Here's a disturbing fact of life that I have learned in my life with Kim. If it has anything to do with electronics, video, audio or computers.....the first time we try and get it to work---DOH!! Its like death & taxes....a sure thing.
So our house is finally starting to come back into order, the furniture in the living room is back in place, Kim is able to clean, the dogs aren't stressed out anymore, the new tile looks really nice--and for some reason the television in the living room isn't working. Now, mind you...its a semi-complicated setup. We've got a DVD, a VCR, a Directv system....and a partridge in a pear tree. So naturally Kim (What? You think I'M an electronics whiz? Shaaaa....right!) was meticulous in marking ever single wire behind the television going and coming into various little connections.
She did everything. So....because we're the Bowdren's...and nothing ever works right the first time....it didn't work. So we have to go into the bedroom, and pull out our bedroom t.v., disconnect that and bring that into the living room. So right now we have one television set sitting right in front of the other one. Its so totally redneck. I guess pretty soon we'll start having the cars up on blocks, bunch o three dogs running around (WHOOPS!) and a cousin named Lurlene or something.
Anyway, later in the day we went to the dreaded and mysterious Wal-Mart to go....in search of.....floor rugs. Now explain this to me. We have these guys come out to the house, they rip up our carpet...spend 2 to 3 days installing a tile floor in my living room....we've reconfigured the whole living room....and now the wife wants to buy a rug? DOH! Oh, I'm sorry....its to reduce the echo. I forgot.
I personally have been enjoying that holiest of all seasons....college football bowl season. Yesterday, I was very impressed by the Navy win over New Mexico State.
Did anyone else see that freakin drive in the 4th quarter? 26 plays, 14 1/2 minutes.
Unbelieveable. Navy coach Paul Johnson is one heck of a coach....the academy needs to lock his ass up into a LONGTERM contract. Also enjoyed watching the Louisville-Boise State game (that which I got to see when I wasn't "relocating" furniture back into the living room) where they combined for like....147 points or something...pretty exciting.
Well, loyal reader....the end of 2004 has reached us. I appreciate your loyal reading, because, let's face it....you live for my discomfort and annoyance, don't you?
All the best to everyone in 2005....and let's hope those Notre Dame Fighting Irish turn the ship around and starts playing some ND football!
That, and, of course...the Minnesota Vikings only have to beat the 5-10 Washington Redskins to secure a playoff spot. Its in their hands. They don't need any help. Just win. So naturally---they'll lose. I'm convinced. I'll complain later this weekend.
Later,
Jeff
Friday, December 31, 2004
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
12/29/04--Our house is in an uproar
Well, the guys showed up to put in the tile in our living room. All of our living room furniture is in the kitchen, the dogs have become emotionally distraught, there's dust everywhere, Kim's freakin....and me? Hell, I put our lounge chair in the bedroom, so I'm doing okay. You know what I love about guys doing work on your house?
They start working in the living room, they've ripped up the rug....broken all the tiles...and then....
"Uh, Mr. Bowdren....I need to speak to you about something."
"What's that?"
"Well....we've encountered a bit of a problem. It will entail ADDITIONAL fees."
Naturally.
$300 later, their filling in the cracks in my floor and "leveling" the floor also.
My wife better enjoy this damn tile.
So yesterday I went in for a checkup. It was a little different than usual, because of the death of Reggie White the other day. Once they mentioned that sleep apnea could've played a part of it, the alarm went off in Castleberry, Florida and the emails started coming in from Mom & Dad. So I go in for the checkup, and the doc is happy to tell me that, even though the blood pressure was up a little (but not bad enough to put me on medication)....my cholestral was down almost 65 points!
Hey now! Let's go out for some BBQ!! And then the doctor informed me that Reggie White did NOT die from sleep apnea. He died from a respitory condition that is predominate in black males. Ahem. Sorry, I don't qualify. So I gotta look into the whole sleep study thing again probably, but for now the doctor seemed like he was pretty happy with how I was doing. Twisted steel & sex appeal baby!
So tonight we had dinner with Dennis & Lori Wiley, who were down visiting from Maryland. We called for reservations at DiSalvo's about 5:30pm.....7 people for 7pm. So we get there about 6:55pm...and we're informed that there will be a slight delay. So about 15 minutes later, I go inside to check on our table (remember, we had a 7pm reservation). I asked the hostess (way in over her head by the way) when our table might be available, since we were waiting outside and it was a little chilly.
"Um...I really don't know."
"Uh, we did have a reservation...."
"Let me find out for you."
So then she goes over and speaks to the manager in the proverbial "hushed tones".
"Uh...about 25 or 30 minutes?"
It was about that time we decided to go to a DIFFERENT restaurant. So here's my questions....why do you friggin take a reservation if you have no intention of honoring it? If that sounds like a Seinfeld episode, it was.
So then we make our way down to the dreaded Roadhouse, had a very nice dinner
and enjoyed the visit. DiSalvo's will be getting a very nasty phone call tomorrow.
Possibly more details will be forthcoming. I personally can't wait to hear the excuse.
Finally, the Fighting Irish finished their season last evening. It would've been nice for the guys to go out and, as they promised, go out and win one for their former coach.
Uh...well....didn't quite work that way. They went down 38-21 to Oregon State.
OREGON STATE! I mean, c'mon....I know that the Fighting Beavers have improved dramatically over the last 5 years, but their still OREGON STATE!
And now this makes 2 times in the last 4 years that they have flat out kicked our asses! The game in a lot of ways was a microcosism of the team under Willingham.
Dreadful, horrible pass defense...I mean...I'm talking are any of those DB's actually on scholarship--type of pass defense. WOW! The run defense was very solid, which is not a stunning development considering how awful the pass defense was.
Let's hope Charlie Weis hires one hell of a defensive backfield coach. The offense showed its usual brief glimpse that it could be something special. Brady Quinn really needs to work with a good QB coach (Cutcliffe?) and if he does could be quite good. Considering that the Irish were playing without 2 of their 3 best WR's, the pass offense was actually pretty decent. The rushing offense? It was like "let's run it once into the middle...uh...that didn't work....okay, let's try something else." There didn't seem to be any sort of commitment at all to the running game. It was the final game of Ryan Grant and his slow, plodding runs right into the back of his o-line.
Farewell to Mike Goolsby, a solid inside LB. Let's hope for a return from potential all everything DE Justin Tuck--who has one more season of eligibility and hopefully will take it.
The Charlie Weis era is set to begin, as word has it that a big recruiting weekend is set for 1/7/05, with Charlie in South Bend. Spring practice can't come soon enough.
At this point, I'll settle for just a little consistency.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, December 27, 2004
12/27/04--Its like waiting for the cable guy
So today my entire day has centered around waiting for this contractor to come and give us an estimate on some work we need done on our bathroom that was damaged during one of the hurricanes. (Who remembers which one? Weren't there like 20 this year?) Anyway, he was supposed to come between 9am & 10am. I get a phone call around 9:50am saying there was some sort of an emergency and he won't be able to make it until around 12pm. Which was a little over 2 hours ago, and you've probably figured out....he's not here yet. Hence the title of today's column. Remember how the cable guy would come to your house and they would give you some sort of a window like "he'll be there between 8am & 2pm". Just enough to totally fuck you day. We're having to due this because our home owners insurance company apparently thinks that contractors are currently being paid minimum wage. The sent us back their evaluation saying that (no lie here) knocking out the drywall in our bathroom, disposing of it and then putting in new drywall will cost--about $8. Yeah, right. If we were still living in the 30's. I was telling my neighbor Sal about that (he works for a contractor) and he laughed.
"Most contractors I know won't even get out of their car for less than $150."
My point exactly.
So I managed to catch a few movies over the weekend. Here are my thoughts:
1) The Fog of War--this is not for everyone. Okay, its not for just about everybody. But, for those of you who are interested in U.S. history, and who can watch a documentary without immediately thinking BORING!, you'll find this to be a really interesting, oftend fascinating look back at the U.S. war effort in WW II & in Vietnam, through this interview with former secretary of defense Robert McNamara.
McNamara is perhaps best known for his role in Vietnam, and at the time was vilified by anti-war activists as the person who was most responsible for keeping american troops in southeast Asia. However, I found especially compelling his thoughts on WW II, particularly his comments on what the U.S. was doing BEFORE the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
"I felt if we lost the war that I could be tried as a war criminal."
I'm sorry, but that is powerful stuff, and if you really want to try something a little out of the ordinary--watch this film. No matter if your a democrat or a republican, it is one fascinating look at a recent chapter in U.S. history as told by someone who was there. ****1/2
2) Orange County--when this little teen comedy came out, it was primarily in the news because the star of the film was Tom Hanks' son Colin, and his co-star was Schulyer Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek. Its got more to it than that. This is a pleasant diversion for 90 minutes or so, a step above the ususal teen summer fare, with Hanks trying to do everything he can to get into Stanford. Some funny moments from a stellar supporting cast, including Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, Lily Tomlin, Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase & an uncredited Kevin Kline. Fisk in particular really shines, and shows real star potential. ***
3) Black Cadillac--here's a neat little gem that I stumbled upon late one night.
Here's the premise: 3 friends, on the way back home on a school break, stop at a roadside bar and get mixed up with some of the locals. Soon after, they begin to notice that they're being stalked by a ominous looking black car (the title...get it?).
Nobody in the cast that you'd recognize, except Randy Quaid, who has a small part as the town's sheriff....but this is a pretty neat little thriller in the mold of JoyRide & the superior Kurt Russell film "Breakdown". On a smaller scale, this is a pretty good little thrillride all of its own. ***1/2
Later,
Jeff
"Most contractors I know won't even get out of their car for less than $150."
My point exactly.
So I managed to catch a few movies over the weekend. Here are my thoughts:
1) The Fog of War--this is not for everyone. Okay, its not for just about everybody. But, for those of you who are interested in U.S. history, and who can watch a documentary without immediately thinking BORING!, you'll find this to be a really interesting, oftend fascinating look back at the U.S. war effort in WW II & in Vietnam, through this interview with former secretary of defense Robert McNamara.
