Want a new job...

CMT is hiring for the ultimate in pop culture jobs. At $100,000 a year you can run a blog for... "The Dukes of Hazzard!"

This is actually not a joke. How funny is that.

Job offer.

CMT Site

Job description:

Vice President, CMT The Dukes of Hazzard Institute*

Get paid $100,000 for one year to watch television!

Job responsibilities include:

-- watch The Dukes of Hazzard weeknight on CMT
-- know the words to The Dukes of Hazzard theme song, Good Ol' Boys
-- write The Dukes of Hazzard Institute online blog for cmt.com
-- serve as expert on all things The Dukes of Hazzard
-- maybe take The General Lee for a spin now and then

For a Job Application, please visit: CMTDukesInstitute.com

*The position requires the execution of a one-year, $100,000 Independent Contractor agreement with GREAT!

The job responsibilities for the Vice President, The Dukes of Hazzard INSTITUTE are:

-- watch The Dukes of Hazzard every weeknight on CMT

-- know the words to The Dukes of Hazzard theme song, Good Ol' Boys, written and performed on the series by the legendary Waylon Jennings

-- serve as media expert on The Dukes of Hazzard for the CMT DUKES OF HAZZARD INSTITUTE: must be available for TV, radio and newspaper interviews to share his or her expertise and passion for THE DUKES OF HAZZARD on CMT

-- write The Dukes of Hazzard INSTITUTE online blog for www.CMT.com

-- be passionate about The Dukes of Hazzard on CMT

-- make appearances at special events such as Dukesfest 2005 in Bristol, TN (June 4-5, 2005)
The job requirements include:

-- Must be 18 or older and have a valid driver's license -- just in case a spin in the famous '69 Dodge Charger, The General Lee, comes up)

-- eligible for work in the United States

-- travel occasionally at CMT expense

Which Sox Player Are You?

Here are my results.

You scored as Jason Varitek. You are Jason Varitek. You are a natural leader and are highly respected by many. You are tough and will duke it out with any purple-lipped princess when it comes to defending your buddies, which makes you a very loyal friend. Oh Captain, my captain! Jason Varitek 80% Mark Bellhorn 77% Curt Schilling 70% Theo Epstein 63% David Ortiz 60% Manny Ramirez 57% Johnny Damon 53% Kevin Millar 47% Which Red Sox Player Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Lovefest III: Continued

Okay so pictures have not gone up yet. I have posted them to Ophoto and should be able to link to them but if you wait one more day there will be photos on the MoBlog. Once they are on the MoBlog then you can see at least 60 of them. I haven't had any takers on people signing up for MoBlog so I can get a full account and the ability to upload more photos and change the colors and whatnot.

How was Lovefest this year? It was a great time of course. Ken in his great and wonderful imagination came up with a fantastic contest for everyone's enjoyment, but more on that later. Here's my recap. I actually was at the preLovefest preparation. If you enjoyed the cupcakes, then you can thank Alicia, if you liked the frosting on top, well that was me and the frosting knife. Again this year the spread was great, Alicia made a fantastic dip that was inhaled by everyone who was there early, sorry about that everyone who came later. Ken got some wonderful gifts for the grab bag including many that were of an Easter theme. There were photos from past Lovefests hung all around the apartment along with many decorations. Ken put together a great selection of themed music as well. I picked up some Pete's Wicked Wanderlust Cream Ale, it was really good stuff, as evidenced by the quick disappearance of the six pack, by me. Dan was there when Allison and Elise and I arrived. He brought along copies of one of his articles from back at the St. A's Crier. Then Patrick read the article and we had a great time remembering the humor of those by-gone days. Attendance was a little sparse this year. I only gave out 24 number for the door prizes. While I did most certainly enjoy the company of those in attendance I did miss seeing attendees of year's past. I hope that everyone will enjoy the photos when I actually post them. I think I got a picture of everyone who attended except for Chris P. (Sorry Chris, by the time you got there my batteries had died. Although I wonder if I can get the security tape from the Shell Station, because that picture would be the BEST!)

Throughout the night Ken called for numbers for the door prize and I was in charge of handing out numbers and picking them out of a hat, the hat I am wearing in the picture here. Ken would call out a request for a door prize number and I would flip down the hat and pull a number. Everyone got a great prize and I think I got each person's reaction as they picked their prizes. Chuck seemed very very happy with his prize, not sure why, but he was happy.

Ken's big contest this year had to do with acronyms, he had 6 or 7 different acronyms on sheets of paper that had to do with the attendees and their activities, for instance he had BLOG written on one sheet of paper and it had to do with me. The object was to write a little phrase or something like that, which would replace what those letters stood for. And since it was Lovefest and we had many creative people in the room, I cannot post any of the responses here, ever. But they were funny. And Buddah was our big winner. Good job Buddah! All in all Lovefest III was a great time and I am looking forward to Lovefest IV.

