? What kind of tablet is that student tweeting from? Is that a job interview going on over there in the corner? Maybe if I pretend to scan the breakfast sandwiches, I can maneuver close enough see what novel that older guy is reading... And so on. It's a weakness of mine, don't judge. Hey, Espresso: Call me. I'm your guy for Heard in the Houses. 4/22/13: -- NBA flopping set to opera music. Finally the L is cracking down and issuing fines, over the years this issue has reached epidemic proportions. -- I like this bit about Tom Tom in yesterday's NYT. I've said it before: I couldn't care less about his apparent looniness so long as he can entertain me for two hours. And yes, the Burj Khalifascene scene from Ghost Protocol is genuinely thrilling, especially since he could've easily gone the CGI route. -- So for the first minute, minute and a half I'm all like Yeah, I can do those moves. Not nearly as well as that big dude, but I can kinda hang... Then around the two minute mark, things take a turn for the psycho. Good gravy! -- I don't know when a haircut became known as a "hoke", but there it is. Kudos to Aunt Kate for hooking us up yet again! 4/20/13: -- Hey Amazon, take the day off. Today is Record Store Day! Support your local shop, folks. They're a dying breed. 4/17/13: -- Apple is king. Is this a necessarily a good thing? I'm just hoping the company can stay hungry and not lose its way. I too was one of those zealots in the 90's, dutifully booting up Mac OS 7.5 while everyone else laughed. And even now I'm still not sure how I feel about Apple's runaway success. -- When out and about if I stumble upon an interesting looking book or whatever I'll email myself a reminder to check it out in greater detail at a later time. The other night in my dream I did just that (though for the life of me I cannot recall what the book or item was, DAMNIT!). So of course the next morning I sprang out of bed and ran to check my inbox. Alas, nuttin'. How cool would it have been to have received an email from the in-dream version of myself? I'm thinking this is good sci-fi fodder... 4/16/13: -- On a lighter note, can we talk about Thrones? Finally caught S3E3 last night, and overall it was a great 'sode. But I am not happy about **spoiler alert** what happened to Jaime. To me he is one of the most interesting characters on the show, but without his blade bad-assery what will become of him? And I had been counting on an eventual showdown between Jaime and Bronn, and now that can never happen. Lame sauce. -- The first thing that came to mind for me is a proclamation made by The Onion just after the Sandy Hook rampage - Just *$#& it all to hell. What kind of a world are we living in? Stop the ride, operator, I'd like to get off now... But that kind of mindset assures victory for the murdering psychos. And that can't happen. So crack on, people. Justice will be served. 4/15/13: -- By now you've no doubt heard about the goings on at the Boston Marathon. Here are some of the first photos from the scene (warning - intense). -- Giant snails invade Florida. There's a good pun in here someplace, I just can't think of one yet... -- Catching Fire teaser trailer! Hey Katniss... How you doin' ? -- If I had a dime for every time a Nanclyn-ism popped into my head at a key moment... phrases like Who ever said life was fair? when I'm dragging around feeling sorry for myself, or No such thing as a bad nap! when I'm trying to justify nodding off for a quick one. And so it is with great pleasure that we wish the Mother of this whole fam-i-lee a very happy [belated] birthday! 4/12/13: -- So David Lee Roth is still alive and [split] kicking, here's what he's been up to. The hot for teacher has become the teacher. 4/11/13: -- Finished Bioshock Infinite last night, and I'm in awe. Will blather on about it when I have more time, but for now consider my mind officially blown. Never before have I finished a game and felt an immediate impulse to 1) contact the game developers to personally thank them (which I did today on Twitter!), 2) cry, and 3) start over again. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the conclusion, sh*t got deep. As in **minor spoiler alert** Marty McFly bumping into another version of himself deep. Butterfly effect and parallel universe deep. Dudes singing a Beach Boys tune in 1912 deep. That kind of stuff... I'm old-school, no one gets a 10 out of 10. But Infinite is up around 9.8 or 9.9. Someone needs to make a movie out of this thing. 4/10/13: -- The 25 books that every child should have on his or her bookshelf. This list makes me feel like a terrible parent... 4/9/13: -- Thrones stars doing ordinary things. Awesome but yes, weirding me out for some reason. Guess I'm so used to them screwing and/or killing one another. 