It's Hot

Today was (I think) the 17th day straight with a 90+ high. And it's going to continue for the next 5 days or so at least. Someone needs an air conditioner, and I think it's me. Also, it's humid enough to grow mold on common household objects. Like lamps.

Hanberg's Next Vodka

My esteemed friend, Erik Hanberg, likes weird bottles, and by that I mean specifically bottles that hold alcohol. This usually manifests itself in his tendency to buy bottles of wine that have either weird pictures on the front or odd paragraphs on the back, but sometimes it extends to other bottles. I can remember him buying a couple of vodkas solely because he thought the bottles were cool. Therefore, I predict that after he reads this post, this will be the next vodka he buys.

The bottle is shaped as an old school tommy gun, and appropriately enough, it's called Tommy Guns Vodka.

Next time I visit Tacoma I'll see that bottle.

Rock Star: Carleton

Josh looked a little nervous up there. Maybe he was afraid that some of the lizards would escape and come back on to the stage. Or maybe it was that whole millions-of-people-are-watching-me thing so many people seem to have. Also, it sounded like the bass was downmixed and Josh's lead guitar upmixed (I don't know if these are actual terms, I'm just making them up) from how the song played on the cd (itunes, baby. itunes). But still, it wasn't a bad performance. The didn't screw up, and they played pretty well. Major props to the 1st Goodhue alum.

Fame and Fortune

Well, it's finally happened. Someone from my class is going to be famous. Josh Grier lived on my floor freshman year of Carleton, and as this article in the Strib shows, he may be on the verge of being extremely well known. His band (Tapes 'N' Tapes) just signed a record contract with what sounds like a fairly major label and is playing Letterman tomorrow night (Tuesday). I saw him in the local grocery store about a year ago, and asked how he was doing. He said pretty good, and that his band was about to embark on a tour in the western half of the US. Color me impressed at their progess. I'll definately be tuning in tomorrow.

I know nothing...

...about this movie. But I still really want to see it. The poster art is by Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy. This is another one of those ComiCon goodies. I've gotta get myself to San Diego one of these Julys.

TMNT

As a child of the 80s, I grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their cartoon kicked ass. The original, live action movie is the reason I love trailers. And I'm pretty sure my mom has many of the original toy line stashed away somewhere in the attic. I've even got the first four trade paperbacks of the original comic book run, which is a lot more weird (indie-comic book weird) and hardcore than you might expect. (As a cool FYI, in the Turtles' origin story the Turtles get covered with an ooze that falls from a truck which swerves after almost hitting an old man who gets knocked out of the way by a younger man. The canister hits the young man in the eyes, then bounces down the sewer to mutate the Turtles. The young man's name is Matt Murdock, and the ooze blinds him but heightens his remaining senses and he later becomes Daredevil.)

Anyway, the San Diego ComiCon is going on right now, which means lots of cool stuff gets premiered, and one of them is the trailer for a new TMNT movie. Check it out here. It doesn't give you anything except cool visuals, but damn it looks good. I believe I'll probably be seeing this one in 07.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my 26th birthday, and it definately feels weird being on the other side of the 25 year line. After work Kathreen and I went to the Twins game to see Liriano almost get his first complete game shutout (he lost it on an unearned run in the 9th), and then adjourned to The Independent where we met Java, Gregg and Kellie for some food and drinks. All in all not a bad B-Day. Still, Joe's Birthday (Observed) will occur this weekend. Because let's face it: I need a solid 3 days to properly celebrate my natal anniversary.

Jesus, MLK and...Ken Lay

Earlier this week Mr. Hanberg posted on Ken Lay's death, postulating that every reporter in the country would be trying to get proof that he committed suicide rather than go to prison. While that claim is still speculation, speaking at his funeral his friend Rev. Dr. Bill Lawson compared Lay to MLK and Jesus Christ. I haven't seen the MLK quote, but the Jesus comparison apparently was made because, like Christ, Lay "was crucified by a government that mistreated him."

Hmmm. Let's look at the two possibilities: one, that Lay was a saint who was snowed by a hostile government (which he had made countless donations to and was on a nickname basis with ol' W) and convicted of a crime he didn't commit, or two, that Lay was at the head of one of the biggest fiduciary misconduct cases of the last 50 years, caused thousands of people to lose crippling amounts of money and then was convicted by a jury of twelve people who thought he might have done something wrong.

I'm all for speaking well of the dead, but let's not rewrite history here, people.

Potlatch '06

So the picture on the left is what Mr. Eppig looked like at Potlatch this year. The picture on the right is what he looked like last year. You can see what he looked like two years ago by clicking on the Andrew Eppig link in the right margin. This is a man who is dedicated to his craft.

Anyway, Professor Booty turned in its best Potlatch performance ever, going 3-1 in pool play on the first day of the tournament (and we could have won the other game as well if we hadn't been a little worn out). On Sunday we were seeded 5th in the C pool, putting us in the top half of the field. And though we lost both our games Sunday, we had three game points in the first one (which we failed to score-and then we lost the second game on a hangover from the first game). The team that beat us finished at the top of the B pool last year.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ultimate, Potlatch is the largest co-ed tournament in the world. It consistently draws some of the best players and teams in the game (making it all the cooler that a team comprised mainly of CUT and Syzygy alums won the whole thing). For Booty to finish so high in the field is really, really impressive.

Of course, most of the credit goes to Matt "Genghis" Hahn. That guy is alright.

Back in MN

I returned from my annual Hajj last Friday. Many thanks to Mr. Hanberg, who was as always an excellent host. We spent two nights at his parent's cabin, where as always we played many games of both skill and luck. I couldn't buy a decent cribbage hand, but I did manage to take the two games of chess we played once we got back to Tacoma. He also took me to a Mariners game (absolutely amazing seats) where we saw them get shut out by Bartolo Colon and the Angels, and then we snuck in to an early screening of Pirates 2, which was excellent even from the second row, stage left.

Naturally, I went to another screening of P2 24 hours later with Java, Caleb and Carl. And seeing the movie twice in rapid succession like that, I noticed something. You twice see a heart-shaped locket in Davy Jones' possession (which playes music as well), but what you probably missed is that you've already seen one in the movie before. The first time Will, Jack and the gang visit the weird voodoo lady, Jack steals a ring off her table when she's getting him a jar of dirt. Sitting next to the ring on the table is a heart-shaped locket exactly like the one you later see Jones with. Coincidence? Joe thinks not. Let the speculation for Pirates 3 begin!