Oh and by the way, like my shirt, best line of the night was from Sarah, "My grandmother has that same wallpaper!". Not sure if she was making a Garden State Reference but if so that makes it even more funny. Gotta love target and their no one else wanted it rack that is upwards of 50% off. Actually the hat cost more than the shirt. Thanks for the hat Ken.

Lovefest III

Lovefest III: First impressions of the evening. Tomorrow later in the day I will post images from lovefest but my first impressions of the evening were this. Ken has once again hosted a fantastic evening where many people can come together in mutual enjoyment of having fun. That's it, having fun, the group that gathered together had a tremendous time and that is thanks to our hosts Ken and Alicia. Thanks guys. A detailed post will come later today after I sleep some and when I can get home to upload the images I took at Lovefest III.

Sahara

I finished the book Sahara this past week while on the road. It was a good Dirk Pitt novel and if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I can't wait for the movie that is coming out the day before my birthday, on April 8, 2005. I have seen the trailer and many other things that have to do with this movie. It is not going to be true to the book, this is good and bad. The bad, Steve Zahn as Al Giordino. Al is a bull of a man in the books and he can take alot of punishment, he is also short and stocky and very Italian. Zahn does not physically fit this bill. The good about Steve Zahn is his comic ability. Despite not being true to the physical characteristics of Al Giordino Steve Zahn can most certainly provide the sarcastic wit of Al Giordino, and I think I will be pleasantly surprised if the trailer didn't put in all the jokes that we will be seeing. Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, Matt bulked up for the role but is still a lean guy and physically he can fit the bill of Dirk Pitt.

I just hope they get the eyes right, you see in every Dirk Pitt book when Dirk is introduced, within two sentences of the reveal of Dirk Pitt, you get the description of his opaline green eyes. You get the whole character from his eyes, Dirk is not a big talker, he is a man of action and his eyes reveal who he is I hope that they movie can convey that.

It looks like the novel was merely a jumping off point and the story was rewritten to "punch it up" for Hollywood. Dirk Pitt stories don't need punching up, they are full of action and storytelling that doesn't need much Hollywood help. The read like a movie and that is why they are so fun. The good thing about the movie being rewritten is that I get two stories instead of one. I'm looking forward to a great ACTION movie, Dirk Pitt is an ACTION hero in the vein of James Bond and Indiana Jones and I for one hope that this franchise takes off. I think we need some ACTION heroes again. They can be kinder gentler guys and whatnot but they should be accessible to the masses like Indiana Jones, but they should also kick some butt.

The thing I find so appealing about Indy is his humanness, he has many strengths and weaknesses and he's like an everyman that we can relate to as a character, I hope that the world will receive Dirk Pitt as that kind of character and many more movies will be made.

Oh and the reason I posted this was because the Sahara Website is up.

And on a totally unrelated note last night my Dad and I saw In Good Company at the Route One Cinema Pub. Good movie, family friendly and just and all around good movie, Dennis Quaid is a good actor and I could see how is this movie was made back in the 80s the Topher Grace character could have so been played by Michael J. Fox. They both have that clean cut aw shucks look to them that made them likeable even when they plays characters who were emotionally flawed. You still root for them when they are cast in the light of being "the bad guy" even though they really aren't bad at all just flawed.

Boston Marathon...

My sister Tara is running in the Boston Marathon for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team (DFMC). She is running in memory of a teacher named Anita who was in one of the science programs that Tara runs. And Tara is also running in memory of our Great-Uncle Donny. Here is the letter that we received from Tara so that she can raise donations.

"Dear Drew and Allison

While most people have spent the winter hunkering down and staying out of the cold, I've found myself outside more than usual. You ask why? Well, long before the snow began, I joined the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team (FMC) to train for the 109th Boston Marathon happening on April 18th. I can say it is a small sacrifice to run 12 miles in -4 weather or snow shoe in waist-deep snow during cross training. I consider it a privilege to be able to do these activities. It is the least I can do to help the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute raise money for important cancer research.

One hundred percent of the funds raised by DFMC team members benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Cancer Research. The Barr program allows scientists to begin researching important questions without waiting years to be awarded large grants. In the summer and fall of 2003, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a number of researchers from Dana-Farber and arranging lectures for teachers and students. I was inspired by one particular teacher undergoing cancer treatments while in our program. Despite battling cancer, Anita was learning as much as she could to pass along to her high school students. Sadly, she lost he battle with cancer this past fall. In April, I will run in memory of Anita, my uncle Donny, and all my family members and friends who have shown courage in their own battles against cancer. I hope that you will consider making your contribution in support or memory of someone you know.

Together we can make a difference and there are several ways in which you could generously support my efforts. A form is included with this letter for you to indicate your choice. All donations are tax-deductible. Every donation, large or small, goes directly to much-needed cancer research and brings me one step closer to helping the DFMC team reach our goal. If your company has a matching gift program, I would appreciate the inclusion of a matching gift form.