4/8/13: -- After a 25 year love affair I've been more or less ready to say goodbye to basketball. Time spent on the court has dwindled to a couple of hours per month, and lately even less than that due to knee issues. The knee that was scoped last year feels great, however a bone bruise behind the other one is taking an eternity to heal. And I've always said I will quit before I become Fat Elvis, limping and lumbering down the court when I no longer have any business doing so. It's one thing to fiddle around with my Saturday morning hoops buddies, but semi-serious pickup and/or league games have been off the menu for quite some time. But ooooooh, if I didn't feel the calling this past weekend. I was preparing to leave after a few lighthearted early morning games, and as it turns out some very decent talent has been showing up Saturday mornings just after 8. Apparently it's become A Thing. Solid players, many of whom I recognized from a past life. No BS, no trash talk, minimal attitudes - just quality games. Ok knee, whenever you're ready... -- Spring. And not an hour too soon... 4/5/13: -- Ebert's passing is a big deal to me. How to sum everything up without being overly sappy, and yet still do him justice? I'm already failing miserably. Counting tweets, it's safe to say I've read something written by him every day for the past, well, I don't even know. Five years? Six? I've already seen dozens of remembrances, obits and blog posts that have lamely used "...in 2006 when Roger lost his ability to speak, he found his true voice." (or words to that effect), so I won't even go there. Oh wait, I just did. It's just that it's so true. His prolific career spanned several decades, and enough has been written about that already. I became a fanboi sometime around '08 or '09, when I started following his tweets. The man absolutely owned Twitter. He could cram that same inimitable style found in his reviews, blog posts and letters into a sub-120 character tweet. When so many old-school writers clung to their typewriters and their AOL accounts and went the way of the literary curmudgeon, he embraced social media and made it his own. I can't think of anyone who forged a more perfect online presence. And let's talk about the reviews. If I had a dime for every time I found myself late at night poking around on his site, randomly selecting links from that towering right-hand column of archived critiques - not with any intention whatsoever of ever watching the movies themselves - rather to inhale another fix of that writing. How many thousands of these columns has he penned over the years? How is almost every one of them fresh, thought-provoking, and a delight to read? For a real hoot check out the write ups on films he truly disliked. Here are his thoughts on Twilight: Eclipse "... more impressive is the ability of both Edward and Jacob to regard Bella with penetrating gazes from 'neath really dope eyebrows. When my eyebrows get like Edward's, the barber trims them and never even asks me first." And then there's his take on that dreadful Conan movie from 2011. "The plot involves -- oh, never mind. You have your barbarians, and they kill one another in an unending series of battle scenes." He clearly had a lot of fun with these. There are treasures to be found in his blog posts and reader correspondences as well. I've set a calendar reminder to read his autumn leaves post every September 1st. Jason Kottke dug up his fav Ebert piece entitled 'Dwarfs, Little People and the M-Word'. Classic. If you had something meaningful to say in the comments section of his site, there was a decent chance he would reply directly to you. Rare for a celeb these days. I'm hoping the Powers that Be don't touch one iota of his online content, there's still so much to get to. Roger - thanks for everything. 4/4/13: -- Update: Roger Ebert has passed away at age 70. -- Bummer for Girls fans, Charlie is leaving. -- Here's a nice piece by Jason Gorber on Twitch for/about Roger Ebert, who sadly will be taking what he's calling a leave of presence due to his worsening health. Say what you will about his politcal rants, his writing on movies/life makes me smile. -- Ok so apparently now we're NOT supposed to stretch before a workout. -- Mommy made bunny butt pancakes this past Easter morn (pictured here). Took me a minute... yeah, the smaller pancakes are the bottom of the hind feet, the blob of Cool Whip is the tail. See? Pinterest isn't entirely useless. 