McNamara is perhaps best known for his role in Vietnam, and at the time was vilified by anti-war activists as the person who was most responsible for keeping american troops in southeast Asia. However, I found especially compelling his thoughts on WW II, particularly his comments on what the U.S. was doing BEFORE the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
"I felt if we lost the war that I could be tried as a war criminal."
I'm sorry, but that is powerful stuff, and if you really want to try something a little out of the ordinary--watch this film. No matter if your a democrat or a republican, it is one fascinating look at a recent chapter in U.S. history as told by someone who was there. ****1/2
2) Orange County--when this little teen comedy came out, it was primarily in the news because the star of the film was Tom Hanks' son Colin, and his co-star was Schulyer Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek. Its got more to it than that. This is a pleasant diversion for 90 minutes or so, a step above the ususal teen summer fare, with Hanks trying to do everything he can to get into Stanford. Some funny moments from a stellar supporting cast, including Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, Lily Tomlin, Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase & an uncredited Kevin Kline. Fisk in particular really shines, and shows real star potential. ***
3) Black Cadillac--here's a neat little gem that I stumbled upon late one night.
Here's the premise: 3 friends, on the way back home on a school break, stop at a roadside bar and get mixed up with some of the locals. Soon after, they begin to notice that they're being stalked by a ominous looking black car (the title...get it?).
Nobody in the cast that you'd recognize, except Randy Quaid, who has a small part as the town's sheriff....but this is a pretty neat little thriller in the mold of JoyRide & the superior Kurt Russell film "Breakdown". On a smaller scale, this is a pretty good little thrillride all of its own. ***1/2
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, December 25, 2004
12/25/05--Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
Well, obviously we'll start off with a big holiday wish for all of my lovely readers.
Here's a wish that Santa brought you everything you wanted.
Santa was good for me this year, unless you count the debacle on the t.v. yesterday where the Vikings managed (YET AGAIN) to choke away a game they should've won. Let's just say that I'm slightly ashamed to say that I did a little cursing on Christmas Eve when I saw the score. I mean, ya go to church for the Christmas service. You sing the holiday songs...and my team still loses! I'm totally bumfuzzled
by this turn of events.
It being the holiday and all, I thought I'd give the movie fans in my readership a list
of the top 5 Christmas movies of alltime:
5) Scrooged--Bill Murray is in rare form in this takeoff on "A Christmas Carol".
Lots of good inside jabs at commercialization, television & the real meaning of Christmas. Its no Groundhog Day, but its certainly good.
4) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation---its hard to believe that Chevy Chase, seemingly so long ago, used to make pretty good movies. The always delicious Beveryly D'Angelo returns as his long suffering wife and there's a good supporting cast including Randy Quaid & an almost unrecognizeable Julia Louis-Dreyfus (pre-Seinfeld).
3) Miracle on 34th Street--the original, with Natalie Wood as the little girl, Edmund Gwynn as the kindly old man who may or may not really be Santa and stellar support from John Payne & Maureen O'Hara (looking way better than an Irish broad has any right too). Its the familar story about a man who thinks he's Santa Claus, and the way that society (and particularly the good folks at Macy's department store) react to him. A great story for the whole family.
2) Its a Wonderful Life--James Stewart's career defining role as the man who is given the chance, through a little "angelic assistance" to see what life would've been like if he had never lived. Donna Reed is his wife & a stellar cast includes Thomas Mitchell & Lionel Barrymore as the rich old miser--the role model for Mr. Burns on the Simpson's perhaps? Good stuff and a guaranteed sniffle-fest.
1) A Christmas Story--much like the film at # 2, this film was completely unappreciated when it was first released in 1982. The film's director's previous work was Porky's for God's sake--who knew that he had it in him to make such a great movie? Peter Billingsly was forever typecast as Ralphie, the little boy in Indiana circa 1947 who only wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, and is willing to scheme, plan and conive until he gets one. A really funny look back at growing up, complete with a great set of parents, played by Melinda Dillon and a never better Darren McGavin, one of the most underrated actors ever.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Jeff
Thursday, December 23, 2004
12/23/04--Happy Festivus!
Today is Festivus--and tradition dictates that we shall begin with "the airing of grievances"....and also to detail how you've let me down. Well, actually since my site went over 1000 hits yesterday, I mention anyone letting me down....but if I wanted to air grievances I might mention that the Vikings better not let me down this year the way they did last season. UGH. Huge game tomorrow vs. the Packers and its all on the men in purple and gold. Win, and their in. With Terrell Owens being down for the count--the NFC playoffs just got a little more wide open.
If the Vikes can get in, they've got just as much a chance as anyone else.
So last night we were out eating and doing a little bit of shopping. We're driving home and I hear the little pisspot right behind me singing along with the radio. The thing that was so interesting was that the song was "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. Total early 80's pop rock, and here's my daughter knowing the words.
I was very impressed and told her that there might be hope for her musical taste afterall.
So we get home, and I decide it might be a good night for a movie. The other evening at dinner Kellie informed me that she wanted to see a movie that is coming out soon called "The Darkness" or something like that. Basically her first horror movie. Now, I totally realize what a horrible idea this would be, because Kellie is afraid of a spiders web, much less the actual spider. So I make her a deal. I told her that I was going to show her a movie preview, and if she liked the way it looked, we would sit and watch the movie and if she made it through the film, I would let her go see "The Darkness". So she sits down and I pop in my DVD for "The Exorcist".
Two minutes later, she's decided that she's not in such a rush to see "The Darkness" afterall. I tell ya, I'm a regular Ward Cleaver. The point was made.....and then afterwards, we all set down and watched "Blade". Which is about....vampires.
Its all about the effective parenting folks.
Continuing our DVD reviews....here's a couple more:
1) Blade--so we sat and watched this one last night. The kids liked it because of the action scenes. Wesley Snipes is Blade, half man-half vampire. He is known by the vampires as "the daywalker", because he's the only one of their kind who has the ability to walk in the direct sunlight. He hunts the vampires at night, and is joined in his struggle by his parental figure Whistler (a mumbling Kris Kristopherson) and a young doctor who is bitten by accident (as fate would have it...she's a doctor who specializes in treating blood diseases---what are the odds?). There's some great fight scenes, a terrific swordfight between Snipes and leader-of-the-vampires Stephen Dorff (who seems to be having a terrific time playing the bad guy), and of course the usual scenes with blood and lots of it. The whole story is based on a Marvel comic book, and it has that comic book feel to it--and I'm not saying that as a negative just for the record--this isn't a great "film"....but its a fun "movie". I also liked Donal Logue as Dorff's head lackey, who keeps losing body parts. Very funny stuff which lightens the mood when its called for. ****
2) Bullitt--there is only one "King of Cool", and his name was Steve McQueen.
Steverino reached his apex in this very good, very gritty police drama, playing a cop who "doesn't play by the rules". Sure that's pretty routine stuff now, but back in 1968 when this movie was released, it was fairly cutting edge. A terrific supporting cast includes Jacqueline Bissett, Robert Vaughn & the always underrated Simon Oakland. And no matter what anyone tells you--this movie is the one that has the car chase that all others are compared too. You've seen the ones in French Connection, The 7-Ups, Ronin & the Road Warrior--but the one in this film that careens through the streets of San Francisco with McQueen and his badass Mustang chasing a couple of hitmen from out of town is the stuff of legends. This film is a mustsee for any "guy". There will be a quiz at the end of your life, and some of the questions may involve the car chase in this movie. Terrific! ****1/2
Later,
Jeff
If the Vikes can get in, they've got just as much a chance as anyone else.
So last night we were out eating and doing a little bit of shopping. We're driving home and I hear the little pisspot right behind me singing along with the radio. The thing that was so interesting was that the song was "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. Total early 80's pop rock, and here's my daughter knowing the words.
I was very impressed and told her that there might be hope for her musical taste afterall.
So we get home, and I decide it might be a good night for a movie. The other evening at dinner Kellie informed me that she wanted to see a movie that is coming out soon called "The Darkness" or something like that. Basically her first horror movie. Now, I totally realize what a horrible idea this would be, because Kellie is afraid of a spiders web, much less the actual spider. So I make her a deal. I told her that I was going to show her a movie preview, and if she liked the way it looked, we would sit and watch the movie and if she made it through the film, I would let her go see "The Darkness". So she sits down and I pop in my DVD for "The Exorcist".
Two minutes later, she's decided that she's not in such a rush to see "The Darkness" afterall. I tell ya, I'm a regular Ward Cleaver. The point was made.....and then afterwards, we all set down and watched "Blade". Which is about....vampires.
Its all about the effective parenting folks.
Continuing our DVD reviews....here's a couple more:
1) Blade--so we sat and watched this one last night. The kids liked it because of the action scenes. Wesley Snipes is Blade, half man-half vampire. He is known by the vampires as "the daywalker", because he's the only one of their kind who has the ability to walk in the direct sunlight. He hunts the vampires at night, and is joined in his struggle by his parental figure Whistler (a mumbling Kris Kristopherson) and a young doctor who is bitten by accident (as fate would have it...she's a doctor who specializes in treating blood diseases---what are the odds?). There's some great fight scenes, a terrific swordfight between Snipes and leader-of-the-vampires Stephen Dorff (who seems to be having a terrific time playing the bad guy), and of course the usual scenes with blood and lots of it. The whole story is based on a Marvel comic book, and it has that comic book feel to it--and I'm not saying that as a negative just for the record--this isn't a great "film"....but its a fun "movie". I also liked Donal Logue as Dorff's head lackey, who keeps losing body parts. Very funny stuff which lightens the mood when its called for. ****
2) Bullitt--there is only one "King of Cool", and his name was Steve McQueen.