You can track my progress in meeting this goal or contribute online at.

www.dfmarathon.kintera.org
(I have made this a direct link to Tara's Page)

I am proud to be a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team. I hope that you will help me to reach my goal of raising $6,000 by making a tax deductible donation to the "Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge." The motto of DFMC is that "it takes more than courage to beat cancer." This is true, each and every contribution helps. Thank you for your generosity and support, and for being part of my team to make a difference.

Sincerely,
Tara"

Comedian in the house...

Apparently Allison thinks that this item is funny.

Okay it is funny, I do tend to pontificate about my meals. I get it everybody, I am too detailed. But I'm not gonna stop. :-)

Got this link from John, read Darth Vader's New Weapon first. Brick Frenzy and his web comic Life in the Brick.

Back to the Snow...

Well my first demonstration trip went very well. It was nice to be the one in the drivers seat, well not literally since Peter rented the car so he drove and I navigated but that works for us. It was nice to be the one who is driving the demonstrations. I feel like I am now beginning to make a contribution to the group. I don't know where or when I am heading out again but I am beginning to like Texas. I wouldn't mind going back out there.

This morning we got up early and headed to the airport which was right around the corner so it was a short drive. We got our tickets, I tried to upgrade but 1st class was too full so I couldn't. And Roseanne, Peter and I had a quick breakfast at Chili's Too then we got right on the plane. I was lucky enough to have a whole row to myself without someone sitting in front of me and so I can use my PC to get some work done. It is very rare that I can do that because I am notorious for always having the seat in front of me be filled with a person who reclines the minute the wheels leave the ground. Its pretty annoying but what can you do. So I got my work done and read some of the Seven Habits, Habit One to be exact, which is to Be Proactive and that means to choose your response to what happens to you rather than just react to situations. The movie Shall We Dance is playing right now on the inflight movie but my folks just bought the movie and I'm going to watch it with Allison. So I got some reading, some work and some play done. I'm looking forward to this weekend, what with Lovefest III mere days away. Gonna get the camera charged up and ready to go.

Photos will go up as soon as I can get them up. And speaking of photos... I'm also looking for help to get a free moBlog. I started a MoBlog for Lovefest III but will probably use it to post photos to this blog from now on, the problem that I am running into is that I can only upload 60 pictures a month unless I can get three people to sign up for a free moBlog. If you are interested in helping me out please e-mail me at abennett96 @ gmail dot com (You know how to write an e-mail address, I'm trying to get my spam count down so no acutal links with my e-mail on it.) so I can send an invitation to you directly. Thanks.

You can access my moBlog through this address http://loveprime-lovefest03.buzznet.com/user/. Why loveprime? It was keeping in the theme of lovefest, and since I love the 80's toys transformers I picked Optimus Prime as my name and hence loveprime. That and other names like Ilovetransformers, of Translove or something like that would send and entirely different message...

And for those of you expecting a possible angry rant from me because I got back out on the road and may have run into some of those travel snafus that give me such heated consternation, sorry, this was a cool trip that was alot of fun. Peter is great to travel with and everyone I met was very nice, the places we went were cool and fun. Nothing to complain about. Some silly stuff that I ended up doing was more of forgetfulness than anything. I got to the hotel the first night and realized that I did not have any cartridges for my Mach 3 Turbo razor, that has never happened to me before, I then demagnetized my keycard at the hotel and then left the keycard in my room one time. When I checked out I returned 3 keys for me alone. And then today I was so conscientious about gathering up the trash in the car I forgot my car charger for my cell phone. Luckily the guy who checked us in was on the ball. I would have been really mad at myself for losing that. I've gotta bet an attachment for my Juice battery pack that will charge my phone. I really don't want another charger to take with me on the road.

Tf Public Service Announcement

Listen to Optimus Prime....

TF PSA

I want one...

To add to the evil tiki of liquid death that makes residence on my desk at work I want to get one of these....

Big Tiki Drive

Meet Mauna Tiki Data™, the most shaka (coolest) flash drive this side of the Hawaiian islands!

Standing at almost 4” tall, the Big Tiki Drive™ is a stylish personal storage device for people on the move. It’s USB 2.0 certified for fast data transfers and is backwards compatible with USB 1.1.

Store all of your data, pictures, music and more on the Big Tiki Drive to take them on the go or transfer them between multiple machines. Giving a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation? Use the Big Tiki Drive to host your slideshows and you’ll never lose their attention.

Once you reach your destination, plug the supplied “Lava USB™” illuminated data cable into the top of the Big Tiki Drive and put him to work. Stare into his glowing eyes and watch his expressive green “aura” glow and blink from below* as he reads and writes your data.

Last Day In Texas...