4/2/13: -- So yeah, today is World Autism Awareness Day. Big whoop. You probably won't give it much thought unless you happen to know someone affected by Autism in some way. Hardly a mention on mainstream media today - CNN, NPR, Reuters... a blurb if anything. Why? The latest data shows that 1 in 50 kids will be "on the Spectrum" to some extent. Isn't that kind of a big deal? Why is this not right up there in the conversations (and funding) with cancer, Alzheimers, diabetes, and HIV? My guess is that a lot of folks don't entirely trust the 1 in 50 stat. The usual responses to those figures are that A) doctors are simply being more generous in handing out the diagnosis in order to render their patients eligible for services, and/or B) that the definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder has recently changed, and now encompasses more kids. Who knows, maybe there's some truth to these explanations. Whatever the case, I wonder if one day we'll look back at this entire generation of lost kids and wonder why more wasn't done to find out what the heck is going on. -- Well well well, look what snuck into yesterday's All Things Considered. I'm finding this game a lot more rewarding than any Greek tragedy I've ever labored through. And hey for the record, I too threw the ball at the announcer... Ain't it grand when something not only lives up to, but actually surpasses your highest expectations? BS Infinite and GOT Season 3 Ep 1 have recently done just that. 4/1/13: -- Peter Jackson answers a few questions about the next Hobbit installment, which cannot be released soon enough. -- A whirlwind of a weekend. Saturday was Jake's official party, since his actual b-day fell on a lame school day. Danbury's new Monster Mini Golf (9th hole clown pictured above) was a fun change from the usual boring Chuck E Cheese parties most kids have these days ... Of course the Halloween decor was right up Jake's alley. Pricey though. Trying to think back to when I was that age, I vaguely remember keeping it simple by inviting a bunch of rugrats over for cake, games, etc and having a perfectly stellar time just causing havoc around the house. But nowadays we can't seem to get through our boys' b-days without dropping a small fortune. Easter Sunday featured the usual glucose spikes and sugar-induced stomach aches early on. In the afternoon we had a Mexican feast in Purdys at the home of Uncle Peter's awesome gf. Such a pleasant gathering, but by 5PM we were just DONE. Someone promise me there are no more children's parties or major holidays in the near future... 3/29/13: -- Gearing up for Thrones Season 3 on Sunday night. Need to catch up? Take 9 minutes. -- Trouble brewing? Sh*t just got real, maybe this will prompt people to think seriously about climate change... -- How long before all the bees are gone? -- Sad to hear that Uncle Vernon Dursley (actor Richard Griffiths) has passed away. Loved him in the Potter films, and also as Magistrate Philipse in Sleepy Hollow. 3/28/13: -- So apparently the awesomely awesome wall of ice in Game of Thrones defies physics in real life. Leave it to the geeks to ruin my show... Undaunted, I still intend to watch the Season 3 premier this weekend. 3/26/13: -- Yahoo pays geeky teen about $30M for his smartphone app... well done, kid! -- The Good Doctor is back this Sunday on BBC America. Ladies and gentlemen - start your DVR's. -- I simply cannot believe that my Nakey Jakey is 7, where do the years go? Kid, you are a spark plug. Mom and I love you to death a trillion times over. Please don't ever change. 3/24/13: -- Today's NYT on Bioshock Infinite: "...a literary endeavor for a multimedia age". Full article here. My excitement has officially reached a fever pitch. The trailers have been all over primetime TV and the internet, and what impresses me is that they use exclusively in-engine footage. Most game trailers use eye-popping animation and/or cut-scenes, but then when you actually sit down with the game it plays like Atari Pong. Suffice to say that on Wednesday morning I shall require extra caffeination... 3/22/13: -- You should be training like this guy. Oh wait, you can't. No one in the world can. How is it that I've never heard of him before? 3/21/13: -- More art awesomeness from Dubya. Know what? A few of these ain't half bad. -- A quick but interesting Q&A with Lindsey Buckingham. Sounds like he and Stevie have unfinished business... -- And just like that, Farhad Manjoo has once again doomed American Giant by singing its praises to Slate's gazillion readers... a tragic victim of its own runaway success. That being said, I would love one of them thar hoodies if you can actually get your hands on one. XL in Smoke Blue please. -- Oh snap, The Hobbit is out on DVD already? -- Enduring an hour of i95 in hopes of winning some Dave tickets. Don't know if I'll make it... 3/20/13: -- Fred Rogers would've been 85 today. Here's the Esquire profile from 1998, lengthy but worth the read. -- March Madness is up on us yet again. Filling out a bracket this year? I like this bit from NPR - you're almost better off not knowing much about college hoops, since the NCAA geeks tend to overthink things. And your odds of picking a flawless bracket by way of random guessing? 