Blades of Glory

And here's video number two, our own take on the world of figure skating. Eat your heart out, Will Ferrell.

Look Out Rodriguez

My very first published video. Ain't I cool?

The Perfect Black and Tan

I Shouldn't Be Out in Public

I've come to the conclusion that I only blog a lot when I'm in a really good mood. Being happy makes me write more, but when I'm only neutral or below I lose the urge. How does this work for the rest of you? When are you a better writer, when you're in a good place, or in a bad place? I've always thought that kind of interesting - mostly we hear about certain famous writers being pretty messed up themselves, like Brett Easton Ellis. Hmm.

In other news, a really good friend just told me she's getting a new job and moving out of state in three weeks. I know she had to move quickly on the job, but it came as a shock that I basically only have a few more weeks to hang out with her before she moves away to the East Coast. You forget sometimes that people can disappear from your life that quickly.

All-nighters are getting easier. I'm developing a routine. Maybe that will mean more posts on here - I have about five or six new topics I want to write about. Time will Tell.

The Meta-Science of Sleep

To the faithful - thanks for hanging around in my absence. Usually the janitor would yell at you to quit smoking behind the building, but in this case I gave him a talkin’ to. I have realized that if I want my boss to consider more seriously attaching MMNIE to our company web site (which will mean some significant editing on my part) I should probably post a little more regularly. Welcome back to the show.

Several new things going on lately. For starters, I got a call last weekend from a friend who sounded to be in pretty bad shape - turned out I had to take her to the emergency room for an inflamed appendix. We sat in the ER for about six hours, although I had to leave when the docs gave her morphine for the pain, and she started a rather uncomfortable line of conversation (involving me) in front of one of her girlfriends. Ok, you’ve got tubes and monitors stuck to you - my presence is no longer needed.

So what do y’all think about MMNIE possibly hitting the big time with a direct link from www.thisweeknews.com? I’ve already told my boss that I won’t change my style of writing (or clean up my fuckin’ language problem) and he seemed all for it (I guess that’s what he likes about it). Am I too hokey to hit the semi-bigtime? I’m sure quite a few of you would laugh if my measly little blog could make me some buck.

And now for some random declaratives.

At three in the morning last night I managed to fix my broken washing machine with a shoe string and three strips of duct tape. I’m that good.

Women, like troubles, come in threes.

Random items you can find on my work desk: a copper Spartan helmet, a suit of armor, a whittled hound dog, a bust of the Argonath, and photocopied pictures of Jeff Lebowski, Walter Sobcheck, Donnie Caravatsos, Darth Vader, Inigo Montoya, Fezzik the Giant, and Fazzini. Oh yeah, and the Dogs of Westerville 2007 calendar.

Civilization is crumbling.

The downward spiral continues, and I still refuse to get a haircut.

So L-Jo isn't alone

I guess since Mrs. T put up her own picture from the annals of the past, I should follow suit. I warn you, this picture is from Halloween, about 10 years ago. Enjoy, and I will abide the laughter in pensive silence. There are some worse pics, but I have to find them before I can embarrass myself further.

Oh yeah, I guess here's one from way back. You're welcome, LT. Anyone remember those silk shirts us guys wore for a couple years that were so cool? Yeah, check it.

Who Is That Masked Man?

I'm shamelessly copying an idea my friend Jenn had on her blog, but I thought it was a fun idea, and bored as a get during planning commission meetings, I put together a list of some of my favorite cameos from the movies. I.E., if someone famous/funny/weird just happens to pop up in a film for the hell of it, or if they just have a small part that could have been played by a no-name for a lot less money, they made the cut. These appearances aren't in any particular order, just how they popped into my head. Feel free to critique or copy.

1. Kid Rock as Robby in 'Joe Dirt': "You alright Dirt?" "Yeah man, I'm cool." "No you're not."

2. Steven Seagal as Lt. Colonel Austin Travis in 'Executive Decision': He's in it for like 10 seconds before he gets sucked out of an airplane to his doom. Die, Steven Seagal!

3. Billy Connolly as Uncle Monty in 'Lemony Snickets': Any time Il Duce shows up in a movie, it automatically becomes better. Just look at Last Samurai.

3. John C. Reilly and Liam Neeson in 'Gangs of New York': Pretty much every role in this film is a sweet cameo. But these two were exceptionally sweet.

4. B.B. King as Malvern Gasperon in 'Blues Brothers 2000': Another movie with an ass-ton of cameos. "Blues Brothers band. Hmph." "Bunch a wannabe players." "How good can a mess like that sound anyway?" "Hey man, don't worry - we gonna smoke these turkeys."

5. Brad Dourif as Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings: The voice of Chucky. 'Nuff said.

6. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt in 'The Big Lebowski': "This is our concern, Dude."

7. Gary Busey as the state trooper in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas': "Can I just get a little kiss? I get so lonely out here."

8. Stellan Skarsgård as Cerdic in 'King Arthur': "Kill them all; kill everybody."

9. Rade Serbedzija as the homeless guy in 'Batman Begins': "That's a nice coat."

10. Brendan Gleeson as Reynald in 'Kingdom of Heaven': The most magnificent beard...ever. "I am what I am. Someone has to be."

11. Dennis Hopper as Kaufman in 'Land of the Dead': "Zombies, man. They creep me out."

12. Randy Quaid as Joe Aguirre in 'Brokeback Mountain': "You boys sure found a way to make the time pass up there. Twist, you guys wasn't gettin' paid to leave the dogs babysittin' the sheep while you stem the rose."

13. Ronny James Dio as Ronny James Dio in 'Pick of Destiny': He should have rode in on a chariot spitting flames that set Sasquatches on fire. That's how cool Dio is.

14. Mark Hamill as Cock-knocker in 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back': Sorry, I still am too much of a Star Wars geek not to add him onto this list. Even if he is fighting Jason Mewes with a laser-dildo. "You killed captain clown."

15. Christopher Lee as Mr. Wonka in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory': Man, they're putting him in everything these days. Must be trying to get their money's worth before he croaks.

16. Cloris Leachman as Great Gam Gam in 'Beerfest': "You and I are not so different Mr. Badrinath. I've had all kinds of things shoved up my ass. But I got over it!"

17. Alanis Morissette as God in 'Dogma': Because George Burns never did a hand stand.

18. Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo in 'Kill Bill': Who better to give the bride her sword? "For those regarded as warriors, when engaged in combat the vanquishing of thine enemy can be the warrior's only concern. Suppress all human emotion and compassion. Kill whoever stands in thy way, even if that be Lord God, or Buddha himself. This truth lies at the heart of the art of combat."

19. Henry Winkler as Henry Winkler in 'Little Nicky': Covered in bees!

20. Bill Nighy as Phillip in 'Shaun of the Dead': "Mum, he chased me around the garden with a bit of wood!"

21. Kathy Bates as Roberta Hertzel in 'About Schmidt': You know why. That image will never get out of my head.

22. Andy Serkis as Lumpy in 'King Kong': Not only was he the ape, he was also the ship's cook. And he gets his face bitten off by a giant, uncircumcised penis!

23. Vinny Jones as the Juggernaut in 'X-Men 3': Once again, 'nuff said. Bitch.

24. Hunter Thompson as Hunter Thompson in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas': "There I was... mother of God, there I am!"

25. And finally... Christopher Walken in ANY MOVIE HE'S EVER BEEN IN. There are too many quotes to reference. Instead, I will leave you with an image that says everything.