Steverino reached his apex in this very good, very gritty police drama, playing a cop who "doesn't play by the rules". Sure that's pretty routine stuff now, but back in 1968 when this movie was released, it was fairly cutting edge. A terrific supporting cast includes Jacqueline Bissett, Robert Vaughn & the always underrated Simon Oakland. And no matter what anyone tells you--this movie is the one that has the car chase that all others are compared too. You've seen the ones in French Connection, The 7-Ups, Ronin & the Road Warrior--but the one in this film that careens through the streets of San Francisco with McQueen and his badass Mustang chasing a couple of hitmen from out of town is the stuff of legends. This film is a mustsee for any "guy". There will be a quiz at the end of your life, and some of the questions may involve the car chase in this movie. Terrific! ****1/2
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
12/22/04--Tales of German defendants--ACHTUNG!
You can't make stuff like this up. It was right out of a sitcom. We're in court yesterday getting ready to take a plea on this guy named Bernd, very German, who was getting ready to plead out a battery charge. The case had been lingering in our division for almost 2 years and the state attorney's were having trouble finding the victims, and because of that were offering a fairly lenient plea offer. The guy was not going to be convicted and have to do some community service but no probation.
So the judge is going through the plea and the defendant, resplendant in his ponytail, was standing there with this vaguely cocky look on his face. So the judge states that there shouldn't be any contact with the victims in the case and asks what their names were. So the state attorney tells her, and the judge reads the names into the record.
Meanwhile, "in the box" (in custody defendants), a defendant screams out the names of the victims that the judge has just stated...it went something like this....
"Those are the victims names? What a minute! That's my wife and son! Hey! You're the son of a bitch who beat up my wife and slammed my kid into a wall!
Judge, this guy was a crackhead who broke into my house and beat up my wife!
The state attorney looks at the judge and says...
"Well, that would explain why I was having trouble contacting my witnesses judge.
One of them was in jail."
So the judge reschedules the plea and allows the state to bring in the victims.
The defendant is standing there, with his proverbial dick in the dirt and turns to move back to his seat when the in custody guy speaks.
"Bad day for you, huh bro?"
The defense attorney walks over to me and says...
"Well, that was sure lucky timing on my defendants part, huh?"
Hilarious.
Then, today, we were down to our last defendant of the day, an unrepresented guy named "Sascha" (again, I can't make this shit up). Well, old Sascha approached with quite the attitude and informed the judge that he didn't even know why he was here.
"Well," the judge explained, "you're here because you've been charged with a crime."
"But I didn't do anything. So I don't think I should have to be here."
"Quit saying that! You live in our country so you live by our rules. Have you thought about hiring an attorney?"
"I don't trust anyone to represent me."
"Well, what would happen for example if your toilet was broke. Who would you call for that?"
"I would have a friend come fix it."
"Okay, follow me here. If your car was broke, who would you hire to fix it.?"
"I would ask my friends to tell me the name of someone."
"Why can't you do that for a lawyer?"
"I don't trust lawyers."
"But don't they have judges in your native country?"
"Well yes, but I still don't think I should have to be here....I didn't do anything."
"Well, according to the police report, you got mad because a security guard at the gate to your complex wouldn't let someone through and then you came down to his guardhouse and punched him."
"That's not true. He wouldn't let someone in, so, of course I yelled at him. He works for me!"
"But you can't hit him!"
"But he works for me!"
"Come back after the New Year and be ready for trial sir."
"But why do I have to come here.....I didn't do anything....I shouldn't have to come."
"Quit saying that! If you say that again I'm going to have you removed from my courtroom."
"I'm sorry...I thought this was a place for justice."
Sascha. He drove a silver Porsche up to the gatehouse and opened up some whoopass on some poor security guard because the guard wouldn't let a truck deliver HIS NEW LIMO.
Ugh.
In the words of the immortal John Banner:
"I know nothing.....NOTHING!"
Later,
Jeff
So the judge is going through the plea and the defendant, resplendant in his ponytail, was standing there with this vaguely cocky look on his face. So the judge states that there shouldn't be any contact with the victims in the case and asks what their names were. So the state attorney tells her, and the judge reads the names into the record.
Meanwhile, "in the box" (in custody defendants), a defendant screams out the names of the victims that the judge has just stated...it went something like this....
"Those are the victims names? What a minute! That's my wife and son! Hey! You're the son of a bitch who beat up my wife and slammed my kid into a wall!
Judge, this guy was a crackhead who broke into my house and beat up my wife!
The state attorney looks at the judge and says...
"Well, that would explain why I was having trouble contacting my witnesses judge.
One of them was in jail."
So the judge reschedules the plea and allows the state to bring in the victims.
The defendant is standing there, with his proverbial dick in the dirt and turns to move back to his seat when the in custody guy speaks.
"Bad day for you, huh bro?"
The defense attorney walks over to me and says...
"Well, that was sure lucky timing on my defendants part, huh?"
Hilarious.
Then, today, we were down to our last defendant of the day, an unrepresented guy named "Sascha" (again, I can't make this shit up). Well, old Sascha approached with quite the attitude and informed the judge that he didn't even know why he was here.
"Well," the judge explained, "you're here because you've been charged with a crime."
"But I didn't do anything. So I don't think I should have to be here."
"Quit saying that! You live in our country so you live by our rules. Have you thought about hiring an attorney?"
"I don't trust anyone to represent me."
"Well, what would happen for example if your toilet was broke. Who would you call for that?"
"I would have a friend come fix it."
"Okay, follow me here. If your car was broke, who would you hire to fix it.?"
"I would ask my friends to tell me the name of someone."
"Why can't you do that for a lawyer?"
"I don't trust lawyers."
"But don't they have judges in your native country?"
"Well yes, but I still don't think I should have to be here....I didn't do anything."
"Well, according to the police report, you got mad because a security guard at the gate to your complex wouldn't let someone through and then you came down to his guardhouse and punched him."
"That's not true. He wouldn't let someone in, so, of course I yelled at him. He works for me!"
"But you can't hit him!"
"But he works for me!"
"Come back after the New Year and be ready for trial sir."
"But why do I have to come here.....I didn't do anything....I shouldn't have to come."
"Quit saying that! If you say that again I'm going to have you removed from my courtroom."
"I'm sorry...I thought this was a place for justice."
Sascha. He drove a silver Porsche up to the gatehouse and opened up some whoopass on some poor security guard because the guard wouldn't let a truck deliver HIS NEW LIMO.
Ugh.
In the words of the immortal John Banner:
"I know nothing.....NOTHING!"
Later,
Jeff
Monday, December 20, 2004
12/20/04--turning into my Dad--again
So we're getting ready for church yesterday (we went down to the Triple Rock for some "churching up"---okay, show of hands for those of you who know what movie that reference is from) and I look at my 12 yr old daughters outfit.
"What's with that outfit? You trying to show some boo-tay?"
"Very funny."
"I'm not trying to be funny. That shirt is too short to be worn with that skirt."
So then when we get to the church, we're walking in and I throw a little commentary towards the wife's direction.
"That shirt is way too short for her to be wearing. Look at that, she has to keep pulling it down. You can practically see her butt."
And then it hit me. DOH! That little bit of Larry Bowdren that remains with me--always--popped up for a visit. I am my fathers son.
Later that day we went to see Andy play soccer. Now usually, to be perfectly candid here, he's a fairly average player. He doesn't suck, but he's not going to be all county either. To quote new Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis:
"It is what it is."
Well for whatever reason, the spirit of Pele & David Beckham was inside Andy on this day. He played like a freakin whirlwind. He got his first point in league play on a nice assist, and had two shots on goal that were either wide or blocked. Even the kids on the bench (undoubtably the harshest critics) were commenting.
"Hey man...what's with Andy today?"
So his team is winning 4-1, and there's like a minute left to go in the game, and Andy makes a great play to dribble it between 3 defenders and starts heading for the other teams end of the field, pretty much just trying to run out the clock--all of a sudden he's nailed from behind by the other teams defender and sent sprawling. He's laying on the field, apparently crippled or maimed (sports sarcasm). Kim & I have begun to pack up our folding chairs because the game is about to end. She has her back to the field when the play happens and another mother says to her...
"Um...I think your son might be hurt."
"Naa, he's just milking the injury so the ref will give the other guy a yellow card."
(This moment of rare maternal concern brought to you by Kimberly Bowdren)
So Andy comes hobbling back to the sidelines, taken out of the game and I see him almost about ready to.....
Cry.
DOH!
"Grit your teeth and suck it up. You're not 9 yrs old anymore and you will live."
We headed home from the game and I held up Andy to talk to him. I told him that if he was truly hurt and needed to cry, to wait until he got off the field away from the opposing team.
"Do not give the other team the satisfaction of seeing you cry. You are 15 yrs old and they will take that as a sign of weakness and will be pushing you down every chance they get to see if they can make you cry again. I'm not saying it didn't hurt.
Just don't let them see that it hurt you."
Little bit of Vince Lombardi mixed with Larry Bowdren never hurt anyone.
And then, as we're walking in....another traumatic moment in my life. I looked at my son....and saw.....(gulp).....a wisp of a 15 yr old moustache beginning. Oh good Lord. Stay with me on this one.
Later,
jeff
"What's with that outfit? You trying to show some boo-tay?"
"Very funny."
"I'm not trying to be funny. That shirt is too short to be worn with that skirt."
So then when we get to the church, we're walking in and I throw a little commentary towards the wife's direction.
"That shirt is way too short for her to be wearing. Look at that, she has to keep pulling it down. You can practically see her butt."
And then it hit me. DOH! That little bit of Larry Bowdren that remains with me--always--popped up for a visit. I am my fathers son.
Later that day we went to see Andy play soccer. Now usually, to be perfectly candid here, he's a fairly average player. He doesn't suck, but he's not going to be all county either. To quote new Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis:
"It is what it is."