147 quintillion to one. I had never heard of a quintillion prior to this morning. A lottery ticket is much safer bet, just a lot less fun. Go Cardinals! 3/19/13: -- So apparently the going rate for a tooth under the pillow is FIVE BUCKS. I remember getting a quarter, if I was lucky. 3/18/13: -- Matthew Crawley looks like hell now. Serves him right... Yes, I'm still pissed about that whole situation. -- An historic record has been shattered... -- Thrones. %$#* yeah, Thrones. 3/17/13: -- Anybody know what channel the parade is on? 3/13/13: -- I'm taking great offense to Slate Magazine's new war on the email sign off. It's bad enough that I've stopped indenting new paragraphs in emails. When iChatting or texting I'm even finding myself *gasp* not bothering to capitalize the first letters of sentences. My God, WHAT HAVE I BECOME???? But I will always - ALWAYS sign off on emails in some way or another. Call it my miniature tribute to the lost art of letter writing. Remember back in the day when we used to put pen to paper? Well crafted sign offs have been an oddball obsession of mine for years, and I can heartily recommend two great books which are positively teeming with lovely examples - For Your Eye Alone, painstakingly compiled by Judith Skelton Grant, and As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon. I am hoping my dear Jesse Leo dot com'ers will join me in this crusade. And so as ever I remain Yours Faithfully, JL -- New Bowie. New Clapton. A good week for music. Oh and then there's this guy. I thought Justin was a movie star now, why bother putting out a mediocre album? 3/12/13: -- Ten Days Alone in Cuba. This sounds like a beautiful experience in every possible way. TAKE ME ! -- Much ado about six divided by two... I got 9, and I stand by it. -- Sad to learn that Star Wars: The Clone Wars has aired its final episode after a terrific run of five seasons... 3/8/13: -- What was predicted to be 3 wet, slushy inches turned out to be more like 7" of fluffy stuff. It was beautiful to wake up to, but I'm seriously done. Spring, whenever you're ready... 3/7/13: -- The trailers for the new Oz flick are absolutely dazzling, but Ebert's lackluster review completely squashed my desire to see it. I guess there's no place like home... as in, renting the DVD and watching it at home. -- A collection of hilarious home wifi network names. I sincerely hope you all got the Super Mario and LOTR references... 3/5/13: -- D'Angelo comes out of hiding and jams with Questlove. Oh, to have been a fly on that wall. New album in the works? -- There's a time to go generic, and there's a time to spend the extra dough on the real thing... -- Almost lost it this morning listening to the great Pat Summitt talk about her memoir, Sum It Up. To have made such an enormous impact on sport, then not be able to recall huge chunks of your life's work... I can't imagine anything more cruel. 3/4/13: -- Jimmy Fallon is on way past my bedtime, but of course I DVR'ed Prince's performance on Friday night (think I'm in love with that lead guitarist). The man has quietly become the new Where's Fluffy, booking only very select gigs and generating intense buzz. Remember when he presented at the Grammy's a few weeks ago, who among us wasn't secretly praying for him to grab a guitar and start thrashing? 2/28/13: -- The Power of Words. Maybe a tad over the top, but wow. -- I secretly love Steve Earl's cover of I'm Looking Through You. Funny thing about that song, I had randomly included the Beatles' original version on last summer's Block Island 'drivin' around/hangin' out' playlist (an essential part of every vacation). It instantly became one of Aidan's all-time favs. Meaning we heard it over... and over... and over... -- Pretty girls, ugly gifs... -- Today is Rare Disease Day. We're wearing blue in support of dup15q. Ha! I'm a poet and didn't even know it. People are showing us major love over on Facebook in appreciation of our little Duppy Conqueror. Thanks to all, seriously. It means everything. 2/26/13: -- Because I'm a "face your fears" kinda guy - shaved my face AND cleaned the litter box (my two least favorite chores)... ON THE SAME DAY! Things are going to start happening to me now. 2/27/13: -- Some optimistic thoughts regarding retirement... 