Friday, October 16, 2009

The Hammer Is My Penis

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Still stoked about the recent developments with Lake Tahoe...but trying not to get too excited...because again, it's a position that doesn't exist yet, at an office that didn't call me back for 6 weeks even after they already offered the position I originally applied for to somebody else, but hey...she did want to talk to me in person. That's a fantastic sign, right? I thought so. More immediately though, I'm also excited about an Ingrid Michaelson concert tomorrow just mere blocks from my house. Remember the first time I went to see Ingrid live? Yeah, me too. Mmm... Well, she's back (probably because she forgot to get my number last time) but her loss is my gain...and I get to listen to her sweet whimsical songs like you would hear on a television drama about teenage angst somewhere...and probably have. If her & Feist were to tour together, I just don't know what I would do...well, probably go to the concert obviously...but you get the idea. Should be a great time...and hopefully JL Clyde will feel better. She's been under the weather the past few days...so send some warm wishes her way, would ya?

Last night, I watched "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion & Felicia Day...and written & directed by Joss Whedon, the King Midas of great television ("Buffy", "Firefly" & "Dollhouse" among others). Basically it's a 44-minute mini-opera musical that was made during the Writer's Strike about two years ago and posted on his blog as a statement or something I guess. I'm going to be honest, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the details of the strike because...well, it wasn't about my paycheck but apparently the internet was still open for expression. The story revolves around a fellow blogging evil genius named Dr Horrible (Harris) who is trying to enter the League of Evil...yet his arch nemesis / superhero Captain Hammer (Fillion) stands in his way. Meanwhile, he also crushes on this hot chick (Day) that he sees at the laundromat (not a billionaire mastermind mogul yet) but can't seem to muster up the courage to talk to her. Well, during one evil mission, he inadvertently introduces her to Captain Hammer, they date...and then it's ON!!! By the way, did I mention it was a musical? Because it is...and you'll be singing along before you know it. I highly recommend it both for its hilarity & towards the end, I actually almost teared up a bit...but then my masculinity kicked in again & I remembered "The Hammer is my Penis" and all was well. Go check it out. Here's a link to the website...and also check out "Commentary! The Musical" where the writers of the show tell you the epic story behind the story...in musical format. Good times. Here's some news...

Boy in the Bubble - So apparently all the crazy stuff happens in Denver AFTER I move back. A 6-year-old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box in his family's garage attic Thursday after being feared aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 50 miles through the sky on live television. The discovery marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family's yard Thursday morning, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly shut down Denver International Airport. But Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference and gave a thumbs up and said 6-year-old Falcon Heene is "at the house." "Apparently he's been there the whole time," he said. The boy's father, Richard Heene, said the family was tinkering with the balloon Thursday and that he scolded Falcon for getting inside a compartment on the craft. He said Falcon's brother had seen him inside the compartment before it took off and that's why they thought he was in there when it launched...but the boy fled to the attic at some point after the scolding and was never in the balloon during its two-hour, 50-mile journey through two counties. "I yelled at him. I'm really sorry I yelled at him," Heene said as he hugged his son during a news conference. His son Falcon said, "I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me. That's why I went in the attic." Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. "That's horrible after the crap we just went through. No." The flying saucer-like craft tipped precariously at times before gliding to the ground in a field. With the child nowhere in sight, investigators searched the balloon's path. Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air, and yellow crime-scene tape was placed around the home. But in the end, the boy apparently was in the garage the whole time, even as investigators scoured the house and neighborhood for any sign of him. Neighbor Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard of the family. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother. "One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air," Licko said. Licko said the boy's mother seemed distraught and that the boy's father was running around the house. The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, where the boys attend, did not have classes for elementary schools Thursday because of a teacher work day. The boys parents are storm chasers who appeared twice in the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," most recently in March. "When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm," according to the show. In a 2007 interview with The Denver Post, Richard Heene described becoming a storm chaser after a tornado ripped off a roof where he was working as a contractor and said he once flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma's perimeter in 2005. Pursuing bad weather was a family activity with the children coming along as the father sought evidence to prove his theory that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields. Although Richard said he has no specialized training, they had a computer tracking system in their car and a special motorcycle (that's really all you need, right?). While the balloon was airborne, Colorado Army National Guard sent a UH-58 Kiowa helicopter and was preparing to send a Black Hawk UH-60 to try to rescue the boy, possibly by lowering someone to the balloon. They also were working with pilots of ultralight aircraft on the possibility of putting weights on the homemade craft to weigh it down. It wasn't immediately clear how much the search operation cost. Capt. Troy Brown said the Black Hawk helicopter was in the air for nearly three hours, and the Kiowa helicopter was airborne for about one hour. The Black Hawk costs about $4,600 an hour to fly, and the Kiowa is $700 an hour, Brown said. Col. Chris Petty, one of the pilots aboard the Black Hawk, said he was thrilled the boy was OK. Asked what he would say to the 6-year-old if he saw him, Petty said: "I'm really glad you're alive, I'm very thankful, but I'd sure like to know the rest of the story." Wouldn't we all...especially after the kid saying it was "all for show" this morning on a few interviews. Very fishy. Also, seriously? The kid's name...is Falcon? Really?