Today Peter and I went down to Temple, TX to observe some demonstrations. After the demonstrations we picked up a convoy with Roseanne in tow. We stopped at the Harley Davidson of Temple, TX and I picked up a pin. Then we headed up to Waco and stopped at Logan's Roadhouse. Then off to Dallas to our next Hotel. There is a great radio station down here that plays mostly 80's music so we were bopping along to the sounds of Def Lepard and more. We got to the hotel and hung out for a bit than the three of us went out to Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.00 Margaritas and $0.50 chicken wings. And when we got there the margaritas were only $0.99 each. Whoo Hooo! More pictures...

Harley Davidson of Waco at 70+MPH. Caught it pretty good too.

Just liked this sign.

All the chairs look like this, pretty nice logo.

Wings and Margaritas, awesome!

Buzzard Billy's

Tonight I we went to Buzzard Billy's for dinner. Couple of great things to eat, the armadillo eggs (Jalapenos in jack cheese stuffed inside chicken and then wrapped in bacon. AWESOME!) The Mean Green Wings (Buffalo wings with a hot lime sauce.) and I had the Full Catch which was blackened catfish, shrimp and tilapia. Dinner was great. Check out the photos of the place and a photo of a suspension bridge in Waco.

And you can be a Pepper Too.....

So I am in Waco Texas. I did my first demonstration on my own today. It went well. After we were done Peter and I checked out a few tourist items around Waco like the Dr. Pepper Museum. It was an interesting museum and it had all the old commercials playing and a bunch of old bottles and equipment. And there are pictures a-plenty.

After the museum we ended up heading over to the Waco Harley Davidson so I could increase my pin collection. They didn't have a custom shop pin in stock but I'll be calling to get one shipped to me. There are alot of great things to see here in Waco and the poor place got a bad wrap with the whole Branch Davidian fiasco. And that wasn't even in Waco, it was in another town outside of Waco. One of the great things about actually getting to go to places is learning what places really are all about. Photos for your enjoyment.

The Dr. Pepper Museum

Classic Dr. Pepper Sign

Another Classic Sign

These bottles were produced special for LBJ for an event with JFK when he came to Dallas. They were never used because that event was supposed to happen on the very same evening when JFK was assassinated. The bottles were eventually consumed by the Johnson's and most were destroyed in their dump pile. This one was saved.

Dad's new shirt

The back of the new shirt

Also Waco is home to the Texas Ranger's Museum, (Like Walker not the Baseball Team) we didn't get to go but I hear it is a good thing to see.

The Joy of Wi-Fi

I recently purchased a Wi-Fi Card and it is great. I was able to connect to Logan's Wi-Fi network (which sucks because you have to pay for the Internet unlike say.... Every other airport where Wi-Fi access is FREE!) Logan sucks, it just does, alot.

Anyway I am Waco Texas right now. I'm down here with Peter and we are having a grand old time. Our flight left a little late but it did leave, so that was good. I got to read almost all of Sahara on the flight out. I have the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to read on the way home. Gonna become more effective, yeah! Actually I worked on this book for a leadership program at Sacred Heart and I mentioned it to a supervisor in the training group and he wants me to present what I learned from the book to his group. Sweet!

Anyway after we landed I had a terrible headache because the $3.00 snack packs on the plane were sold out by the time they got to row 30 of the plane and I was unable to purchase one. So after we got our rental car Peter and I headed to Waco and along the way we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for some lunch / dinner / sustenance. We got 50 wing in set of 10 to mix it up with 5 of the Wild Wing flavors. Teriaki, Garlic, Hot, Sweet BBQ, and Caribbean Jerk. The waitress had no one else to serve so she chatted with us and brought us mild and severely death hot to try, I think it was called blazin' not very tasty but hot, not death hot though. I liked the Caribbean jerk and the hot wings though. There should be a Buffalo Wild Wings in Massachusetts because the wings are great and there are so many TV's for sports and whatnot. A great place.

Then Peter and I headed to Waco, to find the hospital and then the hotel. Along the way I got these two pictures.

At some truck stop I saw this wildcat and said, "I need a picture of me with that thing." And as Peter was taking the picture I could see a trucker walking into the building, he looks over and stops and makes the pose that I am making so I copied it and we all got a good laugh at me looking this a doof. Thought I'd share.

The sunsets here are BIG and awesome. Taken from the car as we sped down I-35 to Waco.

Anyway the hotel has free Wi-Fi and that is awesome. Gonna be updates from Texas all week.

Lovefest is Coming....

It is once again time for Lovefest. You remember I talked about Lovefest before. Read this article to bring yourself back up to speed. Lovefest '04 Recap.

Well this year's lovefest is next Saturday and Allison and I are ready. We went out and got our stuff for the festivities yesterday at Target in their 75% section of Valentines items. And Lovefest is getting bigger and bigger, it has its own official website now. Check out all about Lovefest.

The Official Lovefest Website

The Lovefest MoBlog

The Lovefest Blog.