2/25/13: -- Celebrated DC's 9th birthday on Saturday... good golly, NINE! My wife had the great idea of renting out The Maxx in New Milford and inviting many of the terrific Special Needs kids in our area we've met over the years... kids that normally don't get invited to parties. This was the ideal venue since the kids could run amok and make as much noise as they liked... no stressed-out parents trying to maintain order. No judgmental glares from bystanders. A massive Cat in the Hat cake and a truckload of pizzas did the trick food-wise. The birthday boy himself was all smiles. Well, for the most part. Now we get to do it again a month from now for Jakey! Geez, what were we thinkin' having brothers with birthdays so close together? 2/22/13: -- Aidan's birthday party... the Oscars... another snowstorm... big weekend on tap! 2/21/13: -- My old clunker needs a ball joint replacement, ugh. But the peace of mind that comes with knowing my wheel won't fly off on the highway, well, I guess it'll be worth it. 2/20/13: -- Hear hear! Reclining seats on commercial flights - like the atomic bomb - should be un-invented. Ever had to stare at some guy's scalp for five hours? Ugh. 2/19/13: -- But let me tell you just why I'm pissed about the Downton Season 3 finale - one does not cook up a bit of tragedy in the closing seconds of an otherwise bland season for no reason other than to build anticipation for Season 4 (God knows when that will be)... **Spoiler Alert** The eyes open lifeless stare sealed the deal, they could've at least shut his eyes to keep us wondering whether he was merely knocked out. Killing off the two most likeable (and in passing, best looking) characters on the show was a boneheaded move IMHO. This was almost as upsetting as HBO's decision to lop off Ned's head in GOT... I may have watched my final episode. Ok who am I bullsh*ttin'? Any word on Season 4? 2/18/13: -- So evidently whatever happened on the Downton Abbey season finale last night was a big enough deal to spark outrage across the civilized world. I was watching the NBA All Star game, so of course today I'm avoiding all human contact as well as resisting the urge to peek at any website that might contain spoilers. Must. Watch. Tonight. The All Star game used to be a huge deal for me, and I even had the great privilege of attending a couple of them. And though it's lost a lot of its lustre it's still great fun, particularly in the 4th quarter when the fellas actually play some semblance of defense... Of course the true hoops-related treat of the weeknd was the endless barrage of Jordan highlights in celebration of his 50th. Man - $ is 50! I feel old. Don't get me wrong, some of these whipper-snappers can do some amaaaaaazing things. But not like Mike. Still the G.O.A.T. 2/15/13: -- I really hope NASA's calculations are correct, and this thing misses us today. A cataclysmic asteroid collision could ruin my entire weekend. -- Oscar, what the hell? 2/14/13: -- The debate raging over at Wired regarding the Battle of Hoth is absolutely delicious. Give it a read and let me know your thoughts. -- Let me get this straight... The Dowager Countess herself does not watch Downton Abbey? What madness is this? -- A pair of impossibly romantic letters written by Johnny Cash to his wife. -- Roses? Bah! Card? Rubbish! I woke up to find a buncha chocolate (MILK chocolate, mind, none of that dark nonsense) and Skyfall on DVD. I heart my wife. Happy V-Day to all, I hope you're feelin' the love. 2/11/13: -- This has been blowing up the Internet today - an interview with the Navy SEAL guy who shot bin Laden. -- Hey wait, people were just having a hard time translating from Latin. Turns out His Holiness is just going on a 2-week vacation. -- Here's a whole buncha info about the massive rock that will soon pass alarmingly close to this planet we inhabit. -- Major props to the road crews, they did a stellar job clearing things up in our area. By 1PM on Saturday the major roads were fine. Take that, Nemo! 2/8/13: -- George Dubya... aspiring artist? -- The Weather Channel taking some ribbing over the name Nemo. -- This bit of news will likely disappoint the ladies... and many dudes as well! 2/7/13: -- Mr. Bean likes (and can afford) fast cars, if only he could drive worth a damn... -- Well played, Jeopardy producer people... 2/6/13: -- Dad gives teenage daughter $200 to quit FB. And apparently it was her idea! -- Star Wars character spin-off movies? Yes, please. -- A cat? A CAT? Bring back the iron! -- So on Friday we might get an inch... or maybe two feet. 2/5/13: -- Hang me upside down for more than a few seconds and it feels like my head will pop. But if it works for big bad Laird, I'm willing to add some inverted time to my daily ritual. 