Well for whatever reason, the spirit of Pele & David Beckham was inside Andy on this day. He played like a freakin whirlwind. He got his first point in league play on a nice assist, and had two shots on goal that were either wide or blocked. Even the kids on the bench (undoubtably the harshest critics) were commenting.
"Hey man...what's with Andy today?"
So his team is winning 4-1, and there's like a minute left to go in the game, and Andy makes a great play to dribble it between 3 defenders and starts heading for the other teams end of the field, pretty much just trying to run out the clock--all of a sudden he's nailed from behind by the other teams defender and sent sprawling. He's laying on the field, apparently crippled or maimed (sports sarcasm). Kim & I have begun to pack up our folding chairs because the game is about to end. She has her back to the field when the play happens and another mother says to her...
"Um...I think your son might be hurt."
"Naa, he's just milking the injury so the ref will give the other guy a yellow card."
(This moment of rare maternal concern brought to you by Kimberly Bowdren)
So Andy comes hobbling back to the sidelines, taken out of the game and I see him almost about ready to.....
Cry.
DOH!
"Grit your teeth and suck it up. You're not 9 yrs old anymore and you will live."
We headed home from the game and I held up Andy to talk to him. I told him that if he was truly hurt and needed to cry, to wait until he got off the field away from the opposing team.
"Do not give the other team the satisfaction of seeing you cry. You are 15 yrs old and they will take that as a sign of weakness and will be pushing you down every chance they get to see if they can make you cry again. I'm not saying it didn't hurt.
Just don't let them see that it hurt you."
Little bit of Vince Lombardi mixed with Larry Bowdren never hurt anyone.
And then, as we're walking in....another traumatic moment in my life. I looked at my son....and saw.....(gulp).....a wisp of a 15 yr old moustache beginning. Oh good Lord. Stay with me on this one.
Later,
jeff
Saturday, December 18, 2004
12/18/04---as I was saying
I had mentioned the week that was. Some rather interesting things going on along the home front. First of all, I'd been trying to decide what to get Kim for a Christmas present. Finally she got a brochure for a conference that's being held in Philadelphia in March and told me,
"If you wanna know what to get me for Christmas....here it is."
Zero shopping. A trip to Philadelphia with her. I can deal with that.
Of course...there's always a catch. So last weekend she tells me that she wants to "go out and look at some carpet for the bedrooms". Yeah, right. Next thing I know we're setting up appointments for the good folks at Home Depot to come measure our rooms and give us an estimate. Thats after, naturally, we visit Pino Tile to figure out what we want to do with the living room. I think it would've been easier to get her jewelry like the women at work suggested because now I've got guys coming to my house to rip up my living room--during my vacation of course. We went to the judge's holiday soiree and the big surprise was that no one got shitfaced this year.
The usual tasteful affair.
Some of the people at work decided that for Christmas it would be a nice idea to help one of our own, a woman who's in a lot of financial difficulty because of a sick mother and paying for her kids education. The woman has to take the bus to work because her car is in such rough shape. Well, all tolled they collected $560 for the woman, who was absolutely overwhelmed--and that was before another employee GAVE her one of their spare cars. Christmas spirit coming through.
I mentioned that I have quite a bit of credit card debt if anyone wanted to donate.
On the courtroom front...there was a trial going on this week that was so sick and twisted that...sit down on this one....even Channel 7 didn't want to cover it! It involved this guy who was a crackhead who committed a sexual battery--on his mom. And I don't know quite how to say this, but it wasn't just a rape. He decided to really put on a show apparently. It was one of those things where when you tell people about it, they say...."uh, I don't wanna hear no more". Seriously twisted.
The guy gets convicted and then he starts crying. I hope he's not expecting to be consoled by his mother.
Haven't done any DVD reviews in a week or so, so let's do that. Once again, I'm doing an alphabetical review of my personal collection of DVD's and we're up to the "B's". Today we look at:
1) The Blues Brothers--I may have seen this movie more than any other movie in my life. Its one of those movies where you memorize all the lines, all the subtle gestures and when you say one in the company of a group of guys, everyone knows what movie your referring too. You probably know the plot. John Belushi & Dan Ackroyd were at their zenith as a couple of nair-do-well brothers who are attempting to raise money to pay the taxes for the church that they were raised in.
They attempt to do this by getting their old band back together and playing a concert. Their adventures in this attempt, both in resurrecting the band and trying to find a venue, is the basis of the story. Great music, more cameos than you can shake a stick at...including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Steven Spielberg, Cab Calloway and many others. Its loud, slightly obnoxious...and hilarious. In other words, its a lot like Belushi. The soundtrack is awesome. ****1/4
2) Bound--unquestionably the greatest lesbo-mob ripoff movie ever made. Jennifer Tilly & Gina Gershon come close to melting the lens on the filmmakers cameras in a few scenes. The film is about two women, who are quite a bit smarter than the men in the movie give them credit for, who decide that their life would be a whole lot easier if they an unlimited supply of money (a philosphy I happen to agree with).
They set out to rob Tilly's boyfriend, played by the always terrific Joe "Joey Pants"
Pantaliano. Its a great caper flick, made even better by the presence of the never better performances by Tilly & Gershon. Smoking hot. ****1/4
Later,
Jeff
"If you wanna know what to get me for Christmas....here it is."
Zero shopping. A trip to Philadelphia with her. I can deal with that.
Of course...there's always a catch. So last weekend she tells me that she wants to "go out and look at some carpet for the bedrooms". Yeah, right. Next thing I know we're setting up appointments for the good folks at Home Depot to come measure our rooms and give us an estimate. Thats after, naturally, we visit Pino Tile to figure out what we want to do with the living room. I think it would've been easier to get her jewelry like the women at work suggested because now I've got guys coming to my house to rip up my living room--during my vacation of course. We went to the judge's holiday soiree and the big surprise was that no one got shitfaced this year.
The usual tasteful affair.
Some of the people at work decided that for Christmas it would be a nice idea to help one of our own, a woman who's in a lot of financial difficulty because of a sick mother and paying for her kids education. The woman has to take the bus to work because her car is in such rough shape. Well, all tolled they collected $560 for the woman, who was absolutely overwhelmed--and that was before another employee GAVE her one of their spare cars. Christmas spirit coming through.
I mentioned that I have quite a bit of credit card debt if anyone wanted to donate.
On the courtroom front...there was a trial going on this week that was so sick and twisted that...sit down on this one....even Channel 7 didn't want to cover it! It involved this guy who was a crackhead who committed a sexual battery--on his mom. And I don't know quite how to say this, but it wasn't just a rape. He decided to really put on a show apparently. It was one of those things where when you tell people about it, they say...."uh, I don't wanna hear no more". Seriously twisted.
The guy gets convicted and then he starts crying. I hope he's not expecting to be consoled by his mother.
Haven't done any DVD reviews in a week or so, so let's do that. Once again, I'm doing an alphabetical review of my personal collection of DVD's and we're up to the "B's". Today we look at:
1) The Blues Brothers--I may have seen this movie more than any other movie in my life. Its one of those movies where you memorize all the lines, all the subtle gestures and when you say one in the company of a group of guys, everyone knows what movie your referring too. You probably know the plot. John Belushi & Dan Ackroyd were at their zenith as a couple of nair-do-well brothers who are attempting to raise money to pay the taxes for the church that they were raised in.
They attempt to do this by getting their old band back together and playing a concert. Their adventures in this attempt, both in resurrecting the band and trying to find a venue, is the basis of the story. Great music, more cameos than you can shake a stick at...including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Steven Spielberg, Cab Calloway and many others. Its loud, slightly obnoxious...and hilarious. In other words, its a lot like Belushi. The soundtrack is awesome. ****1/4
2) Bound--unquestionably the greatest lesbo-mob ripoff movie ever made. Jennifer Tilly & Gina Gershon come close to melting the lens on the filmmakers cameras in a few scenes. The film is about two women, who are quite a bit smarter than the men in the movie give them credit for, who decide that their life would be a whole lot easier if they an unlimited supply of money (a philosphy I happen to agree with).
They set out to rob Tilly's boyfriend, played by the always terrific Joe "Joey Pants"
Pantaliano. Its a great caper flick, made even better by the presence of the never better performances by Tilly & Gershon. Smoking hot. ****1/4
Later,
Jeff
Thursday, December 16, 2004
12/16/04---Its been an interesting week--but wait, there's more!
Its been an interesting week, which I realized today, but I was chastised today for failing to finish the story about the former girlfriend---hey, ya know...God forbid I should try an enlighten you people with some culture regarding the great actor John Cusack!
So my birthday is approaching and I know something is amiss. After checking with my friend Nance, I find out that Kimberly is planning a surprise visit to celebrate my b-day. So Nance invites me out to Alexander's, where they have a delicious mashed potatoes by the way, and I sit at the table playing stupid--no jokes thank you--and Kimberly walks in while I play stunned and amazed. So we basically spend the evening together and have a wonderful time. Now, at this point, I have to say that I was pretty much....totally in love. Or...maybe it was the whole infatuation thing. Or maybe it was the idea of loving being in love. (Okay, okay--I'm going all Doctor Phil on you here) I loved telling someone that I loved them and having them tell me back (don't laugh---Mrs Me # 2 didn't like doing that). We came back to my apartment and prepared for an evening....ALONE. That wasn't an easy thing to do when visiting her because of her two little girls and her roommate. It was a terrific night--very romantic in a Lifetime for women channel type of way.
The next morning (HA! You thought you were going to get all the graphic details, didn't you??) we actually went down to the beach and watched the sunrise. No shit, really. It was right out of a...dare I say.....John Cusack movie! She left and I was seriously beginning to think that I had done something amazing....that I had found someone that I wanted to get married too and I wasn't even divorced from the beloved Mrs Me # 2 yet---eeeww the joy.
Then we decided to go on a cruise. As an employee of Disney, she would receive like 50% off for the Disney cruise. We would sail to lovely Nassau and to Disney's private island. So it was like a 4 day cruise and other than it was football season and I had a jones for some football it was a great time. I drank like a fish (I know, a stunning development). But the best part was the little present she gave me.