Now, we've all done some crazy stuff as kids. In fact, my mom has told me on many occasions a story about when I was about two years old. She was radiantly pregnant with my brother...and I was nowhere to be found. She searched the house. She searched the yard. She searched the creepiest basement in all of the world. She searched the neighborhood. She called my dad who was on duty. She freaked out. She hopped in the car, drove around the city of Og looking for her two-year-son fearing the worst. She returns home, goes in the house and is crying her eyes out waiting for my dad to come home too. I walk in the front door and see her crying. Where had I been the whole time? Sleeping...in the back of the car that she was driving around. It was a hatchback...so I was in the back-back, not the backseat. What was I doing there? I don't know. I was two. There apparently were a few other scares when I ended up sleeping under the bed...or in the closet...or wherever...but yeah, kids do that stuff. Stories like this (and worse stuff from when my brother & I got older) are why my brother is concerned with his kids...as well he should be...because he was a little hellion...and Vinny is JUST LIKE HIM...and Kairi is a girl, which is even worse (just admit it ladies). However, this story is a little bit fishy. That's all I'm saying. Oh...and keep an eye on your kids...especially if you're swapping wives.

Stunning Your Brother - Since I'm thinking about my brother & the sheer torture that is the future of his parenting life, I think I'll do a smooth transition to the next story...that comes from Ar-Kansas. Authorities said a Vilonia police officer involved in a fracas at a private club in Conway has been taken into custody only after he was Tasered by his own brother...who is a Conway officer. Vilonia officer Jeremy Smith, 32, faces charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Conway police reports say that when Conway officer Lloyd Smith arrived on the scene after midnight Wednesday morning, he found his brother Jeremy resisting arrest by another officer. Lloyd Smith wrote in his report that when his brother continued to "raise his fists as if he was ready to fight, I pointed my Taser at Jeremy and pled with him, 'please don't make me Tase you.'" But Jeremy Smith continued to be uncooperative, according to reports from all three officers on the scene, and was Tasered by his brother, handcuffed and taken to the Faulkner County Jail for 12-hour detox. Classic. Absolutely classic. I can see this being brought up at every family gathering for the next fifty years. "Hey Uncle Jeremy, is that a new tattoo?" "No sweetie, that's where your asshole Uncle Lloyd SHOKED ME!!!" "Dude, you were resisting arrest...and you were totally wasted. I think the only reason that you remember it was me was because of the YouTube video that the guys at the station leaked out." "I'M ON YOUTUBE??? GOD DAMN IT!!!" Then another fracas breaks out all over the turkey dinner. This story really just reminds me of one of the stupidest things I had ever heard in my entire life - "Don't tase me, bro!"

Real Pothead - Police in central Pennsylvania say they've nabbed a real pothead. They said an officer spotted 29-year-old Cesar Lopez inside a convenience store with a bag of marijuana LITERALLY stuck to his forehead. Investigators said Lopez was seen peering inside his baseball cap early Saturday morning in Lebanon, about 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia. When Lopez looked up, the officer noticed a small plastic bag appearing to contain marijuana stuck to his forehead. Police said the officer peeled the bag off Lopez's forehead and placed him under arrest. He has been charged with drug possession. Police do not know whether Lopez has an attorney. Authorities say the sweatband of a baseball cap is a frequent hiding place for drugs. Yeah, just another silly story...and short of having the words "POTHEAD" stamped or tatted on your forehead, this is about as obvious as you're ever going to get.


That'll do it for today. Tomorrow I enjoy the sounds of Ingrid. I'll probably also hear a few stories from Lilie that may or may not be true. See, she tells me that her apartment complex is like an magnet for international superhotties...and apparently she just got a curvy possibly Brazilian neighbor that she's going to introduce me to when I visit next month (pending the whole Tahoe thing). Then again, she refuses to send me pictures...so she may just be trying to convince me to come visit...in the most effective way she knows how. Damn those cunning French ladies! Have a great weekend everybody!!!

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