2/4/13: -- And speaking of the Bowl, here is a compilation of more animated Beyonce than you'd ever need in a lifetime of halftime shows... -- Pretty good Bowl yesterday, eh? And this time around the highlight was the actual game itself - not the commercials. In fact aside from Bar Refaeli making out with some nerdy guy, none of the pricey pitches made a memorable impression at all (and seeing as the airtime cost something like $4M per 30 seconds, that's pretty sad). I was multitasking so very well may have missed a few. Slate has a full roundup/recap. 1/31/13: -- Nevermind, they fixed it. But still, even those few minutes of downtime are a big deal for them. Heads will roll! -- Holy wow, Amazon appears to be down. -- Paperman is a beautiful breath of fresh air. The fluidity of the movements reminds me of classic Disney, films made with actual elbow grease instead of pointing and clicking. Let's hope this is where animation is going. 1/30/13: -- Had an hour to kill and watched the premier ep of Banshee. Know what? Not half bad. Give it a watch. -- Well this settles it, I'm not doing any more housework... 1/28/13: -- And speaking of Apple, can we talk about the state of their retail stores? 1/25/13: -- Rumors of Apple's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Even when you're winning, sometimes you just can't win. 1/24/13: -- Don't hate on Sir David, he calls 'em like he sees 'em. He is 100% correct in his assessment of how we treat this planet. 1/23/13: -- ...or was she??? 1/22/13: -- People Are Awesome 2013 (via kottke). I have never said "holy sh*t" so many times consecutively. -- So she lip-synched. Yeah, I know, slow news day. -- Got caught up on Downton last night. Am I the only one who doesn't have a problem with Bates? 1/21/13: -- Fascinating and disturbing look inside North Korea, as informally documented by Sophie Schmidt (daughter of Google boss Eric). It still blows my mind that in this day and age an entire nation of people live like this. As Schmidt aptly describes: They're hostages in their own country, without any real consciousness of it. -- Photobombs of the Inauguration. Ooooh that one of Bubba Clinton gawking at Kelly Clarkson and the grip she has on that microphone... The captions that come to mind are absolutely hilarious. But this is, after all, a family website so I'll behave. Reluctantly. -- Belated birthday dins for dear Mother at Mexicali Rose last night. Respectable grub, decent prices, and a darn cute server. Of course the true gauge of any Mexican restaurant is the quality of its margarita, of which I did not partake. But other members of our party gave it the thumbs up, so overall I'd say add this lil hole in the wall to your must-dine list. 1/18/13: -- Book Review Time: 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Finally finished this one a while back, thought I'd post a few thoughts... not the usual King fare. More of a love story than anything else, and a sweet one at that. The plot, briefly: a down-on-his-luck English teacher travels back in time with a plan to thwart the JFK assassination and create a better future. At least that was the idea. But things turn complicated when he falls in love, and also discovers that the past might not WANT to be changed... The past is obdurate, you'll find that phrase on almost every other page. Does everything happen for a reason? I liked this novel. It was intriguing to think of the past as an almost sentient being who will fight tooth and nail to remain unaltered. It also got me thinking about what I would do (besides play the lottery with winning numbers I'd memorized), and what I would try to change if I could go back. Tip off the Feds about 9/11? Warn people about the 2004 tsunami? Noble as these ideas may seem, in this novel the consequences of preventing these tragedies might be far worse than the events themselves. Sorry Stephen, I would at the very least prevent what happened in Sandy Hook last month, repercussions be damned. -- Ooooh, this is too good not to share. A real-life attorney analyzes Bilbo's contract with the dwarves from The Hobbit. -- Some moving guys at the office today, so of course the door is propped open and it's 23 degrees! I'm at my desk bundled up in full winter garb, fingers numb on the keyboard. If only there was a candle on my desk, I could make like Bob Cratchit and warm my digits over the flame when Scrooge isn't lookin' ! 1/17/13: -- Hmmmm... January 17th. The date stands out for some reason. Jan 17th. 1/17... Hmmmm... Oh yes - MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY! Mother, hope it's a happy one. We'll dine on tortilla chips this Sunday to celebrate! 1/16/13: -- Ladies: eat berries. 