Before we went we had been shopping at the mall....well, let's just say that she knew that I had a certain proclivity for women who wear boots. Hey, you got your fetish, I got mine pal. Especially the ones that come up around the knee. Oh daddy.
So, quite frankly...she does the old....ya know....dress up thing for her man. Called me back to the room and when I got there she was wearing a negligee and those boots. Holy crap, let's just say that there wasn't only a bad moon rising that night my friend--there were other things too.
So we had an amazing time--especially with those boots--and when we got off the boat I started thinking how this could easily, despite some problems that I was at the time willing to overlook, and when we headed back to her place.
And then things started going downhill......
We got back to her house, and her ex-husband was there. In her apartment. In her bed asleep. He had agreed (how magnimous of him) to watch his kids while she was away on the cruise--at his place. But here he was. Not only in her place, but in her bed...the one that WE had slept in. She was NOT happy.
And he comes out half asleep, all "what's the big deal?". Suddenly I was caught in the midst of some pretty heavy post marital discord. So, in the words of the legendary dean of wrestling Gordon Solie, I decided to "beat a hasty retreat".
So I'm making my dignified exit, trying to put a wrap on a wonderful long weekend, and all that she's got on her mind is her shitty ex-husband. Let's just say that my goodbye kiss seemed a tad anti-climatic.
And the relationship we had for about 2 or 3 months--the one where we seemed just crazy in love--was over. Not because of me. Not because of her. It just went into the shit, and I think the reason it did was because of her lousy ex. I think that morning we walked into her apartment and he was there, she was reminded how shitty her marriage was and the relationship was...how shitty he had treated her, leaving her and their girls high and dry....and she started thinking about how getting involved with me, or maybe anyone...was a really bad idea.
I went up to see my parents for Thanksgiving, and we had made plans for her and the girls to join us for the holiday dinner. She had talked about what she was going make to bring and all sort of other things. And I arrived at my parents on the night before the holiday and called her to see what time she would be over....and all of a sudden she tells me that she's not coming. I went from being upset, to mad, to sad, to pissed off....to not understanding....it was like my emotions were on fast forward.
And then I did something really, really stupid in hindsight. I put my mom on the phone, thinking that maybe she would change her mind about coming. When my mom handed me the phone back, she unloaded on me for putting her on the spot.
UGH! It was a really crappy night. I ended up going back to Lauderdale on the day after Thanksgiving I was so miserable. I tried to patch things up, to make it work again....but I suppose conditions weren't right. So right around New Year's, we made the decision to end the relationship. I told her that I wanted her to know one thing. I told her that one day, eventually she would realize that she had made a mistake in not trying to make the relationship work, that maybe we had been right for one another and we could've got past our differences and really made it work.
So I moved on....had a few more relationships (and oh boy--those stories will be forthcoming)....and then about 6 months later I met Kim, who would become my wife. Kimberly and I still maintained friendly contact, occasionally dropping each other a note and saying hello. And then....one day about a year and a half later, I got an email from Kimberly. I opened it up and read:
"You were right. I made a mistake."
Sometimes, as they say, victory is its own reward.
Later,
Jeff
So my birthday is approaching and I know something is amiss. After checking with my friend Nance, I find out that Kimberly is planning a surprise visit to celebrate my b-day. So Nance invites me out to Alexander's, where they have a delicious mashed potatoes by the way, and I sit at the table playing stupid--no jokes thank you--and Kimberly walks in while I play stunned and amazed. So we basically spend the evening together and have a wonderful time. Now, at this point, I have to say that I was pretty much....totally in love. Or...maybe it was the whole infatuation thing. Or maybe it was the idea of loving being in love. (Okay, okay--I'm going all Doctor Phil on you here) I loved telling someone that I loved them and having them tell me back (don't laugh---Mrs Me # 2 didn't like doing that). We came back to my apartment and prepared for an evening....ALONE. That wasn't an easy thing to do when visiting her because of her two little girls and her roommate. It was a terrific night--very romantic in a Lifetime for women channel type of way.
The next morning (HA! You thought you were going to get all the graphic details, didn't you??) we actually went down to the beach and watched the sunrise. No shit, really. It was right out of a...dare I say.....John Cusack movie! She left and I was seriously beginning to think that I had done something amazing....that I had found someone that I wanted to get married too and I wasn't even divorced from the beloved Mrs Me # 2 yet---eeeww the joy.
Then we decided to go on a cruise. As an employee of Disney, she would receive like 50% off for the Disney cruise. We would sail to lovely Nassau and to Disney's private island. So it was like a 4 day cruise and other than it was football season and I had a jones for some football it was a great time. I drank like a fish (I know, a stunning development). But the best part was the little present she gave me.
Before we went we had been shopping at the mall....well, let's just say that she knew that I had a certain proclivity for women who wear boots. Hey, you got your fetish, I got mine pal. Especially the ones that come up around the knee. Oh daddy.
So, quite frankly...she does the old....ya know....dress up thing for her man. Called me back to the room and when I got there she was wearing a negligee and those boots. Holy crap, let's just say that there wasn't only a bad moon rising that night my friend--there were other things too.
So we had an amazing time--especially with those boots--and when we got off the boat I started thinking how this could easily, despite some problems that I was at the time willing to overlook, and when we headed back to her place.
And then things started going downhill......
We got back to her house, and her ex-husband was there. In her apartment. In her bed asleep. He had agreed (how magnimous of him) to watch his kids while she was away on the cruise--at his place. But here he was. Not only in her place, but in her bed...the one that WE had slept in. She was NOT happy.
And he comes out half asleep, all "what's the big deal?". Suddenly I was caught in the midst of some pretty heavy post marital discord. So, in the words of the legendary dean of wrestling Gordon Solie, I decided to "beat a hasty retreat".
So I'm making my dignified exit, trying to put a wrap on a wonderful long weekend, and all that she's got on her mind is her shitty ex-husband. Let's just say that my goodbye kiss seemed a tad anti-climatic.
And the relationship we had for about 2 or 3 months--the one where we seemed just crazy in love--was over. Not because of me. Not because of her. It just went into the shit, and I think the reason it did was because of her lousy ex. I think that morning we walked into her apartment and he was there, she was reminded how shitty her marriage was and the relationship was...how shitty he had treated her, leaving her and their girls high and dry....and she started thinking about how getting involved with me, or maybe anyone...was a really bad idea.
I went up to see my parents for Thanksgiving, and we had made plans for her and the girls to join us for the holiday dinner. She had talked about what she was going make to bring and all sort of other things. And I arrived at my parents on the night before the holiday and called her to see what time she would be over....and all of a sudden she tells me that she's not coming. I went from being upset, to mad, to sad, to pissed off....to not understanding....it was like my emotions were on fast forward.
And then I did something really, really stupid in hindsight. I put my mom on the phone, thinking that maybe she would change her mind about coming. When my mom handed me the phone back, she unloaded on me for putting her on the spot.
UGH! It was a really crappy night. I ended up going back to Lauderdale on the day after Thanksgiving I was so miserable. I tried to patch things up, to make it work again....but I suppose conditions weren't right. So right around New Year's, we made the decision to end the relationship. I told her that I wanted her to know one thing. I told her that one day, eventually she would realize that she had made a mistake in not trying to make the relationship work, that maybe we had been right for one another and we could've got past our differences and really made it work.
So I moved on....had a few more relationships (and oh boy--those stories will be forthcoming)....and then about 6 months later I met Kim, who would become my wife. Kimberly and I still maintained friendly contact, occasionally dropping each other a note and saying hello. And then....one day about a year and a half later, I got an email from Kimberly. I opened it up and read:
"You were right. I made a mistake."
Sometimes, as they say, victory is its own reward.
Later,
Jeff
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
12/14/04--some movie related stuff
So I saw this really interesting article in the most recent edition of Hotdog, which is one of my two favorite movie//DVD magazines on the market.
The article listed....the top 10 John Cusack movies of alltime--feel free to drop me a note with your own selections...he's been in some good stuff.
10) Max
9) Better Off Dead
8) Eight Men Out
7) The Grifters
6) The Thin Red Line
5) The Sure Thing
4) High Fidelity
3) Being John Malkovich
2) Grosse Pointe Blank
1) Say Anything
Anyone got any opinions? I personally didn't care for Being John Malkovich. It was way too much of a intellectual "heady" movie. Loved The Sure Thing & High Fidelity. I will have to admit that I actually like that movie Serendipity, which plays on cable about 172 times per month.
He always seemed to be a guy who could be anyone of us--ya know, a real regular guy. Of course, I've also read that he's nailed some of the hottest broads in Hollywood. Scumbag. Wasn't his first decent role as one of the nerdy brothers in Sixteen Candles?
Later,
Jeff
Monday, December 13, 2004
12/13/04--a few more stories about "Orlando Kim"
One of my favorite stories about Kimberly....not that I necessarily liked the story, but because it just fascinated me as to how low someone can go...was about her ex-husband Tim. Truly he was a huge scumbag. The two of them had two kids, both little girls. I heard a great story about the events that led to their divorce that occured right after the birth of her 2nd child. Apparently Kimberly had someone in her family--I'm thinking a grandparent--who passed away right after she gave birth.
I mean, like maybe a week or so afterwards. So naturally, she makes the arrangements to go up and attend the funeral. So she's up there, and gets a call from one of her neighbors. Well, it would seem that old Tim musta really had his jones on for the one week that his wife was gone because the neighbor reported to Kimberly that there was some woman walking out of her apartment--carrying her newborn baby! (I can just imagine that this would be what we in the legal system would refer to as an "aggravating factor") So she comes home, confronts the squzzbucket about his "dangerous liasion"--he admits it and announces that he's leaving. Mind you, this is like right around Christmas time. So he's packing his stuff while his wife is sitting there with their two daughters--one like 1 1/2 years old, the other maybe a month old---and he's walking out and stops, goes back into the apartment and grabs the t.v. and hits the pavement....leaving her there with the two kids and probably not a heck of a lot more than that. Marriage. Its a great institution. If you like living in an institution.