And check back next Sunday for photos and an update about Lovefest '05.

Saturday Night at the Big Folky Show...

Last night Allison and I along with her cousin Erin and Erin's husband Bart and Jenn and T.R. attended the Dessert Club show featuring Don White.

Around 4:00pm Jenn came over for cheese and crackers and wine. Erin and Bart arrived soon after. While Allison, Erin and Jenn checked out Allison's new veil that had just arrived, Bart and I settled in to attacking a plate of cheese and crackers. And because we are guys we could sit and eat said cheese and pontificate on the greatness of said cheese and bond. That's what we do, we bond over dairy goodness. It is something that the women in our lives are fascinated by and because of this bonding over seemingly unimportant things they have dubbed that Bart and is my boyfriend and I am his, and the girls think it is so cute. The thing is we just get each other and are operating on that level that guys do where shared experience, pop culture and food are enough to form mutual appreciation, friendship and awe. For instance, while we were all sitting around eating cheese and drinking some wine or cokes the topic came up about breakfast the next morning. You see Erin and Bart were staying overnight because they were down from NH and as we know, folky shows get out late. So we made a weekend out of it. Anyway, the topic of discussion turned to pork products, specifically bacon. And from there we talked about Sizzlean, unaware of how we would soon stumble upon one of the greatest conspiracies of our modern times. (Okay not really but it still was interesting none the less.) You see once we started talking about Sizzlean, the question was posed, What ever happened to Sizzlean?". "To Google!" we cried, and to Google we went. Searching on all things Sizzlean. And you know what, all we could find were vague references and scraps of information about Sizzlean. The most common was the tagline of the commercial, "Move over Bacon, now there's something leaner." And that is all we found.

This made me think about growing up on Cape Cod and my friends the Manzaro's they were three boys and a girl who were all skinny and wiry and we would have adventures on the Cape at the Duck Pond and go fishing and the like. But what made me think of them was what we did on the beach alot, and that was wrestle because we would try and 'Shake and Bake' each other. If you don't know what 'Shake and Bake' means it is this, when someone comes out of the water and is dripping wet you tackle them and roll them in the sand, so they have to go back in the water and attempt to get all the sand off. This is not possible, not the tackling which happened with relative frequency, but rather the removal of excessive amounts of sand. It just wouldn't happen, you'd be finding sand for weeks after a 'Shake and Bake' attack. Well the reason I associate these thoughts is that before one of the Manzaro's would launch an attack on me the battle cry of "Move over Bacon, now there's something LEANER would be shouted. You see I was about the size I am now and they were half my size and skinny and very flexible and agile. Needless to say, they could always knock the big man down. They scrapped like you wouldn't believe and "Wham!" I'd be on my butt in the sand. But I digress, and shame on you because you know I digress, quite often.

So Bart and I continued our quest to search out the conspiracy behind the disappearance of Sizzlean from our store shelves. We found next to nothing until we stumbled upon a website that sold replicas of foodstuffs for....dollhouses. I kid you not, you can purchase replicas of your favorite foods for imaginative play with your dollhouse. The site is Hudson River Miniatures and there is some weird miniature stuff there, Sizzlean just being the tip of the iceberg. You can see the Sizzlean package here. And this activity as you can expect has now even further bonded Bart and I. Why? Because it was shared experience, it was funny and it involved food. Perfect ingredients in a male bonding moment.

Okay, okay moving on. After cheese and crackers the six of us headed over to Quan's Kitchen for dinner. It was the easiest decision on where to eat ever. It took all of 2 minutes to decide and anyone who has ever spent time with a group of people deciding where to go for dinner would know that this is unheard of. So we headed to Quan's. Bart posed with the laughing Buddha. because he said it looked like if you tickled his Buddha belly he'd be laughing. And that's exactly what he did. We got a bunch of food to share. Egg Rolls, Crab Rangoon, Spring Roll, House Fried Rice Chicago Style. Don't know what Subgum or Chicago Style Fried rice is? Well, I'll tell you, Subgum means more vegetables and Chicago style means a darker rice. It is some handy knowledge to have because I love Chicago style fried rice.

After Quan's we headed to Taunton to the Dessert Club. I took Erin and Bart and Allison rode with T.R. and Jenn. Bart and I discussed the merits of Clive Cussler and the upcoming movie Sahara. As you know I have high hopes for Sahara. I've been plowing through the book and will most likely finish it this week. Once we got to the Dessert Club we were seated at our reserved table. I know that anyone who makes reservations ahead of time has reserved tables but hey its till pretty neat to have reserved seats. Mike Higgins opened the show with about five songs off his album "Up Close and Personal". I spoke with Mike a bit during the intermission and he's a nice guy. I picked up his "Up Close and Personal" CD and will have to listen to it later today. Directly after Mike finished Don White got up and did a few songs, his standard opener (well at least the 3 shows we've been to have opened with this) was Rascal. A clever little tune about his wife's realization that once the kids are gone and moved out she's stuck with him and the dumb dog. It is a great song to get the crowd warmed up. He didn't ask for us to howl though and I was finally ready to give it a go after missing out at previous shows because I just wasn't quick enough. Don also told alot of stories and some new stories too that were great. One about growing up Greek/Irish. That was a great story for his upcoming book. Don, lets get that book completed, I can't wait to read it. Although nothing would be able to compare to your reading excerpts at concerts. I think an entire album of your stories and some songs would be fantastic. Don has the rare ability to make you laugh till you wet yourself and then give you goosebumps with such meaningful songs like "Brown Eyes Shine" and "I Know Exactly What Love Is". Both songs made me wonder if someone turned the air conditioning on full blast because as he began each song I got chills. Don was joined at various times by his son Lawren White. Lawren plays an electric guitar and he is great, we are very happy that Lawren was there too and he totally made Allison's night extra special with his rendition of Winnie the Pooh. After the show we spoke with Don and picked up the last of his albums that we did not have called "Two Vagabonds in Disguise'. It was nice to speak with Don. We are looking forward to next year's show or possibly a show in Shirley again at the Bull Run. And we have converted another two fans. Enjoy the photos below as well as previous posts from the Don White shows we've been to in the last couple of years.

Don white show at Bull run in October, 2004

Our first Don White show in May, 2004

The Group at the Concert.

A Touching moment between Bart and I

Allison, Me,Bart and Erin

Reserved Seats at the Folky show, a sign that we have arrived.

More Wedding Stuff Done

Well, I have the dress ordered (Thank you again, mom and dad!). And now I have ordered a custom veil and a custom tiara, both of which are on their way to me as I type this! I can't wait to get them.

The tiara I ordered from a woman in the UK who does a lot with tiaras and hair clips. I sent her a picture of something that I had in mind and she replicated it for me. She told me that she keeps photos of all of her work in a scrapbook and will name mine 'Allison.' I thought it was pretty cool to have a tiara named after me!

That's the excitement. We are going bridesmaid dress shopping on the 26th. Hopefully it will be a successful trip!

Webtainment

There are some interesting things to see on the Internet. Recently I highlighted the webcomic PVP which is one of the web comics that I can readily identify with. Then I found another webcomic called The Mows. It isn't as funny but it is interesting and it is linked at the bottom of the page. Through these sites I have found some other interesting, what I will now refer to as webtainment, items. The first is called What the Muffins?. What the Muffins? is a web sitcom about two geeky guys who share a house with a cool guy. It is all explained in the pilot episode. Yes the acting is not fantastic, the jokes need some work but hey these guys are doing something creative. And after two episodes so far it seems pretty clean and accessible to a wide audience. I'm adding What the Muffins? to my links, so enjoy.

The computer is almost back up to speed, unfortunately by switching to a new computer many of the programs that we had been enjoying on the old computer are no longer accessible to us, like Excel and the complete Windows Office suite. And the full blow versions of Photoshop and Illustrator. Luckily Photoshop Elements is a worthy alternative that I have been using instead. Almost all the music has been transferred, now I've got to get all the pictures up on the computer. There is a good tool for cataloging the photos. I'm looking forward to using that since we've got to get alot of pictures scanned of Allison and I and our families for our wedding favors. I haven't explored enough to see if there is also a slide show maker on the computer but I think there probably is something like that too.

Allison and I tried a new restaurant last night. It is called Signatures, we were checking it out to see if it would be a good place for us to have the rehearsal dinner. The food was excellent, but the service a little slow. They also have Thursday night comedy shows there. I'll have check it out sometime.

New Computer

Allison and I got a new computer on Sunday. I finally hooked it up yesterday. It took a couple of days just to get the old stuff off the other computer. So now we are finally on XP at home. And its really alot of fun because we can each have our own sign ins and desktops and share the files that we should be sharing like music and pictures. The computer is an HP media center edition model. Its being discontinued. It had 512MB of ram but I got 512 more and pumped the baby up to 1GB of ram. Can't ever have enough RAM. I successfully got the computer back on Verizon DSL and it works so much better than it had been on the old PC. Granted the old PC is still decent and with a good scrubbing out will perform fine, we just blocked it up with so much stuff over the years. I'm hoping we can be better about the new PC but it is inevitable that it get junked up with downloads and garbage too. So the PC can be connected directly to the TV so we could watch and record TV or play music or pictures on the TV from the computer. But I think that sort of setup would need a new room configuration and probably a split on our cable or if we ever move we start it all from scratch with our media set-up.

Some cool stuff that we got with the PC was a free (after rebates) Epson Printer, Belkin wireless Router, and Norton Utilities. Well the printer we don't need, the wireless router gave me ahgeda when I tried to set it up, and the Norton utilities will be installed when the 90 day free version that came with the computer is over. But everything was free and that is cool. I got a wireless adapter for a PC and one for my notebook also. I'll probably be selling the router and the PC card because I don't have a need for it. But the notebook card should come in handy with the traveling.

The thing that makes me totally geek out over the PC is the built in card reader and the front access ports like USB and Fire wire and even AV ports and headphone jacks.

So we should be ready to start making the wedding favors soon. Just gotta get all the rest of our CD's into the PC and catalog the photos. So sorry about not updating in a while but I've been busy.

Couple of Updates

Just some random information today.

I just finished listening to Tourist Season on CD. Tourist Season was written by Carl Hiaasen. It was a story about an ex reporter turned private eye and a crazy reporter whom at one time was his mentor. The crazy reporter puts together a group of terrorists to take back South Florida from the tourists. Well it was an entertaining and humorous book, the reader was excellent.

I've started a new book to read, I'm finally up to Sahara in the Dirk Pitt series, and if I couldn't wait for the movie before, guess what I'm gonna have an even harder time waiting now.

I've also picked up another book on CD, Ghosts of Everest, The Search for Mallory and Irvine. So far so good, it is the account of a 1999 expedition to Everest to find proof of whether or not George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were the first men to scale Everest in 1924, thirst or so years before the generally accepted first men to scale Everest Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (My alter ego when I travel with Peter).

I also picked up Cool Hand Luke to watch from the Library but we didn't get around to watching that yet.

Aunt Candy is doing well, her recovery is progressing and she was in good spirits. Thank you for your thoughts and/or prayers on her behalf. Allison and I visited her last night, we got to see Aunt Millie and Grandma Bennett too.

Books

Comments

Blogger announced some updates to comments.

Comments Revisited
Good news everyone! We've updated the way comments work. Among the many improvements are pop-up windows for comments and the ability for commenters to fill in their name and web site info—no Blogger account needed.

One Man's Commitment to Training

We are all familiar with the classic Sylvester Stallone movie Rocky. It is a source of inspirational music for sports all over the world. The classic Eye of the Tiger by Survivor has been used on many a mix tape for pre game hype up music. I found this very inspirational video online that tells us all that training can become part of your everyday life.

Eye of the Tiger.

(Disclaimer: I am only directing you to this one video. The other videos on this site can be deemed offensive and I would encourage you just to see this video and that is all. I wouldn't go exploring this site.)

The Mows

I've added a new feature to the Blog, the daily The Mows comic strip. It is a comic strip made with Flash that is about three cats and their owners guy and gal. Its amusing but not laugh out loud funny, sometimes I don't quite understand it and sometimes I think, that is just like Oliver and Duncan. Anyway the site has an option to link to the daily strip and so I've added the daily strip to the bottom of the page. And I've added a link to The Mows in my web comic section. Judge for yourself whether this is funny or not.

PVP Online

Okay I've finally completed reading all of the PVP online comics from the past 7 years. And I recommend that anyone who is a child of the 70's/80's and a pop culture enthusiast to check it out. Scott Kurtz has created a great cast of characters that are easily identifieable with and very very funny. PVP is not just about Player Vs. Player gaming. It has got more depth than that. Check it out! Keep an eye out for many Star Wars and Star Trek references and even a Transformers one here and there. You will laugh. Trust me. You can find a permanent link to PVP under my new section called Web Comics. Enjoy.

Chinese New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Today starts the year of the Rooster. If you want to know more about Chinese New Year check this out.

China Page.

Weight Watchers Recipes from the 70's

MO sent me this link. Take the tour, its a culinary delight.

WW Recipes

Thoughts and/or Prayer requests.

A simple request to keep my Aunt Candy in your thoughts and/or prayers this week. She is undergoing surgery today and will have a week of recovery ahead. Thanks.

Deb related post

I was informed by Mo that it is Deb's (Tina Majorino) from Napoleon Dynamite, birthday today. Happy birthday Tina.

Here is a comic strip that Mo sent me.

Become Deb Free. This is from Spamusement, a daily online comic that takes its inspiration from spam subject lines.

And speaking of comic strips. Allison and I have both found some new online strips that we are finding very amusing. For me it is PVP drawn by Scott Kurtz. I have recently completed reading the entire run of his comic strips for the past 5 years. This comic is very, very funny on so many levels. It is a must read. The other comic strip I found while reading PVPand that is the MOWS, pronounced like cows. The mows is about 3 cats and their owners, so if you are a cat person this is a humorous comic for you, kinda like Garfield but you might actually laugh. Check these out and if you come across some online web comic that is a must read please let me know.

Movie Trailers

Okay, what really got me salivating was the movie trailers, War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, and Sahara had me sitting up at attention. Unfortunately the Sahara Trailer that was already on the internet was much, much better than the one during the Superbowl. The Sahara trailer that has been on the internet tells the story of Dirk Pitt, it introduces, Dirk Pitt. It tells you that Clive Cussler is the writer of the Dirk Pitt Novels. The trailer during the Superbowl was spliced together, I think by those monkeys in the Career Builder ads. It told no story. Hollywood is going to screw up what could be one of the best franchises to come along in a while.

The Batman Begins trailer was okay but again told no real story, it did not engage me in the least.

The War of the Worlds trailer was certainly a teaser and got me interested in seeing the movie. It tells you everything you need to know and yet tells you nothing. That's a good trailer. But you be the judge.

Sahara Original Trailer.

Sahara Superbowl Trailer.

Batman Begins Original Trailer.

Batman Begins Superbowl Trailer.

War of the Worlds Superbowl Trailer.

Superbowl Champs!!

Yeah! One more time the New England Patriots, our neighbors in Foxboro, are the winners of Superbowl 39. We had a house full with Mom and Dad, Allison and I, Tara and Erik and their friend Bob and Allison's friend Jenn.

I can tell you I was tense till the last seconds of the game. Great job by the Pats.

We had a great spread with Ribs and chicken wings and our Mexican Fiesta Dip. And Dad got HD TV from Comcast just in time for the game. Man that was amazing to watch.

So what was eveyone's favorite commercials? Leave us comments with your choices.

Also, what is up with those ugly superbowl hats, Brown and Tan?

Photography

Today Allison and I met with the guy that we want to be our photographer for the wedding. His name is Cullen Jones. We met up with him at the Solomon Pond Mall food court. Cullen had his adorable daughter in tow. She sat quietly and colored and played with her My Little Ponys. Cullen is a wedding photographer as a creative outlet and it shows in the photos that he showed us. He even had a great album of pictures of his daughter that he had created through the website Ophoto. That is what sold Allison. He's also a Buffett fan and believe you me that was also a good thing in his favor.

Cullen shoots black and white and color and it is all digital. He gives us a 300 photo proof book and a CD of original images also so we can do our own digital images. Later this week we'll call Cullen and let him know that we want to sign a contract. You can check out his site here. http://www.cullenjonesphotography.com/

Acapulcos with Andy and Rondi

Last night Allison and I met up with Andy and Rondi to have dinner at a nice Mexican Restaurant called Acapulcos in Franklin, Ma. The restaurant is just up the street from one of our favorite movie places, the Franklin Zeotrope Theatre. The more and more I go down to Central Street in Franklin, the more I realize how much is around there. The Franklin train station is right behind the restaurant too.

Acapulcos is a pretty good restaurant, I got a fajita chimichanga with steak. It was a good chimichanga accompanied by a equally good margarita.

We had a great time chatting with Andy and Rondi about wedding plans, outdoor activities and misadventures, and the perils of becoming a home owner. We're looking forward to hanging out again soon.

New Blog of note

PVP Online is my latest place to find entertainment on the web. This is a web comic strip written by Scott Kurtz. Scott has comics in an archive stretching back to 1998. It will take you a while to get through them all, but that is good because you won't be waiting each day for a new one to come out. The comic is about a ficticious video game magazine called player vs. player that features an interesting cast of characters. I suggest that you read the cast first, then start on the archives and then once you go through the comics check out Scott's blog and his rants. The comic is family friendly, but the rants can get a little outspoken the language colorful. All in all Scott Kurtz has made a very entertaining comic strip for the geek in all of us.

Mo time...

Last night I went up to Saint A's to do a little recruiting of students for work. After my presentation I met up with MO at the Saint A's pub. She got me some famous Saint A's pub buffalo wings. Man I used to hate cooking them when I was a freshman but when I was old enough to get to the pub and have a couple of beers and some wings I really grew to like them alot. And I haven't had them in years. So thanks MO for the great wings and the great conversation laced with all sorts of reminiscing about Saint A's days.

I then spent the night with Dan and Marcia. I delivered the emergency stash of girl scout cookies, thin mints of course.

This morning I dashed back to St. A's to see some folks. I got to see Drew and Linda and Joe and Becky and MO. It was really good to see everyone again.

Then it was off to home, but first I checked out a house in Hudson and picked up some work for Allison. There is a crazy crack in my windshield that expanded all the way across the whole windshield.

Another Month of Trivia

This past month's trivia contest was another great competition.:

79 players played during the month.

1. dbarryzzz (519 points, 7 wins)
2. Emperor Wesley (375 points, 2 wins)
3. Bumblebee Prime (349 points, 1 wins)
4. smartgirl (332 points, 2 wins)
5. abennett48 (305 points, 2 wins)
6. Ratboy (289 points, 0 wins)
7. ahami (286 points, 0 wins)
8. Chappy (281 points, 1 wins)
9. Jim (272 points, 0 wins)
10. Mo (270 points, 1 wins)

Thanks for playing everyone!