1/15/13: -- Facebook's new search engine thingy. I can't decide if this is exciting or not. -- And this, friends, is how you send it down properly... -- Noticing how email spam categories come in odd batches, usually lasting about a week or so. Last week the subject lines in my inbox read things like "New ways to enhance her pleasure", "Leave her wanting more", etc. Those stopped abuptly, now it's all about hot stock tips. There's got to be a method to this madness. -- Sorry Lance. A cry on Oprah's couch isn't going to help. We're all really pissed at you. It's over. Just fade into obscurity. 1/14/13: -- Talkin' 'bout the weather: weird is becoming the new norm... -- Stars lined up for old-school Polaroid shots after last night's Golden Globes. -- In my haste I think I accidentally grabbed a pair of my wife's jeans this AM. I am not leaving this chair until 5PM... 1/11/13: -- Yes, The Hobbit was long and meandering, and yes it was shamelessly embellished, and yes there were scenes and characters and goings-on that were not in the beloved novel... well too bad, I friggin' loved every minute of it. All you Hobbit movie naysayers can kiss my furry feet. Bring on Part 2 ! -- You get what you pay for... Thinking I'd start off on a frugal note for 2013, I eschewed my usual $18.99 (plus shipping) St John wall calendar in favor of a $4.88 "Gardening" cal I stumbled upon at Walmart. Bland but effective! That is until I started thumbing through to June, in order to pencil in a few appointments and days I'm hoping to take off. The pages start at January, February... then back to January, and February again... then all the way to September, October and November... then once again September, October and November. At least it ends with December. But are we skipping Spring and Summer this year? I rather like those seasons. -- This craziness with the flu continues. Effective immediately I'll be wearing a surgical mask 24 hours a day, and twice a day I plan to immerse myself in a vat of Purell hand sanitizer. 1/9/13: -- Ouch. Mark Cuban fined $50K by the NBA for a single tweet... -- Ok now maybe people will start taking climate change seriously, read on... 1/8/13: -- We might as well resign to the fact that we are all probably going to get the flu in the near future. 1/7/13: -- Winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2012. Stellar! -- Whether you're a geek or not, news that an Architeuthis has been caught on film for the first time will quicken your pulse... -- Took in Chaplin over the weekend. Was expecting ho-hum but came away feeling great. It had been years since either the missus or myself had seen a show, and Chaplin reminded us just how special it can be. I'd say get yourself some tickets, but the last show was Sunday the 6th! Hopefully it'll make another run. After the show we did the NYC walkaround thing, and Times Square on a Saturday night is not to be missed - even in chilly January. Where else can you see Darth Vader, Spongebob, and Iron Man strolling around and signing autographs like they own the place? Plus there was a massive billboard image of Beyonce, easily hundreds of feet by hundreds of feet, with a Pepsi logo emblazoned on those full lips. I swear she winked at me. 1/4/13: -- My most vivid, whacked-out and nonsensical dreams occur in the early morning hours, when I'm drifting in and out and begging to the high heavens for ten more minutes. This morning I dreamt that I was sitting with my wife describing the erratic motion of R.A. Dickeys unhittable knuckleball, and she was listening in absolute rapture. So why on earth would I dream this? Neither of us give half a damn about baseball, and that knuckleball video is something I barely noticed as it was bouncing around the Internet a few weeks ago. And while I found it very cool (especially the flinching of the catcher and the dumbfounded expression on the batter's face), I hadn't given it much thought at all... So what gives? What would Freud say? -- I like Farhad Manjoo's geeky resolutions for 2013. And his 91,109 unread emails eases the guilt I feel about my paltry 332... 1/3/13: -- It's our own fault for writing her a sterling letter of recommendation... but how could we not? Aidan's primary one-on-one is leaving for a better position elsewhere. She's been a rockstar in our corner for years, her ability to keep our guy focused and on task is almost mythical. It's a great move for her and well deserved. But damn she will be missed... -- It's officially time to start getting excited about Downton Abbey, just a few more days 'til Season 3! Here's The Atlantic on why we simply cannot get enough...		A few sites I dig: Slashdot Boing Boing Me on Twitter! MVY Radio WEHM Radio Ebert The Awl Slate Waxy dooce ars technica On St. John TUAW National Geographic Monty Calvin & Hobbes Daring Fireball Jason Kottke Mashable IDEAS Wired NPR Wikipedia MacNN