What a lowlife this guy was. He worked as a projectionist at some movie theatre and would NEVER give her child support. I used to tell her that she could take him to court and really put the fear of God into him. She would tell me that it would cost money to do that...which she didn't have. Trust me, after awhile I felt like I was beating my head against a wall.
So it was an occasionally very weird relationship. She was someone who was very loving, very caring...but she had been burned very badly and kept insisting that there was no one she would ever get married again. I don't know if that was her protection or whether she really believed it. She treated me so much better than the former Mrs Me # 2 ever did though. She made me feel like I was someone who could be considered attractive and sexy to another person (something that my ex did NOT do just for the record). When she kissed me, she acted not only interested...but....really interested. Like it was something that she wanted to do, not something she was doing because it was a habit.
I look back and think that she set me up for going back into a serious relationship again. She did a lot of little things that made me feel important. She dressed up for me (and I'm not talking to go out to dinner--ahem).
But the divorce had really burned her. And she had gotten really religious afterwards. I mean, borderline scary religious. I'm not against religion. But towards the end it started to become this really consuming thing for her.
Next time....my birthday surprise, the Disney cruise...and we hit the end of the road.
Later,
Jeff
I mean, like maybe a week or so afterwards. So naturally, she makes the arrangements to go up and attend the funeral. So she's up there, and gets a call from one of her neighbors. Well, it would seem that old Tim musta really had his jones on for the one week that his wife was gone because the neighbor reported to Kimberly that there was some woman walking out of her apartment--carrying her newborn baby! (I can just imagine that this would be what we in the legal system would refer to as an "aggravating factor") So she comes home, confronts the squzzbucket about his "dangerous liasion"--he admits it and announces that he's leaving. Mind you, this is like right around Christmas time. So he's packing his stuff while his wife is sitting there with their two daughters--one like 1 1/2 years old, the other maybe a month old---and he's walking out and stops, goes back into the apartment and grabs the t.v. and hits the pavement....leaving her there with the two kids and probably not a heck of a lot more than that. Marriage. Its a great institution. If you like living in an institution.
What a lowlife this guy was. He worked as a projectionist at some movie theatre and would NEVER give her child support. I used to tell her that she could take him to court and really put the fear of God into him. She would tell me that it would cost money to do that...which she didn't have. Trust me, after awhile I felt like I was beating my head against a wall.
So it was an occasionally very weird relationship. She was someone who was very loving, very caring...but she had been burned very badly and kept insisting that there was no one she would ever get married again. I don't know if that was her protection or whether she really believed it. She treated me so much better than the former Mrs Me # 2 ever did though. She made me feel like I was someone who could be considered attractive and sexy to another person (something that my ex did NOT do just for the record). When she kissed me, she acted not only interested...but....really interested. Like it was something that she wanted to do, not something she was doing because it was a habit.
I look back and think that she set me up for going back into a serious relationship again. She did a lot of little things that made me feel important. She dressed up for me (and I'm not talking to go out to dinner--ahem).
But the divorce had really burned her. And she had gotten really religious afterwards. I mean, borderline scary religious. I'm not against religion. But towards the end it started to become this really consuming thing for her.
Next time....my birthday surprise, the Disney cruise...and we hit the end of the road.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, December 11, 2004
12/11/04---more on my "ex-baby" and her letter
So when last we spoke, I was describing my first date with my ex-girlfriend Kimberly. So we're on the monorail, and she is grinding on me like its a night at Pure Platinum. I was sure I had struck gold. Let me backtrack momentarily.
This was my first real girlfriend type since I had seperated from the former Mrs. Me # 2, and candidly I can admit that she wasn't exactly.....um....rife with a burning passion--for me, or for anything. She wasn't big into the whole "I love you" thing either. What she was big into was mainly being miserable about herself or something else. I'll stop now, because otherwise I'll get into a rant about her, and trust me...I'm saving that one. I just wanted you to appreciate how I was going from ying to yang on the monorail that evening...or so I thought.
So I'm being ridden like her name is Bambi and I'm going to be slipping her a $20, and there's lots of good loving, touching & squeezin going on (let's give a nod to the boys from Journey for that one!), and we decide to "relocate" the proceedings back to her place. Well I ain't gonna say no...ya know? So we get back to her apartment, and I'm totally stoked by this point....and she asks me to spend the night.
Again, no problemo. And then...the moment of truth. She's got this fabulous bed, loaded with pillows and the place smells very girly, like Bath & Bodyworks...but I'm into it...and she goes in and comes out wearing the oversized t-shirt. And I'm just thinking to myself....I am gonna get my world ROCKED. First the monorail, and now...this? Wow....I'm finally going to get my payback for staying with the former Mrs. Me # 2 for all those years. And then...she spoke those fateful words.
"This will be nice. I mean, just because you're spending the night doesn't mean we have to have sex, does it?"
And I'm not worried about anything because....
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it'll be nice to wake up next to someone."
Total buzzkill. Not to mention killing something else that was...hmmm...on the rise.
But wait...there's more on Kimberly. She really was, despite the rather, um...disappointing results to our first evening, a great girlfriend. She was, and I say this without shame....a fantastic kisser--perhaps my best ever. I mean, the girl just really gave you a great, passionate kiss. There's something to be said for that, ya know?
Anyway....next time....I start getting into Kimberly's background. Warning lights!!
Later,
Jeff
PS...well, tonight it was revealed that Charlie Weis has accepted the head coaching job at Notre Dame. Its not Jon Gruden....but its not Rick Neuheisel either.
More thoughts on that tomorrow
Weis Photo <TD class="" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right 1??>Reply
This was my first real girlfriend type since I had seperated from the former Mrs. Me # 2, and candidly I can admit that she wasn't exactly.....um....rife with a burning passion--for me, or for anything. She wasn't big into the whole "I love you" thing either. What she was big into was mainly being miserable about herself or something else. I'll stop now, because otherwise I'll get into a rant about her, and trust me...I'm saving that one. I just wanted you to appreciate how I was going from ying to yang on the monorail that evening...or so I thought.
So I'm being ridden like her name is Bambi and I'm going to be slipping her a $20, and there's lots of good loving, touching & squeezin going on (let's give a nod to the boys from Journey for that one!), and we decide to "relocate" the proceedings back to her place. Well I ain't gonna say no...ya know? So we get back to her apartment, and I'm totally stoked by this point....and she asks me to spend the night.
Again, no problemo. And then...the moment of truth. She's got this fabulous bed, loaded with pillows and the place smells very girly, like Bath & Bodyworks...but I'm into it...and she goes in and comes out wearing the oversized t-shirt. And I'm just thinking to myself....I am gonna get my world ROCKED. First the monorail, and now...this? Wow....I'm finally going to get my payback for staying with the former Mrs. Me # 2 for all those years. And then...she spoke those fateful words.
"This will be nice. I mean, just because you're spending the night doesn't mean we have to have sex, does it?"
And I'm not worried about anything because....
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it'll be nice to wake up next to someone."
Total buzzkill. Not to mention killing something else that was...hmmm...on the rise.
But wait...there's more on Kimberly. She really was, despite the rather, um...disappointing results to our first evening, a great girlfriend. She was, and I say this without shame....a fantastic kisser--perhaps my best ever. I mean, the girl just really gave you a great, passionate kiss. There's something to be said for that, ya know?
Anyway....next time....I start getting into Kimberly's background. Warning lights!!
Later,
Jeff
PS...well, tonight it was revealed that Charlie Weis has accepted the head coaching job at Notre Dame. Its not Jon Gruden....but its not Rick Neuheisel either.
More thoughts on that tomorrow
Weis Photo <TD class="" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right 1??>Reply
Thursday, December 9, 2004
12/09/04--My baby....she wrote me a letter
So last evening, I get home a little late, because our jury decided to deliberate for 4 freaking hours on a refusal case because one of the jurors wasn't sure what the legal definition of "impaired" was. UGH. But I walk into the house, and Kim is waiting there with our friend Pam, who's getting ready to move out of town the very next day, and who we've invited out for dinner before she leaves town. Well, I apologize all over myself for being late, and the ladies are very understanding, and then the wife, in a tone I'm not used to from her, says:
"Oh, by the way, you got some, uh.....mail today."
Now right away I'm wondering what's up, because she never makes a deal out of the fact that I've gotten mail. So I ask what she means.
"Well, it looks like you've gotten a Christmas card from somebody."
AH-HA! This is getting curiouser and curiouser.
So I glance down at the envelope, which is addressed to: Jeff Bowdren, and then I look at the return address.
Kimberly Durrance
Former girlfriend. Former girlfriend as in.....girlfriend right before Kim. Hmm, looks like we've got an appearence by the old green eyed monster. So I tell them that I'll look at it when I get home, but not before giving Kim a dig about how undoubtably Kimberly is sending me a card because she knows exactly what in the hell she left behind. Yep, I'm all that and a bag of chips. Nice dinner at Bucca De Beppo, little bit of the chicken marsala & some lasagna--I'm stuffed like a tick on a fat dog and we head for home.
To the card. And I open it, praying that there is nothing of a...hmm...tawdry nature inside (photo's etc). And its a very nice Christmas wish for "you and your family".
Which of course, was not the way the envelope was addressed. Not that any women pointed that out to me mind you. Ahem. So I show it to Kim, who seems very non-plused by the whole thing, perhaps thinking she had been making something out of nothing. And then...my little pisspot jumps into the fray.
"Who's Kimberly?" she asks.
"That's someone that Jeff used to date before he met me." Kim replies.
"Why is she sending Jeff a card?"
"I don't know."
"Can I see it?"
So she begins to look over the card and blurts out this little gem...
"Um, Mom...how come she put a heart next to her name on the card?"
Oh yeah. The game is afoot!
And I'll admit, Kim was totally cool about it. Oh sure, the ladies at work were practically apeshit with the thought that some ex-girlfriend had sent me a holiday card...particularly one that is addressed to ME...and not to the family. And exactly how did she get my address? (I gave it to her when I moved in) Thankfully, as one person pointed out, my wife is a very cool lady. She handled it very gracefully and without any jealousy. Which apparently not how most of the women in my office would've handled it.
Kimberly Durrance. She was an interesting young lady. I met her through another online friend, Kynda Clark from Texas. It was mid to late summer of 1998. I was still living in Wilton Manors and one night Kynda invited me to come into a chatroom and join her and a couple of other friends that she had met online. She introduced me to Kimberly, who was from Orlando. She was everything I did NOT want in a woman. Religious, out of town and with a couple of kids. Naturally love hits you when you least expect it. We started many nights of long conversations and found ourselves becoming interested. I mean, can you really fall in love with someone over the phone? I suppose that's what happened to us both. And the next weekend I made plans to go up to Orlando (crashed at Mom & Dad's pad) and go out with this person that I hadn't actually met. Now, you have to understand the whole mindset of the time. I was not yet "officially" divorced from the former Mrs Me # 2, although the proceedings were in the works. Other than one ill advised fling (thank you Mr. Slankas!), I had not really returned to the whole romance field. So I go up to Orlando, and we had decided to meet at a restaurant up there by where she lived, and I got out of the car and was walking towards the front door when this car pulls into the parking lot and I see this woman looking at me. Looking at me, ya know, in a way that you like a woman to look at you. So she stops the car, the window comes down and she sorta says.."Jeff?" And I was like.....OMAN. Not only had she been nice to talk to on the phone....she was smoking hot. Jackpot! Well, we skipped the restaurant that night, and we drove away planning on maybe going to one of the nightclubs over by Universal. Well then, it just started POURING rain.
So we sat in the car, sort of trapped, talking and getting to know one another. No, not in a biblical way. And since she worked for Disney, she had all the insights into what to do at night. So she asked me if I've ever ridden the monorail at night.
Nope. So we park the car, and get on the monorail. Which is empty. Okay class.
Show of hands. Who's seen the Tom Cruise movie, "Risky Business"?? Anyone?
Bueller? Anyone? Let me just remind you...if you have seen it, of the famous scene with Tom and that oh-so-hot Rebecca De Mornay on the subway. We riding the subway, kissing, making out a little bit....and then...she tells me that there are cameras in every car and people that watch them...to insure passenger safety.
So I'm looking up for a camera...and she gets over and straddles me. Holy crap.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life.
And...of course...I'd tell you more...but, ya know...my Dad reads this thing every once in a blue moon....and it would just be too creepy knowing my Dad knew about this. Tomorrow....Kimberly and I continue our romance. My first since my seperation. An actual legitimate girlfriend again. It had only been 10 years since I had been on the dating scene. Talk about weird.
Part 2 tomorrow.
Later,
Jeff
"Oh, by the way, you got some, uh.....mail today."
Now right away I'm wondering what's up, because she never makes a deal out of the fact that I've gotten mail. So I ask what she means.
"Well, it looks like you've gotten a Christmas card from somebody."
AH-HA! This is getting curiouser and curiouser.
So I glance down at the envelope, which is addressed to: Jeff Bowdren, and then I look at the return address.
Kimberly Durrance
Former girlfriend. Former girlfriend as in.....girlfriend right before Kim. Hmm, looks like we've got an appearence by the old green eyed monster. So I tell them that I'll look at it when I get home, but not before giving Kim a dig about how undoubtably Kimberly is sending me a card because she knows exactly what in the hell she left behind. Yep, I'm all that and a bag of chips. Nice dinner at Bucca De Beppo, little bit of the chicken marsala & some lasagna--I'm stuffed like a tick on a fat dog and we head for home.
To the card. And I open it, praying that there is nothing of a...hmm...tawdry nature inside (photo's etc). And its a very nice Christmas wish for "you and your family".
Which of course, was not the way the envelope was addressed. Not that any women pointed that out to me mind you. Ahem. So I show it to Kim, who seems very non-plused by the whole thing, perhaps thinking she had been making something out of nothing. And then...my little pisspot jumps into the fray.
"Who's Kimberly?" she asks.
"That's someone that Jeff used to date before he met me." Kim replies.
"Why is she sending Jeff a card?"
"I don't know."
"Can I see it?"
So she begins to look over the card and blurts out this little gem...
"Um, Mom...how come she put a heart next to her name on the card?"
Oh yeah. The game is afoot!
And I'll admit, Kim was totally cool about it. Oh sure, the ladies at work were practically apeshit with the thought that some ex-girlfriend had sent me a holiday card...particularly one that is addressed to ME...and not to the family. And exactly how did she get my address? (I gave it to her when I moved in) Thankfully, as one person pointed out, my wife is a very cool lady. She handled it very gracefully and without any jealousy. Which apparently not how most of the women in my office would've handled it.
Kimberly Durrance. She was an interesting young lady. I met her through another online friend, Kynda Clark from Texas. It was mid to late summer of 1998. I was still living in Wilton Manors and one night Kynda invited me to come into a chatroom and join her and a couple of other friends that she had met online. She introduced me to Kimberly, who was from Orlando. She was everything I did NOT want in a woman. Religious, out of town and with a couple of kids. Naturally love hits you when you least expect it. We started many nights of long conversations and found ourselves becoming interested. I mean, can you really fall in love with someone over the phone? I suppose that's what happened to us both. And the next weekend I made plans to go up to Orlando (crashed at Mom & Dad's pad) and go out with this person that I hadn't actually met. Now, you have to understand the whole mindset of the time. I was not yet "officially" divorced from the former Mrs Me # 2, although the proceedings were in the works. Other than one ill advised fling (thank you Mr. Slankas!), I had not really returned to the whole romance field. So I go up to Orlando, and we had decided to meet at a restaurant up there by where she lived, and I got out of the car and was walking towards the front door when this car pulls into the parking lot and I see this woman looking at me. Looking at me, ya know, in a way that you like a woman to look at you. So she stops the car, the window comes down and she sorta says.."Jeff?" And I was like.....OMAN. Not only had she been nice to talk to on the phone....she was smoking hot. Jackpot! Well, we skipped the restaurant that night, and we drove away planning on maybe going to one of the nightclubs over by Universal. Well then, it just started POURING rain.
So we sat in the car, sort of trapped, talking and getting to know one another. No, not in a biblical way. And since she worked for Disney, she had all the insights into what to do at night. So she asked me if I've ever ridden the monorail at night.
Nope. So we park the car, and get on the monorail. Which is empty. Okay class.
Show of hands. Who's seen the Tom Cruise movie, "Risky Business"?? Anyone?
Bueller? Anyone? Let me just remind you...if you have seen it, of the famous scene with Tom and that oh-so-hot Rebecca De Mornay on the subway. We riding the subway, kissing, making out a little bit....and then...she tells me that there are cameras in every car and people that watch them...to insure passenger safety.
So I'm looking up for a camera...and she gets over and straddles me. Holy crap.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life.
And...of course...I'd tell you more...but, ya know...my Dad reads this thing every once in a blue moon....and it would just be too creepy knowing my Dad knew about this. Tomorrow....Kimberly and I continue our romance. My first since my seperation. An actual legitimate girlfriend again. It had only been 10 years since I had been on the dating scene. Talk about weird.
Part 2 tomorrow.
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
12/8/04--my first football hero
Is now a candidate for Notre Dame's head coaching job--when did I get old?
geovisit();
geovisit();
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
12/7/04--"A date...that will live...in infamy."
We have not forgotten. Take a moment today and remember a veteran.
I'm worn out from this Notre Dame coaching search. Every schmo coach in the nation is trying to use the search to get himself a contract extension. So naturally, the good folks at ESPN (their motto: encouraging the country to laugh at Notre Dame) come on seemingly every hour to name another guy who "allegedly" has turned down the Notre Dame head coaching job.
What a crock of shit.
If I had a dollar for every coach who claimed he had been contacted by the school--but who really hadn't been....I'd be a rich man.
But still, its much grist for the mill for people that hate the school. Very frustrating.
Time for some DVD reviews, which we haven't done in awhile. I'm going over my DVD collection....alphabetically. We're up too.....
1) The Big Lebowski--one of the alltime great, twisted, weird comedies of alltime.
Jeff Bridges is A-perfect as "The Dude". He lives in a world all its own, never really working, engaging in competitive bowling with his two friends (John Goodman & Steve Buscemi) and a collection of weirdos. Then a case of mistaken identity gets him involved a group of thugs and a millionaire. And along the way, his carpet gets ruined, his car gets stolen....he pays for a quart of milk with a check....a ferret gets thrown into his tub.....its all.....hilarious. May have more great one liners than any film I can recall over the last 10 years, and that's saying a lot. ****1/4
2) Big Trouble in Little China--ya know, Kurt Russell is one of those guys who you don't think of as being a great film star, but if you look at his body of work....the guy has made some really great movies. Escape from New York, The Thing, Breakdown, Unlawful Entry & Executive Decision. And then there was this little gem--my favorite Russell movie of alltime from 1986. Part fantasy, part adventure, part kung fu...and all fun. Russell is trucker Jack Burton, who finds himself thrown into a supernatural world underneath San Francisco's Chinatown when he tries to help a friend find his missing fiancee. Stars a pre-Sex in the City Kim Cattrall, looking smoking hot. Loads of fun and a guaranteed good fun. ***3/4
Later,
Jeff
America's favorite ESPN host. UGH!
Monday, December 6, 2004
12/6/04--Christmas concert at the kids school--AAAHH!
The Christmas concert. Its every parents private hell. Two hours of bad sax....if ya know what I'm talking about and I think you do. This year's concert was actually in the catergory of "not bad", as the band director actually....brace yourself here...let the kids play Christmas music! Every year we go to this show and wonder why they aren't playing holiday music. I mean....is it me? Hello? So this year I guess he decided to throw us the proverbial "parental bone" and they played five holiday songs. It was geek central folks.
So today was a hoot in court. First of all, our trial ended up being a mistrial right after we selected a jury when a defense witness told the defense attorney that he had heard a juror say:
"Well, they say this is a refusal case. You know that means she's guilty."
DOH!
However, my personal favorite came courtesy of the judge today. She's questioning the prospective jurors during the selection process, and naturally one of the questions that is posed to each juror is whether or not they happen to drink. So one guy, dressed nice, early 20's, ponytail...raises his hand and says that he's not a drinker. This is what followed:
"So sir, you say you are not a drinker?"
"No maam."
"What about smoking weed? Do you do any of that?"
"What? No!"
"Well, I was just wondering....the ponytail, you understand."
Hilarious.
Its late...DVD reviews tomorrow if I get a chance.
Later,
Jeff
PS...in our continuing drama about who the hell will Notre Dame's next head coach be....today's front runners....(and it changes daily, trust me).....are:
Dan Hawkins--Boise State
Barry Alvarez--Wisconsin
Charlie Weis--offensive coordinater of the Patriots
Mike Shanahan--head coach of the Denver Broncos
Stay tuned...it'll change daily. One report I've read is that they'll have a coach by Friday...we shall see.
So today was a hoot in court. First of all, our trial ended up being a mistrial right after we selected a jury when a defense witness told the defense attorney that he had heard a juror say:
"Well, they say this is a refusal case. You know that means she's guilty."
DOH!
However, my personal favorite came courtesy of the judge today. She's questioning the prospective jurors during the selection process, and naturally one of the questions that is posed to each juror is whether or not they happen to drink. So one guy, dressed nice, early 20's, ponytail...raises his hand and says that he's not a drinker. This is what followed:
"So sir, you say you are not a drinker?"
"No maam."
"What about smoking weed? Do you do any of that?"
"What? No!"
"Well, I was just wondering....the ponytail, you understand."
Hilarious.
Its late...DVD reviews tomorrow if I get a chance.
Later,
Jeff
PS...in our continuing drama about who the hell will Notre Dame's next head coach be....today's front runners....(and it changes daily, trust me).....are:
Dan Hawkins--Boise State
Barry Alvarez--Wisconsin
Charlie Weis--offensive coordinater of the Patriots
Mike Shanahan--head coach of the Denver Broncos
Stay tuned...it'll change daily. One report I've read is that they'll have a coach by Friday...we shall see.
Saturday, December 4, 2004
12/4/04--emotionally exhausted and morally bankrupt
I don't think I've been so happy to see a weekend in a long time. Between this crap at Notre Dame and the last two days at work, I was spent. I spent yesterday in court with the "coughing judge", who spent about an hour longer than necessary hemming and hawing with the public defender about a marijuana arrest on a guy who had 4 NO BOND warrants. HELLO!! He's got 4 warrants. Who gives two shits about a freakin misdemeanor??!!? And another thing, she's giving court costs to guys who are going to spend a few years in the joint. What the hell does a guy like that care about a couple of hundred in court costs?
Well, a rather unpleasant bit of news coming from Kellie the other day. You, beloved reader, will no doubt remember "The Khronic". He and Kellie called it a day a few months ago. Well our boy has apparently decided that instead of just moving on with his (12 yr old) life, that he's going to start talking shit about my daughter. My 12 year old daughter. Who's getting passed a note in class asking her if she's had SEX with some other boy. It was all I could do to not go drive over to the little bastards house and lay the smack down on his candy ass. Hopefully, we won't hear anything more on this front as Kim called the school and is going to try and let them address the situation without MOI getting involved. And she's not even a teenager yet. Holy crap. What did I get myself into?
I didn't even get a chance to go over the movie that I watched the other day.
Valley Girl--from 1983 comes this absolute gem. Basically a retelling of the Romeo & Juliet legend with a valley girl (the gorgeous Deborah Foreman) and a punk rocker (Nicholas Cage in his first star role and before he had caps put on his teeth) who fall in love, much to the dismay of both their friends, who are convinced that they're totally wrong for one another. Terrific young actors, great soundtrack and a couple of wonderful supporting performances from Frederic Forrest, Colleen Camp, and a very hot and sexy Lee Purcell. A definite check it out--****
Well, a rather unpleasant bit of news coming from Kellie the other day. You, beloved reader, will no doubt remember "The Khronic". He and Kellie called it a day a few months ago. Well our boy has apparently decided that instead of just moving on with his (12 yr old) life, that he's going to start talking shit about my daughter. My 12 year old daughter. Who's getting passed a note in class asking her if she's had SEX with some other boy. It was all I could do to not go drive over to the little bastards house and lay the smack down on his candy ass. Hopefully, we won't hear anything more on this front as Kim called the school and is going to try and let them address the situation without MOI getting involved. And she's not even a teenager yet. Holy crap. What did I get myself into?
I didn't even get a chance to go over the movie that I watched the other day.
Valley Girl--from 1983 comes this absolute gem. Basically a retelling of the Romeo & Juliet legend with a valley girl (the gorgeous Deborah Foreman) and a punk rocker (Nicholas Cage in his first star role and before he had caps put on his teeth) who fall in love, much to the dismay of both their friends, who are convinced that they're totally wrong for one another. Terrific young actors, great soundtrack and a couple of wonderful supporting performances from Frederic Forrest, Colleen Camp, and a very hot and sexy Lee Purcell. A definite check it out--****
Friday, December 3, 2004
12/3/04--when a "dream job"....apparently isn't
Its been a kind of crappy day. Here I was, happy as a pig in shit the other day when Notre Dame gave Ty Willingham the axe, with the feeling being that Urban Meyer would gladly come running from his present job at Utah (well, maybe AFTER his team plays in a BCS game). The Notre Dame head coaching job was, afterall, supposedly Meyer's "dream job". It was part of his contract with Utah that if Notre Dame (or Michigan or Ohio State) came calling, Meyer could walk away without any financial penalty.
Thursday, Meyer's dreamjob was finally offered to him. But....apparently that dreamjob comes with some conditions. According to accounts that I've read, Meyer inquired of ND president Father Jenkins and athletic director Kevin White about whether ND would be willing to "relax" some of their admissions standards.
Specifically, I've heard that Meyer wanted to be permitted 6 "waivers" per year.
He wanted to bring in up to 6 athletes that....well...maybe wouldn't ordinarily pass the rigid Notre Dame admissions. Surprisingly, the ND representatives were willing to offer 2 waivers like Meyer asked about, but not go as high as 6. That was about the time that the Florida Gators reemerged into the picture. This was not about money. This was about Meyer wanting a say in the admissions procedures. Correctly or not, ND wouldn't meet his demands, and now Meyer is heading to Gainesville, while the Irish have egg on their face and are still looking for a coach.
Meyer seemed to be the perfect choice. But, as was pointed out in a column in the online site IrishToday, the most successful Irish coaches have been ones that will come to Notre Dame no matter WHAT the standards are. Apparently, Meyer didn't want the job as much as he may have thought.
On another message board, I stated that, if Meyer were hired....a sleeping bear might just be waking up. Its not easy watching the program that you love and follow be made light of, to be the object of ridicule and embarassment. Hopefully it will be darkest before the dawn.
I'm not really sure where the coaching search is at this moment, but I've heard the following names thrown out as possibilities:
Jeff Tedford--head coach of # 4 ranked Cal
Bobby Petrino--head coach of #8 ranked Louisville
Dan Hawkins--head coach of #10 ranked Boise State
Charlie Weis--offensive coordinater of the NE Patriots (and ND grad)
Paul Johnson--head coach of Navy
and then of course, you have the "dream" candidates:
Jon Gruden--head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs---it appears this train has left the station though. We had our shot at Jon in 2001. UGH.
Until tomorrow, when I'll give details of a strange week and update the movie reviews....
Jeff
Thursday, Meyer's dreamjob was finally offered to him. But....apparently that dreamjob comes with some conditions. According to accounts that I've read, Meyer inquired of ND president Father Jenkins and athletic director Kevin White about whether ND would be willing to "relax" some of their admissions standards.
Specifically, I've heard that Meyer wanted to be permitted 6 "waivers" per year.
He wanted to bring in up to 6 athletes that....well...maybe wouldn't ordinarily pass the rigid Notre Dame admissions. Surprisingly, the ND representatives were willing to offer 2 waivers like Meyer asked about, but not go as high as 6. That was about the time that the Florida Gators reemerged into the picture. This was not about money. This was about Meyer wanting a say in the admissions procedures. Correctly or not, ND wouldn't meet his demands, and now Meyer is heading to Gainesville, while the Irish have egg on their face and are still looking for a coach.
Meyer seemed to be the perfect choice. But, as was pointed out in a column in the online site IrishToday, the most successful Irish coaches have been ones that will come to Notre Dame no matter WHAT the standards are. Apparently, Meyer didn't want the job as much as he may have thought.
On another message board, I stated that, if Meyer were hired....a sleeping bear might just be waking up. Its not easy watching the program that you love and follow be made light of, to be the object of ridicule and embarassment. Hopefully it will be darkest before the dawn.
I'm not really sure where the coaching search is at this moment, but I've heard the following names thrown out as possibilities:
Jeff Tedford--head coach of # 4 ranked Cal
Bobby Petrino--head coach of #8 ranked Louisville
Dan Hawkins--head coach of #10 ranked Boise State
Charlie Weis--offensive coordinater of the NE Patriots (and ND grad)
Paul Johnson--head coach of Navy
and then of course, you have the "dream" candidates:
Jon Gruden--head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs---it appears this train has left the station though. We had our shot at Jon in 2001. UGH.
Until tomorrow, when I'll give details of a strange week and update the movie reviews